It is wonderful to travel through John Mark’s life and see the beautiful story climax with 
Christ The Lord Is Risen Today – Hymn 166, therefore
Go, Preach My Gospel – Hymn 378. These two hymns give us a purpose all during this quarter to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus. May you enjoy these hymns for your theme hymn from which to choose. 

Jesus “opens the door to a true understanding of what faith is really about” this week, says Sabbath afternoon’s introduction to our week of study: 
Hymn 517 – My Faith Looks Up To Thee, 
Hymn 522 – My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less and 
Hymn 608 – Faith Is The Victory. Our faith-building continues throughout the week.

On Wednesday we learn that we are like the woman Jesus spent time with and request 
Saviour, Teach Me – Hymn 193, because we are all 
A Child Of The King – Hymn 468, just as the outcast lady was, who was talking with Jesus. 

May we keep our faith blossoming and growing in our walk with Jesus. 

Please continue to search the scriptures this week to be blessed and to bless many others. 

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org/Search and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given. 

 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/6-inside-out-singing-with-inspiration/

Key Thought: Jesus often quoted from the Old Testament. But to the Jewish leaders, tradition was more important than Biblical instruction. Let’s look at Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees in Mark chapters 7 and 8.
August 10, 2024

1. Have a volunteer read Mark 7:14-19.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. What truths are presented here? What did Jesus mean by the riddle in Mark 7:15?
3. Personal Application: What do you do with the gifts you have been given regarding hearing and speaking? How can you use them? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “Do we have traditions that may conflict with the principles of God’s law?.” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read Mark 7:24-30.

1.  Ask class members to share their thoughts on the most important point in this text.
2. What important lessons are found in this story?
3. Personal Application: Why is prejudice against other races contrary to the teaching of Jesus? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Why did Jesus speak so harshly to the woman at first, calling her people dogs? The Jews themselves were slaves in Rome at this time. Was He referring to the fact that she was not in His religious group and was an idol worshipper? Or was He using this instance to show the disciples how wrong they were to disregard others because they were not part of the Jewish community?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Mark 7:31-37.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. Who was brought to Jesus and what did Jesus do for him??
3. Personal Application: What can you do to share the gospel in simple ways to your neighbor? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors asks: “Why did Jesus put His fingers in the man’s ears, spit, and touch his tongue and sigh? Couldn’t He have just commanded the man to hear and speak? And why did He sigh?” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Mark 8:11-21.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What approach by the Pharisees deeply disappointed Jesus?
3. Personal Application: Why does it seem so easy to doubt God’s love for us? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: Think of one person who needs to hear a message from this week’s lesson. Tell the class what you plan to do this week to share with them.

(Truth that is not lived, that is not imparted, loses its life-giving power, its healing virtue. Its blessings can be retained only as it is shared.”Ministry of Healing, p. 148).

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/6-inside-out-teaching-plan/

Daily Lesson for Monday 5th of August 2024

Jesus’ words in this passage have been a conundrum for many as they ponder their relationship to the teachings of Leviticus 11:1-47 regarding clean and unclean foods. Is Jesus doing away with such distinctions? Are Seventh-day Adventists mistaken in teaching that church members who eat meat are to eat it only from the clean-animal list?

Image © Educational Concepts Collection at Goodsalt.com

First, it would be odd for Jesus suddenly to dismiss Mosaic instructions in Mark 7:14-19 when He had just defended Moses against tradition in Mark 7:6-13. Second, the very tradition that the Pharisees were promoting does not have a basis in Old Testament teaching; the food laws, in contrast, do. Third, what Mark 7:19 means when it says that Jesus cleanses all food is not that the food laws are abolished but instead that the tradition of touch contamination that the Pharisees had made was invalid. This, for example, is that false notion that if you could be contaminated by coming in contact with Gentiles, then you also could be contaminated through contact with food that they had touched.

In Mark 7:19, Jesus notes that food does not go into the heart but into the stomach and then passes out through the intestinal tract. But in Mark 7:21-23, He notes that evil comes from inside the heart, from the center of who a person is. He presents a list of vices that start from evil thoughts but then end in evil actions.

When the reference to the fifth commandment in Mark 7:10 is included with the vice list, every commandment of the second table of the Decalogue is there. Further, Jesus refers to vain worship, in Mark 7:7, the breaking of what is at the heart of the first four commands of the Decalogue. Thus, Jesus stands as a defender of the Law of God throughout this passage.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24c-06-clean-hands-or-clean-heart/

Daily Lesson for Sunday 4th of August 2024

One can imagine children studying this passage in Sabbath School and coming home to tell their mothers that they do not have to wash their hands before eating because Jesus said so. However, this story is not about hygiene.

Image © Darrel Tank at Goodsalt.com

In Jesus’ day, many people in that land were very concerned with ritual purity. During the time between the testaments, the idea of washing hands in order to remain ritually pure was extended to common people, even though these rules originally applied only to the priests in the Old Testament (Exodus 30:17-21). It is in keeping with this concept that the religious leaders complain to Jesus about His disciples.

Jesus does not directly answer the question asked of Him. Instead, He defends His disciples in a two-pronged response. First, He quotes Isaiah’s strong words rebuking a nation that honors God in word but whose heart is far from Him (Isaiah 29:13). The quotation from Isaiah continues with the condemnation of putting human traditions in the place of divine commands.

The second part of Jesus’ reply plays off the Isaiah quotation. The Lord cites the command of God to honor one’s parents (Exodus 20:12)— that is, to take care of them in their old age—and contrasts this with a religious tradition where one could give something to God (a gift, corban), use it for oneself, but deny its use to elderly parents in need. One can just imagine the encounter: “I am sorry, father. I would love to help you, but I gave the money to the temple.”

It is this type of hypocrisy that Jesus attacks uncompromisingly. They have placed human tradition above the Word of God and, in so doing, have sinned.

So what was the answer to the Pharisees’ question? The response of Jesus implies that He does not find convincing their insistence on hand purification as necessary to be in accordance with the will of God. Instead, His response clearly supports the commandments of the Law over against human tradition. (See also Mark 1:44; Mark 7:10-13; Mark 10:3-8; and Mark 12:26,29-31.)

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24c-06-human-traditions-versus-gods-commands/

Join the Hit the Mark panel as they discuss Sabbath School Lesson 5 – Miracles Around the Lake. It’s the fastest hour of the week!

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/miracles-around-the-lake-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/