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Adult Lesson – February 24, 2021Bible Virtues - FaithMain PointFaith is not about us; it’s about God. Faith means we know He is there and thatHe does wonderful things for us.God’s Important Message about Faith In the Old Testament, people felt that following the law was more importantthan having faith. In the New Testament, it was made clear that everyonewhom God approved of in the Bible had faith as the quality that was mostimportant to them.Scriptures Hebrews 11:1oNow faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about whatwe do not see. Hebrews 11:6o And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone whocomes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those whoearnestly seek him.Various passages in Genesis and Hebrews 11 about the life of AbrahamPrayer Time Spend a couple of minutes in prayer; pray for o Friendso Familyo Those who are sicko For our Special Needs Ministry Communityo For our churcho Anything else Remember to thank God for His love and how He listens to us, as well as anyanswers to prayerPraise and Worship Above All – Michael W. Smithhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v Q7EPZV56PuA On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand – Cassie Thompsonhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v V1LtGQLZ87c1

Memory Verses 1 Peter 1:5-8So you should try very hard to add goodness to your faith. To goodness,add knowledge.o To knowledge, add the ability to control yourselves. To the ability tocontrol yourselves, add the strength to keep going. To the strength tokeep going, add godliness.o To godliness, add kindness for one another. And to kindness for oneanother, add love.o All these things should describe you more and more. They will makeyou useful and fruitful as you know our Lord Jesus Christ better.oReview of Last Week We just finished five weeks learning about Beatitudes or blessings that Jesuspromised us. Let’s do a quick summary.o We are poor in spirit and recognize our need for a savior. We mournover our sins and meekly submit to the Lord. When we do these things,we begin to hunger and thirst for God’s righteousness. God gives usthe kingdom of heaven, He comforts us and tells us we’ll inherit theearth, and He fills us with His righteousness. After all the brokenness,we begin to grow in our ability to love others. We become merciful andpure in heart and peacemakers. When we begin to do those things, wewill be persecuted. And that’s okay, because we gain the kingdom ofheaven!o If there is one thing I want you all to remember from the past fewweeks in the Beatitudes, it’s this: God blesses us when we follow him. God gives us what we need,gives us his favor, when we follow him. He loves us and wants usto have a life full of him. The Beatitudes are what our attitudes are when we follow Jesus.Our Live It Out Challenge for last week included what we can do if we seepeople being laughed at or made fun of for their faith. It also asked what wewould do if we were laughed at or made fun of for our faith. So, what wouldyou do in each example? Let’s talk more about this in class.Introduction to Virtues We all want to do our best to be thankful, polite, joyful, patient, generous,and have hope. We all want to continue to grow with good character and astrong moral compass. What does that mean? This means that we all want to be able to know what is right and wrong andthen do what is right.2

However, like we talked about in the Beatitudes, the world tells us differentthings that should be important to us and sometimes, we don’t learn about orremember “virtues”, or the quality of being morally good, or good like Godwants us to be.o By not focusing on these qualities as written in the Bible, we may startto be selfish, make poor choices, which also leads to unhappiness.o On the other hand, if we base our lives on the behaviours written in theBible, we will have peace, joy, and get along with people better. Andmost important, we will be honouring God and doing what He wants usto do.Lesson The Bible talks about faith, and says some great things about people whodemonstrated faith. The Bible says that faith is being confident and assured ofthings we hope for, but cannot see. Having faith means that we believe evenif we cannot be physically a hundred percent sure. Can we see God? Notnecessarily. We see evidence of what He has done and continues to do. Butwe cannot always see His face or touch Him with our bodily hands. Faith means we still know He is there and that He does wonderful things forus. The Bible talks about people who demonstrated faith. The most notable ofthese people in the Bible is Abraham, whom many of us call “the father offaith.” Abraham’s faith was tested in things that we can easily identify. We canquickly refer to Abraham’s faith today after thousands of years because someof us now go through what Abraham went through. Here are some of the ways Abraham pioneered and demonstrated faith. Abraham responded to the call of God. In Genesis 12:1, we read, “Now theLord had said to Abram (later to be called Abraham): ‘Get out of your country,from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you”.It is very easy to travel to a named place even if you have never been therebefore. All you need is to ask for direction. But to pack your bags and begin ajourney “to a land that I will show you” is strange. Abram did not even knowwhere he was going. Yet “Abram departed as the Lord has spoken to him”.Hebrews 11:8 told us that he went out, not knowing where he was going. Thisrequires a high level of faith. Abram also demonstrated faith by living in a strange land. Staying amongpeople he didn’t know also was an act of faith. No matter how bad, there issomething about home that we cannot find somewhere else. Hebrews 11:9says, “By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in aforeign country.” The most important of Abraham’s expression of faith seems to be in waitingfor the birth of Isaac. Abram was seventy-five years old when God called himto leave his homeland and journey to a land God would show him. In return,3

