Daily Lesson for Sunday 8th of October 2023

The mission of God in Scripture has Jesus at the front and center as the only way to salvation. Christ Himself declared: “ ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me’ ” (John 14:6, NKJV). But Jesus also helps us understand the centrality of the triune God to His mission.

Copyright by Linda Lovett Goodsalt.com

Everything Christ did was either for or from His heavenly Father (see John 4:34, John 5:30, John 12:45). However, we must always remember that Jesus’ mission did not begin when He came into the world. He had received it from the Father even before the creation of our world (compare with Ephesians 1:4, 1 Peter 1:20).

Therefore, God planned His outreach to humanity even before He laid the foundations of our planet, and He intentionally entered into humanity’s history in order to accomplish this purpose.

The Son created the world (John 1:3), and at “the fullness of the time” (Galatians 4:4, NKJV), God demonstrated His love by sending the Son here (John 3:16-17). The Son came, died on the cross, and conquered death. Then, sent from the Father, the Spirit came here (John 14:26, John 16:7), convicts the world (John 16:8-11), and today continues the mission of the Father and the Son by empowering and by sending God’s people out for mission (John 14:26; John 16:13-14).

Even though the word “trinity” is not found in the Bible, mission-focused evidences involving all Three Persons of the Godhead are numerous. For instance, after His resurrection, Christ appeared to His disciples and promised them: “ ‘I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high’ ” (Luke 24:49, NIV; emphasis added). Here we find the reality of the Godhead’s mission in one sentence: the Father’s promise, the Son’s assurance of the fulfillment of the promise, and the promise itself, the coming of the Holy Spirit (see also Luke 3:16; Acts 1:4-5,8).

We learn from this that the mission is not ours. It belongs to the triune God. As such, it will not fail.

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The post Sunday: The Triune God: The Origin of Mission appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/23d-02-the-triune-god-the-origin-of-mission/

Image © Pacific Press

Daily Lesson for Saturday 7th of October 2023

Read for This Week’s Study

John 20:21-22; Matthew 28:16-20; Revelation 14:6-7; Deuteronomy 7:6,11-12; Revelation 7:9-10.

Memory Text:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19, NKJV).

The theme, that of God as a God of mission, runs throughout Scripture. It is the connecting thread of human history, and it demonstrates God’s purpose for His creation. Furthermore, it consolidates divine revelation with a main focus: the restoration of God’s image in His fallen children (compare with Colossians 3:9-10; 1 John 3:2).

The mission of God also functions as the background through which we should see and understand God’s Word to us. When we read the Bible, we can identify a God who is intentionally reaching out to us. In spite of the separation caused by sin (Isaiah 59:2), through His mission God continues to restore the broken relationship with humanity until the glorious moment when He will “make all things new” (Revelation 21:5, NKJV).

In the meanwhile, God has chosen to manifest Himself to us in such a way that we can understand His nature and purpose, and above all, we can have a real and lasting relationship with Him. In other words, we not only come to know Him but also share, with others, our experience with Him and His saving love.

In the Scriptures, then, God gives us the basic elements of what His mission is all about.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 14.

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The post Saturday: God’s Mission to Us: Part 2 appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/23d-02-gods-mission-to-us-part-2/

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=tt6jKRXq6qg?si=EI6TLzfXF0nrYfnT&w=560&h=315]

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The post Mission Spotlight for October 7 appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-october-7/

Join the discussion as we begin a new quarter study. Lesson 1 is God’s Mission to Us: Part 1

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The post ‘God’s Mission to Us: Part 1’ – Hit the Mark Sabbath School appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/gods-mission-to-us-part-1-hit-the-mark-sabbath-school/

Two Boys, Two Prayers: Part 1

By Andrew McChesney

Father was excited when he saw a new sign reading “Adventist Maranatha School” on a street in Conakry, capital of the West African country of Guinea. He wanted his two sons to go to a Christian school, and this might be their chance. He never dreamed that the school would change his life.

Image © Pacific Press

Father entered the fenced compound of the newly opened school and found a teacher. “Is this a Christian school?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied. “This is a Seventh-day Adventist school.”

Father said his sons were studying elsewhere, and he promised to transfer them to this school. “I want them to have a Christian education,” he said.

Soon the two boys, 11-year-old Junior and 8-year-old Emile (pictured), were studying at the Adventist school. Among their subjects was the Bible, and the boys memorized verses that Father, to his surprise, had never heard. He was even more surprised when the boys declared that the teachers worshiped in church on Saturdays. The boys asked if they could go to a Saturday program in a church located on the same compound as the school. Father thought it was an extracurricular program and agreed.

The boys went to church every Sabbath for two years. Sometimes, schoolteachers visited Father and invited him to come to church. “Would you like to come to our church on Sabbath?” they asked.

Father always refused. “No, I have to work on Saturday,” he said. “I’m busy.”

One Sabbath, the church pastor, Matthew, told the church members, “Today, we will visit the father of Junior and Emile.”

A group of 15 church members, accompanied by a delighted Junior and Emile, arrived at the house. “Can we pray together?” the pastor asked Father.

When Father agreed, the pastor asked if he had any requests. He did. Months earlier, Father, who led a nongovernmental organization, had applied to a Guinean government ministry for a grant, and he was still waiting for a response. The pastor prayed about the grant.

Three days later, on Tuesday, the ministry responded. The grant was approved. Father immediately went to the school and told the teachers about the remarkable answer to prayer. He thanked God for the grant. But the answer to prayer did not convince him to go to church on Sabbath.

Thank you for your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering three years ago that helped the Adventist Maranatha School expand in Conakry, Guinea, in the West-Central Africa Division (WAD). Your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering this quarter will again help spread the gospel in WAD. Read the story’s conclusion next week.

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The post Inside Story: Two Boys, Two Prayers – Part 1 appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/inside-story-two-boys-two-prayers-part-1/