FUNDAMENTAL PRESENTATIONS
The Sabbath
Creation
Baptism
The second coming of
Christ
Growing in Christ
THE SABBATH.
The word “sabbath” comes from the Hebrew word shabbat, which means “to cease” or stop. Its
theological meaning is rooted in God's rest following the six days of creation
The Sabbath is the day of rest, reflection, enjoyment and worship for God’s people. It dates back
to the seventh day of the creation week, when God stopped His work and took time to rest and
savor it.
In six days He created the world we live in (Genesis 1:1-26). It was on the sixth day of creation
that God formed man and woman in His own image.
He had made everything necessary for humans to live and thrive here on this earth. But He
wasn’t quite finished with the whole creation process.
On the seventh day God created the Sabbath. His last act of creation was to sanctify this day and
make it holy. Then He rested.
WHAT DAY IS THE SABBATH?
If we follow exactly what the Bible specifies several times, the Sabbath is the 7th day of the
week. It started when God sanctified the seventh day in Genesis 2, after He finished creating the
world. Later, God’s Word confirms the Saturday Sabbath in Exodus 16, even before the Ten
Commandments were written.
When the Israelites were gathering food, God commanded them to gather for six days.
WHY DID GOD REST ON THE SABBATH?
While the Bible tells us God “rested” on the Sabbath day, it doesn’t say that He rested because
He was tired. He rested to look over what He created and enjoy it.
When God rested on the Sabbath, He set for us an example. He gave the weekly Sabbath as a day
of rest and worship for all of mankind. The Sabbath is a memorial, a day when we remember
God’s creative power.
Because He had rested upon the Sabbath, ‘God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, he set it
apart to a holy use. He gave it to Adam as a day of rest. It was a memorial of the work of
creation, and thus a sign of God’s power and His love.
On the Sabbath, we are just supposed to enjoy God and his gifts. It is one day to be rather than to
do.
1. To remind us that God is the provider for our lives
No other society in ancient times took a day off, because survival was often a day-to-day,
season-to-season affair. But God commanded his people to take a Sabbath because he wanted to
remind them that he bore the true responsibility of providing for them.
2. To remind us that God is the Savior of our lives
The second place the Sabbath is discussed is in Deuteronomy 5:12–15: “Observe the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy …. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the
Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”
The Sabbath gave the Israelites space to reflect on their salvation and the fact that God had
accomplished their greatest need, deliverance from sin all by himself.
HOW TO OBSERVE THE SABBATH.
1) Remember
We’re told in Exodus 20:8 to remember the Sabbath day. That means don’t forget about it! The
first step in keeping this commandment is making the commitment to keep it. So throughout the
other six days of the week, “remember” that on the seventh day you will be resting. When you
make your plans, incorporate the Sabbath into your schedule. Don’t make any plans on the
seventh day that would take away from what you should be doing. Just as the Lord has
remembered His steadfast love and faithfulness to His people (Psalm 98:3), May we be faithful
to Him and remember His Sabbath.
2) Rest/Don’t Do Work
The Sabbath is to be kept every seventh day, which is from Friday sundown to Saturday
sundown. (Biblical days begin in the evening.)
In addition to not working ourselves, we are not to directly cause anyone else to work either. As
the commandment says, “On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or
your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or
the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may
rest as well as you.”
3) Fellowship with other believers
We are instructed in the bible to have a holy gathering on the Sabbath (Leviticus 23:3), which is
why we see in Scripture that it was Jesus’ and the apostles' custom to attend synagogue and
worship with others on this day. Therefore, make every effort to fellowship with likeminded
believers on the Sabbath
4) Don’t buy or sell.
We are prohibited from buying and selling on the Sabbath day (Nehemiah 10:31), so make sure
you go grocery shopping and take care of errands during the other six days of the week. The
Sabbath is a special day of rest and a time to spend with God, family, and friends. Therefore, it
shouldn’t be treated like the other days of the week on which “common” things are done—that
is, chores, errands, shopping, etc.
5) Reflect on the Gospel message
One of the reasons God gave us the Sabbath day is to remind us of our deliverance from Egypt
(Deuteronomy 5:15). God rescued us from harsh slavery and gave us the gift of physical rest.
