Temptation

You will need:  a bowl for sweets (small); smarties; printed out instructions; a big box of some sweets such as celebrations.

This assembly is very adaptable and can be used on any theme of temptation and/or sin, including garden of eden, Jesus in the wilderness etc..  You can also use this to talk about fairness and unfairness.

Print out the instructions onto a seperate ‘letter’ ready for a teacher to read.  It’s a good idea to prearrange your volunteer, but don’t tell them what they will be doing.

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Instructions

Hi!  Please read this message out loud to the whole school.

In your hand you have a whole tube’s worth of smarties.  I have no idea just how many smarties you have there, because I never counted them.

If you were to take one, and eat it, then I would never know.  Of course if you ate all of them, I would know.  But one?  Well I wouldn’t even know which colour you tasted!

The question really is, if you DO eat one of the smarties, what would happen?

What does everyone else think?

In groups or with the person next to you, for the next two minutes, talk about whether or not you should eat one of the smarties, the reasons for or against.  Then get them to tell you what they think. You should do and why.

Then take a vote.  Hands up, those who think you should eat a smartie, and those who think you shouldn’t.

You must do what the majority think. (make sure you tell everyone this!)

See you in a few minutes

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In front of the school, invite a very trustworthy pupil or teacher (most likely) to come to the front.  Give them the bowl and empty the smarties into it.  Then, just as an aside but make sure the whole school can hear, tell the volunteer not to steal the smarties (check they really like smarties too!)

Then give them their ‘letter’ and tell them that you are popping outside for a few minutes but will be back when they have finished.  Ask them to read out and follow the instructions.

Leave the to it, but keep an ear out so that you know where they are up to in the discussion.  Go back into the room once it has all finished.

Find out what the result has been, whether the teacher ate a sweet or not.  Give them an applause etc..  Tell the assembly that this is what temptation is all about, and that they may have thought that they were safe, and it was funny.  But first, tell them a couple of stories about temptation.

Firstly, a summary of the garden of Eden and the temptation of Adam and Eve.  End the story that although God wanted to give them the good things, he no longer could because of the decision that he had made.  If you then can, tell them a story of when you were tempted to do something wrong when you were little and gave in (the more it relates to the kids the better, for example I sprinkled soil on some wet paint when I was told not to.).

Finally, inform the children that the instruction you had given the teacher was very simple – don’t take a sweet.  Say that you planned on giving everyone a chocolate – everyone could share something good (show the box of celebrations.)  as long as they didn’t choose to eat the sweet.  However, because they disobeyed the rules, no one gets one.  There will be groans.

If only they hadn’t given in to temptation – this is why Jesus taught us to say ‘lead us not into temptation’.  Which means, when we are tempted, help us to resist and be strong.

Finish with a prayer.