Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

Nicodemus was a learned man. The Bible describes him as a ruler of the Jews (John 3:1). Jesus referred to him as a teacher of Israel (John 3:10, NKJV). He had a good understanding of the Bible and had a spiritual hunger for the Lord. From a human perspective, he may have looked as though he were a follower of God. He kept all the commandments, and he was a respected leader among the Jews. He was p...

Christ died for all, regardless of their background, wealth, ethnicity, or status. God ceaselessly draws all humanity to Himself, incuding those individuals classed among the powerful non-Christians of the world (see Ellen G. White, The Acts of Apostles, p. 416).Read 2 Kings 5:1–19. What can we take from this story about reaching people for the Lord? In 2 Kings 5:17–19, Naaman made two unusual req...

As Seventh-day Adventists, we believe in what is known as “unlimited atonement.” This means that, in contrast to some Christians, we believe that Christ’s death was for all humanity, not just a special group of those predestined by God for salvation. Because God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4, NKJV), Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice “for our...

Read for This Week’s StudyDaniel 4, 2 Kings 5:1–19, John 3:1–12, John 7:43–52, Matt. 19:16–22, John 19:38–42.Memory Text:“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26, NKJV).Though written many years ago, the Bible, the Word of God, is the revelation of God’s truth for our world. And among the...

Read Arthur White, “A Few Days at Long Point,” Ellen G. White: The Australian Years: 1891–1900, vol. 4, pp. 100–104.The Gospel writers recorded examples of Jesus’ practice of building bridges with people from other cultures in order to save them (Matt. 8:28–34, Mark 5:1–20). Likewise, we also are called to make friends and minister to people from other cultures, as well. Christ’s death was for eve...

As we all know, and know too well, the needs never end. If you are willing to help others, you will have plenty of opportunities. Whether close friends or refugees far away, people are in need, and we should do what we can, when we can, to help. All through His earthly ministry, Jesus helped those who could not help themselves. In some cases, He took the initiative and went to those in need; in ot...

Who among us hasn’t experienced just how hurting our world really is? Whether living in an environment of wealth and materialism, or living in an environment of poverty and material needs—it doesn’t matter. People are hurting, suffering, struggling. All one has to do, for instance, is read about the staggering amount of money spent on antidepressants in the Western world each year to understand th...

The topic of immigrants and refugees has become a hotly debated subject, especially because there are so many of them today. Whether displaced by war, natural disasters, or for the hope of a better economic future, millions around the world have been uprooted from their homes and are in desperate need of help. In Matthew 2:13, 14, Jesus was a refugee. His earthly parents, Joseph and Mary, were for...

Interview: host - Mo Sena / Interviewee: Dilma Paim - presenting a life-changing project for Afghan refugees in Brazil

What do the following stories teach us about ministry to the needy? John 5:1–9Mark 1:23–28Ellen G. White provides a five-step process of Jesus’ method in how to minister, especially to those in need: “Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won th...

A powerful story in the Gospels reveals what some men went through in order to bring a needy person, probably a friend, to Jesus. We can learn from what happened here about the hard work it might sometimes take to minister to those in need. Read Luke 5:17–26 (see also Matt. 9:1–8, Mark 2:3–12). What are some of the lessons we can take from this story about mission and ministry? By bringing their f...

Read for This Week’s StudyLuke 5:17–26, John 5:1–9, Deut. 10:19, Lev. 23:22, Matt. 25:34–40, John 15:13.Memory Text:“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’ ” (Matthew 25:40, NKJV).Luke 5:17–26 provides many illustrations of how God is helping those in need. Sometimes God uses others to h...

Read Ellen G. White, “The Good Samaritan,” pp. 497–505, in The Desire of Ages. There are many hungry, needy, and mistreated people in our world today. You can do your part, however “small” it might seem to be. We are not going to solve all the world’s problems before Jesus returns. We haven’t been called to do that. But until then, our work can be as basic as helping someone you know who does not...

