Education From September 26 2020 to January 1rst 2021

Education

Christian Education

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding”
(Proverbs 9:10, NKJV).

Think about the above text. It entails, really, two closely related concepts: “fear,” as in awe, as in marveling at the glory and power of God; and “knowledge,” as in learning truth about the character of God. Hence, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are rooted in God Himself.

This makes perfect sense. After all, God is the source of all existence, the One alone who created and sustains all existence (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:16, 17). Whatever we learn, whatever we know about – quarks, caterpillars, supernovas, angels, demons, “principalities and powers in heavenly places” (Eph. 3:10), everything – they exist only because of God. Hence, all true knowledge and wisdom and understanding ultimately have their source in the Lord Himself.

Scripture is clear: “God is love” (1 John 4:8), which explains this quote from Ellen G. White: “Love, the basis of creation and of redemption, is the basis of true education. This is made plain in the law that God has given as the guide of life. The first and great commandment is, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.’ Luke 10:27. To love Him, the infinite, the omniscient One, with the whole strength, and mind, and heart, means the highest development of every power. It means that in the whole being – the body, the mind, as well as the soul – the image of God is to be restored.” — Education, p. 16.

Because the Lord is the source of all true knowledge, all true education, all Christian education should direct our minds toward Him and toward His own revelation about Himself. Through nature, through the Written Word, through the revelation of Christ in that Written Word, we have been given all that we need, and then some, to come to a saving relationship with our Lord and, indeed, to love Him with all our heart and soul. Even nature, so defiled by thousands of years of sin, still speaks, even powerfully, of the goodness and character of God when studied from the perspective given us in Scripture. But the Written Word, the Scriptures, is the perfect standard of truth, the greatest revelation we have of who God is and what He has done and is doing for humanity. Scripture, and its message of creation and redemption, must be central to all Christian education.

The apostle John said that Jesus Christ is the “Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). In other words, just as only through Jesus does every human being have life, through Jesus every human being receives some rays of divine light, some understanding of transcendent truth and goodness.

Yet we’re all in a struggle, the great controversy, in which the enemy of souls works diligently to block us from receiving this knowledge. Thus, whatever else Christian education entails, it must obviously seek to help students better understand the light that God offers us from heaven.

Otherwise, what? As Jesus said, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). What good is a great education in science, or literature, or economics, or engineering if, in the end, you face the second death in the lake of fire? The answer is obvious, isn’t it?

Thus, the topic for our lesson this quarter. What does it mean to have a “Christian education,” and how can we as a church, in one way or another, find a way so that all our members are able to get such an education?

This Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide has been written by various presidents of Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities in North America. 

Video of the lesson presented by Pastor Doug Batchelor:

http://www.amazingfacts.org/media-library/media-archives/t/central-study-hour/sq/8/o/4/th/c.aspx


Video of the lesson presented by Dr Derek Norris:

http://hopess.hopetv.org/


The Teachers' Editions

https://www.absg.adventist.org/Teachers.htm

An Experiential approach to the lesson

https://www.inversebible.org/

Videos summarizing the lesson of the week

https://ssnet.org/blog/author/spd-discipleship-ministries/

www.ssnet.org

Click on References below after the links to the lessons and before the cell phone signs for the verses of the week

This Quarter’s Study Contents: Education

1. Education in the Garden of Eden • Sep 26-Oct 2
2. The Family • Oct 3-9
3. The Law as Teacher• Oct 10-16
4. The Eyes of the Lord: Biblical World View •  Oct 17-23
5. Jesus as the Master Teacher • Oct 24-30
6. More Lessons from the Master Teacher • Oct 31-Nov 6
7. Worship in Education • Nov 7-13
8. Education and Redemption • Nov 14-20
9. The Church and Education • Nov 21-27 
10. Education in Arts and Sciences • Nov 28-Dec 4
11. The Christian and Work• Dec 5-11
12. Sabbath: Experiencing and Living the Character of God• Dec 12-18 
13. Heaven, Education, and Eternal Learning • Dec 19 – 25

Making Friends for God. From June 27 to September 25, 2020

Making Friends for God

The Joy of Sharing in His Mission

There are times when grasping a single thought makes a profound difference in our lives. A number of years ago, I sat in a ministerial meeting with some of my colleagues. The discussion turned to sharing our faith, witnessing, and evangelism. One of my friends expressed this thought, “Mission is primarily the work of God. He is employing all of the resources of heaven to save our planet. Our work is to cooperate joyfully with Him in His work of saving lost people”. It seemed as if a heavy burden was lifted off my shoulders. It was not my job to save a lost world. It was God’s. My responsibility was to cooperate with Him in what He was already doing.

The idea that mission is God’s work is clarified throughout Scripture. Solomon states it this way, “He [God] has put eternity in their hearts” (Eccles. 3:11, NKJV). When an individual is born into this world, God places a desire for eternity deep within the fabric of that person’s being. As Augustine once said, “Lord, we were made for thee, and our hearts will never find rest until they find rest in thee”. According to John’s Gospel, Jesus is the light that lights every person born into this world (John 1:9). Not only has God placed within each one of us a longing for Himself, He sends His Holy Spirit to draw us to Himself.

Every desire to do right, every conviction of sin, is prompted by the Holy Spirit. Every desire for goodness and inclination toward kindness and unselfishness is motivated first by the Holy Spirit. Even though we may not fully understand or realize it, the Holy Spirit is working in our lives to draw us to Jesus (John 16:7-15). But Jesus Himself is the greatest gift of all.

When the human race was hopelessly lost in sin, condemned to eternal death, the love of God took the initiative. Luke writes, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10, NKJV). The apostle Paul adds, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8, NKJV). God took the initiative in our salvation. Christ left the glory and splendor of heaven and came to this sin-darkened world on a redemptive mission.

Before we ever took one baby step toward Him, He took a giant leap toward us. Before we ever gave Him our life, He provided salvation to us through His death. We were His enemies, but He was our friend. We turned our backs on Him, but He turned His face toward us. We cared little for Him, but He cared immensely for us.

In Luke 15, He is pictured as the good shepherd relentlessly looking for His lost sheep, a woman frantically looking for her lost silver coin from her dowry, and an old father recklessly running to meet His lost boy. Ellen G. White makes this marvelous statement worth contemplating: “The great plan of redemption was laid before the foundation of the world. Christ did not stand alone in this wondrous undertaking for the ransom of man. In the councils of heaven, before the world was created, the Father and the Son covenanted together that if man proved disloyal to God, Christ, one with the Father, would take the place of the transgressor, and suffer the penalty of justice that must fall upon him”. — Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, November 15, 1898.

Contemplate it for a moment. We have the incredible privilege and the awesome responsibility, as well as the eternal joy of participating with Christ and cooperating with Him in His mission. That’s what these lessons are all about this quarter.

A native of Connecticut, USA, Mark Finley, an internationally known evangelist, was a vice president at the General Conference from 2005-2010. After retiring from full-time employment, he became an assistant to the president of the General Conference. Pastor Finley and his wife, Ernestine, have three children and five grandchildren.

Memory Text: “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3, 4, NKJV).

Video of the lesson presented by Pastor Doug Batchelor:

http://www.amazingfacts.org/media-library/media-archives/t/central-study-hour/sq/8/o/4/th/c.aspx


Video of the lesson presented by Dr Derek Norris:

http://hopess.hopetv.org/


The Teachers' Editions

https://www.absg.adventist.org/Teachers.htm

An Experiential approach to the lesson

https://www.inversebible.org/

Videos summarizing the lesson of the week

https://ssnet.org/blog/author/spd-discipleship-ministries/

www.ssnet.org

Click on References below after the links to the lessons and before the cell phone signs for the verses of the week

This Quarter’s Study Contents: Making Friends for God: The Joy of Sharing God’s Mission

1. Why Witness? • June 27-Jul3   
2. Winsome Witnesses: The Power of Personal Testimony • July 4-10   
3. Seeing People Through Jesus’ Eyes• Jul 11-17   
4. Prayer Power: Interceding for Others •  Jul 18-24   
5. Spirit-Empowered Witnessing • Jul 25 – May 1   
6. Unlimited Possibilities • Aug 1 – 7   
7. Sharing the Word • Aug 8 – 14   
8. Ministering Like Jesus • Aug 15 – 21   
9. Developing a Winning Attitud • Aug 22 – 28  
10. An Exciting Way to Get Involved • Aug 29- Sep 4   
11. Sharing the Story of Jesus• Sep 5 – 11   
12. A Message Worth Sharing• Sep 12 – 18   
13. A Step in Faith • Sep 19 – 25