Tag / Teaching adult Sabbath School class

by In Light Of The Cross

3: The Prologue-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, October 19, 2024.

Main Theme: This week’s lesson will begin with the Prologue (John 1:1-18) and summarize its major themes. These themes will then be looked at in other places in John’s Gospel, as well.

Read in Class: John 1:1-5, 14. Ask Class to define the main point of these passages.

Study: What are these verses telling us that Jesus, God Himself, did—and why is this truth the most important truth that we could ever know?

Apply: Why is the full deity of Christ such an important part of our theology? What would we lose if Jesus were, in any way, a mere created being?

Share: Your friend says, If Jesus knew Lucifer was going to sin, and cause Him to have to die on the cross, why did He even bother creating Him? Jesus should have only created people who would use their free choice to obey Him. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: John 1:9-13. Have the class define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What harsh reality is John depicting here about how people respond to Jesus?

Apply: In what ways might we, even those of us in the church reject Jesus today? How do we make sure we are not rejecting Him?

Share: Your friend asks you How has your life changed by becoming a son or a daughter of God? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: John 3:16-21, John 9:35-41, and John 12:36-46. Ask the class the common thread of these passages.

Study: How do these texts repeat the theme of belief/unbelief found in the prologue?

Apply: In what ways do you live out your faith in Jesus, as opposed to merely holding an intellectual assent to Him as the Messiah? Why it is important to know the difference?

Share: Your friend asks, why Isaiah says that God blinded peoples eyes and hardened their hearts? What do you tell your friend? See Matthew 7:21-23.

Read in Class: John 17:1-5. Ask the class to define the main point of this passage.

Study: What did Jesus mean when He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you” (ESV)?

Apply: Think about what it means that it took such a drastic thing, God Himself on the cross, to save us from sin. What should this tell us about just how bad sin really is?

Share: How can you use your influence to help those around you believe in Jesus as the Messiah and Savior of the world?

by In Light Of The Cross

Signs of Divinity-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, October 12, 2024.

Main Theme: This week’s lesson looks at three of the greatest signs of Jesus’ divinity. What is striking is that, in every case, some people did not believe the miracle or perceive its significance. For some, it was a time of turning away from Jesus; for others, a time for deepening blindness; and for others, a time to plot Jesus’ death. And for others—a time to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

Read in Class: John 6:1-14. Ask the class the summarize this passage.

Study: What parallels can be found here between Jesus and Moses? That is, what did Jesus do here that should have reminded the people of the deliverance that their ancestors had received through the ministry of Moses?

Apply: Read Isaiah 53:4-6 and 1 Peter 2:24. What great truth do these texts teach about Jesus as the Lamb of God? How does His divinity tie into this truth, and why is this truth the most important truth we can ever know?

Share: Your friend asks, you how God has provided for you in a way that helped you see His miraculous power? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: John 6:26-36. Ask Class to summarize this passage.

Study:  How did the people respond to Jesus’ miracle of feeding the multitude, and how did Jesus use this to try to teach them who He was?

Apply: How can we avoid getting caught up in material things at the expense of the spiritual?

Share: Your friend from church complains that some people only come to church when there is fellowship lunch and they don’t even bring anything. All some people come to church for is the socials and food. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: John 19:1-16. Ask clas to summarize this passage.

Study: What did the disciples think was the cause of this man’s blindness, and how did Jesus correct their false beliefs?

Apply: What should this story tell us about the dangers of being so blinded by our own beliefs and traditions that we can miss important truths right before our own eyes?

Share: Your friend says there seems to a lot of division in our world today. How can we tell if someone is a good person or not when we keep hearing rumors all the time? How do we know what to believe about people? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: John 11:38-44. Ask the class to define the main point of this passage.

Study: What did Jesus do that supported His claim?

Apply: What hope does the divinity of Christ give you concerning death? Why are both his humanity and divinity so crucial in validating your hope?

Share: Your friend says he is sure Jesus was a good man, but He was not God? What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

1: Signs That Point the way-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class October 5, 2024.

Main Theme: This week we are looking at miracles as “signs” that Jesus is the Messiah?

Read in Class: John 2:1-11. Ask class to summarize this passage with the key points.

Study: What sign did Jesus do at Cana, and how did this help His disciples in coming to believe in Him?

Apply: What are your reasons for following Jesus? (We have been given many, haven’t we?)

