Putting on the Armor of God

This summer for Sunday School, we learned all about how to put on the full armor of God so we can take our stand against the devil's evil schemes (Ephesians 6:11)!  We learned about guarding our minds with the helmet of salvation; guarding our hearts with the breastplate of righteousness, which we only have through faith in Jesus; putting on the belt of truth, by always standing up for truth and remembering that Jesus said he is the way, the TRUTH, and the life; having our feet fitted with the gospel of readiness so we are always ready to tell others the Good News; taking up the shield of faith to block the devil's fiery arrows; and finally using the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.  We discussed how memorizing scripture can give us the ammunition we need to be on the offensive and stay strong in Jesus!

Each week as we discussed another piece of armor, the children added that piece to their picture they'd colored.  It was fun seeing the armor grow each week.  And it was also awesome to see that we had over 40 children attend summer Sunday School by the end of July!  I love thinking about all of these precious kiddos heading back to school this month, yes with new school clothes, but more importantly, wearing the ARMOR OF GOD!

 We finished up our unit by making balloon swords of the spirit.  As you can imagine, these were a huge hit with the kids!  (And much safer than some of the other sword options Pinterest gave me.)

 Oliver is pretty intense with his sword!

 Each Sunday, all summer, we would begin our study by having an older kid read the passage from Ephesians 6:10-18.  As they were reading, a younger child would put on the actual armor as it was listed. This armor provided a great visual and the kids LOVED getting to wear it!

 To help the younger kids remember all of the pieces, we sang this song (to the tune --and actions--of "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes"):

Helmet, breastplate, belt and shoes, shield and sword;

Helmet, breastplate, belt and shoes, shield and sword;

This is the armor of our Lord!

Helmet, breastplate, belt and shoes, shield and sword.

I challenged the older kids to memorize the entire passage out of Ephesians, and my boys did a pretty good job of this!  I really enjoyed teaching the big combined group of kids this summer and I pray they always remember to "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."