Children’s Week of Prayer 1...ing now about how much you will give for this offering. Because this...

Children’s Week of Prayer | 1

2 | Children’s Week of Prayer Children’s Week of Prayer | 3

Hello, dear children! Welcome to the Children’s Week of Prayer for 2018! This is a very special week in which our IMS churches around the world gather together to study these readings, pray, and come closer to God. Every year we study a differ-ent topic. This year, we will study about “Spiritual Gifts.” We’re sure you might have some questions about this subject. Most of your questions will be answered during the week as we read and study these lessons. But we’ll answer the three most im-portant questions here

Q: What are spiritual gifts?

A: They are unique talents and skills God gives His people to help His church and to spread the mes-sage of salvation around the world.

Q: Do I have spiritual gifts?

A: Yes! God has blessed all believers with spiritu-al gifts – from the oldest adult all the way down to the youngest children– and that includes you! You are born with certain gifts. As you grow older and try to do your best in each of your responsibil-ities, you will learn other gifts.

Q: How do you find out what your spiritual gifts are?

A: When we pray and study the Bible, God shows us what we can do to help others learn about Je-sus. There are many, many ways to share God’s love with others. We don’t all have to do it in the same way.

As we said before, this week is very important. During this week, we encourage you to pray at least three times every day and to read your Bible three times each day as well. You can do this with your family, with some friends, or just by yourself.

At the end of the week, we will have a special

Sabbath. On this day many of the adults will fast. Fasting means to go without food for a certain pe-riod of time so our minds can be clear and we can get closer to God. You may not be able to go the whole day without eating, but maybe you can try to fast for one or two meals. This is something that is good to talk over with your parents.

After the reading on Sabbath, December 15, an offering will be collected that will be used to send Bible workers into new countries to share the wonderful message of God’s love. Start think-ing now about how much you will give for this offering. Because this is a thanksgiving offering, many people write a favorite Bible verse on their offering envelope. These Bible verses will be read at the end of the church service. Do you have a favorite Bible verse? What will you write on your envelope?

The Education Department in cooperation with the Ministerial Research Institute has worked very hard to bring you this Week of Prayer for children. In it you will find readings and activities just for kids to help you better understand each lesson.

We hope and pray you will be blessed!

Margie Holmstroem Seely

Director of the Education Department

Special thanks to the following for their contribu-tions to this project: Lorena Ajucum, Ixzelt Aldana, Margarita Barreto, Manuela Di Franca, Pastor Al-fredo Fisicaro, Eldercito Hernandez, Evelyn Holm-stroem, Joela Hunger, Michael Melo, Pastor Danilo Monterroso, Michael Petrovich, Alyssa Seely, Maya Seely, Nikki Seely, Shawn Seely, Raquel Sosa, Kaila Suárez, and Shiloh Suárez.

Introduction Summary

Introduction 3

Reading 1 “The Excellency of Knowledge” Written by: E.G. White | Friday, December 7, 2018 4

Reading 2 “Faith Overcomes the World”Written by: Humberto Avellaneda Summarized by: Michael Petrovich | Saturday, December 8, 2018 10

Reading 3 “Perfect Health” Written by: Morris LoweSummarized by: Margie Seely | Sunday, December 9, 2018 17

Reading 4 “Signs and Wonders” Written by: Douglas FrancisSummarized by: Alyssa Seely | Tuesday, December 11, 2018 23

Reading 5 “Believe His Prophets” Written by: José Vicente GinerSummarized by: Lorena Ajucum | Wednesday, December 12, 2018 30

Reading 6 “Test the Spirits” Written by: Danilo MonterrosoSummarized by: Evelyn Holmstroem | Friday, December 14, 2018 37

Reading 7 “Other Tongues” Written by: Tzvetan PetkovSummarized by: Evelyn Holmstroem | Saturday, December 15, 2018 45

Children’s Readings for the Week of Prayer

December 7-15, 2018

Issued by

Education Department of General Conference

International Missionary Society

Seventh-day Adventist Church, Reform Movement

625 West Ave. • Cedartown, GA 30125

Email: [email protected]

Facebook: IMS Education Department

Internet: imseducation.org


“I would not have you ignorant….” 1 Corinthians 12:1.

Eve gazed longingly at the fruit in front of her eyes. Its shape and color were more beautiful than any of the other garden fruits. Its sweet aro-ma perfumed the air around her and made her mouth water. She could almost taste its sweet flavor. Reaching out, she took the fruit gently into her hands. There was something about this for-bidden fruit that attracted her. The serpent had promised that, if she ate it, she would learn ev-erything there was to know—even the things that God had not told her. Shivering with antici-pation, Eve lifted the fruit to her mouth and took a bite.

We know now that the only new things Adam and Eve learned from disobeying God were sin, misery, and death. Satan had tricked them into thinking that life could be better than the perfec-tion God had already given them. Today, Satan is still trying to deceive people with this same old lie. Down through the ages, many people have plucked and eaten forbidden fruits, hoping to get something more valuable than what the Bible offers. However, time after time, these people dis-covered that, like Eve, they have been tricked into trading their precious blessings for something that is worthless.

True wisdom is an everlasting treasure that can be found only in the Bible. When we study the Bible, we find all the information we need to live successfully in this world as well as to prepare ourselves for Heaven. We don’t have to be pastors

or earn university degrees to understand the Bi-ble. Anyone who asks for God’s Spirit can read the Scriptures and learn something from even one verse. But the best teachings of the Bible, the most valuable gems of truth, the greatest trea-sures of God can be discovered only by those stu-dents who dig deeply and often.

Imagine walking through the countryside and finding a miner standing outside a large dia-mond quarry. You know that beautiful treasure is hidden deep inside and that it will take a lot of work to find those beautiful gems. But this poor fellow is a little lazy. To go all the way into the mine would require more effort than he wants to invest. To swing a pick and dig out rock would make him sweat. It’s just much too much work! Instead, he scratches in the dirt with his boot and hopes that several large, sparkly diamonds will magically pop to the surface, where he can scoop them up and drop them into his pockets.

We might laugh a little at this example, but when we pick up our Bibles and merely skim through a few verses, we are acting just like that lazy prospector waiting for diamonds. We need to spend quality time studying Bible verses and chapters and entire books in order to begin to discover the complete beauty of the Scriptures.

It takes effort to search out and find all the in-dividual jewels that are hidden in the Bible. It takes effort to put all these passages together so the entire picture can be seen. It takes effort to understand what God longs to tell us. But, when we make the effort, something wonderful hap-pens.

