Month / May 2025

by In Light Of The Cross

Your Current Career Does not Define you; Your Entire Life Defines you

 While I had always planned to become a pastor, my early twenties found me spinning my wheels as I forgot to return to college in the fall to complete my degree. I found a job working in the warehouse for a business forms company, where I made deliveries. There, I met Alan, who had already been there for a while, and he showed me the ropes. We became friends and started going to ball games together and eating out at Tex-Mex restaurants. He became more than just a friend to hang out with. He became a friend who helped me move from one place to another across town. He was the friend I called when my car broke down outside of town late at night. He was a little older than I, and he became like a big brother to me. 

One day, while we were waiting for clearance to make a large delivery in a secured area of the Tulsa International airport, our conversation turned to Jesus. Now, Alan was already a Christian, but he seemed eager to learn more about the faith. I shared the Sabbath with him, explaining that I observe the Seventh-day Sabbath because it is the example Jesus gave us, and our salvation is found solely in Him. He found that interesting. 

Now, I suppose I wasn’t spinning my wheels entirely, as at my local church, I had become the youngest elder at the time in the Oklahoma Adventist Conference and was doing a lot of preaching in my church and around the state. Alan would sometimes come and hear me speak, though for the most part, he was an outdoorsman who found nature to be his sanctuary, where he met with God. 

Meanwhile, Alan and I enjoyed working together about as much as you can enjoy working in a warehouse and doing deliveries. Some parts of the job were a lot of fun, such as driving to Arkansas and back to make deliveries, and meeting all the people we encountered. In the evenings, when I would drive across town to visit friends, it gave me a sense of satisfaction driving by all the businesses where I had delivered business forms. Making deliveries was a tangible way I could see the results of my labor. Still, there were times when I would be sweating while making deliveries or even in the warehouse during the day, and I would think to myself, ‘If only I were a pastor, I could spend my time making hospital visits and giving Bible studies, making better use of my time.’ I would even have more time for personal Bible study and sermon preparation. 

During the four years I worked at the business forms company, Alan and I continued our conversations about Jesus, while also doing other things. Over time, he had become familiar with my friends from church, as he joined some of our group studies and attended ball games with us. Eventually, some friends from church led me to become a literature evangelist, and I left the business forms company. However, Alan and I continued our friendship, and he even came to my rescue once when my car broke down 30 miles outside of town, where I was selling Christian books. 

After being a literature evangelist for a couple of years, a new pastor came to my church and hired me as a Bible Worker. I told Alan I needed practice giving Bible studies, and he said I could practice giving him studies. He started visiting the church with me again. Later, when I moved to Texas for a Bible Worker position, Alan and I continued being friends. Over time, we lost contact for a few years, but when Facebook emerged, we reconnected and started being friends again. By this time, I was in Florida, where I was serving as a Bible Worker. He was at my 50th birthday celebration, which I had back home in Tulsa. When my mother passed away, he was a pallbearer. Alan had his tragedies, as his son was killed in a motorcycle accident, and his wife died of a lingering illness. He would call and talk, and he was comforted as I reminded him of what we had learned in our Bible studies about the state of the dead and the hope of the second coming. 

When the conference asked me to stop being a Bible Worker so I could be a full-time conference pastor, Alan, as well as the rest of my friends, were very happy. Alan was there when I came back to Oklahoma as a guest speaker, this time as a full-time pastor, even though it was still just me. 

Alan would continue texting me prayer requests whenever anything was going on with his family or his health. He faithfully followed me on Facebook, telling me my inspirational messages were always just what he needed to read. About a week ago, Alan crossed my mind again. It had been a month since I heard from him, so I picked up the phone to call. His number was no longer working. Concerned, I went to Facebook and everything looked normal, but later I found his obituary online. He had no opportunity to text me this time as he died suddenly. 

