The theme hymn for this quarter’s studies “On Death, Dying and the FUTURE HOPE” is 
Hymn 214 – We Have This Hope.

When Jesus died, 
Were You There? – Hymn 158. It is 
At The Cross – Hymn 163 that we learn more of Jesus love for us. Oh, what
Wondrous Love – Hymn 162 for humankind! We are now able to 
Go To Dark Gethsemane – Hymn 157 when we feel the tempter’s power.

We are to be so grateful for the fact that “redemption was not an afterthought” (Sunday): 
Hymn 337/338 – Redeemed because 
God Is My Strong Salvation – Hymn 339 and 
Hymn 340 – Jesus Saves. What A Wonderful Saviour – Hymn 335 we have!! Hallelujah, and 
To God Be The Glory – Hymn 341. These hymns echo through this week’s study.

Tuesday, we see the Savior’s victory: 
Hymn 167 – Alleluia Sing To Jesus (verse 1 in particular).

On Wednesday we confess our sins: 
Hymn 299 – Forgive Our Sins, 
Hymn 298 – I Lay My Sins and 
Hymn 297 – God Be Merciful because of our 
Rock of Ages – Hymn 300. All of this is given to us because 
For God So Loved Us – Hymn 78. Once again we can sing enthusiastically and with grateful thanks 
What A Wonderful Saviour – Hymn 335.

“Eternity can never fathom the dept of love” and mercy given to us: 
Hymn 521 – Depth Of Mercy because of 
The Old Rugged Cross – Hymn 159 (Thursday).

The final question on Friday (which looks back to Tuesday’s study), shows us 
Jesus Paid It All – Hymn 184.

Today we look forward to Jesus coming again. Oh, what a day that will be 
When We All Get To Heaven – Hymn 633.

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 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.”

Amen!(1)

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/6-he-died-for-us-singing-with-inspiration/

While I was in Cradle Roll Sabbath School, before I could even read, I was mesmerized by a picture in my Bible of Jesus dying on the cross. I would study it in church as the preacher preached. As I took in the entire scene, one thought kept reverberating in my heart:  Jesus died for me!

One night when I was seven I put my Bible away to fall asleep. As I lay there contemplating that picture, the Holy Spirit was painting that very scene on my heart. That night I decided to give my heart to Jesus and be baptized because Jesus died for me.

This is the Bible and picture I would always love to look at as a child.

Over time the world and even people in the church have pressured me to compromise my faith and convictions. When they demand my loyalty to them, I remember that night when I gave my heart to Jesus. I remember the people pressuring me to compromise did not die for me. Jesus died for me. I must be loyal to Him. I gave my heart to Jesus. I did not give it to people in the world or in the church.

Way too many times over the years I have compromised my faith without any pressure from anyone else at all. Again my mind goes back to the picture of the cross that the Holy Spirit painted on my heart on that night so long ago. I don’t give up. Jesus died for me. I ask His forgiveness which He so freely offers me. I know I am forgiven because Jesus died for me.

I have completed many more trips around the sun since my Cradle Roll days and baptism when I was seven. Still, one theme still grips my heart and mesmerizes my soul: Jesus died for me! As time passes, the Holy Spirit continues painting even more details into that picture of the cross. As I continue studying Scripture, the details become increasingly more vivid on my heart, making the scene more real, more wonderful and more awe-ful. While many want to attach specific theological labels to the cross, I find the picture of the cross the Holy Spirit is painting on my heart much too grand and vivid to fall under any one label. Many camps of thought are not so much wrong in what they teach as in what they fail to teach. One camp of thought does not necessarily have to replace the other. I believe we get the big picture of the cross when we put all the camps of thought together and just throw away the labels. After all, I did not fall in love with a theological label. I fell in love with Jesus because Jesus died for me.

The first time I heard the Gospel presentation I was taught that when I chose to knowingly break God’s law, that was counted as sin according to 1 John 3:4. Sin is punishable by death, according to Romans 6:23. But John 3:16 tells me God gave His Son to die the death I deserve so I can have the eternal life He deserves.

