Welly Church Kids Lessons

Kids · 4-8 · Lesson 3

People Disobey God

Genesis 3:1-13; Genesis 2:15-17

Human disobedience damaged the good relationship God intended.

Teach the lesson

Goal: Children retell the first disobedience and explain that mistrusting God damaged a good relationship.

Pick how long you want to teach. The plan updates to fit.

Short · 25 minutes
  1. 3 min
    Connect

    Use the opening prompt from the Teach Now card.

  2. 8 min
    Read

    Read Genesis 2:15-17 and 3:1-13, pausing after temptation, choice, hiding, and blame.

    Ask: What had God actually said before the serpent spoke?

  3. 5 min
    Understand

    Build a four-part sequence: God’s instruction, the serpent’s challenge, human choice, and damaged relationship.

    Ask: What choice did the humans make? · What changed immediately after the choice?

  4. 6 min
    Do

    Complete the Choice, Action, Consequence Sort activity.

    Activity: Choice, Action, Consequence Sort

    Printable: K1-L03-P01-choice-action-consequence

  5. 3 min
    Respond

    Repeat the take-home line and close in prayer.

    Ask: What is a truthful response when we do wrong?

Standard · 35 minutes

  1. 4 min
    Connect

    Use the opening prompt and invite two or three brief responses.

  2. 4 min
    Context

    Introduce the passage setting, speaker or main characters, and genre in age-appropriate language.

  3. 8 min
    Read and observe

    Read Genesis 2:15-17 and 3:1-13, pausing after temptation, choice, hiding, and blame.

    Ask: What had God actually said before the serpent spoke? · What choice did the humans make?

  4. 7 min
    Discuss

    Build a four-part sequence: God’s instruction, the serpent’s challenge, human choice, and damaged relationship.

    Ask: What changed immediately after the choice? · What is a truthful response when we do wrong?

  5. 8 min
    Activity

    Complete the Choice, Action, Consequence Sort activity and review what it demonstrates.

    Activity: Choice, Action, Consequence Sort

    Printable: K1-L03-P01-choice-action-consequence

  6. 4 min
    Respond

    Review the objective, repeat the take-home line, and pray.

Extended · 45 minutes
  1. 4 min
    Connect

    Use the opening prompt and identify the question the lesson will answer.

  2. 6 min
    Context

    Locate the passage in the whole-Bible story and explain its literary setting.

  3. 9 min
    Read closely

    Read Genesis 2:15-17 and 3:1-13, pausing after temptation, choice, hiding, and blame.

    Ask: What had God actually said before the serpent spoke? · What choice did the humans make?

  4. 8 min
    Interpret

    Build a four-part sequence: God’s instruction, the serpent’s challenge, human choice, and damaged relationship.

    Ask: What changed immediately after the choice? · What is a truthful response when we do wrong?

  5. 7 min
    Activity one

    Complete the Choice, Action, Consequence Sort activity.

    Activity: Choice, Action, Consequence Sort

    Printable: K1-L03-P01-choice-action-consequence

  6. 7 min
    Activity two

    Complete the Truth Instead of Blame activity and compare the results.

    Activity: Truth Instead of Blame

  7. 4 min
    Respond and assess

    Use one quiz item orally, repeat the take-home line, and pray.

Close the class

Memory verse: Genesis 3:9

Prayer: Ask for trust, truthfulness, and courage to turn back when wrong.

Take-home line: God’s way is good; when we do wrong, we tell the truth and turn back.

More help: full script, questions, and printables

A word-for-word way to run the lesson, plus every question, activity, and printable.

Teach now

Children retell the first disobedience and explain that mistrusting God damaged a good relationship.

Read
Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-13
Opening
Ask: What is the difference between making a mistake and choosing to ignore a clear instruction?
Say
  • God had given one clear instruction.
  • The serpent tried to make God seem untrustworthy.
  • The people chose their own way and then hid and blamed.
  • When we do wrong, God wants truth rather than hiding or blame.
Ask
  • What instruction had God given?
  • What did the serpent say about God’s words?
  • What happened after the people ate?
  • What can we do instead of hiding or blaming?
Do
Use the Choice, Action, Consequence Cards to retell the story in order.
Close
Pray: God, help us trust Your words, tell the truth, and turn back when we do wrong.
Materials
  • Bible
  • Choice, Action, Consequence Cards or four blank sheets

Discussion questions

  • What had God actually said before the serpent spoke?
    Simple answer: Find the instruction.
    Going deeper: Compare the command with the serpent’s version.
  • What choice did the humans make?
    Simple answer: They ate what God forbade.
    Going deeper: Explain why temptation did not remove responsibility.
  • What changed immediately after the choice?
    Simple answer: Shame, fear, hiding, blame.
    Going deeper: Separate explicit consequences from later synthesis.
  • What is a truthful response when we do wrong?
    Simple answer: Tell the truth and ask forgiveness.
    Going deeper: Explain why responsibility differs from shame-based self-condemnation.

Activities

Choice, Action, Consequence Sort · 8 min

Materials: Four story cards; Floor or table space

  1. Place God’s instruction first.
  2. Add the serpent’s challenge.
  3. Add the human choice.
  4. Add hiding and blame; retell the sequence.

Low-resource option: Write four headings on the board and let children point.

Truth Instead of Blame · 8 min

Materials: Simple scenario cards

  1. Read a low-stakes scenario.
  2. Identify hiding or blame.
  3. Practise a truthful sentence.
  4. Name one repairing action.

Low-resource option: Use one fictional scenario verbally.

Printables

Prepare before class (optional, about 25 minutes)

Passage context

Genesis 3 follows a good creation and a clear boundary in Genesis 2. The narrative describes temptation, human choice, shame, fear, hiding, and blame.

  • The serpent reframes God’s command and questions its truthfulness.
  • The woman and man both participate in the disobedience.
  • God questions the humans, and each response shifts responsibility.
  • Keep the focus on mistrust and disobedience, not on identifying the fruit.
  • Do not make Eve the sole cause; the text holds both humans accountable.
  • For younger children, use “choosing against God’s good instruction” before technical theories of sin.

Keep it faithful

  • Do not teach that every hardship is direct punishment for a child’s particular sin.
  • Do not ask children to disclose private wrongdoing publicly.
  • Do not present God as unable or unwilling to seek people who hide.

Questions children may ask

What kind of fruit was it?
Does God stop loving people when they do wrong?

Every child can join in

  • Show the sequence visually.
  • Allow pointing, drawing, or one-word responses.
  • Give one direction at a time.
  • Participation must not require loud noise, touch, or public performance.
  • Read all Scripture aloud.
  • Use pictures, objects, or gesture-supported retelling.
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