Memory Verse
Memory Verse: “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13
First Sabbath Offering
General Conference Education Department
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
We live in solemn times. In the midst of an increasingly secularized society, the responsibility of educating our children and youth in the fear of the Lord has become more urgent than ever. As parents, educators, and members of the body of Christ, we have a sacred mission to prepare a generation that will be able to defend the faith with firmness, humility, and conviction.
“The science of true education is the truth, which is to be so deeply impressed on the soul that it cannot be obliterated by the error that everywhere abounds.”— — Testimonies for the Church, vol. 6, p. 131.
In this context, the General Conference Education Department has been working diligently to strengthen and expand our missionary schools around the world. Many of our educational centers lack adequate infrastructure, modern curricula, and materials adapted to the spiritual reality of our students. Furthermore, several countries have requested the opening of new educational institutions that promote not only academic knowledge but also the principles of the everlasting gospel.
This special offering will therefore support three key areas:
1. The restructuring of existing missionary schools;
2. The establishment of new schools in regions in need of access to SDARM Christian education;
3. The advancement of the translation and adaptation project of the educational materials developed by our pedagogical team to serve both secular and missionary schools in various languages and cultural contexts.
“True education is missionary training. Every son and daughter of God is called to be a missionary; we are called to the service of God and of our fellowmen; and to fit us for this service should be the object of our education.”— — The Ministry of Healing, p. 395.
Therefore, we appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, to present your offering with generosity and missionary vision. Investing in the education of our children and youth is investing in the future of the church, in the proclamation of the gospel, and in the final harvest.
May the Lord multiply your contribution and strengthen this vital ministry—and may our schools truly be lights shining in the darkness, preparing a faithful generation for the imminent return of our Saviour.
Daily Lessons
“Satan assailed Christ with his fiercest and most subtle temptations, but he was repulsed in every conflict. Those battles were fought in our behalf; those victories make it possible for us to conquer. Christ will give strength to all who seek it. No man without his own consent can be overcome by Satan. The tempter has no power to control the will or to force the soul to sin. He may distress, but he cannot contaminate. He can cause agony, but not defilement. The fact that Christ has conquered should inspire His followers with courage to fight manfully the battle against sin and Satan.”— — The Great Controversy, p. 510.
“As man ‘thinketh in his heart, so is he.’ Proverbs 23:7. The heart must be renewed by divine grace, or it will be in vain to seek for purity of life. He who attempts to build up a noble, virtuous character independent of the grace of Christ is building his house upon the shifting sand. In the fierce storms of temptation it will surely be overthrown.”— — Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 460.
“In giving ourselves to God, we must necessarily give up all that would separate us from Him. Hence the Saviour says, [Luke 14:33 quoted]. Whatever shall draw away the heart from God must be given up. Mammon is the idol of many. The love of money, the desire for wealth, is the golden chain that binds them to Satan. Reputation and worldly honor are worshiped by another class. The life of selfish ease and freedom from responsibility is the idol of others. But these slavish bands must be broken. We cannot be half the Lord’s and half the world’s. We are not God’s children unless we are such entirely.”— — Steps to Christ, p. 44.
“The government of God is not, as Satan would make it appear, founded upon a blind submission, an unreasoning control. It appeals to the intellect and the conscience. . . . God does not force the will of His creatures. He cannot accept an homage that is not willingly and intelligently given. A mere forced submission would prevent all real development of mind or character; it would make man a mere automaton. Such is not the purpose of the Creator. He desires that man, the crowning work of His creative power, shall reach the highest possible development. He sets before us the height of blessing to which He desires to bring us through His grace. He invites us to give ourselves to Him, that He may work His will in us. It remains for us to choose whether we will be set free from the bondage of sin, to share the glorious liberty of the sons of God.”— — Steps to Christ, p. 43, 44.
“Christ was manifested as the Saviour of men. The people were not to trust in their own works, in their own righteousness, or in themselves in any way, but in the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world. In Him the Advocate with the Father was revealed. Through Him the invitation was given, ‘Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’ This invitation comes sounding down along the lines to us today. Let not pride, or self-esteem, or self-righteousness keep anyone from confessing his sins, that he may claim the promise.”— — Fundamentals of Christian Education, p. 239.
