Unit 4 Review Questions: Jesus and the Cross

Review Lessons 26-33 for True and False. You'll also want to especially know the 7 final statements of Jesus from Lesson 31.  

Below are all of the short answer questions that'll be on test tomorrow. You'll be allowed to use your Bibles. Post your comments below to help each other with the answers.  

Q. Explain how foot washing is an ordinance of humility. (2 points)

Q. Explain what the bread at the communion represents. (2 points)

Q. Explain what the wine at the communion represents. (2 points)

Q. List the role of the Holy Spirit from each of the following verses. (10 points)

John 14:16-17                               

Romans 8:26                      

John 16:13-15                       

Galatians 5:18                       

1 Corinthians 12:7                    

John 16:8-11                        

           

Q. Describe the struggle Jesus faced in the Garden of Gethsemane and how we can learn to deal with life’s struggles. (2 points)

Q. From the perspectives of John and Mary the mother of Jesus, write a brief monologue on how you think each thought and felt as Jesus was crucified. (4 points)

Q. What possible reason could explain why Mary and the two men on the road to Emmaus couldn’t initially recognize Jesus? (2 points)

Q. Pretend you’re giving a Bible study to a friend who knows nothing about Jesus. Explain and interpret to the best of your ability Philippians 2:5-8.  Compare with Isaiah 14:12-14 for extra credit. (4 points)

Q. What does Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection mean to you? (2 points)

Movie Review Questions

Answer the following questions about the movie and post your comments below.

What did you like or dislike about the movie?

What were some of the challenges John faced being a missionary in Tonga for nearly 3 years?

Would you ever consider being a missionary and why?

What do you think or feel God is calling you to do?

What things in your life would you have to sacrifice in order to do what God is calling you to do?

Unit 3 Review Questions

Here are the short answer questions that'll be on the test tomorrow. You'll be allowed to use your Bibles. However, I'm not providing the answers. You guys can comment below and help each other with the answers. 

Q. Explain why the people who were following Jesus wanted to make him king by force.  (3 points)

  

Q. When Peter said that Jesus was “the Christ.” Jesus responded by making three points. What were they? (3 points)

Q. Explain why the Jewish people were so unprepared for Jesus.  (2 points)

Q. What is one crucial way Christianity stands apart from all other religions? (2 points)

Q. What are the three categories of signs in Matthew 24 and give an example of each? (6 points)

Unit 2 Test Review: Jesus and His Kingdom

Q. Explain from Matthew 3:13-17 and Messiah Ch. 11 why Jesus was baptized.

To fulfill all righteousness. To set an example for us. 

Q. Explain from Romans 6:1-6 how baptism symbolizes the three major events that take place in our life. 

Death -> Being dipped into the water -> Died to sin
Marriage -> Being fully submerged in the water -> Commitment to Christ
Birth -> Being lifted up out of the water -> Being born again/a new life/new creation

Q. Describe the three changes in baptism that began to creep into Christian practice after the apostles had died.  

Being baptized in running water.
Being sprinkled with holy water.
Being dipped in the water 3 times. 

Q. Why was it important for Jesus to be tempted in the wilderness after 40 days? 
40 days = Testing
Jesus had to pass the test when he was at his weakest point before he could start his ministry. 

Q. The third temptation by Satan was the temptation of power. What were the first two temptations by Satan to Jesus in the wilderness?  
To jump off the temple -> Temptation of recklessness
To turn stones into bread -> Temptation of the easy path/self-gratification

Q. What are the three ways the gospel is proclaimed and from which three events?
Jesus' baptism -> Repeated message
Wedding at Cana -> Action is the message
Jesus in the temple -> Shouting is the message to get people's attention

Q. How can we tell the difference between God's miracles and those performed by Satan? 
Do they believe in Jesus? Faith in Jesus
Do they live according to God's law? Obedience
Is it based on the study of the Bible? Believe in the Bible

Movie Questions

Why do you think Mary and Joseph were chosen to be the parents of Jesus?  What makes them different from the other people who lived in Nazareth? Girls, if you were Mary, how would you feel to be in her position, to be looked down upon and considered as someone who committed adultery? Boys, if you were Joseph, would you be as forgiving and accepting to your wife, even if an angel never appeared to you? How would you handle the situation?