“The Excellency of Knowledge”

Written by: E.G. WhiteReading 1 |Friday, December 7, 2018

We choose what we put into our minds. We choose what we will think about. There are so many things that can fill our minds. But we have to be careful! Every single thought we have makes us more like God or pulls us farther away from Him. Our eternal destiny – whether we go to heaven or die the second death – is decided by what we think about. How important it is then that we fill our minds with things that are true and right and pure and lovely and excellent!

When we study the Bible, God gives us perfect knowledge. He stretches our ability to under-stand. Our minds grow, our intelligence deep-ens, we learn things more quickly. History, gov-ernment, philosophy, poetry, science, and many biographical stories fill the pages of God’s Holy Word. Its language is more lovely than anything else ever written. At the center of it all is the most beautiful love story that has ever been told.

As we study the Bible, “here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:10), we discover that each indi-vidual verse links together with the other verses like a golden chain, connecting all the evidences of God’s love for us. As we connect all the sepa-rate verses, we find that we are also becoming more closely linked to the God of love and life.

When God created this world, He spoke. The power of His voice brought plants and planets,

fish and flowers, oceans and owls into existence. When He spoke, creatures began to wiggle and breathe and live. Your words can’t do that. My words can’t do that. Only the words of God can give life. Jesus said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63.

Today, God’s Word still gives life. When we study the Bible, we hear Him speak to us as plain-ly as when “He taught on mountain and plain and sea” (Education, pp. 127). The more time we spend with Him, the more we become like Him. Eventually, He is no longer Someone who lives far behind the stars. He becomes my best Friend and yours, and we will love to spend time with Him. When the day comes for us step onto those heavenly streets of gold, we will feel right at home because we know the Ruler of Heaven. He is our Friend.

To gain a knowledge of God is to gain eternal life. There is nothing else that we can ever learn that is more important than knowing God. Nothing is more valuable. It is a gift more precious than gold or diamonds or any other treasure on earth. When we receive this wonderful knowledge, we can only join our voices with the apostles and prophets and saints to say, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:15.

Complete the biblical verse.

The _ _ _ ds that i _ _ _ _ _ unto you, they _ _ _ s _ _ rit, and _ _ _ _

are _ _ _ _. John 6:63.


The Excellency of Knowledge

“I would not have you ignorant…” 1 Corinthians 12:1

True knowledge is an eternal treasure that can be found only in the

Bible. “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God.” Colossians 2:2.

ACTIVITY: Follow the threads and write the corresponding word in each box, then read what the verse says.

IN

WHOM

ARE HID THE

TREASURE

AND

OF WISDOM

KNOWLEDGE

ALL

COLOSSIANS 2:3

Activities

Color the drawing.


When we study the Bible, God gives us perfect knowledge. 2 Timothy 3:15-16 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” ACTIVIDAD: Each number represents one letter of the alphabet. Substitute each letter for the matching number to discover the secret words.

A C D E F G H I J N O P R S T U W 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

a 17-13-8-15-8-10-6

b 8-10-14-12-8-13-1-15-8-11-10

c 6-11-3

d 15-4-1-2-7-8-10-6

e 13-4-12-13-11-11-5

f 2-11-13-13-4-2-15-8-11-10

g 8-10-14-15-13-16-2-15-8-11-10

h 9-16-14-15-8-2-4

CORRECTION REPROOF TEACHING WRITING INSTRUCTION INSPIRATION JUSTICE GOD

My Friend Jesus Jesus wants to be our best friend and we should love to spend time with Him. When the day comes for us to walk in the heavenly streets of gold, we will feel at home because we know the ruler of heaven. He is our Friend. Revelation 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

ACTIVITY: If you write the letter that matches the number in the rectangles, you can read the message.

1

J

7

F 5

M 2

E 4

U

9

N 10

R

11

Y 3

S

8

D 6

I

J

1-2-3-4-3 6-3 5-11 7-10-6-2-9-8


“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal… To another faith by the same Spirit.” 1 Cor-inthians 12:7,9.

What is the meaning of faith according to the Bible?

What is faith? “The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1. To have faith is to believe in things not seen or heard or touched. It is to believe in something without stopping to think “is it possible?” It is about never giving up on or doubting in the thing or person you have faith in. It is at the cornerstone of God’s Word… and yet, unfortunately, we see so little of it today. Many no longer have faith in God’s promises in the Bible.

How can we receive faith?

The gift of faith cannot be bought or sold. That is why it is called a gift from God. So how then can we receive this gift? God’s Word gives us four answers to this question.

1. By hearing it from God’s Word

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17. By hearing and reading the Word of God, we plant that seed of faith in our souls. And if we stay close to Him always, it will continually grow and become stronger.

2. Through prayer

Prayer is our own connection with the Father. It is our lifeline. By continually communicat-ing with Him through prayer, we allow Him

to lead us in the right path and show us where we have done wrong. Do you feel like you or someone you know is losing faith? Pray. Pray again and again for that person’s salvation and your own.

3. Through the Holy Spirit

“He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come.” John 16:13. This verse re-fers to the Holy Spirit. In it, it says that He will not only guide us but also show us things to come. In other verses it also says the Holy Spir-it is come to continually strengthen our faith and keep us steadfast—but only if we listen carefully to His voice and follow closely the leading of the Father.

4. Through the examples of others

“Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12. How we act, how we treat others, our choice of words–all are being watched and judged. Not only by our Father above, but also by people around us. Do we show the Christian spirit? Or do we show the spirit of ourselves?

Two kinds of faith

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of li-ghts, with whom is no variableness, neither sha-dow of turning.” James 1:17. Those who receive the faith that is given by God enter through the

“Faith Overcomes the World”

Written by: Humberto AvellanedaSummarized by: Michael Petrovich

Reading 2 |Saturday, December 8, 2018

narrow gate and carry their sins to the foot of the cross. Matthew 7:13. They bear much fruit for God’s glory. John 15:8.

Those who have a dead faith, wearing the filthy rags of their own self-righteousness, enter through the wide gate. Matthew 7:13. These are the ones who produce bad fruit for their own glo-ry and try to enter heaven with their own works instead of having faith in Christ’s mercies. They believe that heaven is owed to them. So, do you have a living faith, one that trusts in God fully and gives all glory to Him? Or do you have a dead faith, in which you trust in your own works?

The test of faith

It is easier to say, “I believe,” than it is to demon-strate our belief when we are exposed to trials and affliction.