“Amid the awful darkness, apparently forsaken of God, Christ had drained the last dregs in the cup of human woe. In those dreadful hours He had relied upon the evidence of His Father’s acceptance heretofore given Him. He was acquainted with the character of His Father; He understood His justice, His mercy, and His great love. By faith He rested in Him whom it had ever been His joy to obey. And as in submission He committed Himself to God, the sense of the loss of His Father’s favor was withdrawn. By faith, Christ was victor.”— — The Desire of Ages, p. 756.
“In the gift of Jesus, God gave all heaven. From a human point of view, such a sacrifice was a wanton waste. To human reasoning the whole plan of salvation is a waste of mercies and resources. Self-denial and wholehearted sacrifice meet us everywhere. Well may the heavenly host look with amazement upon the human family who refuse to be uplifted and enriched with the boundless love expressed in Christ. Well may they exclaim, Why this great waste?
“But the atonement for a lost world was to be full, abundant, and complete. Christ’s offering was exceedingly abundant to reach every soul that God had created. It could not be restricted so as not to exceed the number who would accept the great Gift. All men are not saved; yet the plan of redemption is not a waste because it does not accomplish all that its liberality has provided for. There must be enough and to spare.”— — The Desire of Ages, p. 565,566.
“[Jesus] is waiting with pitying tenderness to hear the confessions of the wayward, and to accept their penitence. He watches for some return of gratitude from them, as the mother watches for the smile of recognition from her beloved babe. The great God teaches us to call Him Father. He would have us understand how earnestly and tenderly His heart yearns over us in all our trials and temptations.”— — Gospel Workers, p. 210.
“What do we give up, when we give all? A sin-polluted heart, for Jesus to purify, to cleanse by His own blood, and to save by His matchless love. And yet men think it hard to give up all! I am ashamed to hear it spoken of, ashamed to write it.”— — Steps to Christ, p. 46.
“Though addressed to ancient Israel, these words contain a lesson for the people of God today. When the apostle appeals to his brethren to present their bodies ‘a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,’ he sets forth the principles of true sanctification. It is not merely a theory, an emotion, or a form of words, but a living, active principle, entering into the everyday life. It requires that our habits of eating, drinking, and dressing be such as to secure the preservation of physical, mental, and moral health, that we may present to the Lord our bodies, not an offering corrupted by wrong habits, but ‘a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.’ ”— — The Sanctified Life, p. 27, 28.
“We are to give ourselves to the service of God, and we should seek to make the offering as nearly perfect as possible. God will not be pleased with anything less than the best we can offer. Those who love Him with all the heart, will desire to give Him the best service of the life, and they will be constantly seeking to bring every power of their being into harmony with the laws that will promote their ability to do His will.”— — Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 352, 353.
“[The multitude] heard the disciples declaring that it was the Son of God who had been crucified. Priests and rulers trembled. Conviction and anguish seized the people. ‘They were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Among those who listened to the disciples were devout Jews, who were sincere in their belief. The power that accompanied the words of the speaker convinced them that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. . . .
“Peter urged home upon the convicted people the fact that they had rejected Christ because they had been deceived by priests and rulers; and that if they continued to look to these men for counsel, and waited for them to acknowledge Christ before they dared to do so, they would never accept Him. These powerful men, though making a profession of godliness, were ambitious for earthly riches and glory. They were not willing to come to Christ to receive light.”— — The Acts of the Apostles, p. 43, 44.
“God does not bid you fear that He will fail to fulfill His promises, that His patience will weary, or His compassion be found wanting. Fear lest your will shall not be held in subjection to Christ’s will, lest your hereditary and cultivated traits of character shall control your life. ‘It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.’ Fear lest self shall interpose between your soul and the great Master Worker. Fear lest self-will shall mar the high purpose that through you God desires to accomplish. Fear to trust to your own strength, fear to withdraw your hand from the hand of Christ and attempt to walk life’s pathway without His abiding presence.”— — Christ's Object Lessons, p. 161.
“Those who would gain the blessing of sanctification must first learn the meaning of self-sacrifice. The cross of Christ is the central pillar on which hangs the ‘far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.’ ”— — The Acts of the Apostles, p. 560.
“You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. . . .
“Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life. By yielding up your will to Christ, you ally yourself with the power that is above all principalities and powers. You will have strength from above to hold you steadfast, and thus through constant surrender to God you will be enabled to live the new life, even the life of faith.”— — Steps to Christ, p. 47, 48.[Authors italics.]