Golden Bells #418 - Faith #1

#418

GoldenBells

Faith #1Abraham

The earth was filling up with people. Everyone was spreading out, building houses and making cities. Then God spoke to one man. The man was from Ur of the Chaldeans.

God said, ‘Abraham, leave your country and go to another land which I will show you. I will give you a very big family and they will become a great nation. In you, all the families of the earth will be blessed’.

(God was going to give Abraham a son, some grand-children and great grandchildren etc. etc. At last one of them would be Mary and another would be Joseph. Mary’s Son would be Jesus who would come to save us from our sin).

So left his country. He left his relatives, his nice house, his good job and all his friends. took his wife , the servants, gold, silver, cows, camels and sheep and started his journey. was 75yrs old.

The land God showed was the . (It took a long time for everyone to get there because the sheep were so slow!)

Introducing...

Picture Key:

Abraham

Land ofCanaan

Sarah

Isaac

Stars

A Man Called Abraham

When they arrived, God walked with all through the Land - to the North and the South and the East and the West. It was beautiful! God said I am going to give it all to your children and your children’s chil-dren. So and set up their tents and lived in the

One night sat down to think about God’s promise. He said to God ‘We do not have any children! How is your promise going to happen?’ God told to go outside his tent and look up at the in the night sky. They were shining bright. Some were large and beautiful. Some were small and twinkly. God said ‘Look up the . Can you count them all?’ There were far too many stars to count. ‘This is how big your family will be’, said God. believed God’s promise.

Years and years went past. turned 99! (It really seemed like God had forgotten about His promise). But then God spoke again to and , ‘I will make you and Sarah the father and mother of many nations. I will bless Sarah and give her a son. You will call him Isaac’.

When and heard this, they both laughed! How could it happen?!?! He was nearly 100 and she was 90! They were old enough to be grandparents – not parents! It was totally impossible! But God said ‘Don’t laugh! Is there anything to hard for me?’

Sure enough, it was not to long before and had a son. They called him . Then started to laugh. She could not stop laughing! She laughed again and again – she could not believe it! Who would have thought! Look what God can do!

, and were very happy. (God was going to keep his whole promise. From Abraham had come Isaac. From Isaac would come the whole nation called Israel… from Israel would come The Lord Jesus Christ - the Saviour of the world).

Introducing...

This is TRUE Faith

Claire’s Column

The man called Abraham is famous for his

Faith!

Abraham HEARD God’s promise

Abraham THOUGHT About ‘The Impossible’

Abraham BELIEVED God

Abraham OBEYED God

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

Faith is not blind or dumb… ...It thinks seriously and faces the impossible.

Faith realises God is God.He will keep all His promises. He can do anything!

Faith is always shown by our actions.

Before you read this page, I want you to do something pretty hard. Get your Bible and read Romans 4:18-25. These verses explain Abraham’s faith. Read them slowly and carefully at least 3 times & try to understand them.

Activities

Abraham THOUGHT About ‘The Impossible’

start

Canaan

Help Abraham get to the Land of Canaan

Fill in the Blanks [Heb 11:8]By __ __ __ __ __ Abraham, when he was __ __ __ __ __ __ to go out into a __ __ __ __ __ which he would after receive for an __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __, __ __ __ __ __ __; and he went out, not knowing where he was __ __ __ __ __.

going | faith | place | inheritance | called | obeyed

3points

1point

2points

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Jacob Judah

Note: Mary’s family tree is

different from this point. (See Luke 3:23-38)

Isaac Perez Hezron

Jesse DavidObed Solomon

Jotham AhazUzziah Hezekiah Manasseh

Eliakim AzorAbiud Zadok Achim

Abraham to Jesus Christ : The Family Tree

Start

Inst

ruct

ions How many eyeballs can you spot?__

Who was Obed’s son? ___________Who is Shealtiel’s great Grandfather?_____________________________Who has a fishy name? __________Which two men have the same name______________________________How many men are wearing some-

thing on their head?_____________Who has the longest name? ______ _____________________________Whose name can you read both for-wards and backwards? __________

