Random Acts of KindnessSeptem

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2016

SundayHERE’S WHAT I THINK

Paul has been a Christian all of his life. Ever since he can remember he has been involved in church activities. Lately he has been feeling bored and a little disenchanted with the whole “church experience.” When he heard about Random Acts of Kindness he wanted to try it out. He shared the idea with his friends, but there didn’t seem to be much energy there. “How do you get something like this going?” he asks. “It is so hard to motivate people to try something new.”

What would you suggest? What is the best way to spread the kindness movement? Is he on his own or should he find a partner? How do you think RAOK might affect his church if it were to catch on?

Log on to www.guidemagazine.org/rtf to post your responses. Be up-front and honest. Say what you think.

DO KINDNESS

At the website for The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, a per-son named Cheryl reported the following incident:

“An amazing gift of kindness was given to my young sons (who were 1 and 4 years old at the time) and me as we traveled by plane from Baltimore to Boston. After driving around for an hour to find parking, we boarded the parking lot bus—tired, with tons of bags, and worried we would miss our flight.

“An amazing young woman sitting near us saw the struggles we were about to have getting from the bus, through the airport, and on our plane, and offered to go along with us for help since her flight wasn’t leaving for several hours. She then proceeded to help me carry bags, manage a cart, watch my kids as I dealt with airport personnel, help us through security checks, etc.—all with a sense of humor and lightness that helped me feel less stressed, and I know the boys felt better having some help!

“She was an angel sent at the perfect moment. I hope she some-how will know how much I appreciated her help, and her selfless act of kindness!”

Another person, Kelly, submitted this story:“Last week a . . . truck driver came to deliver some food to my

elderly grandparents. The employee noticed through the window that my grandfather was out mowing his lawn with his push lawnmower.

“He told my grandma it was way too hot and humid to be out there mowing. My grandma agreed but said grandpa is too stubborn to stop.

“So out went the . . . man, grabbed the mower and finished mowing the lawn.”—http://www.actsofkindness.org/inspiration.

Copyright © 2016 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists®

Key Text: Choose one of the texts from Wednesday’s section of the lesson. Write it here and memorize it this week.

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Write your own quotation.What I say is . . .

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MondayWHAT ARE THEY TRYING TO SAY?

Read the quotations listed below and think about how they con-nect to the topic of the lesson. Then write your own statement that reflects your position with regard to the topic of the lesson.

“I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”—Helen Keller,

20th-century U.S. deaf and blind lecturer.

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is ‘What are you doing for others?’”—Martin Luther King, Jr., 20th-century U.S. clergyman and civil rights activist.

“A Christian reveals true humility by showing the gentleness of Christ, by being always ready to help others, by speaking kind words and per-forming unselfish acts, which elevate and ennoble the most sacred mes-sage that has come to our world.”—Ellen G. White, 19th-century inspired writer and

cofounder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

TuesdaySO WHAT?

Do you know what church organization teens and college students were joining the most in the early nineties? The Salvation Army. Most people didn’t even know it was a church—the organization just did things to help other people, and that was enough to get young people to sign up. All over the world there is a sense that doing acts of kindness for others is valuable—and the people who believe that don’t even necessarily be-lieve in God. They believe in valuing people.

We know that the source of all true love and kindness comes from God. So, who should be the kindest people around?

There are some who will aspire to greatness by being the best student, the best musician, the best looking, the best athlete, the best bad boy. Those who are great in those ways get their reward. But ask anyone who spreads kindness around what the reward is. They’ll no doubt tell you that it is the greatest experience in the world. The only way to dis-cover how awesome spreading kindness is, is to do it. And who gives you the desire and the power to give of yourself like that? God’s Spirit.

What does John 13:35 say? Isn’t it something to do with how to tell if we are His [Jesus’] disciples?

ThursdayWHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME?

“Well done!” It is one of the most heartwarming phrases that two ears have ever heard. It was spoken of Jesus after He had paid the highest cost of setting us free at Calvary. “Father forgive them” is the most pre-cious one-liner of them all. What about the promise, “You will be with me in paradise”? That’s a beauty! When the weight of sin finally crushed the heart of Christ on the cross He cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

One-liners. These are the biggest one-liners in history and they depict the very heart of God for people. You can pack a lot of love in little state-ments. Those little statements are lifeless without the actions behind them. What we can be sure of is this: God loved people so much that He wasn’t content to just tell them, He was determined to show them His love. Now the same God-like joy waits for you to experience it as you share kindness with others. You could just tell them about God. But it might be more believable if you showed them.

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS / September 10, 2016

Copyright © 2016 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists®

WednesdayGOD SAYS . . .

Proverbs 11:17 (NIV) “Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.”

Proverbs 12:25 (NIV) “Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”

Proverbs 14:21 (NIV) “It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy.”

Proverbs 14:31 (NIV) “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but who-ever is kind to the needy honors God.”

Proverbs 19:17 (NIV) “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.”

1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV) “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”

1 Thessalonians 5:15 (NIV) “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.”

2 Peter 1:5-8 (NIV) “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godli-ness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being in-effective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

(More: Galatians 5:22-24; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:12-14; 2 Timothy 2:24.)

FridayHOW DOES IT WORK?

The key to developing RAOK (Random Acts of Kindness) as a way of life for you and your friends is a three-part process. We have to be kindheaded, kindhanded, and kindhearted. Sometimes it works in that order. Often, showing kindness to someone you don’t like is a sheer act of will based on the knowledge (kindheaded) that Jesus loves them. But claim the power of God’s grace and just do something kind for them (kindhanded). While you may not have an overnight change of heart, over time you will change. You will experience a different kind of love (God’s agape love) and you will never be the same (kindhearted). Think of people you have a hard time extending kindness to. You don’t have to start there, but doing Random Acts of Kindness is about being ready for anything. After practicing a few RAOK, take a few minutes and reflect on the experience and what you learned from it.

Kindheaded

Kindh

eart

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Kindhanded