Psalms
Sabbath School Lesson 1
How to Read the Psalms
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God's Mission, My Mission
Sabbath School Lesson 13
The End of God's Mission
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1st quarter 2024 starting December 30th, 2023
Click here to view Psalms 1st Quarter Sabbath School Lesson
God's Mission, My Mission
Sabbath School Lesson 12
Esther and Mordecai
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God's Mission, My Mission
Sabbath School Lesson 11
Mission to the Unreached: Part 2
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God's Mission, My Mission
Sabbath School Lesson 10
Mission to the Unreached: Part 1
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Psalm 14 KJV
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord. There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous. Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge. Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
God's Mission, My Mission
Sabbath School Lesson 9
Mission to the Powerful
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God's Mission, My Mission
Sabbath School Lesson 8
Mission to the Needy
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The Bible tells us we will not need to worry about global warming. Or Climate change.Until the end.....where do you want to be?Genesis 8:22"While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."
God's Mission, My Mission
Sabbath School Lesson 7
Mission to My Neighbor
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God's Mission, My Mission
Sabbath School Lesson 6
Motivation and Preparation for Mission
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God's Mission, My Mission
Sabbath School Lesson 5
Excuses to Avoid Mission
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God's Mission, My Mission
Sabbath School Lesson 4
Sharing God's Mission
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Prison Ministry:
http://ByBeholdingWeBecome.com
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God's Mission, My Mission
Sabbath School Lesson 3
God's Call to Mission
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Prison Ministry:
http://ByBeholdingWeBecome.com
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God's Mission, My Mission
Sabbath School Lesson 2
God's Mission to Us: Part 2
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https://www.sabbathschoolpersonalministries.org/international
God's Mission, My Mission
Sabbath School Lesson 1
God's Mission to Us: Part 1
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You can view and download all Primary Sabbath School materials for 4th quarter Year D, 2023, for October to December by clicking the link below.
God's Mission, My Mission
4th quarter 2023 Sabbath School Materials:
Ephesians
Sabbath School Lesson 14
Ephesians in the Heart
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Ephesians
Sabbath School Lesson 13
Waging Peace
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Ephesians
Sabbath School Lesson 12
The Call to stand
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Ephesians
Sabbath School Lesson 11
Practicing Supreme Loyalty to Christ
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For a video reading of Ephesians 6:
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Introduction
Teaching is a noble vocation that shapes young minds and prepares them for a promising future. When coupled with the foundation of faith, being a Christian school teacher takes on a deeper dimension. It involves not only imparting knowledge but also instilling values, ethics, and a strong sense of purpose. This article delves into the unique joys and challenges of being a Christian school teacher, exploring the ways in which educators integrate their faith into the classroom to create a meaningful and impactful learning experience.
The Joy of Purposeful Education
One of the most gratifying aspects of being a Christian school teacher is the ability to connect education with a higher purpose. Christian educators view their classrooms as spaces where students not only grow intellectually but also spiritually. This sense of purpose infuses lessons with meaning, encouraging students to see the world through a lens of compassion, empathy, and understanding.
Fostering Values and Character Development
Christian school teachers have the opportunity to foster values such as love, kindness, honesty, and respect within their students. These values are not just theoretical concepts; they are brought to life through daily interactions, discussions, and actions. Teachers model these values, encouraging students to live them out in their own lives. This emphasis on character development equips students with essential life skills that extend beyond academics.
Integrating Faith and Learning
One of the distinctive features of teaching in a Christian school is the ability to integrate faith into the curriculum. This integration creates a cohesive educational experience where subjects are interconnected through a spiritual perspective. From science to literature, teachers have the privilege of helping students explore the wonders of creation while contemplating the ethical implications of their studies. This holistic approach encourages critical thinking and nurtures a deeper understanding of the world.
Building Stronger Relationships
The faith-based environment of a Christian school often results in close-knit communities where teachers, students, and parents form strong relationships. Teachers can provide spiritual guidance, lend a listening ear, and offer emotional support to their students. These relationships go beyond the classroom, contributing to a sense of belonging and unity that fosters growth and development.
Challenges in the Journey
While being a Christian school teacher is rewarding, it also comes with its share of challenges. Balancing the demands of academic rigor with the goal of spiritual nurturing can be complex. Teachers may encounter diverse beliefs and backgrounds among their students, requiring them to approach discussions with sensitivity and respect. Additionally, finding innovative ways to integrate faith into various subjects requires continuous effort and creativity.