When commending the lawyer for giving the right answer, Jesus said, “Do this and you will live” (Luke 10:28, NKJV), and thus, He touched the very core in the man’s heart. Giving all the right answers was easy for the lawyer, but doing those things was an issue 2,000 years ago—and it is still an issue for many of us today. The lawyer wanted to trap Jesus and show off his knowledge. He asked a follo...

Read Matthew 22:37–40. How does what Jesus Himself said here compare to His answer to the lawyer, in Luke 10:27, 28?According to Matthew 22:37–40, Jesus made it clear that the everyday expression of true belief hangs upon these two commandments. And Luke 10:27, 28 makes it clear that if a person does these two things, then he or she will have eternal life.“Love is the underlying principle of God’s...

Read Luke 10:27, 28. What was the lawyer’s answer to his own question? The lawyer had asked the question, and he himself gave the answer: “ ‘ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart . . .” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” ’ ”(Luke 10:27, NIV).What was the response of Jesus? He said, “ ‘You have answered rightly’ ” (Luke 10:28, NKJV). Jesus went on to challenge him to do something about it,...

1845 Lesson 7 Monday Nov 13: Jesus’ method and response - The Bible tells us that the lawyer came to test Jesus, but Jesus knew what his intentions were. Indeed, God knows the longings and desires of our hearts more than we ourselves do. And we certainly do not know the heart or the motives of those who question us, do we? Sometimes people from other religions question us about our faith. For inst...

Who are we? Why are we here? What happens when we die? What is our ultimate fate? These are, in many ways, the most important ques- tions mortal beings, beings who know that they are mortal (oysters and chickens are, too, but don’t know it), can ask. And in the Gospel of Luke, someone comes to Jesus with what is, in fact, the most crucial question of all. Read Luke 10:25. What did this lawyer ask,...

Read for This Week’s Study: Luke 10:25–37, 2 Tim. 3:16, James 2:17–22, Matt. 22:37–40, Gal. 5:14, Micah 6:6–8. Memory Text: “He answered, ‘ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” ’ ” (Luke 10:27, NIV). We all know the text: “ ‘ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with...

Our mission work must come from deep love and thankfulness for what Jesus has done and is doing in our lives. Any other motivation is misguided. Keeping immersed in the Word and in tune with the Word is the key to successful outreach and evangelism.“Our life is to be bound up with the life of Christ; we are to draw constantly from Him, partaking of Him, the living Bread that came down from heaven,...

Read Acts 2:41–47. What kind of picture of the early church is present here? Acts 2 ends with a beautiful picture of what the early church was like. Acts 2:41 says that those who were baptized were “added to them” (NKJV). We could read this to say that someone did the math and added the number of new believers to the number of existing believers and established a new total membership for the group...

Acts 2 records the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. As the followers of Jesus were praying, tongues of fire rested upon their heads. They recognized that the promised power of the Holy Spirit had been given. Read Acts 2:1–41. What happened to the disciples as a result of receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? The disciples began to speak in other languages “as the Spirit gave them utte...

Luke 24 ends with Jesus’ ascension into heaven (Luke 24:50–53). But that is not the end of the story. The author, Luke, continues, writing the book of Acts. Just before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave the disciples a mission, a promise, and immediate instructions to wait in Jerusalem for “power from on high” (Luke 24:49; see also Acts 1:4–8).Jesus instructed the disciples to wait in Jerusalem un...

Read Luke 24:36–49. What happened here, and why was this such a pivotal experience for the apostles? It is interesting that at first the disciples did not believe out of fear. Then, after seeing Jesus and being assured that He was indeed alive, they did not believe for joy (Luke 24:41). Have you ever felt that something was too good to be true? This was the experience of the disciples and the othe...

Read Luke 24:1–12. What was the response of those who heard about the risen Christ? Early Sunday morning, after Jesus’ death, Luke says that a number of women went to the tomb. They had spices with them; so, it is likely they were going to tend to Jesus’ body now that the Sabbath was over. Expecting to find a still-sealed tomb, they were shocked to find the tomb empty. Unsure what to do, they were...