Do You Really Believe in God_ Heroes of the Bible - Abraham - Richard Sutton - 4
Teachers
Lesson Summary
The class began with a warm welcome and a reflection on the season’s beauty before turning to the central theme: biblical heroes and genuine faith. Richard Sutton invited the congregation to open their Bibles to Hebrews 11, the famed “Hall of Faith,” and to focus on Abraham’s example in Genesis 12. He explained that Abraham’s faith was not based on talent or circumstance but on a trusting belief in God, even as he left his idol‑worshiping family and journeyed into an unknown land. The teacher connected this to passages in Joshua 24:2 and Galatians 3, noting that Abraham’s belief was counted as righteousness, and emphasized that true heroism in the Scriptures springs from unwavering trust in God. After establishing Abraham’s example, the lesson highlighted a modern perspective by sharing an eight‑year‑old’s simple yet deep expression of belief, illustrating how a pure, childlike trust aligns with the biblical model. Sutton then discussed a Gallup survey showing divergent American views of God—some seeing Him as angry or remote, while a smaller group recognized Him as a caring Father. He challenged listeners to examine the source of their own perceptions and to answer, “Do you really believe in God?” by living a faith that is willing to sacrifice and follow Him, just as Abraham did.
Key Scriptures
By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance, and he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived in an alien land of promise, as a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise.
Even so, Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.