Family Devotion Idea: The Hall of Faith

*About twice a month, we try to post the outline of a family devotion that you and your kids can do together. Carve out some time with your kids for a fun and creative discussion this week!

Teaching Goal:

Believing in God requires faith, and this is pleasing to God.

Scripture:

Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Hebrews 11 – This chapter is the Hall of Faith in the Bible.

Materials:

Paper and markers

Sports cards (your own, borrow or buy)

Lesson and Discussion:

*Words that are written in bold are when you, the parent, are speaking. Feel free to use your own words.

Start by saying, “Name the best professional sports athlete you know.” Stick with the sport of the athlete named first. So, if the first child to answer says, “John Elway,” then say, “Okay, let’s stick with football and everyone gets a chance to name a great football player.”

On a piece of paper where the children can see, make a list of the football players they name. Parents can feed name suggestions to younger children. After everyone has had an opportunity to add a name to the list, ask, “Who is the best football player?”

Circle the one they agree is the best. If there is a debate, then you may want to circle more than one player.

Repeat the listing of names for a few other sports such as baseball, basketball, tennis, etc. At the end, you should have several lists with at least one name circled in each list.

ACTIVITY:

Did you know there is a special honor for athletes who are considered to be one of the best players of their sport? After they stop playing and retire, the best athletes have their names included in the Hall of Fame. For older children you might ask where various Halls of Fame are located.

Baseball:  Cooperstown, New York

Football:  Canton, Ohio

Basketball:  Springfield, Massachusetts

Bowling:  St. Louis, Missouri

Rodeo:  Colorado Springs, Colorado

Cowboy:  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Gymnastics:  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Show them collectable cards of Hall of Famers. Most card shops have inexpensive cards of current or future Hall of Fame athletes. Hall of Fame recognition does make some cards very expensive (a Nolan Ryan rookie card is over $1,000). Show the children how statistics and other information are printed on the back of cards. The statistics tell what the athlete accomplished.

Did you know the Bible has a Hall of Fame? It’s really a Hall of Faith, and you can read about it in Hebrews 11.

What is faith? Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Can you think of something we can not see, but we are certain exists? Can you name something we hope for and are sure we will receive? God. Heaven. Air. Love, etc.

We have faith (we’re sure and certain) in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and heaven even though we cannot see them. Faith is important in pleasing God because without faith, we cannot believe God exists. It does not please God when people do not believe he exists. How would you feel if someone said you didn’t exist or you weren’t real?

On a second piece of paper, make a list of some or all of the names listed in Hebrews 11 by letting the kids try to guess the names, or give them clues to help them guess. You may tell the children that the names are from the Old Testament and let them guess from there or give them more hints for each name.

In the same way sports cards have statistics on the back, the book of Hebrews tell us a little about people in the Hall of Faith.

When they guess a name correctly, “Why do you think that person is in the Hall of Faith? What did he or she do that took faith?”

As you make the list, you may choose to tell some of the stories.

Abel – Adam and Eve’s son, made sacrifices

Enoch – He did not die

Noah – The Ark

Abraham – Left home, offered Isaac

Sarah – Had a child in old age

Isaac – Father of Esau and Jacob

Jacob – Father of Joseph

Joseph – Instructions to take bones to Promised Land

Moses’ parents – Not afraid of the king

Moses – Led people out of Egypt, kept Passover

Israelites – Walls of Jericho fell down

Rahab – Helped the spies out of Jericho

Gideon – God’s warrior

Barak – God’s warrior

Samson – Strong

Jephthah – God’s warrior

David – Killed Goliath

Samuel – Heard God’s voice

Daniel – Shut the mouths of lions

Prophets – Spoke the word of God under persecution

These are people who pleased God because they believed in him. They showed that they believed in God when they did what he asked them to do.

If you like this devotion idea, there are hundreds more available from Family Time Training. See the link on the left side of this page for more information.