Tag / Teacher aids for Sabbath School

by In Light Of The Cross

8: Giants of Faith: Joshua and Caleb-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School Class on November 22, 2025.

Central Theme: This lesson takes a deeper look into the personal examples of two giants of faith in the book of Joshua: Caleb and Joshua. What is it that made them stand out in their generation and play a key role in the life of God’s people during one of the most crucial periods of Israel’s history?

Read in Class: Numbers 13:30-32 and Joshua 14:14. Ask the class to identify the main idea of these passages.

Study: What do these passages tell us about Caleb?

Apply: Read Numbers 14:6-10, 21-25. What do you learn from Caleb about standing for what is right even when threatened with death?

Share: Your friend on the church board tells you he always votes with the majority because he wants to be easy to get along with and not ruffle any feathers. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Joshua 15:16-19, Judges 1:13, and Judges 3:7-11.

Study: What does this story tell you about the power of example? How is Caleb’s attitude being reproduced in the younger generation?

Apply: Passing on the torch of faith to the next generation is crucial to the fulfillment of the mission God has entrusted to us. Think about the challenges of passing on faith to the next generation, on the one hand, and about the opportunities for young people to assume more responsibility in the work of God, on the other. What can we do to facilitate and train youth to assume godly leadership? How crucial is our example in this process?

Share: Your friend asks you who some of the people are who have influenced you the most in life, and how their influence helped you. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Joshua 19:49-51. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.

Study: What are the implications of the fact that the great leader of Israel, who apportioned the land, received his inheritance last?

Apply: What lessons can you draw for yourself regarding Joshua’s attitude? How might you apply it to yourself now?

Share: Your friend asks, What examples of great faith and leadership have you seen in your church community. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Read in Class: Hebrews 12:1-2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18.

Study: How does focusing on Jesus’ life and the faith of others around us change us?

Apply: Read Romans 12:1-2. How can we make sure we are not being influenced by the world?

Share: Can you think of someone who said or did something that later influenced you to make the right choice? Can you reach out to that person and affirm them this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

7:The Bread and Water of Life-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School Class, 16 August 2025.

Main Theme: Along the journey to Canaan, God had to teach Israel over and over to trust and obey.

Read in Class: Exodus 15:22-27. Ask the class to identify the main idea in this passage.

Study: After crossing the Red Sea, what was the background to the first miracle performed?

Apply: What trials and struggles have you brought upon yourself? What comfort can you get in knowing that God will still work on your behalf if you cooperate with Him?

Share: Your friend asks, what was the significance of the branch that made the water sweet? What do you tell your friend? Hint: See A Tree Makes a Bitter Life Sweet Again.

Read in Class: Exodus 16:1-15, 26, 35. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: What was the cause of the Israelites’ grumbling, and what followed?

Apply: People like to eat. We were created to like to eat. The rich abundance of food, growing out of the ground (our original diet), reveals not only that God wants us to eat, but that we are to like what we eat, too. How, though, can this wonderful gift, that of food (and our liking to eat it), be abused?

Share: Your friend says that her pastor told her the sabbath was never observed by God’s people until the law was given on Mt. Sinai. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Exodus 18:13-18, 21. 25-26. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: What major steps in the history of the nation took place here?

Apply: Moses could have just brushed off the old man and told him to mind his own business. He didn’t. What important lessons can we learn from his willingness to listen to this person who wasn’t even a Hebrew?

Share: Your friend, who is the head elder of his church, says he would like to delegate more of his responsibilities to others, but is afraid others may not do as good a job as he does, or may do things totally different from what he is used to. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: 1 Corinthians 10:11, John 6:31-35, 51. Ask the class to share the main idea of this passage.

Study: What reason does Paul give for these events to have been recorded? What truths are revealed here for us as Christians?

Apply: What symbols in the story of Moses point us to Christ? How do these symbols help us in our relationship with Christ?

Share: Your friend asks you how the story of Moses helps us share the plan of salvation. What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

5: Passover-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School Class, August 2, 2025.

Main Theme: The Passover not only led to Israel’s freedom from Egyptian bondage but was also a shadow of our freedom from the bondage of sin.

Read in Class: Exodus 11:1-10. Ask the class to summarize this passage.

Study: What warning did God give before executing judgment upon Egypt?

Apply: If we can’t get the perfect balance (which we can’t), why is it better to err on the side of mercy instead of justice? Or is it?

