Foreword
For the next six months, Sabbath school students around the world will be uplifted and energized to action by God’s word in studying Lessons from the Book of Acts.
What had started out as a tremendous disappointment for the Christian believers following the crucifixion of their Lord, changed drastically. “After the death of their Lord [the disciples of Christ] were a helpless, disappointed, discouraged company—as sheep without a shepherd; but now they go forth as witnesses for the truth, with no weapons but the word and Spirit of God, to triumph over all opposition.”—Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 66, 67.
“We need a deeper piety and the sincere meekness of the Great Teacher. I am instructed . . . that the whole book of Acts is our lesson book. All of us need to humble our own individual hearts, and be converted daily.”—The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 6, p. 1055.
“Zeal for God moved the disciples to bear witness to the truth with mighty power. Should not this zeal fire our hearts with a determination to tell the story of redeeming love, of Christ and Him crucified?”—Testimonies for the Church, vol. 8, p. 22.
“Moral darkness, like a funeral pall, covers the earth. All manner of false doctrines, heresies, and satanic deceptions are misleading the minds of men. Without the Spirit and power of God it will be in vain that we labor to present the truth.
“It is by contemplating Christ, by exercising faith in Him, by experiencing for ourselves His saving grace, that we are qualified to present Him to the world. If we have learned of Him, Jesus will be our theme; His love, burning upon the altar of our hearts, will reach the hearts of the people. The truth will be presented, not as a cold, lifeless theory, but in the demonstration of the Spirit.”—Ibid., vol. 5, p. 158.
“The lapse of time has wrought no change in Christ’s parting promise to send the Holy Spirit as His representative. It is not because of any restriction on the part of God that the riches of His grace do not flow earthward to men. If the fulfillment of the promise is not seen as it might be, it is because the promise is not appreciated as it should be.”—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 50.
“The measure of the Holy Spirit we receive, will be proportioned to the measure of our desire and the faith exercised for it, and the use we shall make of the light and knowledge that shall be given to us. We shall be entrusted with the Holy Spirit according to our capacity to receive and our ability to impart it to others.”—The Review and Herald, May 5, 1896.
“A world, perishing in sin, is to be enlightened. The lost pearl is to be found. The lost sheep is to be brought back in safety to the fold. Who will join in the search? Who will bear the light to those who are wandering in the darkness of error?”—Ibid., July 23, 1895.
The General Conference Sabbath School Department
