Lesson 2 - What is a Life of Faith?

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Barbra Johnson
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1 Developing a Life of Faith Lesson 2 - What is a Life of Faith? Aims * To learn what a life of faith is * To learn why we need a life of faith Materials Worksheet Picture frame outlines Jesus words - And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. (Matt:21:22) blindfolds wooden blocks Lesson Outline 1. Faith in God 2. How do we live a life of faith? 3. Why do we need a life of faith? 4. Activities - worksheet, trust and faith games, learn Jesus words 5. Review the aims 6. End with a Prayer... 1) Faith in God Faith is a strong belief and trust in the power of God. We can t see God, but we believe God exists. A life of faith means to believe and trust in the power of God. It means to build a personal relationship with God in our daily life. We are all God s children and He loves and cares about each person. We ask for God s guidance and listen to that guidance each day. We don t just rely on ourselves. It is a life of living with God. 2) How do we live a life of faith? What do people do who live a life of faith? How many ideas can you come up with? Believe that God is always with us, guiding and helping us Pray/talk to God everyday Study God s words everyday Practise God s words everyday Follow our conscience Learn how to love others unselfishly Attend weekly Sunday service Make spiritual conditions Tithe 10% of your income

2 What can you do each day? You centre your life on God. You seek God s way and learn God s way. You ask for guidance. You trust in God even if you don t know what is best. You get up in the morning and greet God. Thank Him for the night s rest and for a new day. Tell Him what you are going to do that day. During the day try to put into practise what you planned. At the end of the day report your day to God. Did you fulfill your plans? Did you make a mistake? You say sorry if you did something wrong. You always thank God, even if it was a difficult day. A life a faith is a day-by-day relationship with God. Each day you strive to be a better person, by practising God s words. You seek to be a good child, friend, sister, brother, son, daughter, student, etc.. You try to see things from God s point of view. You try to give more than you take. 3) Why do we need a life of faith? Why is a life of faith important? What are the benefits? How many ideas can you come up with? Here are some suggestions: To know the purpose of life We realize external things, such as money, fame and power are not the most important. God created us for a purpose. A life of faith gives us a clear purpose and deeper meaning to our lives. To develop our relationship with God Because Adam and Eve fell, all people are in the midway position between God and Satan. We have an original nature from God and a fallen nature from Satan. We need a life of faith to get rid of our fallen nature and restore our relationship with God. Without a life of faith we can t do this. To feel God s love A life of faith will help us to feel God s love. And God s love is the most important thing we need to develop our heart and grow as a person. To receive God s guidance. God knows the right direction we should go in. We don t always know what is best for us. If we only rely on ourselves we can easily make mistakes and go in the wrong direction. God talks to us through our conscience. A life of faith develops our ability to hear God s voice. To be happy God wants us to be happy. A life of faith shows us the way to lead a happy life To make us strong A A life of faith makes us strong to resist pressure from bad influences, We shouldn t follow a crowd. We should follow our conscience instead. Faith gives us confidence to do great things Because faith is a strong belief in the power of God, it gives us the confidence to achieve great things. As Jesus said, Everything is possible for him who believes. To learn what is right and wrong Bible stories teach us what is good and what is bad in front of God

3 To learn about eternal life We live on this earth for a certain number of years and live eternally in the spirit world. A life of faith helps us prepare for the next life. 4) Activities Worksheet - How do we live a life of faith? Why do we need a life of faith? Learn Jesus Words - And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith (Matt 21:22) Write the words in a picture frame outline. Colour the picture frame, stick it onto card and display it at home. Play Games of Trust and Faith 1. Minefield - Objects are scattered on the ground. In pairs, one person verbally guides his/her partner, a blindfolded person, through the minefield. 2. Trust Lean - In pairs of similar size, one becomes a Faller and one the Catcher. The Catcher stands just behind the Faller. The Faller relaxes and stands up with his arms by his side. He gently falls backwards. The Catcher catches him with two arms. Start close and gradually move further away with each fall. Then swap roles. How far away can the Catcher go before the Faller loses trust? What makes you feel more or less trusting? 3. Willow in the Wind - In groups of about 8, a person in the middle closes his/her eyes, with arms crossed over the chest. He does a "trust lean" falling forwards, backwards and sideways as he is "passed around" the group. 4. Build a tower blindfolded. In pairs, one person is blindfolded, the other gives directions. They must pick up wooden blocks and build a tower. How many blocks can they build, before they fall down? Make a Spiritual Condition One way to build our relationship with God is to make a spiritual condition. Talking to God each day is a very good way to do this. Try this condition for one week. 1. When you get up in the morning tell God what you plan to do that day 2. During the day try hard to follow your plan 3. At the end of the day report to God what happened 4. After 7 days reflect on how well you did. Did it help you to develop your relationship with God? 5) Review the aims * To learn what a life of faith is * To learn why we need a life of faith 6) Prayer

4 A Life of Faith Why do we need a life of faith? 1)... 2)... 3)... 4)... 5)... How do we live a life of faith? 1)... 2)... 3)... 4)... 5)...

