Object: A picture of a large crowd. (National Geographic magazine is an excellent source.)

Lesson: Faith.

"What does it mean to take a risk?" I ask the assembled children. As the seconds of their silence lengthen I wonder if today's topic is going to be too ephemeral for their concrete way of thinking. Just as I am about to answer my own question, I hear a soft voice inquire, "Does it mean to do something dangerous?"

"Yes!" I reply. "Taking a risk is often dangerous because taking a risk means that you might lose something that is important to you. But sometimes it is necessary to take a risk in order to gain something that is even more important than what we stand to lose. "The Bible is full of stories about people who take risks, one of whom was a woman who had been bleeding for twelv…