Share: In John 2:5 Jesus’ mother tells the servants, ” “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Simple but yet profound words. Don’t worry about the consequences, just do whatever He tells you. Can you share with the class a time you did what Jesus told you to do simply because it was right, even though you were not sure what might happen to you later? How did it end for you?

Read in Class: John 4:46-54. Ask the class what is the main idea of this passage?

Study: Why does the evangelist make a connection back to the miracle at the wedding feast?

Apply: Even if we were to see a miracle, what other criteria must we look at before automatically assuming it is from God?

Share: Your friend asks you if you or anyone in your family has ever had a “miraculous” healing? What do you tell your friend?

Read in class: John 5:1-16. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.

Study: Because anyone by the pool obviously wanted to get well, why did Jesus ask the paralytic if he wanted to be healed? What lessons can we take away from the amazing hardness of the religious leaders’ hearts in regard to Jesus and the miracle He had just performed?

Apply: Jesus later encountered the man in the temple and said, “ ‘You have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you’ ” (John 5:14). What is the relationship between sickness and sin? Why must we understand that not all sickness is a direct result of specific sins in our life?

Share: Your friend tells you that it does not seem like Jesus respected the Sabbath commandment in this passage? What do you tell your friend? See Matthew 12:10-12.

Read in Class: John 5:38-47. Ask the class what the main point is of this passage.

Study: What was Jesus’ warning? What can we learn from these words? That is, what could be in us that blinds us to the truths we need to know and apply to our own lives?

Apply: What things did Moses teach that applied to Jesus being the Messiah?

Share: Your friend asks you, who in the Old Testament besides Moses prophesied about the Messiah, and how Jesus fulfilled those prophecies? What do you tell your friend? See The Messiah in Scripture.

by In Light Of The Cross

13: The Risen Lord-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School Class, September 28, 2024.

Main Theme: Jesus is risen and we are to take this message to all the world!

Read in Class: Mark 16:1-8 and 1 Corinthians 15:1-8. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: How does what happened here change the world?

Apply: How certain are you that Jesus was really resurrected? How do you know? See How do we Know the Disciples Didn’t Just Make Everything Up?

Share: Your friend tells you that Sunday is the Biblical memorial to the resurrection. What do you tell your friend? See First Day Texts in the Bible, and The Biblical Memorial to the Resurrection. See also, Romans 6:3-6.

Review in Class: Mark 16:1-8. Ask the class if they notice anything this time they did not notice the first time they read this?

Study: How did the women first respond to what happened?

Apply: Why must we not keep silent about Jesus and what He has done? Who can you tell today about Jesus and the plan of salvation?

Share: Your friend asks you why the angel singles Peter while mentioning the message to the disciples? What do you tell your friend? Your friend also mentiones the women being concerned about the stone, only to find it already rolled away when they got there. Your friend asks if you have ever worried about something in the future, only to find God had already taken care of it by the time you got there? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Mark 16:9-20. Have the class sunmarraize this passage.

Study: What do these verses add to the Resurrection story?

Apply: How can we protect ourselves from falling into the spiritual trap of doubt and unbelief? Why must we daily link ourselves to the risen Christ?

Share: Your friend asks you if God has ever done anything in your life or in your family’s life that you did not believe was possible or you had trouble beleving at first? What do you tell your friend?

Review in Class: Mark 16:14-20. Ask the class if they notice anything this time they did not notice the first time they read this?

Study:  What did Jesus say to His disciples when He appeared to them, and what do these words mean to us today?

Apply: Read Matthew 28:19-20. What words of comfort can and should we take from Jesus’ words?

Share: What specific good news from this week’s lesson will you be sharing with a friend this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

12: Tried and Crucified-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, September, 21 2024.

Main Theme: In Mark 15 we see the plan of Salvation being perfectly carried out for you and me.

Read in Class: Mark 15:1-20. Have the class define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What kind of ironic situations occur here?

Apply: How hard is it to go against the crowd and majority opinion in any given situation? Is it hard to go against the flow? 

Share: Your friend says, “Many of these people who were crying out “crucify Him” were ignorant and surely God will not judge them.” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Mark 15:21-38. Have the class share the main idea from this passage.

Study: What painful ironies appear in these passages?

Apply: Would you sacrifice yourself for people who cursed you, spit on you, mocked you, maimed you, and beat you half to death? Why didn’t Jesus just say, ‘forget it, you don’t deserve my love and efforts.’?

Share: Your friend asks, “Why did Jesus have to die in our place in order for us to be saved? Did God just have to see someone suffer for our sin? Why couldn’t God just forgive wihtout a sacrifice?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Mark 15:33-41. Have the class define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What are Jesus’ words on the cross in Mark? How do you understand why He said them?

