Family Memory Verse for the Week
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. -Eph. 6:10-13

Devotional
When Bryan Cranston played the role of Lyndon B. Johnson in the play All the Way, he devoted his entire life around the role. According to him, outside of a morning bike ride and watching one hour of television a week, the rest of his time was spent rehearsing his lines. There were times he needed encouragement to keep going from the directors when he did not think he would be able to memorize all his lines, but his entire life for those weeks were devoted to one thing, playing the role of LBJ.
In Ephesians 6:18 Paul writes that we should “keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.” Paul encourages us to have perseverance in our prayer life. The word used for perseverance in that verse refers to having a particular devotion to a practice. The word speaks to an enthusiasm or zeal that comes with the commitment to the practice of a craft. According to Paul, our prayer life should be characterized by devotion. We need to be a people who are committed to the practice of prayer throughout our entire day. Our day needs to be shaped by our devotion to prayer. How can you be devoted to the practice of prayer today?

Family Activities
“Pray continually” 1 Thessalonians 5:17. As a family, pray together. There are so many amazing things you can do as a family to pray together. You can write prayer requests out on a white board or paper and pray together as a family and see how God answers them. Grab a jar, strips of paper or popsicle sticks and write out family members names, friends names, your school, church, community workers and take turns drawing one out as you are around the table and have that person pray for them.  Let your children hear you pray out loud, no matter what ages your children are, they need to hear you pray. Prayer is a beautiful conversation with the Lord that does not need to be overwhelming for your child or you.

Family Memory Verse for the Week
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. -Eph. 6:10-13

Devotional
Why? The one word question is pretty popular amongst toddlers and movies. It is not a big surprise to movie watchers to see someone get rescued from a life altering situation only to ask the question, why?  In Ephesians 6:17, Paul labels the next piece of the armor of God. We are told to take up the helmet of salvation. The multifaceted word salvation can stir up different emotions and be tackled from different angles. One of the main ways we think of salvation is by asking: what are we saved from? In Christianity, the answer is eternal life apart from God. A question we can ask about salvation, however, is why? Why did God rescue us? The one word question is followed by a one word answer. Love. We see the great love of God in John 3:16, where we read that it is because of God’s love for us that he sent Jesus to die for us, to save us. When we put on the helmet of salvation, we are reminded not only what we are saved from, but also why we are saved: because we are loved.

Family Activity
As a family, discuss different helmets people wear. Kids are not used to seeing people wearing full armor so you can even look up pictures of helmets.  People wear bike helmets, football helmets, lacrosse helmets, ect.. It helps protect us and save us. God gave us his gift of salvation to save us. Read John 3:16 together and talk about how much God loves us and wants to protect us.

Have you ever fallen with a helmet on? How did the helmet protect you?

What stood out to you from the message?
See the outline below from the message, and discuss how salvation impacts your life.

1: Helmets save
Salvation is like a helmet, it literally saves your life.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Acts 4:11-12 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Mark 16:16 [Jesus said] Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

2: Helmets protect your mind/thoughts
Rom. 12:2 Do not be conformed to this w3orld, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Phil. 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

3: Helmets direct vision
Prov. 19:21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
Matt 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

4: Helmets protect against what lies behind
Psalm 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

5: Helmets identify your position
The Romans were known for having a plum or crest on many of their helmet designs, made of naturally dyed horse hair.
It is believed that these crests were used mainly to identify position or rank of the soldier.

Salvation is now the marker in our lives…showing our rank to the world.
And baptism is the public announcement of our new identity.

Read Rom. 6:1-11 as a group and discuss how baptism helps you proclaim your new identity in Christ?

Family Memory Verse for the Week
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. -Eph. 6:10-13

Devotional
How is your poker face? Many of us are careful to put on our poker face before we head out for the day. We mask up in order to hide what is going on inside of us. Our masks help other people see someone who appears to be happy instead of lonely, funny rather than afraid, serious rather than anger. Others see the face rather than what is going on inside.
Next up in the armor of God is the sword of the Spirit which Paul labels the Word of God. The armor of God is not the only place that the Word of God is compared to a sword, however. In Hebrew 4:12, we read that the “...word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The Bible can cut through the facade that we put up to see the pain and turmoil bubbling up inside each of us. Thankfully, the Bible does not just see the diagnoses, but has the cure as well. While we may need some helpful counselors, friends, and other tools, the source of our cure is found in Jesus. The word of God is living and active and will see through whatever mask we bring to it. The Bible sees what is going on inside rather than the poker face.