Since Egypt is often used to refer to sin throughout the New Testament. Jesus rescued us from
the slavery of our sins and gave us true rest in Him. So on the Sabbath we remember that we
were once enslaved to our sins, but now we are free because of him. Thus, the Sabbath is a time
to reflect on the Gospel, our deliverance from our own sins and rest in God’s love.
6) Observe traditions
The Jewish people have been keeping the Sabbath for thousands of years and thus have
developed many traditions that are worth exploring and implementing into your Sabbath
observance. Some of these traditions include the blessings over the bread, wine and candles,
singing songs, and closing the Sabbath with a Havdalah ceremony. Observing these traditions is
a wonderful way to make the day special for you and your family.
In addition to observing Jewish tradition, you can also come up with your own traditions. Some
families might have a family game night on Friday nights or go for walks in the park on Saturday
afternoons. The Sabbath is a God-focused and family-focused time, so whatever you do, make
sure it revolves around the theme of the day spending time with God and family.
7) Find delight in the Sabbath
God did not intend the Sabbath to be a burden, but rather a time of joy. The Bible says that
blessings come when we honor the Sabbath and call it a delight (Isaiah 58:13)
Significance of the Sabbath.
1. The Sabbath reminds us about who God is.
2. The Sabbath symbolizes restoration with God.
3. The Sabbath gives us a certain day of the week on which to direct out thought and actions
towards God.
CREATION
Creation is the act of bringing something into existence.
God’s creation of the earth is found in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 and consists of the following
seven days of creation:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void
and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of
the waters (Genesis 1:1-2).
Day 1: Light
“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good;
and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He
called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:3-5).
Day 2: Firmament
“Then God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters
from the waters.’ Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the
firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the
firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day” (Genesis 1:6-8).
Day 3: Earth, sea and vegetation
“Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let
the dry land appear’; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together
of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:9-10).
“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that
yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth’; and it was so. And the
earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields
fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening
and the morning were the third day” (Genesis 1:11-13).
Day 4: Sun, moon and stars
“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the
night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in
the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth’; and it was so. Then God made two great
lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars
also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the
day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
So the evening and the morning were the fourth day” (Genesis 1:14-19).
Day 5: Birds and sea creatures
“‘Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly
above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.’ So God created great sea
creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their
kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God
blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds
multiply on the earth.’ So the evening and the morning were the fifth day” (Genesis 1:20-23)
Day 6: Land animals and humans
“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and
creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind’; and it was so. And God made
the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps
on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in our image, according to our likeness; let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth
and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image;
in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them,
and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over
the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”
“And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the
earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of
the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life,
I have given every green herb for food’; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had
made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Genesis
1:24-31).
Day 7: The Sabbath
“Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day
God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work
which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested
from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2:1-3)
BAPTISM
The word baptism comes from the Greek word baptizo which means to “immerse, submerge or
dip.
Baptism is interpreted differently and there are a number of baptism that exists in Christian
churches today. Some employ immersion or dipping, others aspersion or sprinkling, jumping on
flames of fire and others employ affusion or pouring.
Sprinkling pouring
Immersion baptism of fire.
The Seventh - day Adventist church adopted the baptism of dipping or immersion which was
demonstrated by john the Baptist in river Jordan and it’s found in Acts 8:36-39.
The meaning of baptism
Alfred Plummer once said “it is only when baptism is administered by immersion that its full
significance is seeing.”
Baptism has a lot of meaning and below are a few mentioned.
1. By baptism we confess our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and testify
of our death to sin and of our purpose to walk in newness of life.
2. By baptism we acknowledge Christ as lord and savior, became his people and are
received as members by his church.
3. Baptism is an affirmation of faith in Jesus Christ and evidence of repentance of sin.
4. Baptism is a symbol of our union with Christ, the forgiveness our sins and our reception
of the Holy Spirit.
5. It follows instructions in the Holy Scriptures and acceptance of its teaching.
In Acts 2:38 peter is admonishing everyone to repent and be baptized of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness if sins and Holy Spirit shall be out poured to everyone in abundance.
Who should be baptized?
Every person who has made the decision to believe in Christ. When p Paul writes to the believers
in Rome, he assumes that all of them have been baptized. (Romans 6).
