Lesson 9 November 21-27
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 10:30-37, Matt. 5:14-16, Luke 4:18-23, Jer. 29:13, Matt. 7:7, 1 Thess. 2:6-8.
Memory Text: “Nor did we seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us” (1 Thessalonians 2:6-8, NKJV).
Since the earliest times in which the faithful have gathered to worship God – in synagogues, homes, and churches – the Bible reveals people who, through their study of the Scriptures and through their worship, long to know God and to understand His will for their lives. The Bible also repeatedly reveals that the church is a place where serious and relevant discussions should take place, and where people can grow in their knowledge of God and His will for their lives.
Sometimes we are afraid of asking questions. However, in the Bible we often find that questions are used to bring people to a clearer understanding of God. In a similar manner, stories are used throughout the Bible to create opportunities for people to rethink their commitments. Jesus was particularly focused on this type of education with His disciples and followers.
If the church is to be a place of education, it must provide the space for genuine dialogue to occur. Just as we were repeatedly told as students in school, “There is no dumb question,” we must provide within the church a safe environment for each person to grow in grace and in understanding of God and His plan for their lives.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 28.
The story is told of a rabbi who looking into the sleepy eyes of the young men who sat in his classroom, asked: “Students, when does one know when the night is ended and the day has begun?”
Several of the students cautiously raised their hands. “Rabbi,” one asked, “is it when you can tell the difference between a fig tree and an olive tree?”
“No.”
Another student raised his hand: “Rabbi, is it when you can tell the difference between a sheep and a goat?”
After listening to a host of answers, the rabbi announced, “Students, one knows the night has ended and the day has begun when you can look at a face never before seen and recognize the stranger as a brother or sister. Until that moment, no matter how bright the day, it is still the night.”
Read Luke 10:30-37. What was the point that Jesus was making with this story? And what should this tell us about what must be part of any true Christian education?
As Seventh-day Adventists, we have been blessed with an abundance of doctrinal light and truth (the state of the dead, the Sabbath, 1844 and the judgment, the great controversy, to name a few teachings) that even most of the Christian world still doesn’t understand. And yet, however crucial these truths are, what good do they do us if we are not kind to people, if we display prejudice against others, and if we allow the cultural and social biases of our environment to cause us to treat others as inferiors?
True Christian education, if nothing else, must cause us to rise above these human foibles and evils, and see others as Christ sees them, beings for whom He died, beings whose sins He bore on the cross, beings for whom He paid an infinite price. If we uplift the cross, as we must, then we will see the value and worth of every human being and, ideally, treat them as they truly deserve, in keeping with the value that God has placed on them. Christian education must include this teaching, or else it is not worthy of the name “Christian.”
What prejudices does your culture and society teach, either subtly or even openly, that, as a Christian, you must rise above?
Everywhere we look, it seems as though our planet is turning in upon itself, exchanging light for darkness. Yet we also encounter darkness much closer to home as we consider our own experience in this difficult and challenging world. For we, too, understand the horrors that this life brings us as we struggle with illness, as we deal with the loss of loved ones, as we watch families succumb to separation and divorce, as we struggle to make sense of many of the evil things in our society and culture.
Yet amid this landscape of moral bankruptcy and spiritual darkness, in the midst of all this external and internal noise, we hear Jesus’ words to each of us:
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:14-16, NIV). What do these verses teach us about how we are to live and how, as Christians, what we do impacts how others see God?
Sitting by the Sea of Galilee that day under the hot sun, how would Jesus’ audience have understood His words? Those who heard His words knew all about light and darkness. Certainly they had much darkness to fear. They lived under Roman occupation, in a militarized society that despite their lack of telephones and computers and the World Wide Web, in many ways was as efficient as our own, and in some ways even more terrifying.
The Romans were everywhere, reminding the masses on the hillside that those who insisted on making trouble quickly would find their way to the torturers – and to a naked death on a Roman cross.
