Category / Sabbath School Teaching Plans

by In Light Of The Cross

13: Ablaze With God’s Glory-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Photo by icon0.com on Pexels.com

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, June 24, 2023.

Main Theme: The three angel’s message in Revelation 14:6-12 leads God’s people out of the dark ages into the light of the Gospel.

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

Study:  What admonition does the apostle Paul give us regarding the last days of human history?

Apply: Paul says not “to sleep” as others do. What does that mean, and how can we know if we are, indeed, sleeping and, if we are, what will it take to wake us?

Share: Your friend asks you where you see things in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 being fulfilled? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 18:1-4. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: What three things does John tell us about this angel? (See also Hab. 2:14).

Apply: Ultimately, how do the issues in the last days (as they really do every day) come down to authority? Whose authority do we follow: God’s, our own, the beast power’s, or someone else’s? Whose authority are you following now?

Share: Your friend asks, if God’s people are being called out of the churches they are in where are they supposed to go? Does the Bible tell us? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 4:11, 5:12 and 19:1. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What words are associated with the glory of God that fills the earth as described in Revelation 18:1?

Apply: How does God’s church bring glory to God? What are some practical ways we give light to this dark world?

Share: Your friend complains that it seems like his Adventist father-in-law is always bashing other churches. Your friend asks if its really necessary to bash other churches in order to share truth? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 13:1-4 and Revelation 14:1-12. Discuss the contrasts in these two passages.

Study: How do we make sure we are following the Lamb instead of the beast? Where all does the Lamb go and where do we go when we follow the Lamb?

Apply: Where has the world seen you following the Lamb recently?

Share: Take a moment and share some new ideas your have gleaned from this quarter’s lesson.

by In Light Of The Cross

12: The Seal of God and the Mark of the Beast Part 2-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, June 17,2023.

Main Theme: We all have to make a choice for or against God.

Read in Class: Revelation 13:5, Revelation 12:6,14 and Daniel 7:25. Define the common threads of this passage.

Study: How long was this power to rule through previous centuries?
(Note: 42 months; a time, times, and half a time; and 1,260 days is the same 1,260 years from 538AD with Justinian’s Code to 1798AD with Berthier marching into Rome and putting the pope in prison.)

Apply: Think about how amazing biblical prophecy is and how it reveals to us God’s knowledge of future events. What should this fact teach us about why we can trust the Lord’s promises, even the ones we don’t yet see fulfilled?

Share: Your friend says the 1260 days are still in the future and do not have anything to do with the papacy. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, 9-12. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What does Paul predict about the last days? What identifying marks does he give for the beast, the antichrist power?

Apply: “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 7:12, NKJV). How must we apply this principle in dealing with the theme of the beast powers in Revelation 13 and 14?

Share: Your friend says, “1 John 2:18 says there are many antichrists. If there are many antichrists who are they? Hint: Could you be an Antichrist?

Read in Class: Revelation 17:12-14. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How does John describe these final scenes of earth’s history? What powerful contrast is seen here?

Apply: How do make sure we are not unwittingly at war with the Lamb?

Share: Your friend asks, “Why does the Lamb have to conquer all the other powers? Why can’t we just all peacefully coexist? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 14:9-12. Define the main idead of this passage.

Study: Where is the mark of the beast placed? (See Deut. 6:8, Deut. 11:18). What two characteristics contrast God’s people from those who receive the mark of the beast?

Apply: In what ways has humanity always been divided along the lines of being on either God’s side or on Satan’s? Why can there be no middle ground? How can we know, for sure, just whose side we really are on?

Share: You friend says that she heard someone say that the third angel’s message in Revelation 14:9-12 is all about righteousness by faith. How so? What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

11: The Seal of God and the Mark of the Beast Part one-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, Sabbath, June 10, 2023.

Main Theme: God’s people will be loyal to Jesus because they love Him because He first loved them.

Read in Class: Revelation 14:12. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What two characteristics do we discover in this passage about God’s last-day people? Why are both important?

Apply: How faithful are you in the little things? What might that tell you about how you will be when the real trial comes? (See Luke 16:10).

Share: Your friend tells you the church focuses too much on commandment keeping instead of faith. How would Revelation 14:12 help you answer your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 13:1-3 and Revelation 14:4. Define the common thread of these passages

Study: Where does the beast come from, and who gives the beast his authority? What contrast do you see in these verses?

Apply: “And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved“ (Matt. 10:22, NKJV). How ready are you to endure to the end?

Share: Your friend asks you what the Biblical meaning of “blasphemy” is? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 13:4-5 and Revelation 13:13-17. Define the main idea of these passages.

