12/02/2016
abbath School Summary
Jesus' Teaching And The Great Controversy
Lesson 7
Memory Text: Matthew 11:28
SATURDAY: We can't talk of the great controversy topic without recognising how it explains to a larger extent what occurs to us in our daily lives. Yet no matter how great the ideas it depicts, it is played out here on earth. It affects how we relate to God, to others and to temptation. We'll look at some of the teachings of Jesus in a realistic and practical way as we hope to obey God amidst the great controversy.
SUNDAY: Like Jeremiah (Jeremiah 6:16), Jesus promised us rest for our souls if only we'll take His yoke upon us (Matthew 11:28 29). This rest has its roots from God Himself who rested after creation (Gen. 2:2), and this ushered the Sabbath rest which was observed by the people of old (Lev. 16:31, 25:10, Ex. 23:11, 33:14, 1 Kings 5:4, Deut. 25:19, Josh. 1:13, Ruth 1:9, Prov. 29:17). Jesus' rest offers us the gift of the Sabbath which allows a time out with the Creator.
MONDAY: One could grasp what the great controversy is all about in Jesus' parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23). Satan and his agents are in places where the gospel is preached, and whilst God has employed His angels to cause us to understand His word, Satan works to hinder the work of the Spirit of God. How the farmer sowed his seeds on different soils tells us that, we're to be no judge of who and where we preach the gospel. It's God's job to save.
TUESDAY: The personal battle against evil can only won if we build on Christ, The Rock. Jesus talks of two people who built their house; one on the rock and the other on the sand (Matthew 7:21-27). Yet there was no difference between the two houses until rain, flood and a heavy wind set in. It was the house on the rock (Luke 6:48) which only survived whilst that on the sand fell. We have to combine faith with works (James 2:17, 20, 26).
WEDNESDAY: In the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5-7:27), Jesus told ordinary people how they are of much value in the eyes of God (Matthew 5:13-16). He emphasised on the importance of the law of God, and how our morals are determined by what we think (Matthew 5:17-19, 20, 21-28, 29, 30). The sermon was something new and it pertains to all human lives. Jesus warns us not to judge, those who do that only pass sentence on themselves (Matthew 7:1-5).
THURSDAY: Jesus promised to be with us always, in our struggles and failures (Matthew 28:20). He is Emmanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:28). He made similar promises to Isaac (Genesis 26:24), Jacob (Genesis 28:15), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:8, 19) and Isaiah (Isaiah 41:10, 43:5) mostly at times when they faced hardship. He was with Joshua after Moses (Deut. 31:6, 8, Hebrews 13:5, 8, Joshua 1:5), so was He with Solomon after David (1 Chronicles 28:20).
FRIDAY: S.B, was a character who was blind in Leon Wieseltier's story deemed by the author as "one of the saddest stories in the world". After 52 years of blindness, S.B had a corneal transplant which restored his sight. But hoping to see a perfect world, he only saw a world full of imperfections. Amidst the countless efforts to make our world better, everything shows it's getting worse. In these great controversy, all we have to do is to trust in Jesus' redemption.
Happy Sabbath Brethren
