"The Work of the Prophets"

Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope

http://ssclassnotes.blogspot.com 

February 14, 2009
Larry R Evans 

Introduction 

David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons in their book UN Christian tell of the following incident:  “Several months ago, I was browsing the religious section at a bookstore.  As I stood there, checking out the titles, two young men and a young woman wandered into the same section.  It was obvious that the three twentysomethings were not searching for books. They were hanging out, discussing life, and joking as friends do.

       I was not particularly tuned in to their conversation, not really aware of what they were talking about until one of them said, ‘Oh, check this out.  It’s a Bible with a metal cover!’  That caught my attention.

       The young woman said, ‘What? What are you talking about?’

       ‘Yeah, look.  It’s a Bible encased in metal.’

       ‘Huh? What’s that for?’

       ‘How the heck should I know? Maybe it’s supposed to be indestructible.  Let’s see if it is.’  Then I heard the Bible hit the floor.

       ‘I guess not!’ They laughed, stuffing the battered book back on the shelf.  I saw them shuffle off to another part of the store.  Their conversation had already moved to a new topic.”  (p.21) 

Such is the secular scene today yet this is precisely the group we desperately need to reach with the gospel.  How can we?  If we are indeed a “prophetic movement”, as I believe we are, how are we to understand our work?  Is it all about methodology?  Where do we begin understanding our task—by examining an array of methods for outreach or by examining the message itself?  Popularity has never been the lot of prophets yet a review of approaches used by God is quite amazing.  Even with God-given approaches some prophets did not fare very well . . . yet the message was not halted. This quarter we are giving study to “The Gift of Prophecy” and this week we are looking at “The Work of the Prophets” and how they related to the gospel and the work God gave to them.     

Reflective Quiz

1.     The gospel was not presented until New Testament times.  True or False?  [Gen 22:1-14; Isa 53]

2.    The Bible contains two gospels – one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament.  True or False?  [Jn 1:29; Rom 3:21-26]

3.    Because of the importance of the Sabbath, it is understandable that less emphasis can be given to the gospel.  True or False?  [Deut. 5:12-15; Jn 14:15; Mk 12:30,31]

4.    The main leaders of the New Testament church dealt only with Bible prophecies and high administrative issues facing the new believers.  True or False?  [Acts 6:1-7; 1 Cor 5:1-5; 1 Jn 4:1-3]

5.    Church organization is a  blessing and has always been received as such.  True or False?  [Rev 12:1-10;Num 16:1-3;1 Ki 18:16-21; Jn 16:1-4]

6.    Prophets, by their very calling, must expose secret sins to the public.  True or False?  [1T 584,585]

7.    The messages of prophets were often recorded in ways they could be remembered by the present and future generations. True or False? [Num. 9:1-5; Col 4:16; 1 Jn 5:13; 5T:67]

8.    The Bible contains messages given about the future by prophets which have already been fulfilled.  True or False?  [Isa 44:28; Jer 25:11; Dan 9:24-27]

9.    The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a prophetic role to play just before Christ comes.  True or False?  [1 Ki 18:16-19:18; Mal 4:5,6; Jn 3:1-12; Mt 17:10-13; Rev 14:6-13]

Conclusion

[ To Follow on Friday With Teaching Notes and Answers to the Quiz]

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