WARM-UP
Blind Partner Pictionary – partner up. Coach will show a simple picture which one person will “draw” on the back of their partner. Each partner gets 3 guesses.
Q: How hard was it to guess what was being drawn without seeing it?
The past two weeks we have talked about pursuing truth. Last week we learned that Jesus is the truth and offers us an eternal relationship. This week we are going to look at what it means to pursue faith.
Faith is a tricky word to define. The Bible defines it for us in the book of Hebrews. “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” – Hebrews 11:1
WORKOUT
What is something you cannot see but you know exists because we can see evidence of it? (wind, heat, cold, gravity, smell, taste, sound)
We know those things exist because there is evidence or proof of them. Faith is something we cannot see but we can see the evidence of faith all around us. Jesus had a reputation for healing people. Large crowds gathered wherever he went because people who had not seen a healing had faith that Jesus could heal.
In Mark 5:21-43 we find the story of two people who pursued faith through Jesus. First, we have Jarius, who was a ruler in the Jewish church. He went to Jesus to get healing for his sick daughter. He asked Jesus to come touch her. At the same time there was a woman in the crowd who had been sick for twelve years. Her faith led her to touch a string on Jesus’ garment. When she did that she was instantly healed. During this delay, Jarius’ daughter died but Jesus told him to believe – to have faith. Jesus went to Jarius’ house and asked the girl to get up – and she did.
Both Jarius and the woman had faith in Jesus and His ability to heal. They had not seen it; they had just heard about it. Their faith moved them to action: they went to Jesus and believed He could help them.
WRAP-UP
Pursuing faith in Jesus means we believe without seeing and it means we have to take action. More on that next time!
Let’s pray!
“Lord, grow my faith. Open my eyes to see You at work around me. Help me take action where action needs to be taken so I can keep pursuing faith. In Jesus’ name, amen.”