YOUTH GROUP LESSONS ON GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

What does it mean to be faithful?

Loyal, constant, and steadfast… qualities that are rarely observed in our day-to-day lives, but are at the core of who God is.

Throughout all time, we see God display an unchanging, never-ending, and faithful love for humanity, that enables us to have a restored relationship with Him.

Use this lesson to teach students that God is faithful so we can believe what He says.

– Nick Diliberto, Ministry to Youth

YOUTH GROUP LESSON ON GOD’S FAITHFULNESS 

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Written by Kindall Crummey

Bible: Exodus 3:1-14; Deuteronomy 7:9; Malachi 3:6; Job 23:13; Matthew 13:8; Isaiah 55:10-11

Bottom Line: God is faithful so we can believe what He says.

Supplies:

• Chairs (4-6 depending on the size of your space)
• Cushions or other “obstacles” your space might provide
• Several blindfolds (one for each group)
• Stopwatch (optional)

OPENING GAME: FOLLOW FAITHFULLY

Before the game, set up an obstacle course with items from around the room.

Chairs and cushions work great for this.

Divide your students into groups of three and blindfold one person in each group.

The teams of three must stay in a line, in front and behind the blindfolded person.

The team members in the front and back of the blindfolded player must guide the blind person through an obstacle course using only their voices.

When the three players return to where they started, the blindfolded person must then attempt to follow the same path alone, trying to remember each step and turn they took, while still blindfolded.

If the blindfolded person is successful and is able to make it to the end of the obstacle course, then their team wins.

If the blindfolded player is not successful, all three players will come back to the starting line and another player from the team will be selected to be blindfolded.

The team will get into formation and once again go through the obstacle course.

Remember to change the obstacle course pattern each time you play a new round.

To add an extra element of difficulty, see which team is able to make it through the course the quickest.

TEACH

Say: Some of you were really great leaders and some of you were excellent followers – both were pretty difficult roles!

It was important that you didn’t give up at any point in the game… you just kept going no matter what.

So, I want to ask this question: What does it mean to be faithful?

Allow a few students to respond.

In our culture, the quality of faithfulness can be difficult to find.

The idea of love and leave or here today and gone tomorrow is so prevalent among people.

Friendships end.

Relationships are on and off.

Even marriages end with one of the leading causes being “unfaithfulness.”

We want everything in the world and we want it quick.

Sometimes we have a short attention spans for all things, including relationships, and we don’t have the patience and take the time to invest for the long haul.

However, every now and then, we encounter someone who breaks the mold of normalcy in regards to faithfulness.

It is likely that at some point in our lives we will have that one family member, or friend, maybe you even have more than one, that could be described as faithful.

Tried and true.

In a society that struggles with being faithful, how do we identify it?

Ask: What does faithfulness look and feel like? How do we define it?

Allow a few responses from students and share your personal definition of “faithfulness.”

Now, take a look at the people in your life.

Close your eyes and take a mental inventory of those who impact your life on a regular basis.

Who could you describe as being faithful?

Chances are only a few names come to mind.

Even now, you’re thinking of someone who you believe is the definition of faithfulness.

They’re dependable.

They’re trustworthy.

They’re not going to let you down.

But, they’re human.

That’s reality.

Only God himself is ultimately faithful.

If you are a Christian, you have been adopted into the family of a Father who keeps you on his mind.

He will never write you off or leave you alone.

God will not change His mind in regard to you nor will he leave you behind.

If you are a member of God’s family by faith, then you have entered into a relationship with God, our Heavenly Father, who will stick closer to you than a brother.

We are unable to talk about God without coming to the realization that He is our faithful God!

There are multiple encounters between God and men and women in the Bible that illustrate His faithfulness.

When Moses encountered God at the burning bush to receive his heavenly assignment, he first questioned God’s credentials.

Moses asked God to reveal his name and in God’s own fashion he responded in Exodus 3:14 by saying, “Yahweh: I am who I am.”

Read Exodus 3:1-14.

One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”

When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am!” Moses replied.

“Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father —the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

But Moses protested, “If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, ‘The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,’ they will ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what should I tell them?”

God replied to Moses, “I am who i am. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.”

Again, in Deuteronomy, God reveals His faithfulness to us.

Read Deuteronomy 7:9.

“Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.”

In Malachi, God says that He does not change.

Read Malachi 3:6.

“I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.

Even Job, in the midst of trial and hardship, testifies that God does not change.

Read Job 23:13.

But once he has made his decision, who can change his mind? Whatever he wants to do, he does.

And in the New Testament, we read that Jesus is faithful.

Read Hebrews 13:8.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

We know these attributes of the faithfulness of God, but being in a relationship with Him brings this faithfulness to light.

God is faithful in character and in action.

He has the last word on all things.

Read Isaiah 55:10-11.

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.

It is the same with my word I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

So, whatever God says, happens.

He is a never-changing God, so what He says goes.

The Bible says in Matthew 24:36 that one day, the very foundations of our earth will pass away.

We can believe that because God says it.

His faithfulness is foundational to who He is.

God’s attribute of faithfulness is transferrable to us.

Do you remember when your parents were concerned that you had healthy friendships?

This was probably especially true as you grew to become more independent and started choosing friendships for yourself.

They wanted to be sure that you did not get involved with other people who might lead you astray.

They did, or do, this with the understanding that spending time with the wrong crowd likely meant that you could become part of the crowd.

However, conversely, good friends had a healthy influence on us.

The same is true about Christ.

When we are a part of God’s crowd, His attribute of faithfulness becomes one of our characteristics.

We become faithful in reading our Bible and praying.

We become faithful in worship.

We become faithful witnesses of the life-changing power of the Gospel.

We become faithful stewards with our money.

We become faithful in our work ethic.

So, God’s faithfulness not only describes who He is, it shows us who we, as His children, can become.

Think about our God who knows everything about us, the God who created us, and then we can come to understand that in spite of being all-knowing of our every fault and our failure, He never chooses to forsake us, or leave us.

God is always faithful.

His faithfulness leads us to Himself.

There’s nothing that I can do that would change His mind about loving me intently.

There’s no place I could go to escape Him.

There’s not a chance God’s faithfulness will ever cease.

There, we find hope and peace and confidence in knowing that the God we serve will not fail us.

Because His faithfulness extends throughout the generations, we can be confident in knowing that just as He was faithful to Noah, Moses, Job, Esther, Ruth, and so many others, God will be faithful to you and I today.

God’s faithfulness is our example.

He leads us to be faithful in response to his own faithfulness bestowed upon us.

Close in prayer.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. How is “faithfulness” displayed differently now in our culture, then when your grandparents were you age?
2. Think of someone that you view as “faithful.” How is this quality shown in their daily lives?
3. Do the influences in your life and the people around you, encourage you to be faithful? How?
4. Can you think of an instance in your life where you know that God was faithful to you? If you’re comfortable, please share.
5. Other than the stories that were mentioned in our lesson today, can you think of other instances of God’s faithfulness in the Bible?
6. Why is it difficult for some people to believe that God will never leave them?
7. Do you think it is possible to be a faithful person without having a relationship with God? Why?
8. What steps can you take to become more faithful to your family, friends, and to God?
9. Do you think people are willing, or unlikely, to give people a second chance when they are unfaithful? Why?
10. Are there any situations in your life you could improve by demonstrating faithfulness?

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