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| FRIDAY | December 3 |
| “The Saviour overcame to show man how he may overcome. All the temptations of Satan, Christ met with the word of God. By trusting in God’s promises, He received power to obey God’s commandments, and the tempter could gain no advantage. To every temptation His answer was, ‘It is written.’ So God has given us His word wherewith to resist evil. Exceeding great and precious promises are ours, that by these we ‘might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.’ 2 Peter 1:4. “Bid the tempted one look not to circumstances, to the weakness of self, or to the power of temptation, but to the power of God’s word. All its strength is ours. ‘Thy word,’ says the psalmist, ‘have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.’ ‘By the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.’ Psalms 119:11; 17:4.”—Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 181. |
Discuss Jesus’ model of socializing with sinners as opposed to the duty of the man of God not to socialize and thus condone sin. How do we meet people where they are? Give practical examples in your Sabbath School class to show how you have come close to people and shown acceptance without encouraging sinful practices. 
In many societies, the paying of bribes or giving of special gifts is part and parcel of almost all business, legal, and political deals. How can we, as Seventh-day Adventists, individually and as a church, survive in such societies? Based on this week’s lesson, as a class write some guidelines for dealing with this problem. 
Imagine that someone in your church stands up and claims to have a message from the Lord or that your head elder claims to have new biblical light on last-day events. What would you do? How would you evaluate the claims? | I N S I D E Story | ||
| Hopeless Case: Part 1 by LIONEL WALCOTT I had a difficult childhood. I quit school when I was 12 and could barely read or write. I stayed away from home as much as possible, spending most of my time sleeping in boats or on the beach in my homeland of Barbados. I hung around places where tourists passed and I begged for something to eat. I stole and used drugs; as my crimes grew more serious, I went from juvenile homes to jails to prison. I fled Barbados for a place where the police didn't automatically suspect me of every crime that was committed. But I continued stealing, dealing drugs, and smuggling. Again I was arrested, and this time I was put in a maximum-security prison on a remote island. It was a terrible place, reserved for the worst criminals. We had almost no food, no change of clothes, no electricity, no toilet facilities—just jungle, snakes, and alligators. People died in that prison. Desperate, I planned my escape. I borrowed the prison boat and paddled with a plank to an island in the distance. But I was captured and beaten. Prison guards came to get me, and again I was beaten. When I arrived back at the prison, I was beaten again. I was barely alive. I spent the next 18 months in solitary confinement in an underground cell barely big enough to lie in. When I was finally released, I was malnourished and could barely walk. Once more I was living on the streets, eating from trash cans. But drugs were always available, and I was quickly addicted. I returned to Barbados and landed in prison again. I tried to commit suicide, but I failed. I pleaded with my mother to get me out, and she posted bond. Once more I was on the streets, where my life of crime had begun. One day I saw a tent a few blocks away. I was curious and discovered that it was an evangelistic meeting held by Seventh-day Adventists. I went to the meetings with drugs in my pocket and body odor perfuming the air. I sat in the back and listened to the speaker. After the meeting I waited until everyone had gone. Then I asked Bruce, the night watchman, some questions about God. He answered my questions and became my friend, even when he had to chase us away from the tent where we were smoking and talking. But I sensed that my life was changing. (continued next week) | ||
| Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. email: info@adventistmission.org website: www.adventistmission.org |
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