 Happy Sabbath and welcome to the 11th lesson of the third quarter of the teens cornerstone connection lesson of 2023 This week we have Baraka at the mission story in the orchestra We have Amy and Arianna in the violin Sikai on the trumpet and Sid on the piano For the lesson panel. We have some of the Nairobi central teens along with their teens teachers enjoy Hi, I'm Baraka, and I'll be taking us through the the mission story for today Piano pathfinders and Jesus Like the previous mission story this mission story also comes from the country of Latvia that is located in Europe specifically in the Baltic Sea and its capital is called Riga Just the fun fact about the country the person who invented the jeans was a Latvian tailor Latvian is one of the oldest languages in Europe and and The Latvian flag is also one of the oldest flags worldwide Now getting into the story the story is also about a little girl called Anna the same one from the previous story Have you ever met someone and you just hit it off like you just knew that this is like the right person You became friends immediately Possibly because of shared interests and stuff like that This was the case with Anna and her friend Emilia. They both met at music school where they were both learning piano And as they became friends, they began to realize that they shared a lot more interests They both love music. They both love dogs. They both love piano and They both did gymnastics however If there's something different, it was that Anna loved going for pathfinders, but Emilia wasn't really Into pathfinder. She in fact she didn't go to church at all and so one time Anna invites her friend Emilia for a pathfinder company and as For that entire week while Emilia was at pathfinders, they did a lot of singing they enjoyed camping and As time went on Emilia began to find that she loved pathfinders more and more and as a result She began to come for pathfinders every time there was a meeting. She began to go to church more they began holding Bible studies together and It even started going to church and eventually this this influence from Anna spread over to not just Emilia But her family as well her little brother also began going to church and they joined the pathfinders together Anna says I love Jesus and I love reading the Bible. I'm sharing this truth with others I believe like Anna all of us that are as adventists have the responsibility to bear in terms of sharing the message with other people It may not involve going far to different countries, but you could do it Right where you are with your closest friends Part of this quarter's 13th Sabbath offering will help support pathfinders like Anna and Emilia in Latvia The offering will help construct a building in Latvia's capital where children like Anna can learn more about Jesus We'll now see a short prayer for the 13th Sabbath offering so that it may fulfill its intended purpose. Let us pray Our dear heavenly father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for Life we thank you for everything you've given us. Yeah, God. We also want to thank you for your word and we thank you that Children around the world Can spread the word we pray for the 13th Sabbath offering that you may please bless it and help it build a Building in Latvia where children can learn more and more about Jesus and come to know you All-in-preparation for your second coming. This is my prayer in Jesus name. Amen. I have Jesus Than anything this world affords today Welcome back again to our cornerstone connection lesson for this quarter, and we are on lesson number 11 Line in the sand now before we begin I'd like my panelists here to introduce themselves starting from my extreme left My name is Omiri Kibwage Yes, hello everyone and my name is Kevin One of the facilitators of the class. Thank you, and my name is Brigitte Ogega. I'll be your moderator for today So before we begin I'd like to invite Omiri to kindly pray for us Let us pray Thank you Lord for today for guiding us all here to teach this lesson Lord Please help the people that listen to it to learn from your Lord and help us to speak not from ourselves But from the Holy Spirit just me pray amen amen. Thank you so much Omiri Now as I had mentioned our lesson is entitled Line in the sand and I just got a bit curious to look up what line in the sand means and Line in the sand means a point beyond which one will not go So even in our backdrop for today's lesson I invite you to open your lessons with me So if you look at the backdrop just there These are there's a few young people who are Same they seem to be in the beach and there's a line that has been drawn in the sand of that beach and There are two youth on one side and three youth on one side And there's one who's right in the middle and it's as though he's being coerced to Go to either side and so we'll look at how That applies to our lesson There is a fight between good and evil in this day and age and it is for us to choose Do we want to be on the good side or do we want to be on the evil side? And whichever side we choose is it easy to make that choice and so that is what we'll be discussing today So I'd like to invite teacher Kevin to give us an illustration just before we get right into our lesson today Yeah, just more Aligning the sun, you know just to think about it, you know When I know most of us love swimming so and as you swim They usually a barrier they put in between the shallow waters and the deep waters and And any time even while you go to the beach you want to swim and you cross that line or that kind of You know something that has been put together Then that confirms to you that you possibly Are a good swimmer an amazing swimmer or in other words you are ready to take the risk So and as you come back to today's lesson, which is more of the illustration There is an illustration that has been shared here that talks about casinos and I know most of us have seen casinos so there is a story of a casino a Story that seemed like a scam whereby there is this guy who we would call Abramov So Abramov was always there in all the in all the casinos, you know where they wanted to close a casino The guy was there where we wanted to open one. He was there and so in this specific course whenever They wanted to close one casino in that