In the Verse Kit Box:
From home:
School Glue
The karate belt from last week. (Photo below)
Lesson:
Tonight, we started by mentioning that we were learning The Armor of God, found in Ephesians chapter 6. I held up the verse card from last week (Ephesians 6:12) and read it to bring it back to mind, but moved quickly on to the new verse. This verse is a little longer than some of the others, so we put motions to it:
We tried to accent the 2 rhyming words: waist and place. We talked a little about rhyming words in general, but not for long.
After introducing the verse, we zeroed in on the word breastplate. I clarified that it was not a bra! We talked about how Ephesus, where the Ephesians lived, was a Roman colony governed and protected by Roman soldiers. Therefore, the people who lived there were very familiar with armor. We looked at the picture on the verse card, which was a natural segue into the Israel high priest breastplate.
The high priest’s breastplate was made of the same material as the ephod, another priestly garment, according to Exodus 28:15. It was to be made of “gold, blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen.” It was then inlaid with 4 rows of 3 precious gems each, embedded in gold (Yes, we took a split second to dive into simple multiplication!) Once the student(s) figured out the answer, we talked about how each jewel represented the 12 tribes of Israel.
WIth a few students, I mentioned how truth is the belt because it covers our stomach. I asked them if they remembered how they felt the last time they told a lie. Often, lying will make us queazy. It can even make us sick to our stomach. Hence, telling the truth is important to protecting what’s below (inside our body) our belt.
And of course, can you even talk about honesty without quoting John 14:6?!? Jesus said, “I am the way, the Truth, and the Life…”
Below is a sermon commentary about this passage that I found interesting. It is from the app Bible Hub, which I use to study. I put in bold the sections I found most pertinent to today’s verses. I used some of this information with some of the students also.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(extracted from Bible Hub, the app)
(Ephesians 6:14-17)
in this magnificent passage, while it would be unreasonable to look for formal and systematic exactness, it is clear that (as usual in St. Paul’s most figurative passages) there runs through the whole a distinct method of idea. Thus (1) the order in which the armour in enumerated is clearly the order in which the armour of the Roman soldier was actually put on. It nearly corresponds with the invariable order in which Homer describes over and over again the arming of his heroes. First the belt and the corselet, which met and together formed the body armour; then the sandals; next the shield, and after this (for the strap of the great shield could hardly pass over the helmet) the helmet itself; then the soldier was armed, and only had to take up the sword and spear. It is curious to note that St. Paul omits the spear (the pilum of the Roman soldier)–exactly that part of his equipment which, when on guard within, the soldier would not be likely to assume. (2) Again, since “to put on the armour of light” is to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” it follows that the various parts of the defensive armour are the various parts of the image of the Lord Jesus Christ; hence they are properly His, and are through His gift appropriated by us. Thus the “righteousness” is clearly the righteousness of Christ, realised in us (comp. Philippians 3:9); the sandals, which give firm footing, are the gospel of our peace in Him; the salvation is His salvation worked out in us. Only the sword is in no sense our own: it is the “Word of God” wielded by us, but in itself “living and powerful and sharp” (Hebrews 4:12).(14) Your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.–There is here an obvious reference to two passages of Isaiah (Isaiah 11:5; Isaiah 59:17), “Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins,” “He put on righteousness as a breastplate.” Truth and righteousness are virtually identical, or, at least, inseparable. Hence they are compared to the strong belt, and the breastplate continuous with it, forming together the armour of the body. Perhaps “truth” is taken as the belt because it is the one bond both of society and of individual character. But it is in the two together that men stand “armed strong in honesty.” In 1Thessalonians 5:8, the metaphor is different and perhaps less exact. There the breastplate is the “breastplate of faith and love”–that which here is the shield. . .
Review:
We only reviewed the books of the New Testament, due to multiple children on the same call, and the length of the new verse. However, below are the verses that should have been reviewed this week:
Kit:
Using the karate belt from last week, which has a small WHITE ribbon on one end, attach the small RED ribbon from this week on the other end: Stand Firm/Belt of Truth. Wear it through the rest of the day and say the memory verse before you eat (the belt covers your stomach!)!
Bible Literacy:
Help your child look up and highlight Ephesians 6:14.