The Armor of God - The Breastplate of Righteousness
Sunday, July 18th, 2021
This is week 3 of our Armor of God series. Check out the others HERE if you want to before going through this lesson.
Read
Read Ephesians 6:10-20 with your child(ren).
Watch
Discuss
Read the below and say if you think the choice is a good choice or a bad choice.
Jimmy is at his friend’s house playing games. Jimmy is not allowed to have coca-cola. His parents don’t let him. Jimmy’s friend tells him it’s okay, so Jimmy drinks it anyway.
Did Jimmy make a good choice or a bad choice by drinking the coca-cola?
Eli is at home watching a show after school. Eli’s mom asks him to turn off the tv and get ready for dinner. Eli turns off the tv right away and helps his mom.
Did Eli make a good choice or a bad choice by turning off the tv right away?
Sarah and Norah are at school. They are talking and laughing instead of doing their work. The teacher tells them to please be quiet. Norah and Sarah don’t care and keep playing instead of doing their work.
Did Sarah and Norah make a good choice or a bad choice by not listening to the teacher?
Every day, we can make good choices or bad choices. We can do the RIGHT thing or the WRONG thing.
Do you think there is anyone that ALWAYS does the RIGHT thing? Is there anyone who never makes bad choices?
Maybe you said no, but there is! God NEVER makes bad choices. He is ALWAYS right! And someone who ALWAYS does what God says is RIGHT is RIGHTEOUS!
God wants the people that love him to make good choices, but Satan wants people to make bad choices.
Do you ever make bad choices?
Don’t worry, I make bad choices too! Your friends makes bad choices. Even your parents make bad choices. The bad choices we are talking about are the ones we make that go against what God says is right. This is called SIN and it makes our hearts dirty!
The piece of armor we are talking about today can help protect God’s people from making bad choices. It’s THE BREASTPLATE of RIGHTEOUSNESS.
A soldier would wear a breastplate over the chest from the neck down to the waist. Take a look down right now from your neck to your waist.
What do you think that would protect on a soldier?
A breastplate of armor protects the organs in the body. That means the lungs that help you breathe, your stomach that breaks down food and lots of other organs! But there’s one other SUPER IMPORTANT organ it protects.
What do you think it is? *hint: it beats!
It’s the HEART. The breastplate protects the heart. You know, that thing that keeps you ALIVE!!! That means RIGHTEOUSNESS protects your heart!
People can’t always make good choices on their own, because of course, they will mess up. God knew that so he sent someone who also NEVER made mistakes to be RIGHTEOUS for them.
Do you know who that someone is?
The answer is JESUS! Jesus NEVER made bad choices. He died so that the people that believe in him can be RIGHTEOUS even though they aren’t.
So, if you love God and follow Jesus, put on THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS so that you can do your best to make right choices. And when you mess up, just remember that God still sees you as RIGHTEOUS because of JESUS!
Worship Together
Craft/Activities
Craft Idea
Breastplate of Righteousness (Paper/Cardboard)
Template HERE
Cut out and decorate both sides (front and back).
Punch holes in top left and right corners of front and back breastplate.
Tie string through holes to tie the front and back pieces together.
Place over head to wear!
OPTIONAL: Glue both pieces to cardboard piece to make it stronger
Breastplate of Righteousness (Paper Bag)
Cut a hole in the bottom (closed part) of a paper bag so that head can fit through.
Flip the bag over so that it is sitting up and open.
Now cut out arm holes on the sides of the bag and a curve at the bottom of each side. *Parents will likely have to do this based on image above
Decorate, color and wear!