Read Matthew 1 and answer these:Who was Judah’s wife? __________

3points

LordJesusChrist

Amminadab NAhshOnRam Salmon Boaz

Abijah AsARehoboam Jehoshaphat Joran

Josiah JeconiahAmon Shealtiel Zerubbabel

Eleazar MatthanEliud Jacob Joseph

Abraham to Jesus Christ : The Family Treefin

ish

Who was Perez’s brother? ____________________________Who was carried away to Babylon? _____________________

Tricky trivia questions (super hard!): [From somewhere in your Bible]

Name one shepherd _________________________________ Name 1 carpenter___________________________________Who became a king at age 7? __________________________Who was the wisest man? ____________________________2

points

2points

points

Colouring3points1point

God wants us to have the same faith

as Abraham.

teen focus

God Speaks

God spoke to Abraham out

of the sky.

God speaks to us from His

word.

God’s promise to Abraham was about Jesus Christ coming to be the Saviour of

the world.

God’s Message is Still the SameThe message for us is that Jesus Christ the

Lord has come. He died for our sins and rose again from the dead.

God asks us to Hear, Think, Believe, Obey

Abraham did these things and he was made right with

God.

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved [Rom 10:8-13].

Abraham You & Me

The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. No matter what we do, how hard we try, how good our lives are, what church we attend or how often we go, the fact remains that none of these things will please God if we don’t have true faith.

Faith is the way in which God communicates all the blessings of true salvation. Just like a pipeline that carries water from the reservoir to the kitch-en tap, God pours out His blessing through the channel of faith to those who trust Him.

Faith is important because it is essential to our pleasing God and without it we will never receive the blessing of God.

What is Faith?We must know the correct answer to this question. Only then can we see if we really have got it. What does the Bible mean by faith?

1. To Believe

This means that I accept and agree that what God has said is true.• Ibelieve that Jesus Christ is God - the Bible says so [John 20:31].• Ibelieve that Jesus Christ died, was buried and rose again the third

day – the Bible says so [1 Cor 15:3-4].• Ibelieve I am a sinner – the Bible says so [Rom 3:23].• Ibelieve Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of sinners – the Bible says so

[Acts 4:12].

This is what Romans 10:9 means when it says “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus is Lord.” You are prepared to say who He is. He is God. But this is not all that faith is. The devil and his demons believe all of this. In

Abrahamhad true faith

fact, they believe and tremble but they certainly do not have faith [James 2:19]. Faith is not just believing.

2. To be Sure

This is more than agreeing something is true, thinking something is true or even saying something is true. It is KNOWING something is true. Knowing in your heart. This is what Romans 10:9 means when it says “and believe in your heart.” To have this belief is like having a witness ‘within’ you. You are fully persuaded.

3. To Obey

This is a key point of true faith. It is a belief that obeys. It is because you believe and know it is true that you trust and do what God says. Without obedience to God and His word there is no true faith. The Bible talks of the obedience of faith [Rom 16:26]. Faith always obeys God.

IbelievebecauseGodsaidit.IamfullypersuadedbecauseGodsaidit.

IobeybecauseGodsaidit.FaithgivesalltheglorytoGod!

Abraham had true faith. Abraham is the clear, Biblical example of what faith is and what faith does.

He OBEYED God when God called him to leave his country [Heb 11:8].

He fully TRUSTED God because when he left he did not even know where he was going [Heb 11:8]. He did not have all the answers, but he still went.

He BELIEVED God when God told him at 99 years of age (and his wife 90) that he would have a son [Rom 4:18-22]. Abraham was not stupid. He knew that it was physically impossible to have children at that age, yet he believed all things are possible with God and in the face of what seemed impossible he still believed God.

It was through this faith that BELIEVED, TRUSTED and OBEYED that God de-clared Abraham as righteous [Gen 15:6]. This is true saving faith and its reward. Without it “itisimpossibletopleaseGod.”

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Abraham believed God and it was

accounted to him for

righteousness.[Rom 4:3]