area or open another The guy almost made sure that he's there and he will profit from it However, as that proceeded on and he went on making money in 1999 The state of Alabama considered launching its own national lottery kind of a thing and and so because Abramov wanted to Benefit he sponsored a motion of you know around 1.3 million dollars and Put some banners to the churches so that the churches can now reject that kind of a thing And you know what people in church or like this is a worthy cause you should reject You know national lottery by our state and at the end of it all he may have won But the church members never knew that the same money they are using to object is done by the casinos And so as we get on with the lesson we get to learn that The guy was playing all odds. He was a double-edged kind of a person and Those these aga reminds us of what has been written in the Bible that no one can serve two masters It's either you love one or hate another one, you know, that's from Matthew 6 24 And so at the end of it all Abramov was You know was arrested and he pleaded guilty to conspiracy fraud tax evasion among us all this and all his friends Activities and everything forever tarnished were tarnished and and so like the story of Akkan Joshua's farewell message reminds us that you can't serve both God and man and as he says in Joshua 24 15 You have to choose which side you want to fall. Thank you very much Amen. Thank you for that illustration and I just want to invite Silas to take us into our story for today So the intro of our story today is about the goodbye Joshua gave to the Israelites his parting shot so You should told the Israelites to basically keep all the laws and remind them of each and every law and its consequence and he says that You could choose to serve the gods of your ancestors or the gods of the Amorites and All these people who's who live around you, but he will mean true to God So this basically means that What you choose to do is a personal decision. It's not a corporate It's your own decision not our decision. It's personal Amen. Thank you Silas for that. I like what he said that Salvation is personal so your parents your relatives may have chosen salvation But that doesn't mean that it is automatic for you as an individual that you'll be saved It is for you to choose salvation Individually and it's interesting even just to connect last week's lesson and this week's last week was the Re-estate section where now the Israelites were occupying the different places They were given on the promised land and in today's lesson. We are seeing that It time has passed and so they have settled in and they they're not being troubled anymore So they're just living at peace in this place But bear in mind that they still haven't conquered all the nations that they were supposed to conquer so they're feeling like they're a bit complacent and They're okay. They don't need to conquer anymore So Joshua who at this point is quite old and realizes that you know what my days are almost coming to an end He reminds them that you know what yes You may be in the promised land, but they still know that you need to do you still haven't conquered this conquered it all And remember all this victory is coming from the Lord and it's interesting because just a few lessons ago We had also seen how Moses gave his patting shot to the Israelites And how he was had broken when he saw that the Israelites did not follow all the laws of God Even as they had promised but it's interesting as we have seen and we'll continue to see in our lesson today That God still chooses to work with them even amidst their complacency. So what do you think about our lesson today? In the what do you think section of the lesson? There are two questions which have multiple choice answers The first one is it asks you to define courage The choices are as following the willingness to put everything on the line for what you believe an Attitude that isn't blocked by obstacles and pushed forward with faith The ability to focus onwards truly important. I Think that the best definition for courage is the first one The willingness to put everything on the line for what you believe Because you need to be courageous especially Now as you'll normally be mocked for doing things that are considered you'd be called churchy or like The Bible follower because you're doing the things of God So you need to be courageous to put your friendships on the line And the second question is what tempted the Israelites to turn from God in Joshua's time? These are the choices the Canonite legions following God was just too complicated They got too comfortable in their new land. They started thinking they could handle things themselves. I Think all of these choices had a path to play in them turning away from God because these Canonite legions They were just around them and as we have had they didn't destroy all of the nations around them So these Canonite legions were inviting them and following God the mosaic law was it had a lot of Rules and regulations that they had to follow and these people they weren't used to that because they were just from Egypt They got too comfortable comfortable in their own land as I've just heard from the story And they started thinking they could handle things themselves when you think that you don't need God to do something Then you just do it by your own power and as we know us as humans were not strong enough to do it That's what I have Amen, thank you for that now just to remind you that our scripture story today is from Joshua chapter 23 and 24 And if you read through one of the things you realize Joshua is saying is that he tells this Israelites that they need to be very courageous to keep all the laws and the commandments of God And I just want to pose a question to my panellists panellists here Usually being told to be courageous would be maybe in a situation or in a circumstance like war or When you're going to to battle or to face something maybe an examination you're being told be courageous But why do you think? Following the laws of God requires someone to be courageous. Why is he telling them you need to be very courageous? Maybe it's a Kevin you can start Yeah, myself personally the word courage is It's something that sometimes you don't know how