Lesson 2, July 4-10
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Mark 5:15-20, 16:1-11, Acts 4:1-20, 26:1-32, 1 John 1:1-3, Galatians 2:20.
Memory Text: “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20
There is unusual power in a personal testimony. When our hearts are warmed by Christ’s love and we are changed by His grace, we have something significant to say about Him. It is one thing to share what Jesus has done for someone else. It is quite another to share what He has done for us, personally.
It is difficult to argue against personal experience. People may debate your theology or your interpretation of a text or even scoff at religion in general. But when an individual can say, “I once was hopeless but now have hope; I was filled with guilt but now have peace; I was purposeless but now have purpose”, even skeptics are impacted by the power of the gospel.
Although some people may experience sudden, dramatic conversions like the apostle Paul’s on the Damascus road, more often conversion occurs as a person has a growing recognition of the preciousness of Jesus, a deep appreciation for His amazing grace, and a supreme sense of gratitude for the salvation He freely offers. Christ radically refocuses our lives. It is this witness that the world so desperately needs and longs for.
