Hall of Faith
Kellie   -   March 28, 2021

It is common to think of faith as something that is just within us—trust and confidence in God. While that is surely part of it, faith doesn’t stop there. Faith starts inside of us and always leads to action.

The writer of the Book of Hebrews wanted to explain the fullness of faith to the early Jewish Christians. One of the best ways he could do this was to walk through examples of how men and women in the Old Testament had proven to be faithful. The result is Hebrews 11, often known as the Hall of Faith. 

Abel had faith when he gave an offering to God, and God accepted his offering. Noah had faith. He believed God when God told him to build an ark to rescue his family. 

Abraham had faith when God called him to leave his home. Abraham’s wife Sarah had faith when she trusted God to give her a family even though she was too old to have children. Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses had faith too. Rahab had faith when she hid the Israelite spies in Jericho. 

All of these people trusted God, and so did many others. Having faith was not easy. Many suffered, and they died before God’s greatest promise—the arrival of Jesus—came true, but they believed that God had a wonderful plan. God was pleased with them because they trusted Him.

This week, share the examples of these heroes of faith to help your kids understand faith in action. We can and should learn from these examples; that is why God gave them to us in Hebrews 11. However, emphasize that every person in this list was a sinner in need of salvation. Each of these heroes needed a greater hero. Point your kids to Jesus, the perfect hero who rescues us from sin.

God kept His promise to send the Messiah—His own Son, Jesus—to rescue people from sin. Jesus is the true hero of the Bible. He gives us faith. We can look to Him because in Him, all of God’s promises will come true.

Check this session’s Activity Page and Big Picture Card as well as the Gospel Project for Kids Family App for ways to interact with the Bible content this week.

QUESTIONS

  1. What book of the Bible was our story from? (Hebrews) 
  2. All the people in the story please God by having _____. (Faith, Hebrews 11:4) 
  3. What did Noah build that showed his faith? (ark, Hebrews 11:7) 
  4. True or false: all the people in our Bible story saw how God’s plan turned out. (False, Hebrews 11:13) 

FAMILY STARTING POINTS 

Babies and Toddlers

  • The good news is about Jesus.
  • Jesus is the only true hero of the Bible.
  • Faith is when you believe something that you have not seen.
  • People in the Bible had faith in God.
  • We have faith that God sent Jesus to rescue us.

Preschool

  • People who love Jesus live by faith.
  • What is the gospel? The gospel is the good news that God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to rescue sinners.

Kids

  • God works mightily through people who have faith in Him. 
  • What is the gospel? The gospel is the good news that God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to rescue sinners.

UNIT KEY PASSAGE – 1 Chronicles 16:31 

NEXT WEEK – “Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection” (Matthew 26–28; John 20)