by suzanne faust cover art by john cayetano...armor isn’t just for grown ups! a family devotional...

Armor isn’t just for Grown Ups!

A family devotional about

the Full Armor of God

by Suzanne Faust

cover art by John Cayetano

Dear Families,

I am so excited for you to start this journey of learning about the Full Armor of God as a family.

When I first wrote these lessons, I was the elementary Children’s Ministry Coordinator at my

church. So the children learned one lesson per week. As part of our unit on the Full Armor of

God, the children were encouraged to learn the full passage of scripture. Depending on the age of

your children, you can choose to have them memorize all or part of this passage. My children

were trying to earn a dog tag for learning the passage most appropriate for their age group. You

may just encourage your preschool children to learn the names of the armor.

First and Second Grade Version

“Therefore put on the Full Armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to

stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of

truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your

feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up

the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the

helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Ephesians 6:13-17

Third through Sixth Grade Version

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the Full Armor of God so that

you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and

blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full

armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and

after you have done everything to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around

your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the

readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,

with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of

salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all

occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on

praying for all the saints.”

Ephesians 6:10-18

For this unit, we had a set of armor that we used as a visual. You can order it from CBD for

about twenty dollars at this link: http://www.christianbook.com/christian-character-building-

costume-new-

edition/9834504047/pd/504047/1344344471?item_code=WW&netp_id=465476&event=PPCSR

C&view=details. (I don’t get a commission for this, it is just what we used) You can always

make your own armor, draw armor, or get pictures from the internet to show the children instead.

During several of the lessons, we made our own armor to take home. There are several pre-made

crafts available from websites like www.orientaltrading.com if you prefer that route.

http://www.christianbook.com/christian-character-building-costume-new-edition/9834504047/pd/504047/1344344471?item_code=WW&netp_id=465476&event=PPCSRC&view=details




http://www.orientaltrading.com/

There is a memory verse that goes with each lesson, as well as some wrap up questions and a

prayer. Scripture references are included. You can choose to look them up or just read the lesson

as is.

There isn’t a right or a wrong way to do this. Each family is different. You can choose to use

each lesson as a weeklong study, or you can do a new lesson every day. The most important

thing is that you are seeking the Lord as a family.

My prayer for you is that God would use this devotional to strengthen your family as a unit. That

you would grow closer to each other as you draw closer to the Lord. You may be surprised at the

things God will teach you when you are truly seeking Him.

Love Always,

Suzanne

Why do we need armor?

If you have armor (if not, skip to section titled “If you do not have armor”):

Have armor in a pile on the floor. What do you think all of this would be used for? Why would

someone wear armor? When they go into battle. Do you think that as a kid, you will have to go

to a war today? Actually, you might. But it’s not something to be scared of. Have a family

member wear the armor.

If you do not have armor:

Show your family a picture of someone wearing armor. Why would someone wear armor? When

they go into battle. Do you think that as a kid, you will have to go to a war today? Actually, you

might. But it’s not something to be scared of.

All families:

You might not have to fight anything physically today, but the Bible talks about fighting things

in the Spirit. There are two sides. You are either on God’s side or you’re not. Some of the things

you might have to do battle against:

1. Obeying your parents when they tell you to do something you don’t want to do,

even if they are not watching

2. Being kind to the kid in your class that no one likes

3. Choosing to do things God’s way

4. Some of you might even get to do battle with demons someday

But there are some things that can help you win this battle.

The Bible says in Ephesians 6:10-18:



blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the Full

Armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and








We are going to spend eight lessons learning about each piece of armor and how it can help us

fight for God. But I want you to notice something.

If you have armor (if not, skip to section titled “If you do not have armor”):

Divide everyone not wearing armor into two teams. Give each person a piece of paper and tell

them to make it into a paper ball.

Tell the first team to throw the balls at the family member wearing armor.

Then, tell the armor wearer to run away with their back facing the other team. Tell this team to

throw their balls.

If you do not have armor:

Re-examine your picture of someone wearing armor.

All families:

Where is all of our soldier’s armor? On the front side. So the armor works when you stand.

When you run away, are you protected? No.

Can you think of someone in the Bible who wasn’t afraid of battle? When David fought Goliath

(1 Samuel 17:1-54), he was a small guy. He was very young and he didn’t have any real armor

on. Goliath was huge and he was dressed like a soldier with armor. But David wasn’t scared

because he knew God was with him. We can be like David. We don’t really put on armor when

go places like to school or walking around our neighborhood. But we don’t ever have to be afraid

because we can take the spiritual armor that the Bible talks about with us everywhere we go.

So we’re going to spend the next seven lessons learning about this armor. You’re going to get to

practice memorizing this scripture about the Full Armor of God. (If you are going to have a prize

they can earn by memorizing the passage, tell them about it here). You can start small. This

week, you should memorize Ephesians 6:13. “Therefore put on the Full Armor of God, so that

when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done

everything to stand.”

Wrap Up Discussion Questions

Why do we need armor? How can this armor help us to live for God? Who are some people in

the Bible who weren’t afraid to do the right thing for God, even when it would have seemed

scary?

If time allows, you can act out the story of David and Goliath. Choose actors to be David, King

Saul, Goliath, the army of Israel, the Philistine army, and Jesse. Each family member can play a

part in this story. Read 1 Samuel 17:1-54 aloud and let them act out the story as you read it.

