Week 1: Introduction — Do You Believe God?

1.Moore opens by describing the moment she came face to face with Isaiah 43:10 — 'You are my witnesses,' declares the Lord, 'and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me.' How does she distinguish between believing *in* God and believing *God*? In your own words, what is the difference?

2.Be honest with yourself: up to this point in your life, which side of that distinction have you lived on more consistently? What evidence from your daily life points you to that answer?

3.Moore references Abraham as the paradigm case — a man of whom Scripture says he 'believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness' (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3). What do you know about Abraham's story that makes that statement remarkable? What did he actually have to believe God *about*?

4.The introduction sets up Hebrews 11 as a gallery of people who took God at His word in specific, costly ways. Which figure in Hebrews 11 is most striking or puzzling to you personally, and why?

5.Moore suggests that many believers are living far below the level of faith that is available to them — that there is a 'fresh explosion of faith' waiting on the other side of actually believing God. Does that idea feel exciting, threatening, or both? What would have to change in your life for that explosion to happen?

6.Moore previews five statements of faith that will run through the whole book. Write them out from memory or look them back up. Which one lands most heavily on you right now, and why?

7.How does the distinction Moore is making connect to the gospel itself — the call to 'repent and believe'? Is saving faith merely believing certain facts about Jesus, or does it include believing *God* the way Abraham did?