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God has given you
powerful weapons
to fight with
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By Trenz Pruca
Year 2
Quarter
4
Lesson
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Power Point: God has given you powerful weapons to fight with
Direction: It’s up to you to use them
Memory Verse: “For the weapons that we fight with are not
the weapons of the world.” - 2 Corinthians 10:4b (NIV)
Last week we taught that as a part of the Army of God, we must be ready to fight because we’re in a war. Everyone would agree that while it wouldn’t make sense for an army to go to war without any weapons, it would make even less sense for a soldier to go to war with weapons and not even use them. Sadly this is the case with many ChrisBans today. Every day we have to fight the good fight and God has given us the most powerful weapons we could ever dream of, yet so oCen we fail to even use them. We need to encourage the kids to use their weapons to fight the devil and stay close to God. Bible Lesson: David turns down King Saul’s weapons (1 Samuel 17)
When David asked King Saul if he could fight Goliath, King Saul encouraged him to take his armor and his sword. David chose 5 small stones and a sling instead. It seems foolish for David to turn down the King’s sword for a stone -­‐ that doesn’t seem very powerful at all. In the same way, people may look at prayer, praise, and the Word of God and not understand how they can be powerful. They may not look like much but they are the most powerful weapons we have.
Object Lesson 1: Fight back against the devil’s aDacks with the Word of God
Using the tesBmony of a lady who chose to believe the Word of God over the doctor’s report, we demonstrate the power of the Word of God and how to use it to fight back against the devil’s aLacks. Object Lesson 2: Fight back against the devil’s aDacks with prayer
A personal tesBmony of when a teacher was saved from a difficult situaBon and an aLack of fear by fighBng back with prayer. This should inspire the kids to pick up this powerful weapon and start praying for themselves much more. Object Lesson 3: Fight back against the devil’s aDacks with praise
Praise is the last powerful weapon we are teaching on. When the kids are facing hard Bmes, the last thing they about is praising God. They feel they have no reason to praise God and that’s exactly what the devil wants because he knows how powerful praise is. Instead of being discouraged, they need to fight back and start praising God. We will put different reasons to praise God onto a large poster board and then spend Bme encouraging the kids to praise God for themselves.
Teacher's Responsibility
Before you can tell your kids to fight with these weapons, you have to make sure that you do first. How have you been dealing with the aLacks of the enemy in your own life? Are you fighBng with the weapons that God has given you or have you been trying to handle things in your own way? Take Bme before teaching this lesson to reflect on the power of these weapons – remember Bmes in your own life where you have used them and where God has come through for you. Build up your own faith before you go out to empower and encourage your kids. Fight back against the devil’s a2acks with:
Sub 1: The Word of God
Sub 2: Prayer
Sub 3: Praise
2
Lesson Intro
Props
Actors
PreparaOon
4 army ou`its (green pants, green shirts, 3 camouflage bandanas), general hat and jacket, black and green face paint, long black table, rifle, lots of camouflage ne]ng, 2 large plasBc rocks, 9 crates, gray blankets
General, 3 Soldiers
Place the two plasBc rocks on either side of the stage at the front, cover the crates with the gray blankets and camouflage and place them near the front of the stage as well (leave it like this for the Bible Lesson too). Place the rifle on the table and place the table to one side of the stage. PresentaOon: (General enters stage and stands by the table)
General: ADenOon soldiers! (Soldiers enter stage and scramble to get in line straight across the stage. The general walks slowly up and down the line as he talks)
General: Soldiers, we have no Ome to waste. You are in the army now and before you know it you will be fighOng the enemy and he will fight you hard. I want you to pay aDenOon because what I am about to give you will save your life (General turns around and picks up a gun from the table and shows it to the soldiers)
General: This is a weapon and every soldier that is in my army will be given one. (General places a gun in one soldier’s hand) It’s not enough for you to carry your weapon or just to hold it, it is very important that you use your weapon when you are aDacked by the enemy or else you will be defeated by him. Do you understand?
Soldiers: Sir, yes Sir!