Unit 1 Test Review - Jesus and His World

Q. Why did God choose Canaan as a homeland for His people? 
Canaan was a crossroads, a sort of bridge between several continents.
It was a connecting link between 2 major civilizations of the ancient world - Egypt and Babylon/Persia.
Trade caravans traveled through Canaan.

Q. Why is it important for us to understand the failure of Israel? 
When we understand how Israel failed, we can understand not to repeat the same mistakes they did.

Q. Briefly describe the size of and daily life in Biblical Palestine.
Size -> small about the size of the states of Vermont or Maryland.
Daily Life - > houses built of packed earth easily destroyed by heavy rains.
                 - > one or two room houses with flat roots of baked bricks of mud.
                 - > no electric lighting, windows on one side.

Q. List the three reasons why Jesus came to this earth.
1. To reveal God, show us what God is like.
2. To save us from our sins, redeem the human race, die as our substitute.
3. To be our example.

Q. How is it that Jesus came at exactly the right time? 
Many nations united under one government and one language.
After coming to Jerusalem for yearly feasts, they could spree the news of the Messiah when returning home.
Men losing faith in heathen belief systems and searching for truth.

Q. What makes Christianity unique from Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, New Age and other religions around the world? 
Christianity is based on what god has already done for us in Jesus.
All these other religions offer a way of self-salvation.

Q. Explain how we are made alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions. 
We are made alive in Christ because of his great love for us.
He is rich in mercy and it is by grace we are saved.

Q. What are we saved from? 
Sin and the wrath of God against it.

Q. Explain how God's wrath is an essential part of His love. 
His anger is not direct at people but at the sin they commit. Sin is destructive and God want sot purge sin from humanity. In love, God always warns people before demonstrating His wrath.

Q. Explain the idea of righteousness by faith. 
It is not our faith that makes us righteous. We put our faith in Christ, and He is our righteousness.

Q. Explain the meaning behind the story of the uplifted serpent in Numbers 21:4-9
Israel rebelled against God and they were bitten by venomous snakes. They turned to Moses in repentance. If any Israelite wanted to live, there had to look to the uplifted snake. So in the same way we have all been bitten by a deadly serpent. The venom is within. And just as Moses lifted up that bronze serpent, so Jesus declares He must be lifted up on His cross in the likeness of sin-cursed humanity, but having no sin within.

Q. Explain why God didn't give the commandments to the Israelites while they were still slaves in Egypt. 
He heard their cry for deliverance and brought them out of bondage first. He initiated and acted first by delivering them from Egypt. They became a redeemed people and in response to what God did, the Israelites would live but the commandments given to them.

Movie Questions Review Part 2

What lessons did you learn from the life of Joseph?  What are some everyday, practical examples of how you can be more like Joseph?

Movie Questions Review

Joseph was treated unfairly in spite of being obedient and faithful to God in everything. If God chose Joseph and sent him dreams, why did his brothers betray him and why do you think Potiphar sent him to prison for doing nothing wrong?

Lesson 3 - The Chosen People

Share with the rest of the class in a paragraph about a time when you were chosen or not chosen for something. This could be a position in school, a spot on a particular sports team, a job, club officer, anything related to being chosen or not. How did it make you feel? Why do you think you were chosen or not?

Lesson 29 - The Family Says It All

Genealogy of Abraham

A dysfunctional family is a one where the relationships of the members are not healthy.

Jacob had a very dysfunctional family and had children with Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah.

He loved Rachel the most. "So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her." - Genesis 29:20

Jacob showed favoritism to Joseph and Benjamin because Rachel gave birth to them.

