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Showing posts with label Sabbath. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sabbath. Show all posts

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Worship and Song and Praise

View this lesson in a browser and print a "take-away" weekly copy. CLICK HERE (see link below)

LESSON 6 *July 30 - August 5

Worship and Song and Praise Lesson graphic



NOTE
Due to bandwidth and CPU usage concerns we are, at least temporarily, discontinuing the Reftagger lesson version. You can select your preferred Bible version with the drop-down menu at the top of any Bible text page. Your browser will probably save your selection.

SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study: 1 Chron. 16:8–36; Ps. 32:1–5; 51:1–6, 17; Phil. 4:8; Rev. 4:9–11; 5:9–13.
Memory Text:
"O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth" (Psalm 96:1).
      King David’s life is recorded in the Bible for many reasons: not only does an important part of Israelite history center around his life and reign, but we can learn many spiritual lessons from him, both from his good deeds and his bad. This week we will start out using some examples from David and his life in order to delve more into the question of worship: what it means, how we should do it, and what it should do for us. For in David we can see many examples of worship and song and praise. These things were a crucial part of his life and of his experience with the Lord.
Thus, it must be with us, as well, especially if we constantly remember that the first angel’s message is a call to worship. What does it mean “to worship”? How do we do it? Why do we do it? What role does music play in worship? What distinguishes true worship from false worship?
These all are themes that we will touch on in various ways this quarter as we heed the call: “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand” (Ps. 95:6, 7).
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 6.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Worship in Genesis: Two Classes of Worshipers

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LESSON 1 *June 25 - July 1

Worship in Genesis: Two Classes of Worshipers Lesson graphic
 


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SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study: Gen. 3:1–13, 4:1–4, 6:1–8, 12:1–8, 22:1–18, 28:10–22, Titus 1:2.
Memory Text:
 
" ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.’ And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!’ " (Genesis 28:16-17, NKJV).
      It has been said that, as human beings, we need to worship something. What we worship . . . well, that is a different matter, though it is one fraught with exceedingly important consequences, especially in the last days, when two groups of worshipers are made manifest: those who worship the Creator and those who worship the beast and his image. Yet, the seeds for that contrast can be seen early on in the Bible. In the story of Cain and Abel, two kinds of worshipers appear, one worshiping the true God as He is supposed to be worshiped and one engaging in a false kind of worship. One is acceptable, one is not, and that is because one is based on salvation by faith and the other, as are all false forms of worship, is based on works. It is a motif that will appear again and again throughout the Bible. One type of worship is focused solely on God, on His power and glory and grace, the other on humanity and on self.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, July 2.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Clothed in Christ

View this lesson in a browser and print a "take-away" weekly copy. CLICK HERE (see link below)

LESSON 13 *June 18 - 24

Clothed in Christ Lesson graphic
 



NOTE BibleGateway has a new format that allows you to select your preferred Bible version and set a cookie that will return you to that version. On the Bible text page select your preferred Bible version from the dropdown menu in the Search box near the top of the page and press the Search button. We will keep the lesson versions with links directly to the KJV and NKJV for this quarter.

SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
  Gal. 3:26–29, Rom. 6:1–6, Col. 3:1–10, Eph. 4:22–24, 1 Cor. 15:49–55, 2 Cor. 5:1–4.
Memory Text:
  “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Romans 13:14, NIV).
      Have you ever dropped an egg and watched it break into messy pieces? One thing, though, you have never seen is the messy pieces of that broken egg dropped again, only to turn back into an egg. Reality just doesn’t work that way.
A fundamental law of our natural world, at least our fallen natural world, is that objects tend toward decay, toward disorder. Things left alone do what: increase in energy, order, and structure or decrease, decay, and move toward disorder? The answer’s obvious. We see it all around us and even in ourselves (for instance, our aging bodies).
A lot of complicated science goes into explaining this phenomenon, but you don’t need a PhD in physics to see it. To quote a text from an earlier lesson, “and the earth shall wax old like a garment” (Isa. 51:6).
And yet, amid all this, we have the gospel, the plan of salvation, which at its core is about restoration, about taking the old, the broken, the decaying and making it new.
This final week we’ll look at some special clothing imagery from the Scriptures that reveals these promises of renewal and restoration.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 25.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

More Clothing Imagery

View this lesson in a browser and print a "take-away" weekly copy. CLICK HERE (see link below)

LESSON 12 *June 11 - 17

More Clothing Imagery Lesson graphic
 



NOTE BibleGateway has a new format that allows you to select your preferred Bible version and set a cookie that will return you to that version. On the Bible text page select your preferred Bible version from the dropdown menu in the Search box near the top of the page and press the Search button. We will keep the lesson versions with links directly to the KJV and NKJV for this quarter.

SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
  Mark 5:24–34; Luke 8:43–48; John 13:1–16; 19:23, 24; Matt. 26:59–68; 27:27–29.
Memory Text:
  “For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole” (Mark 5:28).
      In one sense, it shouldn’t be all that surprising that we can glean so many lessons from clothing in the Bible, should it? After all, clothing is so much a part of us; clothing can say a lot about us and who we are, even when no voice is heard. Rightly or wrongly, we often make judgments about others by what they wear or how they wear it.
This week’s lesson will look at the question of clothing, all in the context of Jesus. We’ll explore the woman who believed, rightly so, that all she had to do was touch His clothes, and she would be healed. Then there’s Jesus, laying aside His garment in order to wash the feet of His disciples. Next we’ll look at the high priest who, standing before the Lord, rent his own garments in an act that sealed the haughty ruler’s doom. Then there’s Jesus in the garments of mockery, put on Him by the Roman soldiers. And finally we’ll look at the soldiers casting lots for Christ’s garment, thus fulfilling an ancient prophecy.
Just clothing, yes; yet full of symbolism and meaning, for sure.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 18.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

The Wedding Garment

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LESSON 11 *June 4 - 10

The Wedding Garment Lesson graphic
 



NOTE BibleGateway has a new format that allows you to select your preferred Bible version and set a cookie that will return you to that version. On the Bible text page select your preferred Bible version from the dropdown menu in the Search box near the top of the page and press the Search button. We will keep the lesson versions with links directly to the KJV and NKJV for this quarter.

SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
  Matthew 21; 22:1–14; Rev. 21:2, 9; Eccles. 12:14; Dan. 7:10; Gen. 3:9–19.
Memory Text:
  “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit ” (Romans 8:1).
      Christian history is full of dark pages. Horrible things have been done by professed followers of Christ and, according to our understanding of prophecy, more evil will be done in His name, too, before Jesus returns. This week we’ll look at a fascinating parable, a parable that reveals the painful truth that not all who profess to be followers of Christ really are. Of course, who are we to make the judgment between the faithful and the unfaithful? Who are we to behold the “mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?” (Matt. 7:3). We don’t make that judgment. But God does.
“The guests at the gospel feast are those who profess to serve God, those whose names are written in the book of life. But not all who profess to be Christians are true disciples. Before the final reward is given, it must be decided who are fitted to share the inheritance of the righteous. This decision must be made prior to the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven; for when He comes, His reward is with Him, ‘to give every man according as his work shall be.’ Rev. 22:12.”—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 310.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 11.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

The Prodigal’s New Clothes

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LESSON 10 *May 28 - June 3

The Prodigal’s New Clothes Lesson graphic
 



NOTE Since Gospelcom apparently no longer sets a cookie with your selected Bible version we will make a lesson version with links directly to the KJV and NKJV for this quarter at least.

SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
  Gen. 4:1–8; 25:25–34; Luke 15:4–32; John 11:9, 10; Rom. 5:12–20.
Memory Text:
  “ ‘ “But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” ’ ” (Luke 15:32, NIV).
      W. Somerset Maugham wrote a short story called “Rain” about a missionary in the South Seas who “converted” a prostitute to the gospel. He poured himself, heart and soul, into seeking to win her, though at times his methods seemed harsh and unforgiving. In fact, he insisted that she return to the United States (which she was fleeing) in order to finish out a jail sentence, all despite her desperate pleas to spare her from the torture, degradation, and ignominy that awaited her in prison. Doing her jail time, the missionary insisted, was just part of the process of repentance that she needed to go through, and thus she had to return. The story ended, however, unexpectedly. The missionary killed himself, his mangled corpse found washed up on the beach. What happened? Apparently, spending all this time with the prostitute, he fell into sin with her and, unable to forgive himself—he killed himself instead.
What those characters needed was what we all as sinners need—a personal experience of the grace and assurance that Jesus revealed in the parable of the prodigal son.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 4.