God promised to make of him a great nation and his offspring as many as thedust of the earth. For about 25 years, Abram and Sarai waited, trusting Godfor the promised child. He faced the fact that he was old (almost 100), andthat Sarai’s was also old (she was almost 90 years old). In Genesis 17:5, Godrenamed Abram to Abraham (meaning father of many) because he was to bethe father of many nations. His wife Sarai was also renamed to Sarah.Abraham did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, butwas strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuadedthat God had power to do what he had promised. God kept his promise tohim, and Sarah bore Isaac when Abraham was 100 years old and when Sarahwas 90. The hardest decision Abraham had to make in his journey of faith is perhapsthe sacrifice of Isaac. It was crazy to even think God would ask him to sacrificethe child he had waited for many years. But because Abraham knew God, heobeyed. The Bible told us what his mind set was when he set out to sacrificehis only begotten son, Isaac. Hebrews 11:19 tells us that Abraham concluded“that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead”. Because of this,Abraham was ready to obey Gods command. As Abraham is about to sacrifice Isaac, God commands him to stop, andacknowledges his obedience. Abraham then sees a ram, and offers it as asacrifice in place of Isaac. What is very important to take from this story is thatAbraham’s faith was not without reason. It was not a blind faith, but ratherfaith based upon understanding. He believed in God’s promise, and becauseof this, he was able to act accordingly. These are reasons why Abraham is often referred to as the father of faith andit is why anyone in the journey of faith can look up to his example and beinspired to trust God. Sometimes we grow concerned that we need to “do more” for God, and thatHe requires certain actions out of us. The good news of faith is that werecognize our powerlessness. Faith is not about us, but about God and whatHe has already done for us through the work of Christ. The good news of theGospel is joy in knowing our Savior is powerful and trustworthy. Let’s pray: Father, thank you for being worthy of our trust. Thank you for allyou have done, and for all you promise to do. Help us to have faith and tobelieve in your Word. Thank you for your love. Thank you for Jesus. We prayin His name. Amen.4

Bible Fun FactsFirst time the subject appears in the Bible:FIRSTGenesis 5:24 - Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he wasno more, because God took him away.Last time the subject appears in the Bible:LASTRevelation 14:12 - This calls for patient endurance on the partof the people of God who keep his commands and remainfaithful to Jesus.One important verse on the subject from the Old Testament:Habakkuk 2:4 – See the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright – but therighteous person will live by his faithfulness.One important verse on the subject from the New Testament:2 Corinthians 5:7 – For we live by faith, not by sight.Application and Group Discussion Is our faith based on understanding of God’s promises? Or other things suchas feelings and emotions? (understanding God’s promises) How can we grow in faith? (Learn about God and be obedient to what Godhas called us to do) What can we learn from Abraham? (Discuss about how he trusted God andwas obedient) Does it mean our lives on earth will always go smoothly when we trust God?(Some of the people in the Bible who demonstrated faith had extremechallenges. Some of them even died. But it does mean that we have a futurehope for something greater, there’s a Heavenly home awaiting us)5

Live it Out Challenge Are you inspired by Abraham’s story and look up to his example and put yourfaith in God? Has God ever told you to do something that didn’t make sense? Did you obeyor disobey? Why is it wiser to trust God’s wisdom and not your own? Think about these questions this week and come to class ready to share youranswers.Additional Learning This is the time where people can work on the worksheet and colouring page.Worksheet In the box on the left, write OT on the beginning line if the book is in the OldTestament. Write NT on the beginning line if the book is in the NewTestament. Then fill in the blanks to make each passage read correctly.Counting the letters helps!Romans 10:17 So faith comes from ; andhearing through the word of Christ.Hebrews 11:6 And without , it is impossible to pleaseGod, because anyone who comes to him must believe that heand that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.Psalm 37:5-6 Commit your way to the ; trust in him andhe will do this. He will make your righteous reward shine like thedawn, your justice like the noonday sunPsalm 40: 1 I waited for the Lord; heturned to me and heard my cry2 Corinthians 5:7 For we live by faith, not by .Word BankExists, Faith, Hearing, Lord, Patiently, Sight6

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Feb 24, 2021 · Habakkuk 2:4 – See the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright – but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness. One important verse on the subject from the New Testament: 2 Corinthians 5:7 – For we live by faith, not by sight. Application and Group Discussion Is our