Daily Lesson for Sunday 27th of October 2024

The Pharisees discovered that the disciples of Jesus were baptizing more people than did those of John the Baptist. This situation could create tensions between John’s followers and Jesus’. The disciples of John, quite naturally, were jealous for their master’s reputation and status (compare with John 3:26-30). John’s impressive reply was that he must decrease, but Jesus must increase (John 3:30). Probably to avoid confrontation, Jesus departed Judea to go to Galilee. Samaria provided the most direct route between those two locations, but it was not the only route possible. Devout Jews would take the long way around, going east through Perea. But Jesus had a mission in Samaria.

Image © Kim Justinen at Goodsalt.com

Jacob’s well was located right next to Shechem, while Sychar, where the woman was from, was about a mile away (1.5 km). Jesus sat by the well while His disciples went into the city to buy food. He had no access to the cooling water of the well. When the woman came to draw water, He asked her for a drink.

In John 3:1-36, it was surprising that Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews and a rabbi, would lower himself to come to Jesus. He came by night to avoid discovery. But, in John 4:1-54, the woman hides in broad daylight, perhaps avoiding contact with other women who came either at the beginning or end of the day when it was cooler. After all, why did she go such a long way to fetch water, and in the middle of the day when it was hot? Whatever the reason for her being there, meeting Jesus would change her life.

What scene unfolds next? A Jewish teacher is compared to a Samaritan woman of poor reputation. What a contrast! And yet, in this exact context, a remarkable encounter unfolds.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24d-05-the-setting-of-the-encounter/

Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 4 – Witnesses of Christ as the Messiah. It’s the fastest hour of the week!

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/witnesses-of-christ-as-the-messiah-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 26th of October 2024

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: John 4:1-42, John 3:26-30, Jeremiah 2:13, Zechariah 14:8, Ezekiel 36:25-27.

Memory Text:

“Then they said to the woman, ‘Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world’ ” (John 4:42, NKJV).

Who were the Samaritans? The northern kingdom of Israel had been taken captive by the Assyrians in 722 b.c. To create political stability, the Assyrians dispersed their captives throughout their empire. Likewise, captives from other nations were brought to populate the northern kingdom, and these became the Samaritans, who practiced their own form of Judaism.

Relations, however, were not good between them and the Jews. For instance, the Samaritans worked against the rebuilding of the temple at the return of the Jews from Babylon. The Samaritans, meanwhile, had built their own temple, on Mount Gerizim. But this temple was destroyed by the Jewish ruler John Hyrcanus in 128 b.c.

At the time of Christ, this animosity continued. The Jews avoided Samaria as much as possible. Though commerce may have gone on, other interaction was taboo. The Jews would not borrow from Samaritans or even receive a favor from them. Within this context, John recounts the encounter between Jesus, the woman at the well, and the people of the Samaritan city of Sychar.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 2.

Sunday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24d-05-the-testimony-of-the-samaritans/

The Mission program of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is an opportunity for us to understand the needs of others and share in supporting them. Please click on the image below to watch the Mission Spotlight presentation for this week:

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-october-26/

Inside Story for Friday 25th of October 2024

By Andrew McChesney

An ambulance rushed 36-year-old Nigora to the hospital in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. She could barely talk. Her arms were numb. She was struggling to swallow. The doctor couldn’t diagnose her condition.

Nigora grew worse over the next month in the hospital. She couldn’t sleep for more than 15 minutes a day. X-rays showed activity in her brain.

Then a second doctor said Nigora had a terminal illness. He saw no hope.

Image © Pacific Press

Nigora didn’t believe in Jesus, but she had Seventh-day Adventist neighbors who did. They visited her in intensive care and asked for permission to invite their church pastor to come and pray with her. “No, no,” Nigora said. “I’m not well. I look terrible. Tell him to come when I feel better.”

But the neighbors insisted. “Let him come and pray for you,” they said.

Reluctantly, Nigora agreed. A day later, the pastor and his wife came to Nigora’s bed. The pastor read Psalms 23:1-6, anointed Nigora’s forehead with oil, and prayed, “Lord, give health to our sister. Give her healing so she can make a full recovery.” Nigora didn’t feel any different after the prayer.

The next day, the pastor and his wife returned. Again he read from the Bible, anointed her, and prayed. Again Nigora didn’t feel any different. But that night, she was able to sleep for several hours, not for 15 minutes.

The third day, the pastor and his wife returned. Again he read from the Bible, anointed her, and prayed. Again she didn’t feel any different. But that night, she slept the whole night. After that, she slept well every night.

The pastor and his wife continued to visit. Slowly, Nigora’s speech improved. Her arms and legs began to function. Hospital X-rays showed that her brain activity had returned to normal. The doctor was astonished.

“It’s impossible that you have recovered, and so quickly,” he said.

Four months after the pastor began praying, Nigora was driving her car and back at work.

The woman who hadn’t believed in God credited Him for her recovery.

“This is a miracle of God,” she said.

She is glad to have neighbors who cared for her. “I’m very grateful to God that He gave me these kind of friends, who are like family,” she said, speaking slowly but clearly in an interview with Adventist Mission.

Although Nigora believes in God, she has not given her heart to Him. A discouraging factor may be that many people in Uzbekistan view Seventh-day Adventists as members of a sect. Please pray for Nigora and others like her who have witnessed God’s power in their lives but have yet to make a decision for Him. Nigora is a pseudonym.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24d-04-inside-story-power-of-prayer-in-uzbekistan/