Q. What did Dinah’s brothers ultimately end up doing when they heard their sister had been violated? 
²⁴ All the men who went out of the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem, and every male in the city was circumcised.
²⁵ Three days later, while all of them were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and attacked the unsuspecting city, killing every male. ²⁶They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left. ²⁷ The sons of Jacob came upon the dead bodies and looted the city where^[c] their sister had been defiled. ²⁸ They seized their flocks and herds and donkeys and everything else of theirs in the city and out in the fields. ²⁹ They carried off all their wealth and all their women and children, taking as plunder everything in the houses.

Q. How and why did Judah want to punish Tamar? 
²⁴ About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.” Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”


Q. What lesson can we learn about God from the dysfunctional families and sinners in the Bible?
God's grace is sufficient even for the worst of sinners. He came through the bloodline of sinful people. His great great great great great grandmother is Tamar, the woman who pretended to be a prostitute and sleep with her father-in-law so she can have children.  God was willing to be born into a sinful world, through sinful people, from a dysfunctional family line of sinners because of His love and grace for us.  

Lesson 22 - Abraham: His Son and Sacrifice

Homework Activity:
Read Genesis 22:1-18
Into the Bible - 1, 2 and 4
Focus Questions - 1, 2, 3, 4 and 10
Memory Focus - Genesis 15:6 or Galatians 3:6 NIV

Abram means "exalted father"
Abraham means "father of many nations"


Q. What did God compare Abram's offspring to and why? 
A. Stars to convey the idea that Abram's descendants would be too many to count.

Hagar and Ishmael
After God promised Abram would have many descendants, Sarah decided to take matters into her own hands by offering her Egyptian maidservant, Hagar, to sleep with Abram.

Though Sarai was his wife, Abram did not resist sleeping with his wife's maidservant Hagar, who gave birth to a son named, Ishmael.

Q. What lesson of redeeming love do we find in the story of Hagar? 
A. After running away from her mistress Sarai, the angel of the LORD appeared to her near a spring in the desert telling her to return back.  The angel also promised to increase her descendants that they also will be too numbers to count.

When we run away from God because of our sins, when we feel alone, rejected, broken and mistreated, God will go the distance to bring us back to Him.

The Covenant
Abram was ninety-nine (99) years old when the LORD confirmed the covenant and that He would greatly increase His descendants.

Circumcision would be the sign of the covenant between God and man.

Q. What did Sarah do when she heard that she would have a son? 
A. She laughed.

Lesson 20 - Abraham: His Move and Mission

The word covenant literally means promise.

The 6 elements of the promise God made to Abram.

1. Make you a great nation.
2. Bless you.
3. Make your name great.
4. Bless those who bless you.
5. Curse those who curse you.
6. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

Q. After traveling through the land, what did Abram build when he called on the  name of the LORD?
A. An altar

It's interesting how after the flood, there were lots of people who came together to build a huge tower towards heaven to make a name for themselves, but only one man named Abram built a small altar to call upon the name of the Lord.  Which did God honor? Look at the formula below:

MANY men + building BIG tower + making NAME for THEMSELVES = Self-centered worship

ONE man + building SMALL altar + called on the NAME of the LORD = Christ-centered worship

God honored the one man who built the small altar to call on the name of the Lord instead of the many men who built a huge tower to make a name for themselves. Bigger is not always better.

Lesson 19 - Babel and the World's Family

Notes taken from Genesis 11:1-9

Before the tower was built, the whole world spoke one language. No one really knows for sure what language.  What is clear is that it was ONE common language that everyone knew.

What was wrong with building the tower?
Instead of building it for God, they were building it to make a name for themselves.  They wanted people to see this tower and praise them.

In Genesis 1:28, God wanted his creation to fill the earth and subdue it.  Building the tower was an act of defiance against God since one stated purpose was that they might not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.

This was the first "temple" in human history built by people trying to save themselves apart from the true and living God.

What did God to do stop them from building the tower?
God confused their language so they wouldn't understand each other.

The word "Babel" possibly means "confused."

