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9: Contrary Passages? – Teaching Plan

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Key Thought: We need to look at some passages that some people us to justify the natural immortality of the soul. These reflections should strengthen our own convictions and help us to answer those who question this important teaching.
November 26, 2022

1. Have a volunteer read Luke 16:19-31.

  1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
  2. Why is this story not a literal description of life after death?
  3. Personal Application: Why did Jesus use a prevailing misconception of hell in His parable to the Pharisees? Share your thoughts..
  4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Jesus said the rich man was in a place of torment and Lazarus was in the bosom of Abraham. That tells us Jesus believed there was a heaven and hell.” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Luke 23:43.

  1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
  2. How should Jesus’ promise to the thief on the cross be understood when compared to other Scriptures?
  3. Personal Application: Why do people misread and misunderstand the Scriptures so often? Share your thoughts
  4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Jesus told the thief he would be with Him in heaven that day. So why don’t you believe the thief and Jesus didn’t go to heaven that day, like Jesus promised?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read I Peter 3:13-20..

  1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
  2. How did God preach to those in the prison house of sin before the flood in the times of Noah? What effect did that preaching have?
  3. Personal Application: What similar preaching are we giving today that seems just as unlikely as a world-wide flood in Noah’s day? Share your thoughts.
  4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “Jesus went ot hell and preached to those who were lost. That’s obvious. What I don’t understand is, if they are already lost, why did Jesus preach to them? Do they get a second chance or was He just explaining to them why they were lost?.” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Revelation 6:9-11.

  1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
  2. How could the souls of the martyrs cry out from under the altar?
  3. Personal Application: Have you seen injustice that has not been rectified, dealt with, or remedied? What is the difference in the response of the faithful, and those who want justice 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)

The post 9: Contrary Passages? – Teaching Plan first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post 9: Contrary Passages? – Teaching Plan appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/9-contrary-passages-teaching-plan/

God’s Work Characterized by Calmness

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Let all things be done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:40.

I … met a man and his wife who claim to follow the Word of God and to believe the Testimonies. They have had an unusual experience during the past two or three years. They seemed to be honest-hearted people….

I told this brother and his wife that the experience through which I passed in my youth, shortly after the passing of the time in 1844, had led me to be very, very cautious about accepting anything similar to that which we then met and rebuked in the name of the Lord.

No greater harm could be done to the work of God at this time than for us to allow a spirit of fanaticism to come into our churches, accompanied by strange workings which are incorrectly supposed to be operations of the Spirit of God.

As this brother and his wife outlined their experiences, which they claim have come to them as the result of receiving the Holy Ghost with apostolic power, it seemed to be a facsimile of that which we were called to meet and correct in our early experience.

Toward the close of our interview Brother L proposed that we unite in prayer, with the thought that possibly while in prayer his wife would be exercised as they had described to me, and that then I might be able to discern whether this was of the Lord or not. To this I could not consent, because I have been instructed that when one offers to exhibit these peculiar manifestations, this is a decided evidence that it is not the work of God.

We must not permit these experiences to lead us to feel discouraged. Such experiences will come to us from time to time. Let us give no place to strange exercisings, which really take the mind away from the deep movings of the Holy Spirit. God’s work is ever characterized by calmness and dignity. We cannot afford to sanction anything that would bring in confusion and weaken our zeal in regard to the great work that God has given us to do in the world to prepare for the second coming of Christ.—Selected Messages 2:41, 42.
Ye Shall Receive Power p. 331
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
—-Please continue to pray for E and her children. R
—- Pastor Evans asked for prayer for Ileen’s sister. Her sister’s son was killed yesterday. He was 47.Lift up our Pastor and also Ileen’s sister.
—-Asking prayers for the family’s of the 3 UVA football players killed Sunday. One of the players, Devin Chandler was the son and nephew of schoolmates of mine. We buried his father about 2 years ago. PL
—-There are some misunderstandings and hurt feelings in my church. Please pray that God will work on everyone’s hearts who are involved in it. Buck
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Dear Friends,
From the time he was a child; Ron had a fascination with airplanes and dreamed of flying one someday. When he reached his teen years, he began taking flying lessons whenever he had enough saved to do so. After we were married, he continued learning to fly (until his logbook got burned up when our house burned to the ground nearly thirty years ago and he would have had to start over again). While Ron was studying for ground school, he asked me to help him learn the material. During that time, I learned many things about airplanes. Together we learned how to figure weights and balances, how to plot our course, wingtip vortices, etc.
Those wingtip vortices were a phenomenon that I had never heard of before. It was fascinating to think that when an airplane flies through the air, it creates a whirlpool of air, much like a tornado, at the end of each wing that is so strong that it can flip over a smaller plane. It seemed so strange, so unreal, but the unfortunate pilot who enters one of these vortices soon finds out how real they are.
One day, many years later, the atmospheric conditions were just right to see that phenomenon. It was raining. I was in the car, waiting for Eileen to get something from the store, when a jet flew low above my head. It was landing at a nearby airport. As I watched it, I saw long, thin “tornadoes” coming from each wingtip. It was amazing to see the very phenomenon I had studied about many years before.
Just as an airplane affects the air as it slices its way through it, so our attitudes, our words, our actions affect those around us for good or for bad. Our Dear Saviour tells us, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Matt 5:14-16 “Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no Saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, that I am God.” Isa 43:10-12
Think of it! We have the privilege, the duty, the responsibility to rightly represent the One Who left all the glories of Heaven to come down to this sinful planet, suffer at the hands of wicked men and give His life for us, that we might dwell with Him in His kingdom forevermore. Wonderful Saviour! How careful we should be in all we do and say and think. Our thoughts, our words, our actions can witness for our Great Redeemer or against Him. They can draw those around us to Jesus or cause them to turn away. One unguarded moment in our experience can turn someone away so thoroughly that they can never be reached again. Fearful consequences! How much we need the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, directing our steps, shining through us that we will never be the cause of someone being lost.
May we determine that our actions will match our profession. May we allow the Holy Spirit to work through us, that we may become channels of blessing to the precious souls around us. May we pray as did David, “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing.” Ps 141:3

