Category / Sabbath School Teaching Plans

by In Light Of The Cross

10: Spiritualism Exposed-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, June 8, 2024.

Main Theme: Our only safeguard against Satan’s last-day delusions is a personal relationship with Christ and a solid grounding in the teachings of the Bible. This includes its teaching about death, regardless of what our eyes and ears and hearts might try to tell us.

Read in Class: Ecclesiastes 9:5, Job 7:7-9, and Isaiah 8:19-20. Define the common theme of these passages.

Study: What do these Bible passages teach us about death and communication with the dead?

Apply: What has been your experience with trying to explain the state of the dead to other Christians? What, if anything, have you found effective?

Share: Your friend says that her late husband appeared to her in her home the other night and even embraced her. She says she knows it was her husband because she saw and felt him, and they talked about things only the two of them knew about. What do you tell your friend? More importantly, what do you share with them from the Bible?

Read in Class: Psalm 6:5, Pslam 115:17, 1 Kings 2:10. Define the common thread in these passages.

Study: What do these verses teach about the state of the dead?

Apply: In the music you hear, and the shows you have watched where have encounterd spiritualism, and what has been your reaction?

Share: Your friend says that it is only our bodies that die. Our spirits and souls are naturally immortal and never die. What do you tell your friend? For help see 1 Timothy 6:15-16, Eclessiasted 12:7, Job 27:3 and Matthew 10:28.

Read in Class: John 11:11-14, John 11:21-25, and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these New Testament passages teach us about death?

Apply: Why is the resurrection such a powerful hope for the Christian faith? What if we had the cross but no resurrection? What hope would we have? Why, then, is the resurrection such an important part of our faith?

Share: Your friend says that it is comforting to think that her late husband is in heaven right now with thier child they both lost. She says it is comforting to know they are both watching her from heaven. What do you tell your friend? How does 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 tell us to comfort each other?

Read in Class: Matthew 24:5, Matthew 24:23-27, Revelation 13:13-14, and 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What kind of deceptions will people face in the last days? What do these passages tell us about Satan’s deceptive power and manner of working?

Apply: Why is understanding the truth about how Christ returns, as well as the state of the dead, so important in order not to be deceived?

Share: Can you share some encouraging Scriptures this week with someone who may be mourning the loss of a loved one?

by In Light Of The Cross

9: Foundation of God’s Government-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, June 1, 2024.

Main Theme: The aim of this lesson is to show the link between the sanctuary, God’s law, the Sabbath, and the coming crisis over the mark of the beast. We also will explore the relevance of the Sabbath to an end-time generation.

Read in Class: Revelation 11:19 and Revelation 12:17. Summarize these passages.

Study: What was in the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary? Who does the dragon make war with and why?

Apply: When you became a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, did you experience any opposition from family or friends? If so, why did they oppose you becoming a Seventh-day Adventist Christian?

Share: Your friend asks you exactly what is the testimony of Jesus? What do you tell your friend? See Revelation 19:10.

Read in Class: Genesis 2:1-3, Exodus 20:8-11 and Matthew 5:17-19. Summarize these passages.

Study: What is the relationship between Creation, the Sabbath, and the law of God?

Apply: Most Seventh-day Adventists have faced the charge of being legalistic, and that charge is usually connected with our keeping the Sabbath. Discuss the Sabbath as a symbol of Redemption and righteousness by faith. Why would obeying God’s command to rest lead people to think we are trying to work our way to heaven?

Share: Your friend asks, doesn’t Colossians 2:14-17 tell us the law and Sabbath were done away with? What do you tell your friend? See Which Laws Were Abolished at the Cross.

Read in Class: Revelation 14:6-8. Define the main idea of these passages.

Study: What events do the first and second angels tell us about? Why are they so important to God’s people in the last days?

Apply: The world is changing so quickly, so dramatically. Why must we always be vigilant so that last-day events don’t catch us unprepared?

Share: Your friend asks, “How does an understanding of the judgment and the law of God harmonize with the fact that we are saved by grace alone?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 13:16-17 and Revelation 14:9-12. What is the common thread of these passages?

Study: How are those who take the mark of the beast trying to be saved by thier works? How are those who keep the commandments showing their faith in Jesus.