Prayer

Dear God,

Thank you that we never have to be afraid because You are always with us. Teach us to put on

the Full Armor of God so that we can live for You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Belt of Truth

If you have armor, a family member can wear it. Or, you can just choose to look at it. If you do

not have armor, show them a picture of what the Armor of God would look like. Ask children,

what is the Full Armor of God? Do you remember why it is important?













Does anybody know who wrote the book of Ephesians? Paul did. Do you know where he was

when he wrote it? He was in prison in Rome. Every day, he could see Roman Soldiers. When he

started describing their armor, he started with a belt. A belt doesn’t seem that important to me.

Why do you think he started with the belt? For the Roman soldiers, the belt was important. It

held their breastplate in place to keep their heart safe. It also held their sword. So without their

belt, they wouldn’t be protected and they wouldn’t be able to defend themselves with a sword!

But Paul doesn’t just say to put on a belt. He said to put on the belt of truth. What is truth? In the

Bible, Jesus says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father

except through me.” So Jesus is truth. It is true that Jesus is God’s son; that He came to earth and

lived like a normal man, full of the Holy Spirit, and He never messed up. He never sinned. It’s

also true, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, so that we can be friends with God.

Putting on the belt of truth means that we bring Jesus with us wherever we go. So if something

scares you, you can tell it to leave in Jesus’ name. Before Paul tells you to put on the belt of

truth, he tells you that your fight is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces of evil.

One of the biggest ways that the Devil does that is with lies. Do you know that he is called “the

father of lies” (John 8:44)? Do you know how Jesus beat Satan and his lies in the desert? With

scripture (Matthew 4:1-11), which is truth. We need to know what the word of God says and

what the truth is, so that we can fight the lies with truth.

For example, if the enemy tries to tell you that you aren’t good at anything, you can tell him to

back off. Because Jesus made you for a purpose (Jeremiah 29:11) and He gave you gifts and

talents to use for God. If the enemy tries to tell you that you are all alone and no one likes you,

you know that’s not true because Jesus loves you! The Bible even says, “The Lord your God is

with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His

love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). I don’t know about you, but I

think that’s pretty cool.

Wearing the belt of truth also means that we should tell the truth always. Do you think it is

always easy to tell the truth? No. There were people in the Bible who told the truth and were put

in jail or beat up or even killed. We need to tell the truth no matter what. This week at work, we

got a paper that told us how many days off we had earned. The person in charge made a mistake

and forgot to take my hours off for my vacation. So it said that I had way more days off than I

really should have. It would have been easy for me to just be quiet and then have more days off

for another vacation. But I didn’t. I put on my belt of truth and I went and told her that I had too

many days off. So she fixed it. Now, instead of having 8 days off, I only have 1 left (You can

insert a personal story here).

So this week, I want you to remember to put on your belt of truth. Your memory verse is

Ephesians 6:14, “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.”


What piece of armor did we learn about today? Who is truth? Jesus. How can we find the truth

about what Jesus says about us? By looking in the Bible.

Here are some truths you can learn to help you remember what God says about you. These are

six truths that I thought were important for the students in my church. Your family may wish to

choose different ones that are more relevant to you.

Show children where to find each verse in the Bible. Read it to them. Talk about each verse and

explain what it means for them:

1. “For I know the plans I have for you,” DECLARES the Lord, “plans to prosper you

and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

God has a plan for my life.

2. “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are

wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14

God didn’t make any mistakes when He made me. He made me the way I am for a

reason.

3. “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in

you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah

3:17

God loves me so much!

4. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not

be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

I don’t have to be afraid because God is always with me.

5. “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for

the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12

God can use me even when I’m young.

6. “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

God will help me to do what I need to do.

What was your favorite Bible truth today? Why?

Prayer

Thank you for Jesus, our truth. Thank you for the word of God that tells us the truth about who

we are. Teach us to believe the truth about what You say about us God and to learn to tell the

truth too. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Breastplate of Righteousness













You can look at your armor or your picture of armor. What part of the Full Armor of God have

we already talked about? The belt of truth. Who is truth? Jesus. So when we put on our belt of

truth, we’re bringing Jesus with us wherever we go and He can help us remember the truth about

what God’s word says about us. Today, we’re going to talk about the next piece of armor, the

breastplate of righteousness.

Look at this breastplate. What do you think it does in battle? It protects your important organs

like your heart and lungs from attacks. Just like a real breastplate protects you, the breastplate of

righteousness protects your heart from attack. Like if someone is making fun of you, the

breastplate of righteousness can help you remember the truth about what God says about you.

What do you think that word righteousness means? It means to do the right thing in God’s eyes,

so basically, doing the right thing no matter what. We can be righteous if we do the right thing,

even when it’s hard. Do we do the right thing all the time? No, we mess up. That’s called sin.

The Bible says that everyone sins (Romans 3:23). But the Bible also talks about righteousness

coming from God if you live by faith in Jesus (Romans 3:21-22).

Can you think of someone in the Bible who did the right thing, even when it was hard? Daniel

was righteous. Can you think of some examples of Daniel or his friends doing the right thing no

matter what?

1. Daniel and his friends refused to eat the king’s food. It probably looked really good

and tasted amazing, but it wasn’t what God wanted him to eat. And his parents weren’t

there to tell him what to do, but the Bible says that Daniel didn’t want to defile himself

(Daniel 1). So he refused to eat the king’s food.

