Daily Lesson for Friday 10th of July 2026

Further Thought:

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

Read Ellen G. White, “Calvary,” Pages 741–757, in The Desire of Ages.

“To the minds of multitudes living at the present time, the cross of Calvary is surrounded by sacred memories. Hallowed associations are connected with the scenes of the crucifixion. But in Paul’s day the cross was regarded with feelings of repulsion and horror. To uphold as the Saviour of mankind one who had met death on the cross, would naturally call forth ridicule and opposition.

“Paul well knew how his message would be regarded by both the Jews and the Greeks of Corinth. . . . Among his Jewish hearers there were many who would be angered by the message he was about to proclaim. In the estimation of the Greeks his words would be absurd folly. He would be looked upon as weak-minded for attempting to show how the cross could have any connection with the elevation of the race or the salvation of mankind.

“But to Paul the cross was the one object of supreme interest. Ever since he had been arrested in his career of persecution against the followers of the crucified Nazarene he had never ceased to glory in the cross. At that time there had been given him a revelation of the infinite love of God, as revealed in the death of Christ; and a marvelous transformation had been wrought in his life, bringing all his plans and purposes into harmony with heaven. . . . He knew by personal experience that when a sinner once beholds the love of the Father, as seen in the sacrifice of His Son, and yields to the divine influence, a change of heart takes place, and henceforth Christ is all and in all.”—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, Pages 245, 246.

Discussion Questions

<–Thursday

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26c-02-further-thought-the-message-of-the-cross/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26c-02-further-thought-the-message-of-the-cross

The Adventist creators of the YouTube channel Deep Made Simple do a great job of helping us understand what “the cross” meant at the time of Jesus and of Paul. It was not a good word. It was not a word you would even mention in Roman society. It was that bad. (See the video below for details. )

But are we any closer to accepting the message of the cross than the disciples were? To the disciples, it meant giving up all their worldly hopes of glory. It meant following in the footsteps of Jesus in self-denial and self-sacrifice, risking persecution and death. After the cross, they remembered that Jesus had said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23). His words had only seemed a puzzle to them then, and they soon forgot them. But they remembered now, and now they understood that He meant they must die – die to their selfish desires in order to live for Christ. 

As you watch the video below, keep in mind that Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

After watching that video, we can reflect and ask ourselves, when did we last “deny ourselves” anything for the sake of Christ? When did we last “take up our cross” /die to self?

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/are-we-still-missing-the-message-of-the-cross/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=are-we-still-missing-the-message-of-the-cross

Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dr Adenilton Tavares de Aguiar, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/2-the-message-of-the-cross-it-is-written-discussion-with-the-author/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2-the-message-of-the-cross-it-is-written-discussion-with-the-author

View an in-depth discussion of The Message of the Cross in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris.
Click on the image below to view the video:

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With thanks to Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

Daily Lesson for Thursday 9th of July 2026

In 1 Corinthians 1:19-20,30, and 31, Paul talks about how God’s wisdom and human wisdom are incredibly different and, thus, mutually exclusive. Notice that Paul does not reject wisdom as such, but he rejects the kind of human wisdom that tries to compete with God. Human wisdom is incapable of freeing men from sin. Only Christ, the wisdom of God, can perform this work. See the table below.

Image © Phil McKay Goodsalt.com

Both 1 Corinthians 1:18 and 1 Corinthians 1:24 show that Christ is the power of God, in the sense that He has the power to save people from their sins. Indeed, “it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21, NKJV). The phrases “us who are being saved” (1 Corinthians 1:18, NKJV), “those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21, NKJV), and “those who are called” (1 Corinthians 1:24, NKJV) refer to the same group, namely, people living the experience of salvation through faith. “The gospel of Christ . . . is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16, NKJV).

Christ is not only the power but also the wisdom of God. This means that through Him God faced and solved the problem of sin, a problem that human wisdom was powerless to solve. The wisdom of this world is unable to make people know God (1 Corinthians 1:21). Conversely, through Christ we become wise for salvation (2 Timothy 3:15).

In reading 1 Corinthians 1:24-29, one should also notice the terms foolish (or foolishness) and weak (or weakness). The point is that human wisdom may consider the message of the Cross to be foolishness and weakness. However, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (1 Corinthians 1:25, ESV). This doesn’t mean that God is weak or foolish; it’s merely an expression showing how God’s power and wisdom far exceed anything human.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26c-02-christ-the-power-and-wisdom-of-god/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26c-02-christ-the-power-and-wisdom-of-god