PHASE 1: STRONG IN THE LORD - I BELONG TO GOD: Free Children's Ministry Lessons & Youth Group Curriculum
PHASE 1: STRONG IN THE LORD - I BELONG TO GOD
Phase 1 focuses on the very first thing we must do after we accept Christ & begin to put on the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6:10 tells us to, "...be strong in the Lord and in the power of HIS might." How do we do that? We believe who God tells us we are in him. We believe in his love for us, his handiwork when he created us, his plan for us & all the good things he says about us. We believe only what God says about us & we disregard & discard everything else. We are praying & believing that every young person who hears this will no longer listen to lies that others say about them but only believe what their loving Father says about them in his word.
READ 1 SAMUEL 16:1-13
Not even Samuel would’ve known who David was if he hadn’t listened to God. Nothing in the world said David was a king; he was too young & just didn’t seem to fit the part. It’s a good thing Samuel didn’t listen to the world or even to himself to determine who David was. Samuel listened to God.
What if David didn’t listen to Samuel & chose to believe his older, mocking brothers instead? Not even David’s dad believed in him. Imagine a soldier in the military who would take orders from anyone, even people who weren’t in the military. What if his superior officer told him he was a higher rank but somebody outside of the military told him he was a lower rank? Who is the soldier going to believe? The soldier wouldn’t listen to a stranger over his commanding officer about rank, status or mission. That would be absurd, but that’s how it is when we listen to anyone other than God to tell us who we are.
Good soldiers know their real strength comes from the military unit they belong to. Even the strongest soldier is outmatched on his own without the rest of the military forces backing him. We belong to God & his heavenly army. Our strength comes from belonging to Christ & knowing who we are according to God. God’s Holy Spirit lives inside of us making us STRONG IN THE LORD! Ephesians 6:10.