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| FRIDAY | June 25 |
| Read Ellen G. White, “The Creation,” pp. 44–51, in Patriarchs and Prophets; “Social Purity,” pp. 567–671, in Counsels on Health; “Saved to Serve,” pp. 95–107, in The Ministry of Healing; “Development and Service,” pp. 497–502, in The Ministry of Healing. “Many feel that it would be a great privilege to visit the scenes of Christ’s life on earth, to walk where He trod, to look upon the lake beside which He loved to teach, and the hills and valleys on which His eyes so often rested. But we need not go to Nazareth, to Capernaum, or to Bethany, in order to walk in the steps of Jesus. We shall find His footprints beside the sickbed, in the hovels of poverty, in the crowded alleys of the great cities, and in every place where there are human hearts in need of consolation. “We are to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and comfort the suffering and afflicted. We are to minister to the despairing, and to inspire hope in the hopeless. “The love of Christ, manifested in unselfish ministry, will be more effective in reforming the evildoer than will the sword or the court of justice. These are necessary to strike terror to the lawbreaker, but the loving missionary can do more than this. Often the heart that hardens under reproof will melt under the love of Christ.”—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, pp. 105, 106. |
 Dwell more on the idea that, as beings made in the image of God, our first parents were somewhat like Christ, even though they still had a lot to learn. How does this help us understand our need for a Savior (After all, we can compare ourselves, to Jesus and see just how far we have fallen.)  Consider your own church situation, and discuss with your Sabbath School class whether the quality of fellowship could be improved. What can you do personally to improve the level of fellowship within your church? What could your class do as a whole to better strengthen the relationships within your church body? How well does your church deal with those who have special needs, such as shut-ins?  In class, talk about the benefits and happiness that come from serving others. Why do we get so much satisfaction from serving others? What things hold us back from doing this more often? How can we, through the power of Christ, fight against the inherent selfishness in us that keeps us focused on ourselves and our own needs rather than on the needs of others? What is your own experience with selfishness? That is, how have you seen in your own life just how ultimately unsatisfactory and empty existence can be when lived selfishly? |
| I N S I D E Story | ||
| Planting Seeds by HUBERT XAVIER My friends and I were relaxing after lunch one day in Grenada, an island in the Caribbean, when a man walked up to us. He pointed his finger at me and said, "The Lord has something for you to do." Then he turned and walked into the busy marketplace. We stood there trying to figure out what had just happened. We searched for the man, but he had disappeared. My friends laughed the incident off, but I thought about it a lot. I went to church, but I wasn't close to God. Then one day a woman came into the store where I worked and asked me, "Son, have you given your life to Christ yet?" I had never seen her before, and her comment surprised me. "Lady, I'm preparing to do so," I told her, surprised. She walked away, and when I searched for her a moment later, she had gone. No one else had seen her. Could God be trying to tell me something? I wondered. I told a friend about these incidents, and he invited me to the Seventh-day Adventist church's Sunday evening Bible study service with him. I went and enjoyed it, so I continued attending. He invited me to attend worship on Sabbath morning, but I had to work. Finally I got up the courage to ask my boss for Saturday morning off so I could go to church. My friend and I studied the Bible together; and after attending evangelistic meetings, I became convinced that I had found God's true church. I decided to become an Adventist. But my boss refused to give me Sabbaths off. My relatives urged me to just go to church on Sunday, but I knew what I had to do. I quit. I found temporary work and threw my energies into working for God, but that didn't feed me. One day there was no food in my house. I knelt and told God that I was hungry and begged for some food. A knock at the door interrupted my prayer. It was a church elder. "I was passing by and felt impressed to stop and see how you are doing," he said. He gave me ten dollars and smiled. And so God provided. Eventually I found work with a company where I don't have Sabbath problems. As I wait on customers, I tell them what God is doing in my life and invite them to try Jesus too. I'm planting seeds in their hearts and pray that God will make those seeds grow, just as He did in my life. HUBERT XAVIER lives in Grenada, an island in the Caribbean. | ||
| Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. email: info@adventistmission.org website: www.adventistmission.org |
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