June 1924
T H E
K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
387
many have been k ep t from making shipwreck, and attained to a certain external adm iration of Him, ere yet they have fully “ beheld His glory.” Christ th e Lord. This is the only place where these words come tog eth er; and I see no way of understanding this “Lord” but as corresponding to the Hebrew Jehovah.— J . P . & B. Prom th e time th a t sin entered the world, man’s g reatest need has been th a t of a Saviour. Knowing this, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world w ith the joyful an nouncement, “Unto you is born th is day a Saviour.” “A -S aviour,’?/ not “ a teacher.”,., At DEVOTIONAL Christ’s b irth there were th ree prom- COMMENT inent classes, th e Romans, th e Greeks, Jo h n A. Hubbard and the Jews. The Romans had th eir orators, th e Greeks th e ir philosophers and teachers, th e Jews th e ir superior teachings of th e Old Testam ent Scriptures. But they all needed something more — they needed a Saviour. “A Saviour,” not “an example,” Jesus stands as th e one perfect example, ju st as He stands as the incomparable teacher. B u t sinners are not saved by teachings or ex ample. They need some one to redeem them from the gu ilt and power of sin. The chief outw ard ch aracteristic of th e Romans was power; hu t inwardly th ey were corrupt, and needed a Saviour. The chief outw ard ch aracteristic of th e Greeks was wisdom and cu ltu re; bu t inwardly they were corrupt, and needed a Saviour. The chief outward characteristic of th e Jews was religion, but inw ardly they were corrupt. “Woe unto you, scribes and" Pharisees, hypo crites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are w ithin full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, bu t w ithin ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” Their religion was dead, formal, vain; “ This people draw eth nigh unto me w ith th eir mouth, and honoureth me w ith th e ir lips: b u t th e ir h ea rt is far from me. B u t in vain th ey do worship me, teaching for doctrines, the commandments of men.” They needed a Saviour to lift them from sin and corruption. This gives real point to th e announcement of the angel: “Behold, I bring you good tidings of g reat joy, for th ere is born a Saviour. “The gospel is good news, not good advice.” A condemned crim inal is not looking for good advice; but his h ea rt leaps w ith joy a t the good news of pardon. All who are w ithout Christ stand before God’s righteous judg ment har guilty, condemned, speechless, helpless (see Rom. 3 :1 9 ). L et us take to them the good tidings of “ pardon, peace, and power” through Him “ in whom we have redemp tion through- his. blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his. grace” (Eph. 1 :7 ). The Baby Jesus. Luke 2:7-20. , Memory Verse.— “ I bring you good tidings of g reat joy.” Luke 2:10. Approach.— Build a little manger of stone blocks or wood, fill w ith straw , and place w ithin a to y bahy. ' Place also in the m anger strips of paper rolled up, each strip bearing a simple question on the b irth of Christ. A fter the lesson story has been told, have the ELEMENTARY children tak e tu rn s in draw ing a ques- Mabel L. M errill tion from the manger. If too young to read, the teacher may read and let the child answer, (Peloubet’s Notes.) Lesson Story.—We have had such a good tim e th e past weeks hearing about God’s people who lived a long time
before Jesus came down on ea rth to live, but these people knew he was coming for th e Bible told them of a coming king and Saviour, b u t of course they did not know the time of his coming, so they waited and watched for His coming, ju st as we are w aiting and watching for His com ing again to take us to the beau tifu l home in heaven. At last the tim e of His coming drew near. Do you suppose the news of His coming was told to th e richest and greatest people, and th a t they w ent to meet Him w ith flags flying and trum pets blowing, and w ith a gold crown ready to place upon His head? No, th e news of th e coming of the g reatest King the world has even known was told first to one woman. She was young and beautiful, and her name was Mary. We know th a t she must have been beautiful, because she was good and sweet and loving, and when peo ple are like th a t it shines out in th e ir faces, and they are beautiful. One day she was w alking in a garden am id flowers, when suddenly she saw before her a shining angel. “H ail,” he said, “ blessed a rt th o u ’among women.” ! His face was so b rig h t and glistening and his words were so solemn th a t Mary was frightened a t first. But the angel spoke again and the music of his voice and his wonderful message took all fear from her heart. '’(‘F ear not, Mary,” he said, “ thou sh alt have a little child and sh a lt call His name Jesus. He shall be th e K ing who is coming to save the world.” He was coming as a little, helpless baby, th a t g reat King, and Mary was to be His mother. She was so happy she sang for joy. Then one n igh t as the shepherds were watch ing th eir flocks in the fields a wonderful thing happened. The sta rs were shining brightly in the deep blue sky, the woolly sheep and lambs were sleeping n ear by, and it was very still. Out of the sta rry sky came a b righ t shining angel, and around him and the shepherds shone a g reat light. It was so strang e th a t the shepherds were afraid. Then listen and see w hat the beautiful angei said, for the words are our memory verse for today. “F ear not, for be- holjd I bring you good tidings of g reat joy, which shall be to all people. F o r unto you is born th is day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” (Teach mem ory verse, and go on w ith the wonderful words from Bible through verse 14). Softly th e ligh t and music faded away into heaven, and the night was quiet again around the shepherds. But th eir h earts were filled w ith gladness; th e King for whom they had w aited and watched had come. They followed the b right sta r which led them to Bethlehem . They came to a stable, a kind of cave, and there, w ith th e donkeys and cows and sheep around Him, lay a wonderful little baby. His crib was one of the boxes th e animals eat out of, a manger, and He was wrapped round and round in soft pieces of muslin, swaddling clothes they are called. So the shepherds knew He was the King, for had not the angels said they would find him, “wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a m anger"? There in th e stable th e shepherds knelt and worshipped th a t wonderful baby, th o Child Jesus, th e King for whom they had so long watched and waited. Do you worship th is same Jesus, and is He your Saviour and King? P rayer.
Read the Statistical Report
on Inside Front Cover
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker