Tag / Teaching adult Sabbath School class

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

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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?

by In Light Of The Cross

The Difference Between Cynicism and Lamentations

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For my days are consumed like smoke,
And my bones are burned like a hearth. My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
So that I forget to eat my bread.
Because of the sound of my groaning
My bones cling to my skin. Psalm 102:3-5 NKJV

Do all our prayers have to be upbeat, cheerful, and positive? No! Do we show a lack of faith when we lament? No! Cynicism doubts God’s existence and love. Lamenting is when we grieve knowing God exists and loves us. There is an entire book in the Bible about lamenting, its called Lamentations. A great portion of the Psalms and other portions of Scripture include prayers of lamentations. As a matter of fact, in the end of the book of Job, God rebukes Job’s friends for not allowing Job to lament.

To me, lamenting is clinging to God like Jacob did to the angel until He blesses us, or until things get better. God wants us to be real with him and pray real prayers. This includes praying prayers of lamentations when our hearts are grieving. Talk to God when you are joyful. Talk to God when you have complaints about the pain and grief He is allowing in your life. Bottom line is talk to God!

“Remember my affliction and roaming,

The wormwood and the gall.

My soul still remembers

And sinks within me.

This I recall to my mind,

Therefore I have hope.

Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not.

They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:19-23 NKJV

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

by In Light Of The Cross

5: Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, Sabbath, February 3, 2024.

Main Theme: The psalmists respond to God’s perceived absence, as well as to God’s presence.

Read in Class: Psalm 102:3-5, 11, 23-24. Define the main idea of these passages.

Study: What experiences do these texts describe? In what can you relate to what is said here?

Apply: Think about Jesus on the cross and what He suffered because of sin. How should that reality, that God in Christ suffered even worse than any of us, help us keep faith even amid times of suffering and trial?

Share: Your friend says it is wrong to express grief or doubt in our prayers, as it shows a lack of faith in God and His love. What do you tell your friend? See The Difference Between Cynicism and Lamentations.

Read in Class: Psalm 42:1-3. Psalm 63:1, and Psalm 69:1-3. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What causes great pain to the psalmist?

Apply: Read Psalm 10:12, Psalm 22:1 and Psalm 27:9. What can we learn from the psalmists’ responses to God’s apparent absence? How do you respond to times when God does seem silent? What sustains your faith?

Share: Your friend asks you how you know God is with you when you can’t see, hear or feel His presence? What do you tell your friend? See How I Know God is With me.

Read in Class: Psalm 77:1-20. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What experience is the author going through?

Apply: Think about past times when the Lord worked in your life. How can that truth help you deal with whatever you are facing now?

Share: Your friend tells you that while her teenage son was expressing how terribly depressed he was he used some foul language. She ignored the foul language and just tuned into his feelings. Her husband on the other hand scolded him for using foul language. Your friend asks you which one of them handled the situation properly? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 73:12-20. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What brings the psalmist through the crisis? What is the end of those who trust in futile things? See also 1 Peter 1:17.

Apply: How does the promise of God’s judgment upon the world, and upon all its evil, give you comfort when so much evil now goes unpunished?

Share: Do you know someone who feels like life has been unfair to them? How can you encourage them this week from the Word of God and your own experiences?

by In Light Of The Cross

3: The Lord Reigns-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, January 20, 2024.

Main Theme: The Lord’s sovereign rule thus renders the world firmly established and secure. The psalmists want the reader to understand this foundational truth. With this worldview as their lighthouse, the psalmists seek to thrive and to serve God with undivided devotion.

Read in Class: Psalm 97:1-12. Define the main point of this Psalm.

Study: What characterizes the Lord’s reign? What is the domain of His reign?

Apply: “You who love the Lord, hate evil!” (Psalms 97:10). Why should our love for God cause us to hate evil? How are these two concepts related?

Share: Your friend says Psalm 97:10 says the Lord delivers his saints out of the hands of the wicked. Yet so many innocent people have died in concentration camps and human trafficking. What good does that promise do them? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 75:1-10. Define the main idea of this Psalm.

Study:  Why is the boasting of the wicked in vain?

