Bible Lesson: Declare it Boldly!

This is the 9th lesson in our series called “How to Win Against Sin.” It’s based on the Armor of God teaching found in Ephesians 6. Click here to see more Bible lessons in this unit.
Like all our resources, this material is 100% free to use in your ministry. Please leave a comment below to share your own thoughts and offer hints to other readers.
Scripture References:

• Ephesians 6:19-20
• 1 Corinthians 2:12
• Luke 12:8, 11-12
• 1 Peter 3:15
• 2 Corinthians 5:20

Teacher Preparation:
Read the lesson beforehand and familiarize yourself with it.  You do not have to read it word for word.  Feel free to make it your own, just be sure to get the theme across.  Pray for your class. Gather the following supplies:

• Bible.
• Poster and pieces (download)
• Declare it Boldly activity pages for each child (student page and answer key)
• Gospel flap books printouts. (download here)
• Crayons, scissors.

For further information on sharing your faith, study the following passages. As you study these, allow the Holy Spirit to work these truths into your life so you can share them with the students.

• Acts 4:23-31
• Exodus 4:10-12
• Colossians 4:3
• 2 Corinthians 3:12

Theme: Now we are wearing all of our armor, and we know how to speak with our Commander, Jesus Christ. The last thing we need to do in our battle against sin is declare our faith boldly.
Memory Verse: Ephesians 6:11 (ESV)  “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”
Game: Play Tongue Twisters. Write the following tongue twisters (or your own tongue twisters) on the board. Give the students a few minutes to practice saying them. After everyone has had a chance to practice the tongue twisters, give anyone who wants to a chance to say the tongue twisters from memory. If anyone gets them all right (three times fast), then they win candy.

• A box of mixed biscuits, a mixed biscuit box
• An Ape hates grape cakes.
• Freshly-fried fat flying fish
• Toy boat

 Bible Lesson Plan:

Pray with your class.
Today is the last day we will be discussing How to Win Against Sin. We have learned that we are at war with Satan, and that God has given us spiritual armor to help us fight. We also know that we communicate with Jesus, our Commander, through prayer. Today we will learn how to declare our faith boldly. Before we get into what that means, let’s see how many people have committed our memory verse to heart. Have the children take turns reciting Ephesians 6:10 form memory, doing the motions if they want. If desired, reward each child who has memorized the verse with a small prize or candy. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” “Put on the whole armor” As you say this, pretend to get dressed. Put on your pants and a jacket. “of God”  Sign God. (with right hand, thumb facing you, bring your flattened palm downward from your forehead to your chest.) “So that you may be able to stand against” Stand with your feet slightly more than shoulder width apart with your hands on your hips, like a super hero. “against the schemes” Rub your hands together like an evil villain. “Of the devil.” Sign devil. (Put your thumbs to your temples, and your forefingers and middle fingers straight in the air. Bend them twice, like air quoting. You all did a great job learning our memory verse! Now, who thinks the tongue twisters at the beginning of class were tough? What do you think tongue twisters could have to do with today’s lesson? After accepting a few guesses from students, read Ephesians 6:19-20, then define tricky words like “declare,” “boldly” and “ambassador.” You see, I wrote these tongue twisters on the board for you and gave you time to practice them before saying them to me. Is that what Paul is asking for in this passage? Is he asking for time to practice a speech before sharing the “mystery of the Gospel?” Where is he expecting these words to come from? Paul is not looking for a speech to be given to him to practice before he shares the good news of Jesus with everyone. What he is asking for is that when a situation comes where he needs to share about God, the Holy Spirit would tell him what to say in that moment. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, and it says in 1 Corinthians 2:12  “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.” This means the Holy Spirit helps us understand the Bible and to share what it says with others. Does it sound scary to start talking to someone about Jesus without knowing exactly what you are going to say? What are some of the reasons that someone might be afraid to share their faith? Make a list of student responses on the board. Include things like, “I don’t know what to say” and “I’m afraid they will laugh at me.”  These all seem like good reasons to be afraid. But we don’t have to be afraid, because Jesus is with us whenever we speak! Jesus says in Luke 12:8, “I tell you the truth, everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, the Son of Man will also acknowledge in the presence of God’s angels.” When we are happy to tell others about Jesus, Jesus is happy to tell the angels about us. Jesus goes on in Luke 12:11-12 to say, “And when you are brought to trial in the synagogues and before rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said.”These verses are NOT saying that we should not be prepared to share the gospel. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to always be ready to explain our Christian hope to others. (New Living Translation.)What Jesus is telling us is that no matter where we are or who we are talking to, he will be there to help us talk about him. We want to tell others the good news of Jesus so they can learn to WIN AGAINST SIN just like we have learned to WIN AGAINST SIN with Jesus! Ephesians 6:20 calls us ambassadors. Let’s have a sword drill to help us understand what this means. When I say go, look up 2 Corinthians 5:20. Go! This verse tells us that we are ambassadors, or messengers from a foreign country, (Heaven,) for God. Our message is the gospel. We are to ask people to turn to God, so they can WIN AGAINST SIN!
Poster Review the pieces from previous weeks and add the Jesus Rules! dialogue bubble to the poster.
Craft: Make Gospel flap books. Pass out one template to each student. First, fold the paper in half long side to long side, so the text is on the inside. With it still folded, fold it again short side to short side. Bring the top down to meet the bottom so when your book is closed, the title page is now facing you. When you open the flap book, you should lift the top so it is a sheet folded long side to long side, with flaps that open to the left, like a book. Unfold one time and cut along the lines, up to the crease in the middle. Fold the flaps closed. On the outside of each flap, draw a picture to remind you of the verses and idea inside that flap. Remind the students that this is just an example, an idea of what to say when you share the Gospel. The Holy Spirit will provide the exact words they need when the time comes.
Pray with your class, then pass out the Declare it Boldly activity sheets. These can be done in class or sent home to reinforce the lesson. The page for the older children is a crossword that reviews the lessons. For the younger children, have them use Mandy Groce’s armor of God coloring pages also found on this site.  This will help them remember all the pieces of armor.