2. Daniel was also the only one who could tell the king about his dream and what it

meant. Do you remember how he knew about the king’s dream? He prayed and God

told him. Did Daniel take all the credit? No. He made sure that the king knew that God

was the one who told Daniel about the king’s dream (Daniel 2).

3. Daniel’s friends refused to worship a statue that the king made and so the king had

them thrown into a fiery furnace (Daniel 3).

4. Daniel refused to pray to the king three times a day. He kept praying to God, even

though it meant he would probably be eaten by lions (Daniel 6).

We can be like Daniel and his friends if we put on our breastplate of righteousness and do the

right thing too. What are some examples of ways you can do the right thing, even when it’s hard?

1. You can play with your little sister and let her choose the game.

2. You can clean your room, even when your mom doesn’t tell you to.

3. You can follow your dad’s rules about tv and video games, even when you’re

at a friend’s house.

4. You can be kind to all the kids in your class, not just the cool or popular kids.

So this week, I want you to remember to put on your breastplate of righteousness. You can ask

God to teach you to be righteous. Your memory verse is Ephesians 6:14 “Stand firm then, with

the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place.”


What are some examples of things that people in the Bible did that were righteous? What can

you do to be righteous?

Prayer

Dear God, Teach us to be righteous. Help us to do the right thing, no matter what. In Jesus’

name, Amen.

Gospel of Peace













You can look at your armor or your picture of armor. What parts of the Full Armor of God have

we already talked about? The belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness. Today, we’re going

to talk about the next part, your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of

peace. What do you wear on your feet? Shoes. What do shoes do? They protect your feet. If you

have shoes on, you don’t really need to worry about where you are stepping because your shoes

will protect you. It’s the same with our armor, your feet are fitted with the gospel of peace so that

you can go anywhere in the world that God wants you to go. What about the second part? What

is peace? Peace means that you are not fighting, but it also means that you feel good. That you

aren’t worried about things. The only real way to have peace, is to know Jesus. So if we’re going

out with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, we need to be able to tell people

about Jesus. What do you think they need to know about Jesus?

I think this lesson will be easier to understand if you draw some pictures. You can make these as

elaborate or as simple as you like. You will need four pieces of paper. One piece of paper cut in

four sections will work just fine. On one paper, draw some small stick figures. The second piece

of paper needs a very large stick figure. The third picture is a mountain and the final picture is a

cross.

(Show picture of small stick figures) This represents us- you and me. (Show larger stick figure)

This represents God.

God wants us to be friends with Him (Put two pictures next to each other). But unfortunately we

do things that get us into trouble—stuff called sin—like when we disobey our parents. Usually

when we do something wrong, there’s a punishment involved. The Bible even says that “the

wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). It’s not specific about which sin. It doesn’t say that some

sins are worse than others. It doesn’t say that killing someone or beating them up is worse than

lying to your friend. It just says sin. So that’s everything.

God and sin don’t mix, because He is perfect and completely without sin. Sin is something that

God can’t stand. That sin gets in the middle of our friendship with God and messes it up. (Place

picture of mountain between the picture of us and the picture of God).

Mountains are big. You can’t move them. It is really hard to get around them or go over them. So

when we look at this picture it shows us that there’s nothing we can do to get that sin out of the

way. If it was up to us to fix this, it would be there for good. But God saw this situation and said,

“No way! Nothing is going to stand in the way of my being with you. Nothing!”

While God can’t stand sin, He has an incredible love for sinners, people like you and me who do

wrong things. So, He sent Jesus. Jesus came from heaven down to earth for a couple of very

special reasons. The first is to show us how to live life God’s way. Jesus lived a perfect life and

never did anything wrong to be our example. Second, Jesus came to die on the cross. (Show

picture of cross).

Why would Jesus want to do that? Because He loves us.

Like I said before, usually when we do something wrong, we get punished. In fact, the Bible says

in Hebrews 9:22 that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” In the Old

Testament, when you messed up, you had to offer a sacrifice. Basically, you had to kill an animal

and offer it to God as a way to say you were sorry. You had to do that every time you messed up.

Well, in God’s plan, Jesus gets punished, not you or me. God said, “This is my son Jesus. He

will die on the cross to take the punishment for all of the wrong things that are separating me

from these people.”

The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever

believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

That means that life doesn’t stop when you die on earth. When we die, those of us who believe in

Jesus will be with Him forever in Heaven. That’s God’s promise. If you believe in Jesus and that

He died on the cross to forgive you, then your sin no longer separates you from God. It doesn’t

mean that you’ll never sin again. We need to try our best to live God’s way and to be sorry when

we do mess up. But it does mean that your sin is forgiven, and it won’t separate you from God

anymore. You and God will be together forever. You will be forever friends. That’s God’s

promise (Place picture of cross over picture of the mountain).

In order to tell other people about Jesus, you have to believe in Him. Has everyone in your

family done that already? If you haven’t, I want to give you the opportunity to do that today… I

want you to think about your life. Have you ever done anything wrong? Can you think of a

specific thing? Now I want you to think about what you heard in this lesson. Do you think that

you believe that God wants to be your friend? Do you believe Jesus died on the cross for your

sins? I want you to think about what it would mean to be forever friends with Jesus. It is very

easy. All you have to do is ask!