The one requirement for baptism is belief is having faith in Christ.
Acts 2:41 says “those who accepted his message were baptized.”
Children can also be baptized when they are old enough understand what it means and make a
personal declaration of belief.
When are we to be baptized?
Believers in the New Testament were baptized the same day. As soon as someone decided to
believe in Christ he can be and is encouraged to be baptized.
Importance of baptism
Baptism marks the personal identification with Christ
Baptism marks the entrance into the Christian family
Baptism is a public confession of the faith
An act of obedience
Following Christs example
THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
The second coming of Chris refers to the return of Jesus Christ on planet earth.
Signs of Christ’s coming.
The scriptures has a lot of signs that indicates the nearness of Christ’s return, some have
happened already and some are yet to happen. Some of the signs are;
1. The sun will be darkened.
2. Falling of stars.
3. Great religious awakening in the religious world.
4. Preaching of the Gospel.
5. Religious decline.
6. Increase of wickedness in the natural world.
7. Wars and calamities.
8. Famines
What will be the second coming be like?
The bible tells us that the second coming of Christ will be literal, personal, sudden and
universally visible.
The second coming of Christ coincides with the resurrection and translation of the righteous as
described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
Literal
The second coming is not a secret for only the most educated one, or a prize for the rich. It’s not
a metaphorical or symbolic, or only happening on a spiritual plane, as once believed by many
Christian communities. It is and will be a literal event as described in the scriptures.
Jesus will descend on a cloud
The righteous dead will rise from their graves and up to the cloud with Jesus.
The righteous living will rise up to the clouds with Jesus and always be with the lord.
Personal
Jesus’ return is about reuniting himself with us. In John 14 he informed his disciples he was
ascending back to heaven, but he would be preparing a place for us.
Visible
Revelation 1:7 says “every eye shall see him.” We will not have to guess or wonder if this is
really Jesus or not. No matter where we will be, will be able to see him.
Jesus will be visible to all including those who hurt him, those who choose to believe in him and
those who don’t everyone we will see him.
The second coming will not be something anyone can miss.
Worldwide.
Through the bible we can see the second is not only a literal event but a global event.
We will be able to hear the trumpet calls and victory shouts of the angels who will accompany
Jesus when he returns.
How to prepare for the second coming.
Like the ten virgins in Jesus’ parable, we must be prepared for the bride groom’s coming. We are
all sinners and we need Jesus. It’s only through Jesus that we may enter the wedding feast.
It’s through Jesus we prepare for his coming and as long as we have a relationship with him, we
will be ready. We won’t lose our spot in heaven if we make a little mistake. We won’t need to
fear the end of time. We rest assured knowing our home is heaven, despite our sinful nature.
Scriptures tells us “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of the glory of God.” Romans3:23.
That means every one of us has sinned and doesn’t deserve heaven, because of this we left with a
legacy of sin.
Through Jesus Christ we are saved from the consequences of sin. We have the gift of eternal life
through Jesus Christ our lord. To prepare for that life is to prepare for his coming.
GROWING IN CHRIST
Salvation is God’s free gift to us, as long as we accept it.
When we accept Jesus as our savior, the biggest change is that we are no longer slaves to our
selfish sinful nature.
We will still haven struggles with sin as we grow spiritually, but God gives us the Holy Spirit to
live in our hearts and guide us. We are a “new creation” in Christ as we learn more about Him
and grow our faith (2 Corinthians 5:17).
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO GROW IN CHRIST?
Grow in in Christ means do deepen our relationship with him.
Jesus saves us the instant we acknowledge our belief in Him and accept his for our redemption.
With this new peace in our hearts, we can focus on getting to know him better as well as the
plans he has for us.
However, true growth is often gradual and spiritual growth included. God knows what we need
and does not force us or rush us. The important thing is that we are now in the process of
growing in Christ and developing a Christ-like character.
JEUS AS OUR EXAMPLE FOR A CHRIST LIKE CHARACTER
While he was on earth, Jesus Christ lived a pure and blameless life of love. He did this with the
same human limitations we have, all through a constant connection with God, his heavenly
father.
Since humanity’s fallen nature makes us incapable of living perfect lives through our power, we
need God’s help.