Saturday, May 21, 2011

A Brand Plucked From the Fire

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LESSON 9 *May 21 - 27

A Brand Plucked From the Fire Lesson graphic
 



NOTE Since Gospelcom apparently no longer sets a cookie with your selected Bible version we will make a lesson version with links directly to the KJV and NKJV for this quarter at least.

SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
  Zechariah 1–3, Rev. 12:10, Exod. 3:2–14, Eph. 2:8–10, John 14:15.
Memory Text:
  “Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment” (Zechariah 3:4).
      However easy to forget, the great controversy between Christ and Satan is the ultimate driving force behind reality. Wars, crime, violence, and the whole seething and boiling cauldron of human tragedy are but surface manifestations of the underlying conflict that began in heaven (Rev. 12:7), a universal struggle that impacts not just every human but all creation (Rom. 8:20–22). One thing, though, we must never forget: the great controversy isn’t over Middle East oil or over the epochal geopolitical shifts in military and economic hegemony. It’s over the salvation of the human race, one soul at a time. Nations come and go, power structures come and go, grand themes of history and ideology come and go; only the saved, those covered in the robe of Christ’s righteousness, last forever. Satan doesn’t care about money, power, politics, not in and of themselves—he cares about souls, about taking as many down to ruin with him as possible. Christ, through His death, has made it possible to save everyone from that ruin. The essence of the great controversy is, at the core, folks choosing eternal ruin or eternal life. All the rest is, essentially, fluff.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 28.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Garments of Splendor

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LESSON 8 *May 14 - 20

Garments of Splendor Lesson graphic




NOTE Since Gospelcom apparently no longer sets a cookie with your selected Bible version we will make a lesson version with links directly to the KJV and NKJV for this quarter at least.

SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
Isaiah 1–5, 6:1–8, 51:6–8, 61, Luke 4:16–20.
Memory Text:
“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10, NIV).
      Living amid the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, Isaiah preached for more than four tumultuous decades, during which he produced some of the richest texts of the Bible. Written during a time of political, moral, military, and economic turmoil, Isaiah’s book is permeated, not just with warnings of gloom and doom upon the unrepentant but with themes of salvation, deliverance, and hope—the hope found in “the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,” the One who says, “I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go” (Isa. 48:17). Isaiah urged the people to put on the glorious garments of righteousness and to accept God’s salvation. Illustrations describing garments, coverings, and sackcloth help teach spiritual truths that have echoed through the ages. For Isaiah’s contemporaries, and us, the question is, again: do we claim the garments for ourselves, or do we continue in the shame of our own defilement and nakedness?
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 21.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

In the Shadow of His Wings

View this lesson in a browser and print a "take-away" weekly copy. CLICK HERE (see link below)

LESSON 7 *May 7 - 13

In the Shadow of His Wings Lesson graphic
 



NOTE Since Gospelcom apparently no longer sets a cookie with your selected Bible version we will make a lesson version with links directly to the KJV and NKJV for this quarter at least.

SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
  Exod. 19:4, 2 Samuel 11, 12, Pss. 17:8, 32:1, 36:7, 51:2, 57:1, 61:4, 63:7.
Memory Texts:
  “Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice” (Psalm 63:7, NKJV). “There are three things which are too wonderful for me, yes, four which I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the air” (Prov. 30:18, 19, NKJV).
      The eagle is a live jet fighter. Armed with a hooked beak and razor’s-edge talons, it is loaded like a jet fighter, too. The eagle is wind and wing, bone, sinew, and blood. The eagle is scavenger, fisher, and thief. The eagle hurls itself from clouds toward water with the speed of a cyclonic storm. The eagle hobbles on balled-up claws in its nest to keep from dicing up its young. The eagle is majesty, power, and grace. The eagle is all these metaphors, yet greater than their sum. Small wonder, then, that the Bible writer failed to understand the fierce beauty of the eagle’s flight. David himself turned to a similar image in his psalms about being sheltered under the wings of God. This week, we will meditate with David through his psalms on how God shelters us and covers our sin. But first we will look at the events that inspired his need for these coverings, and then we will seek to understand why we, too, need to be sheltered under those same wings.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 14.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Elijah’s and Elisha’s Mantle

