THE K I NG ’S BUS I NE S S
m
to play any musical instrument a few weeks' before. Quite suddenly an op portunity had come to buy a used ac cordion, and Nan, a strange desire in her heart to be able to play one, had bought the instrument. She had prac ticed steadily ever since. Would they have had this point of contact with the passengers, except for the ac cordion? Another provision of the Lord con cerned the time of their journey.' Mindful of the delays of travel in war time, they had left home two days earlier than necessary. The Lord had known of this trainful of soldiers, so many of them ready for spiritual help, and had made it possible for the girls to speak to them of Him. The train was approachyig Los An geles now, and the girls began to get their luggage together. It would never be given them-to know the full effect of their ministry of music, but their own lives would be the richer for the joy the Lerd had given them in service for Him. * # # “Now thanks be unto God, which a l w a y s causeth us to triumph in Christ, and m a k e t h manifest the savor of his knowledge by us in every place" (2 Cor. 2:14). IV. A Filled Vessel (Gal, 1:15,16). 1. With the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18). 2. With joy (Phit. 4:4)/ 3. For service (1 Cor. 9:16). 4. With peace (Phil. 4:7). —Edward L, Nash, ’40. THE TRAGEDY OF HALF-HEARTED- NESS Luke 9:57-62 I. The Too Hasty Disciple. “Lord, I will follow” (v. 57). II. The Too Slow Disciple. | “Lord, suffer me first” (y. 59). III. The Too Soft Disciple. “Lord, I will follow thee; but” (v. 61). —Gene W. Fussell, B. Th. '40. THE- NEW BIRTH V John 3:1-16 I. It Is Indispensable (v. 3). II. It Is Supernatural (v. 4; cf. 1:13). III. It Is Spiritual (v. 6). IV. It Is Mystical (v. 8; cf. 1 Tim. 3:16). V. It Is Biblical (v. 10; cf. 1 Pet. 1:23). , VI. It Is Possible (vs. 14,15). VII. It Is Desirable (v. 16). —Emanuel L. Rasmussen, B. Th. ’37.
“But-1 won’t be a Christian unless I can be a real one, and that is impos sible the way we live now. I have no use for half-hearted Christians.” A lieutenant came to chat with the girls and surprised them with the in formation that he had gone to semi nary for three years. “But I decided I couldn’t make a very good living at preaching, so; I' dropped my course,” he announced airily. It was clear that he never had known the way of salva tion, and it' did not take much imag ination to sense the kind of seminary he had attended. As the train neared the destination for some, the boys would Come to thank the two Bible Institute students for the music. Over and over the girls heard, testimonies to the effect that the Lord had used the music to bring to .remembrance t h i n g s - they h a d learned in their homes, at Sunday- school, V and in church. What had started out to be a drunken brawl had turned into an old-fashioned» gospel meeting, and the two girls praised God for the privilege of seeing the Lord work. Truly He had led them every step of thb way. He had seen ahead to this opportunity. Nan had not been able f T ^ H E FOLLOWING sermon out l i n e s are presented for the I purpose, of bringing a blessing to many more people than to those who were helped when they were orig inally used by the men who prepared and preached them. All sermon outlines oh this page are original with those whose names they bear, members of the Alumni Associa tion of The Bible Institute of Los An geles. The figures following each name indicate the year of graduation. VESSELS I. An Unclean Vessel (Acts 9:1, 2). 1. If you are going to serve the devil, you might as well serve him all the way, instead of “playing around” with God. 2. Vessel of wrath (Rom. 9:22). II. An Empty Vessel (Acts 9:6). 1. Must be broken (Jer. 18:4). 2. Nothing in ourselves (Eph. 2:12). ill. A "Chosen Vessel" (Acts 9:15- 20 ). T. To witness (v. 15). 2. To suffer (v. 16). 1 3. To preach (v. 20).
“Are you girls school teachers?” a sailor called. “No, I’m a nurse,” Nan answered. “We do teach- school—on Sunday,” Janet said. A-handsome young soldier standing in the aisle exclaimed,: “You do! Say, my girl friend taught Sunday-school, back home.” Janet smiled* and at the same time the pathos of it all impressed her in a new way. Here were boys, every nor mal factor of their lives upset. They were like trees uprooted, reaching for something. Most-of thgm had known some spiritual teaching. If they could be led to the Lord now. . . . Afterward she and Nan could only think with amazement and wonder at the experience that was theirs that night and all the next day. They were given a courage that they did not themselves possess, to speak of'spirit ual things, together, in a natural, con versational way. And they found the boys spiritually hungry, whether they would admit it or not.' There was the boy who sat behind them who had leaned forward during one song and had asked, “Do you know ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken’?” As Nan had finished playing it, Janet had felt led to ask, “Will the circle of your family be unbroken?” The boy had bowed his head, but had not an swered. Looking at him, a great long ing had welled in Janet’s heart—an overwhelming desire to be able to show him the peace and utter satis faction found in the Lord Jesus Christ. She remembered the oft-repeated in structions from the teachers at the Institute concerning the inadvisability of young girls approaching men in personal work; and she had wished ..that she were a man. She learned that the boy was just returning from the funeral of his father, who had been a n . e a r n e s t Christian. His son had been unable to forget the song that had been sung during the funeral service. But though she urged him, he would make no decision for Christ. Another boy—the soldier who had been with one of the two girls Janet and Nan had talked to—lingered after many others I)ad left. With sorrow in his voice, he told them that he had never drunk until recently, that he had gone to Sunday-school all his life, and that after he had entered the army, he had held out for a long time against drink and other vices. But he could not stand the ridicule, and had f i n a l l y given in. Janet and Nan breathed swift prayers that his con viction of sin would lead to a true re pentance and acceptance of Christ. He left with fresh vows to lead a clean life. A sailor from another car stopped to ask a few questions. He admitted that he knew the way of salvation.
Pointers for Preachers Assembled by À LAN S. PEARCE, ’19
Made with FlippingBook Annual report