Tag / Teaching Sabbath School

by In Light Of The Cross

13: Wait on the Lord-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, March 30, 2024.

Main Theme: Waiting does not mean that we do nothing. It means we look forward to our hope as we keep doing the tasks at hand.

Read in Class: Psalm 27:14 and Psalm 131:1-3. Define the main idea of these passages.

Study: What do these passages teach us about our relationship with God, and what He wants us to do?

Apply: What are some things you are waiting for now from God? How do we learn to wait in faith and in trust, especially when what we are praying for hasn’t yet come?

Share: Your friend says that it souns like God wants us to be like a small child waiting and trusting Him all the time, but He also wants us to grow up in Christ. How can you be mature, indapendant and responsible while still being like a little child? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Pslam 126:1-6. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What gives strength and hope to God’s people? What is being said here, in this context, that we can apply to our own lives today?

Apply: Dwell on some times when you clearly and unmistakably saw the Lord working in your life or in the lives of others. How can you draw hope from those experiences for whatever you might be going through now?

Share: Your friend says he has so many unanswered prayers and is getting tired of “waithing” on the Lord. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Pslam 92:1-15. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What two aspects of the Sabbath day are highlighted in this song for the Sabbath day?

Apply:  What great hope is offered to us in Psalm 92:1-5, and how can we, even right now, take comfort in what it says?

Share: Your friend says he has to take a job working on the Sabbath because he has a family to feed. He says its his God-given job to provide for his family, so he can’t be expected to just wait around for some miracle to put food on is family’s table. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 30:5 and 2 Peter 1:19. Define the common thread on these passages.

Study: What time of day is symbolically portrayed as the time of divine redemption and why?

Apply: What happened in the morning here in Mark 16:1-8 and why is that so important to us?

Share: Your friend says, “Since Ecclesiastes 9:5 says the dead know nothing, in one aspect thier wait for the resurection is over.” Do you agree or disagree with the idea your friend is sharing? Is so, how? If not why?

by In Light Of The Cross

10: Lessons of the Past-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, March 9, 2024.

Main Theme: Each generation of God’s people plays a small but significant part in the grand historical unfolding of God’s sovereign purposes in the great controversy.

Read in Class: Psalm 105. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study:  What historical events and their lessons are highlighted in this psalm?

Apply: How should we, as Seventh-day Adventists, see ourselves in this line of people, from Abraham on? (See Galatians 3:29.) What lessons should we learn from this history?

Share: Your friend asks, why do we need to study the stories of the Old Testament when those laws don’t deal with us anymore. We are in the New Testament now? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 106:1-23. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What historical events and their lessons are highlighted in this psalm?

Apply: Psalms 106:13 reads: “They soon forgot His works; they did not wait for His counsel” (NKJV). Why is that so easy for us to do in our own lives, as well?

Share: Your friend mentiones that Pslam 106:12 says they sang praises and Exodus 15 says Mirriam the prophetess led the people in singing and celebrating the Egytpians demise in the Red Sea. Why were they celebrating the death of the wicked? We aren’t supposed to celebrate anyone’s death are we? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 80. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How are God’s people portrayed in this psalm, and what great hope do they plead for?

Apply: How have you experienced for yourself repentance as a return to God?

Share: Your friend says he has done too many bady things and it is too late in life for him to seek forgiveness and change his ways. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 135. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What historical events are highlighted in the psalm? What lessons does the psalmist draw from them?

Apply: How can we make sure that we don’t have idols in our own lives? Why might idolatry be easier to do than we realize?

Share: Your friend says the reason history repeats itself is because human nature is the same regardless of place and time. Studying history is actually studying human nature. She asks what lessons history (In the Bible and even our history school books) has taught you, and how studying history has stopped you from repeating the mistakes of those we lived befroe us? What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

9: Blessed is he who Comes in the Name of the Lord-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, March 2, 2024.

Main Theme: In all the Psalms, through the psalmists’ laments, thanksgivings, praises, and cries for justice and deliverance, we can hear the echoes of Christ’s prayer for the salvation of the world.