As I continue studying I find another definition for sin besides 1 John 3:4. In John 16:9 Jesus also defines unbelief as sin. Through my study I see that Jesus died not so much because humankind took a piece of fruit they were told not to, but because in taking that fruit they showed they did not trust God or really believe in His love. Therefore God became a man and went to the cross to die and prove that He loves us so we can believe in His love. That’s how Jesus heals us from the sin of unbelief. The atonement appeases an angry race instead of an angry God.

So which is it? Did Jesus die because humankind sinned by breaking the law which is punishable by death? Or did Jesus die because humankind stopped believing in God’s love, and by dying on the cross Jesus reconciled us by convincing us He loves us? Both! Interestingly John records both definitions of sin – in 1 John 3:4 the sin of breaking the law, and in John 16:9 the sin of unbelief. John understood that Jesus died for sin by every definition.

I have heard that Jesus took on human nature so He could give us an example of human obedience. I have heard that Jesus took human nature because He had to die as a man. So which is it? Both!

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Romans 8:3-4 NLT

There is not a law in this universe that will allow someone to die for someone else. I can’t go to a murder trial and offer to die for the defendant so that he can go free. They won’t allow that. God can’t allow it either. So what was God’s solution? Jesus took my human body to the cross and died not just for me but as me. Not only is my justification dependent on the humanity of Jesus; my sanctification is dependent on it as well.

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:14-17 NLT

Jesus had to become us and die as us. This is why Paul describes Jesus dying as us as well as dying for us. Where we all sinned when we were in Adam, we have now all lived a righteous life in Christ.

Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Romans 5:18 NLT

As I sinned in Adam, I have now been crucified with Christ. Take a look at how these verses describe us dying with Jesus and not just Jesus dying for me.

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20 NLT

Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. Romans 6:3-7 NLT

Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 2 Corinthians 5:14 NLT

Where I sinned in Adam I have now been crucified with Christ. He took my flesh to the cross and crucified it. That is my justification. The good news is it does not stop there. Jesus also took on humanity and died so we can be sanctified and have victorious lives. Consider how these passages describe the victory Christ gives us by taking on humanity. Lets go back to where we began at Hebrews 2.

Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. Hebrews 2:18 NLT

He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. 1 Peter 2:24

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT

The atonement was not only possible because of Jesus’ complete humanity but also because of his complete divinity.

The broken law of God demanded the life of the sinner. In all the universe there was but one who could, in behalf of man, satisfy its claims. Since the divine law is as sacred as God Himself, only one equal with God could make atonement for its transgression. None but Christ could redeem fallen man from the curse of the law and bring him again into harmony with Heaven. Christ would take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin—sin so offensive to a holy God that it must separate the Father and His Son. Christ would reach to the depths of misery to rescue the ruined race. –Ellen White, Patriarchs and Prophets, Page 63.

Did Jesus make an atonement as fully man or fully God? Both. Did Jesus die to free us from the penalty of sin or the power of sin? Both. Did Jesus die because of the sin of breaking God’s law or the sin of unbelief? Both.

I have learned so much more about the cross since my early childhood days. But I am still not in any one theological camp or label. When I am tempted to sin, I look at the picture of the cross the Holy Spirit has painted on my heart. His love empowers me to overcome as I remember Jesus died for me. When I make stupid decisions and fall into sin, I look to the cross and know I can find forgiveness because Jesus died for me. I am reconciled to God and can believe in His love because Jesus died for me. God made an atonement for my sin and transgression of the law when Jesus died for me.

Many years since my Cradle Roll days, I have experienced hundreds of victories – victories I never imagined possible. But before you pat me on the back, I confess that I have also suffered a multitude of defeats that I never would have imagined possible when I first gave my heart to Jesus at the tender age of seven. Sin has brought me lower than I ever comprehended possible, and Jesus has raised me higher than I ever comprehended possible. I have found theological theories and labels get me nowhere. When I need forgiveness or power to overcome, I do what I have been doing since Cradle Roll. I look at the cross and remember, Jesus died for me.

