Finding Hope Through Discovery in Bible Study

Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope   There will be no full class notes this week.   You may wish to check out our class blog at:   http://ssclassnotes.blogspot.com ) May 2, 2009 Larry R Evans Reflective Quiz  1.          One of the first things God did after completing creation and then after sin entered the world was to speak to Adam and Eve.   [Gen. 2:15; 3:9]   True or False?  2.        If studied carefully, nature will reveal insights into the character of God.   [Ps. 19:1-4; Rom. 1:18-20]   True or False?   3.        Our conscience is a gift from God and a clear conscience proclaims our innocence.   [Gen 42:18-23; 1 Cor. 4:4]   True or False?   4.        Prophets of God consider the “whole picture” and then decide what part of the revelation from God they will share in their counsel and/or writings.   [Ex. 7:1-6; 2 Tim. 4:3-4]   True or False?   5.        The personal credibility of the one who shares Bible truth has much weight as to whether that tru...

Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope   April 25, 2009 Larry R Evans   Introductory Reflection     “Would you tell me, please, which way I can go to get out of here?” asked Alice. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where . . .” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.   ( Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll in the novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)   These lines are from the fictional story entitled Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.     Alice who had fallen into a rabbit hole was led into an amazing world but she was now wanting out. While I haven’t read the novel these lines do raise some important issues.   Many today, either by choice or through a chain of circumstances, find themselves in a world that is no longer satisfying and in some cases terrifying.   In desperation they strike out with no specific plan in mind other than “get me out of here.”...

Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope (Full class notes will most likely be posted on Friday.)   April 25, 2009 Larry R Evans Introductory Reflection “Would you tell me, please, which way I can go to get out of here?” asked Alice. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where . . .” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll in the novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland) These lines are from the fictional story entitled Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alice who had fallen into a rabbit hole was led into an amazing world but she was now wanting out. While I haven’t read the novel these lines do raise some important issues. Many today, either by choice or through a chain of circumstances, find themselves in a world that is no longer satisfying and in some cases terrifying. In desperation they strike out with no specific plan in mind other...

Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope Unfortunately There Will Be No Full Class Notes This Week April 18, 2009 Larry R Evans Introductory Reflection Hope need not be illusive nor must it be put off until sometime in the future. Hope is a gift that is implanted by God in the hearts of those who place their trust in Him. Hope in ourselves and in others, when divinely inspired, changes things. It can change our world but first it must change us. Faith, hope and love work together and transform lives. Hope does not disappoint when planted by the Holy Spirit. We are a people of hope because “our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.” We dare not trust in anything else for as the song goes “all other ground is sinking sand.” Reflective Quiz 1. Knowing that calamities will come is the reason we need hope. [Lk 21:5,6; Ps 27:4-7] True or False? 2. Hope is a present reality, not a future “maybe”. [Jn 5:24,25; Ps 71:14-18] True or False? 3. Hope is...

Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope April 11, 2009 Larry R Evans   Introductory Reflection   Last week we began our study of key words in the Bible with a major pillar of the Christian teaching called “love.”   We learned that the source of love is God and that the four different words for love used in the New Testament are all anchored in God’s supreme love for us.   This love by God is not built on the premise that something must be returned.   God’s love is not fickle.   God’s love is steadfast and because of this quality of love, at least in part, faith has a solid foundation.   As we will learn from our study this week, we should not confuse “belief” with “faith”.   Faith goes beyond knowledge.   It encompasses one’s entire self   and yields a confident and obedient trust.           When Joshua was instructed to have the priests carry the ark of the covenant into the heart of the flood-swollen Jordan River with the expectation that the waters would be stopped, he...

Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope Full Class Notes (on Friday):   http://ssclassnotes.blogspot.com   April 11, 2009 Larry R Evans   Introductory Reflection  Last week we began our study of key words in the Bible with a major pillar of the Christian faith which is “love.”   We learned that the source of love is God and that the four different words for love used in the New Testament are all anchored in God’s supreme love for us.   This love by God is not built on the premise that something must be returned.   God’s love is not fickle.   God’s love is steadfast and because of this quality of love, at least in part, faith has a solid foundation.   As we will learn from our study this week, we should not confuse “faith” with its “fruit” which is “trust.”   When Joshua was instructed to have the priests carry the ark of the covenant into the heart of the flood-swollen Jordan River with the expectation that the waters would be stopped, he entered into the “process” of f...

Sabbath School Class—Life as Discovery and Hope Full Class Notes:   http://ssclassnotes.blogspot.com April 4, 2009 Larry R Evans   Introductory Reflections   What is love?   How does it come about?   Can love really exist if it isn’t shared?   Is it possible for love to exist if it is only one way?   When Scripture tells us that “God so loved the world” (Jn 3:16) and that “God demonstrates his own love for us in this:   While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8), is the Bible suggesting that this kind of love is possible to obtain and practice by God’s children—a one way kind of love?   This suggests that God loved us before we were able to love back.   Can we do the same with those who do not love us back?   Is it possible to reveal love when the possibility for it being returned is unlikely?    This week’s lesson isn’t about sentimentalism.   It is about a kind of love that is unnatural in our world . . . nevertheless it is present.   There are evidences toda...