by Loren Seibold | 18 October 2019 | I am not an expert on the ethical questions surrounding abortion, or on the history of this issue in the church. What I’m reporting here is what I heard in Monday’s meeting of the General Conference (GC) Excom, followed up, and the final version of the statement […] Source: https://atoday.org/53804-2/
More on Young People Leaving the Church
18 October 2019 | Dear Readers: I’ve had a number of responses to a recent short piece on why young people are leaving the faith. Here are a few of them. Thank you all for your interest! (As usual, with correspondence to Aunt Sevvy, we don’t use respondents’ names.) Dear Aunt Sevvy: Ask any senior […] Source: https://atoday.org/more-on-young-people-leaving/
Feminism Is Good for the Church and the World
by Hannele Ottschofski | 18 October 2019 | I’ve often asked myself what made me what I am. As a Finn, I am totally atypical: a housewife and mother, wife of a pastor, I have not worked for most of my life, or engaged in volunteer activities. Actually, I have repeated my mother’s life pattern, […] Source: https://atoday.org/feminism-is-good-for-the-church-and-the-world/
More Kenyan Churches Seek To Leave Adventist Conferences
18 October 2019 | The list of Adventist congregations in Kenya leaving General Conference-sanctioned conferences to join the recently-formed and self-appointed Nairobi Cosmopolitan Conference (NCC), is growing. On October 15, the Daily Nation reported that a number of churches in the Trans Mara region of the country, seek to leave the South Kenya Conference to […] Source: https://atoday.org/more-kenyan-churches-seek-to-leave-adventist-conferences/
Sabbath: Facing Opposition
Image © Pacific Press
Read for This Week’s Study: Ezra 4:1-5, 2 Cor. 6:14, Ezra 5:1-5, Haggai 1:1-15, Ezra 4:6-24, Nehemiah 4:1-23, Neh. 6:1-13.
Memory Text: “But the eye of their God was upon the elders of the Jews, so that they could not make them cease till a report could go to Darius. Then a written answer was returned concerning this matter” (Ezra 5:5, NKJV).
Ezra 3-6 is structured thematically, covering different historical periods of opposition to the rebuilding of the temple. Recognizing this thematic approach will help clarify the overall message.
Ezra is mentioned for the first time by name in Ezra 7:1. With his arrival in 457 B.C., things changed, and the city of Jerusalem with its wall began to be spasmodically rebuilt. Thirteen years later Nehemiah arrived (sent by Artaxerxes in 444 B.C.), and the building of the wall was finally resumed. Although the opposition was intense, the work was completed in 52 days (Neh. 6:15).
Resistance to the work of God is a prevalent theme in the two books of Ezra and Nehemiah; therefore, it is not surprising that rebuilding the temple and Jerusalem incited opposition and persecution. Wherever we turn in today’s world, the work of the Lord is resisted. Satan tries to make sure that the gospel doesn’t spread quickly, as it threatens his dominion. In Ezra and Nehemiah, how did the Jews handle the opposition?
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 26.
Amen!
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