Setbacks

• Lesson 11 for the week of June 6 to June 13

Something we hate to admit is that we are the ones who often create our own setbacks! Yes, we live in a sin-damaged world and sin wreaks havoc on all, but: Luke 6:46-49 NLT “So...

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Repentance and Forgiveness

• Lesson 10 for the week of May 30 to June 6

Sin is first and foremost a killer! If God had not intervened, anyone and everyone who sinned would die immediately. The only reason we sinners are not dead yet is because God stepped in and...

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Sin, the Gospel, and the Law

• Lesson 9 for the week of May 23 to May 30

I did not wish to combine these three topics into one lesson, so I’ve decided to focus on just the law this week, while offering some thoughts regarding sin and the gospel to next week’s...

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Having Faith

• Lesson 8 for the week of May 16 to May 23

Perhaps this lesson might be better titled Exercising Faith since we never generate faith ourselves. As the SS Quarterly itself says: It’s not something we can generate ourselves, for “God has dealt to each one...

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Practical Prayer

• Lesson 7 for the week of May 9 to May 16

I’ve chosen to focus this lesson on the idea of Praying as Learners. From the cradle to the grave Jesus’ life was bathed in prayer. In fact, even before His birth we find both Zechariah...

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Prayer Warriors

• Lesson 6 for the week of May 2 to May 9

Though I am now using them for a different purpose than he did, I am indebted to Greg Boyd for some of the concepts I am sharing below regarding why we pray. Why do we...

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How to Study the Bible

• Lesson 5 for the week of April 25 to May 2

On my desktop computer I have a file titled Biblical Books. In that file is another file titled Amos, a biblical book I am currently studying. In my Amos file I have individual files for...

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The Role of the Bible

• Lesson 4 for the week of April 18 to April 25

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ. In 1978 I finally chose to attend college. I was then 22 years old. I was...

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Pride Versus Humility

• Lesson 3 for the week of April 11 to April 18

In 1988 Margaret Becker wrote a song titled Pico Boulevard. In it she expressed her failure to find the balance between need and desire, and thus fell right into line, this line: “Let me be...

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To Know God

• Lesson 2 for the week of April 4 to April 11

Several books on my bookshelves wrestle with the idea of “a hidden God.” My Amazon wish list contains a few as well. So here we will put the big question earlier than normal: Question How...

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Reality Check

• Lesson 1 for the week of March 28 to April 4

The Bible tells us that our world is infected with evil. Where did evil come from? Why did sin arise in the first place, and why has it continued to exist for so long? Matt....

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God Reveals His Righteousness

• Lesson 13 for the week of June 17 to June 24

Discussion: The New Testament writers do not typically depict God as on trial before the universe as Seventh-day Adventists have often presented the matter. For Peter and John, if there is a question about his...

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The Millenium and the End of Evil

• Lesson 12 for the week of June 10 to June 17

Background Consideration: Imagine lining up all the teachings of the Bible in a row from the most important to the least important. Where should we put the millennium? One hundred forty years ago early Adventists...

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The Certainty of the Second Coming

• Lesson 11 for the week of June 3 to June 10

Background Consideration: Most of the space in the book of Mark is reserved for stories about Jesus and his disciples, not discourses by Jesus. Only chapters 4 and 13 could be described as sermons. In...

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