Teacher: Freeze! The general just gave the soldiers in his army weapons to fight with (point to the rifles). He knows that if his army goes out to war with no weapons to fight with, they don’t stand a chance against the enemy’s aDacks. Just like these soldiers are a part of the general’s army (point to the soldiers), you are a part of God’s army and God has given you powerful weapons to fight with as well. But God hasn’t given you a rifle or a machine gun because those aren’t the kind of weapons that you need. In fact, today’s memory verse is from 2 Corinthians 10:3 and it says, “ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.” Guns and knives are the kind of weapons that people use to fight each other in this world, but that’s not the kind of war that you are in. Remember last week we told you that you are not fighOng against flesh and blood enemies, but against the devil who you cannot see. So a gun is not going to help you – you cannot shoot the devil because you can’t even see him. The weapons that God has given you are the Word of God, prayer and praise. Maybe you are si]ng there thinking, ‘What kind of weapons are they?’ but let me tell you something. No maLer how hard the devil aDacks you, no maLer what he comes against you with, you can always use these weapons to fight back. But there’s a catch -­‐ the general told his soldiers that they have to use their weapons. It sounds obvious – you’re in the middle of a war, the enemy is shooBng at you from all sides, obviously you are going to pick up your gun and use it to fight back -­‐ it would be crazy not to. Just like that, it would be crazy for you not to use these weapons that God has given you. It’s not enough to have the Bible in your home – you need to open it up and read it every day so that you know what’s inside. Then when the devil aDacks you with different things you know exactly what to say to fight back. God has given you powerful weapons to fight with, but it’s up to you to use them. Fight back against the devil’s a2acks with…
1. The Word of God 2. Prayer
3. Praise
Bible Lesson
David turns down king saul’s weapons
Props
Actors
Music
PreparaOon
2 Israelite soldier ou`its, David ou`it, strip of cloth (sling shot), one small stone, King Saul ou`it, Goliath soldier ou`it, 3 swords, basket of food
David, Goliath, King Saul, 2 Israelite soldiers
DramaBc music Same set up from the Lesson IntroducBon
PresentaOon: Have you ever been so afraid of something that all you’ve wanted to do was run away scared? There was a Bme in the Bible when the Israelite soldiers found themselves in a situaBon just like that. (Start playing dramaDc music) Every day they came out and lined up for baLle and got ready to fight, and every day they would run away scared because of a giant named Goliath.
(Israelite soldiers run up to the front of the stage and stand at the front of the baFle line looking strong. Goliath enters from the back doors of the church – walks half way down the aisle and stops)
Goliath: Why do you come out and line up for baDle? Send me a man and we will fight! If he kills me, we will become your servants. But if I kill him, you will become our servants. On this day I defy the ranks of Israel! (Throws his head back and laughs -­‐ the Israelites run away and hide but sDll on stage)
Teacher: Day aCer day Goliath came out and threatened the Israelites, and day aCer day they ran away from him because they were so afraid (Israelites run and hide behind the fake rocks). UnBl one day, a young boy named David came by to bring some food to his brothers. While he was there, David happened to overhear Goliaths threats. But David wasn’t like the rest of the Israelite soldiers who ran away in fear of the enemy’s aDack. Instead, he went to the king and told him that he would go out to fight and kill Goliath. (David approaches King Saul and kneels at his feet) At first the king didn’t think he could do it, but eventually David convinced him he could. King Saul offered David his armor and weapons.
King Saul: Here, take my weapons to fight Goliath. (King Saul tries to get David to take his sword, but it’s too heavy and awkward for him)
David: No, I can’t use your weapons. I’m not used to them. But I have another weapon that I will use. David gave up using the king’s weapons and chose, instead, to use 5 smooth stones and a sling.
(David pulls out his sling and stone from his pouch -­‐ spotlight on David and on King Saul)
Teacher: Freeze! (Fade music) Now anyone in their right mind would stop and say, “ That’s crazy! You’d turn down the King’s sword for a stone?” I mean really, what kind of weapon is a small stone like this? (Teacher goes over to David and picks up a stone and holds it up for everyone to see) Let me tell you, this small stone doesn’t look like it could be a powerful weapon at all, but just because it doesn’t look powerful doesn’t mean that it isn’t. You may be thinking that the weapons that God has given you aren’t that powerful because they don’t look like much. Maybe you think, ‘how powerful can prayer really be? How powerful is the Word of God? Are they powerful enough to help me to fight against the devils a2acks in my life?’ Yes they are. Just because they don’t look that powerful, doesn’t mean that they aren’t.
Bible Lesson - Page 1
Bible Lesson
David turns down King Saul’s weapons
The liLle stone that David was using didn’t seem like a powerful weapon either. Even Goliath laughed at him when he saw David running towards him with it. (David advances toward Goliath, aims and Goliath falls to the ground) Yet in just one shot, David threw that stone and hit Goliath right between the eyes and killed him. Maybe his weapon didn’t look like much, but in the end it was more powerful than any other weapon and it stopped the enemy dead in his tracks. Just like that, when you start to use the weapons that God has given you, you will see that you really can fight back against the aDacks from the devil with them. God has given you powerful weapons to fight with, but it is up to you to use them.
