Published June 2016 Christian Education Publications PO Box A287, Sydney South NSW 1235 Ph: 612 8268 3344 Fax: 612 8268 3357 cepstore.com.au Copyright Christian Education Publications © Penny Reeve This book is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without the written permission of the Publisher. Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc. National Library of Australia ISBN 978-1-925041-96-5 Author: Penny Reeve Managing editor: Natasha Percy Theological editor: Guangyao Un Typesetting and design: Bethany Abbottsmith Illustrations: Ritchie Priyana
study 1
You’re surrounded!
But hey, it’s a good thing.
PART 1 Look at these part pictures. What do you believe the ‘full picture’ will be? 1
?
2
?
3
4
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Open your Bible at HEBREWS 11. In the clouds below—or on a large piece of paper—list as many names as you can of people who lived by faith. Underline the names of the people you’ve heard of in this list (maybe you’ve read their story in a picture book or at church). Circle the names you have not heard before.
1 Did these people live before or after Jesus was born? ___________________________________________________________________________ 2 Why does the Bible ‘commend’ them as heroes? (Hint: check Hebrews 11:39) ___________________________________________________________________________ 3 Do you think these people knew about Jesus? Explain your answer. ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 14
PART 2 Read HEBREWS 12:1. Draw a picture of yourself in the empty space surrounded by the clouds.
According to the book of Hebrews, the ‘heroes of faith’ listed in chapter 11 trusted God and his promises, even though they had not yet seen the whole picture. More than 2000 years since Jesus was born, and with the complete Bible available to us, we are in a privileged position to know for certain what they could only hope for: • • • • • •
that God’s promises all come true in time that Jesus came to show us the full nature of God that he gave up his life as a ransom for ours that through Jesus’ death on the cross, God dealt with sin once and for all that Satan has been defeated that the Holy Spirit is given to all who trust in Jesus as our comforter, helper and strength to live God’s way.
1 These ‘heroes of faith’ put their life on the line. They trusted God would do what he said he would, even when they couldn’t see the whole picture of how things would turn out. How does that make you feel about trusting God today? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2 Ask someone else the same question and record their answer here: ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3 What do you think stops us from trusting God? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 15
PART 3 Use Hebrews 12:1 to guide your way through this maze.
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Show Hebrews 12:1 to one or two godly adults and ask them what they think it means to ‘run with perseverance the race marked out for us’. (If the person gives their permission, you might like to video their answers.) Share what you learn with your group the next time you meet.
P E R S O N T W O E N O N O S R PE How do you know a ‘godly adult’ when you see one? They are grown-ups who love God, study his word and are always looking to grow more and more like Jesus. When you look at their lives you can see that the Holy Spirit has been at work because the fruit of the Spirit will show itself in the way that they live. See Galatians 5:22.
Ask God to give you wisdom as you study Hebrews 12:1–6. Ask him to help you learn more about how trustworthy he is, and what it means to trust him with your whole life, every single day. 17
Hebrews 12:1 Play a Plant it version of ‘Duck Duck Goose’. Everyone, except the person who is ‘it’, sits in a circle with a towel or sheet over their head. The person who is ‘it’ walks around the circle tapping each person on the head as they read Hebrews 12:1 from a palm card. When ‘it’ reaches the end of the verse, the final person they tap must stand up, throw off their towel or sheet, and begin the chase. If ‘it’ can race around the circle and reach the empty seat, they are safe and do not need to wear the sheet. Continue the game until everyone has thrown off their sheets, everyone has learned the verse, or time runs out.
Test date Hebrews 12:1
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Checked by Person #1
Checked by Person #2
Memorised? Yes/No