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Shoes Readied with the Gospel of Peace
Lesson 6 - Armor of God Series

This piece (peace) of the armor of God helps us stand firm in life's storms as well as for eternity.  It is worth going and sharing it with others!

Topic: Peace

Title: Standing Firm

Preparation: Locate a slippery floor to “slip & slide” on. Bring extra socks. Have blindfolds & an extra room close by

Focal Scripture: Ephesians 6:15

“and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace.”

Key Take Away: God's peace helps us stand firm in life and moves us to share it with others.

Photo credit:  Pexels

review previous Armor of God lessons (5 min)

Review Lessons 4 & 5 Armor of God (Use object reminders from previous lessons – belt, jersey, wrapped sucker)

* The belt of truth helps us stand firm so that we don’t trip over Satan’s lies.

* The breastplate of righteousness protects our heart because knowing we are right with God through Jesus makes us confident to stand firm and keeps us from falling in to sin.

Introductory Activity (10 min)

Slip & Slide War

We did this inside on slick floors. It could be done outside on an actual “slip & slide” surface barefooted!

Have everyone take their shoes off and have on socks. (May need to bring extra socks to share with some.) Divide into two teams and draw two lines or goals on each end of the area you are using. Have teams line up in pairs facing each other placing hands on each others shoulders.

When you say begin, they are to try pushing the other team member across the goal line behind them. This is opposite of tug of war. The team that gets the most across their goal line wins.

Ask what was hard about the game. (Socks slipped; couldn’t get a grip)

What would have helped them? (shoes)

Core Lesson:  Shoes Readied with the Gospel of Peace
(30 min)

1 - The Peace - Shoes help us stand firm - God’s peace grounds us in life.

Ask what would happen if a football player wore regular shoes out onto the field rather than cleats. What is different about cleats?

Roman soldiers also wore shoes with spikes that helped them stand firm as their shoes gripped the ground.

God’s peace helps us stand firm even in the storms of life. When we know Jesus as our savior we receive peace with God and the peace of God.  What an important part of the armor of God!

Peace with God

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Romans 5:10 “For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled will we be saved by His life!”

Colossians 1:21-22 “Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present you holy, faultless, and blameless before Him”

Before receiving Jesus as our Savior, we were hostile and alienated from God –enemies by our choice. But when we receive Jesus, we are reconciled, brought back in relationship with God, and are therefore at peace and no longer war.

Knowing that we have peace with God helps us stand firm. Remember God is greater – 1 John 4:4 “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” Jesus has already been victorious over Satan.  Remembering these truths each day is putting on the armor of God.

Peace of God – Storms of life

There is also the peace of God that helps us stand firm in the storms of life. Remember the story of when Jesus calmed the storm by saying “Peace, be still.”?Well, He does the same when difficulties and hard times come into our lives.

Have different students volunteer ahead of class to look up and read the following verses about the peace of God and how this piece of the armor of God helps us stand firm when life gets tough:

Phil 4:6-7

John 14:27

John 16:33

Isaiah 26:3

2 Thessalonians 3:16

2 -  The Path - Shoes help us lead others to God’s peace

Activity: Leading the Blind

Ask for a few volunteers to put blindfolds on. Take them to another room and tell them to try to find the door as others just watch. Change up and do this part again if all want to try it.

Discuss what would have helped them – seeing the room before, someone telling them where to go, etc.

Now have some put the blindfolds back on and lead them to yet another room. This time give them someone to partner with them, walk beside them, and give them instructions to how to find the way out.

Have everyone sit back down in the teaching area. Tell them that without Jesus in our lives, we are walking around life blindly. Coming to church and reading our Bible can help us learn the way around, and others sharing the directions to salvation helps us know the way out of sin and hopelessness!

When we accept Jesus’ salvation, He opens our spiritual eyes and we are no longer blind! Now we can help others find their way to Jesus!

How do we do that?

Acts 3:19

“Therefore repent (turn around) and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;”

The directions to God’s peace are simple – “Turn & Return to God through Jesus Christ.”

Jesus told a story of a father & a son to illustrate this in Luke 15:11-32; we usually call this the story of the Prodigal Son. God always waits with open arms when we do.

Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 4 – (vs. 2) to be ready at all times to preach the word and (vs. 5) to do the work of an evangelist, fulfilling his ministry.

What does an evangelist do?

Our enemy, Satan, knows his doom and his goal now is to take as many as he can to hell with him to suffer and be separated from God for eternity. God wants us to move forward and recover as much territory (people) as we can before it’s too late. We do this by sharing with them that they too can have peace with God and also the peace of God.

Let’s make sure they know that God does not want to be their enemy; He offers us peace through Jesus Christ. The path is simple – turn around from going our own sinful way and return back to our loving Father Who has His arms open wide!

Prayer time (10 min): 

Using the fingers on their right hand, have students think of five people that helped  them know God better and thank Him for them. Then have them use the fingers on their left hand to think of five people they know that may not know Jesus and ask God to reveal Himself to them and ask Him how they can share Jesus with them.

Then challenge them to remember these all week as they use their hands and continue to pray for each.


Printable Shoes Readied With the Gospel of Peace Armor of God Lesson 

My husband always says, "If you write it down, you'll remember twice as much."  A fill-in-the-blank handout can also help keep students engaged in the lesson. Here is a free printable handout for this lesson.


Armor of God Lesson Series

Next piece of the armor of God - Shield of Faith


© Copyright 2016, Susan Smart Permission granted for personal use or small group only.

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