Sabbath School Lesson Comments By Ellen G. White - 3rd Quarter 2015 (July, August, September 2015 Book 32) QUOTES

1 " The cross of Christ is to be the great center round which everything must revolve. Everything else must be in subordination to it. The cross is planted midway between divinity and humanity, between heaven and earth. It never moves nearer the earth. All things concerning the salvation of man must lie in the shadow of the cross. Heavenly intelligencies, uniting with the earthly, bow to this central attraction, and voices from heaven and earth unfold to the universe the plan of redemption. The cross is not to lose its significance to either world. All property, all wealth, that finds its way into the Lord’s treasury, finds its true place in the arrangement of God. … Brethren and sisters, will you work for selfish purposes? Will you let the world with its selfish aims and principles come between you and your God? Will you serve mammon? Christ plainly declares that you cannot serve God and mammon. Will you subscribe your name on the pages of the world’s record, or will you relate yourself to God, and let him write your name in the record books of heaven, to be immortalized in the universe of God? Christ has the first claim on you. “Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price. …” I entreat you, spring into action at once, and be all that the name Christian signifies. You will then have no desire to live for self. You will have the high distinction of living wholly for Christ. -ST 8-17-91 "

― Ellen Gould White , Sabbath School Lesson Comments By Ellen G. White - 3rd Quarter 2015 (July, August, September 2015 Book 32)

2 " My brethren and sisters, will you bear in mind that in dealing with God’s heritage you are not to act out your natural characteristics? The people of God are Christ’s purchased possession, and what a price he has paid for them. Shall any of us be found aiding the enemy of God and man in discouraging and destroying souls? What will be the retribution brought upon us if we do this class of work? Every one of us should weed out of our conversation everything that is harsh and severe. We should not indulge in condemning others, and we will not do so if we are one with Christ. We are to represent Christ in our dealings with our fellow men. We are to be laborers together with God in helping those who are tempted. We are not to encourage souls to sow seeds of doubt; for they will bear a baleful harvest. We are to learn of Christ, to practice his methods, to reveal his spirit. We are enjoined, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.” We should educate ourselves to believe in the word of God which is being so wonderfully and gloriously fulfilled. If we have the full assurance of faith, we will not indulge in doubting our brethren and sisters. -SpTA03 "

― Ellen Gould White , Sabbath School Lesson Comments By Ellen G. White - 3rd Quarter 2015 (July, August, September 2015 Book 32)

3 " The Lord works continually to benefit mankind. He is continually imparting his bounties. He raises up the sick from beds of languishing, he delivers men from peril which they do not see; he commissions heavenly angels to save men from calamity, to guard them from the pestilence that walketh in darkness, and from the destruction that wasteth at noonday, but their hearts are unimpressed. They do not consider God’s blessings, they do not rejoice in his love. They center all their thoughts upon themselves. They do not appreciate Christ’s pitying tenderness and matchless love. Only a few discern that their blessings are the result of the never-failing mercies of God through Jesus Christ; but those who do discern this fact, make melody in their hearts to God, and, as did the cleansed leper, they offer to him a tribute of praise and thanksgiving. There are many who claim that Jesus has cleansed them from the leprosy of sin. But how few continue to offer a tribute of praise, ascribing glory to God! The great gift that God has bestowed upon the world in his only-begotten Son, calls for as hearty a response of love and gratitude as that which fell from the lips of the Samaritan, who returned to give God glory. When our human friends bestow upon us gifts and favors, we feel an inclination to manifest gratitude, and to return gifts and favors to them. But how indifferent and careless, how unappreciative, are the hearts of men of the love of God! How little men seem to think of the blessings that are showered upon them by our kind heavenly Father! The Lord asked, “Where is my glory and my praise for the boundless love I have shown to men?” It is impossible for God to give a greater manifestation of his tender compassion and benevolent love. [Jn 3:16 quoted]. All heaven was comprised in that one gift. It is through the merits of the gift of Christ that we receive all our mercies. We may rejoice with heart and soul and voice as we partake of our daily food; for it is the gift of God through Jesus Christ. In the councils of heaven the Lord planned to reshape the broken, perverted characters of man, and to restore to them the moral image of God. This work is termed the mystery of godliness. Christ, the only-begotten of the Father, assumed human nature, came in the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh. He came to testify to the unchangeable character of the law of God that had been impeached by Satan. … Christ lived the law in humanity, in order that … Satan might be proved an accuser and a liar. … In all his works he taught men that it was his mission not to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. -ST 7-2-96 "

― Ellen Gould White , Sabbath School Lesson Comments By Ellen G. White - 3rd Quarter 2015 (July, August, September 2015 Book 32)