What lessons can we take from this story and apply to today?  
We cannot build our own kingdoms and expect them to last.

Everything we build here on this earth should be built to the glory of God.

Glow in the Dark

If you're interested in a fun and meaningful alternative to Halloween night, you may interested in this. I'll count it towards your Mission Project for 2nd quarter. I guarantee it'll be an experience you'll never forget.

The best day to knock on doors... is Halloween night. Join us this October 31, 
for a GLOWing experience you'll never forget. 

Location: Fullerton SDA Church, 2355 West Valencia Drive, Fullerton, CA 92833

Time: 7:30pm (come between 7:00-7:30pm for Jamba)

Click on the link below for further details. 

Glow in the Dark

Chapter 5: Cain and Abel Tested

[This chapter is based on Genesis 4:1-15]

Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam, differed widely in character. Abel had a spirit of loyalty to God; he saw justice and mercy in the Creator's dealings with the fallen race, and gratefully accepted the hope of redemption. But Cain cherished feelings of rebellion, and murmured against God because of the curse pronounced upon the earth and upon the human race for Adam's sin. He permitted his mind to run in the same channel that led to Satan's fall--indulging the desire for self-exaltation and questioning the divine justice and authority.

These brothers were tested, as Adam had been tested before them, to prove whether they would believe and obey the word of God. They were acquainted with the provision made for the salvation of man, and understood the system of offerings which God had ordained. They knew that in these offerings they were to express faith in the Saviour whom the offerings typified, and at the same time to acknowledge their total dependence on Him for pardon; and they knew that by thus conforming to the divine plan for their redemption, they were giving proof of their obedience to the will of God. Without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of sin; and they were to show their faith in the blood of Christ as the promised atonement by offering the firstlings of the flock in sacrifice. Besides this, the first fruits of the earth were to be presented before the Lord as a thank offering.

The two brothers erected their altars alike, and each brought an offering. Abel presented a sacrifice from the flock, in accordance with the Lord's directions. "And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering." Fire flashed from heaven and consumed the sacrifice. But Cain, disregarding the Lord's direct and explicit command, presented only an offering of fruit. There was no token from heaven to show that it was accepted. Abel pleaded with his brother to approach God in the divinely prescribed way, but his entreaties only made Cain the more determined to follow his own will. As the eldest, he felt above being admonished by his brother, and despised his counsel.Cain came before God with murmuring and infidelity in his heart in regard to the promised sacrifice and the necessity of the sacrificial offerings. His gift expressed no penitence for sin. He felt, as many now feel, that it would be an acknowledgment of weakness to follow the exact plan marked out by God, of trusting his salvation wholly to the atonement of the promised Saviour. He chose the course of self-dependence. He would come in his own merits. He would not bring the lamb, and mingle its blood with his offering, but would present his fruits, the products of his labor. He presented his offering as a favor done to God, through which he expected to secure the divine approval. Cain obeyed in building an altar, obeyed in bringing a sacrifice; but he rendered only a partial obedience. The essential part, the recognition of the need of a Redeemer, was left out.

So far as birth and religious instruction were concerned, these brothers were equal. Both were sinners, and both acknowledged the claims of God to reverence and worship. To outward appearance their religion was the same up to a certain point, but beyond this the difference between the two was great.

"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." Hebrews 11:4. Abel grasped the great principles of redemption. He saw himself a sinner, and he saw sin and its penalty, death, standing between his soul and communion with God. He brought the slain victim, the sacrificed life, thus acknowledging the claims of the law that had been transgressed. Through the shed blood he looked to the future sacrifice, Christ dying on the cross of Calvary; and trusting in the atonement that was there to be made, he had the witness that he was righteous, and his offering accepted.

Cain had the same opportunity of learning and accepting these truths as had Abel. He was not the victim of an arbitrary purpose. One brother was not elected to be accepted of God, and the other to be rejected. Abel chose faith and obedience; Cain, unbelief and rebellion. Here the whole matter rested.