to define it or sometimes how it not supposed to be defined But when the lesson speaks about the willingness to put everything on the line for what you believe in you know if if you train maybe to do a 10 kilometer run for example it will actually need you to do some practice But aside from that it needed to take to how to gather some courage and believe that you're gonna start and end So in the same case while you apply the word of God While you're trying to see what works and what doesn't work and when maybe a certain verse talks about this and about that Then it also needs courage because I You know people nowadays believe that you know what anything can be compromised But for you to follow God's word then you need courage to believe to tell guys that you know what this is always supposed to be This were interpreted and and because the interpretation is also in the same Bible This there is supposed to be followed so it's needs courage and strength and which also means if you are courageous enough Then you won't be swayed side to side by other people's opinion of what they think is right or wrong So that's that's what I think maybe Amen, amen remember that we are in our work. We are in a battle. It's flesh against spirit the world against God's heaven and so This forces of evil are so strong But even if you read through the Bible in Paul's letters, he keeps telling us that we need to put on the full armor of God So yes, we are in a spiritual war and that is why Joshua was saying we need to be very Courageous to keep the laws of God because natural years man. We are just inclined to sin It's very easy to see Paul himself says that the things I wish to do But those things that I do not wish to do those are the ones I do and so it takes some courage To actually fulfill the law of God and right even here in our lesson for today There's a question that was saying true or false. Maybe I'll ask one of our panelist silas There's a question that was saying is it true or false? Do you think that God would rather you be a hypocritical Christian or you be an overt atheist? What are your thoughts on this? Okay, I think that's God Would want you to either be fully devoted to him or not So there's no line It's either hot or cold Amen, I love what you've said you're either hot or cold And I just like to invite on where you to read for us the book of Revelation chapter 3 verse 15 to 16 So revelation chapter 3 verse 15 to 16 just to see what what does God want for us in terms of how we live as Christians Relation chapter 3 verse 15 and 16 says I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot Would that you are cold or hot? So because you are look home and neither cold nor hot. I will Spew you out of my mouth Thank you for that now one thing that we are told of the church in the last days Which is the church that we're living in is that that church is described as being neither cold nor hot That is look home and that is a very dangerous state to be in so God would rather you either just be a Complete atheist or you are for his side And so it is a lesson for us in fact in James chapter 1 verse 8 We are told that a double-minded man is unstable a double-minded man is unstable So even in our lesson today we're being told it is for us to choose Do you want to be of the world or do you want to be of Christ? And you cannot be both because we're told that a friend of the world is an enemy of God And the last question even that is also right there in our lesson that says that as you look over your life Has God been faithful to you and now the path that I want us to to even answer have you been faithful to God? How might how might they to be related? Is there a relationship between us being faithful and God being faithful to us? Maybe we can have Give your thoughts on that So do you think there's a relationship between us being faithful and God being faithful back to us I Think that God will always be faithful to us because his as he says his name is I am who I am meaning that he doesn't change So but human beings are in constant they change from day to day So I think that God will always be faithful to us, but as human beings our faithfulness to him can can waver That's true. Maybe to check in any thoughts on that On aspects of of of us being faithful and remaining in God's word We live in a world whereby we as young people are you know tempted by so many things You know, you know, you get to a point and you realize that so and so you say I think this is the right way Then another one says that's the right way But however the word of God has its own way and because we believe in a God Who is living and who is there for each one of us despite your faith despite What we are doing in this world then we have to remain faithful to God's word We have to do that which is said and what is written and and God also affirms that wherever becomes a challenge And even in our difficulties he always comes to help us and support us And he doesn't promise that if we keep his word to the full that there won't be challenges He says that there will be challenges. There'll be tribulations, but he will walk us through those challenges So faithfulness is key and you need it as young people even as you go through the various Challenges and no life's opportunities and everything we go through every other day Amen I like what you've said that indeed our God will forever be faithful and given as a very added and said that Human beings tend to change based on the circumstances But one thing that I have found very practical to me in my life is Anytime God has done something that you feel is truly amazing Write it down and put it in a jar somewhere and then later on when you start feeling like things are not working out Go back open that giant see what is this that God did for me and truly just looking back at how God has been faithful to you It will be a reminder and encouragement even for you going for that truly you can make it and God is forever faithful to us Now I'd like to invite to worry to just quickly take us through our key text for today The key text is from Joshua 24 verse 15 and it says But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve Whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living But as for me in my household, we will serve the Lord Here