Listen up, little ones
Listen for the words faith and works.
Reading
James 2:14-26-Faith Without Works Is Dead
Optional Reading
Hebrews 11:1-7
Keys for kids
- Faith without good works is dead.
- Good works without faith is also dead.
- Show your faith by doing good.
Questions
- Why do faith and works have to go together?
- Why are we tempted to trust faith plus our works?
- What is true, saving, faith?
Notes
(See Saturday for authors.)
James teaches that you can't just say you have faith in God. If your life doesn't show it, then your words don't mean anything. Faith and good works always go together.
James is not saying that we get saved by doing good things. He's saying that real faith naturally produces good things. When we truly trust God, it changes our hearts, our thoughts, and the way we live. Real faith shows up in how we treat others.
Faith that never does anything is called dead faith. That doesn't mean it used to be alive and then died. It means it was never alive in the first place.
James gives an example: one person says they have faith but has no good works. You can't separate faith and good works. Real faith always leads to good works, and good works that please God always come from real faith.
Jesus taught the same thing. In the Parable of the Sower, three kinds of soil didn't grow any fruit. Only the good soil grew lots of fruit. Jesus said the good soil is like a person who hears God's Word, understands it, and then produces good things in their life. Real faith grows fruit-real works.
Swedish Method questions
Praise
Psalm 31d, 51a
Prayer
- Pray that you will show your faith by good works.
- Pray for a specific application from yesterday’s sermons.
- Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.