Ephesians 6:13-17
Rich Lanning
February 16, 2025
Gather
Bibles for each child
Plastic knives and a cup for memory verse activity
Introduction
Pastor Rich began by mentioning several famous swords in literature, including Excalibur, the sword pulled out of the stone by King Arthur. Watch this clip from the Disney production, “The Sword in the Stone.”
Ask: What did Arthur’s ability to pull out the sword prove?
.
Background
Swords are weapons, and often in history and literature they represent the authority of the one who carries it, like Excalibur represented Arthur’s authority as king.
Looking into the scripture passage
Read: Ephesians 6:10-17
Ask: What sword has God given us? Whose authority does it represent?
How is the Bible unlike any other book? [There are plenty of valid responses: It is the word of God himself. It is eternal. It is completely true.]
The Bible is different from all other books in its power. Hebrews 4:9 says that is LIVING and can discern our thoughts and 1 Timothy 3:17 says that it THOROUGHLY equips us for living for God. Here in Ephesians we see that it helps us fight against Satan.
Read: James 4:7
Ask: What does Satan do when we resist him with God’s word?
Read: Matthew 4:3-11
Ask: How did Jesus resist Satan’s temptations? Jesus gave us the powerful example of how to use the sword of the Spirit in resisting the devil. He knew God’s word and he spoke its truth to Satan.
If I gave you a real sword today, would you be able to use it against a trained opponent? No. [it might be fun here to watch some clips from fencing at the 2024 Olympics]
What would you need to do? You would need to train and practice. How can we train to use the sword of the Spirit, the word of God?
You have to read it, learn it, memorize it. (Psa. 1: and Psa. 119:11)
And if God’s book is unlike any other, what else must we do with it?
We must obey it. (James 1:22)
Apply the passage
Activity 1 (this suggestion came from https://kidminmama.com/sword-of-the-spirit/)
Draw Your Sword Game: Using plastic knives, write scriptures that talk about God’s word. Children will take turns drawing a “sword” and calling out the verse to look up. Then they will race to find the verse and read it together.
Some suggestions in addition to Ephesians 6:17
Psalm 119:105 John 6:63
Hebrews 4:12 2 Timothy 3:16-17
Romans 10:17 Romans 15:4
1 Peter 1:23-2. Psalm 19:7-11
Activity 2 On a white board or poster, make a list of temptations that are common in your family (perhaps anger with siblings, selfishness, pride, lying to try to avoid trouble, etc…). Next to each one write a scripture to be specifically used against those temptations.
Memorize
The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.
Hebrews 4:12a
Practice the verse
Make a paper sword book mark for your Bible. Write the memory verse on it.
Extra Stuff
Songs to sing
“Helmets and Swords” (Seeds Kids Worship)
“Your Words are Wonderful” (Sovereign Grace)
“Ancient Words” (Michael W. Smith) traditional song sung at Christ Covenant
