Lesson 5 - FridayJuly 29 Further Thought

FridayJuly 29

Further Thought: Read other teachings of Jesus that inform you and your church’s role in the community: Matthew 7:12, 23:23, 25:31-46,Mark 4:1-34, 6:1-13, Luke 6:36, 11:42, 12:13-21,14:16-24, 16:13, 18:18-27, 19:1-10, John 10:10,12:8, 17:13-18. Read Ellen G. White, “ 'The Least of These My Brethren,’ ” pp. 637-641, in The Desire of Ages; “The Missionary’s Pattern,” inSigns of the Times, March 19, 1894.

“Unless the church is the light of the world, it is darkness.” - Ellen G. White, in Signs of the Times, September 11, 1893. That’s a powerful thought. It reminds us of Jesus’ words, “ 'He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad’ ” (Matt. 12:30, NKJV). Jesus is making it plain: there is no neutral territory in the great controversy. We are on Christ’s side or the devil’s. To have been given great light and to do nothing with it is, really, to be working against it. We have been called to be lights in the world; if we aren’t light, then we are darkness. Though the immediate context is different, the principle is the same: “ 'If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!’ ” (Matt. 6:23, NIV). Perhaps all this could be summed up with the words: “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:48).

Discussion Questions:

1. Discuss how we are to mingle with the world in order to reach out to others. How do we strike the right balance here; that is, how do we mingle with the world in a way that we can do others some good, while at the same time not getting so caught up in it that we become part of the problem, not the solution?
2. So often, if we are involved in our community, the question of politics arises. After all, many of the issues that we want to help with-poverty, education, health care, and so on-are part of the political debate. How can we be careful that we don’t allow the inevitable polarization of politics to contaminate what we want to do? Some political involvement seems unavoidable, so how can we position ourselves in a way to keep out of the political fray as much as possible?
3. Or, on the other hand, are there situations in which we need to be in the political arena in order to best minister to the community? If so, what are they, and how do we operate in ways so that we don’t compromise our gospel commission?

Contáctenos: Mail: iglesialaagustina@gmail.com Facebook: iglesialaagustina Ubicados en República Dominicana, Santo Domingo, Avenida Pedro Livio Cedeño #7, La Agustina.