Apply: When you rest on the Sabbath how are you demonstrating grace? How would working on the Sabbath demonstrate legalism?

Share: How can you share the three angel’s message with your friends this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

7: Motivated by Hope-Sabbath School Leson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, May 18, 2024.

Main Theme: The second coming of Christ has filled the hearts of believers with joy through the centuries and how we can be ready for that great event.

Read in Class: John 14:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, and Titus 2:11-14. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: Why did these Bible passages give such hope to Christians through the centuries?

Apply: Why is the Second Coming so important to our faith? Especially because we know that the dead sleep (see lesson 10), why does this teaching take on such importance? Without it, why would we be, as Paul said, in an utterly hopeless situation. See 1 Corinthians 15:15-18.

Share: Your friend says she grew up in an Adventist church and school, where she kept hearing that Jesus is surely coming in the next 5 years. She is now 70 years old and says she is tired of hearing the church cry “wolf.” She doubts Jesus is ever really coming again. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class, Acts 1:9-11, Revelation 1:7, and Matthew 24:27-31. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these verses teach us about the manner of our Lord’s return?

Apply: Read 1 Thessalonians 5:2-5; Hebrews 9:28. What encouragement do these verses give us regarding the manner of Christ’s coming?

Share: Your friend says Luke 17:31-37 and Matthew 24:37-44 teach about a secret rapture. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Daniel 9:24-27. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: When would this entire prophetic period begin? What major events do these verses predict?  How would the 70-week prophecy end?

Apply: Seeing the fulfillment of the prophecy of the 70 weeks, what hope does this give you regarding the surety of the second coming?

Share: Your friend asks you, if the Bible told us when Christ would come the first time, why doesn’t it tell us when He will come the second time? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Daniel 8:14. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What event was to occur at the end of the 2,300 days?

Apply: How does the 2,300- day prophecy help us understand where we are it in the history of the great controversy and why Christ has not returned yet? What we are to be doing now?

Share: Can you think of a friend who would be encouraged by the hope of the second coming? What can you do to share it with them this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

6: The Two Witnesses-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, May 11, 2024.

Main Theme: No matter how hard atheism has tried to silence the Bible, it continues to speak and to be heard.

Read in Class: Revelation 11:3-6. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study:  List five identifying features of the two witnesses you discover in this passage.

Apply: Search Zacheriah 4:1-14, John 5:39 and Matthew 24:14. Based on these passages aloing with Revelation 11, who or what do you believe the two witnesses are?

Share: Your friend says that he is a New Testament Christian and does not bother reading the Old Testament because it is now obsolete. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 11:7-9. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: Remembering that the language is symbolic, what do these verses predict would happen to God’s two witnesses, the Old and New Testaments?

Apply: Revelation 11:9 says that the bodies of God’s two witnesses would lie unburied for “three-and-a-half days” (NKJV), i.e., prophetic “days” representing three and a half literal years. Atheism was at its height in the French Revolution, at least for about three and a half years. This period extended from November 26, 1793, when a decree issued in Paris abolished religion, to June 17, 1797, when the French government removed its restrictive religious laws. In what other periods of earth’s history has atheism tried to silence the Bible? How are people today trying to silence God’s Word? Is even the church trying to silence certain parts of God’s Word today?

Share: Your friend tells you that so many people do not believe in the Bible anymore. Brilliant phillosephers think its all just made up. Your friend asks you why you still believe in the Bible? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 11:11. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: What prediction does this text make about the Word of God?

Apply: According to Psalm 119:89 and Psalm 111:7-8, why can we trust the Bible?

Share: Your friend asks you what your favorite portions of Scripture are and why? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 11:15-19. What is the main idea of this passage?

Study: According to these verses, what events take place at the close of time when the seventh trumpet sounds? What did John see opened in heaven? And what did he see as he looked up into heaven?

Apply: How does the striking contrast between the godlessness of the French Revolution and the glorious climax pictured in Revelation 11:1-19 speak to us today?

Share: Who can you share God’s Word with this week? How can you share it with them?

by In Light Of The Cross

5: Faith Against All Odds-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School Class, May 4, 2024.

