Closing down this Blog.

 Friends, after about ten years I feel it is time to discontinue this blog. I have been writing these questions on the Sabbath School lesson since 2011, which is ten years. I would hope that those of you who have been using these questions will continue your good discussions in class. 

I am now teaching the Cornerstone youth class and enjoying discussing questions with them, but on a different set of lessons.

God bless you all. It's been an interesting experience for me.

Gordon Christo

Lesson 3 (Apr 10-16, 2021), All Future Generations

 The Sin Principle

1. Why did humans sin again and again even after seeing the consequences of Eve's and Adam's sin?
2. How likely was it that Adam and Eve themselves sinned again?
3. Did human nature and propensity to sin change slowly or instantly?
4. How is propensity to sin passed on through generations?

The Man Noah

1. How could a righteous and blameless man get drunk and lie naked?
2. What qualified Noah to be called righteous and blameless?
3. What distinguished Noah from other humans before the flood?

Covenant with Noah

1. Did Noah's response cover his entire family or did they have to also enter into a covenant with God?
2. How likely is it that Noah had other children, daughters maybe?
3. Why does God speak to Noah saying it was "My covenant?"

Sign of the Rainbow

1. What do most people associate the rainbow with?
2. What obligations do people have regarding God's covenant to not destroy the earth with flood again? Is that conditional?
3. Why do we speak as though the rainbow has seven colours?

Only Noah Was Left

1. Are "remnant" those who are left behind, or those taken away?
2. How was Noah able to stay so different from the people around him?
3. What did God mean by mentioning "regret" for creating humans? Had He made a mistake?

Lesson 2 (Apr 3-9, 2021), Covenant Primer

 Covenant Basics

1. If one party initiates a covenant can obligations be imposed on the other party?
2. Why do people seal some covenants with an oath? What is the significance of the oath?
3. What is the difference in covenants between equals and covenants between unequals?

Covenant with Noah

1. Though Noah seems to have not been given a choice by God, how can we sense that he did have a choice whether to obey or not?
2. How could Noah be called a righteous person when he got drunk and did something stupid?
3. Are rainbows today confirmation of the covenant with Noah?

The Covenant with Abram

1. In what ways have all people of the earth been blessed through Abraham?
2. To what extent did Abraham fulfill his duty of the covenant? Considering that Israel failed to do their part, did God err in selecting Abraham and his seed?
3. How could Abraham be called the father of those who have faith when his lies about Sarah revealed his lack of faith?

The Covenant with Moses

1. Are there more than one fulfillments of promises? 
2. What kind of obedience from Israel did God expect since absolute obedience seems not possible?
3. Is Israel today still receiving residual blessings from God's covenant to Abraham?

The New Covenant

1. Why do we use the terms Old and New Covenant when the Bible does not use those terms?
2. In what sense is a covenant "old?"
3. Could Israelites of the Old Testament times live under the New Covenant?
4. How can people today be living under the old covenant?

Lesson 1 (Mar 27-Apr 2, 2021), What Happened?

 Turtles All the Way Down

1. Why is it impossible to prove that God created the universe?
2. Why is it impossible to disprove that God created the universe?
3. Why do some people still believe in a flat earth? How is this possible to prove or disprove?

In the Image of the Maker

1. Does the "image of God" include the physical. If we are in God's physical image, then are monkey also in his image?
2. Do men bear the image of God more than women?
3. Do individuals bear the image of God or humanity as a whole?

God and Humankind Together

1. Is procreation part of the "image of God in humans?" 
2. Why did God bless Adam and Eve? What difference did it make?
3. How and why did the original relationship between God and humans come to an end?

At the Tree

1. Had Eve already sinned before she ate the forbidden fruit, or was it at the point of the first bite?
2. On what basis do we assume that Adam was not with Eve at the tree when she ate it?
3. Why could Adam and Eve not repent and be forgiven there and then?

Breaking the Relationship

1. Why do you think Satan took the form of a serpent when he could have appeared as what he is--an angel?
2. Whose sin was worse, Adam's or Eve's? Is "being deceived," less guilty than sinning without being deceived?
3. Is fear of snakes a result of the curse, or did God mean fear of Satan?
4. In the battle between God and Satan who is succeeding in making humans afraid of the other?

