Dult Sabbath School Lessons
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dult Sabbath School Lessons LOBAL ASSI NME Exploring people, places, customs, and institu- tions that shape the world church • Timely interviews • Profiles of faraway places • Investigative reports • Music with local flavor recorded on location Two recorded mission reports per quarter on cassette can bring variety to your Sabbath School program. Produced by the General Conference Sabbath School Department and Adventist Media Productions. Order from your ADVENTIST BOOK CENTER. GENERAL CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS • 3006 BERNE, SWITZERLAND EURO-AFRICA DIVISION SCHOSSHALDENSTR. 17 - ¢ 031 44 62 62 - TELEX: 338 40 EAD Dear Members and Friends: This quarter the Euro-Africa Division has the privilege of benefit- ing from the Thirteenth Sabbath Special Projects offering. In ad- vance, we wish to thank you and the Lord for your generous help, which will contribute toward two projects in Spain and Belgium. 1. Evangelistic Center in Brussels, Belgium This interesting city with its international atmosphere has over a million inhabitants. The Belgian metropolis presents a real challenge to the proclamation of the three angels' messages. Our two churches in Brussels, the one French and the other Flemish-speaking, urgently need suitable meeting halls. This need must be met now, for wonderful opportunities have opened up for evangelistic work. 2. Girls' Dormitory at Sagunto College, Spain This school was founded in 1965 and since then it has grown rapidly. The theological department, which has 35 students enrolled at the present time, offers Spanish and Portuguese young people the first two years of ministerial training. The total student body numbers well over 200. The college's greatest need is for a girls' dormi- tory. At the moment the girls are living in the school classrooms. The shortage of space has become so acute that something must happen soon. We look forward to being able to carry out these two projects in the very near future. Once again, may we extend to you our heartfelt thanks for your support. When God's children determine to further God's cause, great things are achieved. Your brother in Christ, E. Ludescher, President Contente 1. Challenge to God's Glory 2. What Is Glory? 3. The Glory of God 4. Glory in the Face of Jesus 5. The Glory of Man 6. Restoring Lost Glory 7. The Race to Glory 8. Prayer for Glory 9. Glory Day by Day 10. Glory in the Home 11. Glory of the Remnant 12. The Advent Glory 13. Triumph in Glory The Adult Sabbath School Lessons are prepared by the Sabbath School Department of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The prepa- ration of the lessons is under the general direction of a worldwide Sabbath School Lesson Committee, the members of which serve as consulting editors. Editorial Office: 6840 Eastern Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20012 I As.son Author: J. Ivan Crawford Editor: Gordon M. Hyde Editorial Secretary: Florence L. Wetmore Circulation Manager: Gary D. Grimes Art and Design: Pacific Press Scripture references other than from the King James Version used in this quarterly are as follows: Jerusalem. FromThe Jerusalem Bible, copyright ©1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd., and Doubleday & Co., Inc. Used by permission of the publishers. NEB. From The New English Bible, copyright © by the Delegates of the Oxford University Press, and the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press 1961 and 1970. Used by permission of Cambridge University Press, New York City. Phillips. From The New Testament in Modern English, Revised Edition, copyright © 1958,1959, 1960, 1972, by J. B. Phillips. Used by permission of The Macmillan Company and Collins Pub- lishers. RSV. From the Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1946 (renewed © 1973), 1952 and © 1971, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and used by permission. Adult Sabbath School Lessons (standard edition). Published quarterly by Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1350 Villa Street, Mountain View, California 94042, U.S.A. One year subscription in U.S.A., $2.40; single copy 60 cents. One year subscription to countries outside U.S.A., $3.40; single copy, 85 cents. All prices at U.S.A. exchange. Second-class postage paid at Mountain View, California 94042, U.S.A. When a change of ad- dress is desired, please send both old and new addresses. Editions in Braille and for the deaf available. See page 97. /7,', 1001 kaz A r e•nin+ Introduction SEEKING THE GLORY OF GOD "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen" (Matt. 6:13). Thus have many of us prayed from our earliest years, learning to say the words before we could understand them. And still we fail to sense their full meaning for us, without a doubt. Behind the familiar words of the Lord's Prayer lie the age-long conflict between Christ and Satan. All the relationships of the in- habitants of the universe are involved. And on our small planet the way has been provided for those who will to return to seeking the glory of God. Satan's rebellion in heaven was the first challenge to the heart of God's glory—to His character which reveals His perfect selfless love. During this quarter we will seek to define God's glory, see it in the person of God, see it in the face of Jesus. We will see how man lost his reflection of God's glory in Eden. We will see the cross providing the way back to God, the way to seek His glory rather than our own. Restoration full and complete is contemplated. We will consider the means and agencies that God has provided for this purpose. We will hear our Lord in intercessory prayer for His glory to be restored in us. In the struggle and sometimes heartache of daily living, we too easily forget our high calling. The home is one of the places where we too often forget. God wants those homes restored to seeking His glory. From the Scriptures, we will note that God's people through the ages have been seeking His glory, some more earnestly than others. But only He knows the many who were faithful though unrecorded in the Word. He is looking for the final triumph of the remnant people as the controversy between good and evil sweeps to its climax. The cross provides for victory all the way. And soon the glory—in the sense of awe, majesty, and power—of the advent will signal the close of the conflict. The redeemed of all ages will join the living saints in the final triumph, not only of glory, but in the place and home of glory. Then a unified universe will resume in unbroken measure the unfailing seeking of the glory of God. That restoration will signal the end of sin and Satan. Unceasing righteousness and eternal love will pervade the universe. "Thy kingdom come" (Matt. 6:10). 5 March 28 to April 3I Adult Lesson Challenge to God's Glory "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee" (Eze. 28:15). These words are found in the dirge addressed to the king of Tyrus. In them, and in attendant verses, there seems to be an undoubted portrayal of the source of the first challenge to God's government. And that involved a challenge to God's glory. There came a day when Moses asked God for a personal revelation of His glory. And in His response God touched upon the two major aspects of His glory: His goodness (Ex. 33:19) and the overwhelming majesty of His Person (verses 20-23). God's goodness, His character, His selfless love are the foundation of His government. The law of His kingdom expresses, in principles that meet our condition, the nature of God's character. From the few explicit scriptures that speak of Satan's rebellion and from the other few that may make indirect references, we have a picture. Satan introduced the spirit of self-exaltation into the universe, and through it he has worked constantly to draw to himself glory and honor. He wants especially the power and praise side of glory. The spirit of Jesus, by contrast, is the spirit of self-sacrifice. It will be His Spirit, "the glory shining in the face of Jesus," that will finally prevail. When the great rebellion in heaven was first transferred to this earth, Satan used methods that Christ could not use—lying, deception, immo- rality, false slogans, and exciting suggestions. Many good people are entrapped, often tragically and permanently, by such lures. The object of this lesson is to note the method of approach in some of Satan's snares. To show that though worldly honor be lost, all the glory that endures results from following the Christ road. Those who, like the prodigal son, have lost both wealth and the father's home may find themselves feeding on husks. Fortunately, some people do learn from life's experiences and decide to redeem the time by making good use of the remaining opportunities. Such are likened to brands, plucked from the fire. (Compare Joshua, the high priest—Zech. 3:2.) Sin has given Satan access to humanity. He claims all, even God's people, as his own. Because of this fact we are warned that temptations will come to each one of us but that there will be limits to them. With Christ as our Helper, they will not be greater than we can bear. (See 1 Cor. 10:13.) The admonition of Jesus is that we "watch and pray" (Matt.