Series: The Faith Hall of Fame

Lesson 3 – Do You See What I See?

LESSON OVERVIEW

Key Point: ] By faith you can look beyond where you are and what is going on and trust and follow God no matter what.

Bible Story: Abraham lives by faith.

Hebrew 11:8-16

Challenge Verse: John 20:29—“Then Jesus told him, ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (NIV)

Younger Version: John 20:29—“…blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (NIV)

ITEMS NEEDED

Each class needs the following:

1 piece of plain white paper for each child

Items with which to draw and color.

1 Optical Illusion page copy on white cardstock for each child.

1 pair of Cross-Glasses from www.holidayspecs.com

1 small string of white Christmas lights for each class.

Please put the pictures the kids draw of Jesus back in your Resource Box.

We will give them back next week.

Items to plant a seed—i.e., potting soil, small cups, and seeds.

Memory Verse Card for John 20:29—size 3 3/4″ x 2 5/8″

BEFORE CLASS

– Set out items for the opening activity.

– Pray for each student by name.

AS STUDENTS ARRIVE

– Greet each student by name as they enter.

– Give each student an attendance sticker for the attendance chart, and feel free to add guest names to the chart. This will give them a sense of belonging.

– Get to know any guests and help them fill out a guest form.

l Be sure to smile—Your smile and attitude sets the atmosphere as students enter.

OPENING ACTIVITY

Ask your kids—To draw a picture of what they think Jesus looked like.

Tell them to put their names on the front and that they are going to turn them in when they are done. We are going to use these in a special project. You will get them back next week for them to take home.

Control Tool

Anytime you say, “By faith” students should shout back, “Live for Jesus!”

Leader: By faith—Kids: Live for Jesus!

Have a competition to see if the girls or the boys can be louder.

SAY: You just drew a picture of someone you have never seen, but just because you don’t see something doesn’t mean it’s not there. Even though none of us have ever seen Jesus with our physical eyes, we know He is real and even in this room right now.

Give each child a piece of paper with the ink-blot-looking object on one side and a picture of lady on the other, as seen in a small versions below.* (NOTE: You can see larger versions of these pictures on the last page of this lesson using the PDF file on the Full-Length Curriculum webpage.)

SAY: We’re going to play a game. To do this I am going to hand you a piece of paper that has a picture of a lady on one side and an ink-blot-looking object on the other. Hold this page with the ink-blot up but don’t look at the other side yet.

Pass out a paper to each child. When I say go, turn the paper over and raise your hand to tell me what you see…Ready…Go!

Ask for volunteers to describe to you what they see. Some will see an old lady. Some will see a young lady. There are two very different ladies hidden inside the same picture. If both aren’t seen, they tell them that there are two ladies in the picture and to raise their hand once they can see both.

If someone can’t find both ladies tell them that the line on the young lady’s neck is the old lady’s mouth and the line between her face and her neck or coat is the old lady’s nose.

SAY: In this game, you saw something that was already there. It was just hidden. Now you are going to get to see something that isn’t there. Turn the paper over to the ink-blot side and follow my instructions.

Instructions for the Ink-Blot Negative Image

Stare at the dots in the middle of the picture and slowly count to 25. Then close your eyes and slightly tilt your head back. Keep your eyes closed. You should begin to slowly see a picture form in your mind. It may take a few seconds for it to brighten.

Ask your kids—What do you see? (An image of Jesus’ face.)

SAY: You’re seeing a picture in your mind that really isn’t there. Faith is believing or trusting in something that we can’t see. We can’t see Jesus with our eyes, but we know He’s here.

BIBLE LESSON

SAY: Today we’re back in the chapter of the Bible that some have called The Faith Hall of Fame.

Ask your students—Who can tell me what chapter of the Bible I’m talking about? (Hebrews 11)

Tell your kids to get ready for a Bible drill.

Get ready… Hebrews 11:8-16…Go!

Read Hebrews 11:8-16 from your Bible

Tell your students that, just like last week, every time they hear the phrase “by faith,” they are to run and touch two walls and sit back down as fast as they can.

SAY: Abraham saw what wasn’t there yet. God had given him some specific promises and he took God at his word. His actions showed his faith.

Ask your students—What “country” or “city” do you think that they were looking forward to in these verses. (Heaven—where God is; “to the city with foundations whose architect and builder is God” v. 10).

SAY: Lots of people have questions about heaven, but there’s a lot about heaven that God didn’t tell us (i.e., what will we do in heaven; will there be animals in heaven; etc.) If a question about heaven comes up, don’t spend too much time on it unless it is a salvation question.) However, we can also know that there are some very specific things about heaven that God has told us:

Ask your students—How does the Bible say that a person can go to heaven? What is the only way to heaven? (John 14:6).

If you have time, this would be a great time to share your salvation testimony about how God saved you.

SAY: If you ever have any questions about how you can know for sure that you’re going to heaven, please come talk to me.

SAY: Abraham saw beyond where he was and he trusted God. When God called him to leave his home country and to set out to a different land that God would show him, he trusted the Lord and obeyed. When God told him that he and Sarah, his wife, were going to have a baby even though they were well-past the age of having a child, he trusted God. He wasn’t perfect and he made plenty of mistakes, just like a lot of the people we find in Faith’s Hall of Fame. These were ordinary people like you and me who by faith lived for God.

Control Tool

Leader: By faith—Kids: Live for Jesus!

CHALLENGE VERSE

Tell your kids to get ready for a Bible drill.

Get ready… John 20:29-…Go!

Read John 20:29 from your Bible

SAY: Jesus said that we are blessed because we believe even though we haven’t seen and yet believe. But faith sees beyond what is there…If God says something, even if you can’t see it or don’t understand it, you know it will happen and is true.

CHALLENGE VERSE ACTIVITY

SAY: You are getting ready to see something that isn’t there. Last week we told you that everyone in Sunday School would get a Super pair of glasses and here they are, but don’t put them on yet.

Pass out a pair of glasses to each child.

Plug in a small string of white Christmas light and have your students put on their glasses and look at it.

Ask your students—What do you see? (A cross on every light).

SAY: Jesus is the light of the world! We can’t see Him but we can trust Him. When you go home you’ll discover that it’s easier to see the cross with some lights than with others. If you want to show your parents a good cross, ask them to light a candle and look at it. Then explain to them what you learned today. Tell them that even though we can’t see Jesus, we know He is always with us; That we can live by faith and that Jesus said we are blessed because we believe in Him even though we haven’t seen Him with our eyes.

Control Tool

Leader: By faith—Kids: Live for Jesus!

CRAFT ACTIVITY

SAY: Abraham looked beyond what he could see with his eyes to the future and today we’re going to make something that will help you to look beyond and to the future as well. Today we are going to plant a seed. It will grow if you take care of it and give it water and sunlight. But it will also take some time. Abraham was patient to wait for God to fulfill the things He had promised. He heard from God and he followed Him. He looked beyond where he was and he trusted God.

Hold up a seed.

SAY: When you look beyond what this seed is today, there is the hope of it growing into something beautiful. As a follower of Christ, we have great things to look forward to in the future too.

Control Tool

Leader: By faith—Kids: Live for Jesus!

PRAYER TIME & WRAP-UP

Finger Illustration

SAY: Hold up four fingers. Look directly at them and count them aloud with me. 1-2-3-4. Not hard, right? Now look at something beyond your fingers. Now how many do you see?

KEY: God wants you to look beyond this world to the world to come; To look beyond what you see to the big picture. We don’t live for the things here but for the things of God. By faith you can look beyond where you are and what is going on and trust and follow God no matter what.

Ask your students if they have anything they would like to pray for and list their requests below:

List Prayer Requests Here

Be sure to pray specifically for each request above.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

– Try to come for the next 3 weeks so you don’t miss any of the fun that we’ll be having during this special series.

– In two weeks we are going to have Pencil Day where everyone will get a special pencil and in three weeks we are going to have “God Rocks!” Day. You’ll hear more about that later.

– Give each child a memory verse card to take home and put in their racing refrigerator magnet.

EXTRA TIME

Use any extra time to help your students memorize the verse for today or to review the stories and verses from previous weeks. If time allows, play a game to see which side can recall more.

*The optical illusions in this lessons are both very popular and can be widely found both in print and on the internet. These pictures came from http://www.mindfake.com/illusion which is no longer in existence.

Follow Jesus

"Jesus must become greater…" John 3:30

Series: The Faith Hall of Fame