Main Theme: The Reformers saturated their minds with Scripture. They lived by the Word, and many of them died because of the Word. They were not casual, complacent, careless Christians with a superficial devotional life. They knew that without the power of God’s Word, they would not withstand the forces of evil arrayed against them.

Read in Class: Psalm 119:103-104, 147, 162. Define the main idea of these passages.

Study: What was David’s attitude toward God’s Word? How did this impact the Reformers, and how does it influence our lives today?

Apply: In what ways have the Scriptures comforted you in times of trial?

Share: Your friend says it must have been hard for the reformers to stand alone, just like it must have been hard for Elijah to stand alone. Sure God is with us, but why does God often let us feel alone as if we have no human support? It would be a lot easier to stand alone on the Word of God if we had more human support and encouragement. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: 2 Corinthians 2:14 and 2 Corinthians 4:1-6. What is the common thread in these passages.

Study:  What do these passages tell us about the confidence Paul had, despite the challenges he faced in proclaiming the truth of God’s Word?

Apply: Read Daniel 12:3 and Revelation 14:13. How do these texts relate to the lives of the reformers? Now think about your own life and your impact on others. What encouragement do these texts give regarding the opportunity you have to influence others for eternity?

Share: Your friend feels discouraged and laments that they have never given a Bible study where anyone got baptized, and has never been able to lead anyone to Christ. Even in their family no one seems to listen when they talk about Jesus. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: John 16:13-15. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What principles can we take from this text regarding how we should interpret the Bible?

Apply: How often do you pray as you read Scripture? How much do you depend on Bible commentaries as opposed to doing your own searching and comparing Scripture with Scripture?

Share: Your friend says, I told my sister about the Sabbath and even showed her right there in the Bible. But she died without ever accepting it, so I guess she will be lost. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Romans 1:5, Ephesians 2:8-10, and Titus 2:11-12. Define the common thread in these texts.

Study: How are we saved? What vital truths do these passages reveal about the Christian life? What do faith and grace produce in our lives?

Apply: When you look at yourself what hope do you have for salvation from both sin and death? How has God’s grace changed both your way of thinking, and your behavior?

Share: Can you think of a friend who may benefit from an encouraging passage from Scripture? How can you share it with them this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

3: Light in the Darkness-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, April 20, 2024.

Main Theme: God’s grace and the Holy Spirit empower us to stay faithful amidst the most difficult situations. 

Read in Class: John 8:44 and John 17:17. Define what these passages are contrasting.

Study: Where do we find truth? Where do lies come from? 

Apply: In what ways has Satan tried to make you doubt God’s Word? How did you overcome these illusions and temptations to doubt God’s Word?

Share: Your friend says her dead husband visited her last night and talked about things only the two of them knew about. She was able to hug and hold him, so she knew it was really him because she both saw him and felt him. What do you tell your friend? See Every Word of God Proves True. 

Read in Class: Acts 20:27-32. Define the main idea of this passage. 

Study: What specific warnings did the apostle Paul give to the church leaders from Ephesus regarding the coming apostasy?

Apply: Read 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12. How does the apostle Paul describe the coming apostasy? What characteristics should believers look for? See also Pray to Have a Love for the Truth. 

Share: Your friend asks, “What kind of compromises do we see entering the church today? More importantly, what compromises might you be making? Is it sometimes by blending truth and error?” What do you tell your friend?  

Read in Class: John 17:15-17 and Acts 20:32. Define the common thread in these passages. 

Study: What insights do Jesus and the apostle Paul give us regarding protection from the deceptions of Satan?

Apply: Read Psalms 119:105; Psalms 119:116; Psalms 119:130; Psalms 119:133, and Psalms 119:160. What insights does the psalmist give us regarding the significance of God’s Word in the plan of salvation?

Share:  Your friend argues that” the Bible is just the writings of kings, shepherds, fishermen, priests, poets, and others who shared their understandings and conceptions of God, of nature, and of reality the best that they, in their time and place, understood them. So why should we, living today in the twenty-first century, really care about what these people thought, much less make what they thought the foundation for our hope of eternity?” What do you tell your friend? 

Read in Class: Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 16:25, and 2 Corinthians 4:3-6. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: How do these passages warn us against Satan’s schemes and our own human reasoning? 

