Tag / Teaching Sabbath School Class

by In Light Of The Cross

13: Images of the End-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, June 28, 2025.

Main Theme: This week will be our final examination of accounts that help clarify our understanding of last-day events. This time, we will look at the mission of Jonah to Nineveh, the fall of Babylon, and the rise of Cyrus, the Persian king who liberated God’s people and enabled them to return to the land of promise.

Read in Class: Matthew 12:38-42. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: Which parts of the story of Jonah does Jesus refer to as He addresses the scribes and Pharisees? What lessons about the judgment are found in His statement?

Apply: How much of Jonah do you find in yourself? How can you move beyond this wrong attitude?

Share: Your friend says the sign of Jonah is confusing because Jesus was not in the grave for three full days. What do you tell your friend? For a hint, see: Is the Sign of Jonah Fuzzy Math? The answer may not be what you think it is.

Read in Class: Jonah 3:5-10. Ask the class what the main idea of this passage is.

Study: Why was this prophecy, then, not fulfilled?

Apply: What choices are you making now that could help determine what choices you will make when the issue of worshiping God or the image breaks upon the world?

Share: Your friend asks you if all prophecies are conditional. If they are not all conditional, how do we know which ones are conditional and which ones are not? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Daniel 5:1-31. Ask the class what the main idea of this passage is.

Study: What important spiritual messages can we take from this account? What ultimately tripped up Belshazzar?

Apply: The king had sufficient head knowledge to recognize Daniel’s God as the true God, but the problem lay in his heart. How can we ensure that, as Adventists, with all the knowledge we possess, we don’t let it go to waste? How can we ensure that our hearts are changed and we are not merely puffed up with knowledge?

Share: Your friend says that the king was really belittling even God when he used the sacred utensils, and then also turned around and insulted the prophet Daniel by merely referring to him as a captive slave, instead of the distinguished statesman he had become. Your friend asks you how you handle it whenever you are belittled or insulted. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: 2 Chronicles 36:22-23. Ask the class what the main idea of this passage is.

Study:  In what ways does the story of Cyrus parallel that of Nebuchadnezzar? In what ways does it differ? What is the significance of the decree? After all, how did it impact the whole first coming of Jesus centuries later?

Apply: How fascinating that God would use a pagan king in such a marked manner to do His will. That is, even despite how things appear to us on the outside, how can we learn the truth that, long term, the Lord is going to bring about end-time events as prophesied?

Share: As we finish this quarter’s lesson, what are some new things you have found in this quarter’s lessons that you would like to share with others?

by In Light Of The Cross

7: Foundations for Prophecy-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, May 17, 2025.

Main Theme: Human rebellion, ultimately and forever, will be ended. And, more than that, God’s loving character, His self-denying and self-sacrificing character, will shine even brighter than it did in His original design for humanity. Though God never intended for humanity to fall, through the cross, God’s loving character has been put on display in a remarkable way.

Read in Class: Ezekiel 28:11-17, Isaiah 14:12-14 and Revelation 14:1-12. Ask the class to identify the main idea of these passages.

Study: What led to Lucifer’s downfall? How does the contrast between Lucifer’s fall and humanity’s high position in Christ help us understand what takes place in Revelation 14?

Apply: What role do we have as a church, and as individuals, in letting people know about what Christ has done for them?

Share: While talking to your neighbor across the fence, she asks you what is the three angel’s message that the Adventist church refers to all the time. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Isaiah 6:6-8. Ask the class to identify the main point of this passage.

Study: Isaiah knew that sin means that we are “undone.” The wages of sin is death. But instead of leaving us to the consequences of sin, a God of love pulls us closer. What was the outcome of this meeting, and why is it important?

Apply: Read Genesis 3:21-24. How were the cherubims protecting our future by guarding the tree? What other roles do we see angels participating in regarding prophecy and our salvation?

Share: You friend asks, I’ve always heard that angels are our dead loved ones, but if angels are our dead loved ones how could there be angels guarding the tree of life when no one had died yet? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ezekiel 1:1-14, Isaiah 6:1-6, and Revelation 4:1-11. Ask the class to identify the main idea of these passages.

Study: What similarities do we see depicted in all these passages?

Apply: Whenever we see God’s throne whether in the typical ark of the covenant, which served as God’s meeting place with Moses (Exod. 25:22), or the breathtaking visions of the prophets the cherubim are always there. They are intimately tied to the throne of God. All of God’s creatures were designed to reflect His glory whether we are talking about the human race made in His image or the angelic beings who are posted immediately next to His glorious throne. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. How do you measure up in contrast to the holiness that Ezekiel witnesses here? What does your answer tell you about your need of the gospel?

Share: Your friend asks you if you have ever seen an angel. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Numbers 2: 3, 10, 18 and 25. Ask the class to identify the common thread in passages.

Study: There was one dominant tribe on each of the four sides of the tabernacle. According to Numbers 2, who were these four dominant tribes?

Apply: Of course, we don’t live in the camp of Israel. But what are ways we can, in our own lives now, draw close to the presence of God?

Share: Your friend asks you how we know if God is with us or not? What do you tell your friend?

by In Light Of The Cross

12: Worship That Never Ends-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School class, March 23, 2024.

