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came. For thirty years at Nazareth He had lived an obscure life. Then at the appointed time He came to men, found them in their sins, and identified Himself with them even to the extent that He was baptized. 2. "Was baptized of John ih Jor dan" (v. 9). The question is often asked, Why was Jesus baptized? John’s baptism was a baptism unto repent ance (Matt. 3:11). But surely Jesus had no Sin for which to repent. The an swer must be that His submission to baptism was a part of what He under took to do for sinful men. He came “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). This was one of the ways in which' He identified Himself with sinful men. “ Jesus did not need to be baptized for His own sake, for He had no sin to be washed away. But His baptism was part of what He was doing for His peo ple. Just as on the cross He received the punishment of sin, though there was no sin of His own, so in His bap tism He represented the sinful people, whom He came to serve” (J. Gresham Machen). 3. "And straightway" (v. 10). Mark is a book of action. T h e w o r d s “ straightway,” “immediately,” “forth with,” “ anon,” which are all the same word in the Greek, appear forty times in Mark. They appear only eighty times in the entire New Testament. Golden Text Illustration ■M ark 1 :15 I once walked into a garden with a lady to gather some flowers. . . . One flower seemed to shine above all the rest in beauty. This lady pressed for ward into thé thick hush and reached far over to pluck it. As she did this, a black snake, which-was hidden in the bush, wrapped itself around her arm. She was alarmed beyond all de scription, and ran from the garden, screamjfig. . . . During all that day she suffered very much with fear; her whole body trembled, and it was a long time before she could be quieted. The lady is 'still alive. Such is her hatred now of the whole serpent race that she has never since been able to look at a snake, even though it were dead. . . . Now this is the way the sinner acts who truly repents of his sins. He thinks o f sin as the serpent that once coiled itself round him. He hates it. He dreads it. He flies from it. He fears the places it inhabits. He does not willingly go to the haunts. He will no more play with sin. —Bishop Meade. Four Fishermen M ark 1 :l-22 MEMORY VERSE: “ I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psa. 122:1). AIM: To show the child his need of coming to Christ, and the joy of bring ing others to the Lord Jesus Christ
APPROACH: In our language, there are words that sound alike, but have different meanings. (Mention a few of them.) Once the Lord Jesus used a common word, but He gave it a new meaning. This is the story: LESSON STORY: A long time— about thirty years—had passed since the Lord Jesus was a baby in Bethle
box this morning to tell us how taffy is made. We will not have time to make it, but we can learn how. Here is the recipe. It reads, “Four cups of sugar, two cups of water, and four tablespoons of vinegir. Heat to 265- 270 degrees, or until a small portion will crack when placed in cold water. Pour on buttered plates, put a few drops of. vanilla on the candy, and pull when cool enough.” That sounds good, doesn’t it? Would you like to have some? Do you think it is necessary to follow the recipe ex actly? We might be able to leave out the sugar or the vinegar. “No, it would not be good if we did,” you say. You are right. If we want good ' candy, we must follow the recipe ex actly. The Bible is God’s Recipe Book for salvation. Many people do not re ceive salvation, because they do not follow God’s recipe. Christ tells us in Mark 1:15, “Repent ye, and believe the gospel’.” ' Repentance rS the first re quirement for salvation. The next is to believe the gospel. This means to believe on Christ as the One who died for the sins of the world. The third thing to do is toy receive Him as a personal Saviour. “ As many as re ceived him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God” (John 1:12). In Matthew 10:32 we read, “Whoso ever therefore shall confess me before tnen, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.” Let us again notice the things which are mentioned in God’s recipe for sal vation—repent, believe, receive, and confess. If we want God to give us salvation from sin, we must follow His recipe.
hem. He was a man now, ready to be gin His great work of showing people that they needed to have their sins forgiven. He want ed helpers. One day, “ as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw
Simon and Andrew his brother cast ing a net into the sea; for they were fishers” (v. 16). “Come ye after me,” Jesus called to them, “ and I will make you to become fishers of men” (v. 17). Right away, they obeyed. James and John, two other brothers whom Jesus called while they were in their ship mending their nets, followed Him, too. All of them found out what the new meaning was that the Lord Jesus gave to the word “fishers.” To catch fish in the sea, a fisher man must have a strong net. Jesus' „followers learned that the Word of God is like a net, for people cannot get away from what it says. A good fish erman will go where the fish are, and the friends of Jesus learned that they must be willing to go anywhere, tell ing of Him. When fish are-caught in a net, they become useful;' as long as they swim around, free, they help no one. Jesus showed that the only way for anybody truly to help others is for that person to let the Lord Jesus have him and use him.- Jesus is still looking for followers who will use the “net” of the Word of God and bring others to Him. Will you be one? Object Lesson R eading A R ecipe OBJECT: A recipe file. LESSON: Do you boys and girls like taffy candy? I brought a recipe
JANUARY 9, 1944 « JESUS BUSY WITH HIS MINISTRY OF LOVE M a r k 1 :23 to 2 :1 4
Mark 1:32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him, ail that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. 33 And all the city was gathered to gether at the doorv 34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, be cause they knew him. 35 And in the morning, rising up a great
while before day, he went out, and depart* ed into a solitary place, and there prayed. 36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. 37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for. thee. 38 And he said unto them, Let us go in? to the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.. 39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.
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