View this lesson in a browser and print a "take-away" weekly copy. CLICK HERE (see link below)

LESSON 6 *April 30 - May 6

Elijah’s and Elisha’s Mantle Lesson graphic
 



NOTE Since Gospelcom apparently no longer sets a cookie with your selected Bible version we will make a lesson version with links directly to the KJV and NKJV for this quarter at least.

SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
  1 Kings 19:1–19; 2 Sam. 10:3, 4; Ezek. 16:15, 16; 1 Kings 21:21–29; 2 Kings 2:1–18.
Memory Text:
  “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
      Few biblical characters have had a more colorful existence than the prophet Elijah. What an incredible story of faith, of trial, and of God’s overwhelming power in this world. Today, in Judaism at least, he still looms large. In fact, in Jewish tradition he has been glorified more than perhaps any other biblical figure.
Each Passover, for instance, a special cup of wine is filled and put on the Passover table. During the Passover itself, the door of the house is opened, and everyone stands in order to allow Elijah the prophet to enter and drink. At circumcisions, a chair, “the chair of Elijah,” is set aside as part of the ceremony. Also, as the Sabbath ends, Jews sing about Elijah, hoping he will come “speedily, in our days . . . along with the Messiah, son of David, to redeem us.”
An example of Elijah’s prominence in Jewish thinking is found in the Gospel, when Peter says that some had thought Jesus Himself was Elijah (Matt. 16:14).
This week we’ll look at Elijah and the mantle he wore and see what spiritual lessons we can draw from him and it.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 7.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

The Priestly Garments of Grace

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LESSON 5 *April 23- 29

The Priestly Garments of Grace Lesson graphic
 



NOTE Since Gospelcom apparently no longer sets a cookie with your selected Bible version we will make a lesson version with links directly to the KJV and NKJV for this quarter at least.

SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
  Exod. 32:1–6; Lev. 21:7–24; 22:1–8; Exodus 28; Rev. 21:12–14; Heb. 4:14, 15.
Memory Text:
  “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light” (1 Peter 2:9).
      One great theme from the Protestant Reformation is what has been called “the priesthood of all believers,” the idea—derived especially (but not solely) from the above text—that all Christians function as “priests” before God, and that because they have Jesus, they don’t need earthly mediators (as in some religious systems) between them and the Lord. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). After the life, death, resurrection, and high priestly ministry of Jesus, the Old Hebrew system that God had initiated was fulfilled in Christ. The Levitical priesthood has been replaced and a new order established, one in which we all are part of the “royal priesthood.”
This week, as we study the garments worn by the priests in the old system, we can learn a bit about what it means to be “priests” in the new.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 30.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

The Coat of Different Colors

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LESSON 4 *April 16- 22

The Coat of Different Colors Lesson graphic
 



NOTE Since Gospelcom apparently no longer sets a cookie with your selected Bible version we will make a lesson version with links directly to the KJV and NKJV for this quarter at least.

SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
  Gen. 29:21–30:24; 34; 37; 42:13; 1 Cor. 9:24–26.
Memory Text:
  “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours” (Genesis 37:3).
      The seed (so to speak) for this whole story began in Genesis 29, with Jacob and his wives and concubines. One father, four mothers, and about a dozen children between them: one didn’t need to be a prophet to know beforehand what a dysfunctional and dismal family this would turn out to be. How much better had Jacob followed the earliest archetypical example, the one from Eden: one husband, one wife. Period. This was the ideal model for all homes, for all times.
But as we have seen, God created us free beings, and that freedom includes the freedom to do wrong. Symbolic, perhaps, of the mistakes that Jacob made, the famous “coat of many colors” reveals how one mistake can lead to others and others, with consequences far beyond our control.
How much better, then, to nip sin in the bud before it devours us and those we love.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 23.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

A Garment of Innocence

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LESSON 3 *April 9- 15

A Garment of Innocence Lesson graphic
 



NOTE Since Gospelcom apparently no longer sets a cookie with your selected Bible version we will make a lesson version with links directly to the KJV and NKJV for this quarter at least.

SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
  2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Luke 21:36; Gen. 2:20–25; 2:15–17; 3:6–11, 21.
Memory Text:
  “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27).
      As we have studied, Lucifer’s fall wasn’t limited to heaven. He has brought his wiles and deceptions to earth, as well. What’s amazing, too, is how successfully he has perverted the most obvious truths of God’s Word and has made millions believe the opposite of those truths. For instance, Genesis is so clear: humans started out at the top of the earthly “food chain.” They were created, immediately, in the “image of God.” This image wasn’t something that evolved over billions of years from natural processes. Evolution teaches the opposite—that humans started out at a lower level (as microbes) and eventually, through a brutal process of violence and death, clawed their way up the food chain. Scripture, in contrast, teaches that humans started out at the top, in the image of God, and through sin began a steady descent.
This week, with some garment imagery that appears in Genesis, we’ll take a look at how that descent began and what the only solution is.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 16.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

From Exalted to Cast Down

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LESSON 2 *April 2 - 8

From Exalted to Cast Down Lesson graphic
 




SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
  John 1:1–3; Col. 1:16, 17; Ezek. 28:12–19; Deut. 8:1–18; Isa. 14:12–14; 2 Cor. 11:14.
Memory Text:
  “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee” (Ezekiel 28:15).
      Today’s memory text has to be one of the most profound in all revelation. Two crucial words stand out: perfect and iniquity, with the latter (iniquity) encapsulated by the former (perfect). What this means is that contained in the idea of being perfect, of having perfection—even in heaven!—is the potential for iniquity. How could iniquity be found in a being created “perfect” unless “perfection” allowed for it? Iniquity could not arise in a being created perfect unless being “perfect” included the possibility of it, which it obviously did. What this text shows is that, in God’s universe, the concept of “perfect” includes freedom, moral freedom, the ability to choose right and wrong. How could it not, and humans still be moral and free? A company might be able to program software that blocks employees from accessing Internet pornography or gambling or other immoral sites, yet no one would call the software itself “moral” or “free.”
What we have, then, is a being, Lucifer, so highly exalted that even his garments, his covering, are given special notice in Scripture, yet he abuses the freedom given him and falls away from the Lord.
What can we learn from his tragic mistake?
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 9.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

In the Loom of Heaven

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LESSON 1 *March 26 - April 1

In the Loom of Heaven Lesson graphic
 




SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study:
  Isaiah 64, Rom. 3:21–31, 4:1–7, 6:1–13, Phil. 3:3–16.
Memory Text:
  “ ‘Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered’ ” (Romans 4:7, NIV).
      Christ is the sinner’s substitute and surety. He has obeyed the law in the sinner’s place, in order that the sinner may believe in him, and grow up into him in all things to the full stature of a man in Christ Jesus, and thus be complete in him. Christ has made reconciliation for sin, and has borne all its ignominy, reproach, and punishment; and yet while bearing sin, he has brought in everlasting righteousness, so that the believer is spotless before God. The time comes when it is asked, ‘Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?’ and the answer is, ‘It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again.’ He who has the spotless robe of righteousness, woven in the loom of heaven, in which is not a thread that sinful humanity can claim, is at the right hand of God, to clothe his believing children in the perfect garment of his righteousness. Those who are saved in the kingdom of God will have nothing of which to boast in themselves; the praise and the glory will all flow back to God, the giver of salvation.”—Ellen G. White, The Youth’s Instructor, Dec. 6, 1894. Notice the imagery: a robe of righteousness, a spotless robe of righteousness, “woven in the loom of heaven” and with not a thread of sinful humanity stitched in anywhere. What a wonderful image of the righteousness of Jesus, the righteousness that covers anyone and everyone who will be saved into His kingdom at last.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 2.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Partnership With Jesus

View this lesson in a browser and print a "take-away" weekly copy. CLICK HERE (see link below)

LESSON 13 *March 19 - 25

Partnership With Jesus Lesson graphic
 




SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study: Mark 1:21–35; Luke 4:31–42; Matt. 6:14, 15; 25:34–46; 26:36–44; Ps. 31:24.
Memory Text:
 
