Bible Study and Discussion based on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
This Week: “The Journey to Rome”
Adult Sabbath School
Crieff Adventist Church has an adult Bible study class every Saturday morning between 10am and 11am. We study a variety of subjects, dividing the year into 4 quarters with a new subject every quarter.
From October to December 2017 our topic will be 'Stewardship'.
Come and join us in our discussions. Download a copy of the study guides from the adventist.org website in PDF format.
See also:
- 'Good Word Online', from Walla Walla College.
- 'Spectrum' magazine study guides.
- 'Pine Knoll' study guides.
Upcoming classes
Bible Study and Discussion based on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
This week: “Confinement in Caesarea”
Bible Study and Discussion based on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
This week: “Arrest in Jerusalem”
Bible Study and Discussion based on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
This week: “The Third Missionary Journey”
Bible Study and Discussion based on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
This week: “The Second Missionary Journey”
Bible Study and Discussion based on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
This week: “The Jerusalem Council”
Bible Study and Discussion based on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
This week: “Paul’s First Missionary Journey”
Bible Study and Discussion based on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
This week: “The Ministry of Peter”
Bible Study and Discussion based on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
This week: “The Conversion of Paul”
Bible Study and Discussion based on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
This week: “The First Church Leaders”
Bible Study and Discussion based on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
This week: “Life in the Early Church”
Bible Study and Discussion based on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
This week: “Pentecost”
Link to this week’s Study Guide
Bible Study and Discussion based on the Book of the Acts of the Apostles
This week: “You will be my witnesses”
Bible Study and Discussion based on the theme of “Christ and The Last Days”
This week: “The Return of Our Lord Jesus”
Bible Study and Discussion based on the theme of “Christ and The Last Days”
This week: “Babylon and Armageddon”
Previous studies
The story of the flood is a stark reminder that God’s perfect world did not last long. The impact of the flood is worth pondering, both from the standpoint of the divine intention and from the standpoint of human reaction.
Crucial aspects of human existence are rooted in the story of the Fall and the on-going tragedy of our first parents.
The story of Abraham brings out amazing highs and lows, from victories won with God to striking human failings.
After a long series of human disasters, God turns to Abram to help turn the tide. The early chapters of his life raise significant questions worth exploring.
One of the key features which distinguishes the Judeo-Christian perspective from other “natural” perspectives is that history has a goal. You can chart the key events on a line and the line is going somewhere. History has a goal. And for Christians that goal can be characterized by the term “hope.” Yes, there is also a judgment — which potentially could shape the goal through fear and dread, rather than through joy or hope. But for the believer, the end of history as we know it is a matter of hope.
But to be able to live in hope, we have to have a secure framework which allows us to look to the future with some sense of security. Our lessons for the next three months focus on the first book of the Bible, Genesis. And our first lesson looks at how the New Testament looks back on the first book of our Bible as the basis for daily living and a future hope.
The last years of Abraham’s life are a collage of failures, triumphs, and tragedies. He fails the test of honesty with Abimelech; he passes the test of loyalty on Mt. Moriah; he loses the battle for compassion with Hagar and Ishmael; and he assures a hopeful future by finding a wife for Isaac.
Lesson 1
Does life have a meaning? I have known some people who would never dare to ask this question. Some of those people are very religious. Yet, there are parts of the Bible that present human deep thoughts and emotions such as grief, anger and confusion. We classify those as wisdom passages in Scripture.
The Book of Ecclesiastes belongs to biblical wisdom books which affirm the principle that says “A man reaps what he sows” (Gal. 6:7) also known as Deuteronomic teaching: “Obey and you will live a blessed life!” Disobedience on the other hand results in suffering and death. In addition to Deuteronomy, the Book of Proverbs is replete with this and similar sayings. The other type of wisdom writings, exemplified in the books of Job and Ecclesiastes, was written to complement Deuteronomic teaching as well as to be a critique of the extremes of generalization that were taught by some teachers.
Lesson 2
What happens when we overvalue our accomplishments in wisdom, wealth or pleasure? The author of Ecclesiastes was very successful in life and he claims to have tasted pretty much everything that life has to offer: power, wealth, wisdom, fame. Yet in the end he found life to be meaningless. For this reason in the closing chapters of the book he argues in favour of life of faith.
Lesson 3
Human lives are filled with complexities and apparent contradictions. Certain biblical passages talk straight about life’s toughest issues. The author of Ecclesiastes asks his readers: “Isn’t life meaningless since in the end we all die?” Yet he does not stay with that question. Rather he considers some of the blessings that God generously imparts to human beings.
Lesson 4
Have you ever lived in a culture in which people explain all life’s coincidences by saying: “It was written (that it should happen that way).”
Among the neighbouring nations of ancient Israel, there was a widespread belief that all events in history are predetermined by the gods. An impersonal force known as fate controlled the destiny of all things. Fate was written on tablets which could at times get into wrong hands. Once, for example, the bird god Anzu stole those tablets and this accident caused a stir among the gods until Anzu was killed.
The author of Ecclesiastes relates the events from history as well as from one’s personal life to God and his providence. Thus he boldly states that God “has made everything beautiful in its time (verse 11).
Lesson 5
How are we to relate to painful experiences we sometimes have to go through? Can they teach us some profound dimensions of life? American novelist Thomas Wolfe wrote: “Ecclesiastes is the greatest single piece of writing I have ever known, and the wisdom expressed in it the most lasting and profound.”
Chapter 4 of Ecclesiastes is short and it deals with the dark side of life in which oppression, toil and loneliness reign. It can teach us some very deep lessons about life that come from the world of suffering and pain.
Lesson 6
How much money is enough? John D. Rockefeller, the richest man of his time, was asked this very question. His answer was short: “Just a little bit more.”
Chapter 5 of Ecclesiastes teaches that wealth, if it is intended to be a substitute for God, will fail to add meaning to life. If, on the other hand, riches are viewed as coming from God and they are to be used to bless others, then they are not in competition with God’s place in our hearts.
Lesson 7
How should we view death: As an evil or as a blessing? In our culture today there are different views on what happens to us when we die. Most often people talk of going to heaven or hell at the moment they die. In ancient Israel the choice was not heaven or hell, but life or death.
Although death is common destiny for all humans, biblical writers considered it to be an evil. All who die go to the same place, which in Hebrew is called Sheol or the abode of the dead. Job 3:13-19 gives a description of that place. Humans and animals, rich and poor, wise and fool, strong and weak, all go to the same place. There is, however, a promise in the Bible that at the end of earth’s history, death, “the last enemy” will be destroyed (1 Cor. 15:26).
Lesson 8
If you were given choice between money, on the one hand, or wisdom, on the other, which one would you take? Proverbs 4:7 says: “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” In this way certain books of the Bible exalt wisdom and personify it as a wise lady who calls on people to make right choices in life.
Biblical writers described wisdom through a number of metaphors. In Ecclesiastes 7, for example, it is compared to a shelter or “shade” that provides protection, relief, and comfort from the hot sun. In contrast to material possessions that do not last long, wisdom preserves the life of the one who possesses it (7:12).
Lesson 9
Have you heard people when commenting about events around them say: “It’s all about power.” Jesus once said: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them” (Matthew 20:25).
The abuse of power was a practice that was widespread in Bible times. The author of Ecclesiastes knew about this very well since he was a king and powerful monarchs of his time were his friends. He often wondered why God, who is the ultimate dispenser of power allows its abuse.
Today’s study offers some answers to this challenging question. The final answer, though, may be yet another mystery of life.