“We’re interrupting your regularly scheduled activity for an important message from your Creator. Please stand by.”1 Have you ever been going blindly and numbly about your everyday business and suddenly become aware that you are right in the middle of something that only God could have imagined before that moment? I remember one Sunday morning, … Continue reading –>
“ ‘Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the Lord with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose’ ” (1 Chron. 23:5, NIV).1 Try to envision the scene above: four thousand people playing musical instruments in praise of the Lord! That must have been an amazing worship service. God’s … Continue reading –>
After God dramatically delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, He brought them to Mount Sinai. There, He joined them to Himself in a sacred covenant. Among all the varied instructions He gave them there, how was beauty included? Exod. 25:1–9.1 The first half of the book of Exodus details the miraculous deliverance of Israel from Egypt. The … Continue reading –>
“But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand” (Isa. 64:8).1 When is the first time the Bible reveals God displaying His skills working with “clay”? Gen. 1:26, 27, 31; 2:7. Scripture opens with God creating the first humans out of the “dust … Continue reading –>
It is always interesting to observe a different culture and I have had the opportunity a couple of times when I have taught in Thailand. The overtness of Buddhist devotion was something new to me. It was not uncommon to encounter a shrine to Buddha where people were praying, offering incense or rubbing gold leaf … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: Isa. 64:5–8, Ps. 51:10, Heb. 8:1–5, 1 Chron. 23:5, Rom. 11:33–36, Acts 9:1–22. Memory Text: “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord” (Psalm 27:4, NKJV). Key Thought: God as artist? … Continue reading –>
Someone sits in a restaurant, consuming a large meal, filled with fatty food that they wash down with a soft drink. They then finish off with a large bowl of chocolate ice cream covered in hot fudge. That night, before going to bed (and having a little snack before then, too), they get on their … Continue reading –>
“Prayer is the breath of the soul. It is the secret of spiritual power. No other means of grace can be substituted, and the health of the soul be preserved. Prayer brings the heart into immediate contact with the Well spring of life, and strengthens the sinew and muscle of the religious experience.”—Ellen G. White, Gospel … Continue reading –>
by Bobby Wagh Raju heard the singing coming from the neighbor’s house and turned his music up as loud as possible. Sometimes he could still hear the singing, and he shouted abuses at the little group of Adventist believers who worshipped next door.[1. Love Thy Neighbor Pacific Press from GoodSalt.com] Other neighbors avoided confronting Raju about … Continue reading –>
“God is my best Friend,” Judy said quietly to her friend Stacy as the adult Sabbath school was tranforming into the worship hour.1 “Mine, too,” Stacy replied. “The best Friend I’ve ever had. I talk to Him a lot.” A set of shoulders in front of them paused and turned in their direction. It was … Continue reading –>
Key Thought : Prayer is the most important way of communing with God and should be engaged in as much as possible. Christ showed that prayer attitudes such as humility, persistence, and acceptance of God’s will greatly helps us. [Teaching Plan for "The Promise of Prayer" March 7, 2012] 1. Have a volunteer read Matthew … Continue reading –>
Do you know what a “user interface” is? If you do, please forgive me while I sound like I know what I’m talking about for a bit. The “user interface” is how the user (human) interacts with an electronic device. For example, on some computers, the user interface is the keyboard and mouse; tablet computers … Continue reading –>
One of the questions that those who pray often ask is, “Can my prayers really move God to do something that, otherwise, He might not do?” That’s a logical question. To answer it, all we can do is go to the Word of God and see what it says.1 Read James 4:2; Luke 11:9, 10; James 5:16–18. What … Continue reading –>
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. Isaiah 65:24 More exciting than getting what you ask for from God is just knowing He listens to you! In the summer of 1991 I was enjoying my first full year of Literature … Continue reading –>
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6). What important principles does this text teach us in regard to what is required for prayer and what it means to us? 1 In a … Continue reading –>
What do the following texts teach us about Jesus and prayer? What is the context of these verses?1 Luke 3:21, 22 Luke 9:28, 29 Luke 6:12, 13 Heb. 5:7 Matt. 14:23 Luke 22:31, 32 Matt. 26:34–44 Jesus, the spotless Son of God, the one who was without sin, without fault, the one who lived in perfect … Continue reading –>