A Step in Faith

Sabbath School Summary
Memory Text: Philippians 2:5-7

SABBATH: The purpose of the incarnation was to reconcile men with God. When the saved walk on the golden streets of heaven & stand in awe before the throne of God, they’d fully appreciate Jesus selfless act of stopping so low to put on humanity to save the human race. The saints would remember Jesus left His riches to become poor for their sake (DA, p. 131). Let us unite with Him in witnessing.

SUNDAY: Humility & love is the hallmark of Christ. Being one & equal with God, He descended to earth that one day humanity might ascend to heaven (Phil. 2:5-11). Christ is life, He is far above every power, yet, He emptied Himself of His riches to fill us with His grace (7 BC, p. 154; DA, p. 530; Phil. 2:7). In His holy ministry, He presented God’s universal law of love & died a universal death on the cross.

MONDAY: A true witness is fully committed to the divine call of God. Peter & John over a year had heard whispers around on the nature of Christ but had not accepted His “commitment call”. On a barren day of fishing, their lives were about to be changed by Christ forever (Matt. 4:18-20). They were now to be “fishers of men”—a higher calling. Next was Mathew, a tax collector, known to be cheaters (Matt. 9:9).

TUESDAY: In just one encounter, Paul became an Apostle. God sometimes appoint an unlikely witness to be His “chosen vessel”. He was guided by the Spirit in His ministry to sail overseas to preach to Thousands (Acts 9:3-6, 10-20). The demoniacs, the Samaritan woman, a prostitute, a tax collector, fishermen, & a persecutor all were useful for Christ (Acts 28:28-31; 2 Tim. 4:5-8, see 2 Cor. 11:25-30).

WEDNESDAY: Love is not only words, but also deeds. Love is a verb, not a noun (2 Cor. 5:14). Those who possess genuine love for God will witness for Him. “Giving up” our bad things is not enough, Jesus rather “gave up” good things. Love demands us to “give our lives” for service to God. Christ spelt out the demands of divine love to Peter who had just betrayed Him three times (John 21:15-19).

THURSDAY: Salvation came at a costly price—the death of Christ. So is discipleship, it is costly! Christ predicted the death of Peter, an ultimate sacrifice for all the good works God will wrought through Him in the course of His ministry (John 21:18, 19). “Peter was asked to make the commitment with his eyes wide open” (1 John 3:16-18). “In eternity, nothing we have ever done will seem like a sacrifice.”

FRIDAY: Those who occupy offices in God’s church must ensure every member of the church play a role in witnessing. No gift is to be lost or wasted. All are useful for Christ. The church in times past have failed to lay out an effective plan. It behoves on church leaders to plan on how to advance the gospel to the world. Small groups & personal labor must be encouraged. Our task is to “go” & not to “wait”.

—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 9, pp. 116, 117.

Keywords

DA- The Desire of Ages

7BC- The SDA Bible Commentary, Volume 7

Captions

SUNDAY- Jesus’ Self-sacrificing Love
MONDAY- Commitment’s Call
TUESDAY- Paul: God’s Chosen Vessel
WEDNESDAY- The Demands Of Love
THURSDAY- Love’s Commitment

Discussion Questions

📌 What is the main thought of the Ellen G. White quote above? What impact can it have on your personal witnessing and your church’s outreach?

📌 How is genuine love always manifested? What are counterfeit forms of love that have little to do with genuine love?

📌 In class, talk about the sacrifices that people have made for the Lord, including the loss of life. What can you learn from these stories?

📌 Think about your answer to the question at the end of Sunday’s study, about what you have sacrificed for Christ. What, in fact, have you sacrificed? Why did you do it? Was it worth it? How could you explain to someone who is not a Christian what you did and why you did it?

For September 19-25. Happy 13th Sabbath. Thanks for being a part of the study. Be a faithful witness!

—Michael Adarkwah Agyemang

https://www.facebook.com/686458928148544/posts/3418242034970206/