99
Mamh. 1045
the Bible because he had read about the plagues mentioned in the Book of Revelation, and he did not want to hear about them again. “PREJUDICE” is written on thè fourth heart. That is a big word for boys and girls, but it refers to people who have formed their own set opin ion and do not want to let the Bible speak to them. The fifth is the heart of “DOUBT.” There are many who do not receive God’s message because of doubt, of questioning its truth. The Bible is a bound Book to them. We have cut all the strings but one yet one is sufficient to keep the Bible bound. This heart is marked “UN BELIEF,” and represents the people who refuse to believe God’s Word. God can take away the heart of unbelief and give a heart of faith instead. Genesis 12:1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram , Get thee out of th y country, and from th y kindred, and from th y fath er’s house, unto a land that I w ill show thee: 2 And I w ill make of thee a great nation, and I w ill bless thee, and make th y name great; and thou shalt be a blessing; A cts 7:4 Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt In C h arran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him Into th is land, wherein ye now dwell. 5 And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give' it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him , when as yet he had no child. 6 And God spake on th is w ise, Th at his seed should sojourn in a Strang land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. 7 And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage w ill I judge, -said God: and after th at shall they come forth, and serve me in th is place. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first. 13 And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred w as made known unto Pharaoh. 14 Then sent Joseph, and called his fa ther Jacob to him , and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. 15 So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he and our fathers. 16 And were carried into Sychem , and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Em - mor, the father of Sychem . 17 But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to A b ra ham, the people grew and multiplied In Egypt, LE S SO N T E X T : Gen, 12:1, 2; A cts 7:4-7, 12-17. G O LD EN T E X T : " B y faith Abraham , .when he w as called . . . obeyed; and he Went out, jio t knowing whithet' he w ent” (Ueb. 11:8). D E V O T IO N A L R E A D IN G : 12:1-6. Outline and Exposition I. A braham ’ s C all (G en . 12:1, 2) G OD desired to have a special He chose Abram to be the founder of that special nation.
time came for the people of the little town of Nazareth to go to God’s house to worship, they saw Someone walk ing along with them. They knew Him well, for He had lived in Nazareth when He was a boy. “See how that Boy Jesus has grown!” they may have said to another. “And see—He has the good habit of always going to j God’s house.” That morning, the minister handed the Word of God to the Boy from Nazareth and asked Him to read the morning lesson. The verses were from the book of Isaiah. (Indicate in your own Bible.) These are the words that the Lord Jesus read that day. (Read aloud verses 18 and 19, slowly and impressively; the children may not take in the full meaning, but they should become familiar with the in spired text.) How sweetly Jesus spoke! (cf. v. 22.) He said something like this: “I am the One whom these verses speak about. I am the One who brings to everybody the good news of how to be saved. I have come to help everyone who is poor, or sad, or in trouble, or blind, or hurt. I am God’s Son, your Saviour.” The Lord Jesus “closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down” (v. 20). Thé people must have looked at each other in surprise. They had just listened to the greatest Teacher in all the world. And He is our Teacher. Object Lesson T he B ible B ound OBJECTS: A large pulpit Bible, six pieces of string, and six black paper hearts. (Tie the strings around the Bible, and pin one of the black hearts on each.) LESSON: The Bible is the Book which reveals God’s plans and pur poses to us. Let us open the Bible and see what God wants to say to us. Oh, it is bound, and Cannot be opened! Did you know that the Bible is a bound Book to many people? Let us see what different excuses people have for not studying the Bible and' learning of Christ. The first string has a black heart on which the word >“LAZINESS” is written. There are some who do not hear God’s message because they are too lazy to open their Bible and let the Lord speak to them. We will cut this string, and let laziness no longer keep us from' hearing God’s message. The next heart has the word “IN DIFFERENCE” on it. Some people do not have enough interest in the Bible to open it and read God’s message. The third heart is marked “FEAR.” A small boy was once afraid to look into
’ The Bible is now free. We will open it and hear God’s message. “What niust I do to be saved? . .. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30, 31). We should not let anything keep us frorn hearing God’s message and accepting Christ as Saviour.
APRIL 15, 1945 PIONEERS OF FAITH G enesis 12-50; A cts 7:2-18; H ebrews 11:8-27
Abram’s call was both “from” and “unto.” It was from the idolatry of his own land, from fellowship with his own people, and from occupation with the purposes of his own tribe. And it was unto fellowship with God Himself, to purity of worship, and to purposes planned in heaven. A mighty promise went with the call (v. 2). Abram would be made a great nation; his name would be great in the earth, and he would be come a world-wide blessing. The con dition was his separation from all with which he was familiar, and his stepping into new scenes and un familiar experiences to which God called him. By faith Abram answered at once (cf. Heb. 11:8; Acts 7:1-6). He de parted from his own country, forsook his own plans, left his kindred, and “went out, not knowing” whither. He knew only that God had called, that God was leading, and that God, would provide. In his response he became “the father of all them that believe” (cf. Rom. 4:11, 16). He be came known as Abraham (Gen. 17:5). n. A braham ’ s O bedience (A cts 7:4-7) When Stephen made his address before the council of the Jews, he rehearsed the history of their nation. He began by recalling Abram’s ex perience of faith. He told how Abram left the land of the Chaldeans, went to Haran, and, when his father died, came into the land of Canaan, the promised land for Israel. Although Abram had no inheritance in that land, he had the promise that it would be his and his children’s after him. This promise was given long before he had any children, and at a time
nation t h r o u g j i which He might reveal Himself and His purposes to all other nations on earth.
Made with FlippingBook HTML5