Apply: The Psalms call us to rejoice in anticipation of God’s judgments. (See Psalm 67:4, Psalm, 96:10-14, Psalm 98:4-9) How is God’s judgment good news for those covered by the blood of Christ?

Share: Your friend claims he never gets promoted at work because of all the corruption where he works. Company politics has everything rigged. How might Psalm 75:6-7 help you respond to your friend? What illustrations in the Bible can you find of godly people being promoted even in the most corrupt environments?

Read in Class: Psalm 94:14, Psalm 105:7-10, Daniel 7:22. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: The theme of God’s judgment prompts a significant question: How can God’s people have peace with God and assurance of salvation at the time of judgment?

Apply: What do we have in Jesus, which shows why these promises made to ancient Israel can now apply to us? See Galatians 3:26-29.

Share: Your friend says that the promises in the Old Testament were only given to the Jews. How do you answer your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 19:7 and Psalm 119:165. What do these passages have in common?

Study: How is Satan’s attack on the law of God actually an attack on the kingdom of God? Why does Satan have to attack God’s law in order to reach his goal in in Isaiah 14:13-14? How do we know Satan will never reach his goal of reigning over the universe?

Apply: What are practical ways that keeping God’s laws and rules and testimonies have helped you in your life? On the other hand, what have you suffered from violating them?

Share: Your friend tells you the law of God was nailed to the cross and done away with. What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

13: The End of God’s Mission-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, December 30, 2023.

Main Theme: God’s mission will be fruitful and have much success.

Read in Class: Revelation 14:6-7. Summarize the first angel’s message.

Study: What do these verses have to do with our last day message and mission?

Apply: Do you have a plan for sharing the everlasting Gospel? If a friend asked you how they can know if they are saved what would you tell them? See Salvation in Light of the Cross. How does this everlasting Gospel help you prepare for the judgment?

Share: Your friend asks how the Seventh-day Adventist Gospel is different from any other Gospel preached in protestant churches? Don’t we all preach the same cross? Is the Gospel preached by Adventists any different? What do you tell your friend? See the God-forsaken God.

Read in Class: Revelation 14:8 and Revelation 18:1-4. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: How do the teachings of Babylon oppose the Gospel and the cross? How is Babylon legalistic? For clues see Daniel 1:2, Daniel 4:17 and Daniel 4:31-32.

Apply: 1 John 4:8 says God is love. How do the teaching of Babylon skew our understanding of God’s love? For an example, see Hell in Light of the Cross.

Share: Your friend says that instead of preaching the Three Angel’s message in the last days we should be Preaching the cross instead. What do you tell your friend? See The Three Angel’s Message in Light of the Cross.

Read in Class: Revelation 14:9-12. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: What exactly is the mark of the beast? How is accepting the mark of the beast not only rejecting the Bible Sabbath but also rejecting the cross of Christ and salvation by grace? For example what is wine of God’s wrath that is poured into the cup of His indignation? Is this the same cup Jesus asked to pass from him, but ended up drinking for us?

Apply: What assurance do you see in Revelation 7:9-14 and Revelation 15:1-4 that the call out of Babylon and the warnings not to take the mark of the beast will be successful? What other passages in the Bible assure you of the success of God’s mission in the last days?

Share: Your friend asks you if the 144,000 who are saved in the last days is a literal number or symbolic? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 21:1-4, Revelation 21:22-27, and Revelation 22:1-5. What is the common thread of these passages?

Study: What is the scene described here?

Challenge: How are you hastening Christ’s return? Are you planting seeds of hope in the hearts of those who need to hear good news? Are you “watering” new believers by helping them learn what it means to live a life of loyal obedience to Christ? Pray for opportunities to communicate the promise of the earth made new with the people on your daily prayer list.

Challenge Up: Some of your “disciples” may be ready to accept Christ. This includes joining a church or group of believers. Put yourself in his or her place and imagine attending your church for the first time. What kind of experience would he or she have? How prepared is your church to welcome and disciple new people? Are you open to starting new groups of believers, not just building up your own existing church? Create a strategy to address weak areas. Share your thoughts with your church leaders, and work with them to implement a plan to become a more intentional disciple-making church.