Later, Alan’s sister contacted me on Facebook. She told me Alan often mentioned me to her and that he had always felt that I was his personal pastor. That made me feel warm inside. I thought back to earlier days at the business forms company. I always felt like I was spinning my wheels there and should have been working on becoming a pastor instead of dealing with business forms. But was I just spinning my wheels? Should I have become a pastor in my early twenties instead of spending all that time working in a business forms company? I thought to myself, one day I will meet Alan again on the streets of gold, and he will tell me he was glad I did notbecome a pastor in my early twenties. Alan will assure me that I was exactly where I belonged the whole time. 

As much as I loved being a Bible Worker and love being a pastor, I am consoled by the thought that being a pastor does not define me. My years as a Bible Worker and Pastor do not define me. My entire life defines me, and it has purpose and meaning. I wasn’t spinning my wheels at the business forms company in my early twenties. I was exactly where God wanted me to be the whole time. 

I hope my story has opened your eyes to ways God is using you where you are today. Too often, we spend our time longing to reach a life goal, not realizing that God is already using us for a purpose, every step of the way. Even if you become president of your country, that will not define you. Your whole life has purpose. Your entire life defines you. 

That day, when I was sitting in the delivery truck with my friend Alan, talking about Jesus while waiting to make our delivery at the airport, had just as much meaning and purpose as sitting behind the desk in my pastor’s office today. 

by In Light Of The Cross

9: In the Psalms Part 2-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School Class, May 31, 2025.

Main Theme: The Psalms also deal with these issues in great depth, exploring nearly every possible human emotion—from dark despondency to unbridled joy. We see Israel preparing for battle against the forces of darkness. We read about individuals wrestling with the question of why doesn’t God address evil more directly and immediately, a question that no doubt we all have asked. We are directed to the sanctuary for answers, and there are also repeated appeals to God’s status as Creator. Are these not issues and questions that we, in our context today, wrestle with, as well?

Of course—which is why we will continue unpacking Psalms in order to learn more about these crucial truths.

Read in Class: Jeremiah 4:23-26 and Psalm 46:1-11. Ask the class to identify the common thread of these passages.

Study: What message of hope can we take from this amid the turmoil of life now, and what we know will come upon the earth in the last days as the great controversy plays out here?

Apply: However bad things are in this world (and we know they will be worse), what hope should you draw from your knowledge of the goodness, power, and character of God (think: the cross)?

Share: Your friend says you are constantly optimistic when saying everything will work out because God is in control. But your friend asks What past experiences do you base your optimism on? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 47:1-4. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: What does this passage say about our place, ultimately, in Christ’s kingdom?

Apply: How does the hope of future victory over sin and death keep you going today? What would be the point of your life if you did not have this hope?

Share: Your friend asks what this passage means by saying all people and nations will be subdued under our feet? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 75:1-10, Matthew 26:26-29, and Revelation 14:9-12. Ask the class to identify the common thread of these passages.

Study: What does this Psalm reveal about some of the issues at stake in the judgment, and how do these other texts help us understand these issues?

Apply: Though we must do our part now to try to make life better for others, why is it always important to remember that it’s going to take the total destruction of this present world and the supernatural re-creation of it before all things are, ultimately, made right?

Share: Your friend suggests that, as Christians, we should be heavily involved in politics and helping get laws passed that will improve morality in our society. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Read in Class: Psalm 67:1-7, and Revelation 14:6-12. Ask the class to identify the common thread of these passages.

Study: How does Psalm 67 help inform your understanding of the role of God’s people in the last days?

Apply: What obligations should we as a church, and as individuals, feel toward teaching others the truths that we love so much?

Share: What is your plan for sharing the Gospel this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

8: In the Psalms, Part 1-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, May 24, 2025.

Main Theme: Some details provided in God’s songbook can give us new ways to understand and appreciate our role in the final moments of Earth’s history.

Read in Class: Hebrews 9:11-15. Ask the class to identify the main idea in this passage.

Study: What does this teach about what He is doing for us?

