Ephesians 6:13-15
Rich Lanning
January 26, 2025
Gather
- several pairs of shoes of different types (e.g., hiking boots, soccer cleats, sandals, etc…)
- an illustration that might help your children get a concrete picture of the kind of armor Paul was familiar with from the soldiers of the days of the Roman Empire.
Background
Christians have an enemy.
Ask: Who is our enemy?
Read: Ephesians 6:10-11
To fight against the enemy, God has given us some armor. Let’s remember the pieces we’ve looked at so far [in the sermon series through Ephesians, last preached before Advent 2024]
Read: Ephesians 6:13-14
Ask: The belt of ________________ and the breastplate of ____________________________.
Introduction
For fun you could mix up all the shoes and set a timer to see how fast the kids can sort them out and put on a pair.
Ask: Which pair of these shoes would you wear to play soccer (or whatever other use fits the shoes you’ve gathered). What would happen if you wore the hiking boots on the soccer field?
What kind of foot shoes do soldiers need? Why?
Today we’re going to talk about the next thing a soldier of the Lord needs to wear.
Read: Ephesians 6:15
Ask: What kind of shoes does God provide for us to wear? Shoes of readiness given by the gospel of peace.
Did we have any shoes that look like that in our pile?
Looking into the scripture passage
Let’s try to understand what these shoes are.
Ask These shoes make us what? They make us ready; they are shoes of readiness. Hmmm.
Ready for what?
Suppose you were playing ball in the house—which you know you are NOT supposed to do—and you knocked the lamp off the table and broke it. How ready would you be to come tell mom? Your feet would probably not be wanting to bring her that message, would they?
What if you had a different message, you made a 100% on your math test or your best friend invited you to her birthday party. Would you be excited to tell mom that news? Maybe you would even run to tell her!
Well, God has given us some news he wants us to be ready to share.
Seeing Jesus in the passage
Ask: What is the gospel? The word gospel means “good news.” Tell me some good news you like to hear. (Parents can offer suggestions, e.g., we’re going out for ice cream! Snow day—no school!)
What is the best news of all? The best news of all is that Jesus came to die for our sins so that we can have eternal life!
Read: Romans 5:8
Ask: What kind of people were we when Jesus died for us? [Sinners]
Verse 9 tells us that the blood Jesus shed when he died justifies us. That means it takes away our sin.
Read: Romans 5:1
Ask: Since we have been “justified” (our sins have been taken away), what do we have with God?
[Peace]. Before we came to Jesus, we were God’s enemies, but because he loved us Jesus made peace between God and us. We aren’t enemies anymore! Now, that’s good news!
Remember that lamp you broke when you were playing ball in the house? Did you have peace in your heart about that? Did you have peace with Mom? Not exactly; she probably wasn’t happy. But what if Mom forgave you because she loves you? Of course that doesn’t mean you can now play ball in the house, but her love did make peace between you, and that gave your heart peace too.
Apply the passage
Do you have a friend who needs to know about the good news of the gospel of peace with God?
- Pray for that person
- Think of a way that you can share the good news with him or her. [Write a note with a verse about God’s love for them in Jesus, invite them to church, read a gospel book together, start a kid’s club that meets once a month to do activities and learn about the Bible]. Now do it!
Memorize
And, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness gsiven by the gospel of peace.
Ephesians 6:15
Practice the verse
Draw an outline of your shoe on a piece of paper. Write the verse around the edge of the outline. Hang it up near your shoes and say it every time you put them on this week.
Extra Stuff
Songs to sing
“Shoes for Your Feet” (Seeds Scripture songs)
“I Love to Tell the Story” (traditional hymn)
“O Church Arise” (Keith and Kristen Getty)
Books to read (these can be borrowed from the Kidstuff table in the church foyer)
This is the Gospel (Kids Read Truth)
The Promise (Jason Helooulos)
