Sabbath School Week

Read for This Week’s Study

Col. 3:18–4:6; Eph. 5:22–25, 33; Prov. 22:6, 15; 1 Pet. 2:16; 1 Thess. 5:17.

Memory Text:

“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Colossians 4:6, NKJV).

When people live and work in close proximity, they meet a va­riety of challenges. Differences of opinion may cause tensions; arguments may ensue. The closer the relationship, the more important it is for everyone in that relationship to get along.

The closest relationships are, of course, within the family. The home has sometimes been called “the family firm.” It’s an interesting way to describe how the home operates. There are definite similarities between running a business and running a household. There should be general agreement on values, goals, and objectives. Everyone should get along with each other and do their part well for things to run smoothly. The same principles apply to the church, which is essentially a large family.

In our passage for this week, Paul provides some vital principles for how a Christian family functions best. Because the Christian home should be governed by biblical principles, it necessarily functions somewhat differently from the typical Roman household. Paul also gives other valuable principles that are helpful for a variety of social relations, both inside and outside the home.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 21.

Supplemental EGW Notes

Where shall we find the purity, goodness, and holiness where we shall be secure? Where is the fold where no wolves will enter? I tell you . . . the Lord has an organized body through whom He will work. There may be more than a score of Judases among them; there may be a rash Peter who will under circumstances of trial deny his Lord; there may be persons represented by John whom Jesus loved, but he may have a zeal that would destroy men’s lives by calling down fire from heaven upon them to revenge an insult to Christ and to the truth. But the great Teacher seeks to give lessons of instruction to correct these existing evils. He is doing the same today with His church. He is pointing out their dangers. He is presenting before them the Laodicean message.
He shows them that all selfishness, all pride, all self-­exaltation, all unbelief and prejudice, which lead to resistance of the truth and turn away from the true light, are dangerous, and unless repented of, those who cherish these things will be left in darkness as was the Jewish nation. Let every soul now seek to answer the prayer of Christ. Let every soul echo that prayer in mind, in petitions, in exhortations, that they all may be one even as Christ is one with the Father, and work to this end. In the place of turning the weapons of warfare within our own ranks, let them be turned against the enemies of God and the truth. Echo the prayer of Christ with your whole heart: “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. . . . I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil” (John 17:11–15). . . .
The door of the heart must be opened to the Holy Spirit, for this is the sanctifier, and the truth is the medium. There must be an acceptance of the truth as it is in Jesus. This is the only genuine sanctification: “Thy word is truth.” Oh, read the prayer of Christ for unity, “Keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one as we are.” The prayer of Christ is not only for those who are now His disciples, but for all those who shall believe on Christ through the words of His disciples, even to the end of the world. . . .
The Lord has had a church from that day, through all the changing scenes of time to the present period. . . . The Bible sets before us a model church. They are to be in unity with each other, and with God. When believers are united in Christ the living vine, the result is that they are one with Christ, full of sympathy and tenderness and love.—Reflecting Christ, p. 199.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.

Children have a vital role as part of the family firm. They need to know they are loved and valued as members of the family and citizens of the heavenly kingdom. Family worship is crucial, simple but regular, morning and evening. At an early age, children can start helping with cleaning and other responsibilities. Most important, they should heed Paul’s command: “Obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord” (Col. 3:20, NKJV).

Read the following passages. What principles are given for raising children?

1. Prov. 22:6, 15

2. Matt. 19:14

3. Deut. 6:6, 7

4. Prov. 1:8, 9

Rightly trained for the Lord, by precept and example, children will be a blessing to the family, the church, and beyond. And Paul’s instruction for parents, like his instruction for husbands and wives, is balanced and reciprocal: “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged” (Col. 3:21, NKJV). How parents, particularly the father, interact with and discipline children profoundly impacts their spiritual upbringing.

Studies show, too, that when both parents go to church, a higher percentage of children remain churchgoers, as opposed to if only one parent goes. Even more surprising, consistent church attendance by the father, even more than by the mother, means a greater number of children remain in church as adults. The role of the father, then, in the spiritual formation of his children, cannot be underestimated. How crucial that fathers take their roles seriously.

Not all fathers, however, have been (to put it mildly) exemplary role models for their children. How can knowledge of God as our Father help bring healing where needed, especially when earthly fathers have caused great damage?

Supplemental EGW Notes

Parents should be united in their faith, that they may be united in their efforts to bring their children up in the belief of the truth. Upon the mother in a special sense rests the work of molding the minds of the young children. . . . Business matters often keep the father much from home and prevent him from taking an equal share in the training of the children, but whenever he can, he should unite with the mother in this work. Let parents work unitedly, instilling into their children’s hearts the principles of righteousness.
There has been too little definite work done in preparing our children for the tests that all must meet in their contact with the world and its influences. They have not been helped as they should to form characters strong enough to resist temptation and stand firm for the principles of right, in the terrible issues before all who remain faithful to the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Parents need to understand the temptations that the youth must daily meet, that they may teach them how to overcome them. There are influences in the school and in the world that parents need to guard against. God wants us to turn our eyes from the vanities and pleasures and ambitions of the world, and set them on the glorious and immortal reward of those who run with patience the race set before them in the gospel. He wants us to educate our children to avoid the influences that would draw them away from Christ. The Lord is soon coming, and we must prepare for this solemn event. . . . Let your daily life in the home reveal the living principles of the Word of God. Heavenly agencies will cooperate with you as you seek to reach the standard of perfection and as you seek to teach your children how to conform their lives to the principles of righteousness. Christ and heavenly agencies are waiting to quicken your spiritual sensibilities, to renew your activities, and to teach you of the deep things of God.—In Heavenly Places, p. 208.

No barrier of coldness and reserve should be allowed to arise between parents and children. Let parents become acquainted with their children, seeking to understand their tastes and dispositions, entering into their feelings, and drawing out what is in their hearts.
Parents, let your children see that you love them and will do all in your power to make them happy. If you do so, your necessary restrictions will have far greater weight in their young minds. Rule your children with tenderness and compassion, remembering that “their angels do always behold the face of My Father which is in heaven.” If you desire the angels to do for your children the work given them of God, co-operate with them by doing your part.—The Adventist Home, p. 193.

The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.