Read in Class: Pslam 23, Psalm 78:52-53 and Psalm 100:3. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: How is the relationship between the Lord and His people portrayed in these texts?

Apply: Read John 10:11-15. What does Jesus say about Himself as the Good Shepherd?

Share: You friend asks you how Jesus has been a Good Shepherd to you? When has He actually Shepherded you? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 22:16-31 and Psalm 118:22. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: How was the Messiah treated by those He had come to save?

Apply: Jesus on the cross paid in Himself the penalty for every sin you have ever committed. How should the fact that He suffered on your behalf impact how you live now, that is, why you should find sin so abhorrent?

Share: Your friend asks you why Jesus had to suffer and die in order to save us? Why couldn’t God just forgive us without anyone having to die? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 89:27-32, Psalm 89:38-46 and Psalm 132:10-12. Define the common thread in these passages.

Study: What is the Davidic covenant about? What seems to have endangered it?

Apply: Read Colossians 1:16; Colossians 1:20-22. What do these verses teach us about who Jesus was and what He has done for us? What promise can you take away from this for yourself?

Share: Your friend asks, why God had to reconcile heaven to Himself? What do you tell your friend? See Why Heaven Needed to be Reconciled to God at the Cross?

Read in Class: Psalm 2:1-12 and Psalm 110:4-7. What is each Psalm saying?

Study: What do these passages tell us about Jesus being an eternal king and an eternal priest? How is Christ’s priesthood unique, and what great hope can we find in Christ’s heavenly priesthood?

Apply: Read Hebrews 7:20-28. What are some of the implications of Christ’s superior priesthood?

Share: Your friend asks, “How does Christ’s unique and superior priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek strengthen the certainty of salvation for God’s people?” What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

8: Wisdom for Righteous Living-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, February 24, 2024.

Main Theme: Wisdom for righteous living is gained through the dynamics of life with God amid temptations and challenges.

Read in Class: Psalm 119:1-16. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How should we keep God’s commandments, and what are the blessings that come from doing that?

Apply: How did Christ demonstrate the power of God’s Word in His life (Matthew 4:1-11)? What should this tell us about the power that comes from a heart set on obeying God’s law?

Share: Your friend says David focused on the law because Jesus had not come yet. Today we just focus on Jesus and don’t pay any attention to the law. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 90:1-17. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What is the human predicament?

Apply: No matter how quickly our life passes, what promise do we have in Jesus? (See John 3:16.) What hope would we have without Him?

Share: A very young married couple asks your advice for having a long and happy life. What practical as well as philisophical advice do you share with them?

Read in Class: Psalm 26 and Psalm 141. Describe how these passages coincide or differ?

Study: What does divine testing involve and how does the Psamist pray regarding these tests?

Apply: How has God tested your heart and what lessons have you learned? David tells God not to count him among those who murder but he did commit murder with Uriah. What should that tell us about how careful we should be when examining our own hearts?

Share: Your friend tells you they do not want to be rebuked by anyone in the church. She says she does not need anyone telling her what is right or wrong. Everyone should just mind their own business. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 1:1-3 and Psalm 112. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What blessings are promised for those who love and obey the Lord?

Apply: Why is the Cross, and what happened there, the guarantee of the promises found in the New Testament of what God has in store for us? How can we get comfort from those promises even now?

Share: Your friend asks you what practical or tangible blessings you have received from loving and obeying the Lord? What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

7: Your Mercy Reaches Unto the Heavens-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, February 17, 2024.

Main Theme: Experiencing God’s mercy encourages us to serve Him alone.

Read in Class: Psalm 136:1-3 and Psalm 51:1-5. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What thought predominates in these Psalms? Why does the Psalmist appeal to God’s mercy?

Apply: Read Psalm 51:6-19. How does this help you understand how forgiveness is applied to you? How does this help you understand the goal of forgiveness?

Share: Your friend asks, if God can forgive David for adultery, deception and even murder then could God still forgive those who have committed adultery and even murder today? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 130:1-8. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How are the gravity of sin and hope for sinners portrayed?

