Sabbath School is perhaps the most communal and participatory element of a regular Seventh-day Adventist church event (after foot-washing), but social distancing has us all isolated at home. This is a weekly Sabbath School styled conversation on Biblical themes and passages. Join in the conversation by writing comments/questions to sabbathschoolfromhome@gmail.com .
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1 Corinthians 15 centres on the idea of resurrection. We explore what the chapter has to say to Adventists specifically, for whom the state of the dead and the mechanics of resurrection are dear doctrinal territory. But the discussion finds its heart in the mystery of what the resurrection body actually is — and what continuity might exist between who we are now and who we will be. George…
1 Corinthians 13 is possibly the most well-known chapter in the Bible, and for good reason — it speaks for itself. Love is preeminent. The heart of our discussion is the second half, where Paul's argument is harder to follow: what does it mean that prophecy, tongues, and special knowledge are, in some sense, the milk of infancy? Growing in the Christian life may mean being consumed by fewer…
1 Corinthians 14 opens in a way that might feel familiar to Adventists — an emphasis on prophecy over tongues. But Paul's description of prophecy diverges quickly from how we typically think of it. His critique of tongues is that it doesn't build up the community; but that same standard has to be applied to prophecy too. And his picture of the congregation is striking — widespread prophetic gifts…
Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians 8 is elegant: food sacrificed to idols is fine to eat, since idols are meaningless — but avoid it if eating would lead a fellow believer astray. Context matters, and so does audience. We explore the analogy of modest dressing, where modesty is always partly defined by who you expect to be seen by. But the nuance emerges quickly: almost anything could offend…
Paul is not afraid to talk about sex — but his approach is more nuanced than the church's reputation suggests. In 1 Corinthians 5 he tells the church to get involved when something has gone badly wrong; by chapter 7 he is describing singleness and marriage as different gifts, resisting the idea that one way of living is spiritually superior. We explore what shifts when the question changes from…
What would Paul make of denominational pride? We can sincerely reject division within our own tradition while quietly celebrating everything that makes us distinct from other Christians — and not notice the tension. In 1 Corinthians 4, Paul cuts through it: "Isn't everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what's the point of all this comparing and competing?" In this…
The gospel has always looked foolish to the wise — and Paul in 1 Corinthians 1 seems untroubled by this. In this belated episode (holidays interrupted the edit process, sorry) we explore what it means that God chose the foolish things to shame the wise. Even Israel fits this description geopolitically at the time of Jesus. But we push back gently on any sharp divide between faith and reason:…
What is an apostle, and what does it mean to be called? We open a new season in 1 and 2 Corinthians by sitting with Paul's own answer — which turns out to be surprisingly counterintuitive. His calling isn't grounded in competence or confidence; in 1 Corinthians 2:3 he identifies it with weakness. We explore what it means for Jesus to be not just something Paul thought about often, but the presence…
A season about growing in relationship with God ends not with a method or a programme, but with a recurring cry. Psalm 80 turns out to thread through almost everything we've discussed this season — community vs individual, unanswered prayer, setbacks that arrive despite clear promises, and what honest faith actually sounds like from the inside. The lesson guide even suggests replacing the Psalm's…
"Friendship evangelism" can sound like ulterior-motive friendship, and that discomfort is worth taking seriously. We explore what separates genuine friendly witness from something more cynical, and find an unexpected parallel in international aid: the same sensitivity to context, the same need to avoid condescension, the same openness to learning from the people you're supposedly serving. The…
Setbacks don't only happen when you can't see the big picture. Job is a famous example of hardship accompanied by confusion about what God is doing, but we focus a bit on another kind of setback. The stories of Abram and Joseph begin with unusually clear divine promises, and still go sideways for years. God's promises can perhaps be as hard to live with as the setbacks themselves. We explore a…
