Summer School Sessions: Faith

Ezekiel’s valley of dry bones shows what God can do when hope looks gone. Israel felt abandoned, like nothing but bones were left, but God told Ezekiel to prophesy, and the bones rattled, came together, received tendons and skin, and became a valley of people. That picture says that if God can bring life out of a valley of bones, then God can work in lives that still have breath. Faith lets go of the need to control the plan, because God’s way is always better and usually different.

Hebrews 11 gives faith its plain shape: “confidence in what is hoped for” and “assurance about what is not seen.” Christian hope is not wishful thinking. Faith rests on the character of the one making the promise. God has a record of being trustworthy, unlike a GPS that can send a person down a blocked road. Faith asks whether the source can be trusted, and Scripture says God has never failed to keep his word.

Abraham shows what that kind of faith looks like. Hebrews says Abraham obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Abraham did not need the whole map in advance because he knew God. Faith can say, “I don’t know how, but I know God,” and then take the next obedient step.

Romans 10:17 shows how faith grows: faith comes by hearing the word about Christ. Stronger faith does not come from demanding magic tricks from God. Faith grows through evidence, testimony, and experience, especially through Scripture. John says the signs of Jesus were written so people may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and have life in his name.

James 2 keeps faith and obedience from being pulled apart. Faith without deeds is dead, and dead means dead. Obedience is not a separate thing added onto faith as a legalistic burden. Obedience is simply faith in action. Abraham and Rahab were counted righteous because their trust produced action.

Biblical faith pleases God, opens the way to experience God’s power, and is necessary for salvation. Ephesians 2 says salvation is by grace through faith, not by works, so nobody can boast. Yet saving faith produces the good works God prepared. Faith finally means surrendering control, trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior, and responding to his call with repentance, baptism, and a life that follows where he leads.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Faith trusts the trustworthy source Faith is not confidence in a plan that has already been fully explained. Faith is confidence in God himself, the one whose record proves steady, faithful, and true. The real question is not whether the road is visible, but whether the one giving direction can be trusted. [30:10]
• 2. Hope is not wishful thinking Biblical hope is not a spiritual version of “maybe things will work out.” Hebrews gives hope weight by tying it to confidence and assurance. Christian hope stands on God’s promise, not on a person’s mood, odds, or ability to see the outcome early. [28:29]
• 3. Obedience is faith in action James refuses to let belief stay only in the head. Faith that never moves the hands, feet, mouth, wallet, schedule, or will is not the living faith Scripture describes. Obedience does not replace faith, but it reveals whether faith is alive. [53:39]
• 4. Doubt can return to evidence Doubt does not have to become rebellion. Doubt can become the doorway back into Scripture, back into testimony, and back into remembering God’s proven faithfulness. The enemy wants doubt to pull faith apart, but God can use honest struggle to drive a person deeper into what is true. [43:55]
• 5. Saving faith surrenders control Salvation is not gained by managing life better or keeping enough rules to impress God. Saving faith relinquishes control and trusts Christ’s sinless life, cross, burial, and resurrection. That surrender then produces a real response to his call, not merely agreement with facts about him.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [14:58] - Ezekiel and the Dry Bones
• [22:47] - Summer School on Faith
• [23:46] - Let Go of the Branch
• [25:47] - Hebrews 11 and Real Faith
• [27:26] - What Faith Really Is
• [30:10] - Trusting the Source
• [34:27] - Abraham Obeys Without Knowing
• [38:34] - How Faith Grows
• [42:26] - Evidence, Testimony, and Belief
• [45:40] - Faith and Obedience Together
• [54:55] - Benefits of Biblical Faith
• [60:49] - Faith Necessary for Salvation
• [63:06] - Responding to Christ’s Call

Bible Reading

Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” [27:56]

Ezekiel 37:1-14
“The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "Sovereign LORD, you alone know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones and say to them, 'Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.'" So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'” [14:58]

James 2:17
“In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” [49:40]

Romans 10:17
“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” [38:34]

Ephesians 2:8-9
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” [01:01:18]

Observation questions

1. In Ezekiel 37, what details show just how hopeless the valley looked before God brought life to it?
2. According to Hebrews 11:1, what two words are used to describe faith, and what are those words connected to? [27:56]
3. In James 2:17, what does James say faith is like when it is not accompanied by action? [49:40]
4. What example is given of Abraham’s faith in Hebrews 11, and what did he do even though he did not know where he was going? [34:27]

Interpretation questions

1. Israel said, “Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone.” How does Ezekiel 37 help explain the difference between feeling abandoned and actually being abandoned by God? [16:11]
2. Hebrews 11:1 ties faith to confidence and assurance. What makes Christian hope more than wishful thinking, and why does the trustworthiness of the source matter so much? [30:10]
3. Romans 10:17 says faith comes from hearing the word about Christ. What does that suggest about how faith normally grows in a believer’s life? [38:34]
4. James says faith without deeds is dead, while Ephesians says salvation is by grace through faith and not by works. How do these truths fit together without canceling each other out? [01:01:18]

Application questions

1. Where does life currently feel most like a valley of dry bones—family, health, work, prayer, or something else? What would it look like to bring that place honestly before God instead of assuming hope is gone? [16:28]
2. Faith trusts God without needing the whole map first. Is there a place right now where the desire for control is stronger than the willingness to trust? What would “letting go of the branch” look like there? [23:46]
3. “I don’t know how, but I know God” is a real expression of faith. When has that been difficult to say lately, and what makes it hard in this season? [33:53]
4. Faith grows through hearing the word about Christ. What specific change could help someone spend more regular time in Scripture this week so faith has room to grow? [39:01]
5. Doubt does not have to lead away from God; it can drive a person back to evidence, testimony, and Scripture. When doubt shows up, where does the mind usually go first, and where should it go instead? [43:55]
6. Obedience is faith in action. What is one area where belief may be present, but action has been delayed—forgiveness, generosity, confession, serving, baptism, or some other response God is calling for? [53:39]
7. Saving faith surrenders control to Jesus as Lord and Savior. What would fuller surrender look like right now in one practical area of life? [01:02:18]