506
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
August 1924
and was accompanied by disorder, greed, dishonesty, and extortion, until the place of worship had become, as Christ declared, “ a house of merchandise.” It is still not only possible, but very easy for mixed motives to creep into our worship of and service for God. We need to be constantly on our guard lest that which should be a help and blessing to ourselves and others becomes a positive hindrance, and positively repugnant to our Lord. And now that God’s temple no longer consists of brick and stone, but of believers in Jesus Christ, they should be right not only in their motives, but clean in all manner of living, living in separation unto Himself. “ Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; ftnd I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” 2 Cor. .6:16-18; 7:1. Jesns Loves His Father’s House John 2:13-22. Memory Verse.-^“ My house shall be called a house of prayer.” Matt. 21:13. Approach.— Now I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to think before you answer. How many love God’s house, the church, and how many love to come to Sunday School and church? Now every hand is up, saying you love God’s house, but you know ELEMENTARY someone did not treat His house with Mabel L. Merrill respect this morning, for in front of my desk someone threw a piece of gum, and someone stepped on it and now it is all mashed into the rug. Tomorrow the janitor will have to spend extra time cleaning, and then it will leave a spot. I do not know who it was, but God knows. If we love His house we will not even chew gum in Sunday School, Junior Endeavor or Church. Prayer. Lesson Story.— Now listen and I will give you a little picture in words. There are a number of people gathered, all dressed in their best clothes, and they all seem very happy. There are six large, empty jars. Ruth, you tell us the story that belongs to this picture. That is fine, Ruth, and some day I hope you will be a teacher telling these wonderful stories to the boys and girls. You do it so nicely now, I know you will be a fine teacher when you grow up. Our story today happened just a few days after the wed ding, when Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the passover. We want to always remember the meaning of the passover. It was kept each year to help God’s people remember how God saved Israel and brought them out of Egypt, and how He was going to save every one who would believe on God’s lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom God was going to send to die for the sins of the people. Jesus went up to Jerusa lem to keep the passover. When He went to the temple, He found men with sheep and-oxen and doves in the court of the temple. The men were selling these things for sac rifices. But Jesus was much displeased to find men selling in the court of the temple, and He drove them all out, say ing, His Father’si house was- a house of prayer, and not a place to buy and sell in.
I wonder if any of us do things in the house of God that displease Jesus? Many of the people coming to the pass- over came from a distance and could not bring their animals with them, so it was necessary to,have a place where some could be bought, but it was wrong to bring them into the court of the temple. You know I have seen boys and girls bring their toys to Sunday School, and then when the teacher was telling the Bible story, they would take the toy out of their pocket, and then of course the others in the class would all look at the toy, and not hear the story. What do you think Jesus would do if He were teaching that class? Toys are all right, but we should not bring them to God’s house. We should handle the song books carefully and always be quiet and ready to listen to the teacher or preacher. Jesus loves the boys and girls, and how greatly He must be displeased at some of the things they do. in His house, the church. We remember how when Jesus was just a boy, He was found in the temple. He loved his Father’s house. If we truly love Jesus in our hearts, we will love the church, and will come there to worship Him. He sees all we do, and hears all we say. Let us say our memory verse, and think what it means. These were the words of Jesus. Closing Prayer.
AUGUST 24, 1924 JESUS TALKS WITH NICODEMUS
Golden Text: “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16. Lesson Text: John 3:1-17. Devotional Reading: Isaiah 11:1-9. (Read John 7:45-52; 19:38-42.
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Nicodemus was a member of the Sanhedrin, John 7:50, a Pharisee and a man of wealth, John 19:39. He probably came to Jesus by night for the sake of a quiet, personal interview without interruption. Jesus never remained in the city over night save on that night in LESSON which he was betrayed. He spent the day EXPOSITION in teaching but retired either to Bethany F. W . Farr or the Mount of Olives for the night. Nic odemus had probably heard John the Baptist and even seen him baptize. Any intelligent Jew ought to have known the meaning of such terms as “water,” “spirit” and “ born anew.” The stumbling block to the Jews, however, was why they had to be born again because they supposed that as the descendants of Abraham they were already the heirs of salvation. Jesus plainly taught the necessity .of the new birth. As we enter the physical world by a physical birth, so we must enter the spiritual world by a spiritual birth. Nicodemus as a master in Israel was familiar with the laver where every priest had to wash before entering the holy place. He should have been looking for the anti-type of the laver and the true water of purifying. The water that Christ spoke of must be the Word of God, the instrument of regeneration, 1 Pet. 1 :2 3 ; Jas. 1:18. Water cleanses by displacement. Dirt and water cannot occupy the same place at the same time. The word of God does not act upon the natural man for his
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