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MARCH, 1946
APRIL 21, 1946 FROM D E ATH TO LIFE Matthew 28:1-8. TTOW OUR hearts should rejoice be- cause the Saviour did not remain in the grave! All other religious lead ers have died and stayed dead. They have formulated doctrines which were contrary to the Scripture. They pro mulgated their thoughts which were poisonous to thé soul, and then com- Idea 1. For a geographic set ting for the April 7 meeting, use a wall map of Palestine. Have someone point out the distance from Galilee to Jerusalem. A good talk on the contrasts be tween the Palestine of Jesus’ day with that of today might be pre pared. Idea 2. At the meeting on April 14, it would be interesting for one of the members to give a brief account of the L i f e of Christ. The book, “The Crises of the Christ,” by G. Campbell Mor gan, will be very helpful in this connection. Idea 3. Make a p o s t e r an nouncing the meeting for April 21. At the bottom of the poster, letter in black the words, “ sin” and “death,” and o v e r these place a picture of the triumphant Christ. You might entitle the poster “Conqueror.” Idea 4. To arouse interest in the last topic for April, hand out lapel tags on that Sunday morn ing, or even the Sunday before, with the. words “U n d e r , New Management” printed on them. In the development of thè topic, show how the natural man is controlled b y selfishness and greed, but that the “new man” in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 4:24) is under New Management, guided by the Spirit of God for the glory of God. At the meeting, ask each one present if he could wear that tag, and feel that he was honest. pletely passed out of the scene, never to return. Our blessed. Saviour pre sented truth from Heavenand Himself as the Saviour, then died to fulfill the Scripture and to pay the supreme penalty. Then He came back, and is living today to fulfill and to enforce His Word. Let us rejoice in the Living Christ, IT’S AN IDEA Rev. Carlton C. Buck
For Those Who Have Topics 1. THE DESIRE OF THE WOMEN. Matthew 28:1. ' They came to see the sepulcher—- not to see Him. This is one of the great mistakes being made in these days as well as in former days. “Things” take the place of His person. The church, the flowers,. the music, the sermon, the program occupy the heart, and Christ is missed. We should look for the living and risen Saviour and be occupied with Him. Christ in Heaven is God’s receipt to us for forgiveness on earth. Christ on the throne assures us of His constant care and His/ loving thoughtfulness. The women really wanted Him, -but did not know that He was risen. Ignor ance may keep us from our Lord. 2. THE TESTIMONY OF THE AN GEL. Luke 24:4. The resurrection of Christ was the resurrection of His body. Some say that Jesus died but Christ, did not. The very body that hung on Càlvary was the same body that came out of the grave. The Scripture says, “Christ died for the ungodly.” That precious- body that suffered so terribly was raised with the same wounds. Jesus said to Thomas, “Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side . . .” He invited Thomas to put his fingers into the wounded hands. Jesus said, “A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me. have” (Luke 24:39). It was the. literal body, of Jesus that came out of the tomb. The angel said, . “He is risen.” Let us rejoice and believe it. 3. THE FEAR OF THE SOLDIERS. Matthew' 28:4. The soldiers might well be afraid. One angel had killed 185,000 men among God’s enemies in one night (2 Kings 19:35). No wonder these- men were afraid of this glorious Per son who sat upon the stone. Triumph ant angels were surrounded by light inexpressible. Angels have power and know how to use it. Men everywhere should remember that God has a host, of these angels. There is a spirit world. We should never live as t h o u g h this is the . only world. Through Christ Jesus, let us prepare for the next one. The soldiers were there to. guard the body of Jesus.. They failed to keep it. So every plan of man to hinder the Saviour will fail. Christ will triumph over His enemies, 4. THE MESSAGE OF THE WO MEN. ' Luke 24:10. The women were really thrilled with the story they had to tell. They could not keep still. Their joy was unbound ed. They, ran with the message. They
ity revealed. On the way to Calvary, He could use a colt. On His way to accomplish the work of redemption, He needed an animal set free to be His servant. The colt represents the sinner. He is tied to his sins and his traditions. The servant of God is sent to set him free and bring him to Jesus. A wild colt became tame in Jesus’ presence and became useful to the Lord. 2. A USEFUL COLT. Isaiah 6:8. The colt represents the sinner who has met the Saviour and been set free from the bands that held him fast. Having been set free, he is at the disposal of the Lord. Christ on the way to Calvary needed to be carried, for the road was long and the way was rough. The colt had that honor. The sinner is set free, tamed by Jesus, and then becomes the servant of the Saviour to take Him wherever He wants to go. He may let us carry Him to the slums of the big city,' to the Wealthy merchants of the metrop olis. or to far o ff lands. Our work is to take Him where He wants to go. 3; A LOOSED COLT. Mark 11: 4. The Son must set us free from wrong living, and the truth must set us free from wrong thinking, if we would be of any use to our blessed Lord in His service (John 8:32, 36). If we continue to be bound by tradition and men’s inhibitions, then we cannot serve our Lord freely o r ' acceptably. It is not enough to be loosed merely from the bondage of sin. We must be brought to Jesus for His entire use and occupancy. He is to sit upon us. We are to be subject to His will en tirely. He is to take our lives in His hand and direct our paths-. He must own the colt for His own purpose. So we lay aside our pre-conceived ideas and bur self-made plans, in order that we may be wholly given over to the will of our new owner. As He was given over to His Father’s will, so we are to be given over to our Lord’s will. 4. A SERVING COLT- 1 Peter 4:2. This wild colt had a master who had not yet tamed him. He left him tied.until a more convenient time. & wild colt is of little use. ft wants Its own way all the time. It rebels against control. Jesus was fully yield ed to His Father’s will; He said, “I do always those things that please him”- (John 8:29). So we must have our bands, broken, the chains of sin dissolved, and then have the Saviour give: us that m a g i c.‘,touch. which changes the wild nature into one of obedience. Then there will be a de sire . to please the new Master. He will, control us easily. He will direct us;fully. We shall go along with Him to accomplish His blessed purposes.
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