The Hall of Faith

Main Point: To give students a chance to model some of the Bible’s most faithful men and women, as well as thank the faithful men and women in their lives.

Discussion Starter: FAITH MVP List
The only supplies you need to pull this one off are pens and 3X5 cards for every student.

When it comes time to start your small group discussion, hand each student an index card and pen. While those are being passed out, quickly tell the students who you consider to be one of the Bible’s greatest followers of God, for instance, John the Baptist, or Esther, or Paul, or Daniel, etc. (The main thing is that the person you talk about be from the Bible.)

Then, and this is very important, share with your students the names of 2-3 people you actually know in your own life who’ve made a deep impact on you because of their faith in Jesus. It can be an old Sunday School teacher, a coach, a pastor, a youth pastor, a friend, a parent, etc. Just give them a very quick story (or reason) why you respect and appreciate them.

Finally, ask the students to write down the names of 2-3 people they actually know who’ve positively impacted their faith. Again, this has to be someone who they have/had a personal relationship with. This will be their FAITH MVP List.

Transition Statement:
These people you’ve put on your list are there because they’ve made a deep imprint in your lives. There’s something about them that we want to imitate because they’re better at it than us. In fact, they make us a better person altogether. These people live their lives in such a way that we are drawn closer to God. Our lives wouldn’t be the same if we didn’t know them. For the next few minutes, let’s take a look at some other people – who we’ve never met – but have changed our lives nonetheless.

Divide into Small Groups:
Let’s go ahead and split up into our discussion groups, and then afterward we’ll come back together for a final word.

CLICK HERE for a quick training article on how to maximize your small groups using our small group format—a great resource to equip your small group leaders.

Discussion Questions:

1. AROUND THE CIRCLE: As we begin, let’s take a moment to share our names and our favorite character from the Bible.


2. ASK A FEW: Is there anybody who’d like to briefly share who they wrote on their index card, and why?


3. ASK A FEW: How is your life different because of your relationship with them?


4. ASK A FEW: Do you think anybody would list you as one of their FAITH MVPs? Why or why not?

Read the following passage:

Hebrews 11:4-16 (NIV)
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 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.

7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.



5. ASK A FEW: One by one, let’s quickly recount the lives of these people mentioned here? Why are Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Sarah listed amongst the world’s most faithful people? (Leaders – You’ll need to refresh your memory with these stories, yourself. Just look them up and give them a quick re-read so you’re ready to help them with clarity if need be.)


6. ASK A FEW: In some of the examples listed in this passage, the Bible says “and he pleased God.” What was it about their lives that pleased God?


7. ASK A FEW: In your opinion, which of the people mentioned in this passage made the biggest impact on God’s Kingdom? For what reason(s) do you believe that?


8. ASK A FEW: How do you think your life might be different had these people never lived, or had they not been faithful men and women? (Leaders – This is a deeper question. The answer will vary for each person mentioned in Hebrews 11, but here are a couple of thoughts: Noah’s faith ensured that humans would survive the flood, Abraham’s faith meant that one day Jesus the Messiah would come from amongst his descendants, etc.)


9. ASK A FEW: What do you think the writer of Hebrews meant when he said of Abel – in verse 4 – that “by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead”? (Leaders – In other words, Abel’s example lives on and challenges us even to this very day, thousands and thousands of years after his murder.)


10. ASK A FEW: Let’s take another look at the names you’ve written on your cards. How would you describe the faith of those people?


11. ASK A FEW: How would your life be different if you’d never met them?

Then we’ll close in prayer together.

Close in Prayer

Idea by Randy Young; Written by David R. Smith