1. Our world as a hopeless mess.  Without the light of God shining on our world there would be no  life worth living. We know God is not happy with the way His created world of human beings have turned against Him to transform this world into a state of spiritual darkness. You may wonder why He held out all these years while His created beings not only opposed Him but even killed Him in their rage against a perfect and loving Father. Caught as we are in this mess of brambles and briars, what hope have we been granted, and where is that hope today? What can we do to help bring people back to a saving relationship with God?
2. Kingdom priorities.  Do all of us reflect our priorities by the way we live? Are our eternal priorities obvious to all of the people who know us? What do you think of the way Jesus prioritized two essentials of life–food and clothing? How does your concern for others fit the instructions given by Jesus? Should we pay close attention to the way Ellen White counseled when the government required citizens to return any runaway slaves to their master? Can you see a way that this counsel applies to us today? How do you feel when government officials seem to rely on their power to enforce their pride? Why are people so intent on seeing things their way and thereby enforcing their own desire for power over others? What should be the Christian’s priorities? 
3. Compassion fatigue.  Do you ever get tired of the steady appeal by leaders in the church or in the community for your help? What is a sensible response when we hear of injustice or pain inflicted on others? Is it possible to expect too much of others in helping ease the pain of life? How should we respond when people seem to be expecting too much of us in reaching out to others? We need to be practical in our work for others. Is that right? Is praying for someone practical or not? What if the people you pray for seem to pay little or no attention? Should you keep praying or think of something else to do for them? How should we relate to people around us in the church who are suffering from compassion fatigue? What do you plan to do about it?
4. Generosity. You’re down to your last dollars in your monthly budget. Here comes a passionate appeal to help a local family whose house of three generations has a bad roofing problem that is starting to leak rainwater into the house. “If it is real,” our lesson states, “our faith will cause us to die to self and live more for others.” Are you ready for such a commitment? Is the roof worth your attention? What are some other ways besides giving money to a worthy cause that can support a generous spirit? Our lesson states that large donations do not necessarily indicate a generous spirit. Explain how that can be. How can you and I be generous other than by 
5. Peacemaking. How can we make peace in a world embroiled in conflict? In a war, does only one side suffer from the consequences of the battle? Imagine a situation where you could give help to a family caught in the ravages of war–on the “other” side. What would you do? Why? Are there pockets of controversy in the area where your church is located? A conflict, for example, about appropriate punishment to youngsters at a local public school about smoking, drinking, or carrying a gun to school when the students involved are in senior high school, perhaps seventeen or even eighteen years of age. Should you as a Christian be involved in any way by such conflicts? Or should you leave it up to the parents and not do anyth1111because it is none of your business? Or is it? 

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Key Thought: Evil exists in many forms : poverty, violence, oppression, selfishness, and greed. We need to stand up against these evils and act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God and man.

September 21, 2019

1. Have a volunteer read Matthew 6:31-34.

1. Ask class members to share a thought on what the most important point in this text is.
2. What is Jesus really saying here? Is He saying we should have priorities in what we worry about and focus on?
3. Personal Application: What things have you focused on this week? What concerns have you had? Does this show where our priorities lie and a need to reprioritize? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your relatives states: “Are we to live like hippies and bums, being leeches on society and others? That doesn’t seem to be a good model for the Christian life. We are supposed to help others, not have them to help us be lazy and undisciplined.” How would you respond to your relative?

2. Have a volunteer read James 2:15,16.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the most important point is in this passage.
2. How can we contribute to God answering our prayers for others?
3. Personal Application: Have you ever seen a situation in which someone needed help and people told them they would pray for them, but didn’t do anything to help them? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your friends states, “Why don’t the church members always help people who need something? Is it because we may be enabling them in dependency? That they may have made bad choices? That they wasted their money? That they have done criminal acts? What reasons does the church have for not helping people?.” How would you respond to your friend?

3. Have a volunteer read Isaiah 58:5-10.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. How can we resist compassion fatigue by resisting the temptation to do nothing because we can’t do everything?
3. Personal Application: Are there programs the church is involved in or can be that helps with food and clothing in your community? Could it be expanded or improved? Share your thoughts.
4. Case Study: One of your neighbors states, “What is the difference between being obedient to authorities and standing up for the victims of an oppressive authority? Didn’t Jesus rebuke political activism in His day?” How would you respond to your neighbor?

