THE ORCHARD SABBATH SCHOOL LESSON STUDY

THE ORCHARD SABBATH SCHOOL LESSON STUDY JANUARY 2023

At the Orchard City-Cite Seventh-day Adventist Church we have allocated 75 minutes for the review of the Sabbath School lesson, which starts at 10am each Sabbath morning. We have found that it helps new people to more fully understand the Church’s doctrines in concert with the Bible studies they are given. Furthermore, they are able to participate in a meaningful study of the lesson, at the same time fortifying their knowledge of the Bible, in a relaxed unhurried discussion. It is during the lesson time, that everyone can have their questions answered, as they sit shoulder to shoulder with others in a circle, becoming more familiar and relaxed in each other’s company.

Mrs White wrote: ‘Our Sabbath Schools are nothing less than Bible societies, and in the sacred work of teaching the truths of God’s word, they can accomplish far more than they have hitherto accomplished’ (Testimonies on Sabbath School Work, p. 29).

According to Mrs. White: Sabbath School was intended to be a place for the study of the Bible, she wrote in the same book, it was a place to remove erroneous views of God and the Bible, so that the youth are fortified against ‘the heresies and fables that abound in the Christian world’ (Testimonies on Sabbath School Work, p. 35–36).This is the way the Orchard has operated over the last ten years. There is no preliminary Sabbath school meeting time, we go straight into the lesson which starts at 10am and generally we don’t finish until 11:20am.

In relation to the mission news, we play a mission video, which goes for 3-5 minutes during the Church Divine Service time every week. This not only serves to show our members what our churches are doing in terms of outreach throughout the world, but it also gives us ideas of what we can do in Melbourne. When it comes to our Sabbath School offerings and 13th Sabbath offering, they are paid online though the Orchard’s website linked to the South Pacific Division’s eGiving portal.

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