Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1902-04-12
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
lesson IN the International SERIES
for April 1S. 1sO2-Peter,
Aeneas and DOrcas.
Prepared by h C. Lexington.
THE LESSON TEXT.

g. And it came to pass, as Peter passed
throughout all quarters, he came down
also to the saints which dweit at LYDIA.
s2. And there he found certain man
named Aeneas, which had kept his bed
eight years. and was sick of the palsy
81 And Peter said unto him: Aeneass
Jesus Christ maAeth thee whole; arise
and make thy bed. And he arose im-
mediately.
IS. And all that dwelt at LYDIA and
Saron saw him. and turned to the Lord.
sc. And there was At Joppa certain
disciple named Tabitha, which by inter-
probation is called DOrcas; this woman
was tulI OF good works and almsdeedS
81. And it came to pass in those days.
that she was sick. and died; whom when
they had washed. they laid her in an up
IS. And forasmuch as LYDIA was. nigh
70 Joppa, and the disciples had heard
him two men, desiring him that he would
not delay to come to them.
~. Ihen Peter arose and went with
them. When he was come. they brought
MIN into the upper chamber: and all
showing the coats and garments which
Dorcas made. while she was with them.
10 But Peter put them all forth. and
him to the body said: Tabitha, arise,
And she opened her eyes; and when she
Il. And he gave her his hand, and lift
ed her up, and when he had called the
saints and widows, presented her alive.
~. And 1t was known throughout an
Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.
4S. And it came to pass that he tar.
ried many days in Joppa with one Simon
tanner
GOLDEN TEXT. - Jesus Christ
maI1eth thee VvhOIe.-Acts 9:34.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
Building Up of the Church.-Under
this head we will notice briefly: (N
that the churches had a brief respite
from persecution; (2l that they 1.-THE
membership were being edited; (3)
| that they walked in the fear of the
Lord; az that they walked in the COM
fort of the Holy Ghost, and (5) that
they were multiplied. Prosecutions
can't hurt the church of Christ.
This is the unanimous voice of
history. In fact, it has always
helped the church, by wedding
| out the faint-hearted and those
who are not entirely loyal and
leaving the true disciples to give to
other strong men notable object Les.
son in courage and loyalty to truth.
| But the time of persecution is not the
time of greatest growth in the
church for the reason that the
prosecuted have not the same
opportunity for open preaching, nor
peace. This first period of peace for
the early church probably lasted four
or five years. During this period the
church grew in knowledge and grace
''were edited" To ''edify'' is literally
to build. Thus the church was "built''
up, not so much in the matter of size
or number of members, but built up
in the virtues and graces that go to
make up Christian character This
was done through the preaching of the
apostles who told them of the life,
death and resurrection of Jesus. The
church grew also in the fear of the
Lord. This "iear" is not the painful
emotion excited by apprehension of
danger, or apprehension of Gods
wrath" as according to Webster, but
reverence. It is the going. about the
ordinary duties conscious of the per-
sonal presence of God. If our course
is a right one there is pleasure and
comfort in the thought that God is
ever near. GIN the comfort of the
Holy Ghost" expresses a further
thought. just before His crucifixion
Jesus had said John 1916, ~: "I
will pray the Father. and He shall give
you another Comforter, that He may
abide with you forever; even the spir-
it of TRUTH It is here that the Chris
tian man has the advantage of the
man who is not Christian but is try
ing to live an upright life. The Chris
tian possesses. or rather is possessed
by, that inward Spirit of God. aptly
named by Jesus "the Comforter" It
most naturally follows from the fore
going facts that this was a growing
church, not only in the matter of
grace, hut also in numbers. The
church multiplied in numbers. and it
is not improbable that the number of
churches, even. greatly increased.
Healing of Aeneas.-Of Aeneas we
know little besides the fact that he
was sick of the palsy (paralvsis). and
had been confined to his bed for eight
long years. Peter did not heal this
man. it was the risen and assembled Je-
sus who healed him. for Peter said to
him: "Jesus Christ maketh thee
whole" And the man arose from his
bed the first time in eight years. Pc
ter must have used this incident as a
text foN a sermon, for we are told that
all the towpsfolk turned to the
Lord"
Raising of Dorcas.-Dorcas was a
woman who had become disciple of
Jesus, and she lived in Joppa. She
was well known for her good works
and aims giving. We are told that she
fell sick and died. Peter was sent for,
and he came. kneeled down and prayed.
It was again the power of Cod made
manifest in the giving of life. "AnG
the Lord God formed man of the dust
of the ground. and bre.thed into his
nostrils the breath of life: and nan
became living soul" God gave life,
God takes life and God can restore
life. This incident. too. was for the
furtherance of the kingdom, for
"many believed in the Lord"