We’ll be talking about Satan. And I’m sure you must have questions, like is Satan real? One of my questions is…
Write a question about Satan on the board.
Say: Now it’s your turn. What are your questions about Satan? Tell me and I’ll write them, or feel free to come up and write your question yourself.
Gather kids’ questions on the board. Have enough markers so preteens can write their own questions.
Say: Thanks for sharing your questions. I’m glad we’re all in this together! Today let’s look at one question in particular: Is Satan real? And if he is, what does that mean for us?
Teacher Tip: Is Satan Real?
Some Christians don’t believe that Satan is real. They believe he is just a symbol of evil. However, in this lesson we’ll be taking the stance that Satan is real and active in our world.
Discuss Satan
Say: The subject of Satan and is Satan real is kind of creepy and maybe even scary. But I want to tell you something upfront—and this is important. So please listen. God is all-powerful. More powerful than anything else! And God is on our side. So we don’t have to be afraid of Satan. But we do need to be aware, because like our hidden pictures, things aren’t always what they seem.
The best thing to do is turn to our ultimate source of truth—God’s Word! Good idea? Let’s see what the Bible says about Satan and is Satan real.
Question of the Week: Is Satan Real?
You’ll need:
- Bibles
- page 33 from the Bold Action Student Book (1 copy per person)
- poster board
- markers
- paper
- pencils
Have preteens form trios. Distribute page 33 from the Bold Action Student Book to each person.
Who Is Satan?
Say: In your trio, you’ll be reading a few passages that will give us clues about who Satan is.
Let me give you a little background for the first passage. Jesus had sent out his disciples to teach people about God. Let’s see what they said when they reported back to Jesus. Choose someone in your trio to read aloud passage 1. Allow time.
Ask:
- What clues does this passage give us about Satan? Let kids call out answers.
Say: Well, from this passage we learned that Satan used to be in heaven, because Jesus saw him fall from heaven. And we saw that Jesus’ name is more powerful than demons.
Let’s see what other clues we can find. Have another person in your group read aloud passage 2. This verse doesn’t mention Satan by name, but refers to him by nicknames, including “shining star” and “son of the morning.” Allow time.
Ask:
- What more can we learn about Satan from this passage? Let kids call out answers.
Say: Again, we see that Satan was thrown down from heaven. But this time we find out why! Satan tried to set himself up as higher than God. He didn’t want to worship God—he wanted to be God! But God is all-powerful, and he wasn’t about to put up with Satan. When Satan tried to place himself higher than God, he was thrown out of heaven.
Let’s look at one more passage. Have the next person in your group read aloud passage 3. Allow time.
Ask:
- What do you take away from this passage? Let kids call out answers.
Say: Yup, Satan is a liar. In fact, he’s the father of lies! That’s how he operates.
Discuss Satan’s Tricks
Ask:
- Why do you think people believe Satan’s lies?
Say: Satan is a liar—a very sneaky liar. He makes doing wrong things sound so innocent, so easy. He can even make doing wrong sound right! But there are ways to keep from being tricked by Satan.
When Satan tried to trick Jesus, Jesus used Scripture to stay true to God. We can do the same thing. God is all-powerful, and we can use his Word to stand up to Satan.
But we do have to be on guard. Satan can make his temptations sound reasonable and good. Let’s play a game that can help explain what I mean. In this game, listen for who’s telling you the truth or leading you off course.
Game: Hot or Cold?
You’ll need:
- item to hide
Say: Let’s play a game of Hot or Cold? One person is It. Then It tries to find an object by listening to everyone else yell hot or cold. “Hot” means It is getting closer to the object, and “cold” means the opposite.
