Bible Session 10-1-12

FAITH – HOPE - LOVE

6-18 Year Old Lesson 10-01-2012

Introduction:  Over the next three weeks, we will be meeting together as one larger group.  We will be studying Faith, Hope and Love, three key elements found in I Corinthians 13:13.

Bible Drill: 1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.

Message: This weekend I went to a funeral for a very old friend of mine.  During the funeral the Pastor spoke about faith.  He said our friend Betty did not get to go to heaven when she died because she was a good person.  She did not get to go to heaven because she read her Bible every morning or because she went to church every Sunday. Although those are all wonderful things, she went to heaven when she died, because she believed – because she had FAITH.  She had faith the Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that he paid the ultimate price for her sins, so she could be with God forever.

So what is faith?  Dictionary.com gives us several answers, and we’re going to look at three of those answers.

1.       Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing.

a.        Everyone grab a partner and go stand on these ramps.

b.       Blindfold one of partner so they cannot see.

c.        Now keep the blindfold on, and the other person is going to lead you safely around this space.

d.       Did that require Faith?

2.       Faith is belief that is not based on proof.

a.        I believe – or have FAITH – that I will wake up and get out of bed in the morning.  I have no proof that will happen until I actually wake up in the morning.  I have faith without proof.

3.       Faith is belief in God.

a.        Believing that God is who he says he is and that Jesus Christ died to save you forever.

There are many Bible verses that talk about faith.  So many that we could never get through them in an entire Skate & Rec Night.  These verses tell us that

1.       Faith can move mountains.  Matt 17:20 and 21:21

a.        I have never moved a mountain, but when I was on Mt. St. Helens my faith in God caused me to pray and ask that He make the wind stop.  It was a glorious day, but the wind had picked up. It was getting pretty nasty, and I prayed for the wind to stop.  Almost instantly God stopped the wind.  It isn’t that you are going to be moving mountains, but that your faith in God and in his power will be moving mountains.

2.       Faith can heal. Mark 5:34

a.        There are several stories in the Bible of someone’s faith allowing them to be healed.

b.       Not everyone who has faith will be healed.  Sometimes that just isn’t God’s plan.  Paul lived with a “thorn in the flesh” which was never taken away.

3.       Faith can save. Luke 7:50

a.        Faith in God, in Jesus Christ, will save you from hell and give you a life with God forever.

4.       Faith can justify (to make right). Romans 3:28 and 5:1

a.        We are justified or made right with God through our faith in Jesus Christ.

Those of you who grew up in the church have probably seen this before, but stay with me on this.  There are two sides, in our case, two ramps.  One is where mankind is standing.  The other is where God is standing.  Between the two is a gap too large to jump across.  The great gap between you and God is because you cannot do everything right in God’s eyes.  You will never be able to keep all the commandments and laws that God wrote.  BUT, God created a way to bridge that gap.  He sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross.   Jesus took our sins – the bad things we do – and he paid the penalty for those sins.  When you get in trouble at home, what happens?  There is a punishment right?  The punishment for not following God’s rules and doing what he says is right – the punishment is death and separation from God forever.  BUT Jesus Christ took your punishment!  If you have FAITH that Christ died for you and you accept him as your savior, then you can walk across this bridge and be with God.  Just like my friend who died and went to heaven, when you die you too will go to heaven because you have FAITH.  And while you are alive here on earth, you will get to live with that bridge in place between you and God, you get to live with God in your life.  He forgives you for the wrong things you have done and makes them right.

If you have already made a decision to accept Jesus as your Savior, please walk across the bridge of faith in Christ. (Pray a prayer of praise.)

(We never got to the point of addressing if they had not made this decision, because everyone there claimed salvation.)