Apply: Think about the question, “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3). What does that mean to you personally? Where would you be if the Lord marked your iniquities?

Share: Your friend asks if “He Shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities” (Psalm 130:8) means that God will give his people victory over every form of sin, no matter how powerful that form of sin is? What do you tell your friend? How might Titus 2:11-14 NLT help you answer that question?

Read in Class: Psalm 113:1-9 and Psalm 123:1-4. How do these two Psalms contrast?

Study: What do we learn from the contrast in these two Psalms?

Apply: Dwell on the Cross and what happened there for you personally. What has Jesus saved you from? Why is it so important to keep the Cross foremost in your mind?

Share: Your friend says, sometimes we are not prisoners of circumstances but rather prisoners of our own thought patterns? In light of Psalm 113 and Psalm 123 what do you think your friend means? Do you agree with the statement?

Read in Class: Psalm 103:1-22. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How is God’s mercy portrayed here?

Apply: How does God’s love and mercy encourage you to worship and trust God and God alone?

Share: Can you think of someone who may be discouraged and could benefit from hearing about God’s mercy this week? Can you share something from the Psalms with them this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

3: God’s Call to Mission-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, October 21, 2023.

Main Theme: God’s mission will call us out of our comfort zones.

Read in Class: Genesis 11:1-9 and Genesis 12:1-3. Define the main idea of these passages.

Study: What were the intentions of the people? What were they wanting to do, and why would God thwart it? In what way was God’s instruction to Abram a call to mission?

Apply: Are you part of a group or ethnic community that is more comfortable among themselves? In what ways may you possibly engage with others who are not part of your race, ethnicity, or nationality?

Share: Your friend asks you if God has ever sent you out of your comfort zone to accomplish a mission? What was the mission and how did it go?

Read in Class: Genesis 12:1-13:1. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What things happened to him next, and what mistakes did this man of God make?

Apply: What lessons can we take from the story about Abram in Egypt?

Share: Your friend asks, “What if God calls us somewhere were there is not much potential and things look pretty hopeless? How do we know God is calling us, will be with us, and we will be successful?”

Read in Class: Acts 8:1-4. Define the key thought in this passage.

Study: In the early church, what brought about the scattering of believers beyond their comfort zone?

Apply: In what ways could you, daily, express mission in your attitude and behavior? How could you be more mission-minded in your daily tasks?

Share: Your friend asks, “Does God always use persecution to get us out of our comfort zones to complete the mission? Does God ever use us in our comfort zones?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Acts 1:8. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What principle did Jesus present when doing the work of sharing or being His witnesses to the world?

Challenge: Identify and make a list of people groups with special needs in your community, whom the church has not made efforts to reach. Challenge Up: Begin praying for an opportunity in the near future to become engaged in mission to people with special needs.

Share: How may God be calling you out of your comfort zone to share in His mission? Are you willing be called out of your comfort zone this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

10: Husbands and Wives Together at the Cross-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School Class, September 2, 2023.

Main Theme: Husbands and wives should be faithful and loving each other just as Christ is loving and faithful towards the church.

Read in Class: Ephesians 5:21-29. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: As Paul, in Ephesians 5:25-27, 29, shapes his wedding-marriage metaphor for the church and its relationship with Christ, he draws creatively on the customs and roles of an ancient wedding. In relationship to the church as bride, Christ is the divine Bridegroom who:

