Key Thought: Submission to God’s will comes as we die to our own desires and ambitions. This opens the way for true service to others.
September 17, 2022

1. Have a volunteer read Romans 12:1,2.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. How do we present our bodies as a living sacrifice? Why does it say it is our reasonable service?
3. Personal Application: What things might you have to give up in order to become a living sacrifice?. Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states, “How do we get transformed by the renewing of our minds? How does one renew their mind? We can’t change who we are, what we think. How does a transformation take place?” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read I Samuel 3:10-19..

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What contrast is here between those who listen to God and those who don’t?
3. Personal Application: Are there any Hopnea’s and Phinea’s in the Christian churches today? In what ways are they disrespecting and disregarding God’s counsel? Share your thoughts
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Why does God allow prophets and phony, greedy, power-hungry, sex-driven pastors to prosper while they defame and disgust people against Christians and the Christian message?” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read I Samuel 13:9-14.

1. Ask class members to share a short
2. What did Saul do that led to his own downfall?
3. Personal Application: Why do we still try to rely on ourselves? Why is it hard to trust in God and put self aside? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states: “What was Saul’s sin? Because he offered an offering to the Lord? What’s wrong with that? I don’t see what the problem was.” How would you respond to your relative?

4. Have a volunteer read Zechariah 4:.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. How could a building project be affected by the Holy Spirit?
3. Personal Application: When stress comes, what is your first reaction? Food? Television? Prayer? Shopping? Reclusiveness? 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/12-dying-like-a-seed-teaching-plan/

Many Christians sincerely seek to know God’s will for their lives. “If only I could know God’s will for my life, I would sacrifice everything for Him.” But even after promising God this, we still may be confused about what His will is. The reason for this confusion may be found in Romans 12:1-2. Paul is describing how we can know God’s will, and he makes an important point: if you want to know what God’s will is, you have to sacrifice first!

Read Romans 12:1-2. Paul writes that we will be able to “test and approve what God’s will is” (Romans 12:2, NIV) when:

1. We have a true understanding of “God’s mercy” for us (Romans 12:1-2).
2. We offer ourselves as living sacrifices to God ().
3. Our minds are renewed (Romans 12:2).

Image © Kevin Carden at Goodsalt.com

It is only the renewed mind that truly can understand God’s will. But this renewal hinges on our death to self first. It was not enough that Christ simply suffered for us — He had to die.

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any areas in which you are not completely “dead.” What things does the Holy Spirit need you to give up in order for you to become a “living sacrifice” for God?

When areas of our lives are not completely dead to self, God permits crucibles to bring them to our attention. However, our suffering not only helps us confront our sin — it also gives us an insight into Jesus’ giving Himself up for us. Elisabeth Elliot writes, “The surrender of our heart’s deepest longing is perhaps as close as we come to an understanding of the cross … . our own experience of crucifixion, though immeasurably less than our Savior’s, nonetheless furnishes us with a chance to begin to know Him in the fellowship of His sufferings. In every form of our own suffering, He calls us to that fellowship.” — Quest for Love (Grand Rapids, MI: Fleming H. Revell, 1996), p. 182.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/monday-dying-comes-before-knowing-gods-will/

Read Philippians 2:5-9. What important message is there for us in these verses?

Contemporary culture urges us all to demand and assert our rights. And all this is good and is often the way it should be. But as with Jesus, the will of God may ask us to give up our rights freely in order to serve the Father in ways that will make an eternal impact for God’s kingdom. This process of giving them up may be difficult and uncomfortable, creating the conditions of a crucible.

Image © Greg Walker at Goodsalt.com

Look at how Jesus did this (Philippians 2:5-8). These verses describe three steps that Jesus took in submitting Himself to the Father’s will. And at the beginning, Paul alarmingly reminds us: “Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5, NIV).

In order to be in a position to save us, Jesus gave up His equality with the Father and moved to earth in the form and limitations of a human being (Philippians 2:6-7, , NIV).

Jesus did not come as a great and glorious human being, but as a servant of other human beings (Philippians 2:7, NIV).

As a human servant, Jesus did not live a peaceful and long life but became “obedient to death.” But He did not even die in a noble and glorious manner. No, He was “obedient to death — even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8, NIV).

In what areas of life is this example of Jesus a model for us? If rights and equality are good and should be protected, how would you explain the logic of sometimes needing to give them up? Now read Philippians 2:9. In what way does this verse help us to understand the logic of submission to the Father’s will?

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/sunday-submission-for-service/

Image © Pacific Press

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week’s Lesson: Philippians 2:5-9; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Samuel 2:12-3:18; 1 Samuel 13:1-14; Zechariah 4:1-14.

Memory Text: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain” (John 12:24, NKJV).

Jesus’ picture of a kernel of wheat dying is a fascinating analogy of our submission to God’s will. First, there is the falling. The kernel that falls from the wheat stalk has no control over where or how it falls to the ground. It has no control over the ground that surrounds and then presses over it.

Second, there is the waiting. As the kernel lies in the earth, it does not know what the future holds. It cannot “imagine” what life will be like in the future, for it is only a kernel of wheat.

Third, there is the dying. The kernel cannot possibly become a wheat stalk unless it gives up its safe, comfortable situation as a kernel. It must “die”; that is, it must give up what it has always been before so it may be transformed from a seed into a fruit-bearing plant.

The Week at a Glance: If we know that God’s will is best for us, why do we have such a hard time accepting it? What example of submission has Christ left for us? How do you see the analogy of the kernel of wheat applying to your own life?

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 17.

Sunday–>

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Support for the mission activities of the Seventh-day Adventist church has always been part of the Sabbath School program. This video is Mission Spotlight for this week.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59e4gPYR6fA&w=560&h=315]

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The post Mission Spotlight for September 10 appeared first on Sabbath School Net.

Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-september-10/