You may listen to the podcast version of this article here.

Amen!(0)

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/he-died-for-me/

What were the reactions of the disciples to Jesus’ predictions of His own sufferings and death, and what should their reactions teach us about the dangers of misunderstanding Scripture?

Matthew 16:21-23

Matthew 17:22-23; Mark 9:30-32; Luke 9:44-45, 

Luke 18:31-34

Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com

Jesus was born to die, and He lived to die. Every step that He took brought Him closer to His great atoning sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. Fully conscious of His mission, He did not allow anyone or anything to distract Him from it. In reality, “His whole life was a preface to His death on the cross.” — Ellen G. White, Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 382.

In the last year of His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke more and more explicitly to His disciples about His forthcoming death. But they seemed unable and unwilling to accept the reality of His statements. Filled with false notions about the role of the Messiah, the last thing that they had expected was for Him, Jesus, especially as the Messiah, to die. In short, their false theology led them into needless pain and suffering.

Already to Nicodemus, Jesus had declared, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15, , NKJV). While in Caesarea Philippi, Jesus told His disciples that He had to “go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day” (Matthew 16:21, NKJV). Passing privately through Galilee (Mark 9:30-32) and during His final journey to Jerusalem (Luke 18:31-34), Jesus spoke again to His disciples about His death and resurrection. Because it was not what they wanted to hear, they didn’t listen. How easy it is for us to do the same.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/monday-preface-to-cross/

Read Revelation 13:8, Acts 2:23, and 1 Peter 1:19-20. How could Christ be considered as “slain from the foundation of the world” (NKJV)?

“All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8, NKJV). What’s crucial here for us is the idea of Christ’s being “slain from the foundation of the world.” Obviously, we must understand this in a symbolic sense (the book of Revelation is full of symbols), because Christ wasn’t crucified until thousands of years after the earth’s Creation. What this text is saying is that the plan of salvation had been put in place before the creation of the world. And central to that plan would be the death of Jesus, the Lamb of God, on the cross.

Read Titus 1:2. What does this verse teach us about how long ago the plan of salvation, which centered on Christ’s death, had been in place?

Image © Steve Creitz from GoodSalt.com

“The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. … It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s throne.” — Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 22.

That plan was revealed first to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15, Genesis 3:21), and it was typified by every blood sacrifice throughout the Old Testament. For instance, while testing Abraham’s faith, God provided a ram to be sacrificed instead of Isaac (Genesis 22:11-13). This replacement typified even more clearly the substitutionary nature of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross.

Thus, central to the whole plan of salvation is the substitutionary death of Jesus, symbolized for centuries by animal sacrifices, each one a symbol of Jesus’ death on the cross as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/sunday-from-foundation-of-world/

Image © Pacific Press

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Study: Revelation 13:8; Matthew 17:22-23; Mark 9:30-32; John 19:1-30; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 1:18-24.

Memory Text: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:14-15, , NKJV).

It has been said that we cannot avoid death and taxes. That’s not entirely true. People can avoid taxes, but not death. They might be able to put death off a few years, but sooner or later, death always comes. And because we know that the dead, both the righteous and the wicked, end up at first in the same place, our hope of the resurrection means everything to us. As Paul had said, without this hope, even “also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished” (1 Corinthians 15:18, NKJV), which is a rather strange thing to say if those who “have fallen asleep in Christ” are buzzing about heaven in the presence of God.

Thus, Christ’s resurrection is central to our faith, because in His resurrection we have the surety of our own. But before Christ was resurrected from the dead, He, of course, had to die. This is why, amid the agony of Gethsemane, in anticipation of His death, He prayed: “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.” (John 12:27, NKJV). And that purpose was to die.

This week we will focus on Christ’s death and what it means for the promise of eternal life.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 5.

Sunday–>

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