  1. Loves the church as bride (Eph. 5:25). We must never forget that this is heart work for Jesus. He loves us!
  2. Gives Himself as the bride price. In the context of ancient wedding arrangements, the bridegroom would “purchase” the bride with the “bride price,” which was usually a large sum of money and valuables, so large that ancient village economies depended upon the custom. Christ pays the ultimate price for the church as His bride since He “gave Himself for her” (Eph. 5:25, NKJV). In the Incarnation and at the cross, He gives Himself as the bride price.
  3. Bathes His bride. The preparation of the bride was an important part of the ancient wedding festivities. As is also true today, it was the bridesmaids and female relatives of the bride who prepared her for the ceremony. Paul, though, imagines the divine Bridegroom preparing His bride for the wedding! It is He who sanctifies and cleanses her “by the washing of water” (Eph. 5:26, ESV), a probable reference to baptism.
  4. Speaks the word of promise. This cleansing is performed “with the word” (Eph. 5:26, ESV), pointing to the word of promise that the divine Bridegroom speaks to His bride, perhaps in the context of the betrothal ceremony (compare Eph. 1:3-14, Eph. 2:1-10, noting God’s promises to believers at the time of their conversion). Betrothal was the ancient version of modern engagement, but was a much more serious set of negotiations, which included a written agreement about the bride price (from the husband) and the dowry (assets the bride would bring to the marriage from her family).
  5. Prepares and adorns the bride. When the bride is finally presented to her Groom, she is fabulously beautiful, appearing in flawless splendor (Eph. 5:27). Christ not only bathes the bride; He prepares and adorns her as well.

Apply: How do these verses help us understand the way Christ feels about us? Why should we find this so comforting?

Share: Your friend says that she is enduring her husband’s abusive behavior in hopes that her submission and example will finally lead him to Christ. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: 2 Corinthians 11:1-4. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How does Paul use elements of the ancient wedding in appealing to Christians in Corinth? When does the presentation occur?

Apply: How does this imagery show you how much Christ cares for you?

Share: Your friend says the Bible is not inspired because it teaches the authority of the husband, which not how our society operates now. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 5:28-30. Discuss the main idea of this passage.

Study: What new argument does Paul use to encourage husbands to practice tender love toward their wives?

Apply: Paul cites the example of Jesus to both wives and husbands. What can you learn from Jesus about loving those in your own family circle?

Share: Your friend asks how the Godhead can be one but still have three members? How does the imagery of a husband and wife being one help you answer the question?

Read in Class: Genesis 2:15-25. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What happens in the story before the statement concerning a husband and wife being “one flesh” (Gen. 2:24)?

Apply: In what ways does Ephesians 5:33 serve as a concise summary of Paul’s counsel in Ephesians 5:21-32? If married, how can you seek to more fully implement these principles in your marriage?

Share: Can you think of a married couple who’s relationship expresses the love of God? Can you reach out to them and commend them for their Christian example?

by In Light Of The Cross

4: How God Rescues us-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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

Main Theme: Ephesians 2:1-10 describes our rescue story.

Read in Class: Ephesians 2:1-10. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What is the main idea that Paul is giving us here about what Jesus has done for us?

Apply: What do these verses teach about the reality of the great controversy? At the same time, how can we draw comfort and hope in the knowledge that Jesus has been victorious and that we can share in His victory now?

Share: Your friend says, its okay to continue in sin because we are saved by grace. What do you share with your friend? Does grace save us from death or from sin? Or both? See Ephesians 2: Sitting With Jesus in Heavenly Places.

Read in Class: Compare Romans 1:5 and Titus 2:11-12 with Ephesians 2:8-10. What are the common threads in these passages?

Study: What distinct qualities does each passage tell us grace produces in our lives?

Apply: In Ephesians 2:8-9 is God’s grace responding to our faith or is our faith responding to God’s grace? What is the difference and why does it matter? Notice also that in Romans 2:4 God’s goodness leads us to repentance instead of our repentance leading to God’s goodness.

Share: Your friend notices in Titus 2:11-12 it says we are to live righteous and godly lives in this present age. Your friend says he thought our characters would be changed at the second coming, and then we could live righteous and godly lives. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 2:6-7. Define the main theme of this passage.

Study: what sense do believers participate in Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and exaltation? When does this participation occur?

Apply: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7, NKJV). How do the verses we looked at today help us understand what Paul writes here?

Share: Your friend asks, how does knowing your are currently sitting in heavenly places with Christ right now, change they way you look at your every day struggles? What do you tell your friend?

Read Again in Class: Ephesians 2:1-10. After the discussions you have had, what new insights do you see in this passage?

