De Shield of Faith — A Nine-Week Study Guide
Nine tracks. Nine weeks. One armor.
Built around the debut gospel rap album De Shield of Faith, this guide walks youth groups and small groups through the full armor of God, one track per week. Each week pairs a song with its scripture, its standout lyric, its cover art, honest discussion, and one thing to live out before the next session.
The album’s nine tracks are sequenced as one journey: the armor is put on at the start and walked out in by the end. This guide follows that same arc — each week below is its own page, so you can jump straight to the one you need.
- Album De Shield of Faith, by Eminence — deshieldoffaith.com
- Format One track per week, 60 to 75 minutes per session
- You will need A way to play the album, Bibles, and this guide
For Leaders — How to Use This Guide
You do not need a theology degree to lead this. You need a play button, a Bible, and the willingness to go first when the questions get honest. A suggested session shape:
- Play (5 min). Listen to the week’s track together, straight through, no skipping. The album is 24 minutes total, so one track is a small ask with a big return.
- Read (10 min). Read the week’s key scripture aloud, then the read-alongside passages. Hearing it matters more than assigning it.
- The Bar (10 min). Put the week’s standout lyric up where everyone can see it. Let the group sit with why that line carries weight before anyone explains it.
- Talk (25 min). Work through the discussion questions. You will not finish all five every week, and that is fine. Follow the honest thread.
- Live It (5 min). Close with the weekly challenge. Name it out loud. What gets named gets done.
- Pray (10 min). End with the week’s prayer focus. Leave room for people to pray their own honest prayers too.
A note on honesty: several weeks touch grief, suffering, and spiritual struggle. Set the tone early that this group is a place for real answers, not church answers. If someone is in crisis, walk with them beyond the session.
The Armor at a Glance
Ephesians 6:10–18 describes the armor of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, all carried in prayer. The album opens and closes with this passage, and this guide does the same.
The Nine Weeks
What Comes Next
You put the armor on in week one and walked it out in week nine. That was the design. But a study guide is a starting line, not a finish line. A few ways to keep going:
- Run it again with someone else. The best way to keep what you learned is to teach it. Take one person through the nine weeks.
- Write your own bar. Each track has a standout line. What is yours? Write the one line that tells the truth about where you are right now.
- Stay in the story. The album lives at deshieldoffaith.com, with 30-second samples of every track, a full lyric video for every song, the full liner notes, and the love-offering model that puts this project directly in supporters’ hands.
Written by Paul DeShield (Eminence). More on the artist: About →