Navigating Sensitive Topics
Teaching in a Christian school can lead to encounters with sensitive topics related to faith, morality, and ethics. Addressing these topics requires a delicate balance between respecting differing viewpoints and upholding the school's values. Christian school teachers must guide discussions that promote critical thinking while maintaining an atmosphere of respect and openness.
Staying Updated and Adapting
The education landscape is constantly evolving, with new teaching methods and technologies emerging regularly. Christian school teachers need to stay updated on both educational trends and theological insights. This ongoing learning process ensures that they can provide a well-rounded education that meets the needs of their students while remaining faithful to their Christian values.
Conclusion
Being a Christian school teacher is a calling that blends education with faith, inspiring students to become compassionate, ethical, and engaged members of society. The joy of witnessing students develop academically and spiritually is a unique reward that makes the challenges worthwhile. By fostering values, integrating faith into education, and building strong relationships, Christian school teachers play a vital role in shaping the hearts and minds of the next generation.
Ephesians
Sabbath School Lesson 10
Husbands and WIves: Together at the Cross
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Ephesians
Sabbath School Lesson 9
Living Wisely
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The Pencil Story
I'm going to show you how you can tell people about Jesus using just a pencil.
If I put a pencil down on a table, is it doing what it was designed for?
No, it's not designed to just lay there. I need to put it in my hand. We are like a pencil. In order for us to do what we were designed to do, we need to be in the hand of Jesus.
Looking at this pencil, there is something you can't see. it is hidden. What is it?
We can't see the part of the pencil that makes it write. What do I need to do?
I need to sharpen it. Sometimes we have things in our lives that do not make Jesus happy. We let Jesus cut them away. Sometimes this does not feel good, but Jesus wants us to be at our best so He sharpens us.
Now, once a pencil is in my hand and sharp, what am I supposed to do with it?
I use it to write. Each of us will write different words. Our stories are all different. Jesus made us all unique.
What's this piece in top?
It's an eraser. What is it for?
If we make a mistake, we can use the eraser to make it go away. Sometimes we make mistakes and don't do what makes Jesus happy.
If we ask Jesus to forgive us, Jesus will be the best eraser ever. He will erase our mistakes and they are gone forever.
The next time you use a pencil in school, remember how we are like a pencil in the hand of Jesus. He will help us, and we can tell someone else about Jesus using just a pencil.
Ephesians
Sabbath School Lesson 8
Christ-Shaped Lives and Spirit-Inspired Speech
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Ephesians
Sabbath School Lesson 7
The Unified Body of Christ
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Ephesians
Sabbath School Lesson 6
The Mystery of the Gospel
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Ephesians
Sabbath School Lesson 5
Horizontal Atonement: The Cross and the Church
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Ephesians
Sabbath School Lesson 4
How God Rescues Us
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Ephesians
Sabbath School Lesson 3
The Power of the Exalted Jesus
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Ephesians
Sabbath School Lesson 2
God’s Grand, Christ-centered Plan
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Sabbath School Lesson 1
Paul and the Ephesians
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For the Quarter 3 Sabbath School Lesson on Ephesians, go here:
Adult Bible Study Guide | Next Quarter (adventist.org)
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JUNE 11, 2023
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has published clear statements regarding human sexuality, homosexuality, and transgenderism. All these statements were published after a careful study of God’s Word found in the Holy Scriptures, as it provides the authoritative basis to appropriately understand His will on all issues facing humankind including that of human sexuality. From our study of God’s Word, joined with reading the Spirit of Prophecy, we find human sexuality portrayed as a heaven-ordained institution of marriage between one man and one woman. In expressing our understanding of God’s will on human sexuality, we have done so with Christ-like love and compassion knowing that all have sinned and fall short of His glorious standard for living (Romans 3:23). As a church family, we are to be an extension of God's love for all humanity and be intentional in supporting those who struggle with sin in all its forms while nurturing a lifestyle that is in harmony with God’s Word. We believe that all sinful humankind can be new creations in Christ as II Corinthians 5:17 indicates: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
In recent weeks, some local individuals or sometimes local church organizations in their local settings have sought to provide support for those living alternative human sexuality lifestyles that are inconsistent with our biblical understanding of this issue and published voted statements of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. For some in their local settings, there have even been deliberate efforts to advance the cause of alternative human sexuality lifestyles without regard for the authority of God’s Word and the counsels provided in Spirit of Prophecy. Although these activities have been locally-sponsored, through social media they have been announced far and wide creating confusion and concern among church members who have been asking for a clear yet kind position on the matter from church leaders at various levels.
