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Sabbath School 1st Quarter 2026: Uniting Heaven and Earth: Christ in Philippians and Colossians

Mark Finley

01 Persecuted but Not Forsaken

Welcome to a new series of Sabbath School Lessons.

We're studying this quarter, Philippians and Colossians.

The title of our Sabbath School Lessons is Uniting Heaven and Earth, Christ in these epistles.

These lessons have been written by a dear friend, Clinton Walleen.

Clinton Walleen works with me at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

He works for the Biblical Research Institute.

In these lessons, we're going to be focusing particularly on Jesus, the Son of God, Jesus, the Son of Man, the Christ that redeems us, the Christ that intercedes for us, and the Christ that's coming again for us.

You're gonna be uplifted and inspired as we study them.

So with that background, let's just jump right into lesson 1.

The title is Persecuted but Not Forsaken.

The apostle Paul wrote Philippians someplace between 60 and 62 AD.

He had visited Philippians earlier and raised up a small Christian congregation there.

That Christian congregation became a thriving congregation and continued to grow.

But when Paul wrote Philippians, he wrote it from a prison cell in Rome.

There are 4 chapters in Philippians, and the great theme of each of these chapters is joy.

In fact, the Apostle Paul mentions joy someplace between 26 and 28 times, either joy or rejoicing.

Memory text is, rejoice in the Lord always.

Notice our text does not say rejoice in the Lord in all things.

There are many things that we can't rejoice in.

A young man, 17 years old, driving home from school gets hit by a tractor-trailer truck and is killed instantly.

A terrible war takes place in Russia and Ukraine, and thousands of young people are dead.

We don't rejoice in the death on either side.

We don't rejoice in oppression, in justice.

We don't rejoice when an alcoholic comes home, hits his wife in the face, and blackens her eyes and breaks her nose.

He rather says rejoice in the Lord always.

We can rejoice even in the hardship, difficulty, challenges, sufferings of life.

We can rejoice even in the tears because God is our creator.

He is the 1 that saved us from the penalty, the condemnation of sin, and he is our coming King.

So we rejoice not in the circumstance, but we rejoice in spite of the circumstance that God is still in control, that God will guide our lives, he'll strengthen us, he will give us the hope, the courage, the faith to deal with whatever we have to deal with.

This is why Paul could rejoice in prison, because he knew that God was ultimately in control.

So you look at Sunday's lesson, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, here in Ephesians 3, chapter 1.

Notice, see, there are 4 lessons actually that Paul wrote, 4 books that he wrote, 4 epistles that he wrote from prison.

Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon.

So they were all written from that Roman prison.

But look what Paul says in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 1 and 2, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, faithful in Christ Jesus.

So Paul says he is an apostle by the will of God.

If indeed he ends up in prison because of God's will, Because God wants him to be a witness there.

He's open for that opportunity in Ephesians 3 verse 1 It says for this reason I Paul the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles in other words I'm not a prisoner of Rome.

Jesus has allowed me to be in this circumstance, even if Jesus didn't actively cause it.

There's a purpose that overrides my immediate circumstance.

And we see that with Paul witnessing there to the Roman guards.

We see that with Paul witnessing in that society.

And some even of Caesar's household become Christians.

In Philemon chapter 1, Philemon is a little book.

It's the story of a runaway slave by the name of Onesimus.

And here Paul meets him, leads Onesimus to Christ and sends him back to Philemon.

Philemon is a book written, just 1 chapter, telling Philemon to treat Onesimus not as a slave, but as a brother.

But you look here at Philippians chapter 1 and verse 1, again, Paul a prisoner of Christ Jesus and Timothy our brother.

So again, Paul says, the Roman government may think that they have me as a prisoner, But I know that there is a divine will of God.

I'm here on an assignment from God." It reminds me of a story I heard in a very closed country where an Adventist pastor and elder were giving out literature, and in this particular country it was against the law to do that.

They were sharing literature with a small band of Adventist believers.

As he was in prison, when other prisoners heard that he was a Christian, they beat him.

