Prepared by William Earnhardt for you to use in Sabbath School class on April 25, 2026.

Central Theme: The Bible is not just a collection of proof texts. It is a love story about God’s love for you.

Photograph by William Earnhardt

Read in Class: 2 Timothy 3:15-17. Ask the class to identify the main point of this passage.

Study: How much of the Old and New Testaments are inspired, and where do we get our doctrines from?

Apply: When applying Bible teachings to our daily lives, how can we be sure that we are really following our conscience and not just our own preferences, in the way we interpret Scripture?

Share: Your friend says that the Adventist church stresses going by the Bible and not traditions. See Matthew 15:9. However, do we have some traditions that we are actually more cultural than Biblical? What do you tell your friend? See Cultural Influence and the Bible.

Read in Class: John 20:31. Ask the class to identify the main idea of this passage.

Study: How should we study not only the book of John but the entire Bible? Do we read the Bible like a dictionary, which is just a collection of facts and definitions? Or do we read it like a love story? See The Bible is a Love Story, Not a Collection of Proof Texts.

Apply: How does reading the Bible as a love story instead of just a collection of proof texts helpt your relationship with God to grow?

Share: When sharing the Bible with others, how can we ensure each Bible study is a love story rather than simply giving them a list of proof texts on a given topic? See the In Light of the Cross Bible Study Guides.

Read in Class: Psalm 119:11, 105, and Hebrews 4:12. Ask the class to identify the common threads in these passages.

Study: What advice is given in these passages and how can we follow it?

Apply: How much time do you spend daily in the Bible, and how do you spend that time? What can you do to make that time the most spiritually profitable?

Share: Your friend asks you if remembering a certain Scripture has ever kepts you away from sin, What do you tell your friend?

Read in Class: Job 22:22, Proverbs 3:5-6, and 1 Corinthians 2:14. Ask the class to identify the common threads in these passages.

Study: What kind of attitude do these Scriptures teach us to have while studying the Bible?

Apply: How open-minded are you while studying God’s Word? See Acts 17:11, Do you read the Bible ready to learn, or to “prove” what you think you already know?

Share: Your friend asks you why you need to pray before studying the Bible. What do you tell your friend? See Proverbs 3:5-6 and John 16:13.

Mission: Can you share a Bible study in the light of the cross with someone this week, and help them discover the love story in the Bible?

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/4-the-role-of-the-bible-sabbath-school-lesson-teaching-plan/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=4-the-role-of-the-bible-sabbath-school-lesson-teaching-plan

Daily Lesson for Sunday 19th of April 2026

Before we explore why the Bible is so valuable and how to dig deeper in our personal Bible study, we must understand something: one of the most significant attacks Satan can make on you is to stop you from spending time with God in His Word. Keeping people away from their Bibles through business, apathy, tiredness, or doubt is his number-one strategy. He knows that when we spend time with God in His Word, it revives our lives and nourishes our souls; so, of course, he would do everything to prevent this!

We are told that “Satan employs every possible device to prevent [people] from obtaining a knowledge of the Bible; for its plain ut­terances reveal his deceptions.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 593. Satan knows that God’s powerful Word makes him powerless. Satan knows that prayer and Bible study are the most powerful weapons humanity can use against him (Ephesians 6:17-18; Hebrews 4:12), so he does everything he can to stop us from reading and praying. He knows that God’s words are powerful and that they not only spoke this world into existence (Psalms 33:6), but they can raise the dead (John 11:41-44) and give us strength to overcome (Matthew 4:1-11).

Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com

By keeping God’s people away from their Bibles, Satan affects not only our relationship with God but our relationships with others. Our marriages become strained, we yell at our kids, and we don’t have patience with our friends or coworkers. Life seems too busy; we feel stressed and burdened, with no escape route. And surprisingly, we don’t often pause long enough to realize what’s happening. We might think we’re close to God, but in reality, when days and weeks pass by without our ever opening God’s Word, we’re weakened more every day.

As the covering cherub before he fell (Ezekiel 28:14-17), Lucifer heard God’s words and knew their incredible power. He now hates this truth, so it’s clear why our minds grow numb and our hearts grow dull when we don’t choose to hear and bring God’s words into our daily lives.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26b-04-the-most-powerful-weapon/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26b-04-the-most-powerful-weapon

The Servant by Darrel Tank

Can you easily spot whether someone is proud? Or whether someone is humble?

“We’ve all known people with big egos … ” our lesson author writes. It might be worthwhile to remember that we most frequently see our own faults in others. So if we often spot the sin of pride in others, that might well be an indicator of the state of our own hearts. 

Since my teen years, I’ve been attracted to people who seem humble. One of my college profs seemed so humble that I was sure he was very close to God. I was excited when he offered me the job of working under him to run the college bookstore. What a blessing! I determined to be worthy of his confidence in me. 

After my senior year in academy, I was working full days during the summer to earn part of my college tuition. We were getting ready for the school year, and this morning Dr. I. laid out the day’s work. I worked hard and was done by about 1:30 pm. What to do? There was no way to contact my boss. But then I had a lightbulb moment: Elder F. in the business office across the hall had been in charge of the bookstore for years. Perhaps he could help me. And he did, by suggesting helpful things I could do.

