Finding Hope Through Discovery in Bible Study

--> What a Mess and How to Get Out of It! [The Cosmic Conflict Over God’s Character) December 21, 2013 Sabbath School Lesson Presented by Larry R Evans Introduction We sometimes make things more difficult than necessary especially when it comes to the gospel.   So let’s begin by asking a “simple” question:   “Is the antidote for being bad being good?”   This question and its implications are at the heart of our studies.   But first a story and unfortunately a true story! When I was young I liked to go fishing.   A friend and I would grab our fishing poles and head off to a lake.   To get there we had to walk across about half a mile of dry cheat grass.   On this particular day we decided to also go swimming.   When we got out, despite the hot weather, we thought we were cold – cold enough to start a fire.   We gathered some rocks and put them in a circle.   To make things easier we brought along som...

--> Atonement Phase One: “It’s Complicated—It’s All About Relationships” Sabbath School November 2, 2013 Larry R Evans, Teacher Introduction I found this definition of “It’s Complicated” in the Urban Dictionary:   “One of the options for ‘Relationship Status’ on Facebook . Refers to a couple in an ambiguous state between ‘ friends ’ and ‘in a relationship .’ May also be used to indicate dissatisfaction with an existing relationship. If someone changes their status from ‘In a Relationship’ to’ ‘It's Complicated’, expect them to be ‘Single’ and ‘Looking for Random Play’ soon.” The Bible is clear. The plot is laid out in Genesis 1-4.   God had a plan at the very beginning and we messed things up.   The relationship got “complicated.” It got complicated in part because of a third party (Satan) who entered the scene and tried to breakup the relationship that God was building. Damage was done for sure.   The relationship was fractu...

Sabbath School Lesson July 6, 2013 Class Teacher: Larry Evans Introduction The story is told of a young boy who cried out in the night for his dad to come and be with him.   He had a terrible dream and was scared.   He had seen what he thought were demons.   Maybe it was the lights dancing on the walls of his bedroom, maybe something he ate or maybe it was the dark presence of demons themselves. Regardless, he wanted the assurance that he was safe.   He asked his father, “Please pray to Jesus and ask Him to keep me safe.”   The father thinking for a moment said, “I will pray but instead of asking that you be kept safe I am going to pray that you be dangerous!” Maybe, just maybe, we ought to consider that being armed with Jesus is not just about being safe.   It makes us dangerous to the kingdom of Satan. It is easy to read the Bible is sections yet by doing so, lose sight of the bigger picture.   For example,...

JONAH EAGER TO FORGIVE Sabbath School Lesson May 11, 2013 Larry R Evans SS Teacher Introduction Jonah’s message came at a time of great national distress.   Jeroboam II “did what was evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.” (2 Kings 14:23-27).   Through the prophecy of Jonah (v.25), however, the Lord extended his mercy to Israel and widened her borders.   Nevertheless, Israel existed on probationary time despite this blessing. The message of Jonah is unique in that while he preaches to Nineveh the real import of the book is directed to the northern kingdom.   The dominant theme is God’s right to extend mercy to any nation or individual he chooses – Jew or Gentile.   The book reminds Israel in a satirical way of her missionary responsibility even to her enemies and that her God, Yahweh—her promise-keeping God, is Lord over all nations.   It becomes clear that Isra...