Some of you might already be friends with Jesus. But some of you might not be. And some of

you might not be sure. I’m going to give you a few minutes to think.

If you want to be friends with Jesus, we can do that right now. This is a big deal! We want to

celebrate with you and pray with you. Have your child pray and talk to God right now. If you

don’t know what to say, you can say this prayer.

Dear Jesus,

I believe that you are the Son of God. Thank you for coming to earth to show us how to live

God’s way. I believe that you were perfect and never messed up. I know that I mess up

sometimes. But I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins. Come into my life right now, I

want to be friends with Jesus. Amen.

There are a couple of bonus follow up activities in your lesson today. If you choose to do them,

you’re going to get to practice how to tell people about Jesus. Our Bible verse this week will

help us remember our armor. “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,

with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that

comes from the gospel of peace.” Ephesians 6:14-15.

Follow Up Activity Choice One: Practice Sharing the Gospel

First and Second Grade

Today we are going to review the gospel story. We are then going to make something that will

remind us how much God loves us and what He did for us.

Give a set of four salvation pictures to each child.

We will work together to explain these pictures. These pictures tell us the salvation story we saw

in our lesson today. Who can remember what the small stick figures for? That’s right—you and

me. Let’s move on to the next picture. What does that big stick figure stand for? That’s right—

God. Okay let’s try the next picture. What does the mountain stand for? Sin.

Arrange the pictures in the order of us, sin, and God. Remember that God wants to be friends

with us, but unfortunately, we do things that get us into trouble, stuff called sin. Remember, God

and sin don’t mix. The sin gets in the middle of our friendship with God and messes it up.

What about the last picture? What does the cross stand for? Can anyone explain it to me? That’s

right—the cross stands for the fact that Jesus died on the cross to take the punishment for our

sins. There is nothing we can do to get that sin out of the way. But God saw the situation and

decided that He would get that sin out of the way, so He sent Jesus to die on the cross to take the

punishment for our sins. If you believe in Jesus and that He died on the cross to forgive you, it

means you sins are forgiven and that you and God will be forever friends. Great Job! You all

really know your stuff.

Give each willing family member a turn to tell each other the gospel story using your papers.

Third, Fourth, and Fifth Grade

Today we’re going to do a fun activity to review the gospel story. We are then going to make

something that will remind us how much God loves us and what He did for us.

I’m going to see how well you can tell the gospel story. In a minute I am going to hand you four

pieces of paper. We will work together to draw the objects we saw in our lesson today—the

pictures that tell the salvation story.

Hand out four pieces of paper and a marker to each child.

Who can remember the first picture from the salvation story? That’s right—it was a person—a

stick figure. Who remembers what the stick figure stands for? That’s right—you and me. Draw a

small stick figure on one of your papers.

Who remembers the next picture? That’s right—it’s a stick figure of a big person. Who does that

stick figure stand for? God. Draw a big picture of a stick figure on another paper.

Who remembers the next picture? A mountain. What does the mountain stand for? Sin. Draw the

picture of the mountain on another paper and write the word sin on the mountain. What order

should you place the pictures? The pictures should be us, mountain, and God.

God wants to be friends with us, but unfortunately we do things that get us into trouble, stuff

called sin. Remember God and sin don’t mix. That sin gets in the middle of our friendship with

God and messes it up.

What about the last picture? Does anyone remember that one? A cross. What does the cross

stand for? Can anyone explain it to me? The cross stands for the fact that Jesus died on the cross

to take the punishment for our sins. If you believe in Jesus and that He died on the cross to

forgive you, it means your sins are forgiven and you and God will be forever friends. Great job!

You all really know your stuff.

Give each willing family member a turn to tell each other the gospel story using your papers.

Follow Up Activity Choice Two: Gospel Bracelets

Each family member will need a string and the following beads: yellow, black, red, white, and

green.

I’m going to give you another way to remember this story. This is a way that will help you

explain the gospel story to others when they ask about your bracelet. This is a story for everyone!

You can tell your parents, friends, teachers, anyone!!!

Put the yellow bead on the string. This bead reminds us of Heaven. The Bible says that Heaven

has streets of gold. The best part of Heaven is that God who created you and me, lives there. God

is holy and perfect. He cannot allow anything in Heaven that is less than perfect, so there’s one

thing that can never be in Heaven. Can you think of what it might be?

Add black bead to their string. It is sin! Sin is anything you think, say, or do that does not please

God like lying, cheating, being selfish, or hurting others. The Bible says that everyone has

sinned. Everyone! Whether you are very young or very old. But God has a wonderful plan so

that you will not have to be punished for your sin.

Add red bead to their string. God sent Jesus Christ, His perfect Son, to be born as a little baby.

Jesus lived a perfect life…He never sinned. When He was grown, evil men nailed him to a cross.

The reason the bead is red is that it reminds us of Jesus’ blood. The Bible says that without

blood, there can be no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22). So Jesus Christ willingly died to take

your sin punishment. Now because of what Jesus has done for you, you can have your sins

forgiven.

Add white bead to their string. The white bead reminds us of a clean heart. How can you have a

clean heart? All you have to do is to tell God you are sorry for sinning. Believe in Jesus and ask

him to forgive your sins. Then you can be forever friends with Jesus.