Cain and Abel represent two classes that will exist in the world till the close of time. One class avail themselves of the appointed sacrifice for sin; the other venture to depend upon their own merits; theirs is a sacrifice without the virtue of divine mediation, and thus it is not able to bring man into favor with God. It is only through the merits of Jesus that our transgressions can be pardoned. Those who feel no need of the blood of Christ, who feel that without divine grace they can by their own works secure the approval of God, are making the same mistake as did Cain. If they do not accept the cleansing blood, they are under condemnation. There is no other provision made whereby they can be released from the thralldom of sin.

The class of worshipers who follow the example of Cain includes by far the greater portion of the world; for nearly every false religion has been based on the same principle--that man can depend upon his own efforts for salvation. It is claimed by some that the human race is in need, not of redemption, but of development--that it can refine, elevate, and regenerate itself. As Cain thought to secure the divine favor by an offering that lacked the blood of a sacrifice, so do these expect to exalt humanity to the divine standard, independent of the atonement. The history of Cain shows what must be the results. It shows what man will become apart from Christ. Humanity has no power to regenerate itself. It does not tend upward, toward the divine, but downward, toward the satanic. Christ is our only hope. "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." "Neither is there salvation in any other." Acts 4:12.

True faith, which relies wholly upon Christ, will be manifested by obedience to all the requirements of God. From Adam's day to the present time the great controversy has been concerning obedience to God's law. In all ages there have been those who claimed a right to the favor of God even while they were disregarding some of His commands. But the Scriptures declare that by works is "faith made perfect;" and that, without the works of obedience, faith "is dead." James 2:22, 17. He that professes to know God, "and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 1 John 2:4.

When Cain saw that his offering was rejected, he was angry with the Lord and with Abel; he was angry that God did not accept man's substitute in place of the sacrifice divinely ordained, and angry with his brother for choosing to obey God instead of joining in rebellion against Him. Notwithstanding Cain's disregard of the divine command, God did not leave him to himself; but He condescended to reason with the man who had shown himself so unreasonable. And the Lord said unto Cain, "Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?" Through an angel messenger the divine warning was conveyed: "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door." The choice lay with Cain himself. If he would trust to the merits of the promised Saviour, and would obey God's requirements, he would enjoy His favor. But should he persist in unbelief and transgression, he would have no ground for complaint because he was rejected by the Lord.

But instead of acknowledging his sin, Cain continued to complain of the injustice of God and to cherish jealousy and hatred of Abel. He angrily reproached his brother, and attempted to draw him into controversy concerning God's dealings with them. In meekness, yet fearlessly and firmly, Abel defended the justice and goodness of God. He pointed out Cain's error, and tried to convince him that the wrong was in himself. He pointed to the compassion of God in sparing the life of their parents when He might have punished them with instant death, and urged that God loved them, or He would not have given His Son, innocent and holy, to suffer the penalty which they had incurred. All this caused Cain's anger to burn the hotter. Reason and conscience told him that Abel was in the right; but he was enraged that one who had been wont to heed his counsel should now presume to disagree with him, and that he could gain no sympathy in his rebellion. In the fury of his passion he slew his brother.

Cain hated and killed his brother, not for any wrong that Abel had done, but "because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." 1 John 3:12. So in all ages the wicked have hated those who were better than themselves. Abel's life of obedience and unswerving faith was to Cain a perpetual reproof. "Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved." John 3:20. The brighter the heavenly light that is reflected from the character of God's faithful servants, the more clearly the sins of the ungodly are revealed, and the more determined will be their efforts to destroy those who disturb their peace.

