Inside Story for Friday 14th of June 2024

By Andrew McChesney

Sara thought about the Seventh-day Adventist Church as she helped her mother sell pork and beer in Mozambique in southeast Africa.

Why do Adventists go to church on Saturday? she wondered.

As a small girl, Sara had gone to the Adventist Church several times with her big brother, who was an Adventist. But then he had moved to another town, and she had gone back to the church of her mother.

As she worked with her mother, memories about the Adventist Church returned. She thought about Adventist neighbors who had moved next door. Sara decided to ask them why they went to church on Saturday.

The neighbors welcomed Sara’s question, and they opened the Bible to the fourth commandment in Exodus 20:8-10. Sara read, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work” (NKJV). She also read other verses about the holiness of the seventh-day Sabbath. She saw that Jesus worshiped on the seventh day when He lived on earth. She decided to keep the seventh-day Sabbath.

Mother was furious when Sara told her that she would no longer sell pork and beer on Saturdays. She forbade Sara from going to the Adventist Church. Sara went anyway. She wanted to honor her mother as God commands in the fifth commandment (Exodus 20:12). But she also realized that it was more important “to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

Tensions escalated further when Sara stopped selling pork and beer altogether. She explained to Mother that God does not condone the eating of unclean meat, such as pork (Leviticus 11:7), or the drinking of alcohol (Proverbs 20:1). Furthermore, she said, the Bible teaches that “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31), and selling products unapproved by God would not glorify Him.

Mother threw Sara out of the house. With nowhere to go, Sara left town and moved in with her Adventist brother and his wife and their sons. Her heart was heavy. Is this the cost of following Jesus? she wondered.

Sara’s brother presented her case to leaders at his church. Through their efforts, an Adventist pastor met with Mother. She listened carefully to what he said. She didn’t agree with him on everything. But her face softened as they spoke. She said Sara could return home.

Today, Mother still does not share Sara’s convictions. Sara is praying for the Holy Spirit to touch her heart. She knows that the God who gave her a fuller understanding of His love can do the same for her mother.

Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offerings that help spread the good news of Jesus’ soon coming in Africa and around the world.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24b-11-inside-story-no-to-pork-yes-to-sabbath/

Daily Lesson for Friday 14th of June 2024

Worshiping the beast and its image alludes to Daniel 3:1-30, in which Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were commanded by the king of Babylon to bow down to a golden image or be thrown into a fiery furnace. Ancient Babylon, modern Babylon—the issue is worship. True worship springs from a mind taught by God’s Word, a soul transformed by His love, and a heart filled with His Spirit. Then we will not be “conformed to this world” but live according to God’s will, which is found in His Word. That is our only safety!

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“God never forces the will or the conscience; but Satan’s constant resort—to gain control of those whom he cannot otherwise seduce—is compulsion by cruelty. Through fear or force he endeavors to rule the conscience and to secure homage to himself. To accomplish this, he works through both religious and secular authorities, moving them to the enforcement of human laws in defiance of the law of God.”—Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 591.

“In order to endure the trial before them, they must understand the will of God as revealed in His word; they can honor Him only as they have a right conception of His character, government, and purposes, and act in accordance with them. None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict.”—The Great Controversy, p. 593.

“But God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms. The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the majority—not one nor all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain ‘Thus saith the Lord’ in its support.”—The Great Controversy, p. 595.

Discussion Questions

1. How can we live in the expectation of the coming of Christ and share that hope without becoming alarmists?
2. Dwell more on the question of worship. What does our daily life, our daily routine, tell us about who or what we worship?
3. How can we help ourselves and others face the future with confidence and not with fear?
4. What practical difference does understanding last-day events make in our lives today?

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24b-11-further-thought-the-impending-conflict/

Daily Lesson for Thursday 13th of June 2024

The first beast rose out of the sea; the second beast comes “up out of the earth” (Revelation 13:11, NKJV). The sea represents “peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues” (Revelation 17:15, NKJV).

Image © Review & Herald Publishing at Goodsalt.com

The earth, then, represents a sparsely populated area of the world. This second beast arises near the close of the prophetic period during which the first beast exercises authority (Revelation 13:5). That is, it rises to prominence around a.d. 1798.

The United States precisely fits this description. It declared its independence in a.d. 1776, adopted its constitution in a.d. 1789, and was recognized as a world power by the late nineteenth century.

John continues, “He had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon” (Revelation 13:11, NKJV). Horns in Bible prophecy symbolize power. Unlike the first beast, this beast has no crowns on its horns, suggesting it is not a monarchy. The two horns represent the two primary governing principles that are the source of the United States’ power and success—political and religious liberty.

This gentle, lamblike nation ultimately speaks like a dragon. It exercises “all the authority of the first beast” (Revelation 13:12, NKJV) and abandons its principles of religious liberty, causing “the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast” (Revelation 13:12, NKJV). The United States will lead out in requiring everyone on earth to worship the first beast by recognizing the Papacy’s spiritual and secular authority. According to this prophecy, the United States forms an image to the beast—a union of church and state—and it will require everyone to worship this image.

What’s fascinating is that at the time when first identified as this beast power, the United States was nowhere near the military and economic behemoth it was to become and remains now.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24b-11-the-beast-from-the-earth/

Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Mark Finley, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/11-the-impending-conflict-it-is-written-discussions-with-the-author/

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

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

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/11-the-impending-conflict-hopess-video-discussion/