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Key Characters: Adam & Eve

Age Range: 11-14’s (although could be adapted for older ones

Items Needed: Song: Relient K’s ‘Forgiven’ (off the album ‘5 Score & 7 Years Ago’) or YouTube video with images and words for the song, pens, paper, bibles, some kind of drama scripts for the Adam & Eve story (The Dramatised Good News Bible is great for this), A NCV Youth Bible for the youth bible study (or a story about temptation and some questions you’ve written yourself)

Opening: Welcome the young people and explain to them that the bible as a whole fits together to make up one big story of how we got to where we are today and what’s going to happen and that (if you’re following our Key Characters series) over the next few weeks we’re going to be looking at some key characters in the bigger story. Today we’re exploring the story of Adam and Eve.

Game: In the beginning – This game is similar to the ‘I went to the supermarket’ game and is just a bit of fun…the young people must go around starting with the sentence ‘In the beginning God made…’ and name something God made. The next young person says the things that have gone previously and adds their own…see how many times this can go around…if someone forgets they’re out.

Brain Storm: Ask the young people what they know about Adam and Eve and make a big list.

The Bible Passage: Split the group into 2 smaller groups and give them a drama script…point out that they can use it as much or little as they like but need to cover the story in it. Encourage them to have actors as well as the scripted narrators.

Drama Show: Get the groups to perform their dramas.

Explain: in the beginning when God created the world it was perfect. He created humans and gave surrounded them with a beautiful garden full of everything they need and the only rule he set for them was for them not to take the fruit of the tree of life.

Imagine you’re in a orchard…full of trees full of fruit…there’s apple trees, banana trees, oranges growing, peaches, raspberries, strawberries…vines full of grapes…the best looking fruit that you’ve ever seen but there is 1 tree that has a big fence around it…you can see it…potentially you can touch it but you know it’s out of bounds.

Ask: Would you want the fruit from the tree that’s fenced off? Why?

If there was a group of you do you think one person would eventually suggest trying it? Would you try it even if you knew it was out of bounds? Why?

Explain: That’s the situation Adam and Eve were in…they had everything they needed…they had all the food they needed, fantastic surroundings…they even had God…creator of the universe as their friend, wandering through the garden…hanging out with them.

Yet when the snake tempts them to take the fruit they do…

Ask: Can you understand why?

Small Group Discussion: In small groups look at the following study.

Use the ‘Sin – An Expensive CD’ from page 6 of the NCV Youth Bible

Add the question: “Can you think of a time when you did something wrong and immediately wished you hadn’t? What made you do it?” to the discussion

Bring the groups back together

Explain: The story of Adam and Eve shows us how God originally created the world, it shows us how sin first came into it and how that sin immediately put a gap between them and God…they went from hanging out with him to hiding from him.

Adam and Eve’s story can remind us of the importance of trying not to be tempted to do things we know are wrong even if our friends encourage us too!

Worship: Use Relient K’s song ‘Forgiven’ with a YouTube video like this: http://youtu.be/-C5o-_JhYJk – If you can add the words too that would be good.

Before playing this video point out that God forgives the things we do wrong through Jesus.

Pray to finish