Craft: Armour of God

The passage Paul writes in Ephesians about the armour of God has so much that we can explore in creative ways. These craft ideas will help to bring out themes of protection, God’s strength and power and the concept of standing firm when things are trying to knock you down. 

 

 

TOWERS OF STRENGTH 

 

You will need: two sheets of A4 paper per child; sticky tape, cardboard tubes; mugs or books; scissors 

Give all of the children a sheet of paper each and get them to experiment with building something that will hold a book or mug in the air. They will almost certainly find this impossible! Now show them how to wrap the paper tightly around a cardboard tube and tape the edges to make a paper tube covering the card tube. Carefully take the paper tube off the cardboard tube and show that it will actually hold the book or mug off the ground without collapsing. Get children to have a go with their second piece of paper. Use this craft to talk about how we sometimes can’t do something on our own, but, just as the tube helped the paper to stand upright with strength, so God’s armour and his power can help us to stand strong in a way we might not have been able to do before. 

 

 

HOMEMADE WEEBLES 

 

You will need: permanent markers; plastic Easter eggs that can be opened up; Blu Tack; marbles; small decorative stickers 

An important attribute of the armour of God is that it helps us to stand our ground and to stand firm against the things that might try to upset us and throw us off course. 

These ‘weebles’ might wobble, but they will stand their ground and not fall over! Open up a plastic Easter egg and put a blob of Blu Tack on the inside, at the bottom. Wedge a marble on top of the Blu Tack so that it stays in place. Close the Easter egg and decorate it with the permanent markers and stickers to reflect your personality. Try to knock the egg over. It will wobble, but always come back upright because of its weighted bottom. Use this as a starting point to talk about God’s power to keep us protected and stable when things are trying to knock us down. 

 

 

ARMOURED ORANGES 

 

You will need: oranges or tangerines (or similar); permanent markers; a tall, clear jug or vase 

This is another craft that needs a bit of demonstration beforehand! Peel an orange or tangerine and put it into the water. It will sink to the bottom of the jug. Then put an orange with the peel left on into the water.  It will float. The peel is actually like armour, keeping the orange safe from sinking. Link this to the protective armour of God over our hearts and minds. Ask children to write or draw on their oranges things that they would like protection from in life – maybe things that scare them. Float the decorated oranges in the water as a celebration of the protection and strength God can give. 

 

 

JUNK MODELLING ARMOUR 

 

 

You will need: cardboard; foil; string; glue; sticky tape; scissors; stapler; items from the recycling bin; felt-tip pens 

Read the passage with the children; unpack and discuss the various parts of the armour. Let the children have free reign with the junk modelling items to create either one of the pieces of armour or a model of something that the passage has made them think about. Use the creative time to chat about their responses to the passage and remember to leave time so that they can share what they have made if they want to.