Children’s Sermon on God’s Protection (Lord’s Prayer Part 8)

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Kristin Highley raises both fists while teaching the children's sermon on God's protection: the Lord fights for us

The Great Guardian: children’s sermon on God’s protection

Greet children, and show some examples of protective items that really aren’t…

Hello, children of God!
You know, there are things that we use every day to keep us protected in various situations. But sometimes we don’t do as good of a job as we might like in guarding ourselves. For instance… Demonstrate items that might have holes or be useless for various reasons. A few examples are given. I have this umbrella here, but it’s pretty beat-up. In fact, it’s so full of holes, I don’t think it’s going to do a great job of keeping rain out, is it? Now, here’s a pair of socks. But they’re full of holes, too! Or how about this hat? It’ll keep the sun out of my face, right? Well, not if I wear it backwards…Oh, or here’s a potholder, to keep me from getting burned! But it’s got a big hole, too… Now, it would be silly to think that any of those items would keep me protected. But there are times in our Christian lives that we try to keep ourselves protected or we think that we can save or rescue ourselves. That’s just not how it works. We need salvation and protection from someone beyond ourselves. That’s where Jesus comes in! His blood saves us, and God’s love protects us.

In the Lord’s Prayer, we pray that God would deliver us from evil. We recognize that, unfortunately, evil does exist in the world, but that God can and does protect and save us from that evil. The Bible is full of accounts in which we see people delivered by only God’s power, and often in miraculous and remarkable ways. One great example of this is in the book of Exodus, where Moses helped deliver the people of God from the Egyptians. God instructed Moses to guide the Israelites out of slavery and into the Promised Land. After a lot of arguments with Pharaoh (the wicked leader of Egypt), they were finally on their way…but then Pharaoh changed his mind. He decided to chase the people of God and try to take them back into slavery! The Egyptian army was chasing the Israelites, and then they came upon a challenge: The Red Sea, a big body of water. The sea was in front of them and the Egyptians were behind, and God’s people didn’t know what to do! Moses told the people that the Lord would fight the battle. The people just needed to trust and follow Him. So Moses lifted his staff and stretched out his hand over the sea, and guess what? The waters of the Red Sea parted, and there was dry land in the middle where the people could walk right across! So the Israelites went across on dry land. But when the Egyptians tried to chase them across, the waters returned, and they drowned in the sea!

God used Moses to deliver the people of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians. Later, God sent another deliverer to save all of His people from a different enemy. Jesus came to save us from sin, death, and the devil. He rescues us, guards us, delivers us, and protects us, in ways much better than we could ever do on our own. We can count on Him to protect and deliver us! He has done so already, and continues to be our Savior and deliver us from any and every evil. We need only call upon Him and trust in the work He does. The Lord fights for us!

Let’s pray now and ask God to continue delivering us.

Prayer

(Have kids repeat each line)

Dear God,
Thank you for delivering us from all evil.
Please help us to trust in you,
And continue to guard and guide us.
Thank you for your love.
We love you, God!
In Jesus’ name, Amen!

About This Children’s Message

Main Objective: Near the end of the Lord’s Prayer, we ask that God would not only lead us away from temptation, but “deliver us from evil.” We recognize that there is evil in the world, but that we need not fear it, knowing that the Lord is with us and fights on our side. This message describes the idea of being protected and safe, emphasizing how God keeps us protected. The story of Moses leading the people of Israel across the Red Sea exemplifies how God’s people were delivered through Moses then, and reminds us that God’s people are delivered through the blood of Jesus now.

Law/Gospel Theme: We cannot possibly rescue ourselves from sin and evil. We need a savior to do this for us! God delivers us from evil through His Son. We trust in Him for deliverance and for protection against anything and everything that might come our way.

Note: This lesson is the eighth and final in a series on the Lord’s Prayer. Each lesson considers another part of the Lord’s Prayer, examining what it means and how we can use it in personal prayer. Each lesson also includes a story from the Bible that illustrates the point.

Optional Materials: Items that might be used for protection, but have holes or other problems (an umbrella, socks, a hat, a potholder).

Bible Passage: Exodus 14:5-31

Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this one are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs.

Bible Verses to Reference

When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.” So Pharaoh prepared his chariot and took his army with him. He took 600 of the best chariots, and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out defiantly. The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi-hahiroth, opposite Baal-zephon.

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. Then I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army and chariots and horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I am honored through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”

And the angel of God, who had gone before the camp of Israel, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from before them and stood behind them, so that it came between the camps of Egypt and Israel. The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night. So all night long neither camp went near the other.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left. And the Egyptians chased after them—all Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen—and followed them into the sea. At morning watch, however, the LORD looked down on the army of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and cloud, and He threw their camp into confusion. He caused their chariot wheels to wobble, so that they had difficulty driving. “Let us flee from the Israelites,” said the Egyptians, “for the LORD is fighting for them against Egypt!”

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal state. As the Egyptians were retreating, the LORD swept them into the sea. The waters flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had chased the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived. But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.

That day the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore. When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses. —Exodus 14:5-31

This children’s message goes with our Crossing the Red Sea Sunday School Lesson for Kids (Lord’s Prayer Part 8), which adds five opening activities and review questions, and with our parting the Red Sea crafts for kids: a Parting Sea Card and a Deliverance Bouncer.

More Lord’s Prayer Resources

The Lord’s Prayer Series for Kids

See the whole series on one page: The Lord’s Prayer Sunday School Lessons for Kids (8-Week Series).

Related Sunday School Activities:

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