Daily Lesson for Sunday 22nd of December 2024

John 20:1-31 ends with the purpose of the book, which would be the logical place to conclude, but there is one more chapter. Chapter 21 begins with some of the disciples back in Galilee, with Peter suggesting a night on the lake. It looks as though old times have returned, and the disciples are back to their old trade, fishing. But they catch nothing that night.

Image © Educational Concepts from GoodSalt.com

In the morning, a mysterious stranger on the shore tells them to cast their net on the right side of the boat. They then catch so many fish that they cannot pull in the net. It was like the beginning of their ministry with Jesus (see Luke 5:1-11). John immediately recognizes Jesus and tells Peter, who immediately jumps in the water and swims ashore.

Jesus asks Peter three questions, all concerning love for his Master. Before the Crucifixion, Peter insisted that he would lay down his life for Jesus (John 13:37). That is when Jesus predicted his threefold denial (John 13:38). At this meeting in Galilee, Peter does not make himself the reference point but rather makes it Jesus: “ ‘Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you’ ” (John 21:17, ESV).

Some note that Jesus uses the verb agapaō, which means to love, in questioning Peter (except for the last time), and that Peter always responds with phileō, which means to love, but just as a friend. The implication is that Peter has not achieved the higher kind of love.

Actually, Peter’s response is focused on humility. With Peter’s failure ever before him, it is more likely that he humbly uses a “lower term,” daring not to claim too much for himself. And it is this humility that Jesus affirms, and which becomes crucial in restoring Peter to ministry. No question, humility is one of the greatest qualifications for ministry because the focus then becomes Jesus Christ and not self.

Peter’s restoration and role as leader in the early church is one of the strongest evidences that Jesus rose from the dead. It would be hard to explain Peter’s prominence if Jesus had not, in the presence of the other disciples, restored him to ministry.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24d-13-meeting-in-galilee/

Daily Lesson for Sabbath 21st of December 2024

Image © Pacific Press

Read for This Week’s Study: John 21:1-25; John 11:9-10; John 8:42-44; John 4:46-54; 2 Timothy 3:16; John 15:1-11.

Memory Text:

“ ‘You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me’ ” (John 5:39, NKJV).

John’s Gospel, like Mark’s, ends with a meeting in Galilee. This final lesson on John deals with that meeting but integrates it with the theme of how we know Jesus and the Word of God—a concept that runs through the fourth Gospel.

Though they were with Jesus more than three years, the disciples were still greatly unprepared for the Crucifixion and Resurrection, even though Jesus had told them again and again what would happen.

Unfortunately, they didn’t take Him at His word.

We today can be in danger of doing the same thing: hearing or even reading the Word of God but not listening to it, not abiding in it, and not obeying it. That is, not accepting it as the light that should guide our thoughts and actions. This, unfortunately, is where, perhaps unwittingly, too many Christians are.

In this, our last week in John, we will look at some of this Gospel’s key points, which can help us move beyond the mere head knowledge of Jesus to, instead, knowing Him better and more closely abiding in Him and in His Word.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 28.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24d-13-epilogue-knowing-jesus-and-his-word/

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-december-21/

Inside Story for Friday 20th of December 2024

By Andrew McChesney

A Bible worker invited several people to the Seventh-day Adventist church in Bethel, Alaska, to share their life stories with a visitor from Adventist Mission. Part of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering for fourth quarter 2024 will go to repair and expand the church so it can accommodate a center of influence for ministry in Bethel. I had flown to the town of 6,300 people to collect mission stories to promote the project.

But no one showed up at the church at the designated time. The Bible worker, Joy Anderson, waved toward a large pizza that she had picked up on her way to the church from her office, where she works as a lawyer.

“Help yourself,” said Joy, who is originally from Alabama and co-leads the church with another Bible worker. “I had hoped that pizza would encourage people to come.”

About half the pizza was gone when Kingston walked in. He expressed surprise that he was the only person present. Then he took a slice of pizza, sat down, and spoke about why he worships at the Adventist church.

Image © Pacific Press

The 59-year-old custodian said he struggled for years with alcohol and drugs in Hooper Bay, a Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta town of 1,400 people located 90 minutes by small plane from Bethel. “I wanted to get out of the crummy life that I was living,” he said. “I told myself, ‘If I do not learn from this lesson, if I do not learn from my mistakes, people will think that I am dumb.’ ”

Then Kingston moved to Bethel, following the path of many Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta residents who have left small towns in hope of better lives in Bethel, the largest community in western Alaska. Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta’s population is about 85 percent Alaska Native, who are primarily Yup’ik, Cup’ik, and Athabascan.

One day, Steve, an Adventist and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta native, invited Kingston to the Bethel Church. “He asked me if I was troubled or down,” Kingston said. “I was curious where he was going, so I started coming.”

Kingston found strength in spending time with other churchgoers who had overcome their dependence on alcohol and drugs. “They helped me to stay away from those things,” he said. “This setting has helped me.” He said he is happy but still seeking answers. “The Good Man up above sees everything,” he said. “We all find our answers somehow.”

Please pray for Kingston, who attends church nearly every Sabbath but has yet to make a decision for baptism. Thank you for your Thirteenth Sabbath Offering that will support the Bethel Seventh-day Adventist Church’s mission outreach this quarter. The names of Bethel residents have been changed to protect their privacy. The photo depicts Joy Anderson.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24d-12-inside-story-kingston-finds-hope/

Daily Lesson for Friday 20th of December 2024

Read Ellen G. White, “ ‘It Is Finished,’ ” Pages 758–764; “ ‘The Lord Is Risen,’ ” Pages 779–787; and “ ‘Why Weepest Thou? ” Pages 788–794, in The Desire of Ages. See also, Clifford Goldstein, Risen: Finding Hope in the Empty Tomb (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2020).

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

“Pilate longed to deliver Jesus. But he saw that he could not do this, and yet retain his own position and honor. Rather than lose his worldly power, he chose to sacrifice an innocent life. How many, to escape loss or suffering, in like manner sacrifice principle. Conscience and duty point one way, and self-interest points another. The current sets strongly in the wrong direction, and he who compromises with evil is swept away into the thick darkness of guilt.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 738.

“Christ did not yield up His life till He had accomplished the work which He came to do, and with His parting breath He exclaimed, ‘It is finished.’ John 19:30. The battle had been won. His right hand and His holy arm had gotten Him the victory. As a Conqueror He planted His banner on the eternal heights. Was there not joy among the angels? All heaven triumphed in the Saviour’s victory. Satan was defeated, and knew that his kingdom was lost.

“To the angels and the unfallen worlds the cry, ‘It is finished,’ had a deep significance. It was for them as well as for us that the great work of redemption had been accomplished. They with us share the fruits of Christ’s victory.”—The Desire of Ages, p. 758.

Discussion Questions

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/24d-12-further-thought-the-hour-of-glory-the-cross-and-resurrection/