Apply:  How can we learn that regardless of what happens around us or to us, that we can trust God and know that He will prevail?

Share: You friend says he heard that Jesus died the second death for us? What does that mean and how do we know? What do you tell your friend? See The God-forsaken God.

Read in Class: Mark 15:42-47. Ask the class to share the main point of this passage.

Study: What was the importance of Joseph’s intervention, since all the disciples were nowhere to be seen?

Apply: How can we be sure that when in crucial times, we are not missing in action? 

Share: Can you think of one friend who may benefit from hearing the plan of salvation this week? What can you do to share it with them?

by In Light Of The Cross

8: Teaching Disciples, Part 2-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, August 24, 2024.

Main Theme: Jesus’ lessons prepare us for the challenges of discipleship.

Read in Class: Mark 10:1-16, Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24. . Define he main idea of these passages.

Study: How did the Pharisees try to trap Jesus with their question? What did Jesus teach in these passages about the sacredness of marriage and family, including children?

Apply: How does your church family encourage and mentor married couples and their children?

Share: Your friend says she would love to work with the kids in Adventurers, but with so much in the media today concerning teachers and kids, she does not want to be falsely accused of anything, so she has decided not to participate. What do you tell your friend? See Coaching and Mentoring Vs. Grooming.

Read in Class: Mark 10:17-31. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What crucial lessons about faith and the cost of discipleship­—for anyone, rich or poor—is revealed here?

Apply: Read Romans 6:1-11. How do these verses describe the reality of letting go of selfish ambition and following Jesus.

Share: Your friend asks, why did Jesus ask the young ruler to sell all that he had? Why not just some of what he had or even just half? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Mark 10:32-45. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How do these verses reveal the continued ignorance of the disciples regarding not only Jesus’ mission but what it means to follow Him?

Apply: What does it mean as a Christian to be a “servant” to others? That is, how do you manifest this principle in your daily interaction with people?

Share: Your friend asks you if you can name a leader who has led with a servant’s heart? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Mark 10:46-52. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How did Bartimaeus react to Jesus’ passing by?

Apply: In what ways have you at times cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”? What happened, and what did you learn from this experience?

Share: Can you think of someone who could use Jesus’ help this week? How can you be the hands of Jesus in helping that person this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

5: Miracles Around the Lake-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Photo by Bri Schneiter on Pexels.com

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School Class, August 3, 2024.

Main Theme: Jesus can perform any kind of miracle that we need.

Read in Class: Mark 4:35-41. Have the class define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What happens in this story, and what lessons can we take from it about who Jesus is?

Apply: Think about the power of God. How can you learn to lean on this power and to trust it in all things in your life?

Share: Your friend asks, why Jesus rebuked the disciples lack of faith, while they actually had the faith to beg Him to calm the storm? What do you tell your friend? See Do you Have Enough Faith NOT to ask Jesus to Calm the Storm?

Read in Class: Mark 5:21-43. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What characteristics particularly stand out about Jairus? What interrupts the progress toward Jairus’s house?

Apply: The disciples asked Jesus how He knew someone touched him, while so many people were incidentally running into Him in the crowd. What is the difference between brushing up against Jesus and reaching out to touch Him? How can we apply incidentally running into Jesus or actually touching Him in our prayer and devotional life?

Share: Your friend asks why Jesus said the girl was not dead but sleeping, when it says He raised her from the dead? What do you tell your friend?

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

Study:  Why did Jesus’ hometown people reject Him?

Apply: Have you ever experienced rejection by your own friends, family or even church? Did this expereince draw you closer to Jesus? How did it help you mature in your faith?

Share: Your friend asks why Jesus’ own family and townfolks rejected Him? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Mark 6:34-52. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What was the problem Jesus and His disciples confronted, and how was it solved?

Apply: What should this story tell us about why a correct understanding of prophecy is important? If a false understanding of Christ’s first coming led to disaster for some, how much more so could a false understanding do the same for some in regard to His second?

Share: Can you share a time when you thought you may not have enough and God still worked a miracle to provide for you?

by In Light Of The Cross

4: Parables-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, July 27, 2024.

Main Theme: Jesus used parables to help His listeners relate to the Gospel.

Read in Class: Mark 4:1-9. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: What are the different soils like, and what happens to the seed that falls on them?

Apply: What are some other spiritual lessons that we can learn from nature?