The General Conference affirms the voted statements on human sexuality, homosexuality, and transgenderism published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and does not support, endorse, or condone activities that seek to promote human sexuality behaviors not in accordance with God’s Word. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the General Conference and its divisions will continue to work with the various levels of our church structure to resolve the issues emerging from these locally-sponsored activities while maintaining Christ-like love and compassion for all people. The General Conference and other church entities will work diligently, according to the precepts and instructions of the Holy Word of God, to bring clarification and resolution to challenges that are faced. Every member of the church worldwide should stay close to the Word of God in daily living and through earnest prayer ask for God’s direct intervention in situations where there is a departure from His divine instructions in the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. Undoubtedly, there will be more attempts by various groups to undermine the plain instructions from the Word of God and the voted statements of the world church on these matters. When individuals wish to share concerns, work closely with local church, conference, union, or institutional leaders in Christ-like love and compassion to address locally-sponsored activities that are not in harmony with God’s Word.
Let us hold fast to God’s precious Holy Word, the Bible, accepting Christ’s justifying and sanctifying righteousness as we look forward to His soon second coming.
Three Cosmic Messages
Sabbath School Lesson 13
Ablaze with God's Glory
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Buying and selling during the mark of the beast:
The Reality of Buying and Selling and Mark of the Beast
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Many people in the Adventist Church want to believe that the 10 Commandments were given and created long before the world began.
Sometimes this is because they want to reinterate to the world how important they are, and that they were given before anyone was referred to as a Jew or Hebrew.
So, let's analyze that thinking. Because we feel the Sabbath is so important, we want to believe that it too, was enacted even before this world began.
However, we have God Himself creating the Sabbath on the 7th day of creation. If God did not create the Sabbath on the literal 7th day of creation, then the Sabbath does not itself declare a literal 7 day creation week.
The only Biblical record we have of God blessing and sanctifying the 7th day is in the creation story.
Many would have more reason to believe that creation was not a literal 7 day creation. God not creating the Sabbath in the 7 day creation week also throws our entire theology on its ear.
Jesus actually gave us the best answer:
Mark 2:27 (ESV): "And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.""
We think that soldifies it. Man was not created until the 6th day of the creation week. The Sabbath was created AFTER man, not before.
This means that the 4th commandment was not created until man was. You cannot look at that any differently.
The 5th commandment mentions parents. Adam and Eve were the first parents. The first humans, to be exact. Angels do not have mothers and fathers, nor do they bear children.
We can also look at the 7th concerning adultery. Were angels and other heavenly citizens engaged in promiscuity?
Number 10 mentions coveting a neighbor's wife. The 4th, 5th, and 10th infer marriage. We know of no marrying in heaven, and if this was in regard to other universal beings, it would not make sense. Man is the subject of all 10 commandments.
We can say without a shadow of a doubt, that the Biblical 10 Commandments were started at the creation of this world, not before.
That said, as in the plan of salvation, it would not be wrong to say that the plan of the 10 Commandments was in place before creation.
Three Cosmic Messages
Sabbath School Lesson 12
The Seal of God and Mark of the Beast: Part 2
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Buying and selling during the mark of the beast:
The Reality of Buying and Selling and Mark of the Beast
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Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Belief 2
The Trinity
There is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three coeternal Persons.
God is immortal, all-powerful, all-knowing, above all, and ever present.
He is infinite and beyond human comprehension, yet known through His
self-revelation.
God, who is love, is forever worthy of worship, adoration, and service by the whole creation.
Deuteronomy 6:4 (ESV): "“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.""
1 Timothy 1:17 (ESV): "To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."
Matthew 28:19 (ESV): "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,"
2 Corinthians 13:14 (ESV): "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
Ephesians 4:4–6 (ESV): "There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."
1 Peter 1:2 (ESV): "according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood..."
Memory Verse for Sabbath School Lesson 12:
Memory Text: “Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying, ’Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads’”(Revelation 7:2, 3, NKJV).
The Reality of Buying and Selling and the Mark of the Beast
Your human efforts will not get you through. You must trust that Jesus will sustain you.
People are buying property in rural areas outside of cities, thinking it will save them. Unfortunately, the government keeps very good property records. You will owe property tax. So not only will you need to "buy and sell" to pay that tax, the government can track you.
Are you storing food? Not a bad idea to store a little food for an emergency event. However, it will not sustain you in the last days. That is putting your trust in your efforts. Do you think your neighbors will not find out? If it is the time of great trouble, they will rob and kill you.
Same thing holds of you are planting a garden in hope of eating off the land. The world will be a disastrous place, hardly fit for growing anything. Can you keep the hungry mobs away?
