Category / Sabbath School Teaching Plans

by In Light Of The Cross

4: Sharing God’s Mission-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School, October 28, 2023.

Main Theme: Genesis 18 gives us Abraham as a model of how God can use us in His mission.

Read in Class: Genesis 18:16-33. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How did Abraham exercise his great quality of love for all people without distinguishing tribe, race, or people?

Apply: Why is intercessory prayer so important in our own prayer life? How can praying for others in need help us grow spiritually and experience more the reality of God’s love for sinners?

Share: Your friend asks what good it does to pray for the salvation of those around us? Isn’t God already doing all He can to save the world? How could our prayers possibly help God when He is already doing everything possible to save us?

Read in Class: Genesis 18:23-32 and James 5:16. Define the common thread in these passages.

Study:  What should this teach us about the power of intercessory prayer?

Apply: Read Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25. What do they tell us about what Jesus does for us, and how might this truth help us understand better our own role as intercessors for others?

Share: Your friend asks how God has answered your prayers regarding the salvation of others? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Genesis 19:1-29. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What was the result of Abraham’s spirit of hospitality, love, and prayer?

Apply: How can we learn not to be discouraged if we are not seeing the kind of results that we want when we do mission? See That’s Why I’m Here.

Share: Your friend asks, “How do we convince such a sinful generation that they need a Savior without making them feel condemned?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Genesis 12:1-9. Define the main idead of this passage.

Study:  What do these verses teach about submitting to God’s will, even when the path ahead does not seem clear?

Challenge: Challenge: In our cities, we face obstacles in preaching the gospel appropriately and effectively. We need to plead with God to intervene.

Challenge up:  Find a way to contact someone who is being directly affected by a difficult situation similar to your own. Tell that person you are praying for him or her, and ask God to show you what you can do to help.

by In Light Of The Cross

3: God’s Call to Mission-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, October 21, 2023.

Main Theme: God’s mission will call us out of our comfort zones.

Read in Class: Genesis 11:1-9 and Genesis 12:1-3. Define the main idea of these passages.

Study: What were the intentions of the people? What were they wanting to do, and why would God thwart it? In what way was God’s instruction to Abram a call to mission?

Apply: Are you part of a group or ethnic community that is more comfortable among themselves? In what ways may you possibly engage with others who are not part of your race, ethnicity, or nationality?

Share: Your friend asks you if God has ever sent you out of your comfort zone to accomplish a mission? What was the mission and how did it go?

Read in Class: Genesis 12:1-13:1. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What things happened to him next, and what mistakes did this man of God make?

Apply: What lessons can we take from the story about Abram in Egypt?

Share: Your friend asks, “What if God calls us somewhere were there is not much potential and things look pretty hopeless? How do we know God is calling us, will be with us, and we will be successful?”

Read in Class: Acts 8:1-4. Define the key thought in this passage.

Study: In the early church, what brought about the scattering of believers beyond their comfort zone?

Apply: In what ways could you, daily, express mission in your attitude and behavior? How could you be more mission-minded in your daily tasks?

Share: Your friend asks, “Does God always use persecution to get us out of our comfort zones to complete the mission? Does God ever use us in our comfort zones?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Acts 1:8. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What principle did Jesus present when doing the work of sharing or being His witnesses to the world?

Challenge: Identify and make a list of people groups with special needs in your community, whom the church has not made efforts to reach. Challenge Up: Begin praying for an opportunity in the near future to become engaged in mission to people with special needs.

Share: How may God be calling you out of your comfort zone to share in His mission? Are you willing be called out of your comfort zone this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

2: God’s Mission to us Part 2-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, October 14, 2023.

Main Theme: The Scriptures reveal what God’s mission is all about.

Read in Class: John 20:21-22. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How should the understanding that mission finds its origin in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit shape our mission?

Apply: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all involved in the work of saving souls. Why should you find this thought so comforting?

Share: Your friend says the word Trinity is nowhere in the Bible so we should not believe in the Trinity. What do you tell your friend? See also How a Proper Understanding of the Heavenly Trio Keeps Churches and Families From Falling Under a Dictatorship.

Read in Class: Matthew 28:16-20. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What elements of discipleship can you identify in this passage?

Apply: The mission is to “make disciples.” How is this mandate of the Master affecting how you live and minister to others? What can you do to be more involved in what you have been called to do?

Share: Your friend says he does not understand why someone has to go through a whole series of Bible studies to be baptized? Didn’t Philip baptize the Ethiopian on the spot? What do you tell your friend? See also What is Worse Than Persecution?

