During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide, Student Page, Family Connection Card, and other resources can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
Ephesians 6:14, NIV
Sometimes life feels like we are in a battle—lies, arguments, and outright evil can make us feel as though we cannot win. God’s Word is clear that our battle is not against people in this world but against the enemy of our souls—Satan. We cannot win on our own. But God tells us to depend on His mighty power because He has provided all we need to stand against the attacks of the enemy who is the father of lies.
To remain strong in the faith, it is important to put on the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. God’s truth in His Word is what keeps all the rest of the armour held firmly in place. Consider how much time you spend reading and learning of God’s truth so that you are equipped to fight the lies of the enemy. Spend a few moments thanking God for the righteousness He gives to His children. Allow His incredible power to cover you and make you strong in your faith. Pray for help in seeking truth. Trust that God will make you strong as you battle against evil!
Encourage families to talk about how armour protects a person. Parents can talk with their children about what is truth and how they can know it.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Before class, assign numbers 1–4 to 4 different areas of your teaching space. For example, you can use the corners of your room as the 4 areas. Welcome the children as they enter and number them 1, 2, 3, and 4. Have the children go to the area assigned to their number. If their area has a piece of cardboard and rope, ask them to leave them alone until you give them instructions. Ask the children in each area to stand in a line.
It is so nice to have you all here today! Let’s start with a race. There is a piece of cardboard and rope in 2 of your areas. If you have cardboard and a rope in your area, the first person in your line will hold the cardboard over his chest and tie it place with the rope. Do not tie it too tightly.
Look across our space to the children standing opposite from you. For example, group number 1 will look at group number 2. These 2 groups form a team. When I say, “Go,” the first child in each line will run across the space to the rest of his team. Once he is there, he will untie the rope and give it and the cardboard to the first child in that line. She will tie it on her chest and run across the space to the rest of her team to pass the rope and cardboard to the next person. We will repeat this until everyone on your team has had a turn. The team that finishes the race first will win.
Ready? Go!
Once a team has won, ask the children to sit in their normal places for the class. Place the pieces of cardboard and ropes out of the way.
Great job! That was fun. Today, we will learn about God’s armour. This armour includes a belt and a breastplate that protect you. The rope you used today is like a belt. The belt in the Bible is called the belt of truth. The cardboard you used is like a breastplate. A breastplate covers your chest and protects your heart, lungs, and other important organs from getting hurt in battle. The breastplate in the Bible is called the breastplate of righteousness. Let’s learn what the Bible says about God’s armour and why we need to use it!
Let’s listen to a true story from the Bible about a boy in the Bible who knew God’s truth and used it to fight a giant. This boy would become a great king who we have talked a lot about before. His name was David.
When David was a young boy, he took care of sheep. This might sound like an easy job, but there were many challenges. The Bible tells us that God saved David from both a lion and a bear that tried to take his sheep! Because of his experiences, David knew God was with him and would help him through other difficult and scary situations.
Optional: If possible, share the image from The Action Bible.
One day, an army came to fight God’s people—the Israelites. The Philistines gathered on 1 hill and the Israelites, led by King Saul, gathered on another. In the Philistine army, there was a giant! Everyone in King Saul’s army was afraid of the giant. He dared someone to come fight him, but none of the Israelites had the courage to do this. However, when David learned about the giant, he was not afraid. Listen to what he said:
If possible, read this verse directly from your Bible.
The Lord saved me from the paw of the lion. He saved me from the paw of the bear. And he’ll save me from the powerful hand of this Philistine too.
1 Samuel 17:37a
What do you think David did next?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
David decided he would fight the giant! Now, it is important to understand that the Bible describes this giant as more than 3 meters tall and very strong! He wore metal armour that covered his entire body! He even had someone else hold his shield for him . Can you imagine fighting someone like this?
To help the children understand Goliath’s size, show or talk to them about something they are familiar with that is about 3 meters tall. Ask them to imagine facing someone this big who was also very strong and mean.
David knew the Philistine giant was strong, but David had courage because he knew God was stronger. King Saul offered David his armour to protect him. But when David walked around in it for a while, he decided he was not used to wearing armour. So, David took off the armour and went to the nearby stream to gather 5 stones. David fought Goliath with a bag of stones and a slingshot.
Imagine battling a giant with nothing but a slingshot and stones. Why do you think David did this?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
David’s courage came from trusting in God. He knew he was fighting for God’s people and that God would help him win against the giant. Listen to what David said to Goliath:
David said to Goliath, “You are coming to fight against me with a sword, a spear and a javelin. But I’m coming against you in the name of the Lord who rules over all. He is the God of the armies of Israel. He’s the one you have dared to fight against.
1 Samuel 17:45
David knew he was not strong enough to win the battle against the giant, but David did not need to rely on his own strength. God would be with him in battle.
Do the actions that follow with the children. If possible, encourage them to spread out so they do not bump into each other.
Everyone stand and face me. Let’s pretend Goliath is in front of us. Everyone, pick up an imaginary stone. When I say, “Go,” pretend to throw your stone. Ready? Go!