Study: What identifying marks of the beast power do we discover in these verses? What will God’s end-time people face in the final crisis?

Apply: Read Galatians 6:7-9. Though this is not written in the context of last-day events, why is the principle there so relevant to issues over the mark of the beast, and how we can stand faithful?

Share: Your friend asks if the mark on the hand or forehead is literal or symbolic? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Matthew 27:45-50. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What does this teach us about what Christ had experienced on the cross? What did Jesus mean by asking God why He had forsaken Him, and how does this scene help us understand what it means to have “the faith of Jesus”?

Apply and share: Your friend asks how you have shown the faith of Jesus in your own life? How has the faith of Jesus helped you get by even in the worst of times? What do you tell your friend? See When the Faithfulness of Jesus carried me Through.

by In Light Of The Cross

10: Satan’s Final Deceptions-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School Class, June 3, 2023.

Maine Theme: The Scriptures keep us safe from Satan’s final deceptions.

Read in Class: Ecclesiastes 9:5, Job 19:25-27, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, Revelation 14:13. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What clear instruction did God give His people about life after death, and where do we find our hope?

Apply: What examples of modern spiritualism exist in your culture today? Why is firm adherence to the Word of God our only protection?

Share: Your friend tells you he believes when you die you go straight to heaven, because years ago when he was on the operating table he temporarily died and saw a bright light which he believes was heaven. It was very real and he personally experienced it. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ezekiel 8:16 and 2 Kings 23:5, 11. Define the main idea of these passages.

Study: What did the prophets write about the influence of sun worship in Israel and Judah? (See also Rom. 1:25).

Apply: Look around at how prevalent Sunday worship is in Christian churches. What should this fact teach us about how pervasive Satan’s deceptions are? Again, as with the state of the dead, what is our only safeguard?

Share: Your friend says his pastor says we don’t have to worry about keeping the Sabbath because in the New Testament we have grace. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ezekiel 20:1-20. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What is the gist of Ezekiel’s message here, and how does the Sabbath fit in with this call to faithfulness?

Apply: What lessons can we take away for ourselves from what has been written in Ezekiel 20:1-20? (See also 1 Cor. 10:11).

Share: Your friend says that Sunday worship and the immortality of the soul could not possibly be wrong since so many Christians around the world adhere to these doctrines. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 18:4-5. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What is God’s appeal to multitudes still in fallen religious organizations?

Apply: See Matthew 15:3, 8-9. How do we keep ourselves safe from false theology and practices?

Share: Can you think of someone who would be encouraged by something in this week’s study? How can you plan to share it with them this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

9: A City Called Confusion-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, May 27, 2023.

Main Theme: While the first angel’s message tells us to worship God, the second angel warns us against a false system of worship.

Read in Class: Revelation 14:8 and Revelation 17:1-2. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What solemn announcement does the angel make, and what did Babylon do to warrant such an announcement?

Apply: Both leaders and the common people alike have been negatively influenced by this power. What’s our only protection? (Read Eph. 6:10-18).

Share: Your friend points out that Isaiah 21:9 mentions that Babylon has fallen, and asks what are the parallels of ancient and modern spiritual Babylon? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 18:1-4. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study:  How extensive is Babylon’s influence?

Apply: What role do those who proclaim the three angels’ messages have in being used by God to call “my people,” His people, out of Babylon?

Share: You friend asks, when people come out of Babylon where do they go? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 17:4-6, 14 and Matthew 16:18. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these verses teach us about the nature of this evil system?

Apply: How can we protect ourselves from the subtle influences of Babylon, such as the tendency, easy as it is, to depend upon ourselves and not wholly upon God?

Share: Your friend asks, If God is calling His people out of Babylon who do we warn them about the system of Babylon without condemning God’s people who are still in Babylon? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 12:17, Revelation 18:1-4 and John 10:16. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: When God’s people come out of Babylon, what is the remnant or fold that they come into?

Apply: How are you making sure your church is a safe place for God to bring His flock into? In what ways is your church more safe than Babylon?

Share: Is God leading you to give a friend or family member a call out of Babylon? Can you give that invitation this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

8: The Sabbath at the end-Sabbath School lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class on May 20, 2023.

Main Theme: The Sabbath is an everlasting sign that God is our Creator and Redeemer.

Read in Class: Revelation 14:7, Romans 14:10 and James 2:8-13. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What does judgment imply about issues such as accountability and responsibility? How are the judgment, the commandments of God, and worship linked?

Apply: How does our understanding of Creation influence our behavior? What relationship does heredity and environment have to the choices we make daily? How can we, by God’s grace, overcome character defects that we didn’t choose to have in the first place?

