Armor of God-Stand Firm

Armor of God-Stand Firm -Ephesians 6:18-20 -Lesson 7

HOOK
Have the children get in pairs (girls with girls and boys with boys, if possible).  Have the partners face each other, extend their arms and join hands as if they were going to form a bridge.  Tell partners to lean toward each other and to balance by pushing against the hands of their partner.  Have children take one or two steps away from each other while still leaning in, to see if they can still stand by holding each other up.  We will talk about how our friends can help us stand firm when we use our Armor of God.

BOOK
For the past 6 weeks, we have been talking about the Armor of God.

This is the special weapons and tools that God has given every Christian to make them strong.  Who can remember them?  Take time and let the children tell you each piece and what it was used for.   We have to remember to put these on everyday, so that we can be prepared to fight against our enemy, Satan.  How do we put on the Belt of Truth?  We learn about what God says in the Bible and don’t believe the lies of the world.  What do we use the Breastplate of Righteousness for?  To shield our hearts so that we remember that we are right with God if we’ve asked Him to forgive our sins.  Our Gospel Shoes help us spread the good news about God’s love and peace as we tell people that Jesus came to die on the cross for their sin.  How would you use the Shield of Faith?  We remember all the ways that God has been faithful to us and we trust in His Word and that He will help us.  Do you really put on a hat when you put on the Helmet of Salvation?  No, but we can pretend we have a special helmet that God gave us to help us keep bad thoughts out and put good thoughts in.  If we keep our minds on God, we will be strong to say “no” to sin and stay close to God.  The Sword of the Spirit helps us attack Satan with God’s powerful Word.  The Bible is all true and everything God says, He will do.  We don’t ever have to be afraid that God will leave us or that He will hurt us.  He loves us SO MUCH!!!  Another very special tool we have is the Power of Prayer.  That is the “secret weapon” of the Christian.  We can talk to God anytime and anywhere about anything and God hears what we say.  God answers our prayers: sometimes He says, “Yes”, sometimes He says, “No”, and sometimes He says, “Wait”.  Those are all good answers to protect us and provide for us.  We have all these powerful tools to be thankful for.

Memory Verse: “Stand firm.  Let nothing move you.”  1 Cor. 15:58a

LOOK
Even though a soldier has all of these powerful weapons to fight in the battle, does he go into battle all alone?  No!  We don’t have to fight Satan or the world all by ourselves, either.  We have other Christian friends and teachers and hopefully our Mom and Dad to help us.  We can encourage one another by reminding each other of God’s Word.  We can pray with each other and for each other.  Remember the activity we did at the beginning of the lesson?  When we leaned against our partner, we were able to hold each other up, even when we took a few steps back.  If you leaned like that by yourself, you’d fall on your face.  It’s the same way in the Christian life.  When you are trying to do things that make God happy, sometimes you forget or get weak and give into things that are not good because we don’t remember to put our armor on.  A good Christian friend can help us be strong by reminding us of God’s Word, and by praying for us and with us.

The Bible says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”  Ecc.4:9-10  Our Christian

friends are another special gift God has given us to help us be strong in the Lord!

TOOK
Think of a good Christian friend (maybe a teenager at church or a parent or teacher) that would be someone who will “hold you up” and help you to be strong.  It might not be your best friend at school or someone you play with all the time.  Think of someone who loves Jesus with all their heart and helps you to love Him, too.  Ask this person if they will pray for you and even with you and remind you of when you need to put on the different pieces of the armor of God to be strong in the Lord and stay close to God.

Closing Prayer: God, we love you and we know you love us. Thank you for giving us protection to fight the enemy and the world.  Thank you for giving us strong Christian friends that can help us stand firm and be strong in you.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Snack

Craft- Decorate a card that has a letter already written in it asking a special person to be the child’s partner to help them stand firm as a Christian.  Help each child write the person’s name at the top and sign their own name.

Dear ________________,

We have been learning about the Armor of God in our Kingdom Kids Class at church.  We also learned that God gives us special people to help us be strong in the Lord and remind us of God’s Word.  Will you pray for me and help me stand firm in the faith?  You are someone who is special in my life and helps me to see Jesus.

Thank you for being an example to me and for praying for me and with me.

Love,

______________________-