Lesson 13 (Mar 20-26), Rebirth of Planet Earth

 New Heavens and a New Earth

1. Why do we need a new earth? Why can't God just improve this one to the point it is good enough?
2. Why do we need a new heaven?
3. How did some animals become carnivorous? 
4. What are the ingredients of a perfect life?

Divine Magnet

1. What about God will attract non Christians to Him?
2. Why are some people not attracted to God?
3. What does it mean to "tremble" at his word?

Missionaries and Worship leaders

1. Why does God want humans to go everywhere and preach about him? Why can't the Holy Spirit do it more?
2. What prevented the Israelites from evangelizing the world?
3. Why did God have one tribe of Israel as priests and not have a priesthood of all believers?

Community of Faith

1. Do we have today a true priesthood of all believers?
2. What does it mean to become "children of Abraham?" Why is it necessary?
3. Is God responsible for the Jews' feeling of superiority? What feelings of ethnic / racial superiority exist among us? How does it impact the church? How can we get rid of it?

So Shall Your Seed and Your Name Remain

1. Which is more desirable, to leave biological descendants or to leave a name that will be remembered? 
2. Why do we not want to be forgotten?
3. Why are "new moons" more important than a new sun? Why will we need specific worship days in the new earth? Won't every day be a worship day? 

Lesson 12 (Mar 13-19, 2021), Desire of Nations

 The Effects of Sin

1. How do wrong acts affect relationships in families or among friends? Who is more reluctant to meet up, the one committing the wrong or the one wronged?
2. Why do people not answer phone calls? For what reasons, if any, might God not want to hear a person's prayer?
3. Why did Adam and Eve hide from God?

Who is Forgiven

1. At what age do humans become accountable for sin? What makes one accountable? Does one need forgiveness for sins we are not aware of?
2. What are the requirements in order to be forgiven? Could a person who asks for forgiveness be refused by God?
3. What made the rich young ruler believe he had kept the law? What evidence is there whether he had kept it or had not?

Universal Appeal

1. Why is salvation described in terms of "light?" 
2. What is meant by the phrase "Arise shine?"
3. How well are kings and political leaders responding to the gospel?

The Year of the Lord's Favour

1. What does "anointed" mean? Who in the OT were in anointed, and for what? What is Jesus anointed for?
2. How is what Jesus brings similar to what the purpose of the Jubilee year was for?
3. How well is the Adventist church proclaiming or assisting in the "Lord's favour?"

The Day of Vengeance of Our God

1. How is the word "vengeance" related to the word "revenge?" On whom will God take revenge?
2. How can a God of love cause people to suffer in hell?
3. For whose benefit is God's vengeance?

Lesson 12 (March 6-11, 2020), Waging Love

 Buy Something Free

1. If no money is sought or given, how can a transaction be termed "buying?"
2. What are some ways in which people attempt to buy forgiveness?" How effective is it?
3. What was the price of our salvation? Who paid it and to whom was it paid?

High Thoughts and Ways

1. Why do you think God reminded Israel that His ways and thoughts are different (higher) than human ways and thoughts?
2. What are some things that are impossible for humans to grasp? Is the plan of salvation one of those things?
3. How can one explain God's love, forgiveness, redemption to unbelievers?

Fast Friends

1. What is the true purpose of "fasting?" 
2. How would fasting urge God do something that He might not have otherwise?
3. For whose benefit is fasting? How does it benefit?

Fast Fight

1. Is fasting a necessary part of religion and how important is it for salvation?
2. Why does God say that providing food and shelter to the needy are better than fasting? How are those things demonstrations of true religion?
3. Is it all right to do social work on Sabbath or should that be done on a weekday?

A Time for Us

1. What are some things that might be termed "doing our own pleasure" on Sabbath? What are some things that might not be our own pleasure?
2. Why does Isaiah refer to the feet and not the hands with reference to breaking the Sabbath?
3. What are some "idle words" that we may utter on Sabbath?
4. Why is the connection between acts of benevolence and the true purpose of Sabbath and the Sabbatical year?