And every night he would get beaten, pummeled, sometimes knocked unconscious.

There was a man that was watching all that, another prisoner, and he would lift him up, bathe his wounds after others had gone.

And eventually, the 2 studied the Bible together.

And eventually, this second man, this prisoner, watching the beatings and the love on the face and the kindness of his words, even to his tormentors, this second prisoner, unbeliever, accepts Christ.

He eventually leaves prison and our elder left prison, they join the same Adventist church, and this second prisoner who helped our Adventist brother eventually becomes an Adventist pastor.

Once you know that God is ultimately in control of your life, you then look at every opportunity in life, whether it's good or bad, whether there are tears of sorrow or there is joy, whether the mountain is high and you're on the mountain peak looking out over the valleys and just this euphoric joy, or whether you're down in the valley in darkness, whatever circumstance you are, you can rejoice in the Lord.

Not because of what happened to you, but because God is bigger than our problems, greater than our difficulties and larger than our challenges.

Here, there's an interesting note that the author gives about Paul.

He says, Paul has given his life in service to Jesus Christ.

If that service includes being a prisoner, he's ready.

Paul describes himself as an ambassador in chains.

The first time that we read about Paul in prison is found in Acts chapter 16.

Paul's in Philippi, raises up a new congregation.

There he's in the process of raising it up.

Lydia has been baptized, the cellar purple, the sharp business woman.

Then there's a slave girl that follows Paul through the streets of Philippi.

She is shouting out, and Paul gets annoyed with all of this, and he ultimately casts the demonic forces out of her.

As a result of that, the inhabitants who employed her for fortune telling and soothsaying, they lose their lucrative business because now this woman is not being possessed, this girl, by the demons.

So Paul and Silas are beaten, they are bruised, they're bloody, their hands are chained, they're put in stocks, which are menacles to chain their feet or to contract or keep their feet from moving in their hands.

02 Reasons for Thanksgiving and Prayer

Welcome back to another 1 of our studies in Philippians and Colossians.

This quarter our theme is Uniting Heaven and Earth.

We're in lesson 2, Reasons for Thanksgiving and Prayer.

This lesson is largely about intercessory prayer and we'll study the contents of Paul's intercessory prayer.

But before we jump right into the lesson, I wanna just pause for a moment and raise this question.

If God already knows and God is already doing everything He can to save your son, your daughter, your husband, your wife, your friend, your neighbor, why pray?

He's isolated, he's alone, hundreds of miles away in a Roman prison.

He believes that as he prays, his prayers go up to heaven, and God sends angels down or the Holy Spirit down to touch the hearts and minds of the Philippians and the Colossians.

1 thing's for certain, Paul believed in intercessory prayer.

Another thing's for certain, intercessory prayer is biblical.

Although we may not understand everything about the ministry of intercession, this we can understand.

That there is a conflict between good and evil.

A conflict between Christ and Satan in the universe.

And 1 of the ground rules of that great controversy is that God will not violate our freedom of choice.

So therefore God is doing everything he can to win that loved 1 that doesn't know Jesus.

God brings deep conviction to their heart.

God arranges circumstances in their life.

God brings people into their life to influence them.

When we pray for somebody else, God can turn to Satan and say, look, although I respect that person's freedom of choice not to respond, I respect Pastor Mark's freedom of choice to pray.

I respect John or Mary's freedom of choice or Alice or Peter's freedom of choice to pray.

And as Alice and Peter and John and Mary pray, The Holy Spirit is poured out through them to touch the life in a more powerful way.

She says in Great Controversy, page 525, God will do an answer to the prayer of faith.

That which he would not do, did we not thus pray?

In the ministry of healing, page 509, it says, prayer and faith will accomplish what no power on earth will accomplish.

So although intercessory prayer may not be fully understood in its depth by all of us or any of us.

1 thing we know, God respects our freedom of choice to pray for others.

And our prayers make a dramatic difference.

Philippians chapter 1, verse 3 to 8, is the prayer of the Apostle Paul for the church at Philippi.