And yet, here was Jesus, calling them to live as light. To be merciful. To be pure in heart. To be makers of peace. Christian education must, then, include teaching our students to be lights in the world, to be able to make choices and decisions that will reveal the reality and goodness of God to others.
What are ways that we can, indeed, point others to the reality and goodness of God?
If the church is serious about being a force for Christian education, it is imperative that we begin with Jesus. Jesus called disciples. He trained them to do mission by walking with them. Jesus provided opportunity for them to be involved in the lives of people whom they were to care for and to love. And daily Jesus challenged them by His vision of what this world could be when people begin to treat each other as brothers and sisters.
Read Luke 4:18-23. What is Christ’s message to all of us, as His followers?
For three years the disciples watched as Jesus, their teacher, lived out the ideals of the kingdom – ideals announced in His first sermon in the synagogue at Nazareth. Forgiveness, grace, and love walked hand in hand with loneliness, commitment, and hardship. If there was a lesson to be learned, it was the lesson that discipleship is not something one takes lightly. You are a disciple for life – not just for one day.
“The Saviour’s commission to the disciples … includes all believers to the end of time … . All to whom the heavenly inspiration has come are put in trust with the gospel. All who receive the life of Christ are ordained to work for the salvation of their fellow men. For this work the church was established, and all who take upon themselves its sacred vows are thereby pledged to be co-workers with Christ.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 822.
As disciples of Jesus, we today must make certain that Jesus is always the center of both our fellowship and our worship. It is good to remember that it was Jesus who invented discipleship. Though the rabbis of His day attracted followers, it was Jesus who called men and women to follow Him. The rabbis could never have imagined a call so radical as to suggest that being with Jesus was more important than all of their commandments.
And, as disciples of Jesus, we not only have respect for all people, but will work to provide the kind of place where all people can grow and develop.
Hence, all Christian education must include this sense of mission, of purpose, not just to earn a living but to do in our own sphere what Jesus calls us to do: to follow in His footsteps of ministering to those in need, and to share with them the good news of the gospel.
Albert Einstein, often regarded as the father of modern physics, wrote: “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.”
We do live in a world of mystery, don’t we? Modern science has shown us an incredible complexity that exists at pretty much every level of existence. And if it’s like that for mere physical things, how much more so for spiritual things?
What do the following texts teach about the search for truth, for answers? Jer. 29:13; Matt. 7:7; Acts 17:26, 27; Ps. 25:5; John 16:13; John 17:17.
The Bible is full of stories of curious people very much like each of us – men and women who have questions, fears, hopes, and joys, people who, in their own way, are seeking truth, seeking answers to life’s most difficult questions.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end” (Eccles. 3:11, NKJV). What does Solomon mean here? Some translate the Hebrew word ‘olam as “eternity” and others as a “sense of the past and the future.” So then, according to this verse, God has placed in the human heart and mind a sense of the past and the future, eternity itself. That is, as human beings, we are able to think about what has been called “the big questions” about life and our existence in general.
And, of course, here is where Scripture plays the central role. Who are we? Why are we here? How should we live? What happens when we die? Why is there evil and suffering? These are the questions that seekers of truth have been asking since the beginning of recorded history. What a privilege, and what a responsibility, to be able to help point these seekers toward some answers now. What is Christian education if not pointing people to these answers, as found in the Word of God?
Why must the Scriptures play the major role in answering the big questions in life?
Read 1 Thessalonians 2:6-8. What is Paul saying here that we could and should reflect in our schools and churches?
Confronted by the breakdown of community in society, we live in an age in which the biblical understanding of the church has never been more meaningful. As Matthew 18:20 reminds us: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” The New Testament vision of what church and community is took shape primarily in the homes of believers. It was here that the community met in small groups, praying, singing, celebrating the Lord’s Supper, learning and sharing Jesus’ words with each other.
These worshiping groups also became the first church schools, as this was the place in which new members were introduced to the Bible and to this new life that was found in Jesus. Paul’s writings, such as Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (NIV), suggests that the church took this work of education most seriously.
