LEADER S GUIDE BIG PICTURE: BIG IDEA: BIG POINT: BIG WORD: USER AGREEMENT DOCUMENT PURPOSE ARMOUR OF GOD BE STRONG WE ARE STRONG BECAUSE OF CHRIST

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1 LEADER S GUIDE BIG PICTURE: ARMOUR OF GOD BIG IDEA: BE STRONG BIG POINT: WE ARE STRONG BECAUSE OF CHRIST BIG WORD: LET THE LORD MAKE YOU STRONG. DEPEND ON HIS MIGHTY POWER. PUT ON ALL OF GOD S ARMOUR. THEN YOU CAN REMAIN STRONG AGAINST THE DEVIL S EVIL PLANS. EPHESIANS 6:10-11 (NIRV) USER AGREEMENT Upon purchase of this resource, Hillsong Kids BIG gladly grants the buyer (The Licensee) or the organisation they represent, a free and non-exclusive license to tailor Hillsong Kids BIG print materials to fit their unique leadership requirements. However, it is prohibited to make changes to doctrine, scripture references, biblical principles and concepts presented. Please see doctrinal guidelines we have expressed in our What We Believe statement. These resources are intended to be printed for use only by the buyer or the organisation they represent and may not be electronically transferred to or duplicated by others. Any unauthorised reproduction of this material or incorporation into a new work is a direct violation of copyright laws. Hillsong Church. All rights reserved. DOCUMENT PURPOSE This document is the Leader s Guide for BIG Picture ARMOUR OF GOD. It contains a summary of the BIG Message LIVE. The BIG Life with Jesus User Guide document contains all the service element information, including the large group segment of your service. Make sure you read through and prayerfully study this material prior to your service to be fully prepared to minister to your children.

2 Learning Outcomes At the conclusion of this lesson children will: Understand that God gives us armour so we can be strong in the Lord. Know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Discover the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness in the armour of God. BIG POINT: WE ARE STRONG BECAUSE OF CHRIST BIG WORD: LET THE LORD MAKE YOU STRONG. DEPEND ON HIS MIGHTY POWER. PUT ON ALL OF GOD S ARMOUR. THEN YOU CAN REMAIN STRONG AGAINST THE DEVIL S EVIL PLANS. EPHESIANS 6:10-11 (NIRV) BIG MESSAGE LIVE OUTLINE DOCUMENT PURPOSE Use this outline to construct a message that works for you and your children s ministry. Scripture References: Deuteronomy 31:6 Psalm 119:160 John 14:1-14 Ephesians 6:10-17 INTRO Armour is protective covering that keeps a person safe from damage. In war, soldiers wear a kind of armour to keep themselves safe during combat. They have a utility belt, special vest, boots, helmet and weapon. (Show intro screen image 1.) Armour didn t always look like this. Who has heard of knights in shining armour? (Show intro screen 2.) Knights in the 1600 s would have full body iron metal armour with a big shield and sword or jousting stick! It weighed 25kg (55 pounds). Imagine how difficult it would have been to move around in that! In Bible times, ancient armour looked more like this. (Show intro screen image 3.) It is believed that the Apostle Paul wrote the book of Ephesians while he was imprisoned in Rome. He would have seen Roman soldiers everyday standing guard over him with their armour, swords and shields. He wrote, Ephesians 6:14-17 (NIV) 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 salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. We have the armour of God, it s not armour we wear on the outside, it is armour that we wear on the inside that protects us, so we can be ready to face battles in the unseen. God gives us armour so we can stand strong in our life with Jesus. Intro screen images supplied in print material files.

3 STORYTELLING Share the story of Jesus teaching that He is the way, the truth and the life, by performing a quick drama. Drama script: (Open with the disciples sitting with Jesus around a table sharing a meal.) Narrator: One evening Jesus was having dinner with his disciples, but this was no ordinary meal. This was about to become one of the most famous meals of all time, something we now call the last supper. Disciple 1: What a joy it is to share this meal together. Disciple 2: We ve seen our Lord perform miracles and wonders! Disciple 3: He s healed the sick and given sight to the blind! Disciple 4: We ve even seen Him make the lame walk! Disciple 5: He s walked on water! Disciple 6: He s fed thousands with only a few loaves and fish. Disciple 7: What would we do without Him! Disciple 8: I m so glad we have Him to be with us everyday. Disciple 9: (With a mouth full of food) This food is awesome! Jesus: (Stands up) I must leave you soon. (Disciples all sit up, some stand, look shocked.) Peter: Lord, where are you going? Tell us so we can come with you. Disciple 10: Yes, tell us so we may know the way. Narrator: He wasn t talking about a place on earth, but a place in heaven. With all the disciple s attention turned to Him, He replied; Jesus: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him! Narrator: The disciples did not know it then, but later that evening Jesus would be arrested, placed on trial and eventually put to death. But Jesus knew this. He also knew that He would rise from the dead in order to become the Way, the Truth and the Life, so that all people on earth could come to the Father. But He knew that very soon everything about Him would be put to the test. Until this moment they hadn t realised He was about to leave, they relied on His strength and wisdom to get them through every day. Now that He was going, Jesus knew He needed to set them up to be strong! He had to leave them knowing and trusting that He was the Way, the Truth and the Life. It is through Jesus we can be strong. Paul tells us about the armour that God gives us in Ephesians 6 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil s schemes. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist. It s the truth of Jesus that protects us from any attack of the enemy. The enemy wants to destroy but through Jesus, the Way the Truth and the Life, we can be strong. God gives us armour so we can stand strong in our life with Jesus. Reminder: This is a great time to play the Big Story video to your group. We find it breaks up your Big Message Live really well and keeps the children focused. Actors to play the following roles: Jesus, Peter and the other 11 disciples. Costumes and props to show Jesus and the disciples at the last supper.

