Helps For The Children L ove in Our H om es Luke 2:41-52; John 19:25-27 M em ory V erse: “ H onour thy fath er and thy m other” (E x . 20-12). H ave you ever thanked God fo r y ou r home and fo r y ou r m other and fa th e r? One o f God’s m ost precious g ifts to boys and g irls is th eir home, especially i f it is a Christian home w here the L o rd Jesus is loved and honored. One o f God’s commandments is “ H onour th y fa th e r and th y m other.” God gave parents the jo y o f lovin g and ca rin g fo r th eir children and helping them g row stron g in th eir bodies and in their m inds. H e g a v e parents to help children know God’s W ord and God’s plan fo r th eir lives. Children too have an im portant p a rt in the home. Th ey can either make their homes h appy and cheerfu l b y being kind, polite, h elpfu l, and lovin g or they can make th eir homes constantly unhappy b y being grum py, cross, lazy, selfish, unkind, and impolite. Only homes where each mem ber o f a fam ily knows the L ord Jesus Christ as Saviour can be com pletely and tru ly h appy and satisfyin g. People have d if feren t ideas about how things should be done, about righ t and w ron g, etc., but th ey need n ot qu arrel and be unhappy because o f this. I f th ey are God’s chil dren, they can talk together and pray togeth er about th eir differen ces and th eir problem s and find what God’s W ord gives as the righ t answer. Children who love the L ord Jesus w ill ch eerfu lly obey in the home and w ill seek to show H is love in every p a rt o f their life in the home. Children whose paren ts are not Christians have a m ore difficult tim e liv in g fo r Christ in th eir home. Sometimes unsaved parents w an t their children to do things and to go places th at are not h onorin g to God’s Son. It is difficult fo r these children to know what to do. Th ey must choose whether to obey God or to obey th eir parents. Children must always obey th eir parents unless doin g this means th at they must disobey God. Some parents have been led to the L ord Jesus b y Christian children who have lived so like th eir L ord at home th at th eir lives have m ade the parents w an t to know the Saviour too. Those who obey God’s com mand, “ H onour th y fa th er and th y m other” w ill have homes th at are peace fu l and h appy because th ey have pu t God first. M ay 25, 1952
The Basic Command Ex. 20:12
The position accorded to parents in the decalogue is a very high one. Th ey are m entioned in the first table, and duty tow ards them stands next to duties tow ard God. The penalty fo r cursin g them is the same (2 1 :1 7 ), as the pen alty fo r blasphem ing God (L ev. 2 4 :1 5 f), th at is, death. Israel, again and again, w as urged to reverence parents as being the heads o f the home, and thus to be hon ored. A lo n g w ith the command to honor parents, there w ent a prom ise to those who would obey the command. This is indicated b y the w ords, “ that th y days m ay be lon g upon the land.” Thus the fifth commandment is the “ first com mandment w ith prom ise” (E p h . 6 :2 ). A sp irit o f filial respect in fe rs a w ell- ordered life in general, and so tends to secure prosperity both to the individual and to the nation. The Command Set A side M ark 7:9-13 W e have here set fo rth a gla rin g ex ample o f “ la yin g aside the command m ent o f God” (v . 8 ). The first step o f the Pharisees in dishonoring the W ord o f God w as to add th eir traditions to the Scriptu res as u sefu l supplements. The second step w as to place them on a par w ith G od’s W ord in the m atter o f au thority. The final step w as to honor these traditions above the W ord itself. This step is illustrated in the passage be fo re us. B y saying th at the m oney that should have been used fo r the care o f aged o r sick parents w as Corban, th at is, dedicated to the temple or holy p u r poses, they evaded th eir sacred respon sibility in the m atter o f th eir paren ts’ support. Thus th ey did violence to the sp irit o f the fifth commandment. There is no end to the error to which men m ay come when th ey forsa k e the W ord o f God fo r the opinions and doctrines o f men. N o t on ly is Jesus our Saviour, He is also ou r example in respect to daily atti tudes and conduct. In the m atter o f hon orin g parents, H e gave a w onderfu l e x ample in the treatm ent He accorded H is m other a t the close o f H is life . In the m idst o f the C alvary experience when H is sufferings w ere at th eir clim ax, our L ord still remembered the inner m ean in g o f the fifth commandment and obeyed it p erfectly. In H is agon y He gave at tention to the fu tu re care o f H is mother. Into the custody o f the beloved John He comm itted her and “ from that hour that disciple took her unto his own hom e” (v . 2 7 ). D u rin g the rest o f her life upon earth, John becam e to h er as a ten der, lovin g son, and she to him as a lovin g mother. In a lesson such as this it w ill be w ell fo r the teacher to appeal to his or her students to mention w ays in w hich sons and daughters m ay honor th eir parents. God means H is W ord to be practical. Parental H onor Exemplified John 19:25-27
"JOHN DEWEY'S EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY has done more harm to Am erican young people than even John Bar leycorn,” says a public school teacher of years of experience. Are you equipped to refute the fallacies of this subtle atheistic influence? Read Dr. Buswell’s hook ex posingDeweyism. Give copies to your friends, especially the teachers of your children. Order direct from the author - T H E PHILOSOPHIES OF F. R. TENNANT and JOHN DEWEY, over fiv e hundred pages, $6.00, postage prepaid if cash accompanies order. J. OLIVER BUSWELL, Jr. President SheltonCollege 340 W est 55 th S treet N ew Y ork 19, N. Y.
GOD'S ESTIMATE OF HUMAN LIFE Ex. 2 0 :13; M att. 5:21-26; 18:5, 6 ; Luke 9:51-56 Pointers On The Lesson
One o f 19 BIOLA
Courses by Correspondence
The sacredness o f human life is em phasized in this w eek’s lesson. God gave life in the first place and has placed a sa fegu ard about it in m any comm and ments and teachings. Man w as made in the im age o f God, and though b y sin th at im age has been dread fu lly m arred, yet God still places high value upon it and w arns again st anything that w ill in anyw ise destroy it. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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