Read in Class: Revelation 14:6-7. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What aspects of God’s mission can you identify in the “eternal gospel” (NRSV) presented by the first angel of the three angels’ messages?

Apply: How is the concept of judgment linked to the “everlasting gospel” in the first angel’s message? Why must the gospel be central to the idea of judgment?

Share: Your friend says she is not in good health and can’t get out of the house anymore. She asks how she can help spread the gospel to all the world while she is in her home? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 7:9-10. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study:  What does this text suggest about the far-reaching geographical scope of God’s mission?

Apply: Will you pray every day this week for the community where you live. God has placed you there for a reason.

Share: Will you research the demographics of your area (what kind of people live around you)—ethnic and religious background, old, young, poor, wealthy, languages spoken, and so on. Ask God to show you how you may be a channel of His love to them.

by In Light Of The Cross

1: God’s Mission to Save us Part 1-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, October 7, 2023.

Main Theme: God’s plan is to restore our relationship with God that was broken because of sin.

Read in Class: Isaiah 59:1-2, Exodus 25:8, and Exodus 29:42-45. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What was one of the main purposes of the Old Testament sanctuary?

Apply: What are ways that you experience God’s presence in your life?

Share: Your friend says that she feels separated from God because of her sinful lifestyle and wants to feel His presence again. What can you say to help your friend?

Read in Class: John 1:14-18. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study:  What can you learn from Christ’s incarnation about God’s mission to us?

Apply: Think what it means that God’s love for us is so great that He would come to us in our own humanity. How should we respond to this love, especially in terms of mission to others?

Share: Your friend asks you why God had to become human in order to reconcile us back to Him? What do you tell your friend? See Jesus Died as me as Well as For me.

Read in Class: John 3:16 and Matthew 28:19-20. Define the common idea in these passages?

Study: How do you see God’s love and mission interacting here?  What is the promise we can find in the Great Commission? How does it bring assurance for us as we get involved in God’s mission?

Apply: In what ways have you seen Jesus’ promise to be “with you always” being fulfilled in your own life as you are engaged in mission?

Share: Your friend asks, “If God is always with us why do bad things happen to us?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: John 14:1-3. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: In what ways is it connected with the end-time message found in the Scriptures?

Apply: How do Exodus 25:8 and John 14:1-3 compliment each other in helping us to understand the sanctuary message and Jesus’ work in preparing dwelling places so we can be with Him? How could this help explain why it is taking so long for Jesus to create rooms or mansions for us to dwell in? Are you allowing Jesus to make His home right in your heart so that where He is there you can be also?

Share: Can you pray for God to open the hearts of your friends and family to allow you to share God’s mission with them? Will you also pray for God to put someone new in your path who you can share God’s mission with?

by In Light Of The Cross

Turning Sabbath School Into a Bible Study

I actually thought I was the only one concerned about how little Bible study is actually done in Sabbath School. It seems we study the quarterly more than the Bible. Then I found this quote from 1991, and found out I am not alone, and have not been for years.

“Too often I find that what passes for Bible study in many Sabbath School classes is little more than a rehash of familiar sayings, personal opinion, and Ellen White quotations. It isn’t Bible study, but simply comments about the Bible…..Our “lesson study” has the guise of Bible study but isn’t. It is more a study of the Sabbath School lesson quarterly than the Bible.” –Myron Widmer, Adventist Review, September 12, 1991.

During the quarantine I would ask people what they have been finding in their personal Bible study time, only to get answers about what they heard a television preacher say. I never got any direct answers to my question about personal Bible study time. This greatly concerned me. In Acts 17:11 they were not only listening to Paul preach, but they were searching (not just casually reading) the Scriptures (Not a quarterly or periodical) daily, not just every now and then.

This is why I enjoy Michael Fracker’s teaching plans. These plans make Sabbath school a Bible study that may casually reference the quarterly, instead of a study of the quarterly that may casually reference the Bible. Quarterlies are great as they direct us to the Bible, but we need to follow those directions and go to the Bible. By the way, after using Michael Fracker’s lesson plans for twenty years, I have also helped write his lesson plans on occasion and even edit them. In the process I have also developed a somewhat similar set of lesson plans  following Michael Fracker’s vision of making Sabbath school time Bible study time. While some use my plans and many more use Michael Fracker’s teaching plans, I talk to several Sabbath School teachers who feel more comfortable making their own teaching plans. That is really best. The suggested plans are just to get you started. What is most important is making sure Sabbath School time is Bible study time.

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

by In Light Of The Cross

14: Ephesians in the Heart-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class on September 30, 2023.

Main Theme: Paul’s message is not just for the Ephesians but for believers all over the world.

