From the earliest days of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Adventists believed that Christ’s coming was soon, “nearer than we first believed.” As it stands, we’re still here, much longer than many among us anticipated. How are we to understand this “delay”?1 First of all, we’re not the only ones whose expectations about when the Lord … Continue reading –>
Key Thought : Just as surely as we believe in Jesus and His word, we can believe in His promise to return. We can’t be certain of when, but we can be sure He is returning. [Teaching plan for “The Promise of His Return” March 26, 2012] 1. Have a volunteer read 2 Peter … Continue reading –>
As Christians, as Seventh-day Adventist Christians, we live with the hope of Christ’s literal return to this earth. Some Christian groups have abandoned hope in this teaching or have pushed it off to the side or they have watered it down and so spiritualized it away that the Second Coming becomes essentially just a personal … Continue reading –>
Because “last things” center around the establishing of God’s kingdom, attention to “last things” has always been a paramount Seventh-day Adventist concern. So much so that we have drawn attention to the end times in our name: Seventh-day Adventist. The name itself points to our belief in the second advent of Jesus.1 How does Peter express … Continue reading –>
The description of our pitiful human condition is honestly and correctly painted in Scripture. Bible writers did not always despair, however, because they knew the final outcome. The last chapters in the books of Isaiah and Revelation assure us that the destruction of sin is coming and that God’s kingdom will be restored. God revealed … Continue reading –>
Read for This Week’s Study: 2 Pet. 3:1–10, 13; John 14:2, 3; Dan. 2:44; Hebrews 9:28; 11; Rev. 6:9–11; Luke 12:42–48. Memory Text: “ ‘And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work’ ” (Revelation 22:12, NKJV). Key Thought: When is Jesus coming back? Who knows? In one sense, it doesn’t matter. … Continue reading –>
Wilson Kuki In the Solomon Islands and many other island nations of the South Pacific, individual villages and even entire regions are under the domain of a single church. It’s often difficult to gain access to these villages, for the people’s culture and identity are wrapped up in their church affiliation. As a Global Mission … Continue reading –>
In both the Old and the New Testament, marriage is utilized to represent the tender and sacred union that exists between Christ and His people. To the mind of Jesus, the gladness of wedding festivities pointed forward to the rejoicing of that day when He shall bring home His bride to the Father’s house, and … Continue reading –>
Read John 2:1–11. What does this tells us about Jesus’ attitude toward marriage and romantic love? What does it mean that He gave His blessing to such boisterous and long-drawn-out affairs as Jewish weddings were in that day and age? 1 Jesus had just returned from the wilderness of temptation, where He Himself had drunk the cup … Continue reading –>
I’m embarrassed to admit that I have always been a hopeless romantic. I spent several years reading anything I could find that involved a love story. I loved fairy tales long after they were considered age appropriate. Then I would watch and re-watch those sappy old romantic movies.1 I think that most of us (guys, … Continue reading –>
God looked down on His creation and thought. “I’m lonely. I’ll make a man.” So He did. Then He made a woman. 1 Adam fell in love with Eve the instant he saw her. She was beautiful in every respect. Eve loved Adam, too. He was handsome and strong, and he cared for her. Their … Continue reading –>
Libraries could be filled with books that deal with the difficult question of human suffering, difficult especially for those who believe in a loving and all-powerful God (for the atheist, suffering is merely part of what it means to live in a godless and meaningless universe and thus doesn’t present the difficult philosophical questions it … Continue reading –>