We can see an example of this in Jesus’ days. While there were loaves and fish to eat, every-one believed in Jesus; but when He preached His sermon about the bread of life, “many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him.” John 6:66.

We can see another test of faith with Elijah on Mount Carmel after God showed His power by sending fire to burn up the sacrifice. The Bible says: “And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain.... And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea.

And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezre-el. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” 1 Kings 18:41-46. “It was not because of any outward evidence that the showers were about to fall, that Elijah could so confidently bid Ahab prepare for rain. The pro-phet saw no clouds in the heavens; he heard no thunder. He simply spoke the word that the Spi-rit of the Lord had moved him to speak in respon-se to his own strong faith.” (Prophets and Kings, pp. 155, 156) How could one hear the rain if there was none? Only with the mind and heart of faith in the Lord. God’s prophet heard the rain; that is faith–complete belief in what God says.

In these examples, we can see how different people were tested. Both examples included people who said they believed in God and had faith in Him. And yet, when tested, some failed while the other person was victorious. How will your faith stand against trials? Will you trust in your own strength and good deeds? Or will you trust and have faith in God’s power of loving for-giveness and entrust everything to Him?

Complete the biblical verse.

Now _ _ _ _ _ _ning spiritual gifts, brethren, I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ have _ _ _

ignorant. 1 Corinthians 12:1.


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

A C E F I M N O P R S T U

7 8 5

12

3

11

5

1

1

7

12

ACTIVITY: Each number represents a letter, write each letter to form the words. Follow the example.

FAITH

5 9

10

11S 12

GIFTS OF HEALING

5

4

6

M

11

WHAT FAITH IS

N F T E

A U C F

H G O D F R

T T F

H N S O S

T H

R A

E

E D F A I

A S S U

G H

O N T H

T H I

O P

V I

S N O

O

F O

C T

T S

N

E C

N G R

I O N O

E

F

N O W

T H I

I S T H

N C

F

E E N

ACTIVITY: Place each letter of each tile group in the correct place and you will reveal the verse from Hebrews 11: 1.

Activities


HOW WE CAN HAVE FAITH

THROUGH

THROUGH

LISTENING TO

HIS WORD

PRAYERS

BE AN EXAMPLE TO THOSE WHO

BELIEVE

IN WORD, IN YOUR WAY OF LIFE, IN

LOVE, SPIRIT, FAITH AND IN

PURITY

ACTIVITY: Complete the sentences by drawing a line to connect the matching boxes. Follow the example shown here.

SO THEN FAITH COMES BY HEARING

THROUGH

THE HOLY SPIRIT

AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF

GOD

TESTIMONIES

Color the drawing.


ELIJAH PRAYED FOR RAIN

“Perfect Health”Written by: Morris Lowe

Summarized by: Margie Seely

Reading 3 |Sunday, December 9, 2018

Creation was complete. In six days, God had spread out the heavens and shaped the earth into a home bursting with good things for ani-mals and people. Now, as that first week end-ed, Adam and Eve stood before their Creator. He looked at them lovingly— and smiled. With His own hands, He had formed them. He had breathed life into their lungs. He had blessed them with an abundance of health in mind, body, and spirit.

They were His crowning work, perfect in every way! What joy it gave Him to see the good work that He had done.

And then came sin. Like a horrible plague, it spread through all of creation infecting it with the disease of evil. God’s perfect world was no more. Fear, sickness, pain, misery, sadness, and death now replaced the happiness and perfec-tion that God had planned. How it must have hurt God’s heart to tell Adam and Eve that be-cause of sin they must die. “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” Genesis 3:19.

From the moment Adam and Eve sinned, disease and death entered our DNA. From grandparents to parents to children, the curse of sin and death is passed along through our genes from genera-tion to generation. But we have not been aban-doned to our fate. Mixed with our punishment is God’s mercy. He knew that we would need help to fight the diseases that sin brought, and He provided. Lovingly, he told Adam and Eve where they would find healing. “Thou shalt eat the herb of the field.” Genesis 3:18.

Even though we have sinned, God wants us to “prosper and be in health.” 3 John 2. He showed us this through the life of Jesus. When Jesus was here on earth, He did more healing than preach-ing or teaching!

Color the drawing.


One day, as Jesus walked with the crowds, a desperate father fought his way towards Je-sus. Breathless, the man threw himself on the ground. The crowd stepped backwards in sur-prise, for this man who lay crying and pleading at the feet of Jesus was no ordinary man. He was Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue.

A solemn hush came over the people. Usually a dignified and noble man, Jairus now lay sob-bing on the ground like a helpless baby. “My daughter! My daughter!” he cried. “Please come heal my daughter! She’s dying, and she’s my only girl!”

Jesus immediately turned to go with Jairus to his house. The crowd pressed in close to follow.

Just then another voice was heard. “Jairus! Jai-rus! Don’t bother the Teacher. Your daughter is dead. Come home!” Jairus froze. His face turned pale. With pain-filled eyes, he met the tender gaze of Jesus.

“Don’t be afraid!” Jesus encouraged. “Just belie-ve!” He motioned for Jairus to lead the way.

When Jesus and Jairus arrived at the bedside of Jairus’ daughter, Jesus picked up her lifeless hand and placed it gently on His palm. In a voice that sounded like music from heaven, Je-sus commanded, “My child, get up!” Her eyes opened, and she immediately sat up. Her par-ents rejoiced to see their precious daughter alive again. Before He left, Jesus told them to give her something to eat.

And what do you think He wanted her to eat? Candy? Ice cream? Potato chips? No. God is very particular about the food we put into our bodies. Paul asks us, “What? Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? You do not belong to yourself!” 1 Corinthians 6:19, para-phrased. Let’s think about this for a moment.

Imagine yourself going to church on a nice Sab-bath morning, dressed in your best clothes. When you open the door, you stop in surprise! You can-not believe your eyes! Broken bottles and paper

wrappers are strewn across the floor. Garbage is piled on the seats. Banana peels hang off the pulpit. Flies buzz around your face, and the smell is simply awful.

Could you worship God in a church like that? No, of course not! It would be a disgrace! And that is exactly how God feels when we eat unhealthful food or don’t take care of our bodies. We disgrace the temple that He designed for us to live in.

Why does God care so much about what we eat? He has two main reasons. First, He wants us to be healthy for as long as we live. God de-signed our bodies to play and work and serve others. When we eat the foods that God made for us to eat – fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beans – our bodies stay strong and we can fight off the diseases that try to make us sick or even kill us.