Lesson 10 (Feb 27-Mar 5, 2021), Doing the Unthinkable

 Isaiah's Testing Truth

1. Why would having hairs from your beard plucked be shameful comparable to being spat upon? 
2. Why is honour and shame a life and death matter?
3. Why do people mock at those in distress?

The Suffering Servant Poem

1. What appeal does the Messiah have by being portrayed as a Servant rather than as a king?
2. In what way was Jesus disfigured physically beyond recognition as predicted by Isaiah?
3. How does Jesus bear our infirmities and carry our sorrows?

Who Has Believed

1. Why do the innocent have to suffer for the guilty?
2. Whose loss was greater Jesus' or Job's?
3. Why do we identify more easily with the innocent that with the guilty?

The Unreachable is Us

1. Why is Jesus pictured as a tender shoot rather than a strong tree?
2. Is all suffering because of sin?
3. In what way did our sins kill Jesus?

A Transforming Reparation Offering

1. What is the difference between "guilt" and "sin?"
2. How is the servant poems good news?
3. Why are lambs the ideal animals to represent the Messiah?
4. In what way is the sacrifice of a lamb not a fit representation of the Messiah's sacrifice of himself?

Lesson 9 (Feb 20-26, 2021), To Serve and to Save

 Servant Nation

1. Though any one can be God's Servant, who is specifically called to be God's Servant?
2. How well did Israel fulfill the task that God had assigned to the nation? What aspects of the task if any were accomplished? What aspects, if any, were not accomplished?
3. With so much evidence of God's help to Israel in the past why did so many kings not place their trust in him?

Unnamed Individual Servant

1. Why does God not identify his servant by name to make identification easier?
2. Is the term "servant" a positive term or a derogatory term In what ways was the Messiah God's Servant?
3. Is there a better term to describe the role of the Messiah in fulfilling God's task of saving humans?

Persian Messiah

1. How could Isaiah make a prediction of a Persian king by name two hundred years before he was born?
2. How much freedom of choice do we have if God knew everything we would be and do even before we were born?
3. Why do many people doubt that Isaiah could have made the prophecy so far ahead of time?

Hope in Advance

1. What would be the problem, if any, if there were really two Isaiah's like many people believe, one living an writing after the event?
2. Why would God promise comfort even before the distress came upon the nation of Israel?
3. Why is loyalty to one's nation so strong?

A Feeling and Suffering Servant

1. How successful was Jesus as God's servant? Was he a failure in any way because so many will not be saved?
2. How well is our church fulfilling the role of God's Servant?
3. What can local churches do to serve the community?

Lesson 8 (Feb 13-19, 2021), Comfort My People

Comfort for the Future

1. Does God himself punish his people or does he just withdraw his protection and allow Satan to afflict them?
2. Was Hezekiah really to blame for showing his wealth to his visitors? What was wrong about displaying God's blessings?
3. What could Hezekiah have shown his visitors that might have been better?

Presence, Word, and Roadwork

1. Why are roads repaired when a head of state visits?
2. How is the way actually to be prepared for the messiah? 
3. How successful was John the Baptist in preparing the world for Jesus?

The Birth of Evangelism

1. What do we mean by "shout it from the mountain tops?" Of what value is that?
2. What advantages might women have over men in the work of evangelism? 
3. Why were the majority of Adventist pioneer missionaries to India women?

 Merciful Creator

1. How is a display of the power of God a comfort to his people? Why weren't the Israelites at Sinai comforted by the display of God's power?
2. What did God accomplish by making Job feel so humble by showing his power in nature? 
3. What comfort is there in the fact that God is creator?

The Problem With Idolatry

1. Why do certain religions encourage images for worship?
2. Why did God prohibit Israel from making an image to represent him? 
3. What are the similarities in idolatry and adultery?
4. How easy or difficult is it to talk to someone you cannot see? 

Lesson 7 (Feb 6-12, 2021), Defeat of the Assyrians

 Strings Attached

1. How do bad kings like Ahaz have good sons like Hezekiah to succeed them?
2. Why do people prefer to trust human beings rather than God?
3. While trusting God how much human effort and planning should be done to counter threat?

Propaganda

1. What are the advantages of getting your enemy to surrender without a fight? What are the disadvantages, if any?
2. At what point does it become better to surrender to the enemy rather than fight and be destroyed?
3. How much can one trust the enemy to surrender, hoping to be spared?

Shaken, but Not Forsaken

1. How sure can one be that God has heard one's prayer and will answer it positively?
2. Why are some prophets like Isaiah believed and trusted by kings and others like Jeremiah doubted?
3. How concerned is God about his reputation?

The Rest of the Story

1. Why do kings and leaders not admit failures?
2. Can the account of the Bible which credits the death of 185,000 Assyrian soldiers to the Angel of the Lord, be harmonized with the historian Herodotus who blames the death on the bubonic plague?
3. Why does God rescue Jerusalem while allowing the others cities of Judah such as Lachish and Azekah to be defeated?

In Sickness and in Wealth

1. Was Hezekiah's illness a result of Satan's work? Why would Satan wish him to die?
2. Why did King Ahaz not want a sign from God, and why did Hezekiah ask for a sign?
3. How can the shadow on a sundial go backwards without throwing the solar system off course?

Lesson 6 (Jan 30-Feb 5, 2020), Playing God

 Doom on the Nations

1. Why was Babylon one of the worst enemies of God and Judah?
2. Are there any faithful people in Babylon?
3. Can the remnant church every become Babylon? How could that happen?

The Late Great City of Babylon

1. Does God cause nations to rise and fall, or does he merely allow it?
2. Could Babylon ever be rebuilt? Would that prove Bible prophecy which says it will not be inhabited again, wrong?
3. What do we mean by the term "Babylon is Fallen?"

Fall of the Mountain King

1. Why do some people deify kings? Do such kings believe actually that they are God?
2. What are things that feed a leader's ego?
3. What made Satan imagine that he could be like God? Why didn't he realize that such an attempt was foolish and doomed?

Heaven's Gate

1. Why is Babylon a fitting symbol for Satan?
2. Why would God use a mythical creature which has no real existence (like a dragon) to symbolize anything? Would it contribute to the idea that Satan might not really exist, or not?
3. Was Jacob's ladder leading to heaven, a dream or a vision?

Final Triumph of Zion

1. How many times will Babylon fall?
2. When is the "Day of the Lord?" Is there more than one?
3. Why does God burn the wicked in hellfire? Why not destroy them painlessly?

Lesson 5 (Jan 23-29, 2020), Noble Prince of Peace

 End of Gloom for Galilee

1. Why do so many people consult spirit mediums? How accurate are they? Is consulting weekly horoscopes evil?
2. How much difference does it make as to which place Jesus began his ministry? Why was it in the Galilee area? Was it by chance or by design?
3. How do people get possessed by the devil?

A Child for Us

1. Is the child of Isa 9:6, 7 the same one as Immanuel or a different one?
2. What are the indications that this one upon whose shoulders is placed the government, is not a human king?
3. Can this prophecy have more than one fulfillment, and if so what are the options? If not, why not?

The Rod of God's Anger

1. Why did God persist with Israel for so long, enduring their repeated failures and punishing them again and again?
2. What were the most serious sins of Israel?
3. Does God punish people today for sin? Is suffering an indication of sin in a person's life?

Root and Branch in One

1. Why do we use the term "Family Tree?"
2. What is the difference, if any between "shoot," and "branch?"
3. How is David as the "root of Jesse" also the ancestor of Jesus?
4. Why does Isaiah combine elements of the first advent with that of the second and third advents?

You Comforted Me

1. How truly was the Lord "our Salvation" before Jesus's incarnation?
2. When is "that day" which is mentioned several times Isaiah 12 when the Lord becomes our salvation?
3. What is the meaning of the term "Holy One of Israel?"

Lesson 4 (Jan 16-22, 2020), The Hard Way

 Prophecy Fulfilled

1. Why do you think didn't Isaiah say plainly that the two kings would die within two years instead of mentioning a child being old enough to choose between right and wrong?
2. What kind of diet is curd and honey? What does it say of the conditions?
3. Is the prophecy of the end of Israel, the northern kingdom, merely predicting the future or is it showing punishment from God?

