Additional Notes:
Week of July 6, 2014
Hebrews: The Supremacy and Sufficiency of Christ
“Faith’s Anatomy”
Hebrews 11:1-3
Sermon Notes:
Prayer Requests:
These questions are meant for both individual study and Life Group discussion. Take the
time to thoughtfully answer the questions for yourself in advance, then share your
answers with your Life Group and challenge each other with discussion.
Scripture Memory Verse of the Week
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of
things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
The precept, “God’s righteous shall live by faith” is repeated throughout
the Bible. See for example Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11;
and Hebrews 10:38. Does this mean primarily that faith is necessary for
living a righteous life, or that by faith the righteous receive eternal life?
Follow the repeated use of the various forms of the word “commended”
through chapter 11. What is the basis of commendation? Who does the
commending?
Open:
How do you define “faith”? Do the commonly-held ideas of “blind faith” or “a
leap of faith” apply to biblical faith? Why or why not? How might you respond
to a person who claims that to embrace biblical faith requires intellectual
suicide?
Study:
Read Hebrews 11:1-3 aloud from a few different translations (A website
like biblegateway.com puts several translations and paraphrases at your
fingertips).
What statements about faith are contained in these three verses? If you
were to restate the content of these verses in order to describe faith to a
child, how would you say it?
In the preceding verses, the writer concluded chapter 10 with the
emphatic, encouraging declaration that “…we are not of those who
shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve
their souls.” How does the writer’s definition of faith in 11:1-3 reinforce
his warning in 10:35-39?
How does verse 6 capture and restate this principle of commendation?
Where does this verse say faith begins?
Where does faith come from? See Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:17;
Hebrews 12:2.
The most frequently repeated phrase in chapter 11 is “by faith.” Doing a
quick overview of the chapter, what kinds of things does faith enable?
What do you think of the following definition?
“Faith is neither vague nor intangible. Instead, it is solid and concrete.
It is active confidence in the character and promise of the living,
eternal God who has revealed Himself to us through creation, through
the Word and by His Son, Jesus Christ.”
Has your personal notion of faith changed as a result of this study, or of
listening to this week’s message? If so, how?
Break down the description of faith found in Hebrews 1:1. What did
each of the following probably mean to the writer?
 Assurance of things hoped for: What has the writer been saying
about the nature of our hope in this book?

Conviction of things unseen: How does faith enable us to
experience confident belief in things we cannot perceive with
our senses or “prove” empirically? What important illustration is
provided in verse 3?
What does it mean to you to “live by faith”? How might you expect that
having faith could change your life?
Personal Thought: Do you personally possess that active, confident trust
in God? If not, have you ever specifically asked Him to give you the gift of
faith? What prevents you from doing that right now?