Year A. 4th Term. Lesson 4. The Bible says...Halloween says.

Scripture: for teacher background:  Luke 16:19-25; Gal 5:19-21; Deut 18:10,11; 2 Kings 9:22; Psalm 91:4,5; 1 John 1:5,6,7; 1 John 2:15; 1 John 4:1-6; James 4:4; 1 Thess 5:22; Deut 18:10-13; John 10:10

Making contact:

Parties where we dress up are really fun, although we don’t always know what we can go as and maybe we don’t have a costume.

There is one kind of party that we want to teach you about today which is not a good kind and we want to show you that it has an evil background. 

You will even have to turn down an invitation to attend one because you are a Christian.

 Exploration:

Jesus told the story of a rich man and a poor man who both died. The rich man went to hell and the poor man went to heaven. The rich man suffered agony and cried out for the poor man, Lazarus, to come and cool his burning tongue but there was no way that could happen. Then he begged that Lazarus go back to earth and warn his brothers about the terrible place called hell. But there was no way for the dead man to go back to earth.

This story teaches us such a lot, but it also shows us that dead people can’t come back to haunt anyone! 

The only thing bringing haunting is bad angels called demons. 

When we belong to Jesus, they run away from us at His name.

There used to be a Christian festival called “All Saints Day” in May long ago in the early church.

This was moved to the evening of the 31^st October and renamed “All Hallows’ Eve. 

The name Halloween comes from this. It was started as a HOLY EVENING in remembrance of all the people who had died and suffered because they were faithful Christians. 

The church put it in October to try and have a godly festival instead of the Witches New Year that happens at this time of year.

What has happened is that the church hasn’t kept up its holy Evening and many Christians are just joining in the parties and activities of the Unholy Halloween – the Witches New Year.

There was a belief that the dead came back on this night to move among the living and with demons; witches and hobgoblins came to worry people. 

People made huge bonfires to ward off the evil and they thought if they left bowls of fruit and other treats for the ghosts and witches to have then they wouldn’t worry them.

 This was how “trick or treat” started. 

If you go around doing this, you are actually taking part in that ancient superstition and that is wrong for Christians to do. It isn’t just about the sweets.

We see many pumpkins at this time and these are carved into Jack-O-lantern smiling, mocking faces sometimes with a light inside. 

It is a face mocking at the fate of its victims. It also means that the people living in that house are sympathetic to the evil spirits and hoped to receive mercy and favour from them. 

Have you noticed how ugly and scary Halloween costumes are - mostly something to do with violent death. People paint blood on themselves. How can this honour God?

How can this honour Jesus who shed His blood on the cross? It is actually mocking Him. 

So these activities are something Christians should never do. 

But we do not need to be afraid if people mock us and try and curse us because we refuse to play this game and celebrate this evil festival. Remember that the book of Revelations teaches us that God has victory over all forms of evil so we don’t need the mercy of evil spirits. 

 Application

If you go to a Halloween party, even for a few hours you are connecting to witchcraft and opening your life up to it. 

Some people shudder at the thought of Satanism, but think that Halloween parties are harmless.

Let’s think again and let’s keep away from all symbols of the darkness. 

Let’s have nothing to do with it and keep our eyes on Jesus. 

These are the things of the world that the Bible says we must keep away from. Our God is a jealous God; He is not pleased if we worship Him at the same time as celebrating unrighteousness. 

Jesus shows us to celebrate life and He gives us life in all its fullness. Halloween is about death.

The other important thing is to remember that there is nothing to be afraid of. If you love Jesus, His power is far greater than Satan and his angels.

But if you tease and play around with the occult – there will be unpleasant consequences.

Challenge to Mission

 If there are Halloween parties and activities happening around you, you need to make a stand and not participate AT ALL. 

You could rather invite friends to your house where you do something wholesome and healthy and stay away from pagan, witch parties.

 Some churches hold a fun, godly event on that evening and this gives children a safe alternative. 

Consolidation

There is a worksheet giving Bible verses to show the warnings of witchcraft. The children must make a list of good party games that they can play at a party that has nothing to do with witches.

Memory Verse

“The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4