And he says in Philippians 1, verse 3, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy." So Paul, what are you requesting?

He then says, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day till now.

Being confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

Paul was praying for them and he believed that the Christ that began a good work in them would finish the work that Christ began.

What Jesus has begun in you, what Jesus has started in you, Jesus is gonna finish.

Then it says, just as it is right, I'm reading verse 7, for me to think this of you all because I have you in my heart, in so much as both in my chains, and in defense and confirmation of the gospel." He says then in verse 8, "'For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you with all affection of Jesus Christ." Paul says, I'm in prison, I'm in the chains, but I'm longing for you.

Paul, note under Sunday's lesson, Paul established the church in Philippi.

Thus we can see the warmth of Christian fellowship pervading his letter.

Though separated by hundreds of miles, Paul, chained and imprisoned, carries the Church and its members on his heart.

He wants them not to be despondent, discouraged, or disappointed because he's in prison.

He writes to them to tell them, I'm okay and I'm praying for you.

Can you think of any other experience or expression in the Bible that talks about being on your heart.

The high priest of Israel had the 12 stones representing these 12 precious gems, different gems of course, on his breastplate, they represented Israel.

Every stone was the name of a different tribe of Israel.

Jesus is our great high priest and because he is we can intercede for others.

We join Christ in his intercession and as he carries his people on his heart we carry God's people on our heart.

This is what Paul is saying in Philippians chapter 1 he's saying bear you 1 another's burdens.

Galatians 6 2 And he's saying here in Philippians 1, bear 1 another on your heart.

Bearing 1 another on our heart means we're burdened enough about the salvation of others, about the trials of others, about the difficulty of others, to carry them on our heart.

What did Paul pray for when he prayed for the church at Philippi?

Philippians chapter 1, verse 9 to 11, we read it.

This I pray, okay, this what he's praying, he's telling you, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and discernment.

So he's praying that they'll be filled with the love of God.

And the love of God will be so impactful on other lives that they too will see Jesus.

It says in verse 9, "'This I pray, that your love will abound still more and more, your knowledge and all discernment.'" He's praying that they would grow in a knowledge of the Word of God, that they would continue to grow in their faith.

He's praying also that they'd have discernment.

If we ever needed discernment, it's today.

To discern between truth and error, to be discerning between right and wrong, to discern between what the Bible says in human tradition.

It is written that the track of truth and the track of error lie so closely together that they will not be discernible except by minds worked by the Holy Spirit.

Let's pray for others that they'll be filled with God's love.

Let's pray for others, our brothers, our sisters in the church, that they too would be filled with the knowledge of God and that they'd have discernment.

Let's ask them to pray for us, that we have love and knowledge and discernment.

But this is not the end of Paul's prayer.

He says that you may approve all things that are excellent.

What does it mean that you may approve all things that are excellent?

In the Greek language That word simply means be very sincere.

In other words, be transparent, be open, be honest.

But approve those things that are Excellent.

Live a life in harmony with the will of God that is pleasing to God.

Then it goes on to say that you may be sincere without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, the glory and praise of God.

Can you think about what the fruits of righteousness are?

Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, temperance.

So here Paul is praying that the fruits of the Spirit be manifest in the lives of the Philippians.

If I can summarize his prayer, I would summarize his prayer this way.

Paul prays that the Philippians will be filled with the love of God, that they would have the knowledge of God's word, that they would have discerning faith that could tell the difference between truth and error and that their lives would be filled with the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

We can pray that prayer for our husband, our wife, our son, our daughter, our children, our neighbors.

03 Life and Death

Welcome back to lesson number 3 in our series, Uniting Heaven and Earth.

We're studying the epistles of Philippians and Colossians.

This is an incredibly exciting series to study.

Every lesson speaks to our hearts, gives us practical spiritual encouragement to live the Christian life.

We're jumping right into Philippians 1, but before we do that, let's pray.

Father in heaven, grant to us divine insight and divine wisdom as we study this lesson.