Apply: Read Psalm 122. Though we cannot go literally to the earthly “house of the LORD” (it’s not there, and even if one were built in the same place, it would be meaningless), what elements are found in this Psalm that can encourage us about what Christ has done for us? Notice the themes of peace, security, praise, and judgment.

Share: Your friend asks why Jesus is in the sanctuary. Wasn’t everything finished at the cross? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Exodus 33:18-23, Exodus 34:1-7, and Psalm 119:55. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: When Moses asked to see God’s glory, what did God promise to show him? Then, when God proclaimed His name to Moses (Exod. 34:5), what followed?

Apply:  How does following the law help us become more merciful and sympathetic towards the needs of others, especially those who may have special needs we do not have?

Share: Your friend says, “If we are saved by faith and not by the law, what is the importance of God’s law?” What do you tell your friend? (See 1 John 5:3.)

Read in Class: Psalm 5;1-12, and Revelation 14:1-12. Ask the class to identify the main idea of these passages.

Study: What similarities do you find in these two passages, and how does this inform your understanding of what it means to be a part of God’s last-day remnant movement?

Apply: Imagine standing before a holy and perfect God in judgment, with every deed you have ever done fully exposed before Him. What does this prospect tell you about your need for Christ’s righteousness?

Share: Your friend asks, “Why do the saints have the faith of Jesus and keep the commandments? I thought we are saved by faith, not commantment keeping.” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 51:7-15. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.

Study: What does David promise to do after he has been pardoned and purged from his sin?

Apply: Dwell more on the fact that, even before the proclamation of the three angels’ messages begins, we are pointed to the “everlasting gospel.” What should this tell us about how foundational this truth is to all that we believe?

Share: Your friend says, “I hear Christians always talking about the Gospel. What exactly is the Gospel?” What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

Genesis to Revelation Teaches the Truth About Death and God’s Love

One of the saddest things I have ever had to do, was go to a funeral for a little girl who was hit and killed by a car. In the funeral the minister talked about how much fun Jesus and the little girl were having in heaven right now. I thought, how cruel the minister is making Jesus look to the girl’s poor mother. Jesus does not break our hearts and tear our world apart so He can have fun with our loved ones while we suffer. Jesus will be reunited with the little girl the same time the mother is-at the second coming. This is why it is so important to study the topic of death in the light of the cross and the light of God’s love. 

The minister even tried to use David as an example, claiming that when he died, he went straight to heaven to be with his son who had died. After the service I wanted to mention to the minister what Peter said in Acts 2 while sharing the prophecies about Jesus in Scripture. 

“For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” Acts 2:34-35 NKJV

Peter makes it clear that David’s prophecy was about Jesus and not himself, as David has not gone to heaven yet, but remains in his grave, awaiting the resurrection. 

The minister then talked about how the little girl who died is now an angel watching over us. Many believe that angels are our dead loved ones. They find comfort in the false idea that our dead loved ones are watching over us, but this lie not only leads to spiritualism, but it also leads to idolatry as it puts dead loved ones in the place of God. I find it comforting knowing God is watching over me. Why would I think my dead loved ones watching over me would be more comforting than God watching over me, when my soul hungers and thirsts for God’s love more than my family’s love? 

Nowhere does the Bible teach that our dead loved ones are angels. As a matter of fact, in Genesis we read:

So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:24 NKJV

We all know Cherubim are angels, In Genesis 3 we have angels before anyone has died. Therefore, angels are clearly not our dead loved ones. God Himself and the angels of heaven are watching over us now, while our dead ones are resting from their labors. I find that way more thrilling and amazing than the lie that my dead loved ones are watching over me. Prophecy teaches me our dead loved ones are taking a deserved rest. 

Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” Revelation 14:13 NKJV

While we are looking at Genesis and Revelation lets look at another passage that has been skewed by the lie of spiritualism. 