Share: Your friend says that all religions are made up by man as a way to manipulate and control others. The Bible is not real. Religious leaders just made it all up as a way to use guilt and some make believe heaven as a way to manipulate and control people. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Genesis 2:1-3, Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: Why would you connect Sabbath worship with this call in Revelation 14:6,7 to worship Him who made the heavens, earth, and everything in them? Also how is the Sabbath linked to both creation and redemption? See Twice Mine.

Apply: How is the Sabbath commandment hinted at in Revelation 14:6, 7, and why is it important to our end-time message? (See Exod. 20:8-11).

Share: Your friend asks why Seventh-day Adventists make such a big deal about the Sabbath? And what’s the big deal if we keep Saturday or Sunday? What do you tell your friend? See Why Does it Matter Which Day we Keep.

Read in Class: Psalm 33:6,9 and Hebrews 11:3. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these clear Bible passages tell us about how God created the world?

Apply:  What significance would the Sabbath have if God did not create the world in six twenty-four hour periods of time? Can one be an evolutionary Creationist and a Seventh-day Adventist? 

Share: Your friend asks if the world was created in six literal days or if it could have been a thousand years for each day? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Isaiah 65:17, Isaiah 66:22, 2 Peter 3:13 and Revelation 21:1. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: How does keeping the Sabbath point us forward to eternity?

Apply: How can you personally make the Sabbath a foretaste of heaven in your own life and your family?

Share: Can you think of someone you know who you could invite to church next week and spend the entire Sabbath with so you can share the joy of Sabbath keeping?

by In Light Of The Cross

7: Worshiping the Creator-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels.com

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, May 13, 2023.

Main Theme: Our natures are created for worship. We all worship something. The only question is what do we worship? Only God deserves our worship.

Read in Class: Revelation 1:9, Matthew 13:21 and Acts 14:22. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What’s the message here for all who seek to follow Jesus in this world?

Apply: Have you ever been persecuted or inconvenienced because of your beliefs? If faithful servants of God, like John, face suffering and tribulation, what makes us think we, ourselves, won’t face trouble either? (See 1 Pet. 4:12-15).

Share: Your friend says, the reason the church does not see more persecution is because the church fits right in with the rest of the world. Is your friend right? Why, or why not?

Read in Class: 2 Corinthians 5:17, Acts 17:27, and Colossians 1:17. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these verses teach us about the closeness of God?

Apply: How can we learn to draw hope and comfort from understanding the immanence of God? Or does it scare you, because God knows your darkest secrets? How should the gospel give you peace in that context?

Share: Your friend asks you how you know God is real? Have you seen Him actually work in your won life where you knew without a doubt it was God? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 3:9, Romans 5:17-19, Colossians 1:13-17 and Revelation 4:11. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these texts teach about Jesus as Creator and Redeemer?

Apply: Why is Jesus worthy of your worship? Why is no one else worthy of your worship?

Share: Your friend says God must be on some ego trip to want everyone to worship Him all the time? What do you tell your friend? See also, Why worshiping God Must be a Choice and not an Addiction.

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

Study: What does worship have to do with the everlasting Gospel? What reason does the angel give for worshipping God and what commandment do these words remind us of? How is that commandment linked with the everlasting Gospel?

Apply: Earlier we talked about being persecuted for our beliefs, but is it always just beliefs we are persecuted for? How do your actions and acts of worship set you apart from the rest of the world?

Share: How can you share the everlasting Gospel with your actions as well as words this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

6: The Hour of His Judgment- Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Photo by Mike on Pexels.com

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, May 6, 2023.

Main Theme: The cleansing of the Sanctuary justifies God’s people as well as His character of love.

Read in Class: Daniel 8:14, and Daniel 9:24-27. Discuss the link between these two passages.

Note: Gabriel tells Daniel that 490 years are “cut off” (the literal meaning of the Hebrew word chathak, sometimes translated “determined”). Cut off from what? It could be the only other time prophecy alluded to here: the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14. These 490 years, a time prophecy, is directly linked back to the time prophecy of Daniel 8:14, the only part of the vision left unexplained in Daniel 8 and the only time prophecy in Daniel 8, as well. Thus, we can see that Gabriel with this prophecy is coming to help Daniel understand what he didn’t understand in the previous chapter: the 2,300 days.

Study: What was to happen at the end of the 2300 days?

Apply: Why is it significant that the death of Jesus, as revealed in Daniel 9:24-27, is directly linked to the judgment, in Daniel 8:14? What great truth is taught here by this link?

Share: Your friend says there is no reason for an investigative judgment because God already knows everything. What do you tell your friend? See also The Cleansing of the Sanctuary in Scripture.