Share: Your friend asks, you if you have ever seen any fruit from the spiritual seeds you have planted. What testimonies can you share with your friend?

Read in Class: Mark 4:10-20. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: Why did Jesus teach in parables, and how did Jesus interpret the parable of the sower?

Apply: Consider your own life. Are any characteristics of the path, the rocky ground, or weedy ground creeping into your experience? This could happen more subtly than you realize. What choice can you make to change, if need be?

Share: Your friend asks why Jesus did not want those on the outside to understand the parables? What do you tell your friend? Hint: 1 Corinthians 2:14.

Read in Class: Mark 4:21-25. What are the main ideas of these passages?

Study:  What is Jesus’ special emphasis in the parable of the lamp? What lesson is Jesus conveying with the parable of the measuring basket?

Apply: How can we better understand the principle that with what measure you use, it will be measured to you? Think about it in all your dealings with others.

Share: Your friend asks why the one has little has even that taken away from them? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Mark 4:26-32. What are the main ideas of these passages?

Study: What is the primary focus of each parable?  What is the important stress of the parable of the mustard seed?

Apply: “ ‘And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come’ ” (Matthew 24:14). Consider what the “church” was like when Jesus made that prediction. Why is this such a remarkable and faith-affirming prediction?

Share: Your friend asks you how you are currently sowing the Gospel seeds. What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

11: Longing for God in Zion-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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

Main Theme: The blessings of Zion overflow to the ends of the earth because the Lord’s person and grace exceed the boundaries of any holy place. Zion is the joy of all the earth affirming that the whole earth belongs to God.

Read in Class: Psalm 84:1-12 and Plsam 122:1-5. What is the main idea of these passages?

Study: Who is blessed by being in God’s house and what exactly are those blessings?

Apply: What are some practical ways we can make being in God’s house here on earth a blessing?

Share: Your friend says ever since her divorce she does not feel accepted at church anynore. She prefers to just watch online sermons at home on the Sabbath. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 87:1-7. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What is said about Zion that makes it such a wonderful place?

Apply: How does Zion’s readiness to adopt all people find its fulfillment in the church’s Great Commission to preach the gospel to every nation (Matthew 28:18-20)? How does this idea fit in with our call to preach the three angels’ messages?

Share: Your friend points out that Psalm 87:6 says that it will be noted who is born in Zion when being registered. Your friend says this means that God will take into consideration where each of us were born and raised when He judges us? Is that an accurate application? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 46:1-11. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How is the world poetically depicted here?  What is God’s response to violence and destruction in the world?

Apply: How do we learn to have peace and to trust God amid a world that, indeed, has so much turmoil?

Share: Your friend asks, “How has God been a very present help to you in times of trouble?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 125:1-5. Define the main idea of this passage?

Study: How are those who trust God portrayed here?

Apply: How are the righteous tempted and what can we learn from this description of temptation?

Share: Your friend says God is no longer with the Seventh-day Adventist church, because it has apostasized and become like Babylon. What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

6: I Will Arise-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, February 10, 2024.

Main Theme: Only God can truly deliver us from wickedness and oppression, which He does in His own time.

Read in Class: Psalm 9:18, Psalm 12:5 and Psalm 146:6-10. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What is the message here to us, even today?

Apply: How much do we think of the “poor and needy” among us, and how much do we do for them?

Share: Your friend says people are poor because they are lazy and therefore we should not help them. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 82:1-8. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What happens when the leaders pervert justice and oppress the people they are tasked to protect?

Apply: What kind of authority do you hold over others? How justly and fairly are you exercising that authority?

Share: Your friend asks, in our society who is ultimately responsible for social justice? The state or the church? Or God alone? What role do we play as individuals? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Palm 69:22-28 and Psalm 94:1-12. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What sentiments do these psalms convey? Who is the agent of judgment in these psalms?

Apply: Who doesn’t, at times, have thoughts or fantasies about vengeance on those who have done them or their loved ones terrible wrong? How might these psalms help you put such feelings in proper perspective?

Share: Your friend says that the language in some of these Psalms seems pretty harsh? How could God inspire such harsh language? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 96:6-10 and Psalm 132:7-9. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study:  Where does God’s judgment take place, and what are the implications of the answer for us? How does the sanctuary help us understand how God will deal with evil?

Apply: Read Romans 8:34. How does this verse show us that what Christ is doing in the heavenly sanctuary is good news for His people?

Share: Can you think of someone who is suffering from oppression or injustice? How could you help encourage them this week? How could you even help relieve their suffering at least to some extent?