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.
*Save these items for the fourth lesson about the armour of God.
Before class, place a ball and 2 pieces of cardboard in 2 different areas of your teaching space.
Wear on your feet what will prepare you to tell the good news of peace.
Ephesians 6:15
When Jesus lived on earth, He shared the truth and showed us how to live. When we help others and tell them about Jesus, we share the good news! Jesus died for us so our sins could be forgiven! Knowing this brings us peace. When our lives reflect this truth and peace, it brings others peace.
Have you shared the good news lately? Sharing your faith with others can take many different forms. Reading them the gospel or telling them true stories about Jesus’ life on earth can help them believe in the salvation He offers and receive the peace that comes only from Him. Think about situations where you shared your faith by reflecting Jesus’ character to others. When you do this, you can plant the seeds of faith in people who might not otherwise be interested in hearing the good news. Ask God to prepare you to share the good news of His peace!
Encourage families to look for ways to serve others in their community. They can talk about how serving those in need helps show others God’s character. If needed, you may suggest places where they can give their time or talents to help those in need.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Welcome the children to class. As they enter, ask them to sit in 1 of the 2 areas where you placed a ball and cardboard. Tell them you will choose children who are sitting nicely without touching the objects to play the game first. You may need to move some children so that both groups are about equal.
Today we will learn why shoes are important parts of God’s armour. Think about the purpose of shoes.
What do shoes do?
They cover our feet. They protect our feet from getting hurt.
Shoes protect our feet. We will play a game using shoes. Let’s pretend for a moment that our space is covered in rough rocks and spiky objects that could hurt our feet. Everyone stand up in your groups and form a line.
We will pretend that these pieces of cardboard are shoes. The first person in each line will place 1 foot on each piece of cardboard and pick up the ball. He will then slide forward on his “shoes” until he is about 1 meter from the rest of your team. Be careful not to step off the cardboard! Turn around and face your team.
Pause to allow the children to prepare their shoes and turn.
Now, throw the ball to the next person in line. Then shuffle in your “shoes” back to that person and give her the cardboard shoes. You will then return to the end of the line. The person you gave the shoes to will repeat your actions, shuffling out and throwing the ball to the third person in line. You will repeat these actions until everyone on the team has had a turn.
If you step off the cardboard, you must go back to the beginning of the line and try again. The team with the most children who have participated when time is up will be the winners. Ready? Go!
Allow 5 minutes for children to play the game. Repeat the directions if any children are not sure what to do. After time is up, clap for the winning team. Then ask the children to sit in their normal places for today’s lesson.
Great job! You might remember when we talked last week about the armour of God. We learned about the importance of the breastplate and belt. Shoes are another piece of armour that is important. You might not think shoes are very important, but think about what it would be like to march into battle with no shoes. There might be rocks, sticks, or even pieces of metal where you are marching. With no shoes, you might have to move slowly. With no shoes, it would be painful. Let’s learn what the Bible says about this part of the armour of God.
Shoes might not seem important, but they are very important parts of God’s armour. Listen to this verse that talks about wearing something on your feet.
Wear on your feet what will prepare you to tell the good news of peace.
Ephesians 6:15
You move from one place to another with your feet. This Bible verse tells you to wear on your feet what will prepare you to tell the good news of peace. The good news is that Jesus gave His life for us. Accepting that Jesus died for your sins brings peace because it provides a way for you to return to God. This is the good news of peace.
What is peace? What are ways you might describe peace?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
You are calm when you have peace. You are not afraid, or angry, or frustrated when you have peace. Knowing God is with you gives you peace, even if there is trouble around you. When you have the peace of God, you can share what you know with other people who ask why you have such peace.
Optional: If possible, share the image from The Action Bible.
The Bible tells a true story about one of Jesus’ disciples sharing the good news with someone who could have been very dangerous. Peter was a follower of Jesus. Peter wanted to tell people about Jesus. He knew Jesus had died to save the world from sin. That is why he boldly helped a Roman soldier named Cornelius to learn more about Jesus.
Cornelius and his family worshipped God, but they did not know about the good news that Jesus came to take away the sins of people. One day when Cornelius was praying, God spoke to him through a vision. Listen to what happened:
If possible, read these verses directly from your Bible.
One day about three o’clock in the afternoon he had a vision. He saw clearly an angel of God. The angel came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius was afraid. He stared at the angel. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to poor people are like an offering to God. So he has remembered you.”
Acts 10:3–4
Do you think Cornelius was a good person? Why or why not?
Yes, the verses tell us about his prayers and gifts to poor people. He did good things.
Cornelius was a good person, but he was not part of the community of people who believed in Jesus. He was a Roman soldier. At this time, the Romans and Christians were often enemies. If you believed in Jesus and did not know Cornelius was a good person, you would probably be afraid of him.
God told Cornelius to send for Peter. Cornelius sent some of his men to bring Peter to see Cornelius right away. Peter might have been afraid to go to the house of this Roman soldier. However, God had prepared Peter by giving him a vision. The Holy Spirit told him 3 men were asking for him. Listen to what the Holy Spirit told Peter:
Get up and go downstairs. Don’t let anything keep you from going with them. I have sent them.
Acts 10:20
Peter put on the belt of truth. He knew this was part of God’s plan. The truth was that God had sent the men and Peter needed to go with them. Let’s put on the belt of truth together.
Pretend to grab a belt and put it on. Have the children pretend to put on belts.
Peter put on the breastplate of righteousness by knowing he was doing what God wanted. Let’s pretend to put on the breastplate of righteousness. Then I will tell you what Peter did.
Pretend to grab a breastplate and put it on. Have the children pretend to put on the breastplate as well.
When Peter arrived at the house of Cornelius, there was a large group of people waiting to hear what he had to say. Listen to what Peter told them:
Then Peter began to speak. “I now realize how true it is that God treats everyone the same,” he said. “He accepts people from every nation. He accepts anyone who has respect for him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel. It is the good news of peace through Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all.
Acts 10:34–36
Peter put on the shoes of peace and told the people gathered at Cornelius’ house about Jesus. Before I read what Peter said next, let’s pretend to put on the shoes of peace.
Reach down and pretend to put shoes on. Have the children pretend to put shoes on too.
Listen to what Peter told the people about Jesus.
You know how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Jesus went around doing good. He healed all who were under the devil’s power. God was with him.
Acts 10:38
When you put on the shoes of peace, you can tell other people about Jesus. The Holy Spirit helped Peter know when it was time to share this good news. He will help you know when to share what you know about Jesus with others.
In today’s story the Holy Spirit very clearly clothed Peter in the shoes of peace. He told Peter to go with the 3 men and led him to talk to the people at Cornelius’ house. For us it is not always obvious what we can do to help others learn about Jesus.
How can you put on the shoes of peace and share the good news about Jesus?
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
There are many ways you can share the good news. Here are a few ideas:
Help the children form 4 even groups. Have each group sit in a different area of the teaching space.
God helps you to put on the shoes of peace. He helps you to know when and how to share His good news with others. Think about the ways we talked about to share the good news. In a moment, I will give you a situation. With your team, you will think of a way to show the good news to the person in the situation. Then you will act out a way to show this to others. Let’s try this together. Everyone stand up.
Situation 1: A girl who lives down the street from you is playing by herself. She looks very sad.
In what way can you share the good news with her?
I can show her kindness by talking to her or playing with her. I can tell her that Jesus loves her.
Who would like to show me what this might look like?
Chose 2 volunteers. Have 1 child pretend to be the girl playing by herself. Have the other child show a way he can be kind to the girl.
Great! You showed kindness to someone else. This helps to show the good news to others. You can do this because you are standing strong in peace knowing what Jesus did for us.
Now, let’s try this with your groups. I will read a situation. As a group, you will decide how to show the good news to others. Choose 2 children in your group to act out the situation.
Situation 2: Your mother comes home and you see that she is very sick. You notice she is struggling to get up and get some medicine.
In what way can you share the good news with her?
Pause to allow the groups to talk about their answers.
Choose 2 children in your group to act out this situation. Be sure to show how you will share the good news with your mother.
Give the groups 1–2 minutes to act out the situation.
Situation 3: It is cold outside. You are walking with your brother and see a family huddled together near a building. Your brother tells you he often sees that family selling small items and sleeping on the street.
In what way can you share the good news with this family?
Pause to allow the groups to talk about their answers.
Choose 2 children to act out this situation. Be sure to show how you will share the good news with the family on the street.
Give the groups 1–2 minutes to act out the situation.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, give each child crayons. Allow 2–3 minutes for the children to draw in the shoes.
You all did a great job acting out ways to share the good news with others! We can tell others the good news of God’s love and forgiveness. We can share the good news in our actions by showing kindness, treating others the way we want to be treated, and giving our time and the things we have. When He lived on earth, Jesus taught us to do these things. When we share the good news, we wear the shoes of peace.
We just added the shoes of peace to our armour. Let’s all shout out the pieces of armour that we learned about last week and today!
Lead the children in shouting out “the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the shoes of peace.”
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.
Now let’s say our memory verse to help us remember to always put on the shoes of peace along with the belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness!
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
Review the song or rhythm you created to help the children remember the memory verse. Sing it with them 3 times.
End class by saying this blessing, based on Ephesians 6:15, over the children.
Blessing: May you ask God to help you share His good news with others. May God clothe you in the shoes of peace.
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.