Add green bead to their string. The green bead stands for things that grow. When you ask God to

forgive you and save you, you become His friend. God wants you to get to know him better and

to grow to become more like Him. What are some things you can do to help you grow?

1. Pray (Talk to God every day. Did you know God wants to talk to you?)

2. Read and obey the Bible.

3. Tell others about Jesus.

4. Go to church or a Bible study


The Bible talks about making sure that our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the

gospel of peace. Where are some places that we can go to tell people about Jesus? Who can you

tell about Jesus?

If everyone in your family is already friends with Jesus, you can do something else. I want you to

think for a minute about your friends and your family members. I bet you know someone who

doesn’t already have a relationship with Jesus. You can spend some time as a family praying for

that person or group of people. Pray that God would open their hearts that they would want to

know more about Jesus. Pray that God would send someone to tell them about Jesus in a way

that they will understand. You can even ask God to give you the words so that you can tell them

about Jesus.

Prayer

Dear God, Thank you for sending your son Jesus to Earth to die on the cross for our sins. Help us

to understand what that means for our lives. Teach us to walk around with our feet fitted with the

readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Shield of Faith

The Bible says in Ephesians 6:10-18: (Before you read it to them, ask if someone has already

memorized it and would like to recite the verses)













we already talked about? The belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, and your feet fitted with

the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. I want you to notice, that all three pieces of

this armor are things you wear. They protect you, but once you put them on, they stay in place

where you are protected. This week, we will talk about taking up a shield of faith. The Bible

doesn’t say, wear a shield of faith. It says to take it up. That means that you have to choose to

pick it up and hold it.

What does faith mean? Hebrews 11:1 says “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain

of what we do not see.” Faith means that we believe in God, even though we’ve never seen Him

with our eyes. Faith means that we believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, even though

we weren’t there to watch him die on the cross.

But that’s not all our verse this week is talking about. It says to “take up the shield of faith, with

which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Why do you think the Bible

says that? Do you remember where Paul was when he wrote this chapter? He was in prison in

Rome. There were soldiers everywhere. When the soldiers went to battle, they had to use their

shields to protect themselves from arrows. And sometimes these arrows were on fire. Do people

really throw flaming arrows at you today? Not like that anyway. But sometimes Satan tries to

attack us.

It doesn’t look like an arrow though. Sometimes when bad things happen, we might forget that

God is in control or think He doesn’t care anymore. We might think that God forgot about the

things He told us. But those are all lies!

We can fight those things by remembering what God says and keeping our faith. Do you

remember what happened to Jesus in the desert? Satan tried to get him to turn the rock into

bread, but Jesus wouldn’t do it. Every time Satan tried to get Jesus to do something, Jesus told

Satan a scripture that explained why He wouldn’t (Matthew 4:1-11). Jesus was using His shield

of faith and His sword, which we’ll talk about next week. Do you know what the sword is? The

Word of God.

There were other people in the Bible who held a shield of faith. Shadrach, Meshach, and

Abednego refused to bow down to a statue, even though the king was going to throw them in to

the fiery furnace (Daniel 3). They would only worship the one true God. When they were thrown

into the fire, they did not get burned at all. God saved them.

The shield of faith blocks the enemy, but it doesn’t stop the attack from happening. What does an

umbrella do? (You could have an umbrella to demonstrate and open it now). An umbrella will

protect me from the rain. It will keep my head dry. But if I keep the umbrella open, will it stop

the rain? No. It just keeps me dry. Your shield of faith is like that too. Sometimes bad things

happen. But your shield of faith will help you to remember that God is still in control.

How can we take up our shield of faith? It starts when we make a decision to believe in Jesus.

We can grow in faith in many ways. We can read the Bible to know more of God’s word and

God’s promises. We can pray and talk to God. We can go to Sunday school and church to learn

more about God. We can hang out with people who have faith so that they can teach us more

about God.

My husband is good at this. One of his Spiritual Gifts is the gift of faith. He remembers what

God tells him and he never loses hope, even if it takes a while. (You can insert your own

personal story here) If God makes a promise to you, He’ll keep it. You know what else I think is

cool? God doesn’t lie. So even if I forget that God has promised me something, God didn’t

forget. The Bible says in Habakkuk 2:3 (New Living Translation) “But these things I plan won’t

happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be

fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be

patient! They will not be overdue a single day!”

Our Bible verse this week is going to help me remember to put on my shield of faith. Ephesians

6:16 says “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the

flaming arrows of the evil one.” So if I have faith, I can be protected, no matter what. My shield

will help me remember that God is in control.


What makes the shield of faith different than all of the other pieces of armor we have discussed

so far? You have to choose to hold the shield. All of the other pieces of armor are things that you

wear. What does it mean to take up your shield of faith? To trust that God is in control and that

what the Bible says is true, even if things are hard. Do you have any examples in your life of a

time when you had to trust God when something was hard?

Prayer

Dear God, thank you for spiritual armor. Thank you for the shield of faith that can protect our

hearts and minds from attack. Teach us to be strong and hold our shield of faith when hard times

come. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Helmet of Salvation

The Bible says in Ephesians 6:10-18: (Before you read it to them, ask if someone has already

memorized it and would like to recite the verses.)













we already talked about? The belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the

readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, and the shield of faith. The shield of faith was

different from the others. Do you remember why? The other pieces of armor are things that you

wear, but you had to choose to hold the shield of faith.

