Hello! Here is the first of the "Armour of God" series.
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Overarching Verse - This is the verse to memorize during this entire series. Take it in small chunks along the way to memorize. For the younger ones, focus on the first verse or two.
Ephesians 6:11-17 - 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 rulers, against the authorities,against the powersof this dark world and 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 salvationand the sword of the Spirit,which is the word of God.
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Song
For the family:
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Illustration
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Read Ephesians 6:10-20
Ancient Roman Belt:
Back then, most wore some type of long, light robe. For a soldier, this would make it very difficult to move quickly and stay on your feet. You would be easy to grab. What soldiers did was take a belt and fasten all the excess fabric more tightly to their body. What it did was free the soldiers' legs up to help them be ready to fight. They were ready for the action. It seems this would have been the first thing a soldier would put on when preparing for battle. Then they would put on all the other armor.
Biblical application:
In Ephesians we read that the devil is a schemer. In another passage (1 Peter 5:8) we read that he is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. God tells us that we are to put on the belt of truth. Satan, the enemy, uses every force to take us down. The biggest way Satan attacks us is through our emotions and our thoughts. In John 8:44, Jesus tells us that Satan is the father of lies. Here are some lies he tries to tell us. This is what he wants us to think:
- The Father of lies wants to snatch the Word of God from you.
- The Father of lies wants you to think that sin is not so bad.
- The Father of lies wants to destroy your conscience so it will no longer warn you.
- The Father of lies wants to entertain you with sin so that you won’t think it’s as evil as sin really is.
- He wants fill your mind with doubts, lies, immorality, and false doctrine.
- He wants to confuse your emotions by corrupting your desires and drawing your affections to the wrong things.
- The Father of lies wants you to believe that there is no such thing as demons, angels or a spirit world.
These are some of the things that the enemy tries to do. We need to remember that he is real. He wants to destroy us. If we look back at our memory verse the beginning of it says, "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 rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
Begin that battle by putting on the belt of truth. That is knowing and understanding God's word, God's truth. Then you can not be swayed, you can not be lied to, you can not be moved!
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Discussion Questions
1. What might putting on the belt of truth look like for you?
2. How can we be intentional about putting on the belt of truth?
3. Why is it important to put on the belt of truth?
4. When in your life have you felt the enemy trying to make you believe a lie? (Remember how he can do this through our thoughts.)
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Prayer
As you come together for prayer, reflect on your thoughts. When has the enemy tried to make you believe a lie? Maybe about yourself or something you were tempted to do that you knew was wrong. Ask God to give you wisdom and discernment. The more you know and understand Him, the more aware you will be of the enemy's schemes and the better you will be at fighting that battle. So ask Him to help you put on the belt of truth EVERY DAY! This is not just a one time thing! We need to daily put on our armor, being ready to do battle, because rest assured, he wants to battle us every day.
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Thank you for using this resource. I hope that you have found it helpful as you incorporate Family Worship Time in your home. Please leave a note if this has been helpful to you. I'd love to hear how you implement these in your home! Below, you'll find something else to add some lauhgter to your day!
Thank you!
Rachel
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