The second reason is that God wants us to have good minds. The food we eat affects how well we learn and understand new things. Sugary treats may taste good. But they make our minds slow and our bodies weak. Artificial colors look pretty, but they also harm our minds. These bright col-ors can make us feel depressed or hyper or anx-ious. We definitely can’t learn very well when we feel like that!

When our minds are clear, we can learn faster and remember things better. This is important because God wants us to study His Word and learn about Him. The more we learn about Him, the more we will love Him. The more we love Him, the more we will want to go to Heaven. God really, really wants us to want to go to Heaven.

God’s prophet, Ellen White, wrote that we must look carefully at every habit we have. Anything that is not healthy we must get rid of (Counsels on Health, page 445). That sounds hard to do, but we will feel so much happier when we do this.

Today, as in the time of Jesus, there are so many sick people in the world. When you and I keep ourselves healthy and share God’s simple health laws and remedies with others, we show them how to be truly happy.

Most importantly, we teach them about God’s love. Even if you are not grown up yet, you can tell your friends why you are a vegetarian and why you don’t eat lots of sugary things. You can give them tasty recipes for healthful foods.

If they are sick, you can share herbs and natu-ral remedies with them to help them feel better. You can tell them that God wants them to be healthy because He loves them. In this way, you will be doing the work of a medical missionary. And God will bless what you do!

Color the drawing.

Activities


THE WORLD OF GOD WAS NO LONGER PERFECT…

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 A B C D E F G H I K L N O P R S T U W Y

1

A 12 4 20 13 18 19

W 9 11 11 5 1 17

17 8 5 14

P 11 1 12 17 16 13 6 17 8 5

6 9 5 11 4 2 20 17 8 5 16

S 19 5 1 17

13 6 20

Y 13 18 15 6

F 1 3 5 20 13 18

19 9 11 11 5 1 17 2

B 15 5 1 4

18

U 12 17 9 11 20 13 18 15 5 17 18 15 12

17 13 17 8 5 7

G 15 13 18 12 4

2

B 5 3 1 18 16 5 13 18 17 13 6 9 17

20 13 18 19 5 15 5 17

T 1 10 5 12 6 13 15

20 13 18 1 15 5 4 18 16 17 1 12 4

17 13 4 18 16 17 20 13 18 19 9 11 11

15

R 5 17 18 15 12

G E N E S I S 3: 18 -- 19

ACTIVITY: Replace the numbers with the letters

as appropriate.

BECAUSE OF SIN

JESUS TOLD THEM TO GIVE HER SOMETHING TO EAT

E E

G A

A E

P E A C H

A E N

P E

O C I

T E

B A S

S I H

I

A B Y

C U U E

P I A E

O O

A Y

What kinds of food could the parents feed their daughter? Let's make a list.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ACTIVITY: Complete the words and place them in the crossword, the first column is the key, you can write it down here: ________________________________

__________________________________________

V_G_TABL_S

GR__P__S

EG__PL__NT

PE__CH

AP__L__

BE__N__ R__SP__ERR__

T__NG__RI__E

F__G

BR__CCOL__

LET__UC__

P__NE__PPL__

SP__NAC__

C__C__MB__R

T__MAT__

STR__WBERR__


"What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?

It does not belong to you!"

1 Corinthians 6:19

ACTIVITY: Discover the hidden phrase by placing the words in the boxes according to the reference

number.

1

2 3

4

5

6

7 8

9

10

1 GOD 2 WANTS 3 US 4 TO 5 BE

6 HEALTHY 7 BECAUSE 8 HE

9 LOVES 10 US

“Signs and Wonders”

Written by: Douglas FrancisSummarized by: Alyssa Seely

Reading 4 |Tuesday, December 11, 2018

The year was 60 AD. The streets were dark and lonely. Aristarchus pulled the hood of his cloak down over his face. It was dangerous for him to be out so early in the morning. Normally, he would be sleeping soundly at this time. But he just had to get onto that ship going to Rome. He slipped silently along beneath the shadows. He was almost there. Suddenly, he heard a sound and quickly ducked behind a stack of barrels.

Quietly, Aristarchus peeked between the casks to see who would be going down to the ship yard at such an hour. He saw Roman guards leading a group of angry-looking prisoners. Down at the docks, Aristarchus watched as the guards hand-ed them over to a centurion. It sounded like his name was Julius.

As soon as the sun came up, Aristarchus head-ed down to the ship. Already there was a crowd of people waiting to board. “I need to get on!” Aristarchus whispered to himself urgently. “I need to find Paul.” There was room for only 216 passengers, including the prisoners. Aristarchus began to run but tripped on a stone and skid-ded painfully down the hill. Carefully, he picked himself up and surveyed his injuries. Blood was already soaking through his tunic in several places. “What’s this?!” The captain shouted as Aristarchus limped towards the gangplank. “I … I need passage to Rome, sir!” Aristarchus stammered. “Ship loads in an hour!” the captain growled. “But you can board early, kid!” Despite his pain, Aristarchus returned the smile before hobbling onto the ship.

“Are you hurt?” a voice asked as Aristarchus stepped on board. It was one of the prisoners. Aristarchus could tell this man was a prisoner, because he was chained, but his face looked much too kind. “I am Paul.”

“Paul?” Aristarchus asked excitedly. “I’ve been looking for you! I’m supposed to accompany you to Rome.” The old prisoner nodded and mo-tioned for Aristarchus to sit down. “It’s going to get crowded. You can sit with me. What’s your name again?” Aristarchus sank down wearily. “Me? I’m Aristarchus, from Thessalonica…”

Soon enough the ship was on its way. Aris-tarchus wasn’t used to the motion of the waves and started feeling dizzy. “I don’t feel so good!” he groaned.

“Seasickness,” Paul said, “You’ll get used to being on a boat soon. Here, I’ll move over to give you a little more room to lie down.”

Paul was right. The trip to Rome was long and tiring. The ship stopped in Sidon, Myra, and Lasea. At Lasea, Paul advised the crew to stay and spend the winter, but the captain and crew wanted to push on to Phenice instead. It wasn’t long before a storm raged, heaving the ship from wave to wave until everyone thought they would soon die. All the while, Aristarchus noticed that while the others were crying, Paul calmly prayed.

After more than two weeks of being tossed about by the wild sea, Paul stood up. “This ship is going to be destroyed,” he announced, “but not one person among us will die. Last night an an-


gel of my God stood beside me and said, ‘Paul, don’t be afraid. You will go to see Caesar, and God will save the lives of all who are traveling with you.’”

