Bible Study - Sabbath School Podcast

Read for This Week’s StudyLuke 24:1–12; Luke 24:36–49; Acts 1:12–26; Heb. 10:24, 25; Acts 2:1–41; 1 Cor. 11:1.Memory Text:“ ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me’ ” (Luke 24:44, NKJV).Wrote Paul to the Philippians: “Some indeed preach Christ even fr...

Ellen G. White has a strong warning for those who are struggling to follow the call of Jesus to witness to those around them.“The excuses of those who fail to do this work do not relieve them of the responsibility, and if they choose not to do this work, they neglect the souls for whom Christ died, neglect their God-given responsibility, and are registered in the books of heaven as unfaithful serv...

Jonah’s story is more than amazing. The fact that God could save the Ninevites in spite of the poor witness of Jonah is a stark reminder that our role is merely to be a conduit for God, who alone can convict and convert hearts. It is a reminder that God seeks only willing and humble messengers who will follow His direction. Read Isaiah 6:1–8. What is the central idea expressed in this passage? The...

Jonah’s experience in the belly of the fish (see Jonah 2) was a dramatic show of God’s love and mercy, and Jonah’s prayer reveals that he didn’t miss God’s message of love. But just because he had had an incredible encounter with God didn’t mean that his old thought habits or attitudes would easily change, even though he went to Nineveh anyway. Read Jonah 3. How did the people respond to what Jona...

Our Excuses: Inconvenience Jonah’s experience in the belly of the fish (see Jonah 2:1-10Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)) was a dramatic show of God’s love and mercy, and Jonah’s prayer reveals that he didn’t miss God’s message of love. But just because he had had an incredible encounter with God didn’t mean that his old thought habits or attitudes would easily change, even though he we...

Our Excuses: Uncomfortable Confrontations “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm” (Jonah 4:2Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). What a beautiful prayer on the part of Jonah. Or was it? Read...

Our Excuses: False Views When the storm came, Jonah blamed himself (Jonah 1:1-12Open in Logos Bible Software (if available)). His attitude does reveal something about the kind of worldview and understanding of God or “gods” that many had back then. While various gods, they believed, ruled in their various lands, the sea was deemed the chaotic realm of demons. In the worldview of the mariners, sacr...

Read Nahum 1:1; Nahum 3:1–4; and 2 Kings 17:5, 6; 2 Kings 19:32– 37. What do these verses reveal about Nineveh and the relationship between Assyria and Israel? How might this relationship have impacted Jonah’s decision to go to Tarshish instead? _ ________________________________________________________ _ ________________________________________________________ _ __________________________________...

Read for This Week’s Study: Jonah 1–4; Nahum 1:1; 2 Kings 17:5, 6; Ps. 24:1; James 1:27; Isa. 6:1–8. Memory Text: “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?’ Then I said, ‘Here am I! Send me’ ” (Isaiah 6:8, NKJV). Not everyone called to mission was as compliant as Abraham. Jonah is an example (read Jonah 1–4). God called Jonah to cry out against Nineve...

“Love for perishing souls inspired Abraham’s prayer. While he loathed the sins of that corrupt city, he desired that the sinners might be saved. His deep interest for Sodom shows the anxiety that we should feel for the impenitent. We should cherish hatred of sin, but pity and love for the sinner. All around us are souls going down to ruin as hopeless, as terrible, as that which befell Sodom. Every...

Read Genesis 12:1–9. What do these verses teach about submitting to God’s will, even when the path ahead does not seem clear? One of the main qualities of Abraham was his submission to God’s will. All the experiences of Abraham with God were characterized by this submission. His calling: Abraham received a challenging call from heaven: “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your peopl...

Read Genesis 19:1–29. What was the result of Abraham’s spirit of hospitality, love, and prayer? The text gives an interesting indication about the position of Lot in the city of Sodom: “Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom” (Gen. 19:1, NKJV). This means he was an important character in the city, certainly a public officer, because sitting in the gate is a privilege of officers, judges, and kings (...