Read in Class: Ephesians 1:4. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: If God chose us before the foundation of the world, what does that tell you about His foreknowledge?
Apply: How do you react to the thought that God not only knew you before you were born, but that He had chosen you to be saved and to live with Him throughout eternity?
Share: Your friend asks if Ephesians 1:4 teaches we are all predestined to be lost or saved with no choice of our own? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 3. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: Is it both exciting and important to be a part of God’s church? Why or why not?
Apply: What kinds of barriers between believers exist in our church that should not be there?
Share: Your friend asks how God has exceeded your expectations? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 4. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: What things does Paul tell believers to stop doing, and what things does he tell believers to do?
Apply: What are ways that we can contribute to the unity of our church, both at the local and worldwide levels? Why is it important to do what we can?
Share: Your friend asks how she can know what her spiritual gifts are? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 5. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: How does Paul ask us to live out the gospel in our relationship with others?
Apply: How can we walk in love as imitators of God in our lives? What hindrances do we face in that kind of walk?
Share: What is your main take away from the book of Ephesians?

by In Light Of The Cross

13: Waging Peace-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, September 23, 2023.

Main Theme: Peace comes from knowing Christ is fighting our battles with us and for us.

Read in Class:  Ephesians 6:14, I Peter 4:1, 5:8. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: How does Paul’s imagine believers preparing for the battle against evil?
Apply: In what ways have you experienced the idea that goodness, holiness, and truth can be a protection?
Share: Your friend says working for peace if futile in a world where we know there will aways be wars and rumors of wars. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class:  Ephesians 1:2, 2:14,15,17. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: Why does Paul use detailed military imagery when he is so interested in peace?
Apply: How does the following text help us understand what Paul’s military imagery should mean in our lives as believers? “God calls upon us to put on the armor. We do not want Saul’s armor, but the whole armor of God. Then we can go forth to the work with hearts full of Christ-like tenderness, compassion, and love.” — Ellen G. White, [Australasian] Union Conference Record, July 28, 1899.
Share: Your friend asks, what is the difference between the peace God gives and the peace the world gives? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class:  Ephesians 6:16,17. Define the main idea of this passage.
Study: When and how should believers as combatants use the shield, the helmet, and the sword?
Apply: Does the military images teach us just how literal the great controversy really is and how seriously we should take it?
Share: Your friend asks, “How does the shield of faith protect you from the fiery darts hurled in your direction by others?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class:  Philippians 4:6, Colossians 4:2, I Thessalonians 5:16-18..
Study: Review the calls to prayer. Which one inspires you the most? Why?
Apply: How can we conduct prayer ministry based on these messages?

Share: Is there something in this week’s lesson that a friend needs to hear? How can you plan to share it with them this week?


by In Light Of The Cross

12: A Call to Stand-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Photo by Maria Pop on Pexels.com

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, September 16, 2023.

Main Theme: In composing Ephesians 6:10-20, Paul prays for an enhanced vision for believers so that they will be able to see the full reality of the great controversy and to draw hope from what it reveals to them.

Read in Class: Ephesians 6:10-20. Define the key thought in this passage.

Study: What does Paul’s battle cry mean to us today, as combatants in the great controversy?

Apply: What should Paul’s warning that we fight not against flesh and blood but against supernatural enemies teach us about where our only hope of victory is?

Share: Your friend asks, how can we be praying always? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Romans 13:11-14. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How does this passage compare to Ephesians 6:10-20?

Apply: What are some of the ways that you personally have experienced the reality not only of this cosmic conflict, but of the victory we can claim for ourselves in Jesus? Why is understanding His victory for us so foundational to our hope and experience?

Share: Your friend tells you he is trying to stop smoking, but keeps a cigarette in the cabinet “just in case.” How might Romans 13:14 help you answer your friend?

Read in Class: 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: Out of all the armor mentioned in Ephesians 6:10-20, why do you think Paul chooses to repeat breastplate and helmet here? Are they more important than the other pieces of armor?

Apply: How do you apply verse 6 not to sleep as others do? Don’t we all need sleep?

Share: Your friend asks, ” how does putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation keep us sober?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: 2 Corinthians 10:3-6. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What does it mean that we walk in the flesh but do not war according to the flesh? How might Ephesians 6:12 help us answer this question?

Apply: What are some of the arguments in the great controversy, and how do you cast them down and make them obedient to Christ?

Share: Can you think of a friend who would be encouraged by something in this week’s lesson? What you can you do to plan to share it with them this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

10: Husbands and Wives Together at the Cross-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, September 2, 2023.

