Lesson 1 | Real Time – faith | Sabbath School | Second Quarter 2015 http://sabbathschool.es/

1. 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.
“Lost in a windswept land / in a world of shifting sand / a fragile flower
stands apart / and there in that barren ground / you feel like you’re the
only one / trying to serve Him with all your heart / and you wonder, won-
der can you last much longer / this cloud you are under / will it cover you.”
CHORUS: “Desert rose, desert rose / don’t you worry, don’t be lonely /
heaven knows, heaven knows / in a dry and weary land / a flower grows
/ His desert rose / desert rose.”—Desert Rose, written by Mark Gersmehl, Billy
Smiley, and Rick Florian.
Good Morning America interviewed former MTV video jockeys about
their willingness to let their kids watch MTV. Mark Goodman said,
“My kids are not allowed to watch MTV. . . . Have you seen what they
put on that channel?” Martha Quinn agreed with Goodman’s no-MTV
household rule: “Yeah, my kid doesn’t watch it.”—WORLD (8-11-01), p. 12.
“More than a hundred years ago, Søren Kierkegaard warned that the
age of the crowd was upon us. In such an age, said Kierkegaard, people
would not think of deciding for themselves. They would follow the ad-
vice given to children going off to a party: ‘Look and see what the others
are doing and then behave like them.’”—Cited by Kenneth Hamilton, “The
Irrelevance of Relevance,” Christianity Today, March 1972.
Kingdom of the Narrow-mindedApril4,2015
Sunday
HERE’S WHAT I THINK
Kelsey feels alone. It doesn’t feel right, nor does it seem fair that stand-
ing up for what is right could turn out to be such a disaster. Kelsey wit-
nessed two boys physically hurting another boy at school. While many
students witnessed the incident, no one was willing to say what hap-
pened, because the two boys were quite popular.
Kelsey couldn’t remain quiet. She told the principal. The students were
disciplined. Students called her names that made her feel horrible. How
could doing the right thing feel so wrong? What do you think she should
have done? What do you think Christ would have done? Why does being
a child of God sometimes require us to be misunderstood by the major-
ity? What should people like Kelsey do in those times?
Log on to www.guidemagazine.org/rtf to post your responses. Be up-
front and honest. Say what you think.
DRIVERS WANTED
(What connection do you think the following illustration has with the
Bible texts in Wednesday’s section?)
The story is told of a man who lived at the top of a mountain. The
road from his house to the valley was a winding, narrow route. On one
side of the road there were no guardrails, in spite of a steep drop-off
at the edge of the road. His search for a new chauffeur brought several
potential drivers to the residence for an interview. His only interview
instruction was, “Drive me down the mountain, and see how close you
can come to the edge without going over the cliff.”
The first candidate took the challenge bravely and drove down the
mountain about eight inches from the edge, demonstrating tremendous
skills as a driver. A few times, the tires squealed slightly, but the car
stayed firmly on the road the whole way down. The man who lived on
the mountain thanked him politely and dismissed him, saying, “I will call
you if I need to speak with you further.”
The second candidate boldly responded to the same challenge and
skillfully drove the car six inches from the edge of the cliff the whole
way down. The driver spoke of his experience racing cars and could
describe exactly what the car was doing as it swerved at each turn. His
confidence and ability as a driver were well noted, but he too was dis-
missed and informed that he would be called if necessary.
When the third candidate heard the challenge, he looked at the
mountain road that went to the valley and then looked back at his in-
terviewer and said, “Are you sure?” The man replied “Yes.” But the
owner noticed as they made their way down the mountain that the
driver stayed a healthy distance away from the edge of the mountain
the whole way down. He thought that the driver must have misunder-
stood his instructions. When questioned, the driver said, “I understood
perfectly. There are many ways to get down the mountain, but I just
thought I would choose the best way. I’m not one to test the limits of
my skills when it comes to someone else’s life.”
He was hired.
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 . . .
Philippians 1:9-11 (NIV)
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in
knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern
what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled
with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the
glory and praise of God.”
Romans 9:27 (NIV)
“Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: ‘Though the number of the Israelites
be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.’”
Romans 12:2 (NIV)
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Psalm 16:11 (NIV)
“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your
presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
Proverbs 2:9, 10 (NIV)
“Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good
path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant
to your soul.”
Proverbs 4:26, 27 (NIV)
“Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all
your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.”
Proverbs 14:12 (NIV)
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to
death.”
Proverbs 9:6 (NIV)
“Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight.”
Tuesday
SO WHAT?
Maybe Jesus would have had more followers if He had made the way
easier to follow. But there’s a reason that He told His followers to count
the cost—because He knew that following Him would cost them some-
thing eventually.
Jesus didn’t promise fewer problems, more money, and great success.
He did promise that your life would be abundant, full of joy and peace,
and with no regrets. However, He is clear that the way is not easy.
Have you weighed the long-term rewards of following Christ against the
short-term benefits of following the crowd? You can’t travel on both
trails—it’s one or the other.
Sometimes it’s hard to choose to live a different way when you think
you’re missing out on the fun and excitement of life. But think about
those who have lived on the narrow way—from Scripture to those today.
I don’t know one who, at the end of their journey on the narrow way, re-
gretted their choice. What about you? Have you counted the cost?
Thursday
WHAT DOES THIS
HAVE TO DO WITH ME?
What is odd is how often we can slip from the narrow way onto the pop-
ular way without even knowing it. Jesus watched His disciples struggle
with this again and again. A popular Third Day song says, “How many
times have I turned away / The number is the same as the sand on the
shore / But every time You’ve taken me back / And now I pray You do it
once more.”
Maybe the narrow way is something you choose every day. But even
long-time Christians who know the signposts and are familiar with the
trail can struggle. One such veteran was Peter. He had a victorious expe-
rience at Pentecost and many other triumphant moments risking his all
for Christ, but he succumbed to the popular way at times. In Galatians
2:11-14 Paul had to remind Peter of the narrow way when Peter caved
in to the popular prejudices of influential people. Peter was eating with
the Gentiles (which was not popular), but when his critics came around
the corner and saw him, he picked up his tray and did what the crowd
had always done. Paul sternly reprimanded him about this. Then Peter
counted the cost and got back on the narrow way.
Throughout our day, our weeks, our lives, we experience moments in
which God’s Spirit reminds us of the best way. It’s up to us to count the
cost and choose wisely. It’s up to God to fulfill His promise about where
the narrow way leads.
KINGDOM OF THE NARROW-MINDED / April 4, 2015
Copyright © 2015 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Develop your own signpost motto (such as: Even if I feel lonely, I am
never alone; or I can’t even imagine the reward stored up for me) and
write it here.
Friday
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Make a list of some broad-road decisions you have made in the past:
Think of some narrow-way decisions you have had to make that you will
never regret: