This week’s youth work session plan is based on the Armor of God from Ephesians 6:10-18. The free youth work session plan ideas we provide on Thursdays are often tailored more towards non-faith based organizations. We know that we get many Christian youth workers reading our posts though, so we want to provide resources specifically tailored for them too.
The Armor of God is a subject that can seem quite dry to young people, what with belts of truth, helmets of salvation, etc. However, I’ve seen it explained in the following way and thought it was a really creative way of covering the subject, so wanted to share it here. The object lesson part of it will help visual learners in your group stay engaged and will help all the young people remember the Armor of God lesson, no matter what their learning style.
Armor of God
For this Armor of God lesson, you’ll need to recruit a firefighter with his protective equipment to be an object lesson. If you have any firefighters who are members of your church, then hopefully they’d be happy to help. If not, contact your local fire station and see if any firefighters from there would be willing to help.
If this proves impossible, put together some Powerpoint slides with images of the different pieces of firefighter equipment to maintain the visual part of the lesson.
Bring the firefighter and his protective equipment up the front. Read through Ephesians 6:10-18 and tell them that the firefighter is going to help explain what this all means.
1) Belt Of Truth
Firefighters carry belts that carry their gloves and the tools they need. Without the gloves, they wouldn’t be able to protect their hands or hold things in place securely. Without the tools, they wouldn’t be able to perform some important functions in fighting fires or freeing people in car accidents. The belt helps to keep all these close at hand, while keeping the rest of the protective clothing in place.
For Christians, the Belt is made of Truth. This truth helps keep the other items in the Armor of God in place, while also keeping us secure in the knowledge of our salvation.
2) Breastplate of Righteousness
For soldiers, the breastplate protected vital organs like the heart and lungs from swords and arrows. For firefighters, this takes the form of a protective jacket. The jacket is specially insulated with three protective layers to stop them from getting burned, giving them confidence that they’re protected when faced with fire.
The Breastplate of Righteousness does something similar – it provides us with the confidence that we have a right standing with God. This gives us the strength to live in a way that pleases God, but carries with it the responsibility to live righteously – to do what is right, to tell the truth and to live with integrity. People can try to attack your heart, but confidence in this righteousness will help protect you.
Soldiers wouldn’t take off their breastplate when in battle. Firefighters wouldn’t take off their protective jacket when inside a house that’s on fire. We therefore need to continue wearing the breastplate of righteousness throughout our life, by living in a way that is right and true.
3) Feet Fitted With Readiness
When fighting fires, they wear safety boots to protect their feet. These boots often have metal in them to protect their toes, while the soles of the boots have puncture resistant material in case they step on anything sharp (like broken glass or nails). This footwear also helps protect against burns.
It’s often said that as Christians, we’re to be the hands and feet of God. Having feet fitted with readiness means that we’re prepared to walk wherever God may take us – whenever that may be. This may be along an uncomfortable path, so these shoes are necessary to be able to do this.
4) Shield Of Faith
Soldiers used to carry shields into battle (maybe show a clip from Captain America to help illustrate this) – this helped protect against arrows, swords or any other weapons their enemy tried to attack them with.
Firefighters’ helmets often have visors or shields, protecting their eyes and face. They also sometimes carry protective shields to help protect themselves from falling debris, ensuring they don’t get crushed.
Similarly, the Shield of Faith in the Armor of God helps protect us from being crushed. More specifically, Ephesians says it protects us from the “flaming arrows of the evil one”. Arrows can be used in battles to attack from both close range and long range – you don’t always see them coming.
The Shield of Faith – our belief and trust in God – therefore helps protect us from unseen dangers, acting as a wall and barrier, while also protecting the rest of our armor.
5) Helmet Of Salvation
Soldiers wore a helmet to protect their heads from attack. Firefighters wear helmets to protect their heads from both fire and falling debris.
The Helmet of Salvation protects our minds from attack. Salvation is a free gift from God, one where He’s offered us eternal life. Keeping on the Helmet of Salvation therefore helps give you confidence in your identity and future, defending you against lies that the enemy may try to get inside your head.
6) Sword of the Spirit
The final item in the Armor of God is actually a weapon – as the saying goes, the best form of defense is offense (or for fellow Brits, the best form of defence is attack).
A soldier would carry a sword or another weapon to fight – without it, he’d be fairly useless. Similarly, a firefighter has a weapon at his disposal in the form of a firehose. The hose is what they use to actually fight the fire, hence the name of the job. They’ll battle against a fire but eventually, the sheer force of the water will win. They’ll also carry axes to be able to break down doors and windows.
As Ephesians says, the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God – the Bible. The truth contained in scripture can be used to attack the enemy’s lies, although shouldn’t be used to fight people. Knowing God’s truth can help in the fight against sin, by being aware of how we should live our lives as God only wants the best for us.
Question: What else would you add to this Armor of God lesson? Share your ideas in the comments below.
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