Teaching  Notes

Faith Insight 19: The Cost of Following Christ “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”— Luke 9:23 (ESV) In our last Insight, we considered what it means to surrender our will to God. That surrender can become difficult when we begin to see what obedience may cost. We may know what Christ is asking of us and still feel afraid to follow through. Perhaps telling the truth will put a relationship at risk, or obeying Him wil

Faith Insight 18: Surrender—When My Will Meets God’s Will “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”— Luke 22:42 (ESV) Repentance turns us back toward God. But as we continue walking with Him, we come to places where what we want and what God asks of us don't seem to point in the same direction. What happens then? In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed with complete honesty: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but your

Faith Insight 17: Repentance—Faith Turns Back to God “Repent and believe in the gospel.”— Mark 1:15 (ESV) Grace comes before obedience. God acts first—revealing, calling, loving, forgiving, and saving. But grace does not leave us facing the same direction. It calls us to turn. Jesus began His public ministry with these words: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”— Mark 1:15 (ESV) _______________ and ___________ b

Faith Insight 16: Grace Comes Before Obedience “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”— Ephesians 2:8 (ESV) In our last Faith Insight, we saw that love is the heart of obedience. We do not obey God in order to persuade Him to love us. We obey because He has loved us first. That truth leads us to one of the most important matters of order in the Christian life: Grace comes before obedience. If we reverse

Faith Insight 15: Love Is the Heart of Obedience “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.” — John 14:21 (ESV) Throughout this part of our Faith That Lives journey, we have been considering what happens when trust becomes obedience. We have seen that obedience makes trust visible. We have seen that obedience sometimes comes before complete understanding. Saul warned us about the danger of partial obedience. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego showe

Faith Insight 14: Trusting God with the Outcome “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace... But if not... we will not serve your gods.”— Daniel 3:17–18 (ESV) There is a point when obedience asks an especially difficult question: Will I still trust God if obedience does not produce the outcome I want? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced that question with their lives. King Nebuchadnezzar commanded them to bow before the golden image he

Faith Insight 13: Partial Obedience Reveals Divided Trust “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” — 1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV) In our last Faith Insight, the priests at the Jordan showed us that obedience sometimes comes before understanding. They trusted God enough to step forward. But Scripture also gives us examples of another kind of response—one that can look like obedience while quietly preserving our own control. King Saul provid

Faith Insight 12: Obedience Often Comes Before Understanding “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”— Proverbs 3:5 (ESV) In our last Faith Insight, we considered an important truth: Obedience is faith made visible. But obedience becomes especially difficult when we cannot see what will happen after we obey. Israel faced such a moment at the Jordan River. After years in the wilderness, God's people stood at the boundary of the

Faith Insight #11: Obedience Is Faith Made Visible “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”— James 2:18 (ESV) In every case, something important happened: Trust became visible. That brings us to the next stage in our journey – When Trust Becomes __________. What is the relationship between faith and obedience? James addresses the question directly: “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by

Faith Insight 10: Peter—Trusting Christ Enough to Step Out “He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.”— Matthew 14:29 (ESV) We began this part of our Faith That Lives journey with Jesus saying: “Follow me.” Then we watched Abraham go without knowing where the journey would lead. We watched Noah obey before visible circumstances confirmed what God had said. We watched Moses confront his own inadequacy and hear God's answe

Faith Insight 9: Moses—Faith in the God Who Goes with Us “He said, ‘But I will be with you.’”— Exodus 3:12 (ESV) Abraham was called to go without knowing the destination. Noah was called to act before he could see the events God had foretold. Now Moses confronts another obstacle to living faith: What happens when the problem is not the uncertainty ahead of us, but the inadequacy we see within ourselves? When God called Moses from the burning bush and told him that he wou

Faith Insight 8: Noah—Obedience Before Visible Evidence “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household.” — Hebrews 11:7 (ESV) Faith sometimes __________ before visible evidence __________ what God has said. The story begins with God speaking. God warned Noah of judgment to come and instructed him to build an ark. Then Genesis records Noah's response: “Noah did this; he did all that

Faith Insight 7: Abraham—Called Before He Understood “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”— Hebrews 11:8 (ESV) Long before those disciples left their nets beside the Sea of Galilee, another man heard God's call and stepped into an unknown future. His name was Abram. God said to him: “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the l

Faith Insight 6: “Follow Me”—The Call at the Center of Faith “And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’” — Matthew 4:19 (ESV) Now we come to two words of Jesus that bring these truths together: “__________ __________.” When Jesus began calling His disciples, He did not merely ask them to agree with certain ideas about Him. Matthew tells us that Jesus saw Peter and Andrew casting their nets into the sea. He said to them: “Follow me, and I will

Faith Insight 5: Faith Must Become a Way of Life “The righteous shall live by faith.”— Habakkuk 2:4 (ESV) Scripture calls us into a relationship in which we hear His Word, trust His character, and learn to walk with Him. But that raises another important question: What happens when faith moves from what we believe to how we actually live? The prophet Habakkuk gives us one of Scripture's most important statements about faith: “The __________ shall live by his faith.”— Hab

Faith Insight 4: Knowing God Is Relational “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me.’” — Jeremiah 9:23–24 (ESV) This Scripture points us toward something deeper: “God wants us to know Him.” An important difference exists between knowing about someone and knowing someone personally. We can know

Faith Insight 3: Faith Comes by Hearing “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”— Romans 10:17 (ESV) From Abraham to Moses and from the prophets to the coming of Jesus Christ, Scripture reveals and testifies to a God who speaks, calls, and invites people into relationship with Himself. But if our God chooses to speak, then our next question should naturally be: “Are we listening?” Respond: I am willing to listen to what God is saying to me

Faith Insight 2: The God Who Makes Himself Known “And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel: “I AM has sent me to you.”’”— Exodus 3:14 (ESV) In our lesson today, we answer the question: How can we know God? The Scripture's remarkable answer is that we can know God because He has chosen to make Himself known. The Bible begins not with humanity searching for God, but with God acting: “In the beginning, __________ created the he

Faith Insight 1: What Does It Mean to Have a Faith That Truly Lives? “Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”— Genesis 5:24 (ESV) This lesson helps you begin becoming a passionate follower of Jesus and learn every day what it means to have a faith that truly lives. For many people, faith means believing certain things about God. We believe that ___________ exists. We believe that Jesus Christ is the __________________________. We believe the _________