688
November 1928
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
and junior, if the lessons of Paul’s life h a v e gripped your own heart, you can have a mo s t profitable arid inter esting h o u r with these last words of the great Apostle Paul, and you could have no better ex
FRED S. SHEPARD ’S BLACKBOARD OUTL INE T r a i n i n g E S T I N G S R I U M P H S I have kept the faith.—2 Tim. 4:7. (The Bible does not tell us how Paul died, but tradition says he was beheaded. Thus one of the noblest of men ended his glorious career and went to be with Christ, which, Paul said, “is very far better”’; Phil. 1 :23.)
. C ross - R eferen ce S tudy
V. 1 .''“God . . . and Christ shall judge” (Psa. 50:6; cf. Acts 10:42). "At his appearing” (Col. 3:4). V. 2. "In season and out” (cf. Acts 16: 13, 31-33; 20:7, 18-21; 28:16, 30-31). . V. 3. "Time will come”. ( 1 Tim. 4:1-3). “Itching ears” (Acts 17:21): V. 4. “Turned to fables” (Mt. 15:8-9; 2 Pet. 2 :1). V. 5. “Make full proof” (1 Tim. 4:12- ■ V. 6 . “Ready” (Phil. 1:23-24; cf. 2 Pet. 1 :14). V. 7. “Good fight” (1 Tim. 6:12): “My course” (Phil. 3:13-14). “Kept the faith” (Jude 3). . V. 8 . “A crown” (1 Pet. 5 :4; 1 Cor. 9: 25; Rev: 2:10). “Laid up”. (Isa. 32:17; Psa. 31:19). "Love his appearing” (Heb. 9:28). V. 10. “Loved this present world” (1 Jn. 2:15-16). V. 11. “Mark . . .is profitable” .(Mt. 19:30). V. 13. “Cloak that I left” (1 Cor. 4:11: 2 Cor. 11:27). • V. 14. “The Lord rezuard him” (2 Sam. 3:39). V. 16. “No man stood with me” (Psa. 31:11-13; 2: Tim. 1:15), V. 17. “Notwithstanding” (Acts 23:11; Mt. 10:19). V. 18. “Preserve” '(Psa. 73:24). —o— G olden T e x t I llu stra tio n I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (2 Tim. 4:7). The great Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar, on the morning of his death, called for a mirror and desired to have his hair and beard arranged. He mut tered a verse of a comic epilogue and in vited his friends to greet his exit with applause. He asked if he had played his part in the drama of life -well and there were shouts of approval. What a contrast is this with the exul tant triumph of the aged Paul! Writing with chained hand from his chilly prison dungeon on the eve of his martyrdom, he could say: “I have fought a good fight, finished my course, kept the faith.” Caesar wanted the praise and flattery of men to cheer his dying hour. Paul was at rest with the “well done” of His Lord and Master. Caesar was laying aside his jeweled crown, the only one he should ever have. Paul was assured of an ever lasting crown in the life to come (v. 8 ). —o— Paul’s Last Message To His Friends 2 Tim. 1:1-4; 4:1-8 Memory Verse.- —“I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” Psa. 23 :4. Approach.— (For the tiny, folk, would recommend the Christmas lesson, “The Birth of Jesus,” Luke 2:8-20. Memory Verse, Luke 2:11. For the older primary
ample of one who lived and preached the Lord Jesus,: who was born Christ the Saviour of the world. We want to center the young minds on the person Christ, ra ther than a day.) Lesson StoryAGI hold in my hand a let ter, and after I had read it over, I read it again, because-it is from a dear friend, and I was so glad to get a letter from her,' I just wanted to read it twice, and before I answer it I will read it many times more. I will not only read the letter but I will pray for her each day. She is away over in China telling boys and girls there of our Saviour. Who will tell of a very wonderful letter we heard about last week? ~(Review.) In our story last week, even though Paul was a prisoner, he had been allowed to livedn his own hired house, visit with his friends, and direct his wide mission ary work; now he is chained in a dark dungeon, he is cold and absolutely aloné save for one faithful "friend, Luke, the beloved physician. This is Paul’s last let ter written to Timothy, a young man who was in charge' of the church in Ephesus, and whom he urged to come to him in Rome. I t is one of the most precious messages in the Bible. Timothy was a fine Christian young man, and Paul reminds him of the lovely Christian mother and grandmother. I wonder how many of you have Chris tian mothers and grandmothers? We have great games and athletic contests in our, day, and so they had in the days when Paul lived on this: earth, and the reward for the winner of the race was a simple crown of leaves. How hard they worked and- trained to win this prize ! Paul is faithful to the last in warning Timothy not to fail to preach the Word of God (the ‘Bible) to the people and to warn them of the coming judgment for all who do not belong to Christ. Paul looked upon Timothy, more than anyone else, to carry on his great work when he was gone. He urges Timothy to be willing to endure suffering and hardship, and be a faithful evangelist. And now his last words- are telling Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible and bring his coat, for he' was so cold in the prison dungeon. He also asked for his books, and told Timothy of his loneliness, as all men had left him alone, except for the be loved physician Luke. (How we love dear Doctor Luke for staying with Paul dur ing his last days of suffering on earth.) Paul also tells Timothy that he is soon to die and leave this world, but that he is ready to go. . Listen carefully now to what he said: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” You know, boys and girls, mány today are telling Us the Bible is not true. Whenever we hear any one say anything against the Bible, may we ever remember it is Satan doing his best to destroy our faith, and may we, like Paul, fight a good fight and keep the old faith. (Teach Memory Verse and enlarge on the reward as given in verse 8 .) (Prayer.)
D ecem ber 30, 1928 Paul, th e World Christian Review L e sso n in O u t l in e
Lesson 1. Paul’s Humanness. LeSSon Z. Paul’s Friendliness. Lesson 3. Paul’s Heroism. Lesson 4. Paul’s Faith. Lesson 5. Paul’s Insight into Truth. Lesson 6 . Paul’s Enterprise. Lesson 7. Paul’s Versatility. Lesson i 8 . Paul’s Tact. Lesson 9. Paul’s Perseverance. Lesson 10. Paul’s Organizing Ability. Lesson 11. Paul’s Spirituality. Lesson 12. Paul’s Commanding Genius. pOR six months we have been studying the life and letters of Paul. On Sep tember 30, the first quarter’s studies were reviewed under the general subject of who was the greatest apostle to the Gen tiles and who is the author of much the larger half of the didactic portion of the New Testament. His labors form the larger part.of the one historical book of the New Testament which tells of the spread of Christianity (Acts). Paul was the instrument chosen to give Christianity the wider range, both of thought and territory, for which it was designed. Hence a failure to apprehend his life and character necessarily in volves ignorance of the historical be ginnings of Christianity as a vital force in the world. Considering him as the world Christian, it will be appropriate to get clearly before us his missionary tours, using a large map. Luke, his doctor companion, men tions in Acts three great journeys of the apostle to the Gentiles.' 1. He set out under the special direc tion of the Holy Spirit given through the prophets and the congregation at Antioch. Barnabas and Mark were his companions (Acts 13:1-5;: cf. 15:37). They landed at “Paul the mission- ary.” . (See our re view comments for t h a t da t e . ) We agairi endeavor to refresh our mem ories concerning the l i f e and achieve ments of this man
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