Object Lesson on Faith

Key Verse: Heb 11.1, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Setup/Materials: One quarter, three opaque drinking cups.

Presentation:

1. What is faith?  It's important to understand what faith is, because God said without faith it is impossible to please Him (Heb 11.6).  He also said you and I can only be saved, we can only escape God's judgment against our sin, by faith (Eph 2.8-9).  So it would be good to really understand what faith is.
2. God said faith is about what you think about things you can't see.  He said faith is really being sure that things God has promised that you hope for, God will do for you.  He said it means even though you can't see God, or the things He promised, like that He would forgive you and not punish you for your sins if you trust in Jesus as God and as the one who paid for your sins by His own death, you are sure they are real and true.
3. Are there any other things in your life that you know are real and true even if you can't see them?  What about air, or electricity?  How about your grandmother who is not in the room with you right now?  You can't see her, yet you are confident she is real, right?  How do you know any of them are real and true?  Because you can see their effects, you can see what they do, right?
4. In a similar way, even though you can't see God, He is real and true.  If you have faith, you can be sure that is so.  Lets illustrate the idea of believing something is real and true even if you can't see it.
5. (Show the person the quarter and the three cups.)  See this quarter?  If I place it under one of these three cups you won't be able to see it, right?  OK, turn your back for a moment.  (place the three cups face down on the table and do NOT place the quarter under any of them, just put the quarter away so it can't be seen).
6. OK, turn around.  Now, is the quarter under one of those cups?  You don't know, do you?  You might think it is, and you might hope it is, but you don't know for sure, do you?  Check it out.  (The person lifts the cups and discovers the quarter is not under any of them).  This is an example of the situation where you can't see something and you can't tell whether it is real and true or not.  This is not faith.
7. Lets do another thing.  Here is the quarter (hand the quarter to the person).  Now, put the quarter down on the table and cover it with one of the cups.
8. Now I ask you: can you see the quarter?  (No)  Is it under that cup?  (Yes)  You're right!  Even though you can't see the quarter, you know it is there; you know that it is real and true, don't you?  That is faith, knowing something is real and true even though you can't see it.
9. How did you know the quarter was there, even though you couldn't see it?  Because you had previous experience about that quarter.  You had held it in your hand and saw yourself put it under the cup.
10. How do you know electricity is real and true?  Because you can see its effects, like that light bulb turning on, which you know only happens when electricity is flowing through it.
11. How do you know air is real and true?  Because you can feel its effects, like the feeling of your chest expanding when you inhale that invisible air, or you can see visible things like leaves, rain, and dust being carried along by the invisible air -- so you know the air is real and true.
12. That's how you can know God is real and true: by seeing the effects of His Spirit in the lives of people you know who know Jesus personally.
13. You can also know He is real and true by seeing the effects His creating the world around you, which is intricately made and fitted together.  Just as you'd never expect to shake your bucket of legos and ever expect them to make themselves into the complicated fire truck lego kit, and if you ever walk into your room and see the legos made into the fire truck you know someone was there and fitted the legos together.  In the same way no thinking person sees the world around us, so complicated with so many different parts so perfectly fitted together, and thinks all that just happened.  You can easily see that God, the creator of all, is real and true.
14. You can know God is real and true by the miracle of Jesus' resurrection.  Though this happened a long time ago, many people wrote about it, and many of Jesus' enemies didn't wanted to deny Jesus rose from the dead.  Back then, when Jesus' followers began telling everyone that Jesus had risen from the dead, all Jesus' enemies had to do was produce Jesus' dead body -- and no one every did!  Jesus rose from the dead just as He said He would.
15. So hopefully you understand better what it means to have faith, to know for certain something is real and true even though you can't see it.  And hopefully you are able, by faith, to know for sure that God is real and true, and that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus so that whoever believes in Him (as God and as the One whose death can pay the penalty for your sins) will not perish but have everlasting life!  (John 3.16)