We are admitting that we cannot achieve righteousness on our own, and that we need Jesus’s
sacrifice and God’s grace. We’re surrendering the pressure we put on ourselves to do the best or
be the best, and letting the Holy Spirit be the one to direct the enrichment of our lives. This act of
letting go is actually, what sets us free.
Our beliefs become more and more evident as we deepen them. As we pray, learn, test, try,
observe and reflect, our relationship with God grows and our faith develops. It gradually
permeates our intentions, our priorities and our actions.
While He was on Earth, Jesus Christ lived a pure and blameless life of love. He did this with the
same human limitations we have, all through a constant connection with God, His Heavenly
Father.
Since humanity has fallen nature makes us incapable of living perfect lives through our own
power (Romans 3:10, 23), we need God’s help. We look to Jesus (1 Peter 2:21) to help us live
selflessly and make good choices. His power and grace are the only things that can truly make us
righteous.
As part of remaining in Christ and embracing the grace He offers, we are called to follow
Christ’s example, to live our lives the way Jesus did while he was on earth.
Jesus asks us to serve and to offer ourselves for others, just as He did. Such selflessness may
sometimes feel difficult or unnatural, but with God’s help, our feelings and choices become more
in tune with what Christ asked of us. That is what it means to have a Christ-like character.
When Jesus was on earth, He did not spend His time chasing after the things “of the world,” such
as striving for wealth, popularity or success. He spent His time on others, feeding them when
they were hungry, healing them when they were sick, and comforting them when they were
hurting. That is how Jesus offered Himself for others and that is the example we ought to follow.
BUILDING BLOCKS FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH
The bible is our guide to deepening our relationship with God. We can find all kinds of advice
and examples we can apply to our own lives.
Four essential building blocks of a growing spiritual life,
Prayer
Reading the bible
Applying what we learn
Meeting with other believers.
Setting aside regular time for prayer and Bible study helps us get in the habit of incorporating
our spiritual growth into our daily lives.
The book of Colossians encourages us to make a conscious, intentional choice to invite Christ
into our minds each day.
The more we focus on all the good things God has done for us, the easier it is for us to trust Him
with our problems and decisions, knowing that He will not let us down.
Like getting to know someone better through conversation, prayer is often the best way for us to
grow closer to God. If we become accustomed to constant communication with Him, we can tell
Him about our troubles and thank Him for all He has done for us.
Nevertheless, relationship with God is not just a growing list of Bible verses. Our actions do
matter. Our faith is meant to show.
We can also strengthen our relationship with Christ through fellowship with other believers. By
meeting together and sharing God’s love with others who follow Him, we not only strengthen
our relationship with God, but can help others strengthen theirs as well.
God knows it can be difficult sometimes to keep our faith strong in a confused and chaotic
world. This is why He reminds us to meet together and encourage each other.
By daily to commune with Jesus, by putting our faith into action, and by sharing in fellowship
with other believers, we can keep our connection to God strong, continually growing in his love.
THE EVIDENCE OF GROWTH
God influences our lives through the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Godhead, or trinity.
When Jesus went back to heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to look after us, to be our guide and
teacher (John 14:15-18).
One aspect of a Spirit-filled life is the freedom we can feel from the cares of the world. Without
having to run the rat race, to “keep up with the Jones’s” or to worry about how we will make our
way in this life (Matthew 6:25-34), we can be truly free.
Just as Jesus came to be an example of God’s character, we as Christians are also called to show
His goodness and love. When other people meet us and see the Fruits of the Spirit, they will see
God’s character and better understand what He is like, and how He has the power to change
people’s hearts.
Our actions preach the gospel just as much as our words. He can show His goodness through us.
GROWING IN CHRIST NEVER HAS TO END.
Spiritual growth, led by the Holy Spirit, knows no limits. Strengthening our relationship with
Jesus Christ is a continual process meant to engage every part of our lives.
Anything the world offers us has limits. However, through our relationship with Jesus, who is
our connection to God the Father (John 14:6), we will never stagnate. God is infinite. There will
always be more to learn, to see, to do, which makes up the continual “renewing” of our minds.
We have the incredible privilege of living a life touched by the Creator of the universe and
sharing His love with others. In addition, the closer we become with Him, the more of a blessing
we have the chance to be.
