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Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Shannon Greenberg

The Trinity

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you Lord so much for the Sabbath.

Thank you that you set aside this time to spend with us because you love us.

Please teach us more about you so that we can go out and tell others too.

Please be with us today, and may your spirit be with us and help us.

For there are 3 that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, And these 3 are 1.

But who is this God that is 3 in 1, and why does it even matter for us?

So if I could have my helpers please come up.

So this is my most favorite blanket in the whole wide world.

Now you may look at this blanket and be like, why on earth would anybody like something that's so ratty and raggedy as this blanket?

So the reason is is because there's actually a story behind this blanket.

So my mom had this blanket made before I was even born And the G in the middle of the blanket stands for Greenberg, because it's the Greenberg family quilt.

And as you would imagine, the B in this corner stands for my dad, Bruce, and the S for my mom, Sunita.

Now then, the question is, is what are these little tree-looking things for?

Well, my mom wanted to do something special to signify who the kids were in the family, so she had them make little trees, and that signified that they were the children.

And so the tree with the J on it is for my older brother, Jonathan.

So then, how come there's a tree with no letter on it?

Well, it just so happens that when my mom had this quilt being made, that she was actually pregnant with me.

And it was early along in the pregnancy that they didn't know if I was going to be a girl or a boy, but my mom wanted to make sure that I was included in the Greenberg family quilt.

And so this concept of 1 functional family unit that is comprised of different individual beings that each bring something unique and special to the relationship has kind of helped me in my understanding of the concept of the Trinity.

For the Bible says there are 3 that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost.

But who is this God that is 3 in 1 and why does it even matter for us?

So my brother and I grew up way out in the boonies of West Virginia and because of that we didn't have a whole lot of neighborhood kids that lived nearby.

And I remember as a kid wishing like, I wish there were more kids my age that I could play with and hang out with.

And you know, you read those little kids' storybooks and everything and they always talk about these kids that had best friends that live next door.

And the like running theme throughout all of these stories was that a best friend was somebody that you could completely trust in, 100%.

You could always trust on them to have your back.

And also that they liked you for who you were.

They actually liked you for who you were.

And also, that you could depend upon them no matter what.

So I would read these stories and I was like, Huh, I think I need a best friend.

And so I started praying and telling God about it and asking God, Lord, I've been reading these stories and I think I need a best friend.

So if you've ever had a best friend, you'll understand this longing and desire that I had in my heart to have somebody that I could consider, this is my best friend.

Or if you've had a friend like that and lost them, then you'll understand what the disciples were going through in John chapter 16, when Jesus is talking to them about how he's going to be leaving them and going back to heaven.

Now I don't know how many of you guys have ever said a goodbye at an airport.

Yeah, that's the worst feeling ever, Especially when it's somebody that you really love and care about, and you're not sure if you're ever going to see that person again.

That awful sinking feeling you get in the pit of your stomach is what the disciples were feeling when Jesus is telling them, look guys, I'm going to be going back up into heaven.

They were just devastated because this was their best friend.

This is the person that they had spent the last like 3 and a half years of their life pretty much every moment with and now he's gonna be leaving them.

Well what makes it a little bit strange is Jesus tells them don't be sad about it.

For in John chapter 16 and verse 6, Jesus says, but because I have said these things unto you, these things being about how he's gonna be taken back up from them and go back into heaven, but because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your hearts." It's like, well yeah, you're leaving, but in verse 7 Jesus says, nevertheless I tell you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away.

For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you.

But if I depart, I will send him unto you.

So Jesus is telling his disciples, look guys, it's actually better for you if I leave, because if I don't leave, then the Comforter is not gonna come.

And does Jesus say a little bit more about the Comforter?

If you go back just a page in John chapter 14 and verse 16, Jesus says, and I will pray the Father and He will give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever.

So in essence, what Jesus is telling his disciples is, look, I'm gonna be sending you a best friend, someone that can be with you at all times.

Because when Jesus was here on earth, he was just 1 person.

He could only be with a select group of people at 1 point in time.

But what he's telling them is like if the comforter comes, he will be with each and every 1 of you 100% of the time.

He's gonna be that best friend that you need in your life.

Somebody that likes you for who you really are, somebody that promises to always have your back and be there for you no matter what.

And so in the Holy Spirit, God promises to give us that friend that we need and desire.