And that is exactly what happened. The boat was badly damaged, but all 216 passengers reached the island of Melita. The natives of the island welcomed the passengers and crew to the island and treated them kindly. The natives built a huge bonfire so everyone could dry their wet clothes and warm up.

Paul also helped gather sticks to burn, but as he dropped his bundle into the fire a poisonous snake struck him on the hand. Its fangs stuck into his flesh and it hung for a moment, writhing in the air. Everyone gasped. They waited for Paul to collapse dead on the ground. However, Paul merely shook the snake into the fire and contin-ued on as if nothing had happened.

Although Aristarchus was already a believer, he wondered about Paul. He had never met any-one with such a direct connection with heav-en. Signs and wonders seemed to follow Paul. Wherever he went, a heavenly peace surround-ed him – even when swimming away from a shipwreck or wiping blood off a venomous snake bite. Aristarchus wanted to become closer to this God that Paul served.

Mark 16:17,18 tells us that signs will follow all who believe in the God of heaven. Some of the signs Mark lists are casting out devils, instantly speaking new languages, handling poisonous snakes without being hurt, drinking poison with-out dying, and healing illnesses by only touch-ing the sick person. God sends these signs to add power to the teaching of the Bible, but never to be the main focus.

On February 18, 2014, CNN reported the death of Pastor Jamie Coots from Kentucky (United States). Pastor Coots was the star of a reality show. Every week, while cameras rolled and drums pounded, he reached into sacramen-tal boxes with his bare hands and pulled out

rattlesnakes, copperheads, and other venomous snakes. Lifting them over his head, he recited Bi-ble verses and claimed God’s promises in Mark 16:18 and Luke 10:19. Other church members did the same. But on February 15, 2014, a rattlesnake bit Pastor Coots on the hand. That very evening, Pastor Coots died at the age of 43.

In September of this year, Pastor Rufus Phala of South Africa told his church members that he could miraculously turn poisonous laundry bleach into the harmless blood of Jesus. Believ-ing that Pastor Rufus was a prophet of God, sev-eral drank the bleach. The result? Six died, and others were taken to the hospital with painful chemical burns inside their bodies.

In many churches, members are encouraged to “speak in tongues.” In these services, a loud drum beat moves the congregation to dance and sway until the “Holy Spirit” comes over them. Then they shake and shudder and fall onto the floor, making noises and speaking words that no one can understand.

Are these examples of the signs mentioned in Mark 16? Absolutely not! God will never ask us to do dangerous things just to show off His power. When Satan took Jesus to the top of the temple in Jerusalem and asked Him to jump to prove He was the Son of God, Jesus refused. Luke 4:9-12. As we come closer to the day when Jesus returns, God’s power will be shown more and more of-ten, just as it was during the time of the early Christian Church. In Revelation 18:1, John tells us that at the end of time an angel of God with great power will come down from heaven and fill the earth with light and great glory. People will speak in tongues (other languages) so oth-ers can hear God’s final warning to the world. People will be healed, freed from the power of Satan, and protected from danger. God’s special signs will follow God’s workers to give their work a final push so that the work of God is complet-ed, and His message of salvation is preached to all the world. “Then the end will come.” (The Desire of Ages, p. 763.)

When the ship finally arrived in Rome, Paul was placed under house arrest to await his trial before Caesar. Aristarchus remained Paul’s faithful com-panion. In the letter Paul wrote to the Colossians, he refers to Aristarchus as his “fellow prisoner.”

Eventually, Paul would be sentenced to die, but even a death sentence could not steal away his heavenly peace or his loyalty to God. In reality, this peaceful loyalty in our lives is the greatest wonder of all.

ActivitiesACTIVITY: Each number in the cryptogram represents a letter. When you write it in the corresponding box you can read the biblical message.

A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P R S T U V W Y

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

1 13 4

18 8 5 17 5

17 9 7 13 17 21 9 11 11

6 14 11 11 14 21 18 8 14 17 5 21 8 14

2 5 11 9 5 20 5 9 13 12 22 13 1 12 5

18 8 5 22 21 9 11 11 3 1 17 18 14 19 18

4 5 12 14 13 17 18 8 5 22 21 9 11 11

17 15 5 1 10 13 5 21 11 1 13 7 19 1 7 5 17

18 8 5 22 21 9 11 11 18 1 10 5

17 5 16 15 5 13 18 17 9 13 18 8 5 9 16

8 1 13 4 17 1 13 4 9 6 18 8 5 22

4 16 9 13 10 1 13 22 4 5 1 4 11 22

18 8 9 13 7 9 18 21 9 11 11 13 14 18

8 19 16 18 18 8 5 12 18 8 5 22 21 9 11 11

11 1 22 8 1 13 4 17 14 13

18 8 5 17 9 3 10 1 13 4 18 8 5 22

21 9 11 11 1 11

8 5 1 11 5 4

M A R K

16: 17- 18


ACTIVITY. Use the numbers to fill in the missing words.

(1) J E R U S A L E M

(2) T E M P L E

(3) S O N

(4) G O D

(5) W R I T T E N

(6) C O M M A N D

(7) A N G E L S

(8) G U A R D

(9) H A N D S

(10) S T O N E

(11) J E S U S

(12) T E M P T

(13) L O R D

9 The devil led Him to (1)________________ and had Him stand on the highest point of the (2)_________________. “If you are the (3)__________ of (4)____________,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.10 For it is (5)_____________:“‘He will (6)______________ his (7)_____________concerning you to (8)_______________ you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their (9)_____________, so that you will not strike your foot against a (10)______________.’” 12 And (11)______________ answering said to him, “It is said, ‘Thou shalt not (12) _____________ the (13)_____________ thy (4)_________.’”

(Luke 4:9-12)

ACTIVITY: Circle the words in the word search below.

S A U G E E S R E P M N W C C S R B W K R O H O G E A E N H D D E A S M I I I I T N G A A R J N N E R S F S P T L D N I A S O G O O E L C U W R A Y N U T G Z N S P D R E C R O M E G W H O C U I I N P O I E W D D B U S M G O R C O I R O C J X S F J T N H J P E W H T H K G N I L E V A R T P X P S I Y F I R E W O O D B I B L E S M E C A E P P A U L O B X D L K U T F B M H W R S I G N S A I K Q Y K S K S F D X F W X N N R A L J Y J C R S L A P T D D

BIBLE CENTURION CHAINED FIRE FIREWOOD GUARDS ISLAND KIND MALT PAUL PEACE POISONOUS PRISONERS ROME SHIP SHIPWRECK SIGNS SNAKE TRAVELING WONDERS


Color the drawing.

