Leader Guide

Teaching

Towel or tablecloth
Miniature toy car
Two round balloons
Permanent marker
Table
Printed copy of the Bible
Two index cards
GizmoNote (optional take-home note)

Discipleship Challenge Materials:
• Heart Challenge Page
• Flame Page
• Sample craft

Make copies of the Discipleship Challenge materials for children who missed Lesson 1; see Lesson 1 for details.

Optional: Print the GizmoNote, one per child to take home after class.

Place the toy car on the table and lay the towel over it.

Blow up the two balloons and tie them closed.

In large letters, write FAITH on one balloon and DOUBT on the other.

Number each index card and write a Bible verse on each one as seen below.

1. John 3:16

2. 1 John 1:9

Look up each verse in the Bible and mark it with the corresponding index card.

Option: If you prefer, you can write the entire verse on the card and place it in the Bible. Even if you read the verse from the card, it’s recommended that you hold the Bible open for effect as you give the presentation.

Let’s say today’s SuperTruth together: “By faith I will believe Jesus.”

In the Bible story, which disciple could not believe unless he saw Jesus? Thomas.

I think that, like Thomas, we would all prefer to see something with our own eyes, rather than just believing without seeing.

We cannot see Jesus with our physical eyes. We must believe with eyes of faith.

Hold up the closed Bible. That is why God provided the Bible to us. It is His Word which tells us all we need to know about Jesus to successfully live by faith.

Stand by the table and towel. What if I told you there was a car under this towel. Would you believe me without seeing it? Raise your hand if you believe without seeing. Children respond.

For all who believed, why did you? Children respond.

Lift the towel to reveal the car. Some of you may have doubted a bit thinking a car could not possibly fit under a towel, right? The most important part of believing is trust. When you trust someone, you are willing to believe even when it may look otherwise.

God is totally trustworthy. He never lies or exaggerates or breaks a promise. (See Hebrews 6:18, Titus 1:2.) The promises He gives us are true forever. What the Bible says about Jesus, His life, death and resurrection is absolutely true.

Not only does Jesus always TELL the truth, He IS the Truth! (See John 14:6.) Wow, it’s exciting to know that there’s no reason to doubt Him! We can absolutely trust Him 100 percent, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, forever!

In the video, on the road to Emmaus, we watched how Jesus guided the men’s faith by sharing Scripture. He replaced their confusion, sadness and disappointment with faith and hope. Jesus will do the same for us today through Scripture, His Word. Let’s take a look at how this works!

Hold up the FAITH and DOUBT balloons for children to see. These two balloons represent the choice we make to doubt or believe by faith.

Place the balloons and the Bible on the table in front of you.

Open the Bible to verse #1.

Pick up the DOUBT balloon with one hand. Let’s say that something happened or someone has said something that causes doubt to creep in about our salvation through Jesus. Sometimes we just don’t feel saved and maybe we doubt it really happened. Maybe God doesn’t really love us and didn’t send His Son. Slowly raise the Doubt balloon higher.

Doubt begins to grow stronger. What can we do?

Read John 3:16 in the Bible on the table and then pick up the Bible and hold it in your free hand.

1. John 3:16:

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”

The Bible tells us the truth we need to overcome doubt. Slowly lower the DOUBT balloon and place it on the table.

Pick up the FAITH balloon and slowly raise it as you speak. We read that God does love us, salvation is for everyone, and we have eternal life by believing in Jesus. Faith is a decision we make, not a feeling—so don’t worry if you don’t “feel” saved. If you ask Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior, you can be sure that you are saved!

Look what happens, I pick up faith and let go of doubt! God’s Word helps us overcome doubt. Now, I couldn’t hold both balloons at the same time, could I?

Lift up the Bible. No! As I hold onto what God says in the Bible, I have to make a choice to hold one balloon or the other! I choose to hold onto FAITH and let go of DOUBT!

Let’s look at one more example. Place the Bible and the FAITH balloon on the table. Open the Bible to VERSE #2.

Pick up the DOUBT balloon with one hand. Let’s say that we sin, which means we disobey God’s Word. We begin to feel condemnation and guilt. We no longer feel close to God, and He seems far away. Maybe the devil whispers in our ears that we blew it; the sin was so bad or we have sinned too many times, and God will never forgive us. The devil wants us to think it’s too late to be forgiven!

Slowly raise the DOUBT balloon higher. The more you think about it, the more doubt begins to grow; and you begin to believe that there is no hope for you. Who can tell me what we should do—shout it out! Read the Bible! Read God’s Word!

Read 1 John 1:9 in the Bible on the table and then pick up the Bible and hold it in your free hand.

2. 1 John 1:9:

But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

The Bible tells us the truth. Slowly lower the DOUBT balloon and place it on the table.

Pick up the FAITH balloon and slowly raise it as you speak. When we come to Jesus and confess our sins to Him, He is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us from ALL wickedness! No matter what the sin, Jesus ALWAYS forgives us! We can’t actually see forgiveness; we choose to believe by faith.

Once again, I choose to pick up faith and let go of doubt! God’s Word helps us to overcome doubt.

Alternately, pick up the balloons, lifting each one up and down. Jesus does not want us to live with an up and down faith. Raise up the FAITH balloon and drop the DOUBT balloon to the floor.

Through prayer and reading God’s Word, we can choose to hold onto FAITH and let go of DOUBT!

Conclusion: I don’t want to be remembered as Doubting {Your name}. I want to live by faith and be known as Believing {Your name}. I think that you do, too. Yes, Thomas doubted for awhile—but he finally did believe that Jesus rose from the dead as Jesus lovingly revealed Himself. We want to live a life of faith every single day.

It’s now time for the Discipleship Challenge!

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Give each child who missed the previous lesson a Heart Challenge Page and a Flame Page. Display the sample craft and encourage them to assemble their crafts at home and begin the challenge!

In the previous challenge, you were asked to learn Acts 1:8. Would anyone like to try to say this verse from memory?

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be My witnesses, telling people about Me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Would anyone like to share how many flames you were able to place in Heart #1? Children answer.

Would anyone like to share an experience with Jesus in your prayer time? Children answer.

Raise your hand of you were able to witness to someone about Jesus. Children respond.

Hold up the sample Heart Challenge Page.

The next challenge for you is #2. Your challenge is to pray daily for power to live by faith and not by sight. Jesus said those who believe without seeing Him are blessed! When we trust in Him, we can be filled with confident hope, joy, peace, and power! This is what you will learn in Romans 15:13.

Each time you work on the challenge by praying daily to live by faith, cut out a flame and glue it to Heart #2. When we fill our hearts with His Word and spend time with Him in prayer, we experience Jesus in powerful ways as we live by faith. And we can’t help but share it with others!

When we meet again, you will have a chance to share your experiences with this challenge.