Armor of God: Shoes of the Gospel of Peace

5/1/2024

In Ephesians 6: 10-17, Paul tells the Ephesians that to be ready against Satan, we must put on the full armor of God. The third piece of armor is the shoes of the gospel of peace. What do you do when you have good news? You want to tell anyone who will listen! The word gospel means good news. It is the best news ever! As a people who were once separated from God, Jesus's sacrifice makes a way for us to be with God again! As Christians, we have to be ready to take the gospel to anyone who needs to hear it! Paul was an excellent example of someone who was ready to go and spread the gospel!

Today, we are going to remember a story in the Old Testament about Abraham. Jesus is actually the fulfillment of a promise made to Abraham. God also called Abraham to leave everything and travel to a new place. Abraham believed God and obeyed him. Abraham's faith is the basis of the gospel today!

Key Themes:
1. God wants me to go and share the gospel (or good news!)
2. I need to put on the shoes of the gospel of peace.
3. When we share the gospel, we are winning souls for the kingdom of God.

Memory Verse

Ephesians 6:11 ESV
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Songs

1,2,3 The Devil's After Me
Books of the New Testament
Be Careful Little Eyes
This Little Light of Mine
There is a Flag that Flies in the Castle of My Heart
I'm in the Lord's Army
My God is So Big
I Am A C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N
Saint's Medley

Story

Begin Class with Songs, Games, Table Activity, or Sharing Time

Open Class in Prayer

Introducing the Story Ideas
1. Shoe Soup
Have all the kids take off their shoes and place them in a pile on one side of the room. Have them all stand at the opposite side of the room. When you say go, the kids have to each choose one pair of shoes that does not belong to them, find the owner and put that person's shoes on their feet. First person to put on a pair of shoes and have their shoes on, wins!

2. Good News
Let each child share some good news from the week! SAY: That is all very good news! Do you know what the best news anyone could ever hear? It is the news that Jesus Christ came and died for our sins so that we can go to heaven and live with God forever! That good news is also called the gospel!

For older kids: Is that good news easy or hard to share? Why are we sometimes afraid to tell people about Jesus?

3. Walk the Line from kidminmama.com
Activity instructions: Blue line taped on the floor, get 2 or 3 kids to walk the line in their own shoes. Then make them wear another pair of shoes (heels, shoes that are too big, and shoes that are too small).
SAY: I want to do a little exercise with you this morning. I need a couple of volunteers to help me out. First, I want you all to walk down this blue line, staying on the line as best as possible. (after they complete the first walk, have them take off their shoes) Now, I want you to walk down the blue line wearing these shoes. (kids should have a hard time with this)... read more here

Story: If you were a soldier in an army, would you want to be in a large army or a small army? Most people would want to be in a large army. As Christians, in our battle against Satan, we know there is power in numbers! The more people that know and love God, the better our world will be! Also, God wants every single person in heaven with him! It is up to us to help him share the good news of Jesus and heaven!

To do that, we need to be ready to go! We have already talked about Paul and how he was willing to travel all over the world to share the good news. However, in the Old Testament, another man was willing to GO when God said to go!

In fact, Abraham, a man of faith and obedience, is the family God would use for his special salvation plan!

SHOW the story of Abraham's Promise or read Genesis 12:1-7, 15:1-6 in the Bible.

EMPHASIZE that:

Abraham showed courage and faith by obeying God and going where God said to go.
Paul's showed the Ephesians that they must be ready to go and share the gospel of peace.
God is powerful and equips us to face anything the devil throws at us.