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April 1927
T h e . K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
come into their lives. Peter told his hear ers how they had crucified Jesus, but that God had raised Him up : he told how they had seen Jesus a number of times since His resurrection from the dead. Peter told them they must surely know that this same Jesus whom they had crucified, was the Saviour which was to come into the world. When the people heard Peter’s words they were filled with sorrow for what they had done, and they said to Peter and the other disciples, “What shall we do?” Peter answered them, “Repent of your sins and be baptized, and God’s Holy Spirit shall come into your hearts also; for God has promised to send Him to all who will hear and obey God’s Word.” Great numbers believed on the Lord Jesus, and about three thousand were saved in one day. They went to the temple to worship there, and did eat to gether in each other’s houses, and were very happy. They were kind to each other, and every day, others were sorry and repented and believed, so people were saved every day., The Gospel of Jesus will make people sorry for their sins when told by people who have God’s Holy Spirit in their hearts. Dear Heavenly Father, help us to tell this glad story. —o— BLACKBOARD STUDY B y F eed S. S hepard P RAYER OWER ENTECOST “Prayer changes things.” ever, show that the apostles had powers which were n o t.to be' continued. The miracle recorded in this lesson is given in great detail, and is evidently a typical incident containing great lessons for the Church. It should teach us, in the first place, that the mission of the Church is to the poor and helpless. The beggar at the gate is the type of humanity without God and without hope (Eph. 2:12). There he was surrounded by material grandeur but hopeless until touched by the power of Jesus’ name. In this day of materialism and ritual ism, we may well insist on the great truth taught by this miracle. The Church began by dealing with the poor and needy. When we get beyond that, we may as well close the doors. A Church in the hands of people of wealth and leisure is a mere social club without message and without power. Christianity must be es sentially a religion of the masses. Its founder was a carpenter. He came “to preach the Gospel to the poor." His first beatitude was " Blessed are the poor in spirit" Watch Peter and John dealing with this needy man at the Temple gate. , They are patterns for personal workers. Note the
news. Let us bow our heads, and thank God, our heavenly Father, for the good news that Jesus loves us and will forgive all our sins and save us. Lesson Story : Here is a picture of a boat with some men in it, and over the side of the boat is a net. On the shore is a man. Can you tell me the name of one of the men in the boat? Peter. Who was on the shore? The Lord Jesus. (Re view, emphasizing Jesus’ love for us and His willingness to forgive.) At the last supper Jesus ate with His disciples before His death, He told them all what would happen, and also told them He would rise from the dead and go back to heaven. Of course the disciples and friends were sad for they would miss Jesus who had been among them to comfort and help, but Jesus told them some good news. He said He would send His Holy Spirit to be a Comforter and power in their lives; He told them again how weak and helpless they would be in their own strength, and we know by the story of Peter, and by our own lives how true this is. Great crowds had gathered for the festival, or Pente cost, celebrated by the Jews; a number of friends with the disciples had gathered in one place for prayer, and while they were in prayer God’s Holy Spirit came to them as Jesus had promised. A great change came into the. lives of the disciples, for you know when God’s Spirit comes into our hearts, we too are changed. Peter is no longer weak or cowardly, but stands before this great crowd and preaches the most wonderful sermon ever preached. All the disciples from this time on were strong in faith, and were eager to fell, people of Jesus and His love, The dis ciples were just poor men, without much influence or education, but God can use the weakest people if th'ey will let Jesus
produced. Let us honor the Holy Spirit more, and then we may expect a fresh baptism from above. __ Further, the revival here was character ized by the preaching of the truth. Peter stood forth and testified for Christ. In all probability he said a great deal more than has been preserved here; but even in this outline we have much to arrest our attention. His discourse was Biblical. He brought the Bible to the front, and by its simple exposition he proved that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Messiah. Now adays we have a great deal said in the pulpit that might be just as appropriate in the hall of the lyceum, or in the class room of the professor of philosophy. But Peter began and ended with the Word of God; and when pur ministers will give over apologizing for the Bible, or criti cizing it, and will let it simply speak for itself, then we, too, may look for a new day of Pentecost. Again, Peter’s sermon was experimen tal. It was a testimony. He could and did say “whereof we are witnesses,” and so his words had in them that attribute of eloquence which the French preacher has called so happily “the accent of convic tion.” Men saw and felt that he himself believed what he- was saying, and there fore they were inclined to believe it them selves. In proportion as the minister of the Gospel merges himself into a witness, he will succeed in turning men to Christ. True, that will not afford mucu room for the display of self, but it will give ample opportunity for displaying Christ; and He has said, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” This revival was characterized by many conversions. First, there came conviction of sin; then, inquiry; then, after Peter had given them direction, there came faith, repentance, and confession of Christ be fore men, and all these so rapidly that three thousand were converted ere the evening closed around them. Nor was this a mere temporary thing. They who thus gave themselves to Christ continued stead fast, and adorned their profession by a walk and conversation becoming the Gos pel. “Will it last? Will it last?” That is the inquiry made by antagonists when they hear of a great revival and many conversions. Let them read the closing verses of this chapter, and they will see that wherever the Spirit is really oper ating, His work is permanent. ¿Sic. ^Slc. sfe as» Peter Preaches About Jesus Acts 2:1-4, 22-24, 36-41 Memory Verse: “Preach the gospel to the whole creation.” Mark 16:15. Approach: A short time ago a little boy came running to his mother and handed her a note from his Sunday School teacher. “Read it quick, mamma, for it
M ay 22, 1927 Peter Heals th e Lame Man Lesson Text—Acts 3:1-10 ; 4:8-10
rTTHE story of Peter and John and the lame man at the Temple gate is of special interest as the first healing mir acle in the Church following Pentecost.
The place of miracles in the present dispen sation is a subj ect on which there has been much controversy. S o me s e e m to imagine that super natural powers were possessed in the early
Church to be passed on to the Church - age, ■ There seems to be no evidence, however, that the apostles continued to accompany the Gospel with miracles, signs and wonders (Heb. 2:3, 4) after the message became general and especi ally' after the Gospel was committed to writing. The so-called miracles of mod ern “healers” bear no likeness to the mir acles performed in the first days of the Church. Those the Scripture informs us were credentials proving the divine authority of the apostles and the heaven ly origin of the Church. In one sense miracles have never ceased, for in answer to the prayer of the right eous, God often interposes in a miracu lous way. History and experience, how-
is such good news.” His face was wreath ed in smiles, and he was jumping up and down, he was so happy. It was an in vitation to a party to be held at the home of the teacher, and all the boys and girls in the c l a s s
were to come and bring their mothers, too. We are always happy to carry good
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