Foreseen Consequences

1. Why is it more difficult to trust God than a political power?
2. Is it always wrong to ally with another nation?
3. What makes a king trust false gods more than the living God, to the point where he could sacrifice his own son in the fire?

What's in a Name

1. How important is the meaning of a name when choosing one for a newborn baby?
2. Why are some children given two names?
3. Would the prophet really give his sons weird names or were they just for illustration?

Nothing to Fear When We Fear God Himself

1. What if any any useful purpose does fear have? What happens to be people who have no fear?
2. What is the difference between "Fear of the Lord," and being afraid of God like Adam in the Garden of Eden?
3. In what sense does love cast out fear?

Gloom of the Ungrateful Living Dead

1. How important is it what happens to our dead body, whether buried, or cremated, and where it might be carried out?
2. Why does the devil usually bring those who surrender to him, to a tragic end? Wouldn't it be better for him to attract people by giving them a happy life and peaceful death?
3. What are ways in which one can be careless in giving the devil power to take over our lives?

Lesson 3 (Jan 9-15, 2020), When Your World is Falling Apart

 Danger From the North

1. Why do neighboring countries often of related ethnicity, fight instead of being natural allies? What caused divisions between Israel and Judah?
2. When in political trouble why do nations prefer to ally with a superior political power rather than just trust in God?
3. What are the expected negative results of taking help from another country?

Attempted Interception

1. Why would God talk about a return from captivity before the exile even began?
2. Did prophets ever speak respectfully to their kings like to foreign kings? How could the prophets speak to kings with out the normal respect that would be expected?
3. On what basis could one have belief in the word of a prophet about what would take place after two or three years?

Another Chance

1. What was wrong in Ahaz telling the prophet Isaiah that he did not wish to ask for a sign?
2. Would God have really given Ahaz whatever he asked for, even unexpected victories or sudden wealth?
3. Why did some kings of Israel or Judah have a hard time trusting God?

Sign of a Son

1. How old is a child when he or she learns the difference between wrong and right?
2. If the birth of Jesus hundreds of years later was the only fulfillment of the prophecy of "Immanuel" in Isa 7:14 how could it have been a sign to Ahaz that he would be delivered from his enemies?
3. What impact did this prophecy have on Ahaz or his people? On what basis can we say that this was a prophecy of the birth of the messiah when it probably had a literal fulfillment in a few years?

God is With Us

1. Why would God wish to come down and take the risk to be with humans? Could God have saved humans remotely from heaven itself?
2. In what ways was God with humans before Jesus was incarnated? In what important ways was he present through Jesus?
3. How can humans know God is with us?

Lesson 2 (Jan 2-8, 2020), Crisis of Leadership

 The King is Dead

1. How likely is it that Uzziah repented of his sin? Would God have restored the king from his leprosy if requested? How could a leprous king continue to rule?
2. Why does the Bible record take pains to mention a king's mother? 
3. What are the advantages of overlapping reigns of fathers and sons? 

Holy, Holy, Holy

1. Why do you think angels with six wings are not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible? What could be the significance of covering faces and covering feet?
2. How would Isaiah have known that it was the Lord whom he saw in a vision? How could the train of his robe fill the temple? What could that mean?
3. What could be the purpose of God revealing Himself to a prophet in such majesty and power that the prophet felt poor and unclean?

New Personality

1. Why did Isaiah confess to being himself and also belonging to a people all of "unclean lips?" What could that mean?
2. How good does a person need to be in order to be called as a prophet?
3. How could a live coal take away the sin of Isaiah?

Royal Commission

1. Why do you think Isaiah gets his commission in chapter 6 rather than in chapter 1?
2. How much difference does it make whether one gets a vision in public such as the temple/church or at in private at home?
3. Why do you think priests were not usually called to be prophets?

Appalling Appeal

1. What could prevent a people who heard from understanding what they heard?
2. Why did Jesus teach in parables? Why did prophets often speak in parables, such as Nathan to David?
3. How much is a pastor expected to condemn the sins of his congregation?