Week 2: Faith
giving all diligence, add to your faith… (2 Peter 1:5b).
Welcome to week two of the Summer Reading Challenge! This week’s theme is adding to your FAITH, and we are going to explore what that phrase means to us as followers of Christ.
Are you ready to jump in?
Theme
Adding to your FAITH
Origin of the Word
The word faith comes from the Greek word pistis (pronunciation: pis’-tis).
πίστις
Definition:
Persuasion, conviction, reliance, constancy...conviction of the truth of anything, belief.
Read or listen to the blog for 5 points
Clear the stage! The performance is about to begin!
Shhhhh, quiet backstage…annnnd music! Up tempo!
*Curtains begin to open as the music swells.
Welcome, my friends, to week two of the Summer Reading Challenge! I am very excited to introduce to you two very special words (drumroll please!): FAITH and ADD.
Okay, okay. Why all the theatrical drama? We’ll get into that in just a bit, but for now, let’s see what the word FAITH really means.
The Bible gives us a great definition:
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
Assurance is having confidence in something (like, knowing that the sun is going to rise in the morning); conviction is used here to mean evidence (like chocolate on a naughty little boy’s face). Wait a minute! The Bible just said that faith is the conviction or evidence of things not seen. How can we be convinced of something we can’t see? Well, that’s what it means to have faith. Faith is living your life based on a belief that God is who He says He is, even though you can’t see Him, and that He will do what He says He will do. There are examples of this throughout the Bible.
Remember the story of Abraham and Sarah? God told them they would have more children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren than the stars in the sky. But Sarah was 90 years old before she had a baby! It would have been easy for Abraham to doubt God’s promise to Him. But instead, he had faith. Romans chapter 4 says,
In hope [Abraham] believed against hope. (That means that Abraham faced a hopeless situation.) No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised.
Whoa! I wish I had faith like that! Now, we know that faith in Jesus and His work on the cross is important to our salvation, so clearly, faith is important. But we can’t just start with faith and call it quits. No, we need to ADD to our faith. Now, before we talk about what we need to ADD to our faith, let’s talk a little bit about what this word means.
In the original Greek, the word “ADD” is not so little. You ready? The word is ἐπιχορηγέω, or in English, epichoregeo (pronounced ep-ee-khor-ayg-eh'-o). This is actually two words smooshed together—epi and choregeo. The word epi carries the idea of something that is all encompassing (like the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven—mmmmm!). The word choregeo is where we get the word choreography (imagine a beautiful ballet or stage performance). Peter combines these two words to create the picture of a choirmaster (choreographer) who produces and directs every single part of a grand theatrical production.
This is a big job, and he can’t do it on his own. So, to make the production possible, the choirmaster would find a donor to help pay for the actors, writers, musicians, mimes, theatre, and props (and don’t forget the popcorn!).
The choirmaster who produced and the donor who paid for the performance would be “adding” all that was needed at a great expense. This is the idea behind adding to our faith. We must add to our faith at a great expense. What then shall we add? Peter says we are to first “add to our faith, virtue.” Sounds easy enough, but remember, this “adding” process is going to cost you something—something big! Adding virtue to your life isn’t going to be easy but it will give you an opportunity to put your faith into action! We’ll talk more about virtue next week, but for now, let’s consider adding to our faith as obeying God when He tells us to do something.
On a practical level, what does this look like? Adding to our faith often costs time, energy, or the sacrifice of our selfish desires. Let’s start by adding to our faith something that is easily attainable, like helping a younger sibling or tidying up the house for mom. Maybe it’s getting up earlier to study God’s Word, or praying throughout the day and thanking God for His blessings (maybe even out loud—gulp!). Adding to our faith could even be something as important as saying “No!” to the temptation to do something we know is wrong. Humbling ourselves and admitting when you do something wrong could be even more costly. Adding to our faith could be a courageous moment when we walk away from friends who exhibit ungodly influences, or, on the positive side, taking courage to share our growing faith with someone who doesn’t know Jesus as their Savior yet.
Whatever we do this week, remember this: the reason we can be bold in our faith is because God has promised to help us (See 2 Peter 1:4). And God never breaks a promise. Now that’s something we can have faith in!
Music, down tempo.
*Lights begin to dim as the curtains close.
Alright everybody, that’s a wrap! Show’s over!
See ya next week!
Rainey
Weekly Bible Memory:
25 points per passage (up to 3 verses constitutes a passage)
Ages 6-10
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
Ages 10-13
“according as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue. Thereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:2-4).
Ages 14+
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins” (2 Peter 1:5-9).
Weekly Bible Reading:
5 points per chapter read (any chapter of the Bible may be read anytime during the challenge for 5 points each)
Hebrews Chapters 11-13
Recommended reading List for Faith:
1 point per page read (any Lamplighter book/Lamplighter resource book/non-fiction [biography, spiritual growth, informational] may be ready anytime throughout the challenge for 1 point per page)
Ages 6+
The Little Woodsman and His Dog Caesar
Ages 9+
Ages 12+
Creative Assignment: By Faith
25 points (one-time activity)
Using the “By Faith” chapter, Hebrews 11, draw/paint a picture, write a short story, or create a short film based on one of the biblical figures listed in the passage, illustrating how they demonstrated faith in their lives.
For some inspiration for your project, watch this short film produced by Lamplighter Guild students HERE.
Practical Assignment: Leaning on the Promises of God
50 points (one-time activity)
Using this list of promises (linked below) as your reference point, choose one verse for each day of this week, meditate on it, and ask God to help you live it out, and see Him fulfill His promises! You can also memorize the verse(s) you choose (25 points each passage).
Promises of God Verses [Download HERE]
For example: Read and meditate on Psalm 41:1, “Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.” Ask God to give you the opportunity to help someone who is weaker than you, or someone who has less than you. This could be someone you already know, or even a family member. Next, be observant! Look out for those opportunities and see how you can bless that person that comes into your life through words of encouragement, an act of service, a kind gesture, or spending quality time with them—then see how God will deliver you from your trouble by you taking the focus off of yourself, and showing regard for the weak.
Additional Resources on adding to your Faith:
5 points each
Blog - There Was Much Grass in that Place
Blog - Forward Faith
Podcast - Clear the Trees?
Podcast - Nothing is Too Small for My God