Today we’re going to talk about the helmet of salvation. What does a helmet do? It protects your

head. Now, is our armor something physical that you put on every day? No. It is spiritual. So

what kinds of spiritual things do you think you would need to protect your head from?

Paul didn’t just say, put on your helmet. He called it a helmet of salvation. What does salvation

mean? Salvation means that you are saved. You believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins.

That you’re a Christian. When you put on the helmet of salvation, it is kind of like you are

putting on hope from Jesus. You need to protect your mind. We’ve talked before about how a lot

of these attacks from the enemy are really attacks on your mind.

If the enemy was going to attack your mind, he would try to get you to believe lies. Remember

that one of his names is the Father of Lies (John 8:44)? He might try to trick us into thinking that

we messed up too bad and Jesus doesn’t love us anymore. Or that we aren’t good at anything.

But those things aren’t true! Jesus died on the cross for ALL of our sins. The Bible says in

Romans that there is NOTHING than can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our

Lord (Romans 8:37-39). There is nothing that we can do to make Jesus stop loving us. God

created you for a purpose. Everyone is good at something, so that’s a lie to believe you aren’t

good at anything.

Satan can also try to trick you into doing something you know isn’t going to honor God. He can

try to convince you to sin. He might try to convince you that it’s okay to lie to your mom. But is

it really okay to do that? No. The Bible tells us not to lie and to honor our parents. He might try

to convince you that no one would know if you watch that movie at your friend’s house. But

that’s not true. Because God sees everything that you do. You’ll know if you’re breaking your

dad’s rules.

So when we put on our helmet of salvation every day, it can help us to remember how much

Jesus loves us and what the Bible says about us. John 1 says that if you are a Christian you are a

child of God (John 1:11-13). Jeremiah 29:11 says that God has a plan for you. A good plan. He

gave you gifts and talents for a reason. Your job is to use them for Him. It doesn’t matter what

your talents are.

Our Bible verse this week is going to help me remember to put on my helmet of salvation.

Ephesians 6:17 says, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word

of God.”


What piece of armor did we learn about today? What does salvation mean? How can the helmet

of salvation help us? What is your favorite piece of armor so far? Can anyone recite the Full

Armor of God from memory yet?

Prayer

Dear God. Thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Thank you that we don’t

really earn salvation. All we have to do is believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Help

us to remember your truth when we put on our helmet of salvation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Sword of the Spirit















readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation.

The shield of faith was different from the others. Do you remember why? The other pieces of

armor are things that you wear, but you had to choose to hold the shield of faith.

Today we’re going to talk about the Sword of the Sprit. All of the other pieces of armor are

defensive; you use them to protect you. But a sword is offensive. It means that you can use it to

fight. I wonder what would happen if you went into battle without your sword… Okay, now I

want you to pretend that you’re in battle and someone has taken your sword. How would you

fight now? You can’t really. You can try to block things, but you won’t do any damage to the

other person. You need a weapon.

Jesus used His sword. Do you remember when? When He was in the desert and Satan tried to get

him to turn the rock into bread. Jesus quoted scripture. He said, “Man does not live on bread

alone.” Jesus knew the word of God, and so He could use His sword to do the right thing

(Matthew 4:1-11).

You will need to use your swords today for this devotion. You will be looking up some Bible

verses.

Verse 1: Read John 20:30-31

“Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded

in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,

and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

According to this scripture, why was the Bible written? So that people can learn about and

believe in Jesus

What happens when you believe in Jesus? It says you have life- eternal life. You will be forever

friends with God

Verse 2: Read Ephesians 6:17

“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

How is the word of God described? As a sword

What are we supposed to do with it? Take it with us

Verse 3: Read Hebrews 4:12

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates

even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the

heart.”

How is the word of God described in this verse? Living and active. Sharper than a double-edged

sword

What does it mean when it says “the word of God is living and active?” it is able to change

people’s lives and it is true

What does the word of God do? It judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart

Why do you think it is important to know the Word of God? So that you know the truth about

what God says about you. Jesus didn’t have to carry His Bible around because He had scriptures

memorized. He didn’t have to tell Satan, “Oh wait until I look something up to tell you.” He

knew it immediately. That’s one reason there are Bible verses with each lesson. You can learn

them so that you can be like Jesus and use your sword too.

For example, if you think no one likes you, you need to read Zephaniah 3:17. “The Lord your

God is with you. He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with

his love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” If you know that, then any time you think that

no one likes you, you can remember that God loves you so much that He takes great delight in

you (that means He is really happy when He thinks about you) and He sings over you.

If you think that you’ll never be good at anything, you can remember Jeremiah 29:11 “For I

know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

plans to give you hope and a future.” God doesn’t want you to be sad when things aren’t going

your way. He has a plan for your life. He gave you gifts and talents for a reason. You may not

know what those talents are yet, but God will use you in really cool ways.

It’s important to memorize scripture to help you. I remember when I was in second grade; I

learned my first Bible verse. “For unto you is born this day, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.”

Luke 2:11 (Insert a personal story about the first scripture you memorized here). You can start by

learning the Bible verses in the devotion each day. But you can pick other verses to memorize

yourself. Just ask God to speak to you and show you what He wants you to memorize. Then,

open your Bible and He’ll tell you where to go.

