Lesson: Helmet of Salvation

This is the sixth 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.
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How to Win Against Sin, Lesson Six: The Helmet of Salvation
Scripture References:

• 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9
• Romans 8:37-39

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.
• Helmet of Salvation (download here) activity pages for each child.
• Winner tickets (download here)
• One sheet of 18” X 12” construction paper, cut into six 2” wide strips.
• Masking tape.
• Stapler.
• Feathers.
• Crayons, scissors, glue.
• “Winner!” tickets.
• Candy or other small prizes.

For further information on salvation, 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.

• Isaiah 12:2
• 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9
• Romans 8:37-39
• 1 Samuel 2:1-3
• Psalm 3

Theme: The fifth piece of armor is the helmet of salvation. As the helmet protects the head, our hope in salvation protects our minds from Satan’s lies. We have to think about and be confident in the hope he gives us.
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:  Knock out Temptation
Set up plastic cups along the wall. From about ten or fifteen feet away, the children have to bounce a ping pong ball off of the floor once and into the cup. They have to do this three times in a row. Tell the kids that whoever accomplishes this task will receive candy or some other small prize. (It is important that this game is too hard to win. It needs to seem possible, but make sure no one can actually win.) After everyone fails a round,  tell them that you can offer them something so that no matter what they do, whether they make the shots or not, they will still win the prize. Pass out WINNER! tickets to the kids.  Be sure that you don’t force the ticket on any kid. (You could ask a volunteer, such as another adult or classroom helper, to deny taking a ticket, to help demonstrate the point.) Give everyone the option to take it or leave it. Play the game again, only this time, all those with a WINNER! ticket get a prize, even if they don’t complete the task successfully. Ask if the children understand the point of the game. What spiritual theme were you trying to get across? Strongly emphasize that there is nothing we can do to win our salvation. It may seem possible for us to live right, but in the sight of God, we are still sinners. The only way to win the game, to reach Heaven, is to accept God’s free gift of salvation.
Bible Lesson Presentation
Pray with your class.
Today, let’s start by singing our marching song, then you can let me know which piece of the armor we are learning about today.
Belt, breastplate, shoes and shield,
Helmet and sword,
Belt, breastplate, shoes and shield,
Helmet and sword,
This is the armor of our Lord,
Belt, breastplate, shoes and shield,
Helmet and sword.
Today we are learning about the helmet of salvation. How many of you ride a bicycle, scooter, skateboard, or other fast things with wheels? Do you wear your helmet when you do these things? Why? That’s right, you have to wear a helmet so you don’t hurt your head. That’s why soldiers wear helmets too. They have to wear helmets to keep themselves from getting hurt in battle. As we have been learning, we are in a spiritual battle against the devil, and God has given us armor to protect ourselves. One of our most important body parts is the head, and one of the most important pieces of spiritual armor is the helmet of salvation. Who can explain to me what salvation is? Allow a couple of students to respond. This is a good way to figure out what your students know about this important topic. Salvation is when Jesus comes in our lives and takes away our sins. He saves us from an eternity in Hell. Salvation is the greatest gift we could ever receive because it took Jesus Christ dying on the cross for us to get to go to Heaven. God is so holy that He can’t be in the presence of sin. All it takes is one little sin and then we deserve to be in Hell, away from the presence of God. Jesus is the only way to get to Heaven. All we have to do is ACCEPT that we are sinners, BELIEVE Jesus Christ died for our sins, and CONFESS our sins to Him, then we get to spend eternity with God. 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9 tells us “But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.  For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us.” Salvation is represented as a helmet because it protects our thinking. We are confident that we will spend forever in heaven because God has saved us through Jesus Christ. Sometimes when we sin, Satan tries to convince us that God will no longer love us and that we are no longer saved. When Satan tries to make us feel like we have lost, we need to remember what Romans 8:37-39 says. (Have the class turn there, and a student read these verses.) “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” These verses make it very clear that no matter what we do, after we put on the helmet of salvation, we are winners through Christ! Because with Jesus, we can WIN AGAINST SIN! Let’s practice our memory verse with the motions now. “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. Repeat the entire verse with the children, leading them in doing the motions.
Poster Review the pieces from previous weeks and add the helmets to the children on the poster.
Craft: Make helmets of salvation.

1. Pass out the six strips of paper to the children.
2. Allow the children to decorate the strips. Have them designate one piece to be the headband.
3. Use a piece or two to wrap around the child’s head. It should comfortably be able to slip on and off. Staple the pieces together into a headband. Use tape to cover the staples on the inside so they don’t scratch the child.
4. Use the remaining pieces to make cover the head. Staple one end of a strip to the front end of the headband, and the other end of the strip to the back end of the headband. Continue to do this with all the remaining strips, going side to side as well, so the whole head is pretty much covered.
5. Tape over all the staples.
6. If time allows, let the kids glue feathers to the top strip of their helmets.

Pray with your class, then pass out the Helmet activity sheets. These can be done in class or sent home to reinforce the lesson. The page for the older children is a decoder page that spells out “Accept that you are a sinner. Believe that Jesus died for your sins. Confess your sins to God. Commit to following him. Do it today!” The activity page for emergent or nonreaders requires that they color the ABCs of salvation, cut them out, and glue them in the correct order.