So then we read, because the Bible says, there are 3 that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost.

But then who is this God that is 3 in 1 and why does it even matter for us?

So I remember, I think I was in high school and we went to go see my older brother Jonathan and He was in school at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska.

And it was a Saturday night and they were having a Vespers service.

And the Vespers was in the chapel of the college and we went there with my parents And we sat down and they started showing this video.

And as soon as the video started, you could tell that the father and the son that were depicted in this film were like this.

I mean, just from even just watching their interactions and stuff, you could tell that the love between this father and this little boy who's probably about maybe like 10 years old, you could tell that the love between them was so strong and even though you could also tell by the surroundings around them that they were poor in this world's goods, you could tell that that relationship was worth so much that you would have thought that they were the richest people in the world.

And so as you watched, the little boy was busy telling his dad about how he was getting a vacation from school and he was so excited and he wanted to be able to spend that day with the father at his work.

And so the father amused and, you know, smiling at his little boy said, okay, and then they both got caught up in the excitement of the moment as people who are in good relationships do, and they fed off each other's excitement.

The father was like, yeah, we'll make it extra special, and I'll make sure that, you know, we bring hot chocolate, and we're just going to have a blast.

The next thing you know is the little boy has fallen asleep in his father's arms.

And then the very next scene, both the father and the son are at the bridge where the father works.

Now the father was the operator of 1 of those draw bridges that went over the river and the way it kind of worked was that that whenever the barges needed to go by on the river the bridge would open would raise up because it was 1 of those split bridges.

And so the bridge would raise up, and then once the boat had gone through, the father would pull 1 of the levers, and the bridge would slowly fall back into position.

And then the train could go across on the bridge.

And so the father was the 1 who would man and operate the controls to make sure that this happened at the appropriate times so that both the barges and the people on the train were safe.

Well on this 1 particular day the little boy comes with the father to work and he's so excited because he wants to be with the father and the office where the father manned the controls was this small little cubicle that was at the top of a tower that was right by the edge of the bridge and because of that the Son couldn't be up in the tower with the father He had to stay down below And so down beside the tower there was a little area where the father would let the son stay where he could go fishing during the day while the father worked.

But there was a little window in the tower where the father could look down at the son and often you would catch them, you know, the little boy looking up and the father looking down and then they would smile at each other and then they would both go about doing whatever it was they were doing.

Well, you know, it was getting on towards the middle part of the day and the father received a phone call in the office, in the cubicle where he was working.

And So he picks up the phone and he's talking on the phone and you can tell by the tone of his voice that this is a serious conversation.

And there's a lot of noise going on in the control room where the father is working, so much so that he doesn't hear the whistle of the train, But the little boy does.

And the little boy realizes that something's wrong because he's been with his father enough at work to realize the schedules of the trains and the boats and everything and realizes that this train is coming too early and the bridge is still up.

And so the little boy, realizing that he doesn't have enough time to run all the way up to the top of the tower to get his father's attention, knows that there's a special lever that's in place for just such emergencies that he can go and pull, and it's like an emergency release brake that would bring the bridge down rapidly.

And so the little boy runs over there, but it's very large to be able to pull.

And so the little boy's pulling and pulling and trying to pull on it, and just struggling with this.

Well, meanwhile, the father is engrossed in this conversation on the phone and all the noise of the office that he doesn't realize what's going on, but he looks out the window at the place where the little boy was and realizes that the little boy's not there.

And in that moment he drops the phone and is looking around and right at that moment he sees the little boy give 1 big pull and fall down into where the gears are kept for the bridge, the huge massive gears.

And in that moment, the father hears the whistle and realizes that he has to make a decision.

Either he can rescue his son, which would mean the death of everyone on the train, or he can pull the lever and it'll crush his little boy, who's down trapped in the gears.

And as the father is like screaming and crying for his little boy, he makes his decision and he pulls the lever and the bridge slowly falls back into position and car after car after the reckless the careless the you know people actually speaking ill of the man weeping beside the tracks passes this man by as he's weeping beside the tracks and crying for his little boy.

And, you know, as you watch, you just get this, almost a sense of fury in your heart because they don't care and they don't understand what it costs this father to save their lives so that they can live.

And, you know, as you watch, the train is passing by and people are even making bad comments about the father.

And there's this 1 girl that's in the back of the train who's getting ready to shoot up heroin in the bathroom.

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