This year, our church's Vacation Bible School theme is "The Armor of the Lord" (taken from Ephesians 6). I have been asked to write a series of character lessons to go along with the theme and thought that you might find these stories useful. Oh, yes, the stories are written for children ages 3-6, but you could surely adapt them as needed.
Here is my story relating to the helmet of salvation.
Just in Case
Eager to ride his new bike, Jonathan raced toward the door. Mother had said that he could ride it until suppertime in thirty minutes. Just as he opened the outside door, however, Mother called his name.
“Jonathan!”
Jonathan reluctantly stopped.
“Yes, ma’am?” he answered.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Mother asked.
Jonathan was puzzled. What could he possibly need to ride his bike?
“Your helmet?” Mother gently prodded.
“Aw, Mom! I’m just riding on our street; nothing will happen to me. Do I really have to wear my helmet?” Jonathan complained.
“Yes, Son, you do, “Mother answered. “Accidents can happen at any time to any one. Wear your helmet – just in case.”
Sighing heavily, Jonathan trudged back to put his helmet on. He didn’t understand what the big deal was about wearing a helmet; he already knew nothing was going to happen to him! After he put on his helmet, he once again raced outside to his shiny new bike. Soon, he was happily riding up and down the street. Suddenly, the bike’s front wheel hit a stick. Jonathan flew through the air, skinning his cheek when he landed face first on the sidewalk. As quickly as possible, he wheeled his bike back home, heading straight for Mother.
“Jonathan!” she gasped, “Are you okay? What happened to you, Son?”
Jonathan couldn’t help crying a little as he told Mom about his accident.
“Thank you for making sure I was wearing my helmet, Mom. If I hadn’t been wearing it, I might have been hurt even worse. I’m just glad I only scraped my cheek,” Jonathan ended.
“Oh, Honey, I’m so glad you obeyed me and put on your helmet!” Mother exclaimed as she doctored his scrape. “You know, this reminds me of the helmet mentioned in Ephesians 6. Do you remember that?”
“Oh, right - the helmet of salvation. We learned about that in Vacation Bible School. Why did you think of that, Mom?” Jonathan wondered.
“Well, Jon, your helmet protects your head from injuries that could seriously hurt - possibly even kill - you. The helmet of salvation protects you from eternal death. Also, do you remember how you were so sure you weren’t going to have an accident that you didn’t even want to wear your helmet? Some people feel that way about salvation. They are so sure that they will live a long time that they don’t think they even need to be saved. Just like your helmet protected you during your accident, if you were to die today, you would be safe in Heaven because you are protected by the helmet of salvation you ‘wear’,” Mother explained
“I see what you mean now, Mom, and I’m glad that I put on the helmet of salvation a long time ago. Don’t worry any more about my not wearing the bike helmet, either. I’ve learned my lesson, and from now on I’ll be protected both in eternity and here on Earth!”
