Jesus’ Temptation – Alone in the Desert?

Cooking Workshop ~ Baking Tempting Treats

Summary:

Students will view the story and then bake "tempting treats" as part of their exploration of Luke 4:1-11, its vocabulary, setting, and meaning for us today.

This lesson includes a fascinating step in the baking process that creates a number of BITTER TASTING look-a-like cookies to help make a point about temptation that "looks good" but leaves a bitter taste in your mouth.

Scripture:

Luke 4:1-11 The story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. Both video clips follow this scripture closely.

Recipe:

This lesson uses a popular recipe featuring everybody's favorite peanut butter and chocolate candy pressed into cookie dough after it has baked. There are many versions of it online and in cookbooks. This one's ingredients come from All Recipes. We've chosen this  not only for its popularity and short baking time, but for the visual metaphor it will provide in the lesson.   

In addition to the following treat and baking supplies, you will need a TV or computer connected to the internet to show one of the free videos. If you own a video that shows the "temptation" story, use that.

Temptation Treats Ingredients and Supply List:

• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 36 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, to be unwrapped after the cookies are baked.
• Non-stick metal or silicone mini muffin pan that can hold 18 or more treats.
• Mixing bowl(s), spoons
• Napkins
• Water and cups (to rinse after tasting the "look good taste bad" cookies.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

2. In a medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar, white sugar and butter. Stir in the peanut butter, then the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the peanut butter mixture until the dough comes together.

3. Shape into 1 inch balls and press them into the cups of an unprepared mini muffin pan.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven.

5. When done baking, take them out and immediately press the peanut butter cups into the center of almost every cookie. See the lesson plan notes below about putting baking soda under SOME of the cups!

   Yields approximately 36 treats.
   For a shorter class-time with less mixing, use premade peanut butter cookie dough.

Lesson Plan

Overview:

1. Opening
2. Questions and Video
3. Baking
4. Pressing the cookies, adding baking soda to some!
5. Talking and testing your temptation cookie
6. Closing

Opening:

Welcome the children and share what they'll be doing and learning today.

Ask these two questions and then introduce this video clip of the Jesus in the Wilderness story. After the video, you'll jump into the mixing and baking and pick up the discussion during baking time.

1. What does it mean to be "tempted"?  It is the desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise. This desire can come from within, or come from another person.
2. What's a "wilderness"? - a place where there are no people around. Could be a desert or forest or hills. (Show a picture of the wilderness area Jesus likely retreated to.)
3. Why do many people like to go to wilderness areas?
4. Why do you think Jesus went into the wilderness just before he started gathering disciples and beginning his teaching ministry? HOLD ONTO YOUR ANSWERS!!  It was like a test -- to see whether he was ready to become the Messiah and resist the temptations to power and fame that he couldn't have given into.)

Let's see the story...

Use this one for younger children:

Use this more realistic and dramatic one from 2014's "The Bible"

So returning to our question:

Why do you think Jesus went into the wilderness just before he started gathering disciples and beginning his teaching ministry?

One possible answer: It was like a test -- a test Jesus himself started to see whether he was ready to become the Messiah God wanted him to be and resist the temptations to power and fame that he would soon be faced with.

Do you think Jesus will face more temptations? Yes, probably! Like make the temptations to make the Pharisees MUTE or stopping his crucifixion. But Jesus always did what God wanted. Jesus chose to follow God's word and ways -- which are to seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly (Micah 6:8)

Being tempted is part of what it means to be a human. Making GOOD choices is part of what it means to follow Jesus. Confessing our sins when we don't is how we follow too!

It's Baking Time!

1. Wash Hands
2. Prepare Cookie Dough
3. Press Dough Into Pans
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes

While Your Temptation Treats are Baking...

Read Luke 4:1-11 together from your classroom Bibles, or use a storybook.

Discussion:

1. What does it mean to "fast" - to go without food which can produce a clarity of mind and spirit. Fasting often takes place during the daylight hours, with a meal in the evening. When you go to sleep you don't eat, and the morning you "break fast."
2. What or who is "the Devil"?   Also known in some Bibles as "Satan," the Devil was thought to be an evil spirit that made people do bad things. Many Christians no longer believe that the Devil is a person or individual spirit. Rather, some believe that the Devil is a quick way of talking about the tempting decisions all of us face in our lives -- to do good, or do bad, to be selfish or unselfish, to follow our own desire or do what God wants us to do. The "Devil" is that strong urge we struggle with to hit someone who has hit us, to take an extra cookie, to put ourselves first.
3. What are kids tempted with?
4. What are adults tempted with?
5. How did Jesus RESIST temptation?   Note how JESUS resisted, by knowing God's word and reminding himself of it.

Press the Peanut Butter Cups into the Baked Cookies

Be careful not to touch the pan, it will be hot!

As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, press a mini chocolate covered peanut butter cup down into the center of most of the cookies until only the chocolate top is showing.

However, have the teacher carefully put a 1/4 teaspoon of BAKING SODA in the bottom of 6 of the cookie cups before pressing the peanut butter cup in them. Create as many of these "look good, taste bad cookies) as you have students and teachers.  Be sure to note or mark which cookies have the baking soda hanging in them!

Allow the cookies to cool for 5 or more minutes before removing from their pans.

While your Temptation Treats are Cooling...

Say: While our treats are cooling, let's talk a little more about temptation by taking a close look at the cookies we made with the baking soda hidden beneath the candy.

Do you think that baking soda is going to taste good?

Why do you think we hid baking soda in some of our tasty treats?
Can you tell the difference between the "good" cookies" and the ones with baking soda hidden in them?  (You shouldn't be able to tell until you bite into the cookie.)

Part of being tempted or giving into temptation is when we convince ourselves it will "be okay" and there's nothing wrong with certain choices/decision. We say things like, no one will see, or it doesn't really matter.

To illustrate/demonstrate the idea that temptation OFTEN LOOK GOOD on the outside, but "taste" bad when you bite into them, we're going to play a bit of a game with our peanut butter cookie temptations.

I'm going to mix the ones we put baking soda in with some of the "good" ones. Then each of you gets to choose a cookie to take a bite out of. Hopefully you choose CORRECTLY!

Do the taste test. Have water ready. Do it until all the "baking soda" cookies have been found.

Closing:

Sometimes, the thing we are being tempted with feels or tastes really good, but it's still the wrong thing or a bad thing. For example:

• Wanting to look cool to your friends so you bully someone they like to bully.
• Yelling at someone because you're angry at them can momentarily make you feel better, but long-term it hurts both them AND you.
• Being tempted to take money that is not yours.

Jesus turned to God's word and was himself an example for how to act in all situations, especially when we are tempted to do the wrong thing. And the answer is to simply ask, "What Would Jesus Do?"

Let's close with a prayer asking God to give us the strength and wisdom to make good choices just like Jesus did.