4 OBJECT LESSON Raise your hand if you think this (unpeeled) orange will sink when I place it in water. Raise your hand if you think it will float. Let s test it out! (Place the unpeeled orange in water, it should float.) It floats! Here we have a second orange, that I will peel. (Peel the second orange.) Raise your hand if you think this (peeled) orange will sink when I place it in the water. Raise your hand if you think it will float. (Place the peeled orange in the water, it should sink.) The orange s peel is like armour that protects its soft flesh inside. Without armour it sinks! God gives us armour so we can stand strong in our life with Jesus. Like the orange sinks without a peel, without God s armour we might sink when attack comes. God gives us armour so we can be strong! Ephesians 6:10 (NIV) Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Because of Jesus Christ, we can live our life with the armour of God. Jesus gives us truth, righteousness, His gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the Spirit. In life we are in a battle, not a physical war, but a spiritual one. The enemy seeks to knock us off course and see us fall. Because of Jesus we can be strong. We can put on God s armour! Ephesians 6:11-12 (NIV) 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. We are strong because of Christ. Glass container (e.g. vase) of water, 2 oranges. POINTS 1. Ready for Battle. Before firefighters arrive on the scene to fight a fire, they put on a special suit. An alarm sounds and they spring into action, slide down their fire pole and suit up. Each piece of their uniform is made from fire resistant material to protect them. They need to be safe, not just from the heat of the fire, but they re also exposed to toxic fumes, smoke, sharp objects, uneven ground and slippery surfaces. They get ready to battle a blaze by putting on their big jacket, pants, boots, helmet and gloves. If they re heading into a smoke filled building, they cover their mouth and nose with breathing apparatus. We have to be ready to face battles in the unseen. Like a firefighter we have a special suit that God gives us. It doesn t go on the outside, it is armour that we wear on the inside to protects us. Ephesians 6:11-12 (NIV) 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. The Bible doesn t say, put on some of the armour, it says put on the FULL armour of God. Like firefighters need to put on every piece of their firefighter suit before they battle the flames, we need to put on ALL the armour of God to stand against spiritual battles. Ephesians 6:14-17 (NIV) 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 salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

5 2. Be strong. My friends and I are very competitive. We set a challenge and see who can be the first to complete it or do it better than the other person. Usually I win! Well, not always. Some of my friends might be shorter than me, taller than me or stronger than me but they all love a good competition. It helps us to excerise and get stronger. To work our muscles and be strong on the outside, we work out, exercise and lift weights. But how can we be strong on the inside? The Bible tells us to put on the armour of God so we can be strong. It s not physical armour on the outside, it s armour for the inside. Truth! Righteousness! The Gospel of peace! Faith! Salvation and God s Spirit! With these strengthening us on the inside, we can be strong! Ephesians 6:10 (NIV) Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. In the Old Testament we read about Joshua, when he took over from Moses as the leader of God s people, he was afraid. There were enemies to face and battles to be won before they could posess the land that God had promised to them. As Moses handed the leadership to Joshua he said, Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV) Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. They could be strong, because God was with them every step of the way. With God s armour we can be strong! 3. We are strong because of Jesus. We can t face battles alone. On our own we just wouldn t win! Through Jesus we have victory, Jesus died on the cross and rose again so that we can have life with Him. A life with Jesus means He s on our side. John 14:6 (NIV) Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. It s through Jesus that we can have the armour of God! Jesus is the truth that is represented as the belt of truth. There are many different kind of belts like tool belts and leather belts. Even superheroes have a utility belt. A belt holds things together around your waist. The truth of Jesus, the truth of God s Word, encircles all the way around us in every part of our life. One of the ways the enemy tries to attack us is through lies. The enemy might try to trick us into wrong thinking. When we know the truth, we can spot lies a mile off! Psalm 119:160 (NIV) All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal. How about the breastplate in the armour of God. The breastplate covers the chest and protects vital organs like the heart. Righteousness is about the heart. Righteousness is not just doing right things but having the right heart attitude. I don t want to be someone who goes to church just because I have to, I go to church because I want to. I don t want to be someone who tells the truth just because I have to, I tell the truth because I want to. We live with righteousness through Jesus because we want to live a life that honours Him. We are strong because of Christ. God gives us armour so we can stand strong in our Life with Jesus.