Color the drawing.


“Believe His Prophets”

Written by: José Vicente GinerSummarized by: Lorena Ajucum

Reading 5 |Wednesday, December 12, 2018

From the beginning of this world’s history, God has had a special people called the “remnant,” which obey His commandments and have the faith of Jesus. God wants us to be like Him, but we can be like Him only when we accept His will and obey His Word. Although for us as humans it is impossible to always obey and do what is good, God does not abandon us because of our weaknesses. On the contrary, He gives us tools and extra help so we can be victorious.

One of these extra helps that God offers us when we believe in and love Jesus is the “testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17. What does this mean? The word of God tells us that “the testimony of Jesus” is the “Spirit of Prophecy.” Revelation 19:10.

How wonderful God is! He offers us the gifts we are studying about in these beautiful lessons. To-day we will study about a gift that is very import-ant for you as children. Do you know that God is going to show His people what will happen in the future? Yes! That’s right. In the wonderful books of Daniel and Revelation, God predicted many of the things that we are living through today, what will happen before He returns, and what will be your future and the future of the planet earth.

In times past, God has communicated through His helpers, the prophets. These were people who received special messages from God and then announced them to the people. The mes-sages could be words of counsel, warnings, or predictions of events that were going to occur. Also, because God is a good Father, He sent repri-

mands, or “scoldings.” All the messages that God has sent are very important because through them He speaks to us, enlightens us, and guides us.

Did you know that false prophets also exist? Through the following activity we can learn the main characteristics of a true prophet. When we know this, we can easily identify whether or not a prophet is from God.

The remnant Adventist Reform Church has re-ceived the “Gift of the Spirit of Prophecy” through Ellen G. White, a simple and God-fearing wom-an, who by divine inspiration wrote thousands of pages that have served to teach and inspire. During this time of the end, her writings are to lead us toward the heavenly Canaan. Her words also help us to love God and the Bible, and to re-spect, obey, and share it with others.

“We are living in the time of the end. The fast-ful-filling signs of the times declare that the coming of Christ is near at hand. The days in which we live are solemn and important.” (Testimonies to the Church, Vol. 9, page 11.) While living in the time of the end, we must pay much more atten-tion to the messages that God has sent. We must meditate on and study them to better prepare ourselves to spend eternity with Him.

May God help us to obey His Word and have the faith and testimony of Jesus in our lives.

Characteristics of a true prophetSearch the Bible for the verses that correspond to each number to find the characteristic.

Activities


A SPECIAL PEOPLE CALLED THE “REMNANT”

O__________________8+47-53+28+87+76+18-3____________________________________2+19+37+312-25-47+47-35+57-29+26+85+8______________________________8-710+19-510-39-89-54+112+24+31+4____________________________________2+47-64+45+95+210+210-45+49-414-111+412+1

1

A B

O

Y

S

V E

I J

F

C

H

M N

T

U

12

ACTIVITY: Solve the addition and subtraction problems. The result tells you which letter to use. You must start counting from the first box (1) with the letter A and continue counting in the direction of the arrow. Write the letters you find on the lines.

Help that God offers us

1 A

2 B

3 C

4 D

5 E

6 F

7 I

8 J

9 H

10 M

11 N

12 O

13 P

14 R

15 S

16 T

17 U

18

Y

ACTIVITY:PHRASEINKEY.Writethecorrespondingletterintheboxaccordingtothereferencenumber.

16 5 15

16710

121118

12

6 8 515

17

39

1471516

111 4

169

5 15

13

7

12

147

16

6 13

1412

139

53

15

18

ACTIVITY: PHRASE IN KEY. Write the corresponding letter in the box

according to the reference number.


O T P H R S P E

ACTIVITY: Find the message by writing the letter that matches to

the same shape.

P

GOD SPEAKS

THROUGH THE…

Color the drawing.


Color the drawing.

“Test the Spirits”Written by: Danilo Monterroso

Summarized by: Evelyn Holmstroem

Reading 6 |Friday, December 14, 2018

Small Cloud Christian School (California, USA) has two sets of twins enrolled. One set is identi-cal, and it’s very difficult to tell them apart. The other set looks nothing alike—one has blonde hair; the other, dark brown. But even identical twins have differences. We can compare them to snowflakes. Snowflakes all look the same as they drift down softly atop houses, streets, and trees. Put those snowflakes under a microscope, however, and the differences are unbelievable! Only our Creator could design such complex beauty and variety in something so small. No two snowflakes are alike. It’s the same with identical twins. Even though they look the same from the outside, each is a God-created individu-al with his or her own set of talents and spiritual gifts.

What identical twins and all the rest of us do have that is the same is the Holy Spirit. There is only one Holy Spirit. How wonderful it is that He gives, to everyone who asks, a bit of Himself. A gift of the Spirit, from the Spirit, to be shared with others. Even children can, with the help of the Holy Spirit, be good examples to their friends.

But no one person has all the gifts in the church. The Holy Spirit blesses each of us in the family of God with different gifts, different talents. We have no reason whatever to be jealous of other boys or girls.

You have your own talents, so you can happily appreciate the talents of others. You can tell one friend how much you appreciate how she sings, then go right on singing with the voice God gave you.

There is no need to worry whether one sings better than the other. You can be confident that each voice in the choir compliments the others, and that all the voices together glorify God. Or, you may grow tomatoes very well while your friend grows yummy carrots. There’s no need to try to figure out whether your tomatoes are bet-ter than his carrots—you can both appreciate the good foods the other has worked hard to grow.

In order for the church to be successful, we need to use the talents that each person has. If San-dy draws pictures beautifully and Henry writes very well, we would be foolish to give an art proj-ect to Henry and a writing assignment to San-dy. Why? Neither one would do a good job, and both would feel like a failure. This is called “dis-cernment.” Discernment means to “judge well.” We “discern” or “judge well” when we match the right person to the right job. And this is another gift of the Spirit.

Discernment is especially important when it comes to the truths of the Bible. We cannot ac-cept everything we hear. We have to test every teaching with the Word of God. When Richard listens to a sermon and hears something he has never heard before, he must go home and check it with what the Bible says. If Anne reads some-thing in a magazine that sounds different from what she believes to be true, she must pick up her Bible to compare. If what she reads agrees with the Bible, she can safely accept the teach-ing. However, if it does not agree with the Bible, she must label that teaching as false.


