March, 1937
THE K I N S ' S BUS I NES S
105
NOTES on Christian Endeavor
By M ARY G. GOODN ER
APRIL 4, 1937 THE GOOD CHURCH-MEMBER WORSHIPS D euteronomy 16:11;» M atthew 18:19, 20 Meditation on the Lesson Who can be a “good church member” ? Who can worship? What is worship? Why do we need to worship in groups? How may our own personal worship of our Lord be deepened? The meaning of the New Testament word for “church,” ecclesia, is “ an assembly of called-out ones.” If we are members of the true “church” composed of all believers, our loyalty is first to Jesus Christ, and thus in directly and yet very deeply to “the church, which is his body,” for “he is the head of the body, the church: . . . that in all things he might have the preeminence” (Col. 1 :18). Our Lord Jesus declared: “ God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Only the one whose spiritual nature has been quickened in the new birth is capable of true worship (cf. John 3:3; Eph. 2:1). The two passages of our lesson contain in essence the fundamental elements of wor ship: Praise, place, unity, purpose, prayer, and promise. Where these factors are found in a gathering of Christians, there is wor ship. God’s people are instructed to praise. “ And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God.” The Bible is full of exhortations to praise, and every Christian has reason to be full of thanksgiving and praise. “ Oh that men would praise the Lord for his good ness” (Psa. 107:8), remembering that “great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised” (1 Chron. 16:25)1 The place is necessary if there is to be worship with others as here commanded: “ In the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place his name there” (Deut. 16:11). In the New Testa ment economy, the Lord Jesus says, of a gathering of believers: “There am I in the midst of them” (Matt. 18:19, 20). There will be unity in true group worship, for we read of the result that follows “if two of you shall agree” i. e., shall symphonize. There must be harmony among the believers if the worship is to be genuine. The pur pose is to meet Christ as He instructed: “in my name.” The next element is prayer. We are to bring our petitions, expecting actual, object ive answers. “Ask, and ye shall receive” (John 16:24). And, oh, the blessedness of the promise that accompanies our Lord’s revelation of His plan for the church! “There am I in the midst of them.” Noth ing greater could be hoped for or imagined. How greatly we need this experience of group worship! Would not those who are “called o.ut” from the world be in particu
lar need of fellowship among themselves? Sharing in church services, devotional meet ings of the Christian Endeavor Society, or in family worship, we fulfill the Lord’s de sire that we be “not forsaking the assem bling of ourselves together” (Heb. 10:25). And from this fellowship with others to whom the Lord has revealed Himself through His Word, our own experience of Him will be deepened. Our own private prayer to Him will be enriched because of our enlarged faith. “ O1come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker,” In the establishment of one of our great goldsmiths is a vast iron safe with many locks, containing immense treasure. But no one person can open that chest; the keys are in the hands of many trustees, and only by their concurrence can the hidden wealth be made manifest. Thus it is in the natural and in the spiritual world—the wealth of the divine blessing can be reached only through the brotherhood of saints. “Not for saking the assembling of ourselves together.” — W . L . W atk in so n . II. T h e C ost of th e B est Nature will not unveil her rarest beauty to the chance tourist. Pictures which are the results of a life of work do not disclose their secret loveliness to the saunterer down a gallery. No character can be read at a glance. And God’s best cannot be ours apart from patient waiting in His holy presence.— F. B . M eyer . APRIL 11, 1937 THE GOOD CHURCH-MEMBER PRACTICES STEWARDSHIP 1 C orinth ians 4:2; 1 P eter 4:10 Meditation on the Lesson Unfortunately, we Christians have limited stewardship to money so many times that we have overlooked the larger vision which 1 Corinthians 4:1 gives, reminding us that we are “stewards of the mysteries of God.” What an honor! To be “put in trust with the gospel” (1 Thess. 2:4) ! Angels would rejoice in this privilege. “As good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet. 4:10), Christians are to “minister” their gifts from God “one to another. You will find that a concordance study of the word “grace” iu the New Tes tament will greatly enrich your own life as you consider this subject of stewardship. Repeatedly you will notice that the word grace is associated with such words as Helps for the Leader I. C h u rch W orship
For Lenten Reading S Mr. Morton’s inspiring books on the Master and St. Paul have recre ated for hundreds of thousands of readers, here and abroad, the great scenes and events of the New Testa ment. These books are unique in that they appeal, not to any one sect or denomination, but to all—to men and women everywhere whose hearts and minds are turned toward the Saviour and his Great Apostle. In soundness of teaching and interpre tation, in vividness of detail, in de voutness of spirit, in simplicity of style and in beauty of appearance, they have no equals in the literature of combined travel and biography. By H. V. Morton 111 T H E S T EP S O F ST. PMIL Illustrated, $ 2 .5 0 III T H E S T EP S O F THE mH 5 TER Illustrated, $ 3 .0 0 A t all booksellers, orfrom DODD, MEAD & CO., 449 4th Ave., N. Y. DARKEST AMERICA Do you _know that there are thousands of communities in America where the Gospel is not preached ? Think of a generation growing up without the influence of the Bible. What are you going to do about it? A mission has been formed for the purpose of supplying the Gospel to these unfortu nates, and Reverend Homer Stanley Morgan and others are going to devote their time to the>evangelization of these neglected places. This is a field worthy of your prayer and attention. REFERENCES Dr. Will H. Houghton, Dr. H. A. Ironside. Dr. A. C. Gaebelein, Rev. W. W. Rugh For further information or to send contri butions—Address Christian Mission to Churchless Communities Room 602, 25 Broad Street, New York City MR. ALWYN BALL, JR., Treas.
BE A NURSE MAKE S2S-S3S A WEEK You can learn practical nursing at home in spare time. Course endorsed by physi cians. Thousands of graduates. 38th year One graduate has charge of 10-bed hos-
^ , , Pital. Another saved $400 while learning. Equipment included. Men and women 18 to 60 Tngh School not required. Easy tuition paymenta Write nOwT Dept. 523, 100 East Ohio Street, Chicago, III. Please send me free booklet and 82 sample lesson page*. Name ___ _________________________ City------------------------- ------- State-_____ ________ Age.___
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker