goodness of God in His dealings with her (v. 49), His mercy and strength in His dealings with men (w . 50-52), and sets forth a principle seen in opera tion in both Old and New Testaments (v. 53), and sees the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham and the rest of the fathers in Israel (w . 54, 55). Providential Arrangements In the Fulfillment 2 :1 -7 In the verses before us we see how God moved upon the heart of an un suspecting emperor to bring about a situation that was to minister to the exact fulfillment of the Word of God as set forth in Micah 5:2. The latter prophecy was uttered some 700 years before the events took place. Bethlehem is plainly declared as the place where Christ should be born. But only a few days before the Babe was to be born Joseph and Mary were still in Nazareth about sixty long miles north of Beth lehem. They apparently were oblivious to the significance of the Micah prophecy and were making no preparations to go to Bethlehem. Then it was that a pagan king became a servant of God to aid in the exact fulfillment of the pro phetic word. Along with millions of others at just the right time, Joseph and Mary were on their way to Beth lehem, their ancestral city, to be en rolled for taxation. Then Christ was born at the right time and at the right place.
His laws He gave them great blessings and victories. Each Christian boy and girl has many giants to conquer in life. The giants of selfishness, laziness, anger, envy, steal ing, cheating, pouting, etc., are all to be conquered, but not in your own strength. Only when we ask the Lord Jesus to be our Strength and to give us victory can we truly conquer these enemies which would mar our testimony for our Lord. Dec. 23, 1951 THE PROMISE FULFILLED IN CHRIST Luke 1:46-55; 2:1-7 Pointers on the Lesson Since this is the Christmas lesson there is a break in the historical series of lessons we have been following. That series will be resumed next week. Our lesson this week is a study of the fulfillment of the greatest promise given in the Old Testament. The Old Testa ment is full of wonderful promises. The most important one of all, and to which many of the others are definitely re lated, is the promise relating to the coming of a divine Messiah and Saviour. That promise begins in bud form in Genesis 3:15 and grows and develops until finally in the New Testament it blooms in all its glory in the person of Him who was born in Bethlehem. The Instrument of Fulfillment 1:46-55 When it came time for God to ful fill His promise with respect to the Messiah, He chose a humble virgin to be His instrument. In linking Himself with needy humanity in order to make possible its salvation, God chose a woman by the name of Mary for His purpose. The first lesson portion select ed for study has to do with Mary’s response following the announcement that came to her relative to the hallowed experience which was to be hers. She expressed her feelings in a psalm which is as beautiful as any of David’s. One thing of particular note in Mary’s song is that it shows us clearly upon what Mary rested for salvation. Notice the last three words of v. 2, “God my Saviour." Thus it is clear that Mary, blessed though she was among women (vv. 28,48), realized that she was a sinner and needed a Saviour the same as every other human being. This is important to understand in view of the place given to her by the Roman church, a place beyond that accorded to her in the Word of God. Having said this, Protestants should not go to the opposite extreme and fail to recognize that she was peculiarly blessed of God and de serves a ' place of high honor in the church of God. We are abundantly war ranted in referring to her as the Blessed Virgin but there is no warrant for the Mariolatry so prevalent in many quar ters today. In her psalm Mary recognizes the
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1 9 5 2 E D IT IO N O r TORREY’S - P P 1952 I n * a John W. Bradbury, Editor O ver half a century of su p re m a cy ! T h is is the O R I G I N A L — n e v e r e q u a le d . C O N D E N S E D thought. Digest and text of lesson. Full exposition, m any other features. 60c AT Y O U R B O O K S T O R E (Lesson J ___________________________ FLEMING H. REVEL! COMPANY n ew y o r k io THE AMERICAN EUROPEAN BETHEL MISSION, INC. A Vital Matter Needing: Your Earnest Consideration The founder of the American European Bethel Mission (with 50 years of missionary experience) recently returned from visiting: the Mission Sta tions in Europe and Israel, Palestine. It was by Grace Divine that a Home for or phans and other destitute children was recently established at the foot of Mt. Carmel. THIS IN STITUTION IS INTERDENOMINATIONAL, NON-SECTARIAN AND THOROUGHLY EVAN GELICAL. THE MAINTENANCE OF THE ORPHANAGE This greatly needed institution, like the other branches of the A.E. Bethel Mission, is utterly dependent upon the Lord. Therefore, it needs the friendly co-operation by prayer and freewill offer ings of all Christian friends who are interested in rescuing little children and preaching the Gospel of the Messiah to the people of the Messiah. COLORED FILMS Churches, Sunday Schools and other Christian gatherings would highly appreciate seeing the ex clusive film in color taken by the Founder in Israel and in Europe. Write to: Headquarters, 2 5 2 N . D illon Street, Los Angeles 2 6 , California (u lS t ( § & ’
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0f¥ < M (A £ a tyo tci SocvtctatyScAoot • NURSERY COURSE • BEGINNERS’ COURSE • HIGH SCHOOL COURSE • ADULT LESSONS • GROUP GRADED PLAN • CLOSELY GRADED PLAN "This is the hour o f decision! ” Y ou will be making new plans for your class to meet today’s challenge. Gospel Light offers you many new and dynamic courses. W e invite you to consider these better books for better teaching. W ill you write today?"The hour o f decision!” See or write your Christian Book Store IHENRIETTA C. MEARS, L.H.D. Originator and Editor-in-Chiefo fthefamous Gospel Light correctly graded Bible lessons. GOSPEL LIGHT PRESS ~(ZarrectCy d^iacCed “Sc&ie ^eddootd " I am interested only in □ Nursery □ Beginner □ Primary □ Junior □ Junior High □ High School □ Adults Name- My Church- Streets City _ _ Zone- S tate _ Mail to your Christian Book Store or G O S P E L L IG H T P R E S S ,1 2 1 4 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale 4, Calif. □ Tell me how we can improve our Sunday School. KB11
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