Choice Stories For Children

by Ernest Lloyd

This book contains nearly 40 short stories written during the late 1800s. Every story has an important lesson to build good character. The stories were selected from four out of print books; Scrap Book Stories; Golden Grains vol. 1 and vol. 3 and Lost Jewels.

Stories will convey character traits such as how to avoid temptation and respecting property rights. They are great reads to children and grandchildren!

You can use these stories as a template to come up with more to teach your children.

 

To order this book, just click the link below:

https://biblesabbath.org/shopping/pgm-more_information.php?id=46&=SID

 

Saving our Children

by Terrell Perkins

(This article is an excerpt from the Jan-Feb 2010 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel)

“Christian churches are losing the children that grow up in them to a world of smoke and mirrors. Sabbatarian churches tend to fare even worse. In a world where Christianity is increasingly seen as a restrictive, outdated form of mythology, to be Sabbatarian, to actually keep God’s commandments, is seen as even more restrictive. The Body of Christ needs to realize that we are at war with spiritual forces that will stop at nothing to destroy us. Their primary aim is our children. If our children can be led away, our future goes with them. What our children see is a world filled with enticements and pleasures. But so many of those pleasures turn out to be traps. Ours is a world overflowing with violence, pornography, and meaningless lives. There are forces capable of saving our children from the world, but many are failing for lack of knowledge. Churches have failed for the most part, but churches are built on the foundation of solid families. The greatest influence in a child’s life are his or her parents.

Below are recommendations dedicated to those whose job it is to raise the next generation of God’s family, the parents to whom God has entrusted them. 1. Set them the right example of a man or woman of faith. Don’t tell them one thing and do something else. Even at a very young age they will be watching you. They will be learning from you how to be a man or woman and how men and women interact. Let them see how the Holy Spirit works in your life to make you a better person. 2. Be honest and straight with them. Let them know what you believe and why. Don’t try to hide the realities of life from them. This is especially important in matters of money, sex, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, etc. Don’t put your own head in the sand! If they don’t learn them from you, they will learn from someone else. 3. Get involved with your children’s lives. Go to their sporting events and school shows. Show them you care. Know who their friends are. Eat dinner with your children, and talk about your day. 4. Let your children know you believe in them…”

To read the rest of this article, which starts on page 8, click this link:

http://biblesabbath.org/media/tss_541.pdf

Would Jesus Love the IRS?

By Lenny Cacchio

To answer the question posed in the title of this post, of course Jesus would not love the IRS. But he would have a special regard for IRS agents. We can know this to be true because Jesus seemed to attract many of them to his cause.

The tax collector in the Roman Empire came under the protection of the Legions. His job was to collect a stipulated amount of revenue for the Emperor, and anything above that he could keep for himself. This mechanism that invited corruption did nothing to endear the profession to the population, and even less so given that those hired for such duties were often from the native population. These willing and often greedy collaborators with the occupying forces were not in the business of making friends but of becoming rich off their brethren.

Yet when tax collectors came to John the Baptist and asked them what they should do, he did not tell them to get out of the business. Instead he told them to “exact no more than that which was appointed to you.” (Luke 3:12 – 13) John even baptized many of them (Luke 7:29).

Jesus even made a tax collector the hero in one of his parables (Luke 18:9), and his three famous “Lost and Found” parables (Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son) were spoken in response to grumbling over his receiving kindly the presence of tax collectors and sinners (Luke 15).

Is it any wonder that one of his apostles was previously a tax collector (Matthew 9:9)? And is it even less of a wonder that a chief tax collector named Zacchaeus would inconvenience himself greatly for a chance to glimpse this Rabbi reputed to be the Messiah as he passed through town (Luke 19)?

Tax collecting was a lucrative but lonely life. This new religious movement that was first signaled through John the Baptist and later fulfilled in Jesus offered hope even to tax collectors and sinners, so much so that Jesus himself seemed to intentionally seek out the notorious Zacchaeus and offer him the words of life.  This tax collector accepted the invitation and pledged to change his life and business practices. We are not told what happened to Zacchaeus after this life-changing encounter, but what he committed his life to could have cost him his business.

If there is a lesson or two we can glean from this, it might be both a warning and an encouragement. The warning is to never write anybody off, no matter how despicable we might find them. God is in the life-changing business, after all, especially the life-changing business of saving sinners. The encouraging lesson is we are all sinners whose lives can be changed.  Jesus sees people for what they can become, not for the tax collectors that they are.