You can’t learn about God and the Bible without using your Bible. So you need to make sure

you are bringing it to church or Bible study each week. But should it stay in your car all week so

you remember? No! You can use it every day. (Tell them a personal story about you and your

Bible here). I use my Bible a lot. You can tell because it looks kind of old. Some of the pages are

a little bent. There are even some dead bugs in here from when I read my Bible while camping! I

have written in it. Did you know that you can do that? It’s my own Bible and so when I read

something that I want to remember, I underline it or highlight it. It helps me to find it later.

Our Bible verse this week is going to help me remember to learn some Bible verses. Ephesians

6:17 says, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”


How is the sword different than all of the other pieces of armor? Everything else just protects

you, but the sword is a weapon. What is another name for the Sword of the Spirit? The Word of

God or the Bible. What are some ways that you can practice using your sword?

If your children aren’t familiar with how to find scriptures in the Bible, today would be a good

day to teach them.

Some Bibles have extra things in them like a Table of Contents, a concordance, or a dictionary.

But they all have the same books. Sometimes the words are a little different because there are

different translations or versions of the Bible. But that’s okay because the stories are all about the

same thing.

The Bible is divided into two parts. The first part is called the Old Testament. This is the older

part. It was written before Jesus was born. That’s where you find the Ten Commandments and

stories about Noah, Joseph, Daniel, Moses, Joshua, and David. The other half of the Bible is

called the New Testament. (Help kids find the New Testament) Those stories are newer.

Although they are still 2,000 years old! The first four books: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are

called the gospels. They tell the story of Jesus. After that, it tells the stories about Jesus’ disciples

and what happened after Jesus went back to heaven.

The Old Testament and the New Testament are broken up into parts. These parts are called

books. Let me show you what I mean. Let’s look at the first book of the Bible. Does anyone

know what it is called? Genesis. (Help them find Genesis) Genesis has a bunch of numbers in it.

The big numbers are chapters and the smaller numbers are verses.

When you want to find a verse, first you find the book of the Bible it’s in. Then you find the

chapter and finally the verse. Let’s practice by finding 1 Timothy 4:12. 1 Timothy is in the New

Testament. Once you find 1 Timothy, you go to chapter 4 and then look for verse 12. When you

find it, put your finger on it. Who can read it to me? What do you think this verse means? God

can use me even when I’m young. This is a good verse to remember.

Are there scriptures that you would like your family to memorize or learn? You can decide today

which ones you would like to start learning as a family.

Prayer

Thank you God for giving us your Word. Thank you that Your Word teaches us truth about Jesus

and what you say about us. Help us to learn to use our Swords for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Prayer

Today is the last day in our Full Armor of God devotional. Can anyone recite the entire passage

from memory?















readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the

sword of the Spirit. Most pieces of the armor are things that are defensive. They protect you.

Only one of them is used as a weapon. Which one? The sword of the Spirit. Did anyone use their

sword in a new way this week?

Today, we’re going to talk about armor that can be both defensive and offensive. Prayer can

either be used to protect you or as a weapon. What is prayer? Prayer is talking to God. When are

some times that you pray?

Our passage in Ephesians talks about praying in the Spirit on all occasions. That means that you

can pray all the time. It doesn’t have to be a special moment or before a meal. You don’t pray

just because someone else is praying or it’s a certain time of day. This verse says to be praying

on all occasions. Ephesians 6:18 says, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of

prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”

Whenever something is bothering you, pray. If your friend is scared or upset about something,

pray for them. If life is amazing, and you just want to thank God for that, pray. You don’t have to

pray the same way every time either. There are prayers in the Bible like the Lord’s Prayer

(Matthew 6:9-13) or famous prayers from pastors. But you don’t have to pray them. God wants

to hear your heart.

The key to prayer is to mean what you are talking to God about. If you’re angry, God knows.

You don’t have to pretend with Him. If you’re scared, He knows that too. God knows your heart,

and He wants to help you. But you have to ask Him first. The Bible says in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask

and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For

everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be

opened.” The key is that you have to ask. Prayer opens the lines of communication. You are

giving God permission to intervene in your life.

When you pray, you need to believe that God can do what you ask. If you are going to ask Him

to heal someone, you need to believe that He can actually heal them. There is a story in the Bible

where the disciples praying for someone to be healed and this person wasn’t getting better. They

were so confused. But Jesus wasn’t confused at all. He told his friends that the reason the healing

didn’t happen is because they didn’t have enough faith (Matthew 17:14-20). Jesus told them, “I

tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,

‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew

17:20-21).

So don’t be afraid to ask God for big things. If someone you know is making really bad choices

and you know they are heading down the wrong path, pray for them. Ask God to teach them to

live the right way. Ask God to put people in your friend’s life to show them good choices. If

your grandma is really sick and the doctors say that they can’t help her, you can ask God to heal

her. You can even pray for people you’ve never met before. You can ask God who He wants you

to pray for, and He might tell you about someone you’ve never even met before. That’s cool!

Just pray for them.

God always answers prayers! But you need to know, that you’re not the one in charge. Just

saying a prayer doesn’t mean that you will always get what you want. God is huge. He created

the universe and He knows everything. So sometimes, when He answers your prayers, the

answers are not what you expect them to be. Sometimes people aren’t healed or your friend isn’t

nicer to you right away. But it’s not your job to decide what happens. It’s your job to talk to God

about it. Let Him be the God and make the decisions.