4. Have a volunteer read Isaiah 52:7.

1. Ask class members to share a short thought on what the main idea of this text is.
2. What issue of evil or opportunity have prayed for lately?
3. Personal Application: How are we being peacemakers in today’s society and in our communities? 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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Resisting the possibility of letting our good intentions be overwhelmed by “all the trouble in the world”, many of us would like to do more to make a difference in the lives of the suffering. There are a number of attitudes and actions that can help us make positive responses to those in need.

Compassion: As we have seen, recognizing and empathizing with the pain of those who are hurting are first steps toward action. We need to grow and maintain our sensitivity to the suffering.

Compassion

Today, people talk about “compassion fatigue”, the idea that we are so exposed to sorrow and tragedy that many of us become weary of the many causes that call for our emotional energy and financial support. Jesus was keenly aware of the evil and pain around Him; yet, He remained compassionate. So must we.

Education: Because many situations of injustice and poverty are complicated, listening and learning what we can about these situations is important. There have been many examples in which well-intentioned people have caused damage to other people’s lives by trying to help. While this is not an excuse for inaction, we should seek to get involved in ways that are informed and thoughtful.

Prayer: When we see a problem, our first thought is to take “practical” action. But the Bible reminds us that prayer is practical. We can make a difference in the lives of the poor and oppressed by our prayers for them and for those who have power over them (see 1 Tim. 2:1-2), as well as seeking God’s guidance for how we can best respond further in offering help (see Prov. 2:7-8).

Expectations: Another important element in working to alleviate suffering is to have proper expectations, given the complexity of social, political, and personal circumstances. Our hope should be to give people choices and opportunities that they might not have had otherwise. Sometimes what people do with these opportunities will disappoint us, but we must respect those choices. In whatever way we might try to work in behalf of the suffering, our guiding principle must be to “do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matt. 7:12, NIV).

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As was made clear in the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament writers, those who choose to live as members of the kingdom of God live by a different set of values and priorities than does the world.

Read Matthew 6:25-33. What is the reassurance we are given in these verses, and how should this reassurance impact our priorities?

Priorities

Jesus taught that “life [is] more than food, and the body more than clothes” (Matt. 6:25, NIV). These things are important, of course, but we must see them in light of the kingdom of God, which means we must reprioritize our lives in real and practical ways. When we recognize the call throughout the Bible to lift up and care for others, this call also becomes one of our priorities as we who seek to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Ideally this call should help us focus less on ourselves and more on others.

This different set of priorities also changes our relationship with those in power over us and over the oppressed. While the Bible instructs Christians to respect and obey their governments, as far as possible (see, for example, Rom. 13:1-7), there also comes a point where we need to echo the words of Peter: “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5:29, NIV). Jesus put these two principles in balance in His answer to those trying to trick Him on this question: “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matt. 22:21, NIV).

Those who have power, whether in government or otherwise, often enforce and maintain that power by threats or force. As we have seen in the life of Jesus, faithful living does not always and in every situation require passivity in the face of evil. For example, dealing with slavery in America, Ellen G. White wrote: “When the laws of men conflict with the word and law of God, we are to obey the latter, whatever the consequences may be. The law of our land requiring us to deliver a slave to his master, we are not to obey; and we must abide the consequences of violating this law. The slave is not the property of any man. God is his rightful master, and man has no right to take God’s workmanship into his hands, and claim him as his own”. – Testimonies for the Church, vol. 1, pages 201, 202.

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Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: Matt. 6:25-33; James 1:5-8; James 2:15-16; Isa. 52:7; 1 John 3:16-18; Isa. 58:1-10.

Memory Text: “Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. A good man deals graciously and lends; he will guide his affairs with discretion” (Psalm 112:4-5, NKJV).

As we have seen, the Bible is filled with passionate descriptions of God’s concern for the poor and oppressed, as well as calls for His people to work in their behalf. Despite the attention given to these issues, this biblical mandate has seen just sporadic and partial fulfillment and will be made complete only with the return of Christ and the supernatural events that follow.

Until then evil persists in many forms, fueled by the dark spiritual influences of the devil and his angels. This evil is often made most visible in poverty, violence, oppression, slavery, exploitation, selfishness, and greed. In such a world, our communities, our churches, and our families need to stand up against these evils no matter how hard at times it is to do so. In response to the love and commands of God, living in light of the ministry and sacrifice of Jesus and empowered and guided by the presence of the Holy Spirit, we must be compassionate, creative, and courageous in seeking “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic. 6:8, NIV).

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 21.

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