Daily Lesson for Monday 20th of April 2026

When it comes to personal Bible study, we must be careful not to expect the Bible to serve our purposes or perspectives, which are not always the same as God’s. For example, we shouldn’t use the “close my eyes and point to a text” method, because this isn’t how God wants to communicate with us through His Word. God is not a puppet on a string, waiting to serve our needs and will. His ways and thoughts are so much higher than ours (Isaiah 55:9), and so we should never try to control His words to us. Neither should we pick and choose only the parts of the Bible that feel comfortable to us. Instead, we should see the Bible as a whole package rather than reading the easy, familiar passages and leaving out the confronting or challenging ones. If we truly want God to speak into our lives, we must take the Bible as a whole and use sound methods when we engage in careful Bible study, trusting that God will reveal what we need to hear when we need to hear it.

Image © Review & Herald Publishing from GoodSalt.com

Also, Jesus Himself tells us: “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’ ” (Matthew 22:37, NKJV). That is, God doesn’t want us to ignore our minds; rather, He wants to inform our minds with His vast reaches of knowledge and understanding, which are revealed, in part, through His Word. We can read many biblical narratives in which God had discussions with such people as Enoch, Abraham, Moses, and Job, in addition to many conversations that Jesus had with people. God doesn’t bypass human reason but invites us to submit it to His Word and wisdom when “working out” our salvation.

Human reason, however, is still human—capable of error and deception. It’s never infallible. It’s possible for human reason to push God aside to try to work things out on our own, which places self as equal to, or above, God when it comes to thinking. People can approach Scripture with an arrogant and critical spirit, thinking they’ve heard it all before and that there is nothing new. It’s when we feel important, confident, self-sufficient, and in need of nothing that we neglect our relationship with God and rely on our own limited knowledge and faulty reasoning.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26b-04-scripture-the-authority/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26b-04-scripture-the-authority

Prepared by William Earnhardt for you to use in Sabbath School class on April 25, 2026.

Central Theme: The Bible is not just a collection of proof texts. It is a love story about God’s love for you.

Photograph by William Earnhardt

Read in Class: 2 Timothy 3:15-17. Ask the class to identify the main point of this passage.

Study: How much of the Old and New Testaments are inspired, and where do we get our doctrines from?

Apply: When applying Bible teachings to our daily lives, how can we be sure that we are really following our conscience and not just our own preferences, in the way we interpret Scripture?

Share: Your friend says that the Adventist church stresses going by the Bible and not traditions. See Matthew 15:9. However, do we have some traditions that we are actually more cultural than Biblical? What do you tell your friend? See Cultural Influence and the Bible.

Read in Class: John 20:31. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: How should we study not only the book of John but the entire Bible? Do we read the Bible like a dictionary, which is just a collection of facts and definitions? Or do we read it like a love story? See The Bible is a Love Story, Not a Collection of Proof Texts.

Apply: How does reading the Bible as a love story instead of just a collection of proof texts helpt your relationship with God to grow?

Share: When sharing the Bible with others, how can we ensure each Bible study is a love story rather than simply giving them a list of proof texts on a given topic? See the In Light of the Cross Bible Study Guides.

Read in Class: Psalm 119:11, 105, and Hebrews 4:12. Ask the class to identify the common threads in these passages.

Study: What advice is given in these passages and how can we follow it?

Apply: How much time do you spend daily in the Bible, and how do you spend that time? What can you do to make that time the most spiritually profitable?

Share: Your friend asks you if remembering a certain Scripture has ever kepts you away from sin, What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Job 22:22, Proverbs 3:5-6, and 1 Corinthians 2:14. Ask the class to identify the common threads in these passages.

Study: What kind of attitude do these Scriptures teach us to have while studying the Bible?

Apply: How open-minded are you while studying God’s Word? See Acts 17:11, Do you read the Bible ready to learn, or to “prove” what you think you already know?

Share: Your friend asks you why you need to pray before studying the Bible. What do you tell your friend? See Proverbs 3:5-6 and John 16:13.

Mission: Can you share a Bible study in the light of the cross with someone this week, and help them discover the love story in the Bible?

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/4-the-role-of-the-bible-sabbath-school-lesson-teaching-plan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=4-the-role-of-the-bible-sabbath-school-lesson-teaching-plan