Object Lesson

We have learned that without faith no one can please God. Faith is essential. Faith gives us spiritual eyes to see that God is real, even when we cannot see Him with our human or natural eyes. The Bible tells us there is a type of faith that is more pleasing to God—one that is alive and active!  

Have the volunteers read James 2:14–17:

¹⁴ What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? ¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, ¹⁶ and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? ¹⁷ So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Do you see the difference?

Faith is more than just believing God is real. People with faith that is active and alive show that God is real by the way they live. Can you see why that type of faith is pleasing to God? The active, alive faith overflows from the heart, glorifies God, and shows His love to others. It shows that God is real and active in the world!

Hold the paper ball high in air. Let’s say that this paper ball represents the first type of faith. This type of faith says, “I believe God is real” but doesn’t do anything to demonstrate that faith. 

Drop paper ball to ground. Would you say that this faith is alive and will attract people to God?  

Hold up the bouncy ball in the air, drop it, and let it bounce as you speak. This ball represents the kind of faith that pleases God. Can you see a difference? 

This faith is in motion; it is not just saying God is real, but showing our faith to others by the way we live! 

Active faith moves and flows with the leading of God’s Holy Spirit. Active faith looks different in different situations. Can you think of some ways we can show our faith? 

Active faith can be shown by things like giving, submitting, helping, obeying, listening, and sharing. Another powerful way to show active faith in God is by praying for others. How do you think praying shows your faith? 

Praying for someone shows that we trust God is alive, He hears us, and He will answer our prayers.  

Now, here is one very important thing to understand about works and doing good deeds to show our faith. No amount of good deeds or actions can earn eternal life for us. The Bible is clear that eternal life is a free gift—given to us by Jesus—not something we can ever earn!    

Read Ephesians 2:8–9:

God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Because we have this wonderful free gift, we want to say thank You to God by the way we live!

Hold up both balls, one in each hand, then drop the balls at the same time. Now, which faith do you want to have? 

Let’s shout the SuperTruth together to show we are alive: “I will live my life to please the Lord!”