Lesson 8 | Real Time – faith | Sabbath School | Second Quarter 2015
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The document describes issues arising at a church over changes to the music style that split the congregation. It then discusses the need for unity in the church and understanding between different groups. Members each have a role to play in accepting others, learning about differences, and working together smoothly like the parts of the body. Understanding each other better and reaching out to those who don't fit in can help smooth disagreements caused by cultural, age, or other gaps between members.
Lesson 8 | Real Time – faith | Sabbath School | Second Quarter 2015
- 1. The Church FamilyMay23,2015 Sunday HERE’S WHAT I THINK Imagine that, like Heather’s church, yours is in a big uproar. Last year the new music director threw a cover over the organ and brought in drums, electric guitars, and a worship team. Now every service starts with hand-clapping and praise choruses, and they crank the volume loud. Some people love it. They bring friends to enjoy the lively music. Other people hate it. They’re talking about leaving the church. Is there a way to resolve this problem that will keep the church working together instead of splitting apart? If you were a member in this church, what could you do to contribute to a solution? Log on to www.guidemagazine.org/rtf to post your responses. Be up- front and honest. Say what you think. Monday WHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO SAY? Different people, different opinions. Some of the quotations below represent the views of true kingdom citizens; others may not. Can you tell the difference? How do these statements compare with what God is saying in His Word? After reviewing the texts in the God Says . . . section of the lesson, write a statement that cap- tures your belief. Be prepared to quote yourself at Sabbath School. “Now the church is not wood and stone, but the company of people who believe in Christ.”—Martin Luther, 16th-century German theologian. “Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellow- ship.”—A. W. Tozer, 20th-century U.S. clergyman. “Each local Christian community is a fellowship in which every member is to live in humility and in love to the brethren.”—Ambrose Reeves, 20th- century South African clergyman. “Sick and Tired of The Church Talkin’ Religion And, / Yet, They Talk About Each Other, Makin’ Decisions. / No More Racism! / Two-Facism! / No Pollution! / The Solution? / A Revolution!”—Lyrics to Revolution, by U.S. Christian singer Kirk Franklin. A GOOD BODY (What connection do you think the following illustration has with the Bible texts in Wednesday’s section?) Heather’s miniskirt split the church. Well, sort of. One Sabbath morning Heather came to the Anyville SDA Church wearing a skirt that was . . . pretty short. OK, it was really, really short. It left very little to the imagination. Heather’s mom was out of town, so she didn’t have a chance to clear her daughter’s wardrobe. When Heather walked into church, Elder Jones rolled his eyes. He said to Sister Smith, “That girl looks like she belongs out on the streets, not in church!” Sister Smith went over to Heather and said, “Heather, honey, I think that skirt is just a little inappropriate for church.” Heather was humiliated. She was furious. She went downstairs and told her teen Sabbath School class what Sister Smith had said. The youth pastor, Pastor Bob, said, “That’s terrible! That woman shouldn’t be so judgmental!” Word got around quickly. Sister Smith complained to the senior pastor when she heard what Pastor Bob had said about her. Heather’s mother heard the story when she got back in town and phoned Sister Smith to tell her off. Pastor Bob lost his temper at the senior pastor in board meeting and said he wasn’t sure he wanted to work for a church where there was so little love for the young people. The church began to divide into two camps. Soon everyone had forgotten about Heather and her miniskirt. There were so many other issues to quarrel about. The people who liked lively, hand-clapping worship choruses lined up against those who liked traditional hymns. The people who wanted to put new carpet down in the fellowship hall squared off against those who said linoleum would be more practical. Pastor Bob quit. The senior pastor went on vacation. Accusations flew. Phone lines sizzled. Church business meetings began to resemble World Wrestling matches. Two years later Heather’s family and four others were meeting on Sabbath mornings in a rented Baptist church. They had split off from the Anyville SDA Church. They just disagreed on too many issues. Lots of tears were shed over the church split. Some former friends didn’t feel comfortable visiting in each other’s houses anymore. Heather watched it all and wondered why people who were all supposed to love Jesus could hurt each other so much. One Sabbath morning Heather got up and looked at her closet, trying to decide what to wear to church. She looked at her miniskirt. She looked at her jeans. She looked at the nice blue dress she usually wore on Sabbaths. Then Heather put the skirt, the jeans, and the dress back in her closet, pulled her nightshirt back on, and went back to bed. If church couldn’t even make people nicer to each other, she didn’t really see the point of going. Copyright © 2015 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Write your own quotation. What I say is . . . __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ Key Text: Choose one of the texts from Wednesday’s section of the lesson. Write it here and memorize it this week. ___________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________
- 2. Wednesday GOD SAYS . . . Galatians 3:28 (Message) “In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ.” John 13:34, 35 (CEV) “I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” Ephesians 4:5, 6 (CEV) “We have only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. There is one God who is the Father of all people. Not only is God above all others, but he works by using all of us, and he lives in all of us.” Ephesians 4:31, 32 (NIV) “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Romans 15:1, 2 (CEV) “If our faith is strong, we should be patient with the Lord’s followers whose faith is weak. We should try to please them instead of ourselves. We should think of their good and try to help them by doing what pleases them.” 1 Corinthians 3:3 (CEV) “You are jealous and argue with each other. This proves that you are not spiritual and that you are acting like the people of this world.” 2 Timothy 2:23, 24 (CEV) “Stay away from stupid and senseless arguments. These only lead to trouble, and God’s servants must not be troublemakers. They must be kind to everyone, and they must be good teachers and very patient.” Psalm 133:1 (NIV) “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” (More: 1 Corinthians 12:12-20, 27.) Friday HOW DOES IT WORK? On the body illustration, color in or circle the part that you think best represents the role you have to play in Christ’s body, the church. On the lines write why you think that part represents you, and what you can do to contribute to bringing your church closer together and closer to God. Tuesday SO WHAT? The Bible says that all the members of God’s church are supposed to work together as smoothly as the parts of a human body. The trouble is, in real life we see the feet arguing with the eyes, the ears insisting they can smell better than the nose—even right and left hands thumb-wres- tling with each other! It’s not easy being part of a church that includes lots of different kinds of people. Working together starts with accepting differences. We’re not all going to think or act alike. We accept people better when we understand them. Maybe your church includes a lot of people from different racial or cul- tural groups—maybe even people from different countries who speak dif- ferent languages. The more you learn about another person’s culture, the better you’ll understand where they’re coming from. Some of our dis- agreements might not seem so big if we understood each other better. The same thing goes for younger and older people in the church. Senior citizens may not understand what it’s like being a teenager today. And you may not realize how different things were when they grew up, and how much that shapes the way they look at the world. Taking a little time to talk to each other and learn about differences can smooth a lot of gaps. Thursday WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME? You’re part of the church—part of Christ’s body. (Find and read 1 Corinthians 12:12-20 and 27.) You may be an eye, clearly seeing what’s going on. You may be an ear, excellent at listening to both sides of the story. You may be a hand, ready to help in practical ways. You may be the tongue—quick to say the words everyone needs to hear. You have a role to play in helping the church work together smoothly. Your part might be reaching out to someone who’s new and doesn’t fit in yet. You may have to try to understand and get along with someone who really irritates you. You may be called on to pitch in and help with a project. Christianity is about your relationship with God—one on one. But that’s not all it’s about. When you join Jesus’ kingdom, you join a family. Growing closer to God also means growing closer to God’s people, learning to un- derstand each other, forgiving each other, and working together. THE CHURCH FAMILY / May 23, 2015 Copyright © 2015 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists WHY? WHAT CAN I DO?