Curriculum
Adam and Eve
Memory Verse:
“Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” Genesis 3:11
Bible Background
What Kids Will Learn
Adam and Eve thought they knew better than God. They listened to the temptations of Satan and chose to sin. This broke God’s heart and broke their relationship with God. But, we can confess our sins to God and be in right relationship with Him.
Scripture Summary
Adam and Eve lived in paradise. They didn’t have a care in the world. Making their home in the Garden of Eden, they could eat from a variety of trees and had command over all of the animals. They walked and talked with God, and they were free.
God told them not to eat from just one tree in the garden. Satan, in the form of a serpent, tempted Eve, and she turned and offered the fruit to Adam. Both Adam and Eve deliberately chose to eat the fruit. Immediately, everything changed. They realized their nakedness and hid when it was time for their daily walk with God.
While Adam and Eve were attempting to hide from God, it’s an impossible task. The all-knowing, always-present God knew exactly what had happened and where they were hiding. God came to Adam and Eve because He wanted a continued relationship with them. But they were afraid. Their sin had broken their relationship with God.
Adam and Eve knew God’s rule about the one tree in the garden, but they didn’t understand His reasoning. As they were leaning on their own understanding, they assumed they knew better than God and made a choice against His plan.
When God asked Adam about his sin, he blamed Eve. And when God asked Eve about her sin, she blamed the serpent. The facts within their blaming were factual, though their deliberate decision reflects their hearts.
Adam and Eve learned first-hand how sin separates us from God. And Satan continues to slither around trying to tempt us to go directly against God’s best plan for our lives. When we sin, we can confess our sins to God and ask Him for forgiveness.
Why Is This Important
We can learn from Adam and Eve’s experience. Sin separates us from God. When we deliberately choose anything other than God’s best for us, we break our relationship with Him. We have all sinned, but we can confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness.
Teacher Devotion
Scripture
“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” (Proverbs 28:13)
I have a dear friend who is several years older than I am. We can literally tell each other anything and not be afraid of judgment. We’ve laughed, cried, and shared life’s ups and downs— together.
This friend recently asked me to help keep her accountable. While I was honored, I was also surprised. I have respected and admired this friend for years as she has followed God’s plan for her life. Of course, her life wasn’t perfect, but she has displayed an unmatched passion and dedication to Christ.
So why would she seek out someone (ha...especially me?) to keep her accountable?
Because she gets it. She knows we were created to be in relationship with God and others. A genuine and healthy relationship involves confession. When we hide our sins, they tend to grow and multiply in the dark—becoming unbearable. But when we confess sins to God and others, we shed light on them. We break the stronghold Satan has over us when we sin. We are free.
Think of the close, godly friends you have in your life whom you respect. Prayerfully consider asking one of them to help keep you accountable. It doesn’t have to be formal or follow a certain format. You can share with this person ways you see God at work in your life and areas where you need Him to work. In this safe place, you can also confess areas of your life where God is wanting you to choose differently.
Prayer
Dear God, thank You that my sin isn’t the end of my story. You have already overcome the sin in the world. And there’s a beautiful freedom in confessing my sin to You and to close, trusted friends. Thank You for forgiveness and for fresh starts. In Jesus’ name, amen
Bible Memory Verse
You’ll Need: Paper plates, Scissors, Permanent markers, Crayons, Googly eyes, Red construction paper, Glue, Bibles - one per child
“And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’” Genesis 3:11
Lead kids in these steps:
- Give each child a paper plate, and have them color it with crayons.
- After it’s colored, invite them to cut the plate into a spiral all the way to the center so that it makes the shape of a coiled snake.
- After the spiral is cut, have kids write today’ s memory verse along the spiral on the plate.
- Lastly, glue googly eyes and a red tongue at the center end of the spi- ral to make the snake’s face.
- Ask kids to hold up their snake by its head and read today’s verse aloud.
SAY: Wow, those are some cool snakes you made. Today we are going to learn about the temptation in the Garden of Eden, and a snake just might show up.
Interactive Bible Experience
You’ll Need: Bibles - one per child, Dominoes
- Invite children to open their Bibles to Genesis 3:8-15. Explain that Genesis is the first book of the Bible.