Jesus offers hope to IRS agents. And to you.

Lenny Cacchio has a blog on the Bible Sabbath Association website. You can follow him at the following weblink: http://biblesabbath.org/index.php?pr=Lenny_Cacchio_Blog

 

This blog was originally posted on Friday, January 22, 2016

 

Sabbath Action Blast!

But the rest of us. . . well, we’ll be mentally high-fiving those creative people who’ve found ways to really celebrate God’s special day! In these pages are 101 of the best Sabbath activity ideas that Guide editors have ever seen ─ nearly 2 years’ worth of fun! Some of these activities are great for groups, while others are perfect for solo ventures. And whether you plan ahead or flip through on the spur of the moment, you’re sure to find something to make you smile, laugh, have fun, and learn about God!

To order this book, just click the link below:

https://biblesabbath.org/shopping/pgm-more_information.php?id=103&=SID

Sabbath: A Peace You Can Feel

by Kelly Vonner

 

My life revolves around God’s holy Sabbath day. Sunday through Friday are filled with the overall busyness of life. With a full week of deadlines, appointments, laundry, dishes, demanding children, and many to-do lists, Friday at sundown is the greatest anticipation of the week. The Sabbath is a yoke that I gladly accept from my Lord and Savior. It is the “burden” of righteousness and truth, a “burden” I could never refuse. The Sabbath brings a peace I can feel. A peace not designed by man, but ordained by God. A peace filled with completeness, wholeness, health, safety, fullness, rest, and harmony. It is a peace absent of agitation or chaos. It is a peace perfected by the Creator; it is a peace that surpasses all understanding.

This peace that surpasses all understanding comes from the author of peace (1 Corinthians 14:33). This peace is personified more and more as we obey the Word of God. “Great peace have they which love thy law” (Psalm 119:165). This peace is accompanied by mercy, truth, and righteousness (Psalm 85:10), and this peace is promised to the faithful servants of God. “I will listen to what God the Lord says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—but let them not turn to folly” (Psalm 85:8). The Sabbath, the peace we can feel, has been blessed, sanctified, and made holy (Genesis 2:2) by the Sovereign Lord. He is powerful in all He does and stands matchless as Lord of all.

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29-30). The Lord has promised rest for our souls, but for many of us, that promise is not enough. “This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it’” (Jeremiah 6:16). The God of salvation offers us rest, but we would rather be bound by the yoke of sin and death. David, a man after God’s own heart, understands the rest that God wants to lavish on us. “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him” (Psalm 62:1).

It is my prayer that we desire the rest for our souls, the ancient path and the good way. I pray we desire to hear the words of the Lord saying “Well done”. I pray we desire the Sabbath and the peace and life that it brings. I pray we desire the peace perfected by the Creator….I pray we desire our God.

…Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.

~2 Corinthians 13:11

 

Germany Reinvigorates Sunday Keeping

In 2009, Germany began a campaign to reinvigorate Sunday rest in the nation. Though some states make a few exceptions to this in a year, the general attitude is that Sunday is the day of rest for Germany. Sunday laws threaten the rights of Sabbath keepers, who rest from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.

This article is a reiteration of a prophecy from Daniel 7:22-24, which reads, “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. 24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.”

This prophecy foretells of a little horn, which many consider to be the papacy, changing the set times and the laws. The Aramaic word for “set times” refers to the festivals of Leviticus 23, the first of which is Sabbath. The Aramaic word for “laws” refers to the Ten Commandments. The fourth commandment is the Sabbath.

Germany has a substantial Catholic population and strong historical connections to Rome. We can see that changing the Sabbath is part of Satan’s plan to harass Sabbath keepers. With the events in Germany, we can see Bible prophecy coming to pass.

We can also see that Sabbath keeping will be banned in Europe, and even the world, in fulfillment of the prophecies in Daniel.

To read the full article on Germany’s Sunday keeping campaign, click here: http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/court-rules-shopping-sunday-germany/story?id=9236076

How can we know when the Sabbath is? (Part 2 of 2)

By Kelly McDonald, Jr.

How can we know which day of the week the Sabbath is on?

