The Inter-American Division
Burnt Mills Sabbath School
Dear Friend,
Welcome to Burnt Mills Sabbath School !
Our Sabbath School Program at 10:30 am on October 2, 2010 introduces us to the new mission emphasis for this 4th Quarter – The Inter-American Division. Steev Yovan, who has researched the challenges this ‘closer-to-home’ mission field presents, will make this presentation. Much of the focus this 13th Sabbath offering will be on the rebuilding of Haiti’s Adventist Church infrastructure after the devastating earthquake in January of 2010.
The special program planned by the Junior/Earliteen Division has been postponed now to the 2nd Sabbath in October – October 9, 2010. You will not want to miss this clear presentation by the young people on THE SANCTUARY. This presentation also coincides with the closing week of the evangelistic series now going on at Burnt Mills Church.
We hope the weekly comments on the lesson from Contemporary Comments has been a blessing and it leads you into studying further the lesson for the week. We begin a new series of study this quarter – “Background Characters in the Old Testament” – a study of characters who did not make the headlines in the Scriptures, but nevertheless contributed in important and significant ways to God’s master story. These are characters that many of us can identify with, struggling in a sin-stained world, seemingly feeling not so important. But we will learn that if these ‘shadow’ characters played an important part in stories of the Bible, we too have an important part to play in the great drama of life – in the great controversy between good and evil. Remember, your story is being recorded in the courts of heaven for all the world to see one day ! We hope these lessons will be a blessing.
If you have not picked up your lesson study guide, please be sure to see your teacher or Suzie Dallas this Sabbath. We usually run out of these by the 2nd or 3rd Sabbath.
Story and History | October 2, 2010 |
Scripture: Genesis 39:6-12; Joshua 3:9-17; 1 Samuel 24:1-6; 1 Kings 12:1-16; Job 1:1-12.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17 NIV).
Comments from Ellen White
“The Lord calls upon all to study the divine philosophy of sacred history, written by Moses under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The first family placed upon the earth is a sample of all families which will exist till the close of time. There is much to study in this history in order that we may understand the divine plan for the human race. This plan is plainly defined, and the prayerful, consecrated soul will become a learner of the thought and purpose of God from the beginning till the close of this earth’s history. He will realize that Jesus Christ, one with the Father, was the great mover in all progress, the One who is the source of all the purification and elevation of the human race.”—Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 3, p. 184.
“In reviewing our past history, having traveled over every step of advance to our present standing, I can say, Praise God! As I see what God has wrought, I am filled with astonishment and with confidence in Christ as Leader. We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history. We are now a strong people, if we will put our trust in the Lord; for we are handling the mighty truths of the word of God. We have everything to be thankful for.”—Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, bk. 3, p. 162.
Adapted from Contemporary Comments
“Stories are as old as our planet, but capturing history has changed over the years. We once passed narratives orally from one generation to another. Writing on parchments, pressing words into clay, and chiseling ideas into marble have had their day. But technology has left us spinning with methods of grabbing history and recording it with a preciseness never known before.
Consider MHD’s. Military History Detachments capture history while it happens. Operation Iraqi Freedom is now “history” as Operation New Dawn begins. And thanks to MHD’s, there is a thoroughness and exactness that increases accuracy. Using digital recorders, the core history taking comes through interviewing soldiers and officers. The average number of history’s taken in a typical 12 month tour is about 100-200. But some of the MHD’s are taking up to 500-600. What helps increase the speed and accuracy is discarding paper records and file folders and using online data sharing websites or SharePoints using a timeline that allows historians to browse files online.
But what if you mess up capturing that special moment? What if the lighting was bad and your picture turned out to be a muddy mess? No problem. Canon has just introduced new HS technology for low-light situations. They’re promoting their stuff in an ad called “Your Second Shot.” In the first ad, Canon takes a couple back to Barcelona where they first met, but lost the moment to a dim and blurry picture. With the new HS Technology, they get a new and brilliant picture in a low-lighting situation (without using a flash) that brings smiles to their faces.
This week’s Sabbath school lesson focuses on the importance of story in Scripture. Lessons from Israel’s past have been captured by God’s historians to teach us, not just impress us with factual details. Writing down minutia does not necessarily catch the story. Even digitally recording an event can miss the message intended. God has a story to tell. Technology was pretty limited when the Bible was written. But the simple tools used to portray the communication came through in just the way the Lord intended.
It’s been interesting to watch heaven’s technology “grow” over the years. We’ve all seen pictures of “recording angels” using feather pens dipped in ink and writing on parchment scrolls. I used to tell my children that someday, during the millennium, we will be able to view the records of people’s lives on earth. I portrayed video tapes as a way to explain what it might be like. Perhaps it will be more like DVD’s files, or online libraries, or Flash pictures. I’m sure whatever technology God uses, it will astound us.
The purpose of capturing history in Scripture is not to demonstrate the latest technology. The primary purpose of stories in Scripture are not to give us an update on fashions or the latest gossip. It is to provide a message with a point. The Bible tells us those messages are for teaching, correcting, rebuking, and instructing us to be more like Christ. That’s something MHD’s and Canon cannot do.”
Wishing you a blessed Sabbath !
Regards,
Joseph Pakkianathan
Burnt Mills Sabbath School