And this discernment can be used in all areas of life. When Margie finds new music to listen to, or Linda wants to shop for new clothes, or John wants to eat at a new restaurant, they must all check what the Bible says first. Does the music support the Bible? Is the clothing in agreement with what God says we should wear? Will the food make us healthy and strong? If the answer the Bible gives is “yes,” then we can do it. If the Bible tells us “no,” we must choose something else.

If we always check everything with the Bible, we will know what is true and what is a lie. In these last days there will be many lies that peo-ple will believe to be true. 1 John 1:4 it is written, “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spi-rits whether they are of God: because many fal-se prophets are gone out into the world.” One of the most powerful traps Satan will use in these days is to mix God’s truth with his own wicked lies. It is only by studying the Bible that we can be sure of what is true and what is not.

Some of the things Satan will lie about in these last days are:

1) Why the Sanctuary is important.

When I was quite young, I studied the sanc-tuary in the church school I attended. We col-ored the several layers of the “church in the wilderness” and learned the meaning of each part. God is the perfect example of order and reason. The sanctuary in heaven is the mod-el of the one that was built on earth—and is the one in which the last part of our history on earth is taking place. Learn all you can about what is now going on in the Most Holy Place—and, as you understand more and more, share the truth with others.

2) The existence of God.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—dif-ferent beings yet one in power, purpose, and plans. All of them love each of us and work with us, yet each does so in a different way. The way they work together as a team is best

seen by watching your Mom and Dad. Your parents are so different, yet their love for you is the same. You know they love you by what they do for you. Mom prepares the most deli-cious food, and Dad works to support the fam-ily. Together, with God’s help, they help you to accept Jesus as your Saviour.

3) The humanity of Jesus.

Yes, Jesus was a human being, a perfect man. But think often of what His life must have been like. People made fun of His birth. He lived in the worst possible neighborhood. Many peo-ple said, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” John 1:46. Jesus was born into a poor family and worked patiently as a car-penter until He was 30 years old. Then He be-gan teaching and preaching and performing miracle after miracle, not because of His own knowledge but because He asked for and re-ceived power from His heavenly Father. “Christ did nothing that human nature may not do if it partakes of the divine nature.” Signs of the Times, June 17, 1897.

4) The truth of the Sabbath.

You may have been born into a family that keeps the seventh-day Sabbath. Or may-be you used to go to church on Sunday, the first day of the week, but now you know bet-ter. Always remember that one day soon the Sabbath, part of God’s perfect ten command-ments, will be totally put aside by almost all the people of the world. With your own strength, you will not be able to say, “I refuse to work on the seventh-day Sabbath, no ma-tter how many other people do.” But God can give even children the courage to say and do what is right. With God, all things are possible.

Although lies are being taught all around us, we must never, ever lie. Satan does all he can, of course, to lead us to say only a word or two that is not completely true. “Only this once,” you tell yourself. “I don’t want to get myself or anyone else into trouble.” But think about it. What you

say and what you do is always heard or seen by someone else, and your speech and actions tell others who your leader is. It’s amazing what people remember. Years after taking a speech class, Louise met one of her former classmates in a library. He didn’t remember her name, but he did remember that on the last day of class, she had handed out a Steps to Christ magazine to each other student with a note saying how much she appreciated a particular speech that each had given.

These last days just before Jesus comes will be very confusing. So many different teachings will be floating around that it will be difficult to “dis-cern” what is right and what is wrong. “Many know so little about their Bibles that they are

unsettled in the faith. They remove the ... Bible landmarks, and [separate] themselves from God, while still claiming to be His children.” Re-view and Herald, December 29, 1896; Evange-lism, p. 362. There’s only one way to be ready when Jesus comes to take home to heaven those who love Him. We must study our Bibles every day. We must memorize scripture after scripture. If God’s Word is in our minds, then He can give us the answers we need when someone questions our faith.

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, ri-ghtly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15. May God help us now to learn to “discern” correctly!

Color the drawing.

Activities


ACTIVITIES - READING 6 -- "TRY THE SPIRITS"

ACTIVITY: Follow the arrows to write the letters in the boxes and find the answer.

I

O

Y

I

H

S

LO

T

P

R

4 8 14 3 5 13 11 10 5 11 15

10 5 1 11 14

15 12 9 16 4 7 5 17 5 6 6

ACTIVITY: Write the correct letters in the numbered boxes in order to read the message.

B2

L6

D4

I8 S14

C3

E5

R13

N11

M10

T15

O12

A1

G7

W17 U16

J9


ACTIVITY: Draw lines to match the words with the pictures.

THE SANCTUARY

THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

THE HUMANITY OF JESUS

THE TRUTH OF THE SABBATH

A B

1 NOT GOD

2 TO YOURSELF

3 BE TRY

4 DILIGENTLY WORKER

5 ASHAMED APPROVED

6 NEED DOES

7 USES PRESENT

8 THE AS A

9 WHO WORD

10 OF WELL

11 TRUTH 2 TIMOTHY 2:15

ACTIVITY: This verse is out of order. Use the coordinates (1A, 2B, etc.) to put the words in the correct order and read the verse.

WORDS IN ORDER

TRY

3B 4A

2A 7B

2B 2A

1B 5B

8B 4B

9A 6B

1A 6A

2A 3A

5A 9A

7A 8A

9B 10A

11A 10B


Color the drawing.

Whatever could be the problem? Peleg scratched his head. He had asked for more bricks an hour ago and still had none. In fact, all the other workers had left him alone. Deciding he needed to investigate, Peleg began the long descent from the top of the tower. From such a high place, he could see for miles around.

But as his eyes scanned the plain of Shinar that afternoon, something didn’t seem right. Strange babbling and the sounds of confusion drifted up to his ears. Groups of people shouted at one other and waved their arms in frustration. People ran frantically from group to group as if searching for something. What was happening?

Puzzled, Peleg raced down the tower’s last few levels. “What’s wrong?” he shouted to the first person he met at the base of the tower. “Que?” the person replied with a puzzled expression on his face. “What is going on?!” Peleg shouted in frustration. “No entiendo,” the man shrugged helplessly and walked away.

Poor Peleg ran this way and that trying to find someone who could answer his questions. Peleg heard many words but could not understand anything. “Wo ist meine Familie?” a woman cried. (German – Where is my family?). “Ez kesek fam nakim!” complained a young mother. (Kur-dish – I can’t understand anyone!”)

