Someone has described Ephesians as the Alps of the New Testament. Paul, our mountaineering guide, takes us on a rapid ascent in Ephesians 1:1-23. We are quickly breathless and amazed at the view from the summit.

Reflect on Ephesians 1:1-23. What especially inspires you? What peaks do you see?

Image © Lars Justinen Goodsalt.com

Ephesians 1:3-14 functions like a map at a mountain’s summit that identifies the peaks on the horizon, as Paul orients us to our blessed place in the vast landscape of the plan of salvation. The scenery covers the full span of salvation history, from eternity past, through God’s grace-filled actions in Christ, to eternity future. God’s redemption of believers reflects divine initiatives taken “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4), which are now being worked out in our lives (see Ephesians 1:7-8,  Ephesians 1:13-14, ). These pre-creation strategies will be fully accomplished at the end of time (Ephesians 1:9-10, ). Then, “all things,” both “in heaven” and “on earth” will be gathered together or united in Christ, and God’s plan for “the fullness of time” (ESV) will be fulfilled (Ephesians 1:10). Then, we will experience fully God’s mysterious plan (Ephesians 1:9). In the present, we may be certain that the Christ-centered salvation in which we stand is an important part of God’s wide-reaching plan for the redemption of “all things.”

Being on a mountaintop inspires thanksgiving. In Ephesians 1:15-19, Paul gives thanks to God as he prays that believers may experience the salvation God has planned for them. We find ourselves on another steep climb as he points us upward to the risen, ascended, exalted Christ, who rules over every imaginable power for all time (Ephesians 1:20-23).

Through the grace of God expressed in Christ Jesus, we may live this day on the mountaintop!

Amen!(0)

The post Sunday: We Are Blessed in Christ appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/sunday-we-are-blessed-in-christ/

The Mission program of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is an opportunity for us to understand the needs of others and share in supporting them. Please click on the image below to watch the Mission Spotlight presentation for this week: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ps4gbg-BXs?si=2MzJsjkb_UB1Y4mQ&w=560&h=315]

Amen!(0)

The post Mission Spotlight for September 23 appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-september-23/

Image © Pacific Press

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Ephesians 1:1-6:24 .

Memory Text: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10, NKJV).

Visitors to London climb on board the London Eye, a Ferris-Wheel-like attraction. From 450 feet above the River Thames you can see it all: Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and the many historic palaces and cathedrals. For New Testament scholar Nicholas Thomas “Tom” Wright, “the letter to the Ephesians stands in relation to the rest of Paul’s letters rather like the London Eye. It isn’t the longest or fullest of his writings, but it offers a breathtaking view of the entire landscape. From here, as the wheel turns, you get a bird’s-eye view of one theme after another.” — Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters (London: S.P.C.K. [Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge Publishing], 2004), p. 3.

In Ephesians, Paul is not focused on issues of local concern. The letter reads as though Paul were addressing believers everywhere and Christian churches wherever they exist. The letter’s timeless feel allows the “breathtaking view” Paul offers to invade our own world and thought. As we review each chapter, let’s keep this question in mind: What important truths embedded in Ephesians should continue to shape our lives as believers?

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 30.

Amen!(0)

The post Sabbath: Ephesians in the Heart appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/sabbath-ephesians-in-heart/

Power of a Few Words

By Andrew McChesney

When armed conflict erupted in his homeland of Ukraine in 2022, Alexei Arushanian was living safely across the border in Poland, where he had worked for several years, installing windows in people’s homes. But he had many relatives in Ukraine, and he was worried about them.

Image © Pacific Press

He called relative after relative to check on their well-being and to see if he could help. “How are you, Aunt Lyuda?” he asked.

“All is fine, praise God,” she replied. “We are in hiding.”

She said her daughter, Nastya, and her young son were planning to join refugees spilling across the border to Poland. During normal times, the trip would have taken a day. But now the trip would take two to three days.

“Will they come to Warsaw?” Alexei asked. “Have them call me. They can stay with me as long as they need. I can meet them at the border.”

A short time later, another relative called from Ukraine to say that Nastya and her son were already in Poland. They had crossed the border and were staying with a Polish family who had opened their home to them. Many Polish people generously offered temporary housing to refugees.

Alexei called Nastya and promised to come for her and her son.

She and her son were waiting when Alexei drove up to the house. The 60-year-old owner of the house accompanied Nastya and her son to the car. Nastya waved goodbye as she got into the car, and Alexei opened the car trunk to place her and her son’s belongings inside. As the trunk lid opened, he saw several copies of Ellen White’s The Great Controversy inside. Alexei belonged to a church group that distributed the book, a difficult task with few receptive people, and he always kept several books in the trunk. Alexei grabbed a book. “I have a gift for you,” he told the 60-year-old man.

“What kind of gift?” the man asked, curiously.

“It’s a Christian book that contains the history of Christianity from the first Christians who defended the truth after Christ returned to heaven to the events that will occur at the end of the world,” Alexei said. “I think that you will find it interesting.”

The man accepted the book. Then he gave Alexei a big hug. “Thank you,” he said.

Alexei was overjoyed. He had never expected it to be so easy.

“This was the will of God,” he says. “All I had to do was say a few words, and he took the book. I pray that he reads it and that his wife and children read it, too. I hope that he accepts it. The book is very interesting.”

This quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering will go to the Trans-European Division, which includes Poland. Thank you for planning a generous offering next Sabbath.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

Amen!(0)

The post Inside Story: Power of a Few Words appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/inside-story-power-of-few-words/

Further Thought:

 “An army in battle would become confused and weakened unless all worked in concert. If the soldiers should act out their own impulsive ideas, without reference to each other’s positions and work, they would be a collection of independent atoms; they could not do the work of an organized body.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

So the soldiers of Christ must act in harmony. They alone must not be cherished. If they do this, the Lord’s people in the place of being in perfect harmony, of one mind, one purpose, and consecrated to one grand object, will find efforts fruitless, their time and capabilities wasted. Union is strength. A few converted souls acting in harmony, acting for one grand purpose, under one head, will achieve victories at every encounter.” — Ellen G. White, Spalding and Magan Collection, p. 121.

What is the significance of Paul’s labeling himself “an ambassador in chains” (Ephesians 6:20, ESV)?

Ambassadors often played challenging roles during wartime, so Paul’s self-description fits the context of his military metaphor. Ambassadors were to be treated with the respect due the person or country that sent them. So there is stark contrast between Paul’s status as ambassador for the Supreme Ruler of the cosmos and the utter disrespect signaled by his chains (literally, “chain”). However, since ambassadors would wear a “chain of office,” Paul’s mention of a “chain” may be “spiced with irony,” in which he sees his chain as “a decoration to be worn with distinction.” — David J. Williams, Paul’s Metaphors: Their Context and Character (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999), p. 152.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

Amen!(0)

The post Friday: Further Thought ~ Waging Peace appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/friday-further-thought-waging-peace/