Helps for the Children Friends of Jesus Praying Together Acts 1:1-14 Memory Verse: “The Lord will give strength unto his people” (Psa. 29:11). The long-awaited Messiah had come to the earth just as God had promised the Jewish people for hundreds of years. God’s Son had died upon the cross of Calvary, had risen from the dead, and now was ready to return to His Father in heaven. After His resurrection, the Saviour showed Himself alive to His disciples at different times for forty days and talked to them about the things having to do with the kingdom of God. One day, as the Lord Jesus was with His disciples just before His re turn to heaven, He told them that they should not leave Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them to prepare them for the work which He was leav ing for them to do. The Holy Spirit would give to them the power to be witnesses unto the. uttermost part of the earth. When the Saviour had spoken these things, “ A cloud received him out of their sight.” As the disciples were look ing steadfastly toward heaven, two men dressed in white clothing stood by them and said, “ . . . This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” The disciples returned to an upper room in Jerusalem to wait for the promised Holy Spirit. As they waited, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Jesus’ broth ers, and some women waited with them. Together they talked about their Lord, prayed, and planned how they could best do the work with which He had en trusted them. God did not leave the disciples long before He sent the Holy Spirit to give them the power and the strength that they needed to be His faithful witnesses throughout the world. No work for God can be done without God’s power. Power for the work of the church was to be made available through the coming of the Spirit of God to take up His permanent abode in the hearts of His believing children. Pentecost was the occasion for this event. Pentecost is the first great event in God’s revela tion following the Ascension of Christ. It meant the dawn of a new dispensa tion. The Fact of Pentecost vv. 1-4 The word Pentecost comes from a Greek root meaning fifty, which refers to the period of fifty days intervening between the feast of first-fruits, ful filled in the Resurrection of Christ, and the feast of the wave-loaves, which was fulfilled in the events of the chapter be fore us today. One should study Levit- T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S Jan. 8, 1950 POWER FOR THE CHURCH'S TASK Acts 2:1-4, 14-17, 37-41 Pointers on the Lesson
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M is sio n a r y D . F. R ankin, n ow retired after fifty years of fruitful work for A.S.S.U., writes in part as follows: “ After a year and nine months spent in organizing 43 Sunday Schools and holding Gospel meetings in north ern Michigan, I was sent to open the work in southern Indiana. Seventeen Sunday Schools were organized the first year. Some of these were denied the use of school houses. During the winter months, I had each of them be come Home Departments, which kept alive the interest; and in the spring each was re opened, and eight more schools were organized. “ During the next eleven years, I labored in ten counties. Going into about two hun dred communities, we organized Sunday Schools, prayer meetings and Young People’s Societies and held Gospel meetings. Hundreds were won to Christ. From these schools came 26 ministers or missionaries and several churches. “ Last year in this state about 6,200 were reached by Sunday and Week-Day Schools. With God’s blessing, thousands have been won to the Saviour, lives and communities transformed, and more than forty have be come ministers. 38 Chapels have been dedi cated, and more than 40 churches organized. Only heaven will reveal the rich result of sowing God’s W ord in the hearts of the chil dren and youth.”
M r. John Edgar Hoover, Di- rector of F.B.I., recently wrote: “ The gravity of the crime sit' uation in 1946 was reflected by the fact that, during the average day, 36 persons were slain, 33 were raped, and 185 others were feloniously assault' ed. During each twenty'four hours, on the average, 172 persons were robbed, 981 bur' glaries were repprted to the police, 630 cars were stolen, in addition to 2,580 miscella' neous larcenies of various types being committed.” There is but one remedy — the Gospel preached in transforming pow' er. This is our mission to rural America.
AMERICAN- Sunday School Union
Our attractive, illustrated quarterly, “ THE SUN DAY'SCH OO L M ISSIONARY,” re' lating many colorful first-hand incidents of this romantic pioneer work, will be for- warded at your request. Address Department of Missions, 1816'K Chestnut Street, Phila- delphia 3, Pa.
WITH CHRIST ALONG THE OLD BACK ROAD ESTABLISHED 1817 PIONEER SUNDAY SCHOOL O RG A N IZ A T IO N OF THE U S. A.
200 Million in Europe Have Never Heard or Handled the Word of God Pray . . . Practice . . . Pay . . . to Make them Wise unto Salvation
New Testament and Psalms urgently needed in Russian, Polish and other Slavic languages. They cost only 40c each, a trifling sum considering possible results. One used Bible in a village in Poland led 200 souls to Christ. Your interest and gifts will help multiply such results.
Write for free copy of our bi-monthly maga zine “ The Slavic Evangel” sent on request. THE SLAVIC MISSIONARY SOCIETY Dr. F. J. Miles, International Secretary
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