Image © Pacific Press

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Matthew 25:31-46; Daniel 7:9-14; 1 Corinthians 6:2-3; 2 Peter 2:4-6; Malachi 4:1; Revelation 21:8.

Memory Text: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10, NIV).

If Scripture is clear about one thing, it is the reality of judgment. God will judge the world. The texts, both in the Old Testament and the New, are numerous and without ambiguity. The justice so lacking here and now will one day come.

The Bible says that God has “perfect knowledge” (Job 37:16, NIV) and “knows everything” (1 John 3:20, NIV), including our most secret intentions (Ecclesiastes 12:14, Jeremiah 17:10). We can hide from everyone and everything else, but nothing is hidden from God.

What this reality implies is that He does not need a judgment for Himself to know the life of each individual. God’s judgments are, indeed, a divine accommodation, carried on for the sake of His creatures, both in heaven and on earth. This process is of a cosmic-historical nature because Lucifer began his rebellion in heaven and then spread it to this world (Revelation 12:7-9).

During this week we will consider the end-time judgment process with its three main phases: the pre-advent judgment, the millennial judgment, and the executive judgment. The whole process ends with the vindication of the righteous and the second death of the wicked.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 24.

Sunday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/sabbath-judging-process/

Jesus Versus the Dragon

By Andrew McChesney

Something strange happened to Kue in northern Laos in late 2020. Her body, and especially her belly, started to swell up.

Her worried husband, Cheng, took her to the local shaman, who informed them that a dragon at impregnated Kue and intended to take her away to an underwater world. “You need to give animal sacrifices to appease the dragon and to call back Kue’s spirit,” the shaman said, solemnly.

Image © Pacific Press

Cheng readily gave the shaman everything that he demanded, but Kue only got worse. Cheng turned to traditional healers for multiple treatments over the next two months, but nothing helped. He spent everything on shamans and traditional healers, but Kue’s health continued to deteriorate.

Finally, Cheng thought about asking a Christian pastor to pray for Kue.

Two Seventh-day Adventist leaders happened to be visiting Kue’s village at the time and, after praying for her, decided to send her to a hospital in Laos’ capital, Vientiane. At the hospital, the physician diagnosed Kue with Nephrotic syndrome, a kidney disorder whose symptoms include swelling linked to excess fluid retention. But after a week in the hospital, Kue sank into a coma and had to be placed on life support. She was transferred to the intensive care unit, where the physician put her chances of survival at 50-50. He asked who would pay the high medical bills to keep her under his care.

Cheng spoke with his relatives and realized that they did not have the money. Adventist leaders, who had brought Kue to the capital and paid her initial hospital bills, also lacked the funds. Faced with high bills and no assurance that Kue would recover, Cheng made the difficult decision to remove her from life support and bring her home.

“It was very painful to send her back home to die, but there was nothing we could do for her,” a church leader said later. “The only hope left was that God would show mercy and perform a miracle for her.”

Days after returning home, Cheng called the Adventist district pastor to ask him to pray for Kue in their home. The pastor, who arrived with several Bible workers, lived far away. He decided to stay for a few days so he also could assist with the funeral. As the family waited for Kau to die, the pastor and Bible workers fasted and prayed daily. Instead of dying, Kue improved. She began to breathe easily on her own, and the swelling subsided. By May 2021, she was able to walk without assistance.

Today, Kue is a living testimony to the people of northern Laos that there is a God in heaven.

Thank you for your Sabbath School mission offerings that support the spread of the gospel in Laos and around the world.

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

Amen!(0)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/inside-story-jesus-vs-the-dragon/

Further Thought: Read Ellen G. White, “Mind Cure,” Pages 241-259, in The Ministry of Healing; “True and False Theories Contrasted,” Pages 7-16, in The Sanctified Life.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“The great controversy is nearing its end. Every report of calamity by sea or land is a testimony to the fact that the end of all things is at hand. Wars and rumors of wars declare it. Is there a Christian whose pulse does not beat with quickened action as he anticipates the great events opening before us? The Lord is coming. We hear the footsteps of an approaching God.” — Ellen G. White, Maranatha, p. 220.

“Live the life of faith day by day. Do not become anxious and distressed about the time of trouble, and thus have a time of trouble beforehand. Do not keep thinking, ‘I am afraid I shall not stand in the great testing day.’ You are to live for the present, for this day only. Tomorrow is not yours. Today you are to maintain the victory over self. Today you are to live a life of prayer. Today you are to fight the good fight of faith. Today you are to believe that God blesses you. And as you gain the victory over darkness and unbelief, you will meet the requirements of the Master, and will become a blessing to those around you.” — Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, October 20, 1887.

“The Lord is soon to come, and we must be prepared to meet Him in peace. Let us be determined to do all in our power to impart light to those around us. We are not to be sad, but cheerful, and we are to keep the Lord Jesus ever before us. … We must be ready and waiting for His appearing. Oh, how glorious it will be to see Him, and be welcomed as His redeemed ones! Long have we waited, but our faith is not to become weak. If we can but see the King in His beauty, we shall be forever and forever blessed. I feel as if I must cry aloud, ‘Homeward bound.’ We are nearing the time when Christ will come with power and great glory, to take His ransomed ones to their eternal home.” — Ellen G. White, Heaven, Pages 165, 166.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

Amen!(1)

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/friday-further-thought-biblical-worldview/

We live in a frenetic world with too many artificial needs and eye-catching distractions. If we are not careful, these can take all our time and pervert our priorities. This is not just another byproduct of our globalized cyber world; Christians in every age, to one degree or another, have to be on guard against Satan’s attempts to distract them from what really matters in this life.

Who, if not careful, is not in danger of looking away from the Lord and dwelling on worldly, carnal things, things that, in the end, cannot ultimately satisfy us, and that, in the end, can lead to our spiritual ruin?

Read 2 Peter 3:14 and 1 John 3:1-3. What difference do you see between preparing ourselves for the Second Coming and being ready for that glorious event?

Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com

Often the notion of an ongoing preparation for the Second Coming becomes an excuse for procrastination. This notion can easily lead one to relax under the evil servant’s assumption, “My master is delaying his coming” (Matthew 24:48, NKJV).

Read Psalm 95:7-8; Hebrews 3:7-8, , Hebrews 3:15; and Hebrews 4:7. What are these verses saying to us about being ready right now?

From the biblical perspective, the time of salvation is always “today” and never tomorrow (see Psalm 95:7-8; Hebrews 3:7-8, , Hebrews 3:15; Hebrews 4:7). And more: unless a major conversion experience takes place, we will continue to be what we are right now. Time itself does not convert the unconverted. If anything, unless one is continually growing in grace, and pressing on ahead in faith, the tendency would be to fall away, to become hardened, skeptical, cynical, even disbelieving.

From this perspective we can say that every single day of our life is our life in miniature. So, by God’s grace, we should plan for the future but should live each day ready for the return of Jesus — especially because, given the contingencies of this life, today could be your last day.

<–Wednesday Friday–>

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The post Thursday: Ready for His Appearing first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post Thursday: Ready for His Appearing appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/thursday-ready-for-his-appearing/

You can view an in-depth discussion of The Biblical World View in the Hope Sabbath School class led by Pastor Derek Morris. Click on the image to view: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uul_Mn-c6HU&w=560&h=315]

With thanks to

Hope Channel – Television that will change your life.

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The post 12: The Biblical World View – HopeSS Video Discussion first appeared on Sabbath School Net.

The post 12: The Biblical World View – HopeSS Video Discussion appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/12-the-biblical-world-view-hopess-video-discussion/