Key Thought: Surrender is the toughest part of the Christian life. We can’t carry our burdens alone. We first need to recognize our need and choose to come to Jesus.
July 31, 2021

1. Have a volunteer read Matthew 11:20-28.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What kind of rest is Jesus speaking of here and hoe does He give it to us?
3. Personal Application: What burdens are you carrying? How can you learn to give them to Jesus? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “I am so stressed out right now. Everything seems to be going wrong. I don’t see how anything can get fixed. People tell me to give it to Jesus, but what does that even mean? Sit back and not worry?” How would you respond to your friend?

2. Have a volunteer read Matthew 11:29,30.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. Why does Jesus tell us to take His yoke right after inviting us to find rest?
3. Personal Application: How do you feel about being yoked to Christ as a partner in your labor in reaching souls for Christ? Do you feel like you’re doing it all alone at times? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Is being yoked to Jesus a burden and chore, or is it a positive thing? Why is submission a prerequisite for blessings?.” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Galatians 5:1`, Matthew 5:5.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What is the difference between the yoke Christ asks us to carry and the yoke of bondage Paul warns us of
3. Personal Application: Why is living a life of obedience to God’s law more restful thatn one who does not obey this law? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “What does meekness and humility have to do with Christ’s yoke of bondage? Does a person’s attitude play a role in our reaction to the salvation gospel?“ How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Galatians 6:2.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. How does bearing one another’s burdens help us fulfill the law of Christ?
3. Personal Application: Think about the last time someone helped you carry a burden. Why did that mean so much to you? What burden can you help someone else carry now?” Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

Amen!(0)

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Gentleness is an underrated quality today. Humility is laughed at. Social media has taught us to pay attention to the loud, the noisy, the weird and wild, and the flamboyant. Truly so many of the world’s standards are so opposite of what God deems important and valuable.

“A knowledge of the truth depends not so much upon strength of intellect as upon pureness of purpose, the simplicity of an earnest, dependent faith. To those who in humility of heart seek for divine guidance, angels of God draw near. The Holy Spirit is given to open to them the rich treasures of the truth.” — Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 59.

Read Matthew 5:5, 1 Peter 3:4, and Isaiah 57:15. How would you define meekness and humility based on these texts?

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Paul refers to “the meekness and gentleness of Christ” in 2 Corinthians 10:1. Meekness and humility are not descriptions of a pushover, of people who cannot stand their own ground. Jesus Himself did not seek confrontation and often avoided it because His mission had not yet been fulfilled (John 4:1-3). When confrontation came to Him, however, He responded boldly. Yet at the same time, He spoke kindly. His laments over Jerusalem just prior to the cross, for example, were not shouted curses but tear-filled word pictures of a devastating future (Luke 19:41-44).

In the New Testament, Jesus is often portrayed as the second Moses. He speaks from a mountain when He lays out the principles of His kingdom (Matthew 5:1). He provides large crowds with miracle food (Matthew 14:13-21). Numbers 12:3 describes Moses as “meek,” which is echoed in Matthew 11:29. People witnessing the feeding of the 5,000 exclaim in wonder, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world” (John 6:14) — a reference to Deuteronomy 18:15 and Moses’ role as a prophet.

Jesus’ humility and meekness clearly supersede Moses’. After all, He is our divine Savior. While Moses offered to give himself to save his people (Exodus 32:32), his death would not have accomplished anything, for Moses was a sinner himself and in need of a Savior, a sin-bearer to pay for his sins. Though we can learn from Moses and the story of his life, we cannot find salvation in him.

Instead, we need a Savior who can stand in our stead, not just as an Intercessor but as our Substitute. Intercession is important, but it is only God hanging on the cross as our Sin-bearer, as the One who paid in Himself the penalty for our sin, who can save us from the legal consequences that our sins would, justly, bring to us. This is why, however great the example Jesus was for us, it would all be for nothing without the Cross and the resurrection.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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