Share: Your friend says that Romans 2:4 tells us it is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. So where in all of these plagues did Pharaoh see God’s goodness, so he could be led to repentance? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Exodus 12:1-23. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: What specific instructions does God give to Moses and Aaron before Israel leaves Egypt? What was the Lord going to do for them when the final plague came? What does all this symbolize?

Apply: What role does blood play in the celebration of this new festival? What does the fact that it took the blood of Jesus, God Himself, to atone for sin teach us about how bad sin really is?

Share: Your friend asks, why God wanted to lamb to be in the home 4 days before killing it? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Exodus 12:24-28. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: What important point was being made here?

Apply: In what ways did retelling the story of the Passover benefit the speaker as well as the hearer? How does it help us to share sacred stories with others?

Share: What amazing sacred stories or experiences do you or your family enjoy sharing over and over again?

Read in Class: Exodus 12:29-30. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: Why did God focus on the firstborn? (See also Heb. 11:28.)

Apply: In what ways have you suffered from others’ sins? Or what are ways others have suffered from your sins? What is our only hope?

Share: You friend asks, where do we see the good news of the Gospel in all these plagues, especially the last one? What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

1: Oppression: The Background and the Birth of Moses-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, Sabbath, July 5, 2025.

Main Theme: In the midst of the turmoil and darkness, if our eyes are fixed on God, we can recognize His presence, care, and help as He guides us to the eternal “Promised Land.”

Read in Class: Exodus 1:1-11. Ask the class to summarize this passage.

Study: What crucial truth is found here? What was the situation of the Israelites at the time of the Exodus?

Apply: A new king arose who knew not Joseph. What does this account tell us about how we should never take circumstances, especially good ones, for granted?

Share: Your friend asks you why the Egyptians thought the Hebrews would rise up and be their enemies instead of their allies. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Exodus 1:9-21. Ask the class to summarize this passage.

Study: What key role did the faithful midwives play, and why are they remembered in history?

Apply: The midwives not only knew what the right action was to take, they took it. What’s the obvious message here for us?

Share: Your friend says that the midwives were not exactly being honest with Pharaoh about why they were not destroying the baby boys. How could God bless them while they were not being totally honest? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Exodus 2:1-10. Ask the class to summarize this passage.

Study: What role did God’s providence and protection play in Moses’ birth story?

Apply: How much are you learning that is ultimately useless for what really matters?

Share: Your friend asks, Why did God allow Moses to become the princess’s child? Did that help prepare him to lead Israel, or was it just a detour and distraction? What do you tell your friend? Hint: See Acts 7:22.

Read in Class: Exodus 2:11-25. Ask the class to summarize this passage.

Study: What events quickly transpired to change the entire direction of Moses’ life? What lessons can we learn from this story?

Apply: Was it God’s plan that Moses kill the Egyptian? If not, what does this story teach us about how God can overrule in any situation and use it for His own purposes? How does Romans 8:28 help us understand this important truth?

Share: Your friend asks how God was able to use Moses’ hotheaded act of killing the Egyptian. Suppose he hadn’t done it? Would that have meant the Hebrews would not have eventually escaped from Egypt? What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by In Light Of The Cross

3: Images From Marriage-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School Class, April 19, 2025.

Main Theme: This week, we will explore different ways the Word of God talks about marriages, good and bad. We can then draw lessons from these examples to better understand how God relates to His people, even when they fall short. We can also learn some truths about His love that can help us better grasp last-day events.

Read in Class: Genesis 2:23-25 and Ephesians 5:29-32. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: In what ways does a human marriage mirror Christ’s bond to humanity?

Apply: Read Matthew 19:7-9. Seeing how sacred the marriage bond is, what does this tell you about how sacred our relationship with Christ should be?

Share: Can you share how your spouse helps you better understand God’s love? Can you share ways you have seen the love of God in other people’s families?

Read in Class: Hosea 1:2, Hosea 3:1, Revelation 17:1-12, and Revelation 18:1-4. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: What is the harlotry mentioned here? What lessons can the Christian church learn from the story of Hosea? In what ways has the church repeated the sins of the Old Testament?

Apply: What are the ways today that any church, even our own, can be dallying with spiritual fornication?