Study: What points does Paul highlight as he concludes this passage?

Apply: While the good works of believers play no role in their redemption, in that they can never give people saving merit before God, what important part do they play in God’s plans for believers? Eph. 2:10.

Share: Can you think of someone who has been struggling in their own power, who may need to hear about God’s grace? How can you share the plan of salvation by grace with them this week?

by In Light Of The Cross

3: The Everlasting Gospel-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, April 15, 2023.

Main Theme: The three angels’ message is the Seventh-day Adventist statement of faith and message to the world.

Read in Class: 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Romans 3:24-26 and Romans 5:6-8. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: How is the “everlasting gospel” presented in these texts? What great hope is presented here for us?

Apply: How does it help you to know that Jesus died for you while you were still sinners? How does this fact influence your attitude towards others?

Share: Your friend asks you how she can know if she has eternal life? What do you tell your friend? See Salvation in Light of the Cross.

Read in Class: Revelation 13:8 and 1 Peter 1:18-20. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What do these verses teach us about the plan of salvation?

Apply: Read Ephesians 1:4. Think about what it means that, even before the “foundation of the world,” you had been “chosen” in Christ to have salvation in Him. Why should you find this truth so encouraging?

Share: Your friend asks, “What does it mean that we were “chosen” before the foundation of the world? Does that mean that we are predestined to be saved or lost without any choice of our own?” What do you tell your friend? See Does Romans 9 Teach Predestination?

Read in Class: Revelation 14:6 and Matthew 28:19-20. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What is the extent of the proclamation of the everlasting gospel, and why is the answer important to us and our mission and calling as a church? How does Matthew 28:19-20 link with the first angel’s message?

Apply: What has been your own experience in being involved in something bigger than yourself? How does that experience help you understand the point of this day’s study? Also, what could be bigger than being used by the Creator of the cosmos to make an eternal difference in the universe?

Share: Your friend asks, “How is the everlasting gospel going to be preached when many of the countries of the world are anti-Christian – either Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Shintu, Communist, or Atheist? How cam God’s people share this gospel in antagonistic areas?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Revelation 14:6, Acts 1:8, and Matthew 24:14.Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: While their is so much opposition, where and how do you see these passages being fulfilled today?

Apply: What role can you play in bringing the three angels’ messages to the entire world? 

Share: Can you think of someone you can share the gospel with this week? How can you plan to share it with them?

by In Light Of The Cross

2: God’s Covenants With us-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, For Sabbath School Class January 14, 2023.

Main Theme: Our responses to God’s promises determines if they are fulfilled for us.

Read in Class: 1 John 5:13, Matthew 10:22 and 2 Peter 1:10-11. Define the common thread in these passages.

Study: How do these passages say we receive the gift of salvation?

Apply: Though salvation is an unmerited gift, what’s the difference between those who accept the gift and those who don’t? What does accepting this gift require that we do?

Share: Your friend tells you she believes on once saved always saved. She believes there is no way a saved person can lose salvation. Using Scripture, what do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Deuteronomy 28:1-14. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What great blessings are promised the people? But what must they do to receive them?

Apply: What does it mean for us, today, to “hearken diligently” to what God tells us to do?

Share: Your friend tells you the book of Deuteronomy is in the Old Testament. We don’t have to obey, only believe. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Proverbs 3:9-10 and Malachi 3:10-11. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: What are the promises and the obligations found in these verses?

Apply: What does your tithing (or lack thereof) say about your own spirituality and relationship to God?

Share: Your friend says there is no way he can tithe and feed his family. He says God understands He can’t afford to tithe. What do you tell your friend? How could 1 Kings 17:8-16 help, Especially verse 13?

Read in Class: 2 Chronicles 7:14. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What are the “ifs” and “thens” of God’s proposal here?

Apply: What does it mean to “heal their land?” In what ways do we need healing today?

Share: Can you think of a friend or family member who is struggling with making a full commitment to Christ? Besides praying for them, is there any way you could speak a word of encouragement to them this week?