Daily Lesson for Sunday 25th of May 2025

Psalms 46:1-11 appears to touch on a theme that we find in the book of Hebrews: that of something better. Jesus is better than the earthly high priest, His sacrifice is better than all the animal sacrifices, and the heavenly sanctuary is better than the types that existed on earth.

Image © Lars Justinen at Goodsalt.com

This psalm takes a different approach, however. The author is not taking good things and contrasting them with better things; he is contrasting a world in rebellion—and the terrible consequences it has brought—with promise of the better things that God is planning for us.

Indeed, this psalm is filled with hope and promise that, even amid the desolation and trial and suffering and wars that we face, ultimately we are to “be still, and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10) and to rest in the assurance that one day all of this is going to end and that God “will be exalted in the earth” (Psalms 46:10).

Notice, too, what is written here. “Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea” (Psalms 46:2, NKJV).

One cannot help but be reminded of the scenes that will take place at the Second Coming: “Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place” (Revelation 6:14, NKJV). And this: “Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:12, NKJV). Our present world, with all its attendant evils, isn’t going to last forever, and what comes afterward promises us something that our minds now can barely fathom. For now, though, we just need to hold on, persevering in faith and clinging to the revelation of God that we have, especially in Jesus on the cross.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-09-a-very-present-help-in-the-time-of-trouble/

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 24th of May 2025

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: Psalms 46:1-11, Jeremiah 4:23-26, Psalms 47:1-4, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, Psalms 75:1-10, Revelation 14:6-12.

Memory Text:

“Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You. Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth. Selah” (Psalms 67:3-4, NKJV).

When thinking of final events, we tend to focus on the beasts and the powers of Revelation. And, of course, they have a big role—an important one, too. Otherwise, God would not have put them in the Bible for us to understand them (see Revelation 1:3).

Prophecy, however, also deals with key issues associated with sin and suffering, judgment, the battle between good and evil, the nature of justice and injustice, persecution, and more.

The Psalms also deal with these issues in great depth, exploring nearly every possible human emotion—from dark despondency to unbridled joy. We see Israel preparing for battle against the forces of darkness. We read about individuals wrestling with the question of why doesn’t God address evil more directly and immediately, a question that no doubt we all have asked. We are directed to the sanctuary for answers, and there also are repeated appeals to God’s status as Creator. Are these not issues and questions that we, in our context today, wrestle with, as well?

Of course, this is why we will continue unpacking the book of Psalms in order to learn more about these crucial truths.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, May 31.

Sunday–>

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-09-in-the-psalms-part-2/

Our Sabbath School program has always been linked to the support of the Seventh-day Adventist Mission program. This video provides a little insight into this important work.
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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/mission-spotlight-for-may-24/

Inside Story for Friday 23rd of May 2025

By Andrew McChesney

Diana’s thoughts returned to God after the calming voice stopped her from committing suicide. That Sunday, she took her three children to a small church in Santa Fe, New Mexico. They sat in the pew until the church musicians began to play. She didn’t like the music she heard coming from the platform. It reminded her of a bad part of her life. She walked out of the church with her children.

Diana’s life seemed to go from bad to worse. Thieves broke into her apartment and took what little she had. She became pregnant by her abusive boyfriend, and his only response was, “I’ll pay for the abortion.” One night, after the children were asleep in bed, she sat in the dark in her living room, filled with shame and self-hatred. She cried out in anger to God, “Is this what You saved me for?” The anger turned to sobbing as she remembered her years of struggles. “Jesus,” she pleaded, “I need You.” Instantly, she felt an intense rush of energy fill her. The room was pitch-black, but it seemed to be filled with light. It was as if she were being hugged by God from heaven. An overwhelming sense of joy, peace, and love filled her whole being. Shortly after, she fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. In the morning, the intense feelings were gone, but she sensed something was different.

A few months later, she met a strange and peculiar person. Loren Fish was a fourth-generation Seventh-day Adventist. His father was a pastor and church planter. But during Loren’s first year of college, he had wandered away from God, started drinking, and eventually dropped out. He met Diana at a dance club in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and he asked her for a ride home. Diana found the stranger annoying, but she gave him a ride. After that, Loren wouldn’t leave her alone. He found out where she worked and visited her there. Diana wasn’t interested in getting into another relationship. She hadn’t left the bad one that she was in. Moreover, Loren was four and a half years younger, and he seemed naïve and immature. In truth, she didn’t want him to know what a mess she was and didn’t want to get hurt again. So, she pushed him away. Loren left Santa Fe and settled down near Chicago.

Then one night, Loren called after Diana’s boyfriend turned violent, slashing her car tires and attacking her in the parking lot of the newspaper where they both worked. Diana was happy to hear his voice, and she remembered feeling safe with him. “You can come visit me any time you want,” she told him. Loren arrived that weekend, and he never left.

This mission story offers an inside look at how God miraculously worked in the life of Diana Fish, development director of the US-based Holbrook Seventh-day Adventist Indian School, which received the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering in 2021. Thank you for supporting the spread of the gospel with this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering on June 28. Read more about Diana next week.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-08-inside-story-part-4-ex-adventist-boyfriend/

Daily Lesson for Friday 23rd of May 2025

Further Thought: “The psalms of David pass through the whole range of experience, from the depths of conscious guilt and self-­condemnation to the loftiest faith and the most exalted communing with God.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

His life record declares that sin can bring only shame and woe, but that God’s love and mercy can reach to the deepest depths, that faith will lift up the repenting soul to share the adoption of the sons of God. Of all the assurances which His word contains, it is one of the strongest testimonies to the faithfulness, the justice, and the covenant mercy of God. . . .

“ ‘I have sworn unto David My servant . . . with whom My hand shall be established: Mine arm also shall strengthen him. . . . My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him: and in My name shall his horn be exalted. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall cry unto Me, Thou art my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation. Also I will make him My first-born, higher than the kings of the earth. My mercy will I keep for him forevermore, and My covenant shall stand fast with him.’ Psalms 89:3-28.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, Pages 754, 755.

Discussion Questions

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-08-further-thought-in-the-psalms-part-1/