Read in Class: Leviticus 16:7-9, 15-22. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What did the priest do with the blood? What did he do with the sins? Who does the scapegoat represent? See The Sanctuary and the Scapegoat.

Apply: How does this segment of the cleansing of the sanctuary and Jesus dying on the cross help you to see that God is love and not the evil tyrant Satan wants us to believe He is? See Was the Atonement to Appease an Angry God or an Angry Race.

Share: Your friend says that the scapegoat cannot be Satan because Satan does not make an atonement. What do you tell your friend. See The Sanctuary and the Scapegoat.

Read in Class: Leviticus 23:27-30. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What are God’s people to be doing during this time? What happens to those who do not repent and turn from open sin?

Apply: How might Galatians 5:19-26 help us to understand what it means for us to “do not work” during the literal atonement we are in today?

Share: Your friend asks, how does God’s people being purified help others to see God as a God of love? What do you tell your friend? Hint: An ancient philosopher once told a group of Christians, “If you want me to believe in your Redeemer, you are going to have to start looking a lot more Redeemed.”

Read in Class: Hebrews 4:14-16. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What assurance does this passage give us in the investigative judgment and cleansing of the sanctuary?

Apply: How has God’s grace and mercy changed your behavior and attitude towards others?

Share: How can you help your friends see the love of God in the cleansing of the sanctuary and investigative judgment?

For further resources see The Cleansing of the Sanctuary in Light of the Cross.

by In Light Of The Cross

5: The Good News of the Judgment-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels.com

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

Main Theme: God is the Judge whom we must all answer to.

Read in Class: Revelation 20:12. Discuss the main idea of this text.

Study: What does the everlasting gospel have to do with God’s judgment?

Apply: What is the meaning and purpose of the judgment? 

Share: Your friend says that the wicked will be judged, but the righteous will not need to be judged. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14, 26-27. Discuss the main idea of these passages.

Study: What did Daniel see? What is the result of the final judgment?

Apply: Why is the judgment good news and not bad news? 

Share: Your friend asks why we are judged by our works if we are saved by grace? What do you tell your friend? Hint: See Saved by Faith, Rewarded for Being Faithful.

Read in Class: Revelation 5:8-12. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: How does God’s judgment reveal the character of God?

Apply: How does the knowledge that the hour of God’s judgment has come affect our daily lives? How can we make sure it does? 

Share: Your friend says that God’s character is being judged in the judgment. Is your friend right? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 4:2-4. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: Who are the 24 elders seated before the throne and what do the crowns on their heads represent?

Apply: If someone asked you if you thought you would be present for your case in the heavenly court, how would you respond to them?

Share: Can you think of someone who you can share the good news about the judgment with this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

4: Fear God and Give Glory to Him-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, April 22, 2023.

Main Theme: To fear God means to be in awe of His love and power. This fear causes us to reverence Him in our hearts and in the way we live our lives.

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

Study: What specific instruction does he give us?

Apply: What has been your own experience of fearing God? How would you explain to someone, in a positive way, why “the fear of God” is something good?

Share: Your friend quotes Ecclesiastes 8:11, and says that people today have no reason to fear God, because sinners never get their just due anymore. They get away with everything! What do you tell your friend? See Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.

Read in Class: Deuteronomy 6:2, Psalm 119:73-74, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What is the result of fearing God?

Apply: How do Jesus’ words here “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt. 10:28, NKJV) help us understand what it means to fear God?

Share: Your friend states, that Revelation 21:7-8 says the fearful will be thrown into the lake of fire. Why is God throwing the fearful into the lake of fire if we are supposed to fear God? How would you answer your friend, and how would what we read in Matthew 10:28 help?

Read in Class: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 and Romans 12:1-2. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: How do these passages help us understand one way that we can glorify God?  What appeal does the apostle Paul make regarding the totality of our life choices?

Apply: Think about what you do with your body. What can you do to make sure that you are, indeed, glorifying God with it?

Share: Your friend asks, what is the difference between glorifying God with our bodies because we fear Him, and glorifying God because we are afraid of Him? For a hint: Read Exodus 20:20 in the NKJV and then Read Exodus 20:20 in the ERV.

Read in Class: Hebrews 4:14-16 and Hebrews 7:25. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What is the means of overcoming and living lives that “fear God” and “give Him glory?”

Apply: Are there things in your life you desire to overcome? How can we translate our desires into action? What practical steps can we take to be one of Revelation’s “overcomers”?

Share: How do we teach children to fear us without being afraid of us? How can we show others how to fear God without being afraid of Him?