- Form four groups. Have each child in each group choose one role to act out as you read aloud. If you have fewer than four kids, have some kids take on more than one role. The roles:
- God
- Adam
- The serpent (snake)
- Eve
- Read through the passage, having kids act out each part.
- After you read through the passage, get out the dominoes and invite the kids to work with you to create a line of dominoes close to each other.
- After the line is complete, invite one child to push down the first domino.
ASK:
- What happened when we pushed our first domino?
- How are these dominoes like what happened in the Garden of Eden?
SAY: Wow, it’s crazy how pushing down just one of the dominoes caused all of the others to fall as well. The same thing happened with Adam and Eve. Eve disobeyed God, then Adam disobeyed God. One action led to another. The sad thing is that God was right there to help them do the right thing, but they didn’t turn to God for help.
Snack
Snake Snack
You’ll Need: Paper plates - one per child, Toothpicks, Sliced bananas, Sliced strawberries, Napkins - one per child
Follow these steps for the “Snake Snack”:
- Give each child a paper plate, a napkin, and some toothpicks.
- Place the sliced bananas and strawberries in the center of the table for all the kids to reach.
- Invite kids to make a patterned snake by placing the sliced fruit togeth- er in a row. Encourage children to get creative—the row does not have to be straight!
- Enjoy.
ASK:
- What are some things that are tempting for you?
- What is a way that God helps us to say “no” to the bad things that tempt us?
SAY: The enemy, the devil, does not want us to obey God. The devil is like that sneaky snake and wants us to do what will harm us. Let’s turn toward God and do right.
Game
Run and Hide Game
To play “Run and Hide,” have kids follow these steps:
- All the children will run and hide together in some special area.
- The teacher will then say to the children...
- Come out if you are wearing something blue.
- Come out if you have tennis shoes on.
- Come out if you have a ribbon in your hair.
- Come out if you have on a tie.
- Come out if you are wearing a necklace.
- Come out if you brought your Bible today.
- Come out if you ate cereal for breakfast.
- Be creative with other calls until every child is no longer hiding.
- When all children are no longer hiding, play again with different calls.
SAY: In today’s lesson, Adam and Eve hid after they disobeyed because they knew they had done the wrong thing. This can also be called “shame.” God loves us so much and doesn’t want us to feel ashamed. When we do not choose to do the right thing, we can ask God to forgive us. Then we don’t have to hide from God.
Adam and Eve thought they could hide from God, the One who created them. But they couldn’t, and neither can we. And that’s amazing news! God loves us and wants us to come back to Him when we’ve done wrong.
ASK:
- How does it make you feel to know that God loves you so much that He is always by your side—even when you want to hide?
- How does it feel when God forgives you?
Craft
Finger Paint Fruit Tree Craft
You’ll Need: 11” x 17” white construction paper - one per child, Brown construction paper, Green and red finger paint, Paper bowls, Thin green ribbon (that can be curled with scissors), Glue, Scissors
Get Ready: Before class, cut a tree trunk out of brown construction paper for each child. Pour paint into separate bowls. Curl the green ribbon with scissors and cut into short pieces, one for each child.
Follow these steps to make the “Finger Paint Fruit Tree” craft:
- Give each child a white sheet of construction paper and a brown tree trunk.
- Invite kids to glue their tree trunks to the bottom center of the paper.
- Children can tape a curled ribbon onto the trunk of the tree to represent the serpent.
- Have kids make fingerprint “leaves” on the tree.
- Once the green paint has dried, tell kids to use the red finger paint to make apples on the tree.
- Allow to dry.
SAY: God gave Adam and Eve one rule: Do not eat the fruit from the one special tree. Take your tree home to remember that God will always help you do the right thing.
Prayer
Garden Prayer Walk
You’ll Need: Outdoor area
- Invite kids to take a walk outside and imagine that they are walking with God in the garden.
- Have them think of something they may be hiding from God.
- Explain that they will be prayer walking. Encourage them to tell God about what they’ve been hiding and ask for Him to forgive them. (If children don’t have anything, they can thank God for all the beautiful things they see.)
- After you have walked around a bit and every child has had a time to pray silently, close in prayer.
PRAY: Dear God, You are our Creator. No one makes things quite like You. Thank You for all the ways we see You in nature like the way Adam and Eve saw Your creation in the Garden of Eden. Please help us do the right thing and follow Your plan for our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.
