Daily Lesson for Sabbath 18th of January 2025

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: Psalms 103:13, Isaiah 49:15, Hosea 11:1-9, Matthew 23:37, 2 Corinthians 11:2, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.

Memory Text:

“ ‘Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you’ ” (Isaiah 49:15, NKJV).

Emotions are often viewed as undesirable and to be avoided. For some people, emotions are intrinsically irrational, and thus, the good man or woman would not be described as “emotional.” In some ancient Greek philosophy, the idea of the “rational” man, who is (mostly) either impervious to passions or who rules over his emotions by way of unemotional reason, is prized as the ideal.

Unbridled emotions can be problematic, yes. However, God created people with the capacity for emotions, and God Himself is displayed throughout Scripture as experiencing profound emotions. If God can experience deep emotions, as the Bible consistently portrays, then emotions cannot be intrinsically bad or irrational—for the God of the Bible is perfectly good and possesses perfect wisdom.

In fact, there are beautiful truths to be garnered from the realization that God’s love for us is a deeply emotional love, but always with the caveat that though God’s love (emotional or otherwise) is perfect, it should not be thought of as identical to emotions as humans expe­rience them.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, January 25.

Sunday–>

(0)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-04-god-is-passionate-and-compassionate/

Inside Story for Friday 17th of January 2025

By Andrew McChesney

Jong-Moon Yoon is known as the thankful deacon. The first words out of his mouth no matter the circumstances are “thank you.” When someone asks for help, he says, “Thank you.” When he faces a conflict, he says, “Thank you.” When hardships and even losses beset him, he says, “Thank you.”

The deacon at a Seventh-day Adventist church in South Korea has taken to heart the words of the apostle Paul, who said in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (NKJV). People have noticed.

Image © Pacific Press

Jong-Moon is the longtime owner of a café on a beach in Jeongdongjin, one of the most popular places to watch sunrises in South Korea, especially on New Year’s Day. Among his customers was Nanum. As a teenager, she occasionally dropped by the café to enjoy the sunrise over a simple breakfast of tea and a toasted sandwich with a fried egg, lettuce, and cheese. As she grew older, she got married and had a daughter, Azsa. The two became regular breakfast customers, and the mother was amazed at Jong-Moon’s thankfulness. When she placed an order, he said, “Thank you.” When she paid for breakfast, he said, “Thank you.” When she thanked him for the meal, he said, “Thank you.”

During one visit, she struck up a conversation and learned that he goes to church on Saturdays. She had never heard about people worshiping on Saturdays. “Can I come to church with you next Saturday?” she asked.

The next Sabbath, she and her five-year-old daughter accompanied Jong-Moon to his church, located about a 30-minute drive from his café. Church members warmly welcomed the mother and daughter, and they eagerly asked how they had learned about the church. She said she had come because of the thankful deacon.

After the church service, Nanum told Jong-Moon that she wanted to come again. “If this is a church that you attend, I will follow you,” she said.

Even though Nanum never heard the name of Jesus at the café, she saw Jesus through Jong-Moon’s thankful spirit. The gospel is not only spoken but also conveyed through a person’s life. Through Jong-Moon’s example, the young mother and her daughter started attending church regularly. Now, she is praying that her husband will join them on Sabbath mornings.

Part of this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will help spread the gospel in South Korea. Thank you for planning a generous offering on March 29.

(0)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-03-inside-story-the-thankful-deacon/

Daily Lesson for Friday 17th of January 2025

Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled,’ ” Pages 662–680, in The Desire of Ages.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“The Lord is disappointed when His people place a low estimate upon themselves. He desires His chosen heritage to value themselves according to the price He has placed upon them. God wanted them, else He would not have sent His Son on such an expensive errand to redeem them. He has a use for them, and He is well pleased when they make the very highest demands upon Him, that they may glorify His name. They may expect large things if they have faith in His promises.

“But to pray in Christ’s name means much. It means that we are to accept His character, manifest His spirit, and work His works. The Saviour’s promise is given on condition. ‘If ye love Me,’ He says, ‘keep My commandments.’ He saves men, not in sin, but from sin; and those who love Him will show their love by obedience.

“All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart work with Christ. And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service. When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an apprecia­tion of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 668.

Discussion Questions

<–Thursday

(0)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-03-further-thought-to-be-pleasing-to-god/

Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 3 – To Be Pleasing to God. It’s the fastest hour of the week!

(0)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/to-be-pleasing-to-god-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/

Daily Lesson for Thursday 16th of January 2025

Under the umbrella of God’s mercy and mediation, God takes pleasure in even the smallest positive response to His love. Through the One who alone is worthy of love and is Himself perfectly righteous, each one of us can be counted righteous and counted among God’s beloved who will live with Him in perfect love for eternity. This is the great hope of the redemption, which involves Christ’s work for us in heaven.

But, you might wonder, can this include even me? What if I am not good enough? What if I am afraid that I do not have enough faith?

Image © Lifeway Collection at Goodsalt.com

The disciples could not cast out the demon; all hope seemed lost. But Jesus came and told the father, “ ‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes’ ” (Mark 9:23, NKJV). And the father tearfully replied,“ ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’ ” (Mark 9:24, NKJV).

Notice, Jesus did not say to the man, “Come back to me when you have more faith.” Instead his cry, “ ‘Help my unbelief,’ ” was enough.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6), and yet Jesus accepts even the smallest faith. And by faith (through the mediation of Christ), we can be pleasing to Him. Through faith and because of Christ’s work on our behalf, we can respond in ways that please God, similar to the way that a human father is pleased when a child brings him a gift that is otherwise worthless.

Thus, we should follow Paul’s counsel to make it our goal to “be well pleasing to” God (2 Corinthians 5:9-10, NKJV; compare with Colossians 1:10, 1 Thessalonians 4:1, Hebrews 11:5). And we should ask God to transform our interests to include the best interests of those whom we love, and to expand our love so that it reaches out to others. “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality” (Romans 12:10-13, NKJV).

<–Wednesday Friday–>

(2)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25a-03-a-worthy-goal/