Key Thought: The Psalms are uttered in an imperfect world; one of sin, evil, suffering, and death. The Psalmists are at times perplexed by the apparent absence of God.
February 3, 2024

1. Have a volunteer read Psalm 41:1-4, Psalm 88:3-12.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What experiences do these texts describe? What can you relate to in what is said?
3. Personal Application: Does focusing on the suffering Jesus endured on the cross help us keep faith amid times of suffering and trial?” Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “What tensions have you faced in evil and how have you dealt with them? How do you maintain your faith in the face of evil?” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Psalm 42:1-3, 63:1, 68:1-3, 102:1-7.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What causes great pain to the Psalmist?
3. Personal Application: How do you respond to times when God does seem silent? What sustains you in times of trouble? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “What answers can we find when our faith in God is tested by trials or by people whose sufferings cause them to question the goodness of God?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Psalm 77.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What experience is the author going through?
3. Personal Application: Has the Lord worked in your life in the past? How can that truth help you deal with present trials? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “How come there is so much evil in this world if it is created and sustained by an all-powerful God of love?” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Psalm 37:1,8; 49:5-7; 94:3-7.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What struggles does the Psalmist face?
3. Personal Application: Does the knowledge of God’s judgment upon the world and all its evil give you comfort when so much evil now goes unpunished? 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).

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/5-singing-the-lords-song-in-a-strange-land-teaching-plan/

Inside Story for Friday 2nd of February 2024

By Andrew McChesney

Five-year-old Sekule was frightened by Grandmother’s warnings about hell. “You must be good,” Grandmother said. “If you aren’t good, you’ll end up in hell.”

“What do you mean ‘end up in hell’?” the boy asked.

“You will end up in eternal flames if you lie or steal,” she said. “You will feel the flames for all eternity.”

Grandmother’s words ignited great fear in the young boy’s heart. He was confused. On the one hand, she said God is love. On the other, she said that if Sekule lied, he would end up in hell. Sekule was afraid because he couldn’t help but lie sometimes.

The boy didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t turn to his parents. They were not Christian in then-communist Montenegro. Grandmother was the only Christian whom he knew in his village.

One day, when no one was looking, he hid behind a bush and scolded God. “I don’t know why people say You are love,” he said. “You aren’t love but a monster. Why did You create me to end up in flames? Am I supposed to be faithful and not lie and do bad things? I can’t believe in You, and I won’t believe in You. You are a monster.”

Sekule was finished with God. He was only 5 and had no interest in God.

Nine years later, at the age of 14, Sekule was sent away to a boarding high school in Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Among the 700 boys at the school, he was the only one from Montenegro. Sensing that he faced an uphill battle as an outsider, he resorted to fighting to gain acceptance with his classmates. He fought nearly every day. If someone even touched one of his ears—and they were a temptation to touch because they stuck out like teacup handles—he attacked viciously. One fight left him with a knife scar on a hand. Sekule also was a bully. When a younger boy received a food package from home, Sekule dangled him outside a dorm window by the ankles until he handed over the package.

After three years of fighting, a desire grew in Sekule to know truth. He wondered whether Grandmother had told him the truth about God. But what was truth? Sarajevo had several main religions: Islam, Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Judaism. Sekule wondered, If God is One, why are there so many religions? He decided to become familiar with all religions to find the truth.

Sekule Sekuli´c is an affluent entrepreneur and faithful Seventh-day Adventist in Montenegro. Read more of his story next week. Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offerings that help spread the good news of Jesus’ soon coming in Montenegro and around the world.

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The post Inside Story: Giving Up on God: Part 1 appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24a-05-inside-story-giving-up-on-god-part-1/