Pretend to throw your stone. Then react as you would if you saw a giant fall. Explain that David hit Goliath in the head with his stone and knocked him down. You may choose to lead the children in cheering for David and for God.
David won that battle for God’s people! He did this without armour that people could see. Instead of using a sword and armour, David relied on God’s power and truth, which are like the armour God provides for those who believe in Him.
God’s armour is strong, and it allows us to do things we could not do alone. While we may not fight giants, we all have things in our lives that are scary and seem too big for us to overcome. The Bible tells us we are all in a battle. Listen to what the Bible says about this:
Finally, let the Lord make you strong. Depend on his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor. Then you can remain strong against the devil’s evil plans.
Ephesians 6:10–11
Why do soldiers wear armour?
They wear it to protect them in battle.
Armour protects a soldier in a battle. God’s armour protects you against evil. In today’s story, Goliath went against God and His people. There is a much bigger enemy who we all face. He is the devil.
The devil does what goes against God and tries to get others to do the same. The devil is the father of lies and tries to get people to doubt who God is and His love for them. The devil tries to make us believe lies about ourselves, those we love, and even about God. The battle we fight is one against evil—it is spiritual.
Whenever someone does something that goes against God, this is part of the spiritual battle. When someone does something that is right and good, this is also part of the spiritual battle. Today we are talking about the belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness or godliness. Listen to what the Bible says about these:
So remain strong in the faith. Put the belt of truth around your waist. Put the armor of godliness on your chest.
Ephesians 6:14
Who does truth come from?
Truth comes from God.
What can you do to help you focus on the truth?
Allow 2–3 children to respond. Answers may include: pray, read the Bible, and think about good things.
You can focus on the truth by praying to God, reading the Bible, and thinking about good things. Doing these things is like wearing a belt of truth that makes you strong in the battle against evil.
Where do you wear a belt?
Around my waist.
The belt of truth goes around your waist because it holds the rest of the armour in place. When you listen for truth, you remain strong. This verse also talks about putting a piece of armour on your chest.
Think about our activity at the beginning of class. What would a breastplate protect?
It protects the chest, lungs, and heart.
The breastplate protects your heart! In God’s armour, the breastplate protects your heart and helps you do what is pleasing to God. We have a right relationship with God because of what Jesus has done. We cannot be in right relationship with God based on our own efforts to do good things. Our right relationship with God does not depend on us but on Jesus paying the price for our sins by dying on the cross and rising to life again. When you live in ways that please God, you show other people who God is.
Truth and righteousness help us to battle things that go against what God would want—sins. Sin comes from the evil in the world. When you put on God’s armour, God will help you battle against sin and evil.
Let’s do a fun activity to help us remember how we can put on God’s armour. Let’s all pretend we have a breastplate like the ones we used at the beginning of class. This is the breastplate of righteousness. In our story, David fought and defeated Goliath by depending on God.
When we put on the breastplate of God’s armour, we are saying that we trust that Jesus has made a way for us to have a right relationship with God.
If you trust that Jesus made a way to give us a right relationship with God, then pretend to put on the breastplate of righteousness.
Pretend to put on this piece of armour as the children pretend to put theirs on.
This is great, but now we need something to hold the breastplate in place. Let’s put on our belts of truth. To do this, I want you to think about something you know is true about God. For example, I might say God loves me. I know this is true because the Bible tells me this.
What else do you know is true about God?
Answers may include: He sent His Son to die for us. He is with us when we are afraid. He helps us when we are in need.
You can know something is true about God if it is in the Bible. When you come to class, you hear stories and verses from the Bible that teach you God’s truth.
Optional: If you are using the Student Pages, give the children crayons and allow 2–3 minutes for them to draw or write how they can have a right relationship with God.
If you ever feel like God does not love you or you are not valuable to Him and to others, remember God’s truth. God loves you and you are valuable to Him! This is how you use the belt of truth to battle sin and evil. Let’s put on the belt of truth.
Pretend to put on the belt of truth as the children pretend to put on their belts.
Remember what the Bible says:
So remain strong in the faith. Put the belt of truth around your waist. Put the armor of godliness on your chest.
Ephesians 6:14
Let’s say a prayer to help us put on God’s armour. I will say a line and you can repeat it after me.
Say the following prayer, pausing after each line to allow the children to repeat after you.
For the next few weeks we will be learning about more pieces of the armour that God gives us. Let’s memorize this verse to help us remember to always put on all of this armour!
If you are using the Memory Verse Poster, show it to the students.
Finally, let the Lord make you strong. Depend on his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor. Then you can remain strong against the devil’s evil plans.
Ephesians 6:10–11
Create a song or rhythm to help the children to learn the memory verse. Sing it 3 times.
End class by praying this blessing from Ephesians 6:14 over the children.
Blessing: May you be strong in faith and know the truth. May you put on the whole armour of God, knowing that Jesus has made a way for you to be in right relationship with God.
Lead the children in singing this quarter’s song, if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