When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed. Revelation 6:9-11 NKJV

Many twist this passage to say that the souls of dead loved ones are literally under the altar in heaven. This makes no sense literally as we will not be living under the altar in heaven. Plus, if the dead are currently in heaven why would they be asking for vengeance against those who put them in heaven? Remember in Genesis 4:10 God tells Cain that Abel’s blood was crying out for vengeance. Abel’s blood was not literally crying out. It was symbolic. the situation was symbolically crying out for justice. Likewise in Revelation 6:9-11 it is the situation that symbolically cries out for justice, as the passage goes on to explain, while the dead continue to rest. 

From Genesis to Revelation the Bible is clear that God is love. God loves us more than our family loves us, and therefore the truth about God and angels is comforting, knowing God Himself and His angels are watching over us, and not our dead loved ones. God is also not going to tear a young mother’s world apart so He can go have fun with the mother’s child. When a child dies, God will be reunited with the child the same time the mother is, at the second coming. 

From Genesis to Revelation, we see the truth about the state of the dead, in the light of the cross and God’s love. 

You may study this week’s sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

7: Foundations for Prophecy-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, May 17, 2025.

Main Theme: Human rebellion, ultimately and forever, will be ended. And, more than that, God’s loving character, His self-denying and self-sacrificing character, will shine even brighter than it did in His original design for humanity. Though God never intended for humanity to fall, through the cross, God’s loving character has been put on display in a remarkable way.

Read in Class: Ezekiel 28:11-17, Isaiah 14:12-14 and Revelation 14:1-12. Ask the class to identify the main idea of these passages.

Study: What led to Lucifer’s downfall? How does the contrast between Lucifer’s fall and humanity’s high position in Christ help us understand what takes place in Revelation 14?

Apply: What role do we have as a church, and as individuals, in letting people know about what Christ has done for them?

Share: While talking to your neighbor across the fence, she asks you what is the three angel’s message that the Adventist church refers to all the time. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Isaiah 6:6-8. Ask the class to identify the main point of this passage.

Study: Isaiah knew that sin means that we are “undone.” The wages of sin is death. But instead of leaving us to the consequences of sin, a God of love pulls us closer. What was the outcome of this meeting, and why is it important?

Apply: Read Genesis 3:21-24. How were the cherubims protecting our future by guarding the tree? What other roles do we see angels participating in regarding prophecy and our salvation?

Share: You friend asks, I’ve always heard that angels are our dead loved ones, but if angels are our dead loved ones how could there be angels guarding the tree of life when no one had died yet? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ezekiel 1:1-14, Isaiah 6:1-6, and Revelation 4:1-11. Ask the class to identify the main idea of these passages.

Study: What similarities do we see depicted in all these passages?

Apply: Whenever we see God’s throne whether in the typical ark of the covenant, which served as God’s meeting place with Moses (Exod. 25:22), or the breathtaking visions of the prophets the cherubim are always there. They are intimately tied to the throne of God. All of God’s creatures were designed to reflect His glory whether we are talking about the human race made in His image or the angelic beings who are posted immediately next to His glorious throne. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. How do you measure up in contrast to the holiness that Ezekiel witnesses here? What does your answer tell you about your need of the gospel?

Share: Your friend asks you if you have ever seen an angel. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Numbers 2: 3, 10, 18 and 25. Ask the class to identify the common thread in passages.

Study: There was one dominant tribe on each of the four sides of the tabernacle. According to Numbers 2, who were these four dominant tribes?

Apply: Of course, we don’t live in the camp of Israel. But what are ways we can, in our own lives now, draw close to the presence of God?

