Jump Week 2- Living by Faith

In week 2 of our series "JUMP" we took a look at what it means to live by faith.  We examined Matthew 14:22-33 and took a look at Jesus' interaction with Peter in the mist of a huge storm on the water.  Jesus called Peter to get out of the boat and walk on water.  One minute Peter had AMAZING Faith- after all, he was one of only two people in the history of the world that walked on water!  The next minute he was faithless and drowning.  Jesus lovingly reached out and helped Peter.  How often to we have these experiences in our lives.  Peter was not so different from us today.  The Bible tells us that it is possible for faith to move mountains.  We also struggle with doubt in the mist of trials like Peter.  Wherever you or your student find yourself today, there is hope- because just like in this story, Jesus reaches his hand out to us!  Here are some of the questions that we discussed.

-What are some examples of how you have faith in somebody or something each and every day?

-Has there ever been a time where you really questioned if God is really there to care and provide for you?
-If you put yourself in the shoes of Peter who we talked about tonight, what are the wind and the waves right now in your life that cause you to doubt that you can trust God?
-What are some promises in the Bible that God gives us about our relationship with Him that can reassure us of His love and care in times of hardship or doubt?

-How do you think that you could grow to trust God in a greater way?

Jump Week 1- What is Faith???

                 What is Faith???

We started a new series this week at Crossroads titled "JUMP" and we are focusing on the subject of Faith.  In week 1, we explored the topic and sought to answer the question- "What is Faith".  Here is the definition that we gave about biblical faith:

Faith- Believing in God's word and acting on it because God loves me and has his best in store for me.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that "without faith it is impossible to please God".  Its important that we know what faith is and seek to live it out.  The three main teaching points that we highlighted from our main text (Hebrews 11:1-3) were that:

Faith is: Substance of Hope
Faith is: Evidence of the Unseen
Faith is: an Active Process

Here are the small group questions:

-What are some things that I really  hope will happen for others?

-What are some things that I really hope will happen in my own life?

-Is there any situation in life right now that you think could be too big for God to fix?  What is it?

-The concept of faith is hard to grasp, but even harder without first trusting in the person of Jesus Christ.  Do you believe in who Jesus was and what He did for you by faith?  If so, has this decision impacted your ability to have faith in other areas of life?