The Armor of God
by Caroline Morales
The end of the summer is always a bittersweet time for me. Of course, I miss the songs, laughs, and joy each and every child brings with them. But it is also a sweet time to savor the transformative work that God did over the 6 weeks. There are numerous instances of shy children who became the loudest singers, rambunctious kids who showed gentleness and love, and uninterested 5th graders who became engaged and excited about reading class. These stories are only possible through God. He gave us the gift of amazing and hard working interns, visiting youth groups, reading, teachers, and drivers. We are so thankful to each and every person who helped make VBS 2023 a success.
The last week of VBS, we focused our lessons on the Sword of the Spirit (which is the Word of God – Ephesians 6:17). The children spent time studying Jesus being tempted in the desert (Matthew 4) and how He used God’s word to defeat the devil’s temptations. Our VBS children learned 7 memory verses from scripture and practiced all summer long. At least ⅓ of the children were able to recite all 7 verses together and then got to throw a pie in the face of a big buddy! While this was a super fun and memorable time for our children, it was also sharpening their sword. Many of our children will be going home to the desert, and now they are armed with the Sword of the Spirit (and the rest of God’s armor) to defeat the devil’s schemes.
