Armor of God: Part 1

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this lesson is to introduce fourth graders to the concept of spiritual warfare and the weapons that we need and God provides for this warfare, as well as to help the fourth graders understand that sound faith is a protection against the enemy's darts.

This week will focus on Belt of Truth, Helmet of Salvation, and the Shield of Faith.

INTRODUCTION - 10 Minutes

Ask the students "What did a soldier in the Roman army wear to prepare for warfare?"

  • Servants can use pictures of Roman soldiers to introduce the various components. (See example in Appendix below
  • Point out the soldier's helmet, belt and shield

We too are soldiers in the army of God. Ask the students the following:

  • Who do we have to fight, and what things does he fight us with?
    • Examples: Satan fights us with doubt, fear---he plants lies
  • What weapons do we have to fight him?
  • How do we secure all the weapons around us?
    • Gird your waist with the truth (Eph 6:14 "Stand therefore having girded your waist with truth")
    • First we have to stand---being serious and ready to dress up in the armor
  • What is truth?
    • "Sanctify them by Your truth, Your word is truth" John 17:7
    • The truth is the Word of God
      • Also honesty, resisting gossip, lying, covering up mistakes, avoiding hypocrisy
  • What is the "Helmet of Salvation" Ephesians 6:17
    • It's job: Protects our head
    • The devil always puts doubts in our hearts, fears, too much guilt---lies
    • "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" James 4:7
    • We have to trust in God's love, grace, forgiveness, help in our struggles with peer pressure, bullies, hard circumstances in life
  • Why do we need a shield, like the soldier?
    • The enemy will throw many darts at us to try to defeat us and harm us spiritually.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 10 Minutes

Read Ephesians 6:11-18

Memory Verse - "Put on the whole armor of God, That you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." Ephesians 6:11

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 10 Minutes

Let's look at examples from the Bible:

  • Adam and Eve
    • They believed the lie Satan told them. What was the outcome? Genesis 3: 1-19
  • Joseph
    • He still trusted God despite the tribulation and resisted sin. He trusted that God was with him and watching him
  • Elisha and the army of God
    • 2 Kings 6: 8-17 "Those who are with us are more than those who are against us."

The devil also puts doubts in our hearts and shakes us if we don't have faith and don't understand our faith.

  • The arrows can also hit any area of weakness or sin in our lives
  • The shield is not like the other pieces because it can move around to cover any exposed (source of weakness) in our lives.

What is faith?

  • Trusting in God
  • Our Faith comes from the Bible, Fathers, canons, liturgical prayers, hymns, icons
  • Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"

The Orthodox creed summarizes what we believe as a Church. Many people known as heretics tried to spread false teachings that did not reflect our faith. The church fathers with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, wrote the creed to help us learn exactly what our faith is. This is why it is important for us to memorize the creed and know what we believe

  • 2 Thessalonians 2:15: "Therefore brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught whether by word or our epistle"

In Matthew 17:20, Jesus tells us to have "Faith as a mustard seed." A mustard seed is small, but is extremely hard and difficult to be broken. God wants our faith, no matter how small it may be, to be unbreakable.

Let's look at more examples of faith from the Bible and saints

  • Hebrews 11
  • Abraham and Sarah
  • Noah
  • Three Holy Youth
  • Saint Simeon the Shoemaker and moving the mountain.
  • Saint Athanasius

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

The Belt of Truth is God's word -AKA the BIBLE How secure is our belt?

  • This week, think of 1 example where the devil lies to us in our daily life and what the truth is to fight those lies. Next, find 1 verse about God's love and salvation. Bring examples to class the following week.
  • Resist temptation to lie, gossip, exaggerate or cover a mistake or act against your values/faith to fit in.
  • Let's pray for God to open our eyes like he opened the eyes of Elisha's servant to see God's help and to put on the belt of truth and helmet of salvation every day.

Our trust in God in every situation and knowing our faith is a shield for us.

  • This week, let's review the stories of the faithful people in Hebrews 11 and think of examples in our lives of how when we trusted in God he came through.
  • Try to pray first and put something you are worried about and trust that God will take care of it when you pray to Him about it.
  • Let's pray for God to give us faith like a mustard seed and trust in Him even if things are going wrong so long as we pray and put it all in His hands.

ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes

  • Craft: Making the Belt of Truth and Shields of Faith (paper plates, or cardboard)
  • Shield game
    • Give some students paper plates of different sizes and some students without. Have one person throw crumpled paper balls at them and if the ball hits them they are out.
    • Talk about how the shields represent faith, and the paper balls represent temptation from the devil. The more faith we have and the more we know our faith the more protected we are.
  • Youtube videos:

SERVANT RESOURCES

"A Kids Guide to the Armor of God" by Tony Evans for Kids

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

During this week, talk with your child about the answers that we have in God's word as the only source of truth. Share with your child examples of spiritual warfare and examples where you were successful by God's power to overcome the devil---simple examples like doing the cross when someone made you angry or resisting gossip etc. Discuss examples from the Bible about God's protection, love and saving us from problems when we stick to Him and His word.

Share with your child examples of how you trusted that God would help you in a situation even though it did not make sense otherwise in a worldly manner and he helped you.

  • Ex: Being rewarded by God for being honest at work or trusting that God would help you when you pray even though you don't see him and experiencing His blessings

APPENDIX