Read Genesis 18:23–32 and James 5:16. What should this teach us about the power of intercessory prayer? The dialogue between Abraham and God is a type, a representation, of intercessory prayer. Abraham is presented in this chapter as an intercessor before God for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. He was pleading for them, in behalf of them; that is, he was in a way acting as a type, a symbol, of J...

Read Genesis 18:16–33. How did Abraham exercise his great quality of love for all people without distinguishing tribe, race, or people? The second quality of Abraham drawn from Genesis 18 was his love for people, even for those he did not personally know. This is a great lesson for each of us. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were sinners, far removed from his values, but his heart was full of lov...

Read Genesis 18:1–15. What elements of hospitality are demonstrated in Abraham’s response to his guests? Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. This behavior was unusual. At that time of the day in summer, when the sun is at its zenith, everyone is looking for shade and for a fresh breeze. But, perhaps, Abraham was enduring the heat in order to help anyone who migh...

Read for This Week’s Study Genesis 18, James 5:16, Rom. 8:34, Heb. 7:25, Gen. 19:1–29, Gen. 12:1–9. Memory Text: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34, 35, NKJV).From the start, Abraham wanted to be used by God for mission. This...

Read Ellen G. White, “The Great Commission,” pp. 25–34, and “A Seeker for Truth,” pp. 131–142, in The Acts of the Apostles.“Before ascending to heaven, Christ gave His disciples their commission. He told them that they were to be the executors of the will in which He bequeathed to the world the treasures of eternal life. You have been witnesses of My life of sacrifice in behalf of the world, He sa...

Read Acts 1:8. What principle did Jesus present when doing the work of sharing or being His witnesses to the world? This is the principle set out by Jesus that shows us how we need to act as His disciples, who have the good news to share with others. Sharing the truth is not about convincing others how wrong they are, but about sharing Jesus as portrayed in the three angels’ messages of Revelation...

Read Acts 8:1–4. In the early church, what brought about the scattering of believers beyond their comfort zone? Until this time, the early church was mainly in Jerusalem (or within the Jewish territory and among the Jewish people). When persecution began—in which Saul, a devout Jew and a Pharisee, was actively involved—the church in Jerusalem was then dispersed all over Judea and Samaria. Jesus ha...

Following the call of God, Abraham entered the land as God had commanded him. However, right from the start, things didn’t seem to go too well for him. He arrived where God told him to go, but according to the Bible, “the Canaanites were then in the land” (Gen. 12:6, NKJV)—pagans known for their cruelty and violence. No wonder that right after Abraham got there, the Lord appeared to him and said,...

Read Genesis 12:1–3. In what way was God’s instruction to Abram a call to mission? God asked Abram (whose name He later changed to Abraham) to leave his country and his people and go to another land. It was all part of God’s plan to use Abraham as a vehicle to fulfill His divine purposes in the earth. And Abraham went, according to the Word of the Lord. If God has a plan for you, it may be a call...

In order to reach others, God intends for us to move beyond our comfort zone. The desire to remain only with our own ilk and ethnic or social kind can lead to selfishness, even evil. This danger is one of the lessons derived from the story of Babel. Read Genesis 11:1–9. What were the intentions of the people? What were they wanting to do, and why would God thwart it? This story of the people at th...

Read for This Week’s StudyGen. 11:1–9, Gen. 12:1–3, Dan. 9:24–27, Matt. 1:21, Gen. 12:10–13:1, Acts 8:1–4, Acts 1:8.Memory Text:“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NKJV).God can sometimes move us out of our comfort zone and make us His witnesses. Som...

For a witness unto all nations. “The Saviour’s words, ‘Ye are the light of the world,’ point to the fact that he has committed to his followers a world-wide mission. As the rays of the sun penetrate to the remotest corners of the globe, so God designs that the light of the gospel shall extend to every soul upon the earth. If the church of Christ were fulfilling the purpose of our Lord, light would...

Read Revelation 7:9, 10. What does this text suggest about the far-reaching geographical scope of God’s mission? This week’s lesson has intentionally discussed two crucial mission texts that emphasize the centrality of disciple-making in the Great Commission and the message of the eternal gospel. Interestingly, both texts have at least a common connecting point: the “where” of mission. They read:...