Many are storing gold, thinking it can be used as currency to get around buying and selling. Your gold will be worthless. Who would want it? Food, water, and shelter are going to be scarce for everyone. You cannot eat gold. Jesus warned about putting your faith in earthly riches.
A lot of people are misinformed about the great tribulation and buying and selling. it means exactly that. You will not be buying and selling unless you have the mark of the beast.
That means your cellphone is gone. You cannot even charge it, as that takes electricity. You will not own property, a house, or pay any bill.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church will not be around very long. The organization will cease to exist. The buildings, hospitals, colleges, churches, academies, and more, will not be sustained without buying and selling. They must be abandoned by the church, as no bills are able to be paid.
Think of what personally is involved with buying and selling. Gasoline, food, water, electricity, insurance, cellphones, internet, car registration, property taxes. None of these can be paid for by someone who does not have the mark.
Don't be foolish about buying and selling, thinking you can outsmart the evil powers. You should put your trust 100% in God.
Three Cosmic Messages
Sabbath School Lesson 11
The Seal of God and Mark of the Beast: Part 1
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Buying and selling during the mark of the beast:
The Reality of Buying and Selling and Mark of the Beast
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Three Cosmic Messages
Sabbath School Lesson 10
Satan's Final Deceptions
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What did Jesus mean in Matthew 18:18?
What is the correct interpretation of John 20:23?
Can our deeds lesson the sin in God's eyes?
Do some people on earth have the power to make rules for Christians and forgive sins?
These questions relate to the power and authority of humans, working on behalf of Jesus. Some claim that because we represent Jesus, that we have the power to not only claim what is right and wrong, but also to forgive sins.
Let's look at Matthew 18:18 (NKJV:
" “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." "
Loosening and binding here refer to Christ's church affairs here on earth. Jesus will ascend into heaven, and leave His followers to gather together. We are commanded to become a faithful group of believers, spreading the gospel.
Instead of following and listening to one individual, we are to gather together in prayer, study, and guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are to discern what is true doctrine and what is false. We are to judge our brothers and sisters righteously.
Jesus is giving authority to the family of believers. Church leaders are to be respected. The church is to make Biblical rules. If these rules are correct, and leaders are of Christ, then going against them can be a grievous error.
This does not mean they are infallible and never need correction. They are not to be worshiped, nor are they put in place of God.
The body of Christ is more likely to be composed of true Biblical teachings, if the entire body comes together to decide church doctrines. We are not to allow one person to decide.
To sum it up, whatever the true church decides must be done in such a way that it coincides with heavenly principles.
Acts 1 describes how the early church came together. Throughout the rest of the book, the church meets in unity, prays in unity, decides matters in unity, and has faith in unity. The church was diligently seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit as a one body.
Now let's look at John 2023 (NKJV):
""If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”"
You might be tempted to read this as having the actual power to forgive sins. The first thing we should find out, is if the disciples ever forgave anyone of their sins. The answer is no.
The great commission was to spread the gospel. In spreading it, the forgiveness of sins is also preached. Believe in Jesus and your sins are forgiven.
Peter says in Acts 10:43 (NKJV):
""To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”"
Nowhere in The Bible do any of Christ's disciples claim to be able to forgive sins. Quite the contrary. They always state that this goes along with believing in Jesus.
Forgiveness of sins is part of our message, not our ability. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. Your sins are forgiven.
Those statements never imply that it is we who are forgiving sins. We are proclaiming the forgiveness of sins as people confess and believe in Jesus.
The next topic is straightforward. We cannot do any physical act to pay for sins.
Ephesians 2:8 (NKJV): "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,"
When we are saved, our sins are forgiven. Nothing that happens to us can make up for our transgressions. We cannot pay money to a good cause, even the church, that will exonerate us from our sinful life.
In 2 Samuel 12, Nathan the prophet tells David the consequences of his sin. His sins are forgiven, but there are consequences. Those physical and emotional consequences are not in any way, shape, or form, a way of paying for the sins.
Nor will anything self-inflicted makes us more worthy in the sight of God.
What David suffered does not make his sin any less. The forgiveness from God does not mean those sufferings are taken away. The spiritual aspect of your sins being forgiven and forgotten is the grace of God.
Many Christians feel led by God to do charitable work and have a more giving attitude. That's what a Christ-like life is all about. We are God's children and we learn to be generous as God has blessed us.
Obedience to God is not paying for salvation. Any attempt we make at paying Jesus back is futile. In fact, the very idea is from the deceiver, not God.
