March, 1937
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
94
going to open my Bible to the first page of the first book. The name of this first book is Genesis, and Genesis means “be ginning.” It is right here that we learn what happened at the beginning. At the top of the page it tells us: “ In' the begin ning God created the heaven and the earth.” God, the Strong One made it. It didn’t just grow ; it didn’t come by itself; God made it. He divided the light and the darkness; He separated the sea and the land; He made the growing plants; He set the sun and the moon and the stars in their places; He made the animals and placed them on the land and in the sea, and last He made man and woman, and He left them in charge of this beautiful world which He had created. What a wonderful time Adam and Eve had, walking about in the garden which God had made! They named the birds and the animals and the fish. They gath ered and ate the food that they needed. They even talked to God Himself. But they didn’t stay in this beautiful garden long, for God had told them there was one thing which they must not do, and our story next week will tell us whether they obeyed God or not.
the condition described by Genesis 1:2. “ God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in ’vain." Here the words “ in vain” represent the same Hebrew word trans lated “without form” in Genesis 1:2. Thus Genesis 1:2 declares that “the earth was tohu.” But Isaiah 45:18 declares that “ he created it not toKu." Nothing could be clearer than this. 5. Furthermore, it should be noted that in Genesis 1:2 the verb translated “was” may also be just as properly rendered “be came.” See Genesis 2:7: “Man became a living soul,” where it is the same Hebrew word. Thus “the earth became without form and void.” God did not create it in that condition. 6. One advantage of this view is that we have in Genesis 1 :2 a place in which we can put all the millions of years the scientist may demand for the geological ages. No one knows how long the earth lay in' its condition of “ waste and void.” “ In the beginning”—the phrase has no date attached. Scientists have attempted to discover just when the “beginning” oc curred, but the variety of their opinions shows that, at best, men can only conjecture. At a meeting of the American Philosophi cal Society held at Philadelphia in 1922, Professor T . C. Chamberlain, of the Uni versity of Chicago, placed the age of the earth at between 70,000,000 and 150,000,000 years. He arrived at these figures by using the methods of geology. The next day, at the same meeting, Professor William Duane, of Harvard Medical School, declared that the age of the earth was between 8,000,000 and 1,700,000,000 years. He came to this conclusion by means of study of the prin ciples governing radioactivity. If such men, with all modem equipment at their disposal, cannot more nearly agree in their findings, any one else may hazard a guess, and perhaps be as near to correctness as are the scientists. God never answers our curiosity; He does tell us all that it is necessary for us to know. And we know that “ in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”—B. B. S utcliffe . Golden Text Illustration G enesis 1:1
FREE TRIAL PACKET Bye-Gate Gospel Lessons (With Objects Supplied) 150 Titles—For Children's Workers
Arnold Carl Westphal
Salem, Ohio
B IBL IOTHECA SACRA Bibliotheca Sacra — 128-page Theological Quarterly Review, edited from the premillen- nial viewpoint. Scholarly treatments o f var ied subjects o f theological interest fo r m in isters and instructed laymen. $2.00 a year. A sixty-page reprint o f Dr. L<. S. Chafer’s ex haustive article on Dispensationalism, 25c, five copies for $1.00. Address: ROLLIN T. CHAFER, Editor 3909 Swiss Avenue Dallas, Texas BARGA INS IN MUSIC ! Funeral Songs and Hymns___$l, 2 for $1.75, 5 for $3.50 Edward MacHugh’s Radio Hymns------------55o, 2 for $1 (As sung by the “ Gospel Singer” over N.B.C.) “ Smiling” Ed McConnell’s Radio Hymns__$l, 2 for $1.50 Hardy Hymns of Radio-Land—28c, 2 for 50o, 10 for $2 Rodeheaver Solos for Low Voice—-----—- —55c, 2 for $1 Songlets of Joy (short choruses)..15o, 2 for 25c, 10 for $1 Fishers Of Men Chorus Book__28c, 2for50o, 10 for $2.25 Bible Verses Set to Music------------15c; doz. copies, $1.50 Story of the Old Rugged Cross and Other Hymns____60c Special Easter Songs—28o, 2 books 50o, 10 for $2.00. Hardy Music Co., Dept. K, 64 E. Jackson St., Chicago REMEMBER BIRDIE— Story o f how a little child found Christ and led her parents out o f denominational prejudices and religious indifference into fellowship with Christ and into the church. Six copies by mail, 10 cents. A lso circulars o f other publications. Order now. W ILLIAM PORTER TOWNSEND Lock Box 253 Plainfield, N ew Jersey MATE Morning, noon and night Mate is the ideal drink for those who would be temperate and keep fit. It is South America's favorite drink. Send $1 fo r 20 oz post paid. Agents wanted. PAN AMERICAN TEA CO. 2704 S. Vermont Los Angeles I N S U R A N C E
Object Le sson L ost an d F ound
Objects: A stone heart (plaster of Paris), a rubber heart (cut from a rubber sponge), a heart made from modeling clay, and a cameo. Lesson: God created Adam and Eve in His own image. When they sinned, they lost a likeness to God. They must have been wonderful beings before they sinned. Do you know what this is I hold in my hand? “A cameo.” Yes, and I am going to let this cameo represent the likeness of Christ. Did you know that Jesus came into the world in order that He might save us from sin and make us like Him? I brought three kinds of hearts with me this morning. This first one is a stone heart. I will press the cameo against it, and see whether the heart will receive the image. It is like hard-hearted people who will not receive Christ as Saviour and bear His image. Did you know that the Bible, in Homans 8:29, speaks of being conformed to the image of Christ? Here is another heart. It is a rubber heart, and while it readily receives the im pression of the cameo, it does not keep it. As soon as the cameo leaves this heart, the heart loses the likeness. Some people are just like this. They are impressed in a meeting to accept Christ as Saviour and bear His likeness, but when they go out
When God Made the World G enesis 1:1 to 2:25
Memory Verse: “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time” (Eccl. 3:11). Approach: Have you ever wondered about things that happened a long, long time ago ? things that happened before any one was born? Have you wondered
how things began ? I have, and that is what we are going to talk about today. L e s s o n S t o r y :
Many people h a v e wondered about the beginning of things, and even the wisest p e o p l e know very little about it. But thé Bible tells us rhat happened at the beginning. I am
A L L LINES “ Since 1900” MINES, MacKEIGAN & CO.
Pershing: Square Bldg:. Phone V A 7102
448 S. Hill St. Los Angeles, Calif.
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker