god and spiritual

(Arabic) Faysh Khabur is being destroyed - فيشخابور تتعرض لل...

(Arabic) Faysh Khabur is being destroyed - فيشخابور تتعرض للتدمير




god and spiritual

Kurdish Tribes Stealing Assyrian Christian Lands

Kurdish Tribes Stealing Assyrian Christian Lands




god and spiritual

Assyrian National Broadcasting (ANB) TV Studio Forced Closur...

Assyrian National Broadcasting (ANB) TV Studio Forced Closure in Ankawa, northern Iraq by KRG




god and spiritual

The Foundation of God’s Government

The aim of this lesson is to show the link between the sanctuary, God’s law, the Sabbath, and the coming crisis over the mark of the beast. We will also explore the relevance of the Sabbath to an end-time generation. *Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 25–27 of The Great Controversy.




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Spiritualism Exposed

The aim of this lesson is to show that our only safeguard against Satan’s last-day delusions is a personal relationship with Christ and a solid grounding in the teachings of the Bible. This includes its teaching about death, regardless of what our eyes and ears and hearts might try to tell us. *Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 31–34 of The Great Controversy.




god and spiritual

The Impending Conflict

The aim of this week’s lesson is to reveal the coming conflict over worship. This week’s study emphasizes Jesus’ strength to take us through earth’s final conflict. *Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 35 and 36 of The Great Controversy.




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Earth’s Closing Events

The aim of this week’s lesson is to reveal what the prophetic Word says about the closing events and discover a new Christ’s strength to take us through earth’s final conflict and get us home. *Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 37 and 38 of The Great Controversy.




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The Triumph of God’s Love

In this quarter’s final lesson, we will see Christ’s steadfast love during the most exciting time in the history of the universe and His complete and total triumph in the great controversy between good and evil. The Bible’s last book, Revelation, gives us hope for today, tomorrow, and forever. *Study this week’s lesson, based on chapters 39-42 of The Great Controversy.




god and spiritual

The Beginning of the Gospel

This week's first step will be to learn about Mark as reported in Scripture, to see his early failure and eventual recovery. Then the study will turn to the opening section of Mark with a look forward to where the story is headed and a look backward at why a failed and then restored missionary would write such a text.




god and spiritual

A Day in the Ministry of Jesus

The Gospel of Mark recounts the calling of four disciples and describes a Sabbath in Capernaum and what followed. This “Sabbath with Jesus” at the beginning of Mark gives the reader a sense of who Jesus is. In the entire section for this week’s lesson there are very few of His words recorded: a brief call to discipleship, a command to a demon, a plan to visit other locations, and the healing of a leper with instructions to show himself before a priest to be clean. The emphasis is on action, particularly healing people. The Gospel writer likes to use the word immediately to illustrate the fast-action movement of Jesus’ ministry.




god and spiritual

Controversies

The Gospel writer uses a technique that is called “Sandwich Stories.” This narrative pattern appears at least six times in Mark. In each case some important aspect of the nature of Jesus and His role as Messiah, or the nature of discipleship, is the focus. This week, we will read some accounts about Jesus and see what we can learn from them.




god and spiritual

Parables

For many years scholars have argued over the meaning and interpretation of Jesus’ parables: How to interpret them, what they mean, why Jesus used them, what kind of lessons they were intended to reveal, and how literally they were to be taken, or whether they were purely allegory, and so forth. Obviously we are not going to solve all these issues in this week’s lesson. Instead, we are going to look at them and, by God grace, come away with an understanding of the points Jesus made through these parables.




god and spiritual

Miracles Around the Lake

The main goal of Mark's Chapter 5 dramatic stories is to let the reader see who Jesus is. He is the One able to calm a storm, heal a demoniac, heal a woman who simply touches His clothes, raise a dead girl, preach in His home town, send out His disciples on a preaching mission, feed 5,000 with a few loaves and fishes, and walk on water—incredible displays of power that are drawing the disciples closer to an understanding that He is the Son of God.




god and spiritual

Inside Out

This week’s study is Mark 7 and the first half of Mark 8. At the beginning of Mark 7, Jesus stirs up controversy by His rejection of religious tradition. However, He does it in a way that is strikingly supportive of something deeply relevant to Christian life today.




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Teaching Disciples: Part I

In the last part of Mark 8 through the end of Mark 10, Jesus focuses on teaching His disciples about His journey. In these chapters, He will give predictions about the cross. These will be followed by special instruction on discipleship. These powerful lessons remain relevant today.




god and spiritual

Teaching Disciples: Part II

This week covers Mark 10, completing the special section in which Jesus teaches His disciples in preparation for the cross. About half of the chapter deals with the disciples themselves, and the rest with issues important to discipleship but told through the lens of others who interact with Jesus. Pharisees come and argue with Him over the subject of divorce. Parents bring their children for Jesus to bless. A rich man asks about eternal life, and a blind man asks for sight. This chapter of Mark carries important teachings about what it means to follow Jesus, particularly as it relates to living in the here and now: marriage, children, how to relate to riches, and the reward and cost of following Him.




god and spiritual

Jerusalem Controversies

In this week’s lesson, when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, He has a series of six controversies with the religious leaders. The religious leaders come to confront, confound, and defeat Jesus, but they never succeed. Part of this week’s lesson will include analyzing just what it is that brings people into opposition to God and consideration of what Christians can do to break through prejudice and speak to the hearts of those resisting the Spirit’s call.




god and spiritual

The Last Days

This week’s lesson starts with a very brief story at the end of Mark 12, where Jesus makes a profound statement about a small act by a widow. The main portion of this week’s lesson, however, deals with Mark 13, a striking prophecy about the fate of the Jerusalem temple and more. This chapter, along with its parallels in Matthew 24 and Luke 21, tell about both the fall of Jerusalem and beyond, even to the end of the world. Jesus not only predicts the future but also instructs His disciples both then and now in how to prepare for the coming trials.




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Taken and Tried

This week’s lesson focuses on Mark 14, beginning with the fifth Sandwich Story, which interlinks two opposite actions in relation to Jesus. This is followed by the Last Supper, followed by His struggle in Gethsemane. There He is arrested and taken before the leaders to be tried. The trial scene is linked with Peter’s denial of Jesus, forming the sixth and last of the Sandwich Stories in Mark. Again, two opposite actions occur, but by an ironic twist, they affirm the same truth. Throughout the narrative, two contrasting story plots march hand in hand. In a crisp style, Mark sets before the reader these clashing plots while revealing the triumph of Jesus.




god and spiritual

Tried and Crucified

Mark 15 is the heart of the Passion Narrative. It presents the trial of Jesus, His condemnation, the mockery by the soldiers, His crucifixion, and then His death and burial. The events in this chapter are presented in stark, crisp detail, likely because the author let the facts speak for themselves. This week, from the question of Pilate, “ ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ ” to the mocking soldiers to the sign above the cross to the mocking of the religious leaders, “ ‘He saved others; Himself He cannot save’ ” to the unexpected appearance of Joseph of Arimathea, the chapter is filled with painful ironies that nevertheless reveal powerful truths about the death of Jesus and what it means.




god and spiritual

The Risen Lord

The crucifixion of Jesus proved the death knell to the hopes and faith of His disciples. It was a dark weekend for them as they not only grappled with their Master’s death but feared for their own lives, as well (John 20:19). In Mark 16, the final chapter in his Gospel, we will look at what followed His death. This study will close with a challenge to the reader of Mark to take the gospel throughout the world.




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Signs That Point the Way

Why did John write his Gospel? Did he wish to emphasize Jesus’ miracles? Or to emphasize some specific teachings of Jesus? What was the reason for writing what he did? This week we’re going to look in John at some of Jesus’ early miracles—from His turning water to wine at a wedding, to restoring to health someone’s very sick son, to the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda.




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Signs of Divinity

This week’s lesson looks at three of Jesus’ greatest signs of His divinity. What is striking is that in every case some people did not believe the miracle or perceive its significance. For some it was a time of turning away from Jesus; for others, a time for deepening blindness; and for others, a time to plot Jesus’ death. And, for others—a time to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.




god and spiritual

The Backstory: The Prologue

This week’s lesson will begin with the Prologue (John 1:1–18) and summarize its major themes. These themes will then be looked at in other places in John’s Gospel, as well.




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Witnesses of Christ as the Messiah

This week begins with the powerful witness of John the Baptist. Other witnesses come on the stage as well: Andrew and Simon Peter, Philip and Nathaniel, and a most unexpected witness, the Pharisee Nicodemus. But another witness stands back in the shadows (that other disciple with Andrew, in John 1:35, 40)—John himself.




god and spiritual

The Testimony of the Samaritans

At the time of Christ, this animosity continued. The Jews avoided Samaria as much as possible. Though commerce may have gone on, other interaction was taboo. The Jews would not borrow from Samaritans or even receive a favor from them. Within this context, John recounts the encounter between Jesus, the woman by the well, and the people of the Samaritan city of Sychar.




god and spiritual

More Testimonies About Jesus

This week’s lesson looks at some of those who witnessed and testified about Jesus. In each of these incidents, some aspects of who Jesus really is are revealed, and together they create a deeper vision of Jesus, the Messiah.




god and spiritual

Blessed Are Those Who Believe

Throughout his Gospel, John has a diversity of people—people with different backgrounds, beliefs, and experiences—all testifying to who Jesus was. Who were some of these people, and why did they testify as they did to the identity of Jesus?




god and spiritual

Service of Love



Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Matthew 22:37

“It is the service of love that God values. When this is lacking, the mere round of ceremony is an offense to Him. So with the Sabbath. It was designed to bring men into communion with God.”

