Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from … Continue reading –>
Surprise Package in Finland By Andrew McChesney, Adventist Mission Six-year-old Timo Flink looked with awe at a picture of Jesus’ second coming in Arthur Maxwell’s The Bible Story. Unable to read, he stared at Jesus sitting on a cloud of angels. “I want to be up with the angels”, Timo thought. As a young adult, … Continue reading –>
Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “The Scriptures a Safeguard”, pages 593-602, in The Great Controversy. Tradition, experience, culture, reason, and the Bible are all present in our reflection on the Word of God. The decisive question is: Which of these sources has the final say and the ultimate authority in our theology? It is one thing … Continue reading –>
The Holy Spirit, who has revealed and inspired the content of the Bible to human beings, will never lead us contrary to God’s Word or astray from the Word of God. For Seventh-day Adventists, the Bible has a higher authority than human tradition, experience, reason, or culture. The Bible alone is the norm by which … Continue reading –>
Read 2 Corinthians 10:5-6; Proverbs 1:7; and Proverbs 9:10. Why is obedience to Christ in our thoughts so important? Why is the fear of the Lord the beginning of wisdom? God has given us the ability to think and to reason. Every human activity and every theological argument assumes our ability to think and to draw conclusions. We … Continue reading –>
The South Pacific Division (SPD) has produced a series of videos about the lesson studies this quarter. The speaker is Dr Kayle de Waal, a theology lecturer at Avondale University College. Week 4_ Study this lesson for April 25 from SPD Discipleship on Vimeo. (4)
Continue reading -->There are several hymns we could use for a theme this Second Quarter of 2020. Here are just two, the first being Hymn 272, Give Me the Bible, followed by Hymn 277, For Your Holy Book We Thank You. Thank you to the ladies who messaged in and suggested that we could also add the … Continue reading –>
We all belong to and are part of a particular culture or cultures. We are all influenced and shaped by culture, too. None of us escapes it. Indeed, think about how much of the Old Testament is the story of ancient Israel’s being corrupted by the cultures around it. What makes us think that we … Continue reading –>
Scripture is always the key—or is it? How does disregard for what the Bible says affect you? Millions of honest, true-hearted, loving Christians don’t accept the Bible Sabbath. Does that upset you? Should it? Here are the five sources the lesson guide assures us that have the final authority over how we understand what God … Continue reading –>
Key Thought: The role and authority of Scripture in theology is not the same in all churches. Five influences impact our interpretation of Scripture: tradition, experience, culture, reason, and the Bible itself. April 25, 2020 1. Have a volunteer read Mark 7:1-13. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point … Continue reading –>
Read Romans 2:4 and Titus 3:4-5. How do we experience the goodness, forbearance, forgiveness, kindness, and love of God? Why is it important that our faith be not just an abstract, intellectual knowledge, but something we actually experience? At the same time, in what ways can our experiences conflict with the Bible and even mislead us in our … Continue reading –>
Tradition itself is not bad. It gives recurring acts in our daily life a certain routine and structure. It can help us to stay connected with our roots. Hence, it is no surprise that tradition also plays an important part in religion. But there are also some dangers connected with tradition. What does Mark 7:1-13 teach us … Continue reading –>