Apply: Why is the human mind without the aid of the Holy Spirit incapable of discovering divine truth? Discuss the relationship between human reason and divine revelation. How does reason actually help us understand divine revelation? For example, look at Daniel 2:1-49, a prophecy that covers world history from the time of Babylon to the Second Coming. How does a prophecy like this powerfully appeal to human reason?

Share: Do you know someone who has questions about the authenticity of the Bible? Can you give them a Bible study on how to know if God’s Word is true or not? See The Scriptures in Light of the Cross. 

by In Light Of The Cross

2: The Central Issue: Love or Selfishness?-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, April 13, 2024. 

Main Theme: By patiently sharing the love of Christ even amidst persecution, we help God win the great controversy between good and evil. 

Read in Class: Luke 19:41-44, Matthew 23:37-38, John 5:40. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these verses tell you about Jesus’ attitude toward His people and their response to His loving invitation of grace and mercy? What revelation of God’s character do you see?

Apply:Read Matthew 24:15-20. What instruction did Jesus give to His people to save them from the coming destruction of Jerusalem? 

Share: Your friend says, “There is so much persecution of Christians in the early church, and today there is so much persecution, needless bloodshed, heartache, and sorrow. How can you possibly see God’s love in all this pain and suffering?” What do you tell your friend? 

Read in Class: Hebrews 11:35-38, Revelation 2:10 and Acts 2:41, and Acts 5:42. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these passages tell us about the reality of the challenges facing the early church, and how it continued to grow despite those challenges? 

Apply: What can we learn from the early church that could help us, the end-time church?

Share: Your friend asks why God allows the church to be persecuted? What value does it serve? What does it accomplish? What do you tell your friend? 

Read in Class: Read Acts 2:44-47; Acts 3:6-9; Acts 6:1-7. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: Although circumstances vary, what principles can we learn from these passages about authentic Christianity?

Apply: How do the ways your church serves the community help prove that Satan’s accusations about God and His church are wrong? In other words, how does your church let the community see the love of God in practical day to day living? 

Share: Your friend says that the pathfinders in her church are helping to care for the lawns of widows in the neighborhood, and that some of the deacons helped a farmer build a new barn after his old one burned down. However your friend thinks in these times of earth’s history we should just be spending our time warning people about the mark of the beast instead of just helping people with their daily living.  What do you tell your friend? In what ways might the pathfinders and deacons be preparing the community for the mark of the beast or the seal of God? See Winning the Great Controversy in Every-day Life.

Read in Class: John 13:35 and 1 John 4:21. Define the common thread of these passages. 

Study:  What do these passages reveal about Satan’s challenge against the government of God in the great controversy? What do they tell us about the essence of genuine Christianity?

Apply: What is the obvious message for us here? How do we learn to die to self so that we, too, can manifest this same selfless spirit? It’s not easy, is it? 

Share: What are some practical ways your Sabbath School class and/or family can reach out to your community this week to let them know God is love? 

by In Light Of The Cross

1: The War Behind All Wars-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, April 6,2024.

Main Theme: Love cannot be forced. Only by love can love be awakened. Love will overcome all evil and reign forever.

Read in Class: Revelation 12:4, Revelation 12:7-9, Isaiah 14:12-14, and Ezekiel 28:12-15. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these passage reveal about the freedom existing in heaven and the origin of evil? When Lucifer rebelled, in what ways could God have responded? What went on in the mind of this angelic being called Lucifer that led to his rebellion?

Apply: What tactics and weapons do you think Lucifer used in his “war of the minds” in heaven? What methods of gaslighting, narcissism or maybe even flattery have people tried to use with you that Lucifer may have used in heaven?

Share: Your friend says, “God could have allowed Lucifer to have free choice but then just destroyed him the minute he rebelled before things got so bad?  Or, since God knows the end from the beginning, He could have not created Lucifer at all. God can give free choice and  then only create people who will choose to serve Him” Do you agree with your friend? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Genesis 3:1-8, Genesis 3:16-19,Romans 3:23, and Romans 6:23. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What tactics did Lucifer use to get Adam and Eve to disobey God, and what were the results of their disobedience?

Apply: What tactics do you see the serpent using with Adam and Eve that Lucifer may have used with the angels in heaven?

