final Sabbath of this quarter
Burnt Mills Sabbath School
Dear Friend and Sabbath School Member,
Welcome to Burnt Mills Sabbath School. We hope you can study and worship with us on this final Sabbath of this quarter.
The Sabbath School program at 10:30 a.m. presented by Yovan Ponniah will feature our final look at the Euro-Africa Division and its needs. At the end of the program we will gather in the 13th Sabbath offering We hope you will plan prayerfully your giving to the mission projects of the Euro-Africa Division – church for multi-ethnic groups in Brussels, Belgium; church for Romani congregation in Bulgaria; expand mission school on the island of Madeira, Portugal.
Sabbath School begins with lesson study in our various study groups. As we conclude our study on healthful living, our desire is that you have learned something that will benefit you in your daily living. These lessons were produced to help us enjoy all the blessings of this life that we possibly can now, until that final day in which we receive, once and forever, “the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23)
Come to this final study and discover how social support of one another can bring healing and newness in our lives. This study promises to be a real blessing.
Social Support | June 26, 2010 | Adapted from Contemporary Comments
Genesis 1:27 - So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Romans 14:7 - For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.
1 Corinthians 12:14-26 - Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Galatians 6:2 - Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Ephesians 4:1-16 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
“Dr. Dean Ornish believes in the power of love to heal. And he’s on a mission to prove that intimacy between both family and friends, along with traditional medicine, can bring the best results to ill patients.
Dr. Ornish is famous for his work with the Lifestyle Heart Trial. In this trial he took 28 people with heart disease and treated them with lifestyle changes only. In addition he took another 20 patients and treated them with the standard medical treatment plan. The first group was put on a strict diet, guided to manage their stress, instructed to exercise, and asked to meet several times a week with a support group. The results? In one year, 82 percent of the experimental group had some reversal of their heart disease.
Upon completing this experiment, Dr. Ornish became intrigued with just how much the support group actually benefited these patients. So he went on to publish the book, Love and Survival. He claims that his book is based on a simple but powerful idea—that our survival depends on the healing power of love—physically, emotionally and spiritually.
He writes:
“I have no intention of diminishing the power of diet and exercise, or for that matter, of drugs and surgery. There is more scientific evidence now than ever before demonstrating how simple changes in diet and lifestyle may cause significant improvements in health and well-being. As important as these are, I have found that perhaps the most powerful intervention—and the most meaningful for me and for most of the people with whom I work, including staff and patients—is the healing power of love and intimacy, and the emotional and spiritual transformation that often result from these. While I have written about these themes in my earlier books, the emotional and spiritual aspects of disease tend to get overlooked—so I decided to write an entire book on the subject. In this book, I describe the increasing scientific evidence from my own research and from the studies of others that cause me to believe that love and intimacy are among the most powerful factors in health and illness, even though these ideas are largely ignored by the medical profession.”
This week’s lesson, “Social Support: The Tie That Binds” mirrors Dr. Ornish’s findings. We were created in God’s image, and we were created to be social beings. God’s plan was for us to love, support, serve, and care for each other. Evidently we strayed from God’s original plan for us, because Jesus told His disciples in John 13:34, 35, “ ‘ A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.’ ”
“ ‘ As I have loved you….” That’s a tall order! Jesus is calling us to give each other the gift of the same forgiving, accepting, tolerating, inclusive love which He has given us. Not only will this kind of love be a blessing to others, but also it will be a witness to the world. They will see and want the kind of love we so freely give.”
If you want to know how to love, follow Jesus’ example, and the example in 1 Corinthians 13. The Message Bible expresses it in a fresh way: “Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always ‘me first,’
Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best,
Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.”
Wishing you an abundance of Sabbath blessings.
Regards,
Joseph Pakkianathan
Burnt Mills Sabbath School