Main Theme: Worshiping God as a faith-community also involves every aspect of our personal lives.

Read in Class: Psalm 33:3, Psalm 40:3, and Psalm 96:1.

Study:  What is the common motif in these texts?

Apply: Read Isiaih 42:10-12, Revelation 5:9 and Revelation 14:3.  What can we infer about the “new song” from these biblical texts?

Share: Dwell on God’s blessings in your life. If you were to share a new song, what would it be?

Read in Class: Pslam 15:1-5. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: Who are the people worthy of worshiping in God’s presence?

Apply: Read Psalm 24:3-6 and Pslam 101:1-3. How do our choices and how we spend our time help reveal to ourselves and others who or what it is that we worship and praise?

Share: Your friend tells you the things of this world keeps distracting her from Bible study and prayer. She asks how you keep from being distracted by the world? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 96:1-13. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What manifold aspects of worship are mentioned in this psalm?

Apply: Compare Psalm 96:1-13 with the three angels message in Revelation 14:6-12. In what ways does it teach the same basic truths as does this end-time message that we are to proclaim to the world?

Share: Your friend asks how we can make sure our praise and worship does not just become another meaningless ritual? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Psalm 40:6-8. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What is the best way to worship God?

Apply: According to John 4:23-24 what is the best way for us to worship God? How do you practice worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth?

Share: Can you think of someone who has not been to worship service in a while? Can you invite them this week to share the worship service with you next week?

by In Light Of The Cross

7: Mission to my Neighbor-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt, for Sabbath School Class, November 18, 2023.

Main Theme: Our mission is to put the theory of the Gospel into practice.

Read in Class: Luke 10:25-26. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What did the lawyer ask and what was Jesus’ answer?

Apply: Jesus did not give his own opinion or philosophy when asked this important question. He directed the seeker straight to God’s Word to find the answer. What can we learn from this for when we are asked important questions regarding truth? Can we help people find the answer in the Word of God?

Share: Share a time a friend or even stranger was talking to you about a secular topic and you were able to use that secular topic as a springboard to share to Jesus.

Read in Class: Acts 17:11 and 2 Timothy 3:16. Define the common thread of these passages.

Study: How do these verses help us understand Jesus’ response to the lawyer in Luke 10:26?

Apply: Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, always pointed people back to the Written Word. What should this tell us about the importance of the Bible and why we must reject any philosophical or theological reasoning that lessens our trust in the Bible?

Share: Your friend tells you that while the Adventist church teachers the Bible over tradition that some traditions are not bad. He also insinuates that some Adventists have their own traditions apart from the Bible. Is your friend right? What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Luke 10:27-28. Define the main idea of this passage. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What was the lawyer’s answer to his own question?

Apply: Read James 1:26 and James 2:17-22. How do these verses relate to what Jesus told the lawyer? How successful are you at putting God’s Word into practice? Especially when it come to showing love and compassion to those who may not be too loveable?

Share: Share a time you were a good Samaritan. Don’t be shy. We are not bragging we are encouraging others to put the Gospel into practice.

Read in Class: Luke 10:30-37. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: How would you summarize Jesus’ meaning in the story here?

Challenge: Begin praying daily for someone who is different from you, or even for someone you may not personally like.

Challenge Up: List at least three names of your acquaintances (non-Adventists); identify their needs (emotional, physical, social), and consider how you can minister personally to those needs. What can you do practically for them in the coming week?

by In Light Of The Cross

11: Practicing Supreme Loyalty to Christ-Sabbath School Lesson Teaching Plan

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Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, September 9, 2023.

Main Theme: Honoring our parents helps us to be well rounded, successful family members and individuals.

Read in Class: Ephesians 6:1-3. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What advice does Paul give to children, and how does he support that counsel from the Old Testament?

Apply: How do these verses reinforce how important family relationships are?

Share: Your friend says he was abused by his parents as a child. Today he appreciates God as his loving heavenly Father, but says there is no way he can ever honor his earthly parents. He says, “Surely God does not expect me to honor my parents.” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 6:4 and Colossians 3:21. Define the main idea of these passages.

Study:  What motivation does Colossians 3:21 provide for avoiding irritating one’s children?

Apply: Though the context of the lesson here deals with parents and children, what principles can be taken from these texts that should impact how we should deal with all other people?

Share: A friend tells you she know she has needlessly provoked her children in the past, but doesn’t think she should say she is sorry, because authoritarians should never have to say they are sorry. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 6:5-8. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What does Paul require of Christian slaves in his detailed instructions to them?

Apply: However much we might wish that Scripture had openly condemned this horrible practice, it doesn’t. Nevertheless, what principles can we draw from Paul’s words in this context about how we relate to people we work with in our own context?

Share: Your friend says that the Bible is tone deaf towards slavery and other social issues of the day like how women should be treated or even homosexuals for that matter. What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Ephesians 6:9. Define the main idea of this passage.

Study: Assuming that you are a Christian slave master who is listening to Ephesians being read out in your house church, how might you react to this counsel, offered in the presence of your slaves? 

Apply: Even though we do not own slaves, how should Ephesians 6:9 help guide us in the way we treat our employees or those under our “command?”

Share: How can you show your appreciation this week for your employees or someone in a servant position?