Bible Lesson - Page 2
Object Lesson 1
Fight back against the devil’s attacks with the Word of God
Props
Huge Bible
PresentaOon: Who here has ever heard of pancreaBBs? Well, it is a disease that totally destroys your body. It is very dangerous. I want to tell you about a lady who had this disease. Her name was Gloria. The doctors diagnosed her with this disease and then told her that there was nothing they could do for her. ACer telling her this, they sent her home from the hospital to die. The doctors had nothing to fight this disease with, but Gloria knew she had a powerful weapon to fight this aDack with. That weapon was the Word of God (point to the big Bible on stage). She knew the Word of God says “By Jesus’ stripes, we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). She knew the Word of God says that God is her healer. Instead of giving up and feeling sorry for herself because she was supposed to die, she decided to fight with the Word of God. She believed it with her whole heart, she remembered it all the Bme, and she spoke it, “By Jesus stripes, I am healed!” This is how she fought back with the Word of God, and guess what? Gloria was totally healed! The pancreaBBs that the doctors said they could do nothing about, the disease that the doctors said would kill her, completely disappeared from her body! God had given her a powerful weapon and she decided to use it. God has also given you the Word of God to fight back against the devil’s aDacks with. You need to be like Gloria and use it. Maybe your grandma is really sick. The doctors have given her all kinds of medicine, but it doesn’t work. Now the devil is trying to aDack your mind and make you believe that your grandma will never get beLer. You need to fight against those thoughts with the Word of God. When you start thinking that your grandma will never get beLer, you need to say “I know that the Word of God says that God came to heal our diseases” (open up the big Bible and show verse. Psalm 103:3). That is fighOng back with the Word of God.
Or maybe your big brother is ge]ng involved in drugs. You want him to change, but you are ge]ng discouraged. The devil will try to get you to think your brother will never change. Those thoughts come into your mind all the Bme and there’s a fight going on inside of you. Instead of le]ng those thoughts bring you down, you need to say, “No, I know the Bible says that as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord!” (Open Bible and show verse -­‐ Joshua 24:15). You need believe that with your whole heart, remember it, and speak it! Fight against the devil’s aDacks with the Word of God and believe that your brother will change. God has given you powerful weapons to fight with, but it’s up to you to use them. Object Lesson 2
Fight back against the devil’s attacks with prayer
Props
Actors
Girl costume, police costume, book-­‐bag
Police, Girl
PresentaOon: The devil hates you so much that he will try to destroy you with all kinds of aDacks. I remember a Bme in my life when he aDacked me with fear. I was walking home from school one day (girl walk onstage with book-­‐bag) and it was ge]ng dark (fade lights). All of a sudden in front of me, there was a group of men (girl looks around nervously). They stared at me and I began to get nervous. My heart started beaBng faster (girl puts her hand on her heart) and I started to feel very afraid. I walked past as fast as I could (girl walks by quickly) but then one of the guys yelled.
Male voice (from offstage): Let’s get her!
Teacher: I turned around (girl turns around) and saw these men start to come aCer me. I was so afraid, but I realized that fear was an aDack from the devil. I fought back with prayer. Girl: God Your word says that You will always be with me and You’ll never leave me or forsake me. I pray that You would protect me and rescue me!
Teacher: I turned to run (girl turns to run) but all of a sudden a police officer appeared from around the corner (police officer walks out towards the girl and talks to her for a second before conDnuing with his patrol). When the men saw him coming they immediately turned and walked away in the opposite direcBon. I fought back with prayer and the Word of God, and God protected me.
That’s what you need to do. When the devil aDacks you with fear in your neighborhood, you need to fight back with prayer. You can say, “God I know you’re with me and you promised to protect me. I won’t be afraid!” Maybe you’re sick and you think that you’ll always be sick and nothing will change. Use the Word of God like we just told you before, and pray it! Fight back against that sickness with prayer. Pray for God to heal you because the Bible says that the prayer of faith makes the sick person well (James 5:15). That’s how powerful your prayers are so use this powerful weapon that God has given you. Fight back against the devil’s aDacks with prayer. Object Lesson 3
Fight back against the devil’s attacks with praise
Props
Music
PreparaOon
Poster board, marker, 7 smaller pieces of poster board with sBcky tape on the back (“God is good”; “God loves me”; “God will never leave me”; “God sent Jesus to die for me”; “God protects me”; “God helps me”; “God is powerful”).
A good praise song
As you are teaching you will write the examples all over the poster board, then you will sBck the reasons to praise God over the top so they completely cover the examples. Make the 7 pieces of poster board bright and colorful.
