YOUTH GROUP GAME ON ARMOR OF GOD
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Bible: Ephesians 6:11
Bottom Line: Get dressed. Stand Firm. Fight!
SUPPLIES
- Cell Phones
- List of challenges (see below)
GAME PREP
Divide students into groups of 2-3 students.
Each group will need a cell phone for the game.
Have a copy of this list of challenges on hand:
- Text a family member, "I love you." The first team to get a reply and read it out loud will get a point.
- Take a picture of your entire group pretending to fly. The first person to take the photo, run up front and show it to me will get a point.
- Create a slow-motion video of your group that isn't actually in slow motion. The first team to create the video, run up front and show it to me will get a point.
- Take a picture of your group and upload it to social media. The first team to get a “like” from someone who isn’t on their team will win a point.
- Look up this verse in the Bible in the New Living Translation. The first team to find it and read it out loud will win a point: Ephesians 6:11 (Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.)
- Take a picture of your youth pastor and edit it to make it the "perfect pic." The first person to show me their "perfect pic" (and I like it) will win a point.
- Who has the most unread emails in their inbox? Find it on your phone and tell me the number. The team who has the highest number will get a point.
- Who has the lowest battery percentage on their phone? Run up here and show me. The team with the lowest percentage will get a point.
HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
Say: You’re going to really like this game.
How do I know? Because most of you really like your phones.
You have been divided into teams and each team has a phone they are using for the game.
I’m going to read a “challenge” and give your team the opportunity to win a point.
At the end of our game, the team with the most points will win the game.
Begin the game by reading the list of challenges.
If the game goes by too quickly, feel free to add extra challenges.
At the end of the game, declare the winning team.
TEACH
Say: I’m so glad all of you got dressed before you came today.
Most of us could never imagine leaving our homes without being fully clothed.
Imagine someone showing up to school half-dressed—do you think anyone would notice?
I’m pretty sure someone would stop them before they even got on the bus or entered the school.
Ask: I’m going to ask a silly question: Why do we wear clothing? I’m expecting your answers to be appropriate for our group.
Allow a few responses from students
Clothes protect us from the effects of weather—hot and cold temperatures.
We wear clothes to look good; it’s part of how our culture expresses themselves.
And mostly, we don’t want to walk around naked—I know I don’t!
As followers of Jesus, we clothe ourselves with other things besides jeans and t-shirts.
And even though we're talking about wearing spiritual clothing we physically can't see, it's pretty evident to those around us whether or not we are clothed.
Read Ephesians 6:11.
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
Let’s take a look at what this Scripture is talking about.
In this verse, Paul tells us to “put on all of God’s armor.”
We understand that battle armor is meant to protect someone when they are in combat or fighting in a war.
Throughout history, armor has traditionally been made of metal, iron, leather, or some other type of weapon-resistant material.
If a soldier went into battle only wearing parts of their armor, it would be ineffective because the enemy would see the vulnerable parts that weren’t protected and target those areas.
Just like your friends would tell you if you were half-dressed, a fellow soldier would most likely say, “Hey! You forgot to put on your helmet.” Or, “Where is your shield?”
Why? Because they wouldn’t want another soldier to get hurt.
Ask: So, what is the “armor of God?”
Obviously, it’s not something we physically wear, so what is it?
Allow a few responses from students.
In the verses that come before the one we read, the Apostle Paul talks about the Sword of the Spirit, Helmet of Salvation, Shield of Faith, Breastplate of Righteousness, Belt of Truth, and more.
These are the pieces of spiritual armor we wear as Christians.
We wear them by reading the Bible, praying, allowing our faith in God to grow, living God-honoring lives, etc.
Every piece of the armor is essential.
The Belt of Truth stands for God’s truth, and knowing God’s truth protects us from the lies of the world and the devil.
As you study each piece of the “armor of God” you understand that each one plays a vital part and without one, you are vulnerable to the enemy.
The scripture says that the armor helps us to stand firm and not waver or be shaken in our faith, no matter what type of battle we face.
Ask: It also says that it helps us to stand firm against the “strategies of the devil.”
What are the strategies of the devil?
Allow a few responses from students.
Share a personal story that sheds light on a time when you could have given in to one of those strategies, but God gave you the strength to overcome.
God does not want you to be defeated in your walk with Him, but it’s your choice of whether or not you go “to battle” in His strength and protection, or try to do it on your own.
Without God’s protection, you will lose every time because we were never meant to live in our own strength.
When you put on the armor of God, you are completely covered with everything God knows you need to fight against the devil.
And when you see a fellow “soldier” without some of their armor, you should remind them to put it on.
If you go to school tomorrow and see someone telling lies or listening to gossip about someone, you can say, “Hey! You’re not wearing your armor.”
When we participate in lying or even listening to lies, we have just made ourselves vulnerable to attacks from the devil.
How?
Because those actions do not demonstrate a desire to stand firm in God’s Truth.
Instead, you are willing to settle for the lies of the enemy.
So, today, I want you to choose to wear the armor of God—and don’t just put part of it on and walk around half-dressed, but ask God to give you everything you need to stand firm in who He has called you to be.
Get dressed. Stand firm. Fight!