Family Activities
The sword of the Spirit is an offensive weapon and a defensive weapon. It is so important to teach our children the word of God. Have your child or help your child make a sword out of a paper towel tube or rolled up piece of paper. As they are making it talk with them about learning God’s word.  Come up with a plan as a family to discuss God’s Word daily. Ask your kids to help so everyone is excited about it and looks forward to it! You can read a devotional at breakfast, dinner, before bed, or find any time that works for you. This will help lay the foundation for when they grow to have a healthy rhythm in place for digging into God’s word daily.

Has there ever been a time in your life where you mis-measured something, or trusted in a measuring tool that was off? What were the results?

Read Ephesians 6:10-18 together as a group.
Notice how the Sword of the Spirit is unique from all the other pieces of equipment in that Paul defines the illustration for us. What does he liken the Sword of the Spirit to?

On Sunday, Gavin mentioned that the Bible is called the Canon from the Greek word for ruler, measuring stick or level.
How has God's word served as a measuring device in your life?
Have there been times where you've changed course because of something you read in the Bible?

Read Romans 12:1-2 together as a group.
How can you discern the will of God according to this text?
What tools are available to you in the discernment process?

Pray for one another as you close, specifically asking the Holy Spirit to empower you to know God's word and direct you to passages you need in the moment along your faith journey.

Shield of Faith

Has there been a time in your life that you had to hold onto something with all you had? Share the story and the feelings that came over you in that moment.

Message Recap
Gavin made 4 main points Sunday:
1. A shield must be picked up
2. A shield must be held onto
3. A shield must be directed
4. A shield is most effective when locked with other shields

What stood out to you from the message?

Read Hebrews 11:1-12:2 together as a group.
How did these heroes of the faith exhibit faith? Take some time discussing the names listed, and look up the stories of any you aren't familiar with. Help one another understand about the example each life was of the journey of faith.

Who has been an example of faith in your life?
What about their life showed their faith in Jesus?
Has there been a time in your life where you had to cling to faith in Jesus through a difficult circumstance?
How can our lives direct others to faith in Christ?

Close in praying for one another.

Shield

Family Memory Verse for the Week
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. -Eph. 6:10-13

Devotional
There are flaming darts arching their way towards you. These flaming arrows are destined to hit you. The shield of faith that Paul calls us to take up in Ephesians 6:16 does not stop the arrows from coming or even from hitting their target, which is us. What the shield does is extinguish the flame of the arrow. The enemy wants not only to wound you with an arrow, but also to cause a wildfire in your life. However, there is hope. The shield does not stop the arrow, but it does make the arrow lose its power. What the enemy means for chaos gets extinguished by the shield of faith. Through Jesus, the arrows lose their power. We see that even as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:54-56 that even death loses its sting through Jesus. The flaming arrows are coming and are going to hit their target. You will feel the impact, but will you feel the sting? What kind of shield are you holding up?

Family Activity
As a family, design your own shield, with paper plates or cardboard. Discuss about how a shield can protect you. You can use marshmallows or cotton balls to “attack” each other and use the shield to block.

Family Memory Verse for the Week
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. -Eph. 6:10-13

Devotional
What shoes would you wear to a nice dinner with your significant other? Which shoes in your closet would you put on for a hike up a mountain? My guess is those are two different pairs of shoes. The shoes we wear often match the occasion for which we are wearing them. Put another way, the shoes characterize the occasion.
In Ephesians 6:15, Paul writes that we should put on the shoes of readiness given by the gospel of peace. The gospel shoes are marked by peace. In Romans 5:1, we read that it is through the work of Jesus that we now have peace with God. It is not simply the gospel message that is marked by peace, but it is us as well. Peace is a marker of the follower of God. We read that peace is one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22. The shoes characterize the occasion. Peace is the marker of gospel shoes and the wearer of the gospel shoes.

Family Activities
As a family, get together and gather all different kinds of shoes  (some adult shoes, kids shoes, flip flops, boots) Then let everyone try to walk around the house with all the different sizes. We all can put on the boots of peace God designed them perfectly to fit each and everyone of us. As we walk around with the armor of God we walk firmly and tell others about Jesus.

What is the favorite pair of shoes you've ever owned and why?

Read Eph. 6:10-18 together.
What does it look like to put on shoes of the readiness of the Gospel of Peace?

In talking about Asher's love for shoes, Gavin said, "When the shoes go on, we go out."
What does it look like to live adventurously with Jesus?
In what ways can you prepare yourself to share the Gospel with those you come in contact with?

