December 1926'
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
782
Church of Scotland, 1,600,000; Irish Presbyterians, 800,000; C a n a d i a n Presbyterians, 1,400,000; Canadian Methodists, 1,100,000; Canadian Bap tists, 400,000; Canadian Lutherans, 200,000; Church of Australia, 1,600,- 000; Church of South Africa, 600,000. In Continental Europe the Protestant population is said to be: Germany, 40,- 300,000; Switzerland, 2,200;000; Hol land, 3,600,000; France, 1,400,000; Denmark, 3,200,000; Norway, 2,300,- 000; Sweden, 6,700,000; Finland, 3.- 300,000; Esthonia, 1,000,000; Latvia, 1,500,000; Russia, 1,100,000; Lithu ania, 200,000; Poland, 1,600,000; Czechoslovakia, 2,100,000; Austria, 300,000; Hungary, 3,600,000; Rou- mania, 1,300,000. The same figures give the Protestant population of the United States as 74,500,000. These figures are probably over- generous to the Protestants. They are based on an estimate of about one hundred and fifty per cent sympa thizers or adherents to Protestantism in addition to the actual members of Protestant Churches. This would mean only about 76,000,000 Protes tant communicants or open confessors of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Sav iour. They number about one in twenty of the earth’s population. —Missionary Review of the World. 41^ AIL a s * a s DIVERSE DECISIONS Two Baptist preachers have recently given their opinions concerning a much discussed question. Rev. Henry Alfke, pastor of Taylor Memorial Bap tist Church, Paulsboro, N. J., sent let ters to various men asking them to answer the question: “Is the world getting better?” In reply, Dr. Milton G. Evans, head of Crozier Theological Seminary, is quoted as saying: “If I didn’t believe that the world was get ting better I couldn’t believe in God.” Other letters were quoted from busi ness and professional men voicing the same opinion. A school professor wrote that the “youth of today are reaching toward nobler ideals.” The other Baptist preacher, Rev. Dr. Robert McCaul, pastor of the Washington Avenue Baptist Church, Brooklyn, N. (Ti, likened conditions today to those uescribed in Revelation as true of the church of Sardis. “A church may have an imposing exterior, great prestige and high social standing and yet be decadent and dying within,” he said. “That is what is the matter with so many of our churches today. They have an aim, but are decadent at the heart; they are supposed to be alive, but their real life has departed,” Dr. McCaul said men did not get to Heaven by drifting with the tide, but by battling with it. The human pil grimage is a continual warfare with standards set up by the world. Well, here are the opinions of two representative Baptist preachers, and we take our stand with Dr. McCaul. And, if we didn’t believe that the world was getting worse then we couldn’t believe in God, for the Word of God says that it is. “Evil men shall wax worse and worse,” and “in the last days perilous times shall come.”
ent of some soul that we have won for Him. Would not that make His great heart glad? DECEMBER 26, 1026 The Past Year—Its Lessons; The New—Its Possibilities Deut. 8:1-6; Phil. 3:13, 14. How good our God has been to us during the past year in His faithful ness in guarding us, His continual pro vision for our every need, and His daily and hourly manifestation of His great love to us. Let us not forget to thank Him. We cannot dwell in the past, we must not become egotistical because of Its victories or become discouraged be cause of its failures, nevertheless it is good for us to once in a while take invehtory, to check up on ourselves. We stand at the beginning of a new year. Behind us the old life, the old year, the enslavement to sin, the fail ures and follies, the defeat and the guilt. That hasty word can never be recalled, that lie never overtaken, that wrong never undone, that neglected opportunity never recovered. There is only one way for the sin and the guilt of the past to be blotted out, and that is by the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. What did your life in 1926 amount to? What profit was it? How many souls did you lead to the Saviour? How much glory and Joy did you bring to the One who loved you and gave Himself for you? How much time did you spend in prayer? What about your Bible? Did you neglect it? Did you thank Him for all the blessings you re ceived during the year? Did you re member to tell Him that you loved Him? Did your life radiate Christ? Confess all your sins to Him, believe and accept His forgiveness and cleans ing according to 1 John 1:9, and go forward and upward in the strength of the Lord and in the power of His might. We who trust in Him dare not go back. We must not sidestep, we cannot stand still. God’s law for the Christian is “forward.” In the sec ond Scripture lesson Paul sets before us the aim of the Christian’s life—ad vancing to apprehend. Our Lord ap prehended us, laid hold of us, for a definite purpose, and the highest aim we can have for the new year is to win for Jesus that for which He chose and saved us. Lay hold of that for which He laid hold of us. (Eph. 2:10; Titus 2:14; Col. 4:17). He has a plan for each individual life and our objective is to fulfill the plan he has in mind. In 1927 let us concentrate on that plan, making our ambition the appre hending of that for which also we have been apprehended. JUr «M/j, m m PROTESTANTS OP THE EARTH Statistics presented to the Stock holm Conference on Christian Life and Work give the total Protestant popu lation of the earth as 196,100,000. The Protestant population of the Brit ish empire is reckoned at 46,900,000, divided as follows: Anglican, 28,600,- 000; Free Churches, 800,000; Church of Scotland, 2,700,000; United Free
“closed corporations,’’ failing to recog nise the importance of the Sunday School and that the Sunday Schpol has a definite place and work for them. Endeavorers may help the Sunday School reach the children by regular attendance themselves, thus setting the example for the younger boys and girls; by teaching a class, by ushering, by helping in the music, by assisting the superintendent in the opening and closing exercises. If your society has not a Junior Christian Endeavor, organize one for the boys and girls. Your District Un ion will assist you in this work. If you have a Junior society already, boost and work for it. Gather the children in week-day Bible classes, in homes. T. C. Horton, Editor of The King’s Business, has published a book of studies in the Gospels, designed to assist teachers in these week day home classes. Another good way to reach the chil dren is to get them interested in "The Children’s Garden,” a most excellent department for boys and girlB that appears in each issue of The King s Business. By getting the boys and girls to be come members of the Pocket Testa ment League. By living the Christ life before them, being examples in behaviour, reverence, prayer, Bible study and per sonal work. Where you lead they will follow. DECEMBER 10, 1026 How Can We Express the Christmas Spirit? Luke 2:1-20; Gal. 6:9, 10; 2 Cor. 8:9; 9:6-15 We cannot truly express the Christ mas spirit until we have experienced the Joy and blessing that comes with a definite, personal acceptance of God’s gift of His own Son. The one word that best describes the Christmas spirit is love. The one way to express the Christmas spirit is love. Love must manifest Itself. Love is interested, not in itself, but in others—thinking of, planning for, working for, making sacrifice for OTHERS. Read carefully Luke 14: 12-14. God so manifested His love. Rom. 6:6-8; John 3:16; Acts 2:23; Rom. 8:32; Isa. 63:4, 6, 10. God’s love to man found expression through the incarnation and crucifixion of His only Son, Jesus Christ. God loved the world and in giving His Son, gave Himself. The Lord Jesus as stated in 2 Cor inthians 8:9 so showed His love (Gal. 2:20). We ought to follow Him, and by loving gifts and deeds express the true Christmas spirit. The very best thing that we can possibly do for anyone who is not a Christian is to earnestly endeavor to lead that one to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us make the Saviour a Christmas present of ourselves, all that we have and are, spirit, soul and body. Surely we would not be “Indian givers’’ and take back what we have given. Then, let us make the blesded Lord a pres
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