Share: Your friend asks, if Hosea was supposed to forgive his wife’s unfaithfulness, should I have to forgive my wife if she cheats on me? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Genesis 24:-14, 57-67. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: Why would it be so important to Abraham that his son not marry “ ‘from the daughters of the Canaanites’ ” (Gen. 24:3, NKJV)? What lessons can we glean about Christ and His church from some details we find in this story? What is there to learn, for instance, about our fallen state from the fact that Rebekah was a distant, separated relative to Isaac?

Apply: Yes, God loves us, His bride, more than we love Him. What are the choices we can make, and should make, every day that can strengthen our love for God? At the same time, what choices will only deaden our love?

Share: Your friend says he is marrying a woman outside of the church, because there is no one he is attracted to in the church. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 19:1-9 and Revelation 21:1-4. Ask the class to share the main idea of these passages.

Study: Two things are celebrated simultaneously: the end of the harlot and the marriage of Christ with His bride. How is it possible that both events are actually demonstrations of God’s righteous and loving character at the same time? What does the marriage imagery here mean, and why is it full of hope and promise? What is our assurance of the hope presented in these verses?

Apply: Read 1 Peter 1:18-19. What are we told in these verses that gives us the assurance of the end depicted in Revelation 21:1-4?

Share: Ellen White writes, “Marriage, a union for life, is a symbol of the union between Christ and His church. The spirit that Christ manifests toward the church is the spirit that husband and wife are to manifest toward each other.”— Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, p. 46. Even if you are single, how can you affirm, encourage, and strengthen your married friends this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

4: God is Passionate and Compassionate-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class January 25, 2025.

Main Theme: there are beautiful truths to be garnered from the realization that God’s love for us is a deeply emotional love, but always with the caveat that though God’s love (emotional or otherwise) is perfect, it should not be thought of as identical to emotions as humans experience them.

Read in Class: Psalm 103:13, Isaiah 49:15, and Jeremiah 31:20. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: What do these depictions convey about the nature and depth of God’s compassion?

Apply: How have you demonstrated God’s love to a son or daughter or other family member, and how has someone in your family demonstrated God’s love to you?

Share: Your friend says that her parents were not loving. How might you be able to help your friend see the compassion of God, even though her parents were unloving?

Read in Class: Hosea 11:1-9. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: How does the imagery in these verses bring to life the way God loves and cares for His people?

Apply: Anyone who has ever been a parent knows what the lesson is talking about. No other earthly love begins to compare. How does this help us understand the reality of God’s love for us, and what comfort can, and should, we draw from this understanding?

Share: Your friend says its hard to know when to “shake the dust off our feet” (See Matthew 10:14) when you are compassionately and passionately working with a stubborn and wayward soul. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Matthew 9:36, Matthew 23:37 and Mark 1:41. Have the class identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: How do these verses shed light on the way Christ was moved by the plight of people?

Apply: There is no greater example of God’s great compassionate love for us than Jesus Himself—who gave Himself for us in the ultimate demonstration of love. Yet, Christ is not only the perfect image of God. He is also the perfect model of humanity. How can we model our lives after the life of Christ, focusing on the felt needs of others, and, thus, not merely preaching God’s love but showing it in tangible ways?

Share: Your friend says he has been paying the electric bill for his son’s family because his son keeps wasting his money on other things. Your friend wants to be compassionate towards his grandchildren who he does not want to freeze to death, but does not want to keep enabling the son to waste money. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study:  In what ways does this passage call us to reflect God’s compassionate and amazing love in our relationships with others?

Apply: Why is a death to self and to the selfishness and corruption of our natural hearts the only way to reveal this kind of love? What are the choices that we can make in order to be able to die this death to self?

Share: Your friend points out that while 1 Corinthians 13:4 says love does not envy or get jealous, that Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:2 that he has a godly jealousy. Your friend asks how do you reconcile having a godly jealousy with love never being jealous? What do you tell your friend? See Godly Passion and Jealousy.

by In Light Of The Cross

1: God Loves Freely-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, January 4, 2025.

Main Theme: God loves us freely, desire our love in return.

Read in Class: Exodus 33:15-22. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What does this passage, especially verse 19, reveal about God’s will and love?

Apply: In what ways has God continued to reveal and manifest His love to you—even beyond any reasonable expectations?

Share: Your friend says that Exodus 33:19 sounds like predestination to them. What do you tell your friend? Hint: See Ephesians 1:4 and 1 Timothy 2:4.

Read in Class: Hosea 14:1-4 and John 17:24. Ask the class what the main ideas of these passages are?