When Dr. I returned at the end of the day, I was quite proud of myself for having completed the assigned tasks and then some! But Dr. I. was not pleased. He gave me what I still consider to be the worst dressing-down of my life, warning me against the sin of pride and telling me what a terrible sin it was for me to try to take his job from him! It was doubly traumatic because I had looked up to him so much. To this day, I can feel the utter devastation I experienced – that this man of virtue and humility could be so cruel to a 17-year-old student.

I went to my dorm room, threw myself on my bed and had a long cry over the wreckage of my idol, missing supper in the process.

I don’t know if anyone else found out about this incident, because I didn’t tell anyone. I worked for this same prof for a couple of years in different capacities, including personal secretary. And I saw conscious humility up close. It was not pretty. Note

Trying to be humble might not be a good idea. 

So how do we recognize humility? Or pride, for that matter? 

Should we even try to recognize humility or pride in others? If we had been among the Israelites in the desert, would we have recognized humility in our stern leader? Or might we have thought him to be proud, like Miriam and Aaron did?

I know I’m easily fooled by apparent humility – not just once. (I’m a slow learner.)  I’ve also known some obnoxious folks who seemed full of themselves, but I suspect pride is much subtler. It sometimes masquerades as humility or spirituality – as in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. 

Perhaps we should stop for a moment and consider the situations in which we use the word “proud.” Do they all refer to the same quality? 

1. Pride in doing a job well.
2. Pride in being in the wealthy class.
3. Pride in being a member of a respected church. 
4. Pride in being better than a drug addict.
5. Pride in being gay OR pride in being straight.
6. Pride in being a son or daughter of the King of heaven.

Can you add to this list? (Let me know in the comments.)

We probably should not be looking for humility or for pride in others, because I believe these are symptoms of something deeper. They are heart issues, and we cannot read the heart. The first place to look is my own heart. 

Our lesson author assumes that “We’ve all battled with pride.” Is this true? A battle means an active fight. How do we fight pride, if we know we are better than others, as the author suggests?

The way I see it, looking to Jesus is the only cure for the pride we all have. And I believe a continuing focus cannot help but make us humble, as we realize that Jesus values the drunk in the gutter as much as He values the preacher in the pulpit. In fact, the drunk who realizes he’s a sinner and pleads with God for help is likely closer to heaven than the preacher who is conscious of his humility. Our need is our greatest argument for salvation.

We probably all know the story of the mighty angel, Lucifer, who became proud enough to covet the position of the Son of God in heaven. But how did this pride arise? If Lucifer had not first focused on his own beauty and goodness, would he have become proud? So was the very first sin not a focus on self?

To undo the damage of sin and to save us, Jesus Christ came to this sin-damaged planet and modeled the “law of self-renouncing love, the law of life for earth and heaven.” 

it will be seen that the law of self-renouncing love is the law of life for earth and heaven; that the love which “seeketh not her own” has its source in the heart of God. (See context in Desire of Ages, p. 19)

To “know God,” we need to understand the fundamental principle of God’s Kingdom which Christ came to demonstrate. He modeled not looking out for self, but renouncing self. What does that look like? (Check Phil 2:6-8 ESV) In Christ’s Kingdom, greatness is not measured by being over others, but by serving God and others. (Matt. 23:11)

Jesus emptied Himself, and in all that He did, self did not appear. He subordinated all things to the will of His Father.  (Check context in Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings, p. 14)

Perhaps we could all learn to be more humble by following the counsel to “spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones.” (Read more at Desire of Ages, p. 835)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/can-you-spot-humility-or-pride/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=can-you-spot-humility-or-pride

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 18th of April 2026

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study:

Lamentations 3:22-23; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; John 17:17; Ephesians 1:13; Psalms 119:11; 1 Corinthians 2:14.

Memory Text:

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12, NJKV).

The Bible. No doubt you own one copy or perhaps many. Throughout history, this precious book has been copied in secret, smuggled, and banned. It’s the most published book in the world, in any language, and also one of the oldest. Some have died so that the Bible could be preserved.

Where is the Bible in your life? Do you read it or does it sit beside your bed or on a bookcase gathering dust? Is life too busy for you to find time to really study the Word of God or do you feel too tired to open its pages?

God’s Word is living and powerful, and God is calling for you to let it speak to your heart, to encourage you, to challenge and change you, and to give you guidance and hope.

The Bible is not just an academic book or a collection of old stories. Instead, it is a beautiful, profound account of how the Creator of the universe seeks to draw us close to Him. If you have a desire to grow in your relationship with God, the best thing you can do is commit to spending quality time with Him daily, praying, reading His inspired Word, and surrendering your will to what it teaches.

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

Sunday–>

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/26b-04-the-role-of-the-bible/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=26b-04-the-role-of-the-bible

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.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-april-18/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mission-spotlight-for-april-18