改变世界的所罗门

所罗门认为他非常了解《圣经》，因为他常常在巴布亚新几内亚的村庄教堂里听牧师朗读《圣经》。 他相信《圣经》里所讲过的那位天上的上帝，但他从未自己研读过《圣经》。

一天，一位复临教会的传教士出现在山村里，并送给所罗门一本白色封面的书，

名为《世界改变者圣经》。

传教士说：“我来你们村子分享上帝的话语。”

所罗门很高兴自己能够拥有一本《圣经》。 这本《圣经》的名称引起了他的兴趣：《世界改变者圣经》。 他想知道改变世界意味着什么。 他仔细地查看了这本书， 这是一本新生活版英文翻译本《圣经》。 他发现这些词很容易阅读，这让他很高兴，因为 他和其他许多 20 多岁的村民还在学校求学的阶段。

传教士看到所罗门很有兴趣，就邀请他加入圣经学习小组。

“我们会读到关于耶稣的事迹，”他说。 “查经的时间为15至20分钟。”

第一次聚会时，传教士邀请所罗门和其他人打开他们的《圣经》翻到马可福音第一章。 在他们阅读之前，传教士祷告：“亲爱的上帝，请指导我们， 谢谢。” 他说。

祷告后，他请所罗门阅读马可福音第一章。 所罗门读到施洗约翰的故事，那是一位穿着骆驼毛衣、吃着野蜜的传教士，并在约旦河为耶稣施洗。 当他读完这个故事后，传教士请另一个人再读一遍这个故事。 之后，传教士邀请一个人不看《圣经》来复述这个故事。 然后传教士要他们讨论一些问题。 “你听到了什么新的信息？”他问。

在讨论完他们所发现的新鲜事之后，传教士又向所罗门和其他人提问这个故事有什么地方是他们感到惊讶和不明白的，还问到这个故事是否提供了他们可以遵守或适用于他们生活的任何信息。 有人说受洗似乎很重要，因为耶稣在故事中也受了洗。

当查经结束时，传教士问：“本周你会从这个故事中与他人分享些什么？”然后他祷告：“亲爱的上帝，感谢你的话语。 请帮助我们跟随你。 阿们。”

所罗门喜欢查经，因为他觉得自己对耶稣有了新的认识。

一年来，所罗门对耶稣的爱随着他参加查经的次数而增长。 每次查经都有相同的模式。 小组以简短的祷告开始，然后两个人阅读《圣经》里的同一个故事，第三个人用他/她自己的话重述这个故事，然后传教士问他们是否学到了新的东西，是否对任何事情感到惊讶，或者对某事尚未明白。 他问他们可以从这个故事中遵守或应用什么，并要求他们在一周内分享这个故事。 最后，由他或其他人做结束祷告。

所罗门得知传教士正在学习一门名为「探索阅读《圣经》」的《圣经》学习计划，该计划由南太平洋分会所制定。 他还了解到，他的新白色《圣经》是来自南太平洋分会的一个计划，该计划旨在向年轻人分发200，000本《圣经》。 他终于明白了《圣经》标题：「世界改变者《圣经》」的含义。 他了解到，改变世界的人是耶稣的门徒，他渴望像门徒一样生活并结交更多的门徒。

经过一年的查经，所罗门决定要成为一个改变世界的人。 他效法耶稣在《马可福音》第一章里的榜样，接受洗礼。

今天，所罗门是一名26岁的十年级学生，他正带领一群年轻人在他的村子里建造一所新的复临教会。 他也是一名传教士，用他的「世界改变者《圣经》」为家人和其他村民查经。

“现在我是一名复临信徒，我非常渴望看到更多自己的家人加入上帝的教会，”他说。

来源：本文译自《圣工消息》（社会青年季刊）2022年第四季

Solomon the World Changer

Solomon thought that he knew the Bible rather well. He listened to the preacher read from the Bible at the village church in Papua New Guinea. He believed in the God of heaven as represented by the Bible. But he hadn’t really studied the Bible for himself.

One day, a Seventh-day Adventist missionary showed up in the mountainous village and presented Solomon with a white book titled World Changers Bible.

“I’ve come to share the Word of God in your village,” the missionary said.

Solomon was pleased to own a Bible. The name intrigued him: World Changers Bible. He wondered what it meant to be a world changer. He examined the Bible closely. It was the New Living Translation. He saw that the words were easy to read. This also pleased him. He, like many of the other villagers in their 20s, was still in school.

The missionary saw Solomon’s interest and invited him to join a Bible study group.

“We will read about Jesus,” he said. “The Bible study lasts 15 or 20 minutes.”

At the first gathering, the missionary invited Solomon and the others to open their Bibles to Mark 1. Before they read, the missionary prayed. “Dear God, please guide us. Thank You,” he said.

After the prayer, he asked Solomon to read from the first chapter of Mark. Solomon read about John the Baptist, a preacher clothed in camel’s hair who ate wild honey and baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. When he finished reading the story, the missionary asked another person to read the story again. After that, the missionary asked someone else to retell the story without looking at the Bible. Then the missionary said they were going to discuss it. “What did you hear that was new to you?” he asked.

After discussing what was new to them, Solomon and the others were asked what had surprised them about the story and if there was anything that they had not understood. Then the missionary asked if the story offered any information that they could obey or apply to their lives. Someone said it seemed important to get baptized. Jesus had gotten baptized in the story.

As the Bible study wrapped up, the missionary asked, “What will you share from this story with someone this week?” Then he prayed, “Dear God, thank You for Your Word. Help us to follow You. Amen.”

Solomon liked the Bible study. He felt like he had caught a new glimpse of Jesus.

Over the year, Solomon’s love for Jesus grew as he attended the Bible studies. Each Bible study followed a similar format. The group began with a short prayer. Then two people read the same story from the Bible, and a third person retold the story in his or her own words. Then the missionary asked if they had learned something new, been surprised by anything, or were struggling to understand something. He asked what they could obey or apply from the story and challenged them to share the story during the week. Finally, he or someone else prayed.

Solomon learned that the missionary was following a Bible study program called Discovery Bible Reading, which was developed by the South Pacific Division. He also learned that his new white Bible came from a South Pacific Division program that sought to distribute 200,000 Bibles to young people. He finally learned the meaning of the Bible’s title: World Changers Bible. He learned that a world changer is a disciple of Jesus who desires to live as a disciple and to make more disciples.

After a year of Bible studies, Solomon decided that he wanted to become a world changer. He followed Jesus’ example in Mark 1 and got baptized.

Today, Solomon is a 26-year-old tenth grader who is leading a group of young people in constructing a new Adventist church in his village. He also is a missionary, using his World Changers Bible to give Bible studies to family members and other villagers.

“Now that I am an Adventist, it is my great desire to see more of my family join God’s church,” he says.

Please find the original article at: https://am.adventistmission.org/mqa22q4-16