Daily Lesson for Sunday 22nd of June 2025

The story of Jonah (see Jonah 1:1-17; Jonah 2:1-10; Jonah 3:1-10; Jonah 4:1-11), while brief, delivers considerable impact. Many believers have found reflections of themselves in this reluctant prophet. The story also contains remarkable overtones of future events.

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

Jesus declared that He was greater than Jonah. He knew that coming to this world would mean the Cross, and still He came to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Jonah spent three days in the great fish because of his own sins; Jesus spent three days in the tomb because of ours. That’s what it took to save the lost.

Today, we know Jonah as a reluctant prophet, unwilling to go to Nineveh. From a human perspective, it is easy to understand—the Assyrians ran a brutal regime. Assyrian murals are replete with scenes of unusual cruelty; conquered peoples were put to death by the most cruel methods imaginable. Who would want to face the prospect of preaching repentance in their capital city?

There is an important moment in the story that may point forward to the last-day remnant movement. When Jonah is asked who he is, he responds, “ ‘I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land’ ”—a statement much like the first angel’s message (Jonah 1:9, NKJV; Revelation 14:7). Indeed, his emphasis on the Lord as the One “ ‘who made the sea and the dry land’ ” is, of course, pointing to Him as the Creator. This fact is foundational to why we should worship Him, and worship is central to last-day events.

At the same time, we, too, have been charged with preaching a potentially unpopular message in spiritual Babylon. To say “come out of her, my people” (Revelation 18:4, NKJV) is to tell the world they must repent—a message that has almost always provoked a negative response from many people, even when delivered in the kindest way possible. Who of us when witnessing has not received negative, or even hostile, responses? It just comes with the job.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-13-the-reluctant-prophet/

Our Sabbath School program has always been linked to the support of the Seventh-day Adventist Mission program. This video provides a little insight into this important work.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-june-21/

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 21st of June 2025

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: Matthew 12:38-42; Jonah 3:5-10; Revelation 18:4; Daniel 5:1-31; Revelation 16:12-19; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23.

Memory Text:

“So he said to them, ‘I am a Hebrew; and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land’ ” (Jonah 1:9, NKJV).

This week will be our final look at accounts that help elucidate our understanding of last-day events. This time we will look at the mission of Jonah to Nineveh; the fall of Babylon; and the rise of Cyrus, the Persian king who liberated God’s people and enabled them to return to the Promised Land.

As with the other stories we’ve examined, these historical accounts have held profound meaning for every generation. But they also have special relevance to the final generations living before Christ returns. That is, we can mine from these historical accounts various elements that can help us better understand what we call “present truth.”

At the same time, we must remember one thing concerning all these stories that appear to foreshadow last-day events: we must be careful to look at broad themes and allusions and not try to parse every detail to the point of creating prophetic absurdities. As in the parables of Jesus, we should look for the major points and principles. We should not milk every detail in hopes of finding some hidden truth. Instead, we should look for the outlines, the principles; and from these we can discover elements relevant for the last days.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, June 28.

Sunday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-13-images-of-the-end/

Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 12 – Precursors. It’s the fastest hour of the week!

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/precursors-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/

Inside Story for Friday 20th of June 2025

By Andrew McChesney

Seventeen-year-old Anders complained of hearing voices at Holbrook Seventh-day Adventist Indian School in the US state of Arizona. The school counselor, Loren Fish, met with him and determined that it wasn’t a mental health issue. Staff members prayed.

Image © Pacific Press

But then Anders started acting like a possessed person. While at home during school break, he had attended a traditional ceremony. Back at school, the slightly built teen began to exhibit superhuman strength at times, and Holbrook’s staff had trouble controlling him. Other times, his eyes rolled back in his head. After an attack, he’d sleep for hours. When he awoke, he acted normal, but he was scared. One day, he asked the boys’ dean, “What does Legion mean?” He’d heard the word “Legion” in his head. The dean remembered how Jesus, before healing a possessed man, asked the demon for his name, and the demon replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many” (Mark 5:9, NKJV). The registrar, who was mentoring Anders, asked if he would like for the school staff to pray over him. The boy said yes.

In the school’s conference room, staff gathered around Anders and began to pray for him. Suddenly, the boy groaned and fell to the floor. No one was sure about what to do. Several people prayed out loud while others sang hymns. Still others urged Anders to pray, “Jesus, help me.” Anders could not get the words to come out of his mouth. It was complete chaos. Then Anders started to laugh at the staff. It was a strange, unnatural laugh.

The school’s development director, Diana Fish, felt embarrassed. The devil knows that we don’t know what to do, she thought. Pulling out her cellphone, she googled, “How to help a possessed person.” She found a paper titled, “Ellen White on Confrontation with Evil Spiritual Powers” by Marc Coleman on the Andrews University website. “Listen,” she said. “We need to be united. We need to command the spirit to leave in Jesus’ name.”

Immediately, a staff member commanded the spirit, “Come out in the name of Jesus!” Then Anders gasped, “Jesus, help me!” All of the staff exclaimed in unison, “Praise God!” A loud screech came out of the boy. The school’s business manager felt something like a strong whirlwind fly past her and out of the room. Then there was peace. Anders lay, weeping, on the floor. Two staff members brought in a cot, and the boy slept for the rest of the afternoon. After that, Anders was better—until he went home again. When he returned, the harassment resumed, and the student left the school.

“We’re still praying for him,” Diana said. “We know it’s a spiritual battle, and it’s not over. We deal with the great controversy daily with our students.”

This mission story offers an inside look at a previous Thirteenth Sabbath project, Holbrook Seventh-day Adventist Indian School. Anders is a pseudonym. Thank you for supporting the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering on June 28.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-12-inside-story-epilogue-a-daily-battle/