PresentaOon: Praise is when we tell God how great and amazing He is. But when life is hard and it feels like you’re being aDacked from every side, the last thing you feel like doing is praising God. That is one of the reasons why the devil will aDack you and constantly try to make things difficult for you. He doesn’t want you to think that there is any reason to praise God. The devil will make you think that you have no friends (write “no friends” on the poster) in school who really care about you, because he knows you will think, ‘Why should I praise God when everyone makes fun of me?’ The devil wants your family to fight and argue (write “family fighDng”) at home so that you think, ‘ This is never going to change, why should I praise God?’ Maybe you’re feeling depressed (write “depressed”); maybe you’re worried you’ll fail your tests in school (write “failure”); maybe your dog died (write “dog died”) and you miss him all the Bme. The devil will aDack you with so many things so that the last thing you are thinking about is praising God. You wish you didn’t have to feel the way that you do or go through those things; you hope things will change, but you’re not doing anything to fight for it. What you need to do is fight back with praise. No maLer how hard your life is, these things will always be true: God is good (sDck “God is good” onto the poster). God adores you (sDck on “God loves me”). God will never leave you (sDck on “God will never leave me”). God sent His only Son to die for you (sDck on “God sent Jesus to die for me”). God wants to protect you (sDck on “God protects me”). God wants to help you (sDck on “God helps me”). God is powerful (sDck on “God is powerful”) and he has the power to change your situaBon! There are so many things that you can praise God for (point to all the reasons) no maLer how hard life gets. When David was facing hard Bmes in his life, he wrote this: “Why am I so sad? Why am I so upset? I should put my hope in God and keep praising him, my Savior and my God” (Psalms 43:5 NCV).
You need to be like David. He knew that praise was a powerful weapon because when he started praising God, he would be focusing on how powerful God is to change his situaBon and it would give him hope. Praise is a powerful weapon that God has given you, and instead of le]ng the devil beat you down with his aDacks, you need to decide to use the weapon of praise and fight back! In fact, we’re going to try it right now.
(Put on a praise song and start to lead the kids in jumping around and praising God for different things. Let them use the examples on the poster board and encourage them to think of their own things to praise God for.)
Even when things look hopeless, you need to fight with praise. When you praise God, you will get your joy back and you will see the situaBons that you go through start to change. You will win these fights when you praise God. God has given you powerful weapons to fight with, so fight back against the devils aDacks with praise. Life Lesson
Sheila Squirrel
Props
Sound Effects
Backpack, flashlight, map, small book, radio
Buzzer/alarm, shooBng darts, radio, large explosion
Frame 1: Sheila Squirrel and the other agents of the Task Force were called into the conference room for a special briefing. “Agents, what we are looking at here is a top priority mission,” said Sparks the Commanding Officer as he pointed at the large screen behind him. “As you can see,” he conBnued, “Agent Samson has been kidnapped by the enemy and we need to get him back safely. You’ve never fought an enemy like this before, which is why I’ve prepared for each of you a specialized pack of powerful weapons.” (Pick up the backpack) With that Officer Sparks handed out the packs to each of his agents. “I don’t have Bme to explain them all now…we have to leave!” Frame 2: Sheila and the other agents hurried out of the conference room to the hanger where a jet was waiBng for them. As they boarded, each agent strapped on a parachute. Once they had been in the air for an hour the back hatch started to open up and one by one the agents were jumping out of the back of the plane. It was Sheila’s turn next. Frame 3: 3…2…1…GO! She jumped out of the plane and pulled the cord to open her parachute. It was dusk as she and the other agents circled the sky. She saw the nuclear power plant off in the distance where Agent Samson was being held. Officer Sparks moBoned for the agents to follow his lead as they circled down to a wooded area just around the outside perimeter of the plant. Frame 4: It was dark when Officer Sparks gathered his team of agents together. He laid out the blueprints on the floor and shone his flashlight on them so he could see (lay map on the ground and point flashlight onto the map). “We’re right here and the enemy is all around us. We need to get to the center of the plant and retrieve Agent Samson. This is a very dangerous job,” he conBnued, “so keep your pack on you at all Bmes. Inside are your weapons. They might not look powerful, but trust me, they are.” “Yeah right!” snorted Shane to himself as the team departed, “I know beLer than that. That’s why I brought my own. I’m not gonna use them.”