Share: Your friend asks you how we know if God is with us or not? What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

The Final Goal of the Sacrifice

In this week’s Sabbath School lesson, I read,

… I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.” Haggai 2:7-9 NKJV

I was already familiar with the meaning of this passage, that even though the latter temple was not filled with the temporal splendor of the former temple, it would be filled with greater glory than the former, when the Son of God bodily entered the temple. I paused, though, and wondered if that was the final goal. I also question if we, as Seventh-day Adventists, are missing the final goal when considering the heavenly sanctuary as greater than the earthly sanctuary. Of course it is “greater,” but is the sanctuary in heaven the final goal? Was the latter sanctuary the final goal? What is the final goal

Then I considered these passages,

Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22 NKJV

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:14-19 NKJV

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. Colossians 1:27-28 NKJV

These passages may remind you of similar passages, but you may already see where I am going with this. Even if the latter earthly sanctuary was filled with more glory than the former, what good does that do me today? Even if the heavenly sanctuary is filled with more glory than either earthly sanctuary, what good does that do me today down here on earth, unless my heart becomes God’s sanctuary? For our theology to be balanced and correct, we must see beyond the earthly temporal sanctuaries and realize that the goal is not even met in the heavenly sanctuary. The real goal is for God to dwell in our hearts and lives.

As Seventh-day Adventists, we talk about being the remnant church and restoring the church to how it was in the New Testament before the compromises of the Dark Ages. That is correct, but it still is not the goal.

The final goal of Christ’s sacrifice and the Gospel is to restore people into the image of God that man was created with before the fall. The final goal is also to restore our relationship with God to how it was before the fall. In other words, the goal of the Gospel goes way beyond restoring a people to how they were before the Dark Ages; the goal of the Gospel goes back to restoring people to how they were created to be before the fall.

What happened in the earthly sanctuary and what is happening now in the heavenly sanctuary are amazing. But what is more amazing is what God, through His Son and the Holy Spirit, is actively doing in our hearts today.

You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 NKJV

People today can’t visibly see Christ entering the latter temple mentioned in Haggai. However, they can visibly see the results of Christ living in our hearts today, which is the real goal.

You may study this week’s Sabbath School lesson here.

by In Light Of The Cross

6: Understanding Sacrifice-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, May 10, 2025.

Main Theme: This week we will look at some of the themes of sacrifice that inform our understanding of Jesus, the slain Lamb, the clear protagonist of the throne room scene. He is accepted as worthy, where no one else is, and His unique worthiness speaks volumes about what the Lord was doing through the sacrificial system. It reveals Him as a God of infinite love who made the ultimate sacrifice, an act that we, and the other intelligences in the universe, will marvel at for eternity.

Read in Class: Read in Class: Isaiah 1:2-25 and Psalm 51:17. Have the class share the main idea of these passages.

Study: What important lessons about sacrifice are taught here?

Apply: Read Hebrews 10:3-10. What does this teach us about the ultimate goal of Christ’s sacrifice? What does His sacrifice lead us to beyond forgiveness?

Share: In the NLT 1 Peter 2:24 tells us Jesus died so we can live for what is right. Your friend asks you how Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross has helped you to live a righteous life. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Exodus 12:1-11, Isaiah 53:7-8, and Revelation 5:6. Ask the class to share the main idea of these passages.

Study: What do these verses teach us about Jesus as the Passover sacrifice? What does that mean for each of us?

Apply: What are ways that we can better reflect the perfect character of Jesus in our own lives?

Share: Your friend is an animal lover and tells you she can’t understand why God had the Israelites kill so many innocent animals at the passover as well as in the daily sacrifices afterwards. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Haggai 2:7-9. Ask the class to describe the main idea of this passage.

Study: As the second temple was being constructed, the prophet Haggai made an astonishing promise: the new temple would be more glorious than the previous one. What was meant by that prophecy?

Apply: The cross is by far the greatest manifestation of God’s love. What are other ways we can see and experience the reality of God’s love?

Share: Your friend says it’s great that God filled a temple on the other side of the world with His glory two thousand years ago, but what good does that do us? What do you tell your friend? See Ephesians 3:17-19.

Read in Class: Isaiah 6:1-5 and Revelation 4:7-11. Have the class share the main idea of these passages.

Study: What elements of these two visions are similar? Pay attention to the order of events: What subject is presented first? What comes next? What truth about God is being stressed in these visions?

Apply: How does the cross help you understand God’s love for sinners and His hatred for sin?

Share: Can you think of someone you could share the plan of salvation with this week?