Paul's Letters: The Armor of God

8/26/2024

When Paul's ship finally arrived in Rome, Paul found himself placed under arrest of the Roman government. As he awaited his trial, he used his time to write letters to the churches he had visited to teach and encourage them.

Many of those letters can now be found as books of the Bible. The letter he sent to the church in Ephesus is what we call the book of Ephesians.

In Ephesians, we find the description of the Armor of God. Paul, probably inspired by the Roman guards who stood watch over him, used this to illustrate how we should prepare to battle the spiritual forces of darkness.

Key Themes:
1. God's power is stronger than the devil's power.
2. When I put on the armor of God, I am equipped to face any trial that may come.
3. There are two kingdoms-God's and Satan's. We should choose to stand for God's kingdom.

Memory Verse

22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.
I Corinthians 9:22

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. Dodgeball (with shields)
In this version of dodgeball, we add shields which children can use to guard themselves. If the ball hits the shield they are not out. If time allows, play a version with and without a shield. Show how it is easier to avoid being hit with the shield. Reflect on the Shield of Faith. (from Truewaykids.org)

2. Orange Your Glad You Have God's Armor
Supplies: Clementine Oranges (some peeled; some with peels on), Bowls or containers of water
Demonstrate how a peeled orange will sink but an orange with the peel still on will float. In life, if we have God's protection, he will not let us sink! In today's story, Paul was protected by God's power and he was able to face lots of angry people who were against him and against teaching about the true God. Paul knew he had God's protection and he was not afraid. (See this demonstration of the experiment.)

3. I'm in the Lords Army Song
Sing “I’m in the Lord’s Army” with the children. “Who wants to explain what that song means? Are you really in an army? What does it mean to be in the Lord’s army? When a soldier in an army goes into battle he fights an enemy. Who do you think is the enemy of the Christian? That’s right; Satan—or sometimes he is called the Devil. He is our enemy because he wants us to do bad things and make God unhappy. He doesn’t even want us to be with God forever! When a soldier goes to battle he wears special gear (show some if you are able to obtain army gear). The gear that a soldier used to wear in the time that our New Testaments were written was called armor. Armor helped soldiers win battles. Do you think a regular soldier’s armor would help fight Satan? No, Satan is an invisible enemy. To fight Satan, a person has to be in God’s special kind of army and be God’s soldier. God’s soldier wears special kind of armor.” (From MissionBibleClass.org)

Story: When Paul finally made it to Rome, he found himself in chains. However, even though Caesar kept Paul in prison, he could not stop Paul from teaching others about Jesus. Through his letters, Paul ministered to the new Christians and his words still teach and encourage us today.

SHOW the story The Armor of God or read Ephesians 6:10-18 in the Bible. For older children, you may want to share more about what happened to Paul between the shipwreck and prison. You can find that information here.
EMPHASIZE that: