The Battle Within

Series Summary
Each one of us faces a battle within, a battle that may go unseen by those around us, but inside there is a major brawl. It's a battle with temptation. And depending on the temptation and its hold on your life, it may be a battle that seems impossible to win. In this teaching series, we will be taking a look at the temptations that Jesus faced in the desert, and identifying the driving forces behind the temptations we all face everyday. Because once you realize what the pull is behind the temptation, you can find the confidence to follow Jesus' example and respond as He did.
(Be sure to use the parent cues each week, found at the bottom of each of these session introductions, to create opportunities for your family to grow in your faith together!)

Session One: The Main Event- January 9
Matthew 3:16-4:1
Bottom Line: In every single temptation that you face, there is always more at risk than you think.
In the sport of boxing, the main event is the big fight, the moment where everything is on the line. But for most of us, we are oblivious to the truth that in every temptation we face, there's alot at stake as well. When face to face with temptation, the choice feels insignificant sometimes. There are times when it feels like no one will notice, or it's not really a big deal. But in looking at the temptations that Jesus faced, we realize just how much is at stake- not only His life, with the temptations that were before Him- but in our lives as well, with the ones we face everyday.

Parent Cue: When you are tempted to do something, what feels like it's at stake in that moment? What is really at stake?

Session Two: In This Corner- January 23
Matthew 4:1-4
Bottom Line: Every time you're tempted, your confidence in God is at stake, not just your self-control.
When facing temptation, it seems like it's always about the choice, the decision, the temptation. But it's always about more than that. It's not just your reputation or your innocence that's at stake- it's your confidence in God. The lure of temptation makes us question whether we can really trust God to come through for us, to be there for us, to provide for us. We begin to think He's not in our corner, that He's not looking out for us. But what if we began to see Him there? What if we realized that whatever is luring us away really has nothing to do with what we think it's about, and there's a deeper issue, a trust issue, at work? It might completely weaken the pull of that temptation, and it might help us get to the heart of what really is going on.

Parent Cue: How can you see the relationship between your confidence in God and the pull of temptation in your life?

Session Three: Fixing the Fight- January 30
Matthew 4:5-7
Bottom Line: We are tempted to believe we know how God works and how we think we can work Him.
In the boxing world, sometimes things aren't always what they seem. Sometimes the winner is known before anyone walks into the ring. Sometimes the outcome is pre-determined by a person who has manipulated things behind the scene. Sometimes a fighter takes a dive. Sometimes a boxer throws the fight. And if each one of us were completely honest, sometimes we try to work things as well in our fight with temptation. And who or what we are minipulating isn't the temptation, it's God.

Parent Cue: Each of you write down a temptation. Then write down what makes it tempting as well as some of the options you have in the situation when presented with the temptation. Next, write down how in some ways you might fight the temptation or justify it.

Session Four: Hook and Jab- February 13
Matthew 4:8-11
Bottom Line: We are tempted to pursue the right thing the wrong way.
Temptation doesn't always have to be about doing something bad. In fact, sometimes it's not the end result that's not necessarily a bad thing, but how we plan to get there. It's the shortcut, the path, the compromise. And in this fight, this struggle with temptation, sometimes the punches we throw and the ones thrown at us are simply about pursuing the right things but in the wrong way.

Parent Cue: Have you ever done the right thing the wrong way? What happened?