Read Matt. 28:18-20
What stands out to you about the Great Commission?
What did Jesus call us to? Look at the verbs he uses and be specific as you answer.

Gavin emphasized the importance of one on one discipleship in fulfilling our mission to Multiply as a church. Who are you disciplining? Or who might God be inviting you to disciple?

Gavin talked about having one up, one down and many around. Do you have a one up? Do you have a one down? Obviously this Tribe serves as part of the people around you...but how can we as a group hold one another accountable to fulfilling our call to make disciples?

Family Memory Verse for the Week
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. -Eph. 6:10-13


Devotional
Jerseys are one of the most iconic parts of sports. Many jerseys have become ingrained in our culture to the point that they are recognizable to everyone. It is reported that the NFL alone sold more than $2 billion dollars in jerseys alone. Realizing the potential of jersey sales, teams have started coming out with various kinds of jerseys from retro to special editions. Jerseys communicate loyalty to a team, or occasionally a player. The logo emblazoned on the jersey will impact how people decide to live.

Paul calls us to put on the breastplate of righteousness in Ephesians 6:14. Paul illuminates how the breastplate of righteousness helps us to stand against the schemes of the devil in Romans 6:13-14. There, Paul talks about how as we present ourselves to God, we are able to live righteously as those who have brought from life to death through Jesus. Our other option is to continue to live enslaved to sin; a life that is still rooted in death. Through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we are able to be righteous, to live righteously, because Jesus becomes our righteousness. However, in the cosmic battle that is raging around us, one of the ways to be victorious in the battle is to put on the breastplate of righteousness. To stand in the power and name of Jesus in order that we may live rightly according to God rather than being enslaved to sin. Which breastplate are you wearing?

Family Activities
As a family gather around the table and talk about how the breastplate of righteousness protects your heart. It is so important to guard our hearts and stand together. Cut out a heart from a piece of paper and split into teams. Have one team hide the heart and guard it. You can switch which team has the heart as the game goes on.  If you have older kids you can set up a game of capture the flag but with two different hearts instead of flags.

Opening Questions
Have you ever had a moment in life where you discovered a truth, and applied it to your life, resulting in living a different way? Share with the group.
How did this new way of right living affect those around you?

What stood out to you from this week's message?
How is righteousness like a Roman solider's breastplate?

Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:1 together
Gavin said Righteousness is first received, then achieved.
How do we receive righteousness?
What does it look like to achieve righteousness?
Read Romans 6:1-14 to help answer these questions 

Close by praying for one another. Like last week, focus your prayers on allowing truth to set you free, and for the power to live righteously in step with the Spirit of our resurrected Christ. 

Family Memory Verse for the Week
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. -Eph. 6:10-13

Devotional
McArthur Wheeler was quite surprised when the police showed up at his house and arrested him one day in 1995. Wheeler sat in shock as the police showed him the security footage. On the screen are videos of Wheeler walking into two banks in Pittsburgh without any face mask or covering and robbing them. “But I wore the juice,” is the now infamous line Wheeler uttered to the investigators. Since lemon juice is used as a source of invisible ink, Wheeler thought if he rubbed lemon juice over his skin, he would be rendered invisible to the security cameras. He was very wrong. At the end of their investigation, the police noted that Wheeler was in his right mind, just very misguided.

When we operate out of lies, we make misguided decisions. In a culture that is continually pushing out lies, you need to be more, do more, accumulate more, it is easy to operate out of lies. We see how easy it is live by lies when we read that we put on the armor of God to stand against the schemes of the devil, who Jesus labels the father of lies in John 8:44. Putting on the belt of truth becomes essential as an assortment of lies surround us every day. The belt of truth helps us guard against the many and various lies that are trying to infiltrate your heart moment by moment. In John 14:6, we read that Jesus is the truth. To put on the belt of truth is to follow after Jesus. We can operate out of lies told to us either by our culture or other people which can lead us to chase after doing more and accumulating more in hopes of one day finally feeling like we are enough and are worthy. There is another way. We can operate out of the belt of truth where we realize that Jesus has made us worthy and that by following Jesus we can rest in his finished work and what he says about us.

Family Activity
The belt of truth helps us hold all of our armor in place! Talk with your kids about how important it is to wear a belt. Have them try on some baggy pants, let them try to walk across the room without using their hands. The belt is not always the piece of armor that comes to mind first when kids are thinking about the armor of God. Now let the kids try to walk across the room with a belt on their pants. The belt helps hold up your pants. The belt of truth is important to help us not trip and fall on Satan’s lies. As a family, make sure you are digging into God’s word, memorizing scripture, and applying His truth to your lives. Help your children be equipped with the belt of truth.