The murder of Abel was the first example of the enmity that God had declared would exist between the serpent and the seed of the woman--between Satan and his subjects and Christ and His followers. Through man's sin, Satan had gained control of the human race, but Christ would enable them to cast off his yoke. Whenever, through faith in the Lamb of God, a soul renounces the service of sin, Satan's wrath is kindled. The holy life of Abel testified against Satan's claim that it is impossible for man to keep God's law. When Cain, moved by the spirit of the wicked one, saw that he could not control Abel, he was so enraged that he destroyed his life. And wherever there are any who will stand in vindication of the righteousness of the law of God, the same spirit will be manifested against them. It is the spirit that through all the ages has set up the stake and kindled the burning pile for the disciples of Christ. But the cruelties heaped upon the follower of Jesus are instigated by Satan and his hosts because they cannot force him to submit to their control. It is the rage of a vanquished foe. Every martyr of Jesus has died a conqueror. Says the prophet, "They overcame him ["that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan"] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." Revelation 12:11, 9.

Cain the murderer was soon called to answer for his crime. "The Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain had gone so far in sin that he had lost a sense of the continual presence of God and of His greatness and omniscience. So he resorted to falsehood to conceal his guilt.

Again the Lord said to Cain, "What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground." God had given Cain an opportunity to confess his sin. He had had time to reflect. He knew the enormity of the deed he had done, and of the falsehood he had uttered to conceal it; but he was rebellious still, and sentence was no longer deferred. The divine voice that had been heard in entreaty and admonition pronounced the terrible words: "And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth."

Notwithstanding that Cain had by his crimes merited the sentence of death, a merciful Creator still spared his life, and granted him opportunity for repentance. But Cain lived only to harden his heart, to encourage rebellion against the divine authority, and to become the head of a line of bold, abandoned sinners. This one apostate, led on by Satan, became a tempter to others; and his example and influence exerted their demoralizing power, until the earth became so corrupt and filled with violence as to call for its destruction.

In sparing the life of the first murderer, God presented before the whole universe a lesson bearing upon the great controversy. The dark history of Cain and his descendants was an illustration of what would have been the result of permitting the sinner to live on forever, to carry out his rebellion against God. The forbearance of God only rendered the wicked more bold and defiant in their iniquity. Fifteen centuries after the sentence pronounced upon Cain, the universe witnessed the fruition of his influence and example, in the crime and pollution that flooded the earth. It was made manifest that the sentence of death pronounced upon the fallen race for the transgression of God's law was both just and merciful. The longer men lived in sin, the more abandoned they became. The divine sentence cutting short a career of unbridled iniquity, and freeing the world from the influence of those who had become hardened in rebellion, was a blessing rather than a curse.

Satan is constantly at work, with intense energy and under a thousand disguises, to misrepresent the character and government of God. With extensive, well-organized plans and marvelous power, he is working to hold the inhabitants of the world under his deceptions. God, the One infinite and all-wise, sees the end from the beginning, and in dealing with evil His plans were far-reaching and comprehensive. It was His purpose, not merely to put down the rebellion, but to demonstrate to all the universe the nature of the rebellion. God's plan was unfolding, showing both His justice and His mercy, and fully vindicating His wisdom and righteousness in His dealings with evil.

The holy inhabitants of other worlds were watching with the deepest interest the events taking place on the earth. In the condition of the world that existed before the Flood they saw illustrated the results of the administration which Lucifer had endeavored to establish in heaven, in rejecting the authority of Christ and casting aside the law of God. In those high-handed sinners of the antediluvian world they saw the subjects over whom Satan held sway. The thoughts of men's hearts were only evil continually. Genesis 6:5. Every emotion, every impulse and imagination, was at war with the divine principles of purity and peace and love. It was an example of the awful depravity resulting from Satan's policy to remove from God's creatures the restraint of His holy law.

By the facts unfolded in the progress of the great controversy, God will demonstrate the principles of His rules of government, which have been falsified by Satan and by all whom he has deceived. His justice will finally be acknowledged by the whole world, though the acknowledgment will be made too late to save the rebellious. God carries with Him the sympathy and approval of the whole universe as step by step His great plan advances to its complete fulfillment. He will carry it with Him in the final eradication of rebellion. It will be seen that all who have forsaken the divine precepts have placed themselves on the side of Satan, in warfare against Christ. When the prince of this world shall be judged, and all who have united with him shall share his fate, the whole universe as witnesses to the sentence will declare, "Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints." Revelation 15:3.


Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets

Cosmic Conflict Movie Review

Write your response to the movie we watched in class in 4-5 sentences or more.  Include what you liked or disliked about the movie, how you felt about the story, and whether you believe or not the Fall of Lucifer and Fall of Man happened the way the movie portrayed it. I included to the trailer below.

Can Satan be saved if he repents?

In class we've been talking about the fall of Lucifer and why he and 1/3 of the angels were cast out of heaven.  We know that Lucifer's problem was not so much that he wanted to be like God. His problem was that he wanted to be God.  He was jealous that God had the power to create and he didn't.

So God could have but did not immediately destroy Lucifer because He loves him. He had to allow sin to play its role here on earth to show the rest of the universe just how bad sin is. God also did not want the other angels to love Him out of fear for their life, but out of true love, a decision, a choice.

So from this lesson, a student came up to me today after class and asked if it was at all possible that Satan could still repent of his sins and be forgiven? Could Satan be allowed back into heaven if he truly repented? It definitely stirred my mind. What do you think? Post your comments.

Lesson 13 - Rebellion: The Lucifer Scenario

Here's the video I showed in class. You'll want to be able to identify and analyze the biblical references to Lucifer's rebellion and expulsion from heaven. 

Isaiah 14:12-15 

Ezekiel 28:11-19

Revelation 12:7-9

Lucifer's sin wasn't a physical action at all. It was a decision, a choice, an attitude about himself.
Lucifer's problem wasn't that he wanted to be like God.  His problem was that he wanted to be God!
Lucifer does not have the power to create human beings.
Lucifer's rebellion is a result of his focus on self.

Q: Since God created Lucifer, and Lucifer became evil, did God create evil? 
A: No. God gave us true freedom, even though He knew that some would use their freedom to reject Him, including Lucifer. He knows that only creatures who are truly free can truly love.

Q. How can we be more like God? 
A. We can become like God, not by focusing on ourselves, but on unselfish love to others. When we begin to love as God loves, we begin to be like God.

Lesson 12 - Sabbath: A Day of Celebration

"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested form all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of created that he had done." - Genesis 2:2-3 NIV

After God finished creating the earth in six days, He rested on the seventh day.  In six days Go provided for life, and on the seventh day, He provided for love. If we're having a hard time finding love during the week, we should be able to find it on the Sabbath.

God is almighty and all-powerful and does not need to rest, yet He rested on the Sabbath as an example for us. He knew humanity would need one day a week to refresh and reenergize so God gave us the Sabbath.

Holy: Set apart, set aside

The Sabbath day itself is holy and needs to be set apart from the other days of the week as a special day. Think of it as a memorial day to commemorate all that God has created and done for us.  We keep the Sabbath day holy by recognizing that God is our Creator and we belong to him. The Sabbath is that one special day of the week that we set aside solely for God and the needs of others.

In addition to keeping the Sabbath holy on Saturday, we also keep the Sabbath by working 6 days a week leading up to the Sabbath. Our Creator did not call us to be lazy during the week but to spend it getting work done in preparation for the rest we have in the Sabbath.

Lesson 11 - The Gift of Creation

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made." - Psalm 139:13-14 TLB

God creates the Universe

God creates the Earth

God creates the Garden of Eden

Unformed and Unfilled

As Creation week begins, God declares that the earth is unformed and unfilled. He begins to form and then fill it. 

God Forms

Day 1: Divides light from darkness (Genesis 1:3-5)

Day 2: Divides lower/upper waters (Genesis 1:6-8)

Day 3: Divides waters from the land (Genesis 1:9-13)

God Fills

Day 4: Creates lights in sky (Genesis 1:14-19)

Day 5: Creates sea and air animals (Genesis 1:20-23)

Day 6. Creates land animals and man (Genesis 1:24-31)

God Finishes

Day 7: Rest and fellowship (Genesis 2:1-3)