405
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
September 1932
Qdoies on CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR . . . B y M a r y G. G oodn er
OCTOBER 9, 1932 LIQUOR AND YOUNG PEOPLE M a t t h e w 7:17, 18; J o h n 8:32 Suggestions (or the Meeting Hymn—“Fling Out the Banner.” Prayer. Scripture L e s s o nf-r Matt. 7:17, 18 ; 1 Thess. 5 :4-10. Quartet Number-—“ Faith of Our Fa thers.” Address by Some Authority on the Sub ject. Quiet Hour. Benediction—Jude 24. As the remaining lessons for October are on the liquor problem, it would be wise to have either a W.C.T.U. official or some other prohibition worker who has the facts in hand give a stirring address. Such a person could handle the subject better, and it would aid in the other lessons. OCTOBER 16, 1932 W H A T DOES ALCOHOL DO TO PEOPLE AND SOCIETY? M atthew 18:4-6 Suggestions (or the Meeting Hymn—“ All Hail the Power o f Jesus’ Name.” Hymn—“ I Need Thee Every Hour.” Scripture—Proverbs 23 :29-32. Prayer—Let a number join in sentence prayers. , Leader’s Message—Based on Proverbs 23:29-32. Discussion: How does alcohol produce hallucina tions ? How does alcohol impoverish homes? How does alcohol make inefficient work men? Quiet Hour. Benediction—Psalm 1 repeated in con cert. Meditation on the Lesson “ Be not drunk with wine wherein is ex cess ; but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Professor J. Wallace Brown has called the passage in Proverbs “ The Drunkard’s Progress, A Dirge o f Drink,” and outlines it thus: 1. An Enigma o f the Ages (v. 29). 2. The Curt Answer of Wisdom (v. 30). 3. A Strict Moral Pointed (v. 31). 4. The Bitter End (vs. 32-34). 5. The Drunkard’s Last Wailing Solilo quy (v. 35). In the series o f questions in verse 29, we have a vivid description o f the drunk ard. W e know instinctively just what the answer will be, as it is given in verse 30, “ They that tarry long at the wine.” “ This passage is the fullest and liveliest descrip tion o f drunkenness in the Old Testament.” “Who hath woe”—woes of body and woes o f mind, woes present and woes to come, woes in one’s self, woes in one’s family, pains, diseases, poverty. “Who hath contentions”—q u a r r e 1s, fightings, inflamed passions ready to give
Zacchaeus began his Christian life by striking at a sin, his besetting sin. His life had been a life o f fraud. He stopped de frauding and made restitution. Christ says, “ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” And again, “ No man can serve two mas ters : for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Illustration I once read a letter than which no ser mon could be more solemn. It was from a stranger in America who was about eighty years o f age. He wished to find out the heirs of a man whose partner in business he had been in Bristol more than fifty years before the letter was written. His partner had died, and he had cheated the heirs, so he said. He felt that he must soon die, and that he could not appear before the judgment throne till he had paid all those evil debts, principal and interest. He had plenty of money, he said, but every pound of it was a burden on his soul. He had carried with him for half a century that mysterious debt book which no man can get out o f the way.— J a m e s W e l l s . Discussion Material I. S e n t e n c e T h o u g h t s Conversion is the point whence we fol low on to know the Lord.— H e r r o n . If you expect to enter the kingdom of God, you must give up your ways and ac cept God’s ways. — M o o d y . Zacchaeus climbed up to see ; he came down to receive. Jesus came, saw, and conquered the heart of Zacchaeus. II. “ M a k e H a s t e ” • “Make haste,” said Jesus to Zacchaeus, “ for today I must abide at thy house.” This is what Jesus is saying at this mo ment to those who are far advanced in life, and who have only a little time even at the most to make their choice of God. “Make haste”—this is what Jesus is saying to the young, while their feet are yet on the threshold o f life, and the floods of tempta tion have not yet overwhelmed them. — N oble . III. R e s t o r a t io n In the conversion o f Zacchaeus, a note worthy feature is restitution, a duty which ought to be preached far more than it is. Nothing exhibits more impressively the genuineness of true repentance than an earnest effort to undo the evil done in the preceding life, and this is rendered pecu liarly impressive to the common man if it includes the refunding o f money obtained in indefensible ways. In the recent Welsh revival, this was a prominent feature; and Mr. D. L. Moody used to introduce this subject in his addresses with remarkable results.— S t a l k e r .
OCTOBER 2, 1932 HOW DOES THE TEACHING OF JESUS CHANGE BUSINESS? L u k e 19:1-10 Suggestions (or the Meeting Hymn—“Trust and Obey.” . Hymn—“ Give of Your Best to the Mas ter.” Prayer. Scripture Lesson—Luke 19 :l-8. Hymn—“ There’s Not a Friend Like the Lowly Jesus.” Roll Call—Answered by Scripture verses (remember the pledge). Solo— “ Love Sent My Saviour.” Leader’s Message. Discussion: What does Jesus teach about honesty ? How is the Golden Rule applied to business ? Quiet Hour. Benediction—Psalm 19:14. Meditation on the Lesson 1. Earnest Seeking (vs. 1-4). 2. Joyful Receiving (vs. S, 6). 3. Wholly Following (vs. 7-10). The fame o f Jesus had preceded His en trance into Jericho; so we see Zacchaeus, “the chief among the publicans,” very de sirous of seeing Him. Since his name is Jewish, we may safely conclude that he also was a Jew. Being short o f stature, he found it difficult to see for the crowd which was pressing upon Jesus. Not to be deterred from his purpose, however, he climbed up a sycomore tree where his vision would be unobscured. He was evi dently following the prophet Jeremiah’s words, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). Isaiah also said, “ Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isa. 55:6). Such seeking is always rewarded by the Saviour; so, looking up as He went by, He called Zacchaeus by name and told him to “make haste” and “come down,” for He was to abide with him. He obeyed and re ceived Christ joyfully. These two things— that Christ, a stranger, should know his (Zacchaeus’ ) name, and that he should ask to go home with him whom all other men despised—set Zacchaeus thinking. The white, . spotless purity <5f Christ’s life as it shone into his own heart revealed its bare ugliness. His entire moral nature was stirred. “ One look at Jesus,” and it settled it all for Zacchaeus. He came into the presence o f Jesus with the determina tion to follow Him wholly. He would make a total change in his life and begin on the spot. “Lord,” he exclaimed in a new-found penitence, “ the half o f my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.” That was the beginning o f the publican’s Chris tianity. That was his step across the thres hold out of the old life into the new. Christ accepted him. He said, “ This day is salvation come to this house.”
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