Sharing Scripture for November 1 – 7, 2020
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This is a tool for you to use if you lead a Sabbath School (SS) class or small group. It is keyed to the Bible texts used in the current week’s Adult SS Lesson and includes a brief story from current news you can use to introduce the discussion and then a series of discussion questions in a relational pattern designed to build fellowship and spiritual reflection.
For use: November 1 – 7
Texts: Genesis 3:1-11; Romans 5:11-19; Genesis 28:10-17; John 1:1-14; Matthew 15:21-28; Mark 10:46-52
It’s not just students who need educating in these tumultuous times. Now, even teachers are having to get schooled because of COVID-19. New challenges have pushed educators to come up with new and creative ways to help students learn without spreading the virus.
Raylene Boots, a high school social studies teacher in Pennsylvania, usually walks around her classroom while she teaches. But now she’s required to stand behind her computer up front so that she keeps a proper distance from half of her in-class students and can be seen by the other half who are online. “It is harder for me to learn faces when half their faces are covered,” she explains.
Boots typically hands out small, rubber globes that students can hold in their hands, but that’s out since students can’t touch things that are passed around. She also likes to give out spices when teaching about South Asia, but, once again, handing out objects isn’t allowed. So, she’s worked to come up with innovative ways to communicate her lessons. She uses education programs that provide web-based animations and videos that are interactive.
In this week’s Sabbath School lesson, “More Lessons From the Master Teacher,” we study creative ways that Christ brought the gospel to listeners. The virus of sin made it challenging for Jesus to reach hearers who were limited in understanding heavenly truths. Adam and Eve, after breaking God’s command to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil “left the classroom.”
Jacob, who tricked his father into blessing him, ran for his life. His brother wouldn’t hesitate to do to him what Cain did to Abel. But how could God reach and teach this runaway deceiver? The Lord spoke to Jacob in a dream that has indelibly taught generations about the lengths to which God would go to reach us.
We also read about a persistent Canaanite woman who “caught the lesson” even though Jesus’ own disciples missed the point.
Wednesday’s lesson reminds us that sometimes those who are called to be teachers need teaching. Just as teachers today struggle to learn new ways to reach students, so must each of us humble our own hearts and acknowledge that we need to daily discover new truths from the Master Teacher, beautiful lessons that we can pass on to those we meet.
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Connecting: Who was your favorite teacher in elementary school (or high school)? What did you like most about their teaching style?
Sharing: Read Genesis 3:1-11. God asked Adam, “Where are you?” What was the purpose in asking this question?
- The Lord wanted to bring conviction to Adam’s heart that he had sinned.
- God wanted to communicate mercy and love to Adam because he had sinned.
- It was God’s purpose to help Adam stop and think more deeply about what had just happened.
- The Lord knew Adam and Eve were hiding and could see them, yet met these “students” on their own level by respecting their choice to hide.
- This was not a geography question, but a relational inquiry. It was as if the Lord was saying, “You are not here at our regular time to meet. I miss you.”
- Other…
Applying: One afternoon, an acquaintance says to you, “Yeah, I believe Jesus was real, but he was nothing more than a good teacher.” How would you respond to his or her comment?
Valuing: Have you ever hidden from the Teacher? Have you ever avoided time in heaven’s classroom? Pray with one other person in your group, even if it is over Zoom, the phone, or texting, and ask that the Lord would help you spend adequate time each day being educated to know how much God loves you, even when you skip school.
~ Curtis Rittenour