“ ‘Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me’ ”(John 15:4, NIV).
      In recent years, research has pointed to the positive effects that religiosity, faith, spirituality, prayer, forgiveness, hope, and church attendance can have on health, including mental health. Numerous prominent scientific publications have reported a connection between religious faith and positive mental and emotional well-being. Surprise of surprises!
Yet, this is not magic; the faith factor applies only to those who are deeply committed to their religious principles. Psychiatrist Montagu Barker, an expert in the interface between religion and mental health, states that religion is a potent safeguard against mental illness, but only when believers possess a strong commitment to their beliefs. If not, religion may become a source of guilt and the cause of emotional, mental, and behavioral disturbances.
This week we will look at our best example, Jesus, to learn how we can be strong in faith. By studying His life and maintaining a close relationship with Him, we can build solid mechanisms for spiritual growth, which itself can lead to better mental health.
Prayer and Bible study, worship, the practice of forgiveness, service to others, and hope and trust in God are sure pathways to spiritual development and mental health. With Jesus as our Example, we surely can’t go wrong.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 26.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Nature as a Source of Health

View this lesson in a browser and print a "take-away" weekly copy. CLICK HERE (see link below)

LESSON 12 *March 12 - 18

Nature as a Source of Health Lesson graphic





SABBATH AFTERNOON
Read for This Week's Study: Gen. 1:27–2:25; Genesis 3; Jer. 10:12, 13; Ps. 19:1–7; Matt. 6:25–34; Psalm 104.
Memory Text:
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge”(Psalm 19:1, 2, NIV).
      God created Adam and Eve in His own image. What could be a more perfect inheritance? He then placed them in the Garden of Eden. What could be a more perfect setting? Both heredity and environment, then, were divinely balanced to produce and preserve perfect mental and physical health.
Sin, however, ruined everything—and by the second generation jealousy, hatred, and violence contaminated the world. The natural environment also underwent the initial results of sin, and when sin became intolerable, the Flood changed forever the portrait of the earth.
Yet, much goodness and beauty remain in the natural world. Nature still supplies sufficient resources to satisfy our basic needs. Nature also can provide joy, happiness, and well-being to compensate partially for the misery caused by sin.
Thus, despite its sometimes violent and deadly convulsions, nature can be a source of mental and physical health. It also can become a means for us to draw ever closer to the Creator, the fount of all goodness: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 19.

Go BANANAS!

Ever wondered about that wonder fruit, the banana? Read about it here, and "Have a Banana a Day to keep the doctor away!"
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MRSA loves gyms, barracks, prisons, schools ---- and Your Nose! Do you or the person next to you have the famous Staphyloccus aureus variant called MRSA and you don't know it? GO HERE (link http://healthplanet.blogspot.com )and read more.

Other Sabbath School Lessons and Resources

Get your Earliteen, Children, PowerPoint and other Sabbath School lessons and study materials here (link: http://www.ssnet.org/qrtrly/qrtrly.html)

The Truth In The Valley

Do something different this Saturday. Come worship with Beacon Light Tabernacle SDA Church at 1568 Route 9d, Wappingers Falls NY. Phone 845-440-0183.
"Proclaiming The Truth In The Valley"

Followers

People Are Talking!

Thank you for your support. I'm taking the classes in Spanish but I like to read your 'cause it inspire me to talk to other about God in English, this is for the Glory and honor of God........Yolanda
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The Sanjay mission story was very good and it's also nice to have the link to the Desire of Ages and Patriarch's and Prophets readings. Way to go.... Barbara (New York)
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May God shower you will all more blessing than you can handle, thank you so much for these lessons... Lascelles (Kingston, Jamaica)
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Just to say thanks for providing the Sabbath School Lesson on line. I have been utilizing it. Thanks...Joan (Kingston, Jamaica)
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Thanks for sending, Locksley. A nice start..... Barbara (NY)
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Thank you Locksley. I will need the 'help' with this quarter's lessons. All blessings and joy to you for this year...Nathalee (Jamaica)
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Thanks so much for sharing the Sabbath school lesson with me. Have not been online all week and was able to study with a friend on Sunday and monday. But God bless u for sharing. ...Ann (NY)

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