May our eyes be opened to see glorious truths in your word.

The title of our lesson is Life and Death.

I was a little bit shocked when I read the first paragraph and it really resonated with me.

It was very direct, and I thought, you know, that is so true.

Death, we're often told, is just part of life.

Death is the opposite of life, the enemy of life.

Death was no more built into life than wreckage was built into a car.

Paul emphatically says that Christ died to destroy him that had power of death, that is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." As I reflected on that paragraph, I thought there are many people that say, you know, we live, we die, it's all part of life.

But when you actually reflect upon it from a theological standpoint, that is not true.

God created Adam and Eve to live forever.

God never had death as part of his plan of life.

His great desire was all humanity would live in joy and love and peace and in fellowship with him through the ceaseless ages of all eternity.

That's why the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 51 and onward, death, where is your sting?

Christ has conquered the grave, and Paul says, this mortal shall put on immortality.

This corruptible will put on incorrupted.

For in a moment, a twinking of an eye at the last trump, the trumpet shall sound, and the dead in Christ, of course, are gonna rise to put on immortality.

So death is something that Jesus Christ conquered on the cross.

Death will be the last foe and it will be defeated and Christ will reign forever and ever and we can reign with him through the ceaseless ages of eternity.

So Paul's in prison in Philippi and he's concerned that the Philippians understand that Christ will be magnified in his life in life or death.

So we jump right into the lesson, Sunday's lesson, Philippians chapter 1, verse 19.

"'For I know that this, " well, what's this?

This suffering, this trial, this difficulty, this imprisonment.

"'I know that This will turn out for my salvation through your prayer and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ.

What is Paul talking about that this imprisonment would turn out for his salvation?

Wasn't Paul saved when he came to Christ on Damascus Road?

Wasn't he a saved person as he experienced the joy of knowing forgiveness of his sin and Jesus' death on the cross, in Christ's intercession for him, certainly.

So what does it mean when he says, I know this is gonna work out for my salvation?

The word for salvation is sotria there, and it's a word that can also mean healing.

So Paul is saying that my heart will be healed in this difficult circumstance because you're praying for me.

When we pray for others who are going through a hard time and we pray that God will heal their brokenness and heal their hurt and heal their pain and heal their suffering.

So Paul says, I know that all that I'm going through is gonna turn out for my spiritual healing, because you're praying for me through your prayer in the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ.

As we pray for others who are going through difficult times, Jesus supplies his spirit and healing takes place in their life.

As others pray for us as we're going through difficult times, healing comes into our spiritual lives as well.

But then Paul says, verse 20, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that which all boldness as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or death." It seems that Paul has this sense, this expectation that things are not going to go well for him.

Why else would he pray that Christ be magnified in my body either in life or death?

He has this sense that life may be coming to an end, that things are not going to be well when he goes before the court of Caesar, that he is a condemned man and he has that sense.

It says, although Paul, this is Sunday's lesson, first paragraph, under the question, although Paul was no criminal, this was not the first time that he had been imprisoned and He was no stranger to persecution.

To the Corinthians, he detailed his sufferings in prisons more frequently, in deaths often.

In, from the Jews 5 times, I received 40 stripes minus 1.

3 times I was shipwrecked at night and day.

I've been in the deep, in journeys often, in perils and waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness." Wow, that's a lot of perils, isn't it?

In perils in the sea, in perils with false brethren, in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness, often in hunger and thirst and fastings, often in cold and nakedness." So he had been through trials, but he knew life was coming to an end, and he had 1 goal.

And his 1 goal was that Jesus be exalted in his life.

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Series

Sabbath School 1st Quarter 2026: Uniting Heaven and Earth: Christ in Philippians and Colossians

06 Confidence Only in Christ

Transcript

Parent Series

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Recorded

Parts

01 Persecuted but Not Forsaken

26m

02 Reasons for Thanksgiving and Prayer

24m

03 Life and Death

23m

04 Unity Through Humility

26m

05 Shining as Lights in the Night

25m

06 Confidence Only in Christ

23m

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