Category / Sabbath School Teaching Plans

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

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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.

by In Light Of The Cross

7: The Unified Body of Christ-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, August 12, 2023.

Main Theme: While are all different members, together we all contribute different talents and gifts in forming one church.

Read Together: Ephesians 4:1-16. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: How does Paul encourage believers to nurture the unity of the church?

Apply: Humility, gentleness, patience. Think about how these attributes would help unify us as a people. How do we learn to cultivate these virtues?

Share: Your friend asks you, if there is only one church does that mean the Adventist church is the only church there is, or does it mean that all the different denominations all make up one Christian church? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 4:11-13. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: Drawing on Psalm 68:18, Paul has just described the risen, exalted, conquering Jesus as giving gifts to His people from on high. What “gifts” does the exalted Jesus give, and for what purpose?

Apply: What gifts do you recognize that God has given you for building up His church? What gifts do you recognize in others, and how do you appreciate their contributions to the church?

Share: Your friend says he does not believe in the gift of prophecy because all we need is in the Bible. We don’t need modern day prophets or even Ellen White. How might Ephesians 4:11-13 help you answer your friend? See also The Gift of Prophecy in Light of the Cross.

Read in Class: Ephesians 4:14. Define the main theme of this passage.

Study: What danger threatens the Christlike maturity of the church?

Apply: In what ways might you feel like you are still a child? In what ways do you feel like you have matured as a Christian?

Share: Your friend says that Jesus tells us we must enter the kingdom of heaven as a child. So why is Paul telling us not to be children anymore? What do you tell your friend? See also Grace Helps us Grow up.

Read in Class: Ephesians 4:15-16. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: In what ways does a healthy church function like a healthy body?

Apply:  How can we get every member to use their gifts and talents to increase the body and make it healthier?

Share: Can you think of someone who has been working hard helping out at the church lately? Can you speak a word of appreciation and encouragement to them or even send them a nice card this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

6: The Mystery of the Gospel-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, August 5, 2023.

Main Theme: As we study the Bible more deeply, we receive even greater revelations of God’s love.

Read in Class: Ephesians 3:1-6. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: What is the mystery that has been entrusted to Paul?

Apply: How can we learn to trust God and His ways amid what can be trying circumstances? 

Share: Your friend tells you ever since her divorce, everyone at church tells her they still love her and are friendly to her at church, but her church friends no longer include her in activities and socials. Her church claims to be inclusive but is obviously leaving her out now. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 3:7-13. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What does Paul say about God and the actions of God in Ephesians 3:7-13?

Apply: If your own congregation took seriously Paul’s “job description” of the church in Ephesians 3:10, how might it change the way you and your fellow church members relate to each other?

Share: Your friend asks why Paul says he is the worst sinner? Are we all supposed to feel that way? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 1:16-19 and Ephesians 3:14-19. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: Compare Paul’s earlier prayer request, Ephesians 1:16-19, with his plea for believers in Ephesians 3:14-19. In what ways are the two requests similar?

Apply: What person or event has helped you the most to understand the depths of God’s love?

Share: Your friend says he has trouble trying to trust church members like they are family. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 3:20-21. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What does Paul praise God for in this passage?

Apply: What blessings from God are especially valuable to you?

Share: Your friend says its beautiful reading about how God reconciles us to Himself, but she has fallen too far away from God to have her relationship with God reconciled and restored. What do you tell your friend? See also, Ephesians 3: A Shattered Relationship Perfectly Restored.

by In Light Of The Cross

5: Horizontal Atonement: The Cross and the Church-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, July 29, 2023.

Main Theme: The cross tears down the walls the separate humanity.

Read in Class: Ephesians 2:11-12. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What does Paul accent in his fresh description of the past?

Apply: From what condition has Jesus redeemed you? Why might it be important for you to recall, with some regularity, where you were when He found you and where you might now be had He not found you?

Share: Your friend complains that she is constantly seeing ads on TV and hearing even seemingly innocent songs on the radio that are always reminding her of her past life of sin. God has turned her life around but she just wishes she could get rid of the constant reminders of her past life. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 2:14-16. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How does the cross transform our relationships?

Apply: Is there someone you need to be reconciled with? How might you go about that? See also The 7 A’s of Reconciliation.

Share: Your friend complains that there is racism and sexism in the church just as much as in the world. How do you respond to your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 2:17-18. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: How does Paul summarize the ministry of Christ in Ephesians 2:17, 18?

Apply: How can we learn to be preachers of peace as opposed to conduits of conflict? To what situations, right now, can you help bring healing?

Share: Your friend asks how the church can help blend in with the culture around it without compromising Bible teachings? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 2:11-22. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What culminating set of images does Paul use in Ephesians 2:11-22 to signal unity between Jews and Gentiles in the church?

Apply: What “walls” or divisions in the church do you see now, that you would like to see broken down?

Share: Can you think so someone who may feel alienated from the church? How can reach out to them this week and make them feel included?