Prepared by William Earnhardt for Sabbath School class, November 2, 2024.

Main Theme: John recounts the encounter between Jesus, the woman at the well, and the people of the Samaritan city of Sychar.

Read in Class: John 4:5-15. Ask the class the identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: How did Jesus use this opportunity to open a dialogue with the woman at the well? How does Jesus begin witnessing to this woman?

Apply: Read John 7:37-38. What is Jesus saying to us in these verses, and how do we experience what He is promising here?

Share: Your friend asks, “What are some of the taboos in your own culture that could hamper your witness to others? How do we learn to transcend them?” What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: John 4:16 and Ezekiel 36:25-27. Ask the class to define the common thread in these passages.

Study: How did Jesus respond to the woman’s request? What truth in Ezekiel 36:25-27 was Jesus trying to bring home to the woman?

Apply: In John 4:16 Jesus gets very personal with the woman to make her aware of her need for healing. How do we react when a friend or maybe even a sermon in church may expose an area where we need healing? Do we become defensive, or do we acknowledge our need for healing?

Share: Your friend asks, you how God has taken away your heart of stone and given you a heart of flesh? 

Read in Class: John 4:16-26. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What did Jesus do to show this woman that He knew her deepest secrets, and how did she respond? How did Jesus reveal His identity to her?

Apply: What should this story tell us about why the gospel needs to break down the barriers that we humans create with each other?

Share: Your friend mentions how you can see a friend you have not seen in years, and once you get back together it was like you were never apart. Could it be because you had been together “in the Sprit” even while you were apart? What do you tell your friend? See One in the Spirit.

Read in Class: John 4:27-42. Ask the class to define the main idea of this passage.

Study: What surprising action did the woman take?

Apply: What happened following this encounter, and what does it teach about how the gospel can be spread?

Share: What should this story tell us about how powerful the witness of even one person can be? How powerful a witness are you to what Jesus has done in your life? Who can you share your story with this week?

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/5-the-testimony-of-the-samaritans-sabbath-school-lesson-teaching-plan/

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 2nd of November 2024

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: John 3:25-36, John 1:32-36, Daniel 7:18, John 6:51-71, John 5:36-38, John 7:37-53.

Memory Text:

“ ‘And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself’ ” (John 12:32, NKJV).

Jesus doesn’t merely say astonishing things about Himself or about who He is or about who sent Him or about where He came from. He also showed who He is by the miracles and signs that He performed. As some openly testify of Jesus: “ ‘When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?’ ” (John 7:31, NKJV).

He backed up His words with actions that proved the truth of His words.

But as the drama continues, a division begins among the people. The healing of the man by the pool of Bethesda attracts the ire of some leaders. The discussion in Capernaum following the feeding of the 5,000 results in the rejection of Jesus by the multitudes. The resurrection of Lazarus creates faith in some but triggers in others a hostility that will lead to the trial and execution of Jesus.

This week’s lesson looks at some of those who witnessed and testified about Jesus. In each of these incidents, some aspects of who Jesus really is are revealed, and together they create a deeper vision of Jesus, the Messiah.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 9.

Sunday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24d-06-more-testimonies-about-jesus/

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-november-2/

Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 5 – The Testimony of the Samaritans. It’s the fastest hour of the week!

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/the-testimony-of-the-samaritans-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/

Inside Story for Friday 1st of November 2024

By Andrew McChesney

For most of his life, Rob Schetky, a retired U.S. Navy officer, had struggled with the Bible and its meaning.

Once an agnostic, Rob was seeking God’s will, but the Sabbath posed a problem. He fumed when people skipped church and engaged in everyday activities on Sunday. He asked, “Why are you playing golf on Sunday?” But inside he wondered, Where in the Bible did God change the Sabbath?

Image © Pacific Press

Rob stopped going to church. He was looking for a new church in Fairbanks, in the U.S. state of Alaska, when an unsolicited book arrived in his post office mailbox. “That’s an interesting name,” he thought, examining the book. “I wonder what The Great Controversy is.”

Leaving the post office, he passed a stack of Great Controversy books that other people had discarded on a counter. It had been a mass mailing.

At home, Rob became engrossed in the book. He grew excited as he read how humans, not God, had changed the Sabbath day of worship. Wow! he thought. Someone is telling the history of the church in a very logical way.

Contacting a friend, he said, “I’ve found a great history of Christianity. It’s called The Great Controversy.” Later, the friend called back. “You’ve got to get away,” he said. “That’s the Seventh-day Adventist Church. They’re a cult!”

Rob was surprised. He hadn’t noticed the name of the book’s author, Ellen White, and didn’t know that she had cofounded the Adventist Church. “No, they are not a cult,” he said. “They just believe in the Word of God.”

After the conversation, Rob wondered if Adventists worshiped in Fairbanks. Looking online, he found a church located only a 10-minute drive away. On Sabbath, he grabbed his Bible and The Great Controversy and went to church. He had been reading the book for less than a month.

The first person to greet him at church was a Sabbath School teacher, Helen. She expressed surprise when she learned that he had come because of The Great Controversy. “You just destroyed my complaints,” she said.

She had been worried that the small size of the book’s text made it impossible to read. Yet Rob had already read three-fourths of the book—and he had come to church to learn more.

Today, seven years later, Rob is 70 and a church deacon. He still reads the Bible and the writings of Ellen White daily. “When I found the Seventh-day Adventist Church, I found a home, and I found truth,” he said.

Join the Adventist world church in 2024 in the mass promotion and distribution of The Great Controversy. Ask your pastor or visit greatcontroversyproject.com for more details .

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24d-05-inside-story-unsolicited-book-in-the-mail/