These early believers soon discovered that it is in community that the gospel can best be lived out. In community, we have reason to sing louder, to pray more fervently, and to be more caring and compassionate. When we hear others speak of God’s goodness, we sense how good He has been to us; when we hear of one another’s struggles and hurts, we sense God’s healing in our own lives, and we experience a renewed desire to be instruments of His grace and healing.
In today’s passage, Paul is asserting that the gospel of God is everything: the power of the cross, the resurrection of the Lord, the promise of His return. There was simply no better news in all of the world, and Paul spent his life abandoned to the challenge of first and foremost sharing the story of Jesus with the greatest integrity and commitment.
Yet here Paul suggests that the message of the gospel can best be understood, can best be experienced, through the act of sharing life together. We must never forget that people are closely watching to see if our lives illustrate the message of grace that is found in the Bible.
Think hard about how you live, and ask yourself: What kind of witness am I to those around me?
Further Thought: “Christ disappointed the hope of worldly greatness. In the Sermon on the Mount He sought to undo the work that had been wrought by false education, and to give His hearers a right conception of His kingdom and of His own character. Yet He did not make a direct attack on the errors of the people. He saw the misery of the world on account of sin, yet He did not present before them a vivid delineation of their wretchedness. He taught them of something infinitely better than they had known. Without combating their ideas of the kingdom of God, He told them the conditions of entrance therein, leaving them to draw their own conclusions as to its nature. The truths He taught are no less important to us than to the multitude that followed Him. We no less than they need to learn the foundation principles of the kingdom of God.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 299.
Elisabeth Birba was dismissed without explanation only a week into an eight-week hospital internship in France. She was devastated. She needed the internship to pass second-year exams. If she failed, she would lose her stipend for food and housing. Her family lived far away in the West Indies.
Elisabeth fell to the ground and wept. As she cried, she felt impressed to call a friend. Three times she sensed that God was telling her to make the call.
Finally she called. “I lost my internship,” she said.
The friend was surprised. “Do you believe in God?” she asked.
When Elisabeth confirmed that she did, the friend gave her the phone number for another hospital. “Call this number if you believe in God,” she said.
Elisabeth knew it would be difficult to obtain a second internship on such short notice. She wondered what to do. Then she remembered that she had an emergency phone number. Before leaving for France, she had received the number from a Seventh-day Adventist woman in the West Indies. “If you ever have trouble in France, call my sister Vivian,” the woman said.
Elisabeth had accepted the emergency number out of politeness. But now she was so distressed that she called Vivian and told her about the internship.
“Only God can help you,” Vivian said. “The only thing we can do is pray.”
She asked whether Elisabeth had a Bible. It was covered with dust, but Elisabeth had one. “You are going to memorize Psalms 91,” Vivian said. “Make that psalm yours. When you repeat it, remember it is about you.”
Elisabeth wept as she read Psalms 91. Her tears left wrinkles on the page.
Then she called the hospital to inquire about a last-minute internship.
“Call back in three days for our decision,” a woman told her.
She prayed and fasted for three days. She cried. She memorized Psalms 91.
On the third day, the woman to offer Elisabeth an internship. “You’re lucky,” she said. “The boss didn’t want you but changed his mind at the last minute.”
Emotion overwhelmed Elisabeth. That night she could not sleep. She realized that God had given her the internship. At 4 a.m., she called Vivian.
“Is something wrong?” Vivian asked.
“Don’t worry,” Elisabeth said. “Please take me to the Adventist church.”
Elisabeth went on to be baptized and to receive a master’s degree in France.
“If I had not surrendered to God the day that I called the emergency number, my education would have ended,” said Elisabeth, 27. “God can do anything. With Jesus I have succeeded.”
Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offerings that help people in France and around the world learn about Jesus.
Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. email: info@adventistmission.org website: www.adventistmission.org
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