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for the Lord Jesús, He wants us to be very careful about one thing: to obey our parents, and teachers, and rulers in our country. When,we do that, it pleases Him.
square, was an old colored man saw ing away on his old fiddle. One leg was gone, and his appearance was somewhat repulsive. He did not at tract the crowds nor win coins like hjs gifted competitors. One evening the children came into this part of the arcade to sing. About to begin their song, they- noticed the old man. After a whispered word, the boy took d coin ■ from his pocket, dropped it into the old man’s hat and quietly left the field to him. —The Bottles of Heaven, by Revilo. Our Good Land M ic a h 4 rl-5 ; M a r k 12:13-17; I P eter 2:13-17 MEMORY VERSE: “Thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee” (Deut. 8:10). AIM: To show how we must live, getting ready for what is coming. What Joy we have in thinking'about what is coming! Our lesson today tells us of something else, and it is more wonderful than any of the things we can name. But we have to wait until the heavenly Father sees it is time to give us this happi ness. LESSON STORY: We are waiting for the Lord Jesus to come from His heavenly home, back to this world, as He said He would.,Every day we should be looking for Him, as He wants us to do. When He comes—’ and He surely will—many happy things will take place, so many that we cannot talk of all of them today. We know that there will be one King, then, for the whole world, and our own loving Lord Jesus will be that King. Everybody will know where His kingdom is, for it “shall be established in the top of the moun tains” (Micah 4:1). People from all countries will love and trust Him and will say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord . . . and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths” tv. 2). No one will want to have war any longer, and the people will take their tools of war—their swords and spears and other things—and make them . into tools for their gardens! Everyone will have his own little happy home. This Is the wonderful time that God has planned. We are not to for get that it is coming. And we are not to forget,, eitherj .that while .we, wait rx ______ 5 -Division APPROACH: If we would think about it for a min ute, each of us ____ could tell of some- thing very nice € 8 3 9 that we are wait ing for—a birth day, or company coming, or a trip, or C h r i s t m a s . Ri
12:13). Unbelief makes strange al lies. The Pharisees and Herodians had little in common in most matters,, but Joined heartily in their hostility to Christ. The Pharisees were mainly a religious sect concerned with the let ter of the Mosaic law, but blind to its spirit. They looked upon Christ as an impostor. The Herodians were mainly a political party, seeking to restore the Herods to power. They feared lest Christ, instead of.one of the family Of Herod, would sit upon the throne of the Israelitish kingdom. Thus both groups were engaged in a common cause against Christ. I 2. "Master, we know that thou art true, and. . . teachest the way of God in truth" (Mk. 12:14). How pious unbe lief can be at times; What these en emies of Christ said concerning Him was perfectly true.- But their utter insincerity is evident in their en deavors to “catch him in his words.”' Why were they seeking His down fall? The answer is all. too evident. We are reminded of the words of Jesus who said, “Not every one that' saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall en ter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). 3. "Bender tp Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Mk. 12:17). This marvelous statement teaches two things: First, man has a definite re sponsibility to the government under which he lives.. Earthly government is ordained of God. The Christian, as well as others, ought to pay taxes, vote, obey the laws', and otherwise be subject to the higher powers, (cf. Rom. 13:1-7). Second, man has a definite responsibility to God. He owes Him his. heart, his. mind, his body, his time, and a’ definite portion of his income. 4. "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another" (Rom. 13:8). A man ought to pay his debts. He ought nev er to incur indebtedness beyond that which he is able to discharge. There are few things that cause greater havoc between men than careless ness in money matters. But there is one debt a man can never discharge, says Paul, and that js the debt of love. The more you pay the more you owe. This is the only debt a man is Justified in keeping. Golden Text Illustration G alatians 6 :2 «. In a beautiful Missouri'town, two Italian children were singing in the streets. Their voices were Sweet and clear. Crowds were attracted to them, ■ and coins were placed in their treasury in generous numbers. ' In the same town, sitting in front of a barber shop at the end of an arcade which ran from the public
Object Lesson T h e G reatest G ift OBJECTS: A cardboard heart and a penny. LESSON: We do not give God the best gift when we merely put a*piece of money, such 'as this penny, in the offering at church. Christ once said: "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mk. 12:17). He was talk ing about the payment of taxes to the government controlled by Caesar, and He was reminding the people that their lives and their hearts be longed to God. This heart that I hold in my hand represents the best gift we can give to God. Of course, We must first accept Christ as' Saviour before we can give Him. our hearts. Paul real ized that the heart was the gift God wanted most and, in writing to one of the churches, he said: “I seek not yours, but you” (2 Cor. 12:14). That meant that he wanted Christ to have, not the things these people had— their money—-but the people them selves. Some people act as though they thought that all God wanted was a part of their money. When Christ called Matthew, the business man, He did not say, "Give me your mon ey.” He said, “Follow me.” God can and does use money, but He wants the heart to be given to Him first. Imagine how a young man would feel if the girl whom he loved, when asked to marry. him would say, “I will not give you my heart, but here are a few dollars I can spare!” We aften treat God in this same way. When He asks for our hearts, we give Him some, money, and try to make ourselves think we have -done all that He requires of us. Let u s ' hear God’s Word saying, “Render . . . to God the things that are God’s” (Mk. 12:17), and, “My son, give me thine heart” , (Prov. 23:26). When Isaiah heard the voice of God, he said, “Here am I; send me” (Isa. 6 : 8 ) .
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