Rose

Source: https://rosesdevotional.org/gods-work-characterized-by-calmness.html

Monday: “Today…With Me In Paradise

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One of the Bible passages most widely used to try to prove the immortality of the soul is Luke 23:43 — “He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise’” (NRSV). Almost all Bible versions (with few exceptions) translate this text in a similar way, giving the impression that on the very day Christ died, Christ and the thief would be together in Paradise. This should not surprise us because those translations were made by biblical scholars who believe in the dogma of the natural immortality of the soul. But is this the best translation of the text?

Compare Luke 23:43 with John 20:17 and John 14:1-3. How should the promise to the repentant thief on the cross be understood in light of Jesus’ words to Mary Magdalene and His promise to His disciples?
Christ, the Redeemer

Image © Review and Herald Publishing Assn. Goodsalt.com

The assumption that Christ and the thief went on that same day to Paradise (or heaven) contradicts Jesus’ words to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection, which affirm that He had not yet gone to the presence of His Father in heaven (John 20:17). This error, that both Jesus and the repentant thief went to heaven that day, also contradicts Jesus’ promise to His disciples that they would be taken to heaven only at His second coming (John 14:1-3).

The issue in Luke 23:43 is whether the adverb “today” (Greek sēmeron) should be linked to the verb that follows it (“to be”) or to the verb that precedes it (“to tell”). Wilson Paroschi recognizes that “from the grammatical standpoint” it is virtually impossible to determine the correct alternative. “Luke, however, has a definite tendency of using this adverb with the preceding verb. This happens in 14 of the 20 occurrences of sēmeron in Luke and Acts.” — Wilson Paroschi, “The Significance of a Comma: An Analysis of Luke 23:43,” in Ministry, June 2013, p. 7.

So, the most natural reading of Luke 23:43 would be “Truly I tell you today, you will be with Me in Paradise.” In this case, the idiomatic expression “I tell you today” emphasizes the relevance and solemnity of the statement “you will be with Me in Paradise.” In short, Jesus was promising him, right then and there, that he would be saved.

Read the story of the repentant thief (Luke 23:39-43), who, despite his sin, despite the fact that he had nothing to offer God, was promised eternal life by Christ. How does this story powerfully reveal the great truth of salvation by faith alone? In what ways are we just like that thief? In what ways do we differ?

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

Amen!(1)

The post Monday: “Today…With Me In Paradise first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post Monday: “Today…With Me In Paradise appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/monday-today-with-me-in-paradise/

1 Thessalonians 1:2

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1 Thessalonians 1:2

We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.

The post 1 Thessalonians 1:2 appeared first on Daily Bible Promise.

Source: https://api.follow.it/track-rss-story-click/v3/jL28dc7E3KDprABUwL6dowSngkwrdsok

Sunday: The Rich man and Lazarus

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Read Luke 16:19-31. Why is this story not a literal description of the afterlife?

Some scholars suggest that Luke 16:19-31 should be interpreted literally, that is, as describing the state of the dead. But this view would lead to several unbiblical conclusions and would contradict many of the passages that we have already looked at.

Rich Man and Beggar

Image © Providence Collection at Goodsalt.com

First, we would have to admit that heaven and hell are close enough to allow a conversation between the dwellers of both places (Luke 16:23-31). We would also have to suppose that, in the afterlife, while the body lies in the grave, there remains a conscious form of the spiritual soul with “eyes,” a “finger,” a “tongue,” and which even feels thirst (Luke 16:23-24).

If this passage were a description of the human state in death, then heaven would certainly not be a place of joy and happiness because the saved could closely follow the endless sufferings of their lost loved ones, and even dialogue with them (Luke 16:23-31). How could a mother be happy in heaven while beholding the incessant agonies of her beloved child in hell? In such a context, it would be virtually impossible for God’s promise of no more sorrow, crying, and pain to be fulfilled (Revelation 21:4).

Due to such incoherencies, many modern biblical scholars regard the story of the rich man and Lazarus as a parable from which not every detail can be interpreted literally. George E. Ladd, though a non-Adventist, certainly sounds like one here when he says that this story was probably “a parable which made use of current Jewish thinking and is not intended to teach anything about the state of the dead.” — G. E. L[add], “Eschatology,” in The New Bible Dictionary, edited by J. D. Douglas (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1962), p. 388.

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus presents a sharp contrast between a well-dressed “rich man” and “a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores” (Luke 16:19-20, , NKJV). The account teaches that 1. status and social recognition in the present are not the criteria for the future reward, and 2. the eternal destiny of each person is decided in this life and cannot be reversed in the afterlife (Luke 16:25-26).

“But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead’” (Luke 16:31, NKJV). What message from Jesus’ powerful words should we take for ourselves regarding the authority of the Bible and how we respond to it?

<–Sabbath Monday–>

Amen!(0)

The post Sunday: The Rich man and Lazarus first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post Sunday: The Rich man and Lazarus appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/sunday-rich-man-and-lazarus/

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