Study: What do these verses reveal about God’s steadfast love for His people, now and before the world existed?

Apply: What does the fact that God continues to bestow love on this world, despite its fallenness and evil, tell us about His love and character? How should this truth cause us to love Him in return?

Share: Your friend says since God’s love is unconditional and everlasting, everyone will be saved no matter what. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Matthew 22:1-14. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What is the meaning of this parable?

Apply: What about your life reveals that you have accepted the wedding invitation and have come appropriately clothed?

Share: Your friend asks, “What does it mean that Many are called but few are chosen?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: John 10:17-18 and Galatians 2:20. Have the class identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: What’s the message to us here in these texts?

Apply: How does your life show that you truly appreciate God’s self-sacrificing love?

Share: Your friend asks if you know of anyone who has laid down their life for a friend? What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

7: Blessed Are Those Who Believe-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, November 16, 2024.

Main Theme: Who were some of these people, and why did they testify as they did to the identity of Jesus?

Read in Class: John 12:1-8. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What was the significance of Mary’s actions here? How was this a witness to who Jesus really was?

Apply: Jesus knew what was in the heart of Mary and the heart of Judas. He knows what’s in your heart, as well. What should this truth tell us about the need of Christ as our righteousness, transforming us and covering us, as well?

Share: Your friend says that she wishes she had millions of dollars so she could help the poor. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: John 18:38 and John 19:4-22. Ask the class to define the main idea of these passages.

Study: How is Pilate’s verdict connected to the theme of John’s Gospel?

Apply: What can we learn from Pilate’s example about the dangers of allowing popular sentiment, even pressure, to keep us from doing what we believe is right?

Share: Your friend asks you if you can think of others in the Bible or life today who have “unwittingly” testified about Jesus? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: John 20:19-31. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: What can we learn from the story of Thomas about faith and doubt? What major mistake did Thomas make?

Apply: Do you only put your faith in what you can feel or see? Can you think of a time when you put your faith in something you could feel or see and were still disappointed?

Share: If someone were to ask you Why do you believe in Jesus? what would you say?

Read in Class: John 17:20-23 and Matthew 24:14. Ask the class to identify the common thread in these passages.

Study: What are some of the things that we have today that those living at the time of Jesus didn’t have that should help us believe? 

Apply: Name specific people who helped you believe in Jesus, and tell how they helped you believe in Jesus?

Share: Who are you currently helping to believe in Jesus and how are you helping them?

by In Light Of The Cross

2: Covenant Primer-Teaching Plan

Key Thought:The entrance of sin ruptured the relationship the Creator had originally established with the human family through our first parents. Now God seeks to re-establish that same loving relationship by means of a covenant. This covenant signifies both a committed relationship between God and us (like a marriage bond) and an arrangement for saving us and bringing us into harmony with its Maker. God Himself, motivated by His great love for us, is the Initiator of the covenant relationship. By gracious promises and gracious acts, He woos us to come into union with Him.

Prepared by William Earnhardt


April 10, 2021

1. Have a volunteer read Genesis 6:18.

  1. Ask class members to share the main idea of this passage.
  2. What is a covenant? What part did Noah play in this covenant?
  3. Personal Application: What was Noah’s obligation in this covenant? What is our obligation in the New Covenant?
  4. Case Study: One of your friends asks why was Noah’s family involved in an agreement between God and Noah? Did they have a choice too? What would you tell your friend?

2. Have a volunteer read Genesis 12:1-3.

  1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
  2. What specific promises did God make to Abraham?
  3. Personal Application: How do the promises made to Abraham apply to us? See Galatians 3:29.
  4. Case Study: Someone asks, “What does it mean that in Abraham shall all families of the earth be blessed? What do you tell them?

3. Have a volunteer read Exodus 6:1-8.

  1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
  2. What does this teach us about the faithfulness of God’s promises, seeing how the people promised had all died? Are we bound to promises we have made to people even after they die?
  3. Personal Application: What parallels can we find between what God promised here and the promises made to those who are bound by sin?
  4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “What is similar or different in this covenant with Israel compared to the new covenant of Hebrews 8:10 and 10:16?” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Jeremiah 31:31-33.

  1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
  2. How is this covenant new beings how its still in the Old Testament?
  3. Personal Application: Is the law in the old covenant different from the law in the new covenant? What is new and different about the new covenant?
  4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 149).