3. Week Three—Acts Of Faith

Words To Live By “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Jesus to the bleeding woman in Luke 7:50 What is faith? “Now faith is confidence in what we hoped for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1, NIV). Biblical faith involves not simply accepting that something is true, but believing it to the point that we act on it. In last week’s study Jesus said, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. . . . For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:43,45c, NIV). As you read through our scriptures this week, watch for faith playing out in the lives of people who come into contact with Jesus. Part One Study In this section of our lesson, we’ll read three stories. N.T. Wright comments that the first two of them “take the commands of the great sermon in chapter 6 and they show what this life looks like on the ground, with God’s love going out in new, unexpected, healing generosity. And they help us move toward an answer to the question that is not actually spoken, ‘Who does Jesus think he is?’”15 Read Luke 7:1-17, and record your thoughts on the following questions: What part does faith play—first, in the centurion’s story and second, in...