Sin's Trap

I had the kids watch this video prior to giving my message.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcSBO8YAnTQ

What is it that attracts a mouse to this mouse trap?  Is it the wood that was used in its construction?What causes a mouse to come to this trap?  It's the bait in this case cheese.

If the mouse knew that by eating the cheese he would die do you think he would have gone anywhere near the trap?

What is it that attracts a mouse to this mouse trap?  Is it the wood that was used in its construction?  Of course not.  It's the cheese or bait that is used to get the mouse to come into the trap.  If the mouse knew that by eating the cheese he would die do you think the mouse would have still tried to eat the cheese?

Imagine this scenario.  Momma Mouse is getting ready to leave the nest.  Before she leaves she warns the little mice not to go too far from the nest.  She warns them about cats and then says, "but above all else.  Do not eat the cheese on the flat box.  Your uncle Nevil when he tried to eat the cheese.

With those last words Momma mouse left the nest and headed out to scavenge for food.  Meanwhile the kids all head out to play.  But one little mouse who was very curious couldn't stop thinking about the cheese.  Surely it wouldn't hurt just to go and take a look at the cheese.

So the little mouse trotted down the hall to where momma had told him he should never go.  There it was.  He had never seen so much cheese in one place before.  Think about how good that would taste.  The cheese didn't look that dangerous.  What was momma talking about?  It looked perfectly safe to the little mouse.

As he continued to stare at the cheese his mouth began to water.  Hmm.  If only I got a little closer and just smelled the aroma, surely that won't hurt me.  So the little mouse came closer to the cheese.  His little taste buds quivered with excitement as he began to smell the delicious aroma of cheddar.  My favorite, he thought to himself.

Now that he was close he could see the cheese looked perfectly safe.  Surely his mother was very wrong about this cheese.  It looked perfectly fine.  It smelled delicious.  Not like the stale stuff his momma sometimes brought back home from her foraging trips.

I've got to take just a small nibble, the mouse said to himself.  Momma will never know.

That was the last thought the little mouse ever had.

You see this cheese is a representation of sin.

When do you think the mouse first started to lose the battle with temptation?  It was when he chose to disobey his mother and go and look at the cheese.  There were many opportunities to flee from this temptation bu t as he continued to entertain the thoughts of eating that delicious chunk of cheddar and got closer to the sin it became harder and harder to resist.