Share: Your friend asks, “why such a harsh penalty for such a small sin?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Genesis 3:15, Genesis 3:21, John 1:29, and John 3:16. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What was God’s solution for the sin problem?

Apply: How does Jesus’ death on the cross not only pay the penalty for your sins, but also expose all of Satan’s lies about God in the war between good and evil? How does the cross keep you from falling for Satan’s lies and temptations now?

Share: Your friend asks you to share the plan of salvation. What do you tell your friend? Need help? See Salvation in Light of the Cross.

Read in Class: Hebrews 4:15-16 and Hebrews 7:25. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: How do these verses give us assurance in a world of temptation, suffering, disease, and death?

Apply: According to John 17:24-26, what is Christ’s longing desire in the great controversy between good and evil?

Share: Your friend asks, “Why did Christ have to sacrifice Himself in order to save us?” What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

13: Wait on the Lord-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, March 30, 2024.

Main Theme: Waiting does not mean that we do nothing. It means we look forward to our hope as we keep doing the tasks at hand.

Read in Class: Psalm 27:14 and Psalm 131:1-3. Define the main idea of these passages.

Study: What do these passages teach us about our relationship with God, and what He wants us to do?

Apply: What are some things you are waiting for now from God? How do we learn to wait in faith and in trust, especially when what we are praying for hasn’t yet come?

Share: Your friend says that it souns like God wants us to be like a small child waiting and trusting Him all the time, but He also wants us to grow up in Christ. How can you be mature, indapendant and responsible while still being like a little child? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Pslam 126:1-6. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What gives strength and hope to God’s people? What is being said here, in this context, that we can apply to our own lives today?

Apply: Dwell on some times when you clearly and unmistakably saw the Lord working in your life or in the lives of others. How can you draw hope from those experiences for whatever you might be going through now?

Share: Your friend says he has so many unanswered prayers and is getting tired of “waithing” on the Lord. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Pslam 92:1-15. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What two aspects of the Sabbath day are highlighted in this song for the Sabbath day?

Apply:  What great hope is offered to us in Psalm 92:1-5, and how can we, even right now, take comfort in what it says?

Share: Your friend says he has to take a job working on the Sabbath because he has a family to feed. He says its his God-given job to provide for his family, so he can’t be expected to just wait around for some miracle to put food on is family’s table. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 30:5 and 2 Peter 1:19. Define the common thread on these passages.

Study: What time of day is symbolically portrayed as the time of divine redemption and why?

Apply: What happened in the morning here in Mark 16:1-8 and why is that so important to us?

Share: Your friend says, “Since Ecclesiastes 9:5 says the dead know nothing, in one aspect thier wait for the resurection is over.” Do you agree or disagree with the idea your friend is sharing? Is so, how? If not why?

by In Light Of The Cross

12: Worship That Never Ends-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, March 23, 2024.

Main Theme: Worshiping God as a faith-community also involves every aspect of our personal lives.

Read in Class: Psalm 33:3, Psalm 40:3, and Psalm 96:1.

Study:  What is the common motif in these texts?

Apply: Read Isiaih 42:10-12, Revelation 5:9 and Revelation 14:3.  What can we infer about the “new song” from these biblical texts?

Share: Dwell on God’s blessings in your life. If you were to share a new song, what would it be?

Read in Class: Pslam 15:1-5. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: Who are the people worthy of worshiping in God’s presence?

Apply: Read Psalm 24:3-6 and Pslam 101:1-3. How do our choices and how we spend our time help reveal to ourselves and others who or what it is that we worship and praise?

Share: Your friend tells you the things of this world keeps distracting her from Bible study and prayer. She asks how you keep from being distracted by the world? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 96:1-13. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What manifold aspects of worship are mentioned in this psalm?

Apply: Compare Psalm 96:1-13 with the three angels message in Revelation 14:6-12. In what ways does it teach the same basic truths as does this end-time message that we are to proclaim to the world?

Share: Your friend asks how we can make sure our praise and worship does not just become another meaningless ritual? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 40:6-8. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What is the best way to worship God?

Apply: According to John 4:23-24 what is the best way for us to worship God? How do you practice worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth?

Share: Can you think of someone who has not been to worship service in a while? Can you invite them this week to share the worship service with you next week?