Heroes of the Faith, Part 4Sample

God is Just

Bible Story: Deborah - Judges 4:1-24, 2:24-27

Theme verse: Hebrews 11:6

Welcome back to Heroes of the Faith! Last time, we learned how God saved Israel in an unexpected way with a man named Ehud. This time, we will see that God is just. Again, the Israelites sinned, and king Jabin of Canaan oppressed them with Sisera the commander of his army. At that time there was a prophetess named Deborah who helped lead the people of Israel from under a palm tree. A prophet is someone who speaks the words of God, and through Deborah God called a man named Barak to gather the Israelites and attack Sisera’s army.

Last week we learned to ask God for help when we are in trouble. Sometimes, it is other people who need help and God calls us to do something to help them. When God calls you, what will be your response?

Barak told Deborah that he would only go fight if she came with him. When we are scared, we are tempted to trust in people that we can see instead of trusting in God who we cannot see. We can forget how big God is. God is so big that He created the whole universe! He created stars that are so big you cannot even imagine them and so far away you cannot see them. He made the big oceans, and the big skies, created the clouds to float, and made all the big mountains. He’s the one running the whole world, He’s in charge of all the nations, He has been writing all of history, and He knows every little thing about the future.

Look up at the sky or imagine the sky and remember how big He is. When He calls you, you can trust Him to be with you and to help you do whatever it is He is asking you to do. Whenever you think that what you are about to do is scary, think about the sky, stars, and mountains, and remember that God is way bigger than the thing that scares you.

Barak did not trust God completely but had more confidence in Deborah, so God let another woman get the glory for killing Sisera. That was an insult to their society. Barak and the Israelites were winning the battle because God was with them. Sisera ran away and hid in the tent of a woman he trusted and fell asleep exhausted. While he was sleeping, she killed him, and when the Israelites sang songs about the victory, they sang about the woman who killed him instead of singing about Barak.

God is just, and Jesus said that He will reward us according to everything we do. We may get some of the rewards on earth and some in heaven. Either way, we can be certain that God will reward us for being courageous for Him.

I recognize that God is just and will reward me according to everything I do in this life.

Questions:

1. What things do we do every day that God can see?

2. I just want to watch TV. Is that okay? Why not?

3. What will heaven be like?

Application to life:

Choose an activity like talking about Jesus Christ, encouraging someone, or helping others, where you are going to take responsibility to do it every day. In addition, you can volunteer for some role in serving at church. If it seems scary, look up at the stars or the clouds and think about our God who made them and how big he is.