5 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. (Matthew 21:22)

6 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. (Matthew 21:22)

7 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith. (Matthew 21:22)

8 All things are possible to him who believes. Mark 8:23 Go your way; your faith has made you well. Mark 10:52 Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. John 20:29 Take heart daughter; your faith has made you well. Matthew 9:22 If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this sycamine tree,' Be rooted up, and be planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. Luke 26:34

9 Introduction 1. Sometimes we are under the impression that faith is a state or an element of our religious life that in hard to define or to have a concrete idea about it. Nevertheless the Bible command us to live by faith. 2. The apostle Paul exhorts the believers in Corinth to make a distinction between the way the used to live and the new way of life now that they are walking with Jesus. "We live by faith, not by sight." 3. If we are to live by faith, we must then have a very good idea of how a life of faith ought to be lived. What is faith? What it implies? This is the topic of todayʼs message. I. What is known of faith, some misunderstandings 1. We sometimes think of faith as everything that is contrary to reality or common sense. Faith is what we experience Sunday morning at church, but it disappears Monday morning when I go to work. If we are walking along a road out in the country I recommend that you make sure that you watch your step. You put faith into practice everyday of your life. 2. Faith has been contrasted with works, as if we were living in an unreal world, without pain, suffering, or without the daily chores that make life what it is. Some took this separation from the real world to be what God expected of them and they subsequently secluded themselves into convents or became hermits withdrawing themselves from the realities of the world. 3. Some have taken as faith the blind belief in whatever God sends our way, and since He is in control then there is very little we can do. There is a sense of fatalism. II. The faith that God expects from you 1. In the Bible, strangely as it may appear, faith is not explained in ethereal or spiritual terms but it is rather defined in very practical ways. 2. Abraham is called the father of faith, but do you know that the term faith is never applied to him in the Old Testament? As a matter of fact, the word faith is never mentioned in the Pentateuch. Faith is mentioned for the first time in 2 Chronicles 20:20 " As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." Does it mean that there was no faith in the Old Testament until 870 BC? Quite on the contrary, the Old Testament teaches us what faith truly is. This is the theme of the letter to the Hebrews, chapter Faith is not only to believe, but rather to be lived. 4. The Bible calls Abraham a man of faith, and if Abraham is the father if faith, letʼs consider what made him a man of faith that in his live we may see an example of what God expects from each one of us. III. The attributes of faith 1. In first place, faith is believing. (a) Rom 4:3 "What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." Abraham believed Godʼs call, Godʼs promise and Godʼs plan. He did have his doubts, but he did not act on them.

10 (b) Faith is believing in what God says, although we may not see the whole picture. (c) The first mention of the word translated as faith is the Hebrew word for belief. (d) Faith is often understood as the whole teaching of the church (e) Faith is believing based on what we know of God not what we know of ourselves. Peter walking on the water. 2. In second place, faith is obeying. (a) There cannot be faith in God without obedience. Faith has to prompt to obedience. There cannot be faith unless that belief is followed with action. Would we have known Abraham if he had believed in Godʼs promises but had stayed with his family in Ur with the Chaldeans? (b) If you say you believe in God you then must obey Him in living a life according to His will. Belief alone does not fulfill the requirement for living a life of faith. Doesnʼt the Bible say that even the demons believe in God? As you cannot obey unless you believe you cannot believe in God without obeying Him. How true are the words of the hymn "Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." 3. In third place, faith is followed by works (a) Some have found a conflict between faith and works. It has been the result of misunderstanding what faith is all about. Some have read Romans 4: 1-4 to mean that faith and works cannot coexist. What this passage clearly states is that if you plan to convince God that you are good enough to be forgiven because of the good works you do, forget it. It is not acceptable to God. (b) But once you have obtained salvation by faith, you live a life of obedience that will then lead you to work for the Lord. James 2: (c) We see every day faith put into action, you can even smell it on Sunday mornings when we smell the food being cooked for the Soup Kitchen! (d) Most of us would not be here unless someone had put his or her faith into action and had told you of the love of God. Conclusion: 1. The Bible tells us that we must walk by faith. It doesnʼt mean that we must separate ourselves from the real world, from time and space, to live a life in a state of bliss apart from the events that shape our lives. 2. Jesus came that we have life and life abundant, a life worth living although not separated from the world but counting with Godʼs presence while we are in the world. 3. We can live by faith if we believe, if we obey, and if we act. 4. How are you living your life?

BY THE END OF THIS UNIT MOST PUPILS ARE EXPECTED TO BE ABLE TO:

KEY STAGE 2/UNIT 2A.2 People of What is it like to follow? OUTCOMES BY THE END OF THIS UNIT MOST PUPILS ARE EXPECTED TO BE ABLE TO: Make clear links between the story of and the idea of covenant. Make