Preaching Point: God has given you powerful weapons to fight with; it’s up to you to use them. Shane didn’t want to use any of the weapons that the Officer gave them. God has given you powerful weapons to fight with, but the problem is – some of you sBll want to fight on your own. When someone aLacks you at school, you want to use your fists as weapons. When someone curses you out, you want to use your words as weapons and curse them back. But when you use your weapons, you’re not fighOng against the devil, you’re fighOng for the devil. God wants you to use his weapons so much because they are way more powerful than any weapon that you could ever pick up.
ACer the Officer gave the instrucBons, Sheila and Shane snuck into the power plant. Frame 5: They Bp-­‐toed past one of the enemy guards and up some winding metal steps. They reached the top of the steps and soCly pushed their way through the door. BEEP! BEEP!! BEEP!!! (Play buzzer alarm) They had triggered the alarm! They tried to get back out the door but it was locked. They were trapped! As they were raLling the door trying to get out, the enemy came around the corner and headed straight for them Sheila and Shane. Frame 6: “What are we going to do?!” exclaimed Shane, “We have no way out!” “The pack from Officer Sparks!” said Sheila as she unzipped the pack around her waist and grabbed something. It was a book! (Open the bookbag and pull out a book) “What kind of weapon is a book? We need something powerful!” Shane shouted in a panic as Sheila was opening it up. “Forget this!” he said as he pulled out his knife, “My weapon is more powerful than that. Just watch me.” Before Sheila could say anything he ran toward the enemy fighters with his knife in hand, but he didn’t make it very far before the enemy got hold of him and knocked him to the ground. Life Lesson - Page 1
Life Lesson
Sheila Squirrel
Frame 7: Sheila knew that she didn’t have any Bme to waste. She opened the book and much to her surprise, there were only a few pages there to cover a hidden compartment containing something…a weapon! It was a powerful dart gun. Sheila aimed the dart gun at the enemy who was just feet away from her. She fired (play sound effect of a dart gun). The enemy scaLered. Who would have thought that that book could have had something so powerful in it? Preaching Point: Fight back against the devil’s aDacks with the Word of God. When you open up the Word of God, there is so much power. When you start to read the Word of God and know it, the next Bme the devil aDacks you and says, “You’re no good, you’re a loser!” You can go back to the Word of God and fight back. Say, “No I’m not; I’m fearfully and wonderfully made because this is what the Word of God says (Psalm 139:14)!” When the devil aDacks you and says, “You’re ugly, you should just kill yourself”, you can go to the Word and say, “No – the Bible says that Jesus came so that I could have life – not death (John 10:10).” There is so much power in the Word of God but you have to use it. ACer Sheila cleared the hallway of the enemies, she ran to get Agent Samson. Frame 8: She raced down the hall closer and closer to the center of the building where Agent Samson was being held. She came to a room that said ‘Restricted Access.’ To get in she needed a ten digit access code. Suddenly Sheila had an idea. She stuck her hand into the pack a second Bme. “ This radio is my powerful weapon now! Without it I can’t get in,” she said. (Pick up radio, play sound effect of radio staDc) “Come in Officer Sparks! I need the access code.” Agent Sparks radioed Sheila the code and she slipped into the room just in Bme, un-­‐noBced by the enemy. Frame 9: “ There he is!” She ran over and unBed Agent Samson’s hands and just then she heard a ‘click’. “It’s rigged,” said Agent Samson, “it’s a trap! Freeing me has just set off a Bmer for an explosion. We have to get out of here right away!” They ran as fast as they could out of the room and down the hall. “Calling all agents,” shouted Sheila over her radio as they ran, “Get out of the building immediately!” Frame 10: Suddenly…POW!!! (Play explosion sound effect) They were thrown to the ground from the impact of the explosion. They suffered some scrapes and cuts but managed to scramble to their feet and run to the edge of the woods where Officer Sparks and the team were waiBng. Everyone made it safely out of the building, with the excepBon of Shane. He thought that his weapons were more powerful than Officer Sparks and he paid for that mistake with his life. Point of Decision
Shane didn’t make it. He had the weapons, but he didn’t use them. Just like that, you have the weapons that God has given you in your hands, and you need to use them. Are you Bred of the devil pushing you around, trying to control your neighborhood and your family? You have the weapon (hold up the Bible) – what are you going to do with it?
If you are going through a baLle right now, I want you to stand up. We are going to start using these weapons right now. Close your eyes and repeat aCer me. Closing Prayer
Devil, you’re going to back off from my life. God has given me the most powerful weapons and I am going to use them against you. You will no longer control my life. You will no longer control my family. You will no longer control my neighborhood because I am in God’s army and you cannot defeat me when I have God’s weapons. God, thank you for giving me weapons – every Bme I use the weapons You have given me, I always win. Thank you, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Life Lesson - Page 2