From the time that the manna was given in Exodus 16, the Jewish people have preserved this day. In the Bible and the Jewish culture, the Sabbath is the only day of the week that is named. The other days of the week are named “first day”, “second day”, “third day”, etc. This is why no day of the week except Sabbath is named in the Bible.

This is one reason why it has been easy for the Jewish people to keep up with the day of the week that the Sabbath falls upon from Exodus 16 until now. It is the same day kept in Jesus’ time and the same day kept by them today. Despite the persecution of the Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Muslims, Catholic Inquisitions, and Nazi Germany, they have held on to the Sabbath. But there is more evidence that we can rely on to come to the same conclusion.

In the third century, The Roman Historian Cassius Dio tells us that the Jewish people rested on the day that the Romans called “the day of Saturn” (Cassius Dio, Roman History, 37.16.1-4). Saturn is the name the Romans gave to the day of the week we presently call Saturday.

In over 100 current and ancient languages, the word for Saturday is sanbat, sabatu, saptu, sabado, sabato, or a variation thereof. A chart below gives you a short list. Let’s take one example. In Spanish, sabado is the word for Saturday. The foundations for the Spanish language were formed starting in 711 AD when the Moors conquered Spain. From then to now, the name for Saturday has been unchanged.

Indonesian – Sabtu

Tagalog (Philippines) – Sabado

Latin – Sabbatum

Spanish – Sabado

Portuguese – Sabado

Russian – Subota

Arabic – Al Sabt

Somali (East Africa) – Sabti

Mandingo also called Mandinka (West Africa) – Sibiti

Ormo or Galla (East Africa) – Sanbata tenna

Kisii, also called Gusii or Ekegusii (Africa) – Esabato

God mentions the Sabbath over 140 times in the Bible. God never mentions a requirement in the Bible without giving us a way to understand how to obey it. The Way of God is easier than the burdensome ways of man (Deut. 30:11-15, John 5:1-5, and James 1:25-27). He has left us a witness through history, language, and the example of the Jewish people. He made provision for us; He made sure that we would know when the Sabbath is today.

Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). He did not say the Sabbath was made just for the Jewish people. They have preserved the Sabbath, but the Sabbath is for all mankind!

Kelly McDonald Jr.

BSA President – http://www.biblesabbath.org

Sabbath Evening (Erev Shabbat) Family Service

(also Called “Erev Shabbat”, Hebrew for Evening of the Sabbath)

Throughout the week, we are all running to and fro. We are going to ballgames, work, school, and other events. The Erev Shabbat Service is a special service performed by the Jewish people for over 2,000 years. It would have been performed in the time of Jesus. It is a great way to welcome in the Sabbath as a family and make the dividing line between Holy Time of the Sabbath and the common time of the week we are leavening behind.

While it is mostly performed by Sabbath keepers with a Messianic background, it is a great learning tool for all Sabbath keepers. It is a way to speak life and blessing into your family. It is a great way to spend interactive time with your family.

Just click the link below to access this FREE resource!

https://kellymcdonaldjr.com/erev-shabbat-ceremony/

 

Why Study the History of Sabbath Keepers?

by Richard Nickels

(This article is an excerpt from the March – April 2009 edition of the Sabbath Sentinel)

Giving and Sharing Study No. 264

“An Indian proverb states, “A people without history are like the blowing wind.” Today there is an abysmal lack of knowledge among Sabbath keepers of their own history. This dearth has motivated me to write a couple of books on the fascinating subject of church history. Why should we study church history? Because we cannot understand what is happening today in the Sabbath-keeping Churches without a background of what has happened in the past. Unless we learn the lessons of the past, we are destined to repeat the mistakes of our ancestors. The history of God’s Church is both thrilling and educational. “He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6,13, 22). I have long been interested in the history of Sabbath keepers. Not knowing one’s history is like starting to watch a movie in the middle. You don’t know what happened before and have difficulty understanding what is happening now. When you look into the history of Sabbath keepers, you see striking examples of the maxim, “history repeats itself.” You see the relationship between different groups and appreciate more fully how they arrived at their position today. You find characters such as John James, Dr. Peter Chamberlen, Gilbert Cranmer, and many others with whom you can identify. You can appreciate their work for the Master, their problems, and their trials.”

To read the rest of this article, which starts on page 11, click this link:

http://biblesabbath.org/tss/536/tss_536.pdf