“J’ai besoin d’aide!” an old man called. (French – I need help!).

“Jeg trenger hjelp!” begged another (in Norwegian). And soon others joined in the cry.

Reading 7 |Saturday, December 15, 2018

“Msaada!” (Swahili)

“உதவி!” (Tamil)

“Abi!” (Estonian)

“Tulong!” (Filipino)

“Помогне!” (Bulgarian)

“እገዛ!” (Amharic)

“帮帮我!”(Chinese)

“Help me!!!” Peleg heard himself screaming. No one could understand one another. The confusion was overwhelming. He had to get away.

Peleg’s feet pounded hard against the ground as he raced for home. Fear grabbed him with an icy grip. Something mysterious was happening. Everyone had always spoken the same language. Everyone had always understood one another. Everyone had lived as one. Now, strange new words filled the air. The world was in confusion. People were being divided. Nothing would ever be the same again.

Peleg was right. The world has not been the same since God confused the languages so long ago at the Tower of Babel. It was a punishment for disobeying God’s command to spread out across the earth. And what a difficult punishment it has been. According to modern research, there are 6,909 languages spoken around the world today.

In spite of this difficulty, the Great Commission also needs to be fulfilled. What is the Great Commission? In Matthew 28:19–20, the Great Commission is clearly stated. “Go … and teach

“Other Tongues”Written by: Tzvetan Petkov

Summarized by: Evelyn Holmstroem


all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” The Great Commission means the gospel message needs to be taught to all people, no matter what language they speak. Can we really preach the gospel in all 6,909 languages? The answer is yes, through the power of the Holy Spirit.

After Christ’s ministry on earth ended, the Holy Spirit came to the early Christians and gave them the gift of tongues. Speaking in tongues, as the Bible calls it, means to speak other languages – like Italian, Chinese, and Swahili. In an instant, the Holy Spirit helped God’s people to speak new languages perfectly so that the Gospel message could be shared quickly. The result of this gift to the early Christians was that 3,000 people accepted Christ and joined the church of God in one day!

Words are powerful! The way we use our words for God is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. “Of all the gifts we have received from God, none is capable of being a greater blessing than this.” Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 335. It is with words touched by the Holy Spirit that we bring others to Christ, even if we can’t speak their languages.

Many years ago, after a seminar in Ethiopia, I heard a knock at the door of my hotel room. I wondered who it might be since all the other pastors and translators had already left. In only a few hours I would also be leaving for the airport. Curious, I opened the door and there stood a man who had attended the seminar. He pointed to himself and said, “I … member.”

I wondered what I should do. I did not speak his language, and he spoke no English. I welcomed him into my room as I sent up a quick silent prayer begging God for help.

I remembered that this man was already an Adventist and had been one for many years. Therefore, the Bible was a familiar book to him. I picked up my Bible and motioned for him to

pick up his. With the Holy Spirit as our guide, I pointed to one Bible verse after another, letting the Bible explain itself. By asking him “yes” or “no” questions, I knew he understood. Through this simple method, we inched our way through all the principles of faith of our denomination. Finally, he was accepted as the first member of our church in Ethiopia. Today, there are around 2,000 members there. This pioneering brother remains a faithful member.

Sometimes words can bring confusion, especially if they are not understood. Interpreters are people who translate from one language to another. They have an important gift as well. They bring understanding among people. In our opening story, Peleg was very upset because he couldn’t understand the people around him. It is because of dedicated interpreters that you can understand this reading. We can all learn another language either in school or through online programs. And we should. In this way, we can share the gospel message with more people. Then the Great Commission will be fulfilled more quickly.

Although we use words to communicate, more than 50% of our communication is done through our facial expressions and “body language” – the way we move our hands and bodies when we speak. Another way we communicate God’s Word to others is through our actions. We need to ask ourselves some very important questions. Do our words and our actions say the same thing? Do we say we are Christians and also act like Christians? No matter how old we are, all Christians must be sure that our words and behavior speak the same message.

What message are you communicating to others?

On the evening of October 8, 1871, a small fire started in a barn in Chicago. It was thought that a cow owned by Mrs. O’Leary kicked over an oil lantern causing the barn to catch on fire. That small fire spread to the neighbor’s house. From there it spread to other houses. Finally, the

flames engulfed the city of Chicago and burned for two days. By the time fire fighters could put out the fire, it had destroyed 17,500 buildings and left more than 100,000 people homeless. More than 300 people died because of the fire. The cost for damages was huge. In today’s money, it would equal more than a billion dollars.

Interestingly, the Bible compares our tongues with fire. “Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.

The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” James 3:5-6, NIV.

We can do much good with our words, but, if we are not careful, our words can, like fire, hurt and destroy. Let us love God and others with the words we speak. Let us be sure our actions and words give the same message of love. The gifts of the Spirit are all important. But love in our hearts, our words, and our actions gives proof that we are followers of God, for God is love.

Activities

Color the drawing.


P P R E A C H I N G 10 W H A T S O E V E R 2 Y E 11 I H A V E 12 C O M M A N D E D 9 T H I N G S 6 T O H H U M B L E 3 T H E R E F O R E 1 G O 13 Y O U S A I N T S P R O P H E T S 4 T E A C H I N G L 8 A L L 5 T H E M 7 O B S E R V E

THE GREAT COMMISION

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

9 10 11 12

13 Matthew28:19-20

ACTIVITY: 1.- Place the bold letters from each row in the first column. 2.- Write the words in the boxes below following the numbers

in order from 1 to 13 to read the verse.

CODES WORDS

&v

!!

³J?6?&

♥Iv

&v

&v

♥?{&

!{

&!�♥*v³

A E T F S L R U O P I N G

Iv

&

{³

!6*

!

J

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�

♥

V

H

M

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ACTIVITY:“Translate” the codes by matching the symbols with the correct letters.

GIFT OF TONGUES


1

THE WORD OF GOD THE BIBLE

THE HOLY

SPIRIT

OUR

GUIDE

1

2

4

5

3

1 3 2

4 5

ACTIVITY:Write in each box the word that matches the number and you will have a sentence telling you how the Holy Spirit helps us.

Color the drawing.

52 | Children’s Week of Prayer

This Week of Prayer belongs to:

Church:

Children’s Week of Prayer 1...ing now about how much you will give for this offering. Because this...

Documents

Transcript of Children’s Week of Prayer 1...ing now about how much you will give for this offering. Because this...