Following are notes on Bill Wennell’s Sabbath School class in the main sanctuary of the Laurelbrook Seventh-day Adventist Church:

1. What is the difference between hope and faith?
2. Faith is taking God at His word.
3. Faith is trusting in a person; hope is having faith that something is going to happen.
4. Hope encompasses what we look forward to with faith as a part.
5. Faith is the foundation for hope.
6. Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
7. When Moses came back after 40 years to liberate the Israelites, there was probably an initial hope. But when he confronted Pharaoh the first time, the king ordered that straw not be furnished because the Israelites were keeping the Sabbath. The people, of course, lost hope.
8. It’s easy to have faith and hope when all is going good. Today, for example, we in the U.S. do not have to contend with burning churches, confiscated Bible, and other evidences of persecution.
9. In end times, no matter how much we worry about what is taking place, the reality will be worse. Do we have a confidence in God, a faith in Him that will take us through?
10. The key to hope in the end times will be our knowledge of God we build now.
11. Faith is evidenced in a crisis, not learned during a time of crisis.
12. We need to put God to the test in times of peace so we can blindly trust God in times of crisis.
13. 1 John 2:28 “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”
14. Someone who is really connected to Jesus has nothing to fear when in times of crisis apostasy is all around. Jesus will give us the answers when we have to answer opponents in times of crisis.
15. God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear.
16. Where are we putting our focus?
17. Everyone has been brought here to this school to help each other and the students. If we want to be solid in our hope, then we need to get our priorities straight.
18. Ellen White says that we are forgiven as we forgive. We become closer to God as we emulate God in forgiveness, work, and everyday tasks.
19. We must train ourselves now so we can automatically perform our Christian duties even in the hour of crisis like medical professionals who do their assigned duties in crisis just as they would in regular training.
20. The sealing is taking place now. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit.
21. Sometimes we take the attitude we are walking the Christian walk alone, but God is like a father training son to ride a bike, jogging along holding the seat even though the son thinks he is independent.
22. We must know the personality of God even more than His actions. Prosperity comes to some people as a result of Satan’s actions, not God’s.
23. In Job, Satan brought the trials, but God took overall responsibility because He allowed Job to have these experiences. Job’s main problem was that he couldn’t relate his trials to God.
24. Part of our problem is that we don’t understand how bad we are. God doesn’t owe us anything but gives us everything due to His love.
25. As Christians, we are in Satan’s territory – enemy territory. Christ doesn’t want the world back until He cleans it up from the sin that pervades this world.
26. Worldly people fight against Christians like a cancer fighting antibodies.
27. Christians must understand that Satan fights all the harder against them when they accept Jesus. God leads them through these trials to purify them.
28. Only by faith do teachers and parents see the results of their labors because the results extend far beyond their lifetimes. But God is working through us to plant seeds and thoughts that will bear fruit later on.
29. God is bigger than any problem we have.
30. Jesus was willing to tell His disciples many other marvelous things, but they could bear them.