Sometimes church people give a special name to someone who prays a lot. They might call them

an intercessor or a prayer warrior. An intercessor is someone who intercedes or prays for other

people. Prayer warriors pray a lot too, and not just prayers about God blessing them. They pray

for lives to be changed and people to be healed. You can be an intercessor or a prayer warrior

too.

You don’t have to be a grown up to pray. I have a friend who is starting a prayer movement just

for kids. His name is Lenny LaGuardia and he has a plan. He thinks that God wants to raise up

an army of kid prayer warriors to change the world! Lenny thinks that he can find one million

children to pray. What do you think?

(Lenny LaGuardia runs the Children’s Equipping Center out of the International House of Prayer

in Kansas City, Missouri. I had the pleasure of meeting Lenny at a Signs and Wonders Camp

they were running for elementary school students in Fredericksburg, VA in 2012. I highly

recommend this for any elementary school student, teacher, or family. It is an awesome couple of

days of children learning how to grow in the Holy Spirit, being taught on their level. There is no

such thing as a junior Holy Spirit! The camps are regional, so there are several throughout the

United States each summer. You can find more information here:

http://www.ihopkc.org/cec/camps/ )

http://www.ihopkc.org/cec/camps/

Lenny believes that the same Holy Spirit that was in Jesus, the disciples, and adults is in

children. I agree with Him. God can use kids to do mighty things in the Spirit. All children can

be warriors for God. It’s simple. You can participate! All you have to do is pray. Did you know

that God loves it when kids pray? Jesus loves kids!

One day Jesus was teaching a big crowd. When He was finished there were some parents there

with their children (Mark 10:13-16). These parents knew who Jesus was and they wanted so very

badly for Jesus to touch their children, pray for them, and bless them. Do you know what

happened?

His disciples told the parents and the children to leave! They were upset because they thought

that they were wasting Jesus’ time. They thought Jesus had better things to do! Do you know

what Jesus did? He yelled at the disciples. The Bible says that He rebuked them. That means that

He told them they were wrong.

He told the kids to come see Him and sit with Him. He told everyone there, “Let the little

children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I

tell you the truth; anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never

enter it.” And He took the children in his arms, and prayed over them, and blessed them.

Jesus knew who those kids were. He knew what God wanted them to be. Jesus knew that God

wanted to use them for big and mighty things.

Jesus knows that about you too. God has big things for each of you to do! Each of you might

have a different job to do, but it is all a part of God’s plan. You don’t have to be a grown up to

live for God. You can do mighty things now.

The Bible says in Matthew 18:18-20, “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about

anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three

come together in my name, there I am with them.”

One million is definitely more than two or three right? His plan is 25 minutes a week of prayer

for each kid. Sounds like a long time right? But it’s not, because he has a plan to help you do it.

Five minutes a day, Monday through Friday. And even though you won’t be praying in the same

room as all of these other kids, you will be praying for the same thing. This is what it would look

like.

On Monday, spend five minutes cultivating, which means making, a heart of thanksgiving. What

do you think that means? It means you would spend five minutes thanking God. You can thank

him for your friends, for family, for blessings, whatever you want.

On Tuesday, spend five minutes in a heart of worship. That means, that you would spend five

minutes worshipping God. Do you have to have music? Nope. You can worship God with your

mouth. You can say, God you are holy. You are beautiful, you are kind. Just tell God the things

that you love about Him.

On Wednesday, spend five minutes developing a heart for the word of God. What is the word of

God? The Bible. What’s another word for that? The Sword of the Spirit. Pray that you would

want to read the Bible more than you want to play Xbox. Pray that God would help you to

understand what the Bible says. That God would give you wisdom and speak to you through His

word.

On Thursday, spend five minutes praying for healing. You can ask God for a word of

knowledge. Ask God who He wants to heal and then pray for that person. You might not even

know them! God might tell you that He wants to heal someone’s foot and you don’t even know

who they are. That’s okay, just pray anyway. You can pray for everyone that you know is sick,

that they would be healed.

On Friday, spend five minutes praying for the Lost. What does that mean? We are praying for

people to come to know Jesus. You can pray for everyone you know who isn’t a Christian. Pray

that God would make Himself real to them and they would want to become a Christian. You can

pray for a whole country if you want. Pick a country and pray for the people in that country to

know Jesus. There are lots of countries where most of the people don’t even know who Jesus is!

Can you pray for more than five minutes each day? Sure, if you want to. You might think that

five minutes is a long time at first, but after a while you might be praying a lot longer! I don’t

know how you are, but if I don’t do something first thing in the morning I’ll forget. So I am

going to pray first in the morning before I do anything else!

God cares about the prayers of children. And He listens to them. Remember our story about

Jesus? He wanted the children to come to Him. God is the same way. “The prayer of a righteous

man is powerful and effective” (James 5:16).


What was our lesson about today? What is prayer? Who can explain the Million Kid Prayer

Movement to me? Do you have ideas about what you can be praying for this week?

Prayer

We talked about prayer today. You can choose to end this devotional by taking prayer requests

and praying as a family, quietly as individuals, or in partners.

by suzanne faust cover art by john cayetano...armor isn’t just for grown ups! a family devotional...

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