Main Theme: Husbands and wives should be faithful and loving each other just as Christ is loving and faithful towards the church.

Read in Class: Ephesians 5:21-29. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: As Paul, in Ephesians 5:25-27, 29, shapes his wedding-marriage metaphor for the church and its relationship with Christ, he draws creatively on the customs and roles of an ancient wedding. In relationship to the church as bride, Christ is the divine Bridegroom who:

  1. Loves the church as bride (Eph. 5:25). We must never forget that this is heart work for Jesus. He loves us!
  2. Gives Himself as the bride price. In the context of ancient wedding arrangements, the bridegroom would “purchase” the bride with the “bride price,” which was usually a large sum of money and valuables, so large that ancient village economies depended upon the custom. Christ pays the ultimate price for the church as His bride since He “gave Himself for her” (Eph. 5:25, NKJV). In the Incarnation and at the cross, He gives Himself as the bride price.
  3. Bathes His bride. The preparation of the bride was an important part of the ancient wedding festivities. As is also true today, it was the bridesmaids and female relatives of the bride who prepared her for the ceremony. Paul, though, imagines the divine Bridegroom preparing His bride for the wedding! It is He who sanctifies and cleanses her “by the washing of water” (Eph. 5:26, ESV), a probable reference to baptism.
  4. Speaks the word of promise. This cleansing is performed “with the word” (Eph. 5:26, ESV), pointing to the word of promise that the divine Bridegroom speaks to His bride, perhaps in the context of the betrothal ceremony (compare Eph. 1:3-14, Eph. 2:1-10, noting God’s promises to believers at the time of their conversion). Betrothal was the ancient version of modern engagement, but was a much more serious set of negotiations, which included a written agreement about the bride price (from the husband) and the dowry (assets the bride would bring to the marriage from her family).
  5. Prepares and adorns the bride. When the bride is finally presented to her Groom, she is fabulously beautiful, appearing in flawless splendor (Eph. 5:27). Christ not only bathes the bride; He prepares and adorns her as well.

Apply: How do these verses help us understand the way Christ feels about us? Why should we find this so comforting?

Share: Your friend says that she is enduring her husband’s abusive behavior in hopes that her submission and example will finally lead him to Christ. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: 2 Corinthians 11:1-4. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How does Paul use elements of the ancient wedding in appealing to Christians in Corinth? When does the presentation occur?

Apply: How does this imagery show you how much Christ cares for you?

Share: Your friend says the Bible is not inspired because it teaches the authority of the husband, which not how our society operates now. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 5:28-30. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: What new argument does Paul use to encourage husbands to practice tender love toward their wives?

Apply: Paul cites the example of Jesus to both wives and husbands. What can you learn from Jesus about loving those in your own family circle?

Share: Your friend asks how the Godhead can be one but still have three members? How does the imagery of a husband and wife being one help you answer the question?

Read in Class: Genesis 2:15-25. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What happens in the story before the statement concerning a husband and wife being “one flesh” (Gen. 2:24)?

Apply: In what ways does Ephesians 5:33 serve as a concise summary of Paul’s counsel in Ephesians 5:21-32? If married, how can you seek to more fully implement these principles in your marriage?

Share: Can you think of a married couple who’s relationship expresses the love of God? Can you reach out to them and commend them for their Christian example?

by In Light Of The Cross

9: Living Wisely-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School, August 26, 2023.

Main Theme: What the world considers wise God considers foolish, and what the world considers foolish God considers wise.

Read in Class: Ephesians 5:1-10. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: In what sense does Paul intend believers to be “imitators of God”?

Apply: In what ways are Paul’s words about sexual behavior applicable to your culture, wherever you live?

Share: Your friend says that the Bible teachings about premarital sex only applies to teenagers. He is a grown up so sex outside of marriage is okay. Plus his sex life is not the church’s business. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 5:11-14. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What powerful warning is Paul giving here, and how does this apply to our present situation?

Apply: How do you live the kind of lifestyle that can expose works of darkness for what they are?

Share: Your friend asks, “What does it mean to rise from the dead? How can dead people raise themselves back up?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 5:15-17. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: Consider Paul’s exhortations to live in a way that reflects prayerful, discerning wisdom. What is the difference between walking not as fools but “wise”?

Apply: How are we as a church and individuals “redeeming the time?” What does “redeeming the time” even mean to us?

Share: Your friend asks you how she is supposed to understand what God’s will is. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 5:18-20. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: In Ephesians 5:18-20, Paul imagines Christians gathered to worship. What does he depict them as doing in that worship?

Apply: How can you use music to enhance your own worship experience?

Share: Share with the class some things that you are thankful for right now.