Here are some great verses that help us know the truth of who we are in Christ:
Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 2:8-9, Ephesians 2:10, Romans 12:2, John 8:32, John 8:36, John 1:12, Ephesians 1:13, 1 Corinthians 3:16

Opening Questions
Share of a time, maybe when you were a kid, when you believed something that wasn't true.
How did that affect you?

What stood out to you from this week's message?
How is truth like a Roman solider's belt?

Read Matthew 3:13-4:11 together
What stood out to you about the way Satan tempted Jesus?
How did Jesus respond? What "weapons" did he use?
What similarities do you see between this text and the temptation of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3?
How was Jesus able to succeed where Adam and Eve failed?

Gavin said that Satan attacked Eve not with a weapon but with a word...a lie.
What words have had power over your life?
What lies have you believed?
What truths from God's word could you replace those lies with?
Spend a few minutes sharing verses of encouragement with one another. Here are a few to get you started:
John  8:32, John 8:36, Galatians 5:1, Ephesians 2:10, Psalm 139:14, 1 Peter 1:23, Romans 8:29, John 1:11-12, Matthew 5:14.

Close by praying for one another.
Specifically ask for Jesus to use his truth to bring freedom from the lies anyone may have believed (John 8:32).

Click the image above to stream one of the songs our kids are learning in Tribes Kids during this series. Singing this song as a family is a great way to store God's word in your heart, and worship Jesus as a family.

Here you will find discussion questions for your Tribe (small group), family or other Gospel-centered community to work through. These questions are designed to allow you to further apply the ideas from the messages in the Suit Up teaching series to your everyday life.

1. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like you weren't dressed appropriately for a certain activity?
2. Are there certain activities you engage in that require special equipment? How does what you wear prepare you for that activity?
3. What stuck out to you from the message on Sunday?
4. Gavin mentioned we need to know our enemy. Read the following passages and discuss how they define our enemy:
John 8:44-45
John 12:31
Ephesians 2:1-2
II Corinthians 4:1-4
II Timothy 2:23-26
I John 5:18-19
I Peter 5:7-8
5. Read Ephesians 6:10-18 together. What verbs are repeated in verses 10-13? Why do you think those verbs are repeated? What is our part, and what is God's part?
6. What are some practical ways you can "take up the whole armor of God..." this week?

Outfit
Derara Hurisa won the 2021 Vienna City Marathon. After battling for 26.2 miles, the Ethiopian squeezed out a narrow victory, beating the second place finisher by three seconds in a sprint finish. All the joy and exhilaration from winning the race and seeing the fruit of all of Hurisa’s hard work was short lived though. Hurisa was disqualified shortly after the race ended. The shoes Hurisa wore during the race violated the rules of the race. After all the hard work and energy Hurisa put into the race, his biggest downfall was the fact that he was not outfited properly.
We have an opponent.
In Ephesians 6:10-11, we read that in order to stand the schemes of our opponent, the devil, we need to put on the whole armor of God. We need to be outfitted with the proper attire if we want to emerge victorious against the schemes of the enemy. There are many different outfits we can try to withstand the attack of the devil. It may appear as though some of these outfits will provide us with victory, but in the end it is only the armor of God that will stand the test of time. For those who have put their faith in Jesus, we are to do as Paul writes and put on the armor of God. Part of the role of a parent is to outfit your child in the armor of God, until they can do so for themselves. In order to aim our kids at the target, we need to outfit them as best we can. It would be difficult to run a long hard race only for our kids to discover they have been equipped with the wrong outfit. The best outfit we have to stand against the schemes of the devil is the armor of God.

Suit Up Memory Verse
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
-Ephesians 6:10-11

Family Activity
Pick a room for a battlefield in your home. Make pillow forts, tents, anything that you and your child come up with. Divide in two teams (parents versus kids, girls against boys, whatever works best for your family). For the battle you can get marshmallows, nerf guns, water guns (this can be an outside battle), you can use paper that is balled up, socks, anything you already have. Do not feel like you have to go buy anything. As you are playing, talk about being in the Lord’s army. This will be a good reminder for you and for your family that there is a spiritual battle. Talk about weapons found in Ephesians 6:10-18.
As a parent, grandparent, caretaker, your child is watching you fight this battle. When they are little you are their protector and as they grow you are showing them how to wear, and use their armor; Guide them, protect them, and equip them to fight.