Armor of God VBS: Gideon

4. Armor of God VBS

Gideon is the final lesson in Armor of God series. Paul wrote about the armor in Ephesians 6:10-20. The shield of Faith and the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace was chosen to use with Gideon because he showed his faith and obedience in chapter 7. Also, there was peace while Gideon was a judge. Judges 8:28 These lessons and decorations can be used for Gideon without the armor theme.

Click here to download the lesson, visuals, Anchor Charts and a picture to color.

Magnetic Board Visuals are smaller, and some graphics are used to emphasize some of the points of the lesson. I print on cardstock and laminate. I add these small magnets on the back and add them to a magnetic white board as I teach the lesson. They can be used any way you prefer. 

Click here to download the Magnetic Board Visuals. 

The numbered lesson is included in these.

Click here to download the full-page Magnetic Board Visuals.

I like the Magnetic Board Visuals but prefer them to be bigger with a larger class.  I used these as visuals and didn't cut them or use the magnets. This is your preference.

This was a simple example for the students! I had this plastic container, so whatever you have will make the point. This was clear and long, and we put some water in it. I added the water-look fleece around it because it was still in the room for the night before. I introduced Gideon, then had them gather around the water. How would they get a drink of water? I told them to go on their knees like the picture and think about getting a drink. I had a big piece of fleece (or Joann's) laid on the floor and had them sit on each side divided by how they chose to get a 'drink'. Then we talked about the lesson. They love any little thing that is different and gets them up and moving!

I used the pitcher, ram's horn (put in shofar for the search) and torch that I have had for some time.

Check eBay for a ram's horn shofar to compare prices, too.

I purchased the torch at Bass Pro in the kid's section several years ago.

We played this horn video for the sound effect when 'Gideon' (my assistant) blew the ram's horn.

Remember to start it before class and skip the ad so it is ready because you don't know what ad YouTube will play!

I set up a Roman Armor display. For this lesson, we used the shield and the shoes.

The Armor of God Cutouts above the armor is here.

The shield (Rome VBS Cutouts) and soldier on the right are no longer available.

The border across the top is the Athens plastic roll of tablecloth. I cut the border off of one side.

I used yellow bulletin board paper for the background a red tablecloth for the display table.

This is one wall with two events for Gideon. The left is the fleece test, and I left a large piece of fleece in front of it during the week and used it during the lesson. They love anything they can touch and see. I found a bolt of Sherpa Suede on clearance and purchased the whole bolt just for this lesson! The right side is the water drinking test.

I used this background for the threshing floor area and I used this background for the water drinking test. I printed the men drinking and pieced everything together. . 

I decided to have both Gideon's printed. I wanted them about 4' since one is squatting and the other is not the full body. They were a lot cheaper option than cardboard, which if you are paying for yourself, are now unaffordable because of shipping costs. Check around for prices, but when I ordered these, this was the best option. I purchased the matte 36" x 48". I used Prime free shipping, so ordering here was cheapest and they turned out really clear and the paper is thicker than the bulletin board paper I have to use to draw them! If the prices stay reasonable, I will print my people in the future! They come in a roll, so carefully release them and lay them flat roll side down with something heavy on them. It just takes a day or two, then cut them out.

The original size is 123 KB.

The original is 67.9 KB.

Sorry these are so big! But the bigger, the better pictures you will have.

Right click and 'save image as' these pictures and save them as big as possible. 

Please note: Permission is granted to send Bible Fun For Kids files to the church office or printer for copies and enlargements. The permission from the graphics can be found here, although I was not asked to show permission.

Other lessons in this series:

Click here to see #1 Paul.

Click here to see #2 Noah.

Click here to see #3 Joshua.

Click here to see the building decorations.