A Mighty Fortress is our God

This past Friday being Halloween as well as Reformation, we wanted to do something different in the classroom to celebrate. We began our Bible discussion with a description of what Martin Luther did and why we remember Reformation. Because Martin Luther wrote, “A Mighty Fortress is our God”, we based our activity off of this song.

Throughout this activity students would be given a few pieces of construction paper and pieces of tape in order to build their own fortress. The students were told that they needed to build a fortress that was pretty tall and would be very strong. Once students finished building their fortresses, we would test their strength by putting one of our Reading Street books on top to see if they could withstand the weight. Students then paired up and were given 15 minutes to construct their fortresses.

Once students finished building their creations, we tested each fortress…each and every one failed the strength test and crumpled under the weight of the Reading Street book. After testing each fortress, students sat down and were told that now we would see how strong God’s fortress is. With 1 piece of construction paper and a few pieces of tape, God’s fortress was created. This fortress could withhold 5 Reading Street books whereas our fortresses couldn’t hold up 1!

As students sat in awe of God’s fortress as it continued to hold 5 Reading Street books, we talked about how God’s fortress is so much stronger than any man made fortress could be. Though students tried their hardest to create a strong fortress, they failed. Just like if we try in our own lives to get to heaven on our own, we will fail each and every time. Through this activity, student experienced the reality that God is much more powerful than we could ever be, which is why we place our trust in Him.

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:2