“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Ephesians 6:12-13
My heart is heavy - but at the same time hopeful for both Christian parents and Children’s Ministry leaders as I look at the challenges we are all facing as we teach our children about Jesus. This verse gives us a glimpse into what is happening behind the scenes in the spiritual realm. I believe there has been a crescendo, or an amplification of all the noise and distractions due to technology and the pace of life facing young people today. There is an intensifying battle for the hearts of elementary school-aged children greater than what we have seen in recent years. I believe it is evident the enemies current strategy is to sow seeds of confusion in the hearts of the young in an attempt to distort their identity as God’s image bearers (Genesis 1:27). That is the weightiness that I feel as I look into the eyes of these kids - but there is a hope that I feel that is far greater.
1 John 4:4 reminds us that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. As we lead our children to the truth, hope and life that is found in walking with Jesus, they will have the Holy Spirit to guide them into all truth (John 16:13) and overcome the lies and distractions coming their way. It is our job as parents and ministry leaders to help our children to put on the armor of God and stand firm in their faith, even at this early season of their lives. Research tells us that a child’s worldview is set by the age 13 (source: Awana). We need to make sure we do not miss this moment to impact young hearts with The Gospel and equip them with truth.
Now, to the story behind this song! Our vision for writing all of the verses in The Armor of God passages in Ephesians 6 was to encourage young people to STAND FIRM in their faith. And we wanted to use these songs to help them learn what it truly means to truly put on God’s armor. There is a part in this song at the beginning of each chorus when you hear a triumphant shout to “STAND FIRM!” and take up the armor of God so that we can withstand the evil in our day.
Well, we had a really cool idea to have kids encourage other kids to stand firm in their faith, so we reached out to our kids’ Christian school and asked if we could record all of their elementary school kids shouting “STAND FIRM!” They were excited to join us - so when I led worship for the kids at chapel I shared our goal to encourage other kids and families to be strong in their faith. The kids were fired up to join our mission and they didn’t hold back - they shouted “STAND FIRM” at the top of their lungs.
So as you listen to this song, know that there are over 100 kids and teachers cheering you on in your faith - including all of us here at Seeds Family Worship! We want to inspire you to begin putting on the Armor of God by surrounding yourselves with God’s truth (the Belt of Truth) and guarding our hearts with what is right according to God (The Breastplate of Righteousness). Stay tuned on our blog and we will continue to teach about all of the pieces of the armor, what they represent and how they will help you STAND FIRM in your faith every day!
the Seeds Family Worship Ministry (SFW), which began in 2004. He leads the SFW creative team in writing and recording Word-for-Word scripture worship songs. He leads multi-generational family worship events across the country geared toward encouraging and equipping families to pass their faith to their children.
Jason also recently co-wrote a parenting book called “Dedicated: Training Children To Trust and Follow Jesus” that was released by Zondervan Publishing. Jason draws from his background as a songwriter and music publisher. He has co-written many influential songs, including the 2010 Grammy Nominated Christian song “The Motions” by Matthew West. He also co-wrote West’s Dove Award Nominated song #1 song “More,” and Joy William’s #1 single “Hide.”
