Session 1: Faith and Promises
Reflecting
God is the God of promise. Faith involves trusting the promises of God. God makes a promise; faith believes it, hope anticipates it, patience quietly waits for it.
What do you believe God has promised for you?
Why do you believe in that promise?
Reading
Read through Hebrews chapter 11.
Read verse 1 again in several versions.
Thinking
Every translation mentions ‘hope’ in relation to ‘faith’. What do you think each of the following had been hoping for?
- Noah
- Abraham
- Jacob
- Joseph
- Moses
Reflecting
What do you think was the basis for their hope? (Especially Abraham & Jacob)
Read verses 39-40 again. What do you think the writer is trying to explain? (It may help to read chapter 12 verses 18-24.)
Word Cloud
This word cloud was compiled from 29 translations of chapter 11 verse 1. Use the word ‘promise(s)’ and as many of the words in this cloud as possible to describe your own idea of what ‘faith’ is.
word cloud on Hebrews 11:1
Need to download a copy?
You can download a printable version of this study (including most of the Bible references) from here.