we can see as Joshua says there is no partiality. You'll either serve God or the Amorite gods around them There's a question here for the mandi section When the Israelites vow to follow God Joshua charge them to get rid of their idols. What changes could you and your could you your family in your church? Make to follow God more fully. I think you can follow what Joshua said. He told them to get rid of their idols There are things in our lives that we put above God that cause us to sin and we are okay with that and these These are our idols whether it's your social media or even your work or school So I think we should remember to put to God first in all that we do we shouldn't like forsake the Sabbath to do work or we shouldn't Waste time on social media instead of reading the Bible or spending time in prayer I think this what you can do as a family to grow in God Amen and even just to add that from our recently concluded camp meetings worldwide It is evident that we are being encouraged to get involved So one way in which we can fully be involved in God's work is just to apply our spiritual gifts and ministries Even as is said in our fundamental beliefs So we are encouraged that in this church that we have in this day and age We have enough resources within us to facilitate the work of God to go for so I just like to encourage you our dear viewer Whatever talent you have if it is singing if it is preaching if it is showing compassion Whatever it is use it to the utmost to serve the Lord Because indeed it is through serving God that we can fully get involved and fully beyond his side Such that the world of the devil will not take us and we will be able to stand to the end and at this point I just like to Invite teacher Kevin to bring in the spirit of prophecy and apply it to our lesson today, which is lying in the sand Yeah, today's spirit of prophecy comes from patriarchs and prophets chapter 49 who is entitled the last words of Joshua and and maybe if I can read something small From there then maybe share two or three excerpts that said some years had passed since the people had settled in The oppositions and already could be seen cropping out of the same Evils that had therefore brought judgments upon Israel So as Joshua felt the infamities of age stealing upon him and realized that his work must soon close He was filled with anxiety for the future of his people It was with more than a father's interest that he would that he would Feel obliged to share to the people and then down there and as I quote So he is a gathered once more about their age chief So he thought in his own time means that is time to gather people He have seen he said all that the Lord your God has done and to all these nations Because of you for the Lord your God is he that has fought for you But although the colonites had been subdued they still possessed a considerable portion of the land promised to Israel and Joshua exalted His people not to settle down at ease. So what you are learning from there and down there in that chapter is that Joshua realized that age was catching up and he realized that the people You know the Israelites had started settling down to the colonize behavior They had become too comfortable and had felt that in their own way that they can do things without God So he thought you know what? Let me give some words to them and part of what he said and and from what in in part of the Choose the pattern all that is that people need to still stand with God And at the end of it all they can't be standing on God on the other side It has to be one of the ways and so that's why this chapter has been written so that It can try to teach us on what Joshua wanted people to learn And as we come a last part of this that says the last part which is of the chapter says Joshua's work for Israel was done He had wholly followed the Lord and in the book of God he is written and and before I proceed on it's my prayer That as we do what we do on this world We can carefully and prayerfully believe that you know what my name is written in the book of God And and maybe before I proceed I may want to find out or ask one of the teens maybe because it's something that's caught my attention Do you think? It will be a good thing for you to have done all for God and Your name is not written. Maybe one of you can respond one of the teen It'll be very Beautiful that you're here Bringing others to Christ, but you say you have not truly accepted Christ and While those who how do you speak and decided to follow Christ? Are going to heaven you're going to hell when you're the one who put them into Christ It's Doesn't sound good Amen, amen, and thank you to what is just said You know something that is carefully put in the book of patriarchs and prophets is that the noblest testimony to his character as a Public leader is a history of the generation that had enjoyed his labors. Israel served all the days of Joshua they served God and to the end The elders outlived that so what we get from that is that we as Christians We as believers as you serve we as young people whether you're in school whether in college as you serve God We need to question and you need to ask us. So are we really doing it and are we really? Doing what God has us to do so that we don't do something and we end up in being free and when your days on This world, you know when your days are coming to the end like Joshua realized So will it be called up to you will God say that you know what he has done his work? And and his name I have written in my book will God say that so that's a challenge for us Even as we live our lives on a daily basis Amen, thank you so much to Kevin for that insight now even as we had read for us the key text Just I give them two options Do you want to serve the gods your ancestors served before beyond the Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites? Or do you want to serve the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt? And I don't I just want you guys to think along with me Why why were these people so keen on serving this Canonite gods? Because even if you read the history of the Canonite gods these gods They really wanted to be regularly Reminded that they need to take care of their people even if you remember the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal Those prophets had to cry out. They had to cut themselves. They had to do such Queer things to actually call their gods, but you realize that our God the Lord our God who is the true God He doesn't need to be reminded. He doesn't need to be coaxed Nothing he knows what is best for us and whenever it is it is his appointed time He will give it to us so to me It's just a mystery how these people still wanted to serve gods who wanted to be reminded of their duties But if you think about it realistically and practically even in our lives We do serve gods that if someone else looks at us They'll be like why are you serving such a good and so it's it's just a reminder to us That's look at what the Lord has done for you He has been faithful and he has proven himself faithful time and time again And truly he deserves to be worshipped So I'll just invite Silas to take us through the punchlines for this lesson today Okay, the punchlines are a few verses Which I'll choose the ones that speak to me the most which is Matthew chapter 16 verse 26 It says what good will it be for someone to gain the whole world yet who face his soul What can anyone give in chance for their soul? this basically means you have everything except your soul and The last one is Proverbs 3 verse 31 to 34 it says do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways For the Lord and his tests the person For us that takes the upright into its confidence the Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked But he blesses the home of the righteous. He mocks proud mockers, but shows favor to the humble and oppressed so we learn from this text that What we do is What we decide to do is what God will help us do if we decide to be honest You will help us through every challenge in this life My praise let's each one of you would choose his side and He will help you through all means Amen. Amen. Thank you so much Silas for that I'd like to invite Omwari to read for us the father insights in our lesson for today it's from steps to Christ which which eats By yielding up your will to Christ you ally yourself with the power that is above all principalities and powers You will have strength from above to hold you steadfast and thus through constant surrender to God You will be enabled to live the new life even the life of faith Amen. Thank you so much for bringing that up and even as we are learning in our lesson today that yes We have a child aside to choose and though it may be hard to choose the side of the Lord because as we have seen We have three very powerful enemies the devil who has been working for so many years the world Which constantly seeks to bring us? Very close to it and to follow its ways and the flesh that is within us that just wants to keep on singing So as much as we have those three enemies remember that we have a more powerful God Who is able to stand against all that and even as the father insight has said that by us? Yielding our will to him surrendering ourselves to him and just letting him use us and work within us Then we can be able to overcome all this. Yes, the flesh might fight against you But the spirit of God is even more powerful than that and even just before we close I'd like to invite check event to give some closing remarks Yeah As you continue with the lesson or as you come to the end of the lesson we realize that Joshua gave the people something to stand on and even as as I read that I would want just take us all back to the chapter 49 that we read the last words of Joshua That's patriarchs and prophets that says God is a life-giver from the beginning all his laws were ordained to life But sin broke in upon the order that God had established and this God followed so long as sin exists Suffering and death are inevitable It is only because the redeemer has born the curse of sin in on our behalf that man can hope to escape in his own person It's their results. So Joshua gave us a choice and He told us that for him and his family he will Serve God, but for you guys you have to choose so same case to you young person watching us You know for you who could be a parent for you who could be a teenager or you know someone even at an early age In this world, it's a bit confusing and everything seems not to be working Everything seems to be adulterated and taken to a certain side But you still have to choose if you hope to be like Abram of whom we read about in the story Who was 50 50 serving all sides then you may end up in losing it all So I encourage all of us at the end of this lesson to know that is there is that line in the Sun and there is what you ought To do and what you ought to keep off. Otherwise, we're gonna lose both sides So that's good, and I pray that the lesson will bless you as you go through it. Thank you. Amen Finally in Joshua chapter 24 verse 31 It says and Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders that Joshua and which had known all the works of the Lord that he had done for Israel Joshua left a legacy before he died and he left the laws of God Which he reminded the Israelites that they should continue following them and it's a beautiful Testimony given here that even long after he died the people still continue to follow the laws of God Romance to first to tells us that we should not be confirmed to this world But that we should be transformed by the renewing of our mind that we may prove What is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God? So I just want to challenge you my panelists and to challenge you our viewer that indeed What legacy will you leave here on earth? Choose you this day who you serve whether it be the Lord our God or whether it will be these gods the idols a small G gods Who actually we have to keep reminding them of what we want But our God who is faithful will be faithful and will stand faithful to the end So I'd like to invite Silas to close for us in prayer That's free How can in loving father I think for this day we think for your love and you care Thank you for this lessons that you've given us to learn about What you decide what you want for us and giving us the option to choose This day we pray that you help us apply and give us the strength to choose the right side angels I pray a man join us next supper for another interesting lesson. God bless you