The Desire of Ages, p. 286

Sabbath Tip
Have you ever experienced a loved one doing a favor for you out of obligation rather than genuine caring? When we simply go through the motion of serving God, but our heart isn’t in it, we’re really not honoring Him at all—or keeping His commandments. What elements of your Sabbath experience most convey your love for God?

Sabbath Resource
The Sabbath and Christian Denominations





god and spiritual

Windows in Heaven

What does it mean when God says "I will open up the windows of heaven", speaking of tithes and offerings. Is that still valid today?



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

A Woman in the Wilderness

In the center of Revelation, a woman that flees into the wilderness and brings forth a man-child, is one of the most important studies of Revelation.



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

Refusing Babylon’s Buffet, Pt. 1

What does the Bible say about how to take care of our bodies so that we could have a longer, stronger, more abundant life? - Part 1



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

Refusing Babylon’s Buffet, Pt. 2

What does the Bible say about how to take care of our bodies so that we could have a longer, stronger, more abundant life? - Part 2



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

A Mother-Daughter Conspiracy

What do Herod, Herodias, Salome, and John the Baptist have to do with end-time Bible prophecy?



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

Bowing to the Beast

In the last days on this earth the devil is going to tell us to change one of God's commandments. We are going to have to choose between obeying God and obeying men.



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

The Deadly Mark

666. What is it? What does it mean? How does one get it? Will you be lost if you have it?



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

Proving the Prophets

What is prophecy? Are there prophets? Can we believe what the Bible says about the future? How do we know between true and false prophets?



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

The King’s Ambassador

There should be a difference in the way that Christians conduct themselves that shows what is in their hearts.



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

The Goal of the Godly

Our spiritual commitment should take priority over every earthly competitor for our time and attention.



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

The Truth About Angels

Lucifer was perfect—a glorious angel. Yet he became obsessed with himself and rebelled against his loving Creator and stole the hearts of a third of the angels. Ever since, Satan and his demons have been fighting for the possession of every human heart.



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

The Everlasting Gospel

All of us have sinned, and the penalty is eternal death. That’s the bad news. The good news—the gospel—is that Jesus came to save us from sin’s penalty and power completely and eternally.



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

The Coming of the King

While we cannot predict the day of Christ’s return, we can know that it’s close—“even at the doors”—by the signs given in the Bible. But God’s Word not only tells us approximately when Jesus will return; it tells us exactly how. Will He come in secret—or in a glorious display of angels and fire?



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

The Laws of Life

Many Christians teach that the Ten Commandments were nailed to the cross. But if that were true, why would the apostle Paul refer to them as being instrumental in his conversion? Other laws were indeed nailed to the cross, but not the one that explains how we are to love God and our neighbor.



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

Worshiping the Creator

Most Christians believe that the seventh-day Sabbath is only for Jews, but the Bible reveals that the Sabbath was established at Creation for all peoples.



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

The Temple of God

To teach His people the way of salvation, God instructed them to build a sanctuary. This temple had three main areas: a courtyard, a holy place, and a most holy place. What the priests did in each compartment illustrates what our High Priest is doing today to eradicate sin from our lives.



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

When Satan Goes to Church, Pt. 1

God wants us to feed and to grow and to blossom as Christians but the devil keeps planting his teachings and his problems in the church to try to sap our strength and our attention. How can we know what his tricks are so that we don't fall into his traps?



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

When Satan Goes to Church, Pt. 2

God wants us to feed and to grow and to blossom as Christians but the devil keeps planting his teachings and his problems in the church to try to sap our strength and our attention. How can we know what his tricks are so that we don't fall into his traps?



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

The Devil’s Deadliest Deception

There will be many people in Heaven with different views on how to live but what we cannot get wrong is what is required to get saved. What does God want from us?



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

The Hour of His Judgment

The first angel of Revelation 14 proclaims a judgment that occurs before Jesus comes in glory. Once every case has been decided in the heavenly courtroom, Jesus will return with His rewards.



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor

god and spiritual

Every Nation and Tongue

The last thing Jesus says before He ascends to heaven is to go to teach and baptize. The last words of Jesus should be a first priority for believers. If it's important to Jesus, it should be important to us.



  • Amazing Facts with Doug Batchelor