Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, April 27, 2024.

Main Theme: By choosing to suffer or die for their faith many have won souls to Christ.

Read in Class: Jude 1:3-4 and Revelation 2:10. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What’s the warning here and how did it apply to the later Christian church? What promise does God give those who are faithful to Him in the face of death itself?

Apply: What encourages you in challenging times? What frightens you? What promises can you claim for those times?

Share: Your friend says, I thought the whole reason for serving Jesus is so that I am always protected and have everlasting life? So how is Jesus protecting me if He lets me die because I serve Him? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Acts 5:28-32, Ephesians 6:10-12, and Revelation 3:11.Point out the common thread here.

Study: What basic principle is found in these texts?

Apply: How can we, reflecting the light of Christ, shine in our own community? Do we?

Share: Your friend is a public school teacher. She says she wants to share Jesus with her students but it is against the law. She asks you if she should go ahead and share Jesus even though its against the law and she may lose her job? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 19:7-11 and Jeremiah 15:16. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What similar attitudes did David and Jeremiah have toward the Word of God that were, really, the cornerstone of the Reformation?

Apply: What advice did Paul give Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:1-3 and how should we apply that advice to our own situations?

Share: Your friend says he is not one for preaching and teaching like Paul and Timothy. He would rather not have to talk about the Bible. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Hebrews 2:14-15, John 5:24, John 11:25-26, and 1 John 5:11-13. Define the common threads of these passages.

Study: How did believers in the Middle Ages experience the reality of the great controversy? What assurances do these promises give you personally? How do they help us in the trials of life?

Apply: What might it mean to lose everything for Christ? What, in the end, do you really lose? (See Mark 8:36 .) What lessons can we learn from the Waldenses and the Reformers that can sustain us in earth’s final conflict?

Share: A friend asks if your suffering for the Gospel has ever led someone to accept Jesus as their Savior? What do you tell your friend? See Winning Souls While Suffering.