The log cabin Democrat., 1908-02-27
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand Sunday School Lesson for March l, 1908 Specially Prepared for This Paper


 1921; Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9:1O-H. GOLDEN TEXT-"He shall feed His flock like a shepherd. "-Isaiah 4O:l TIME.-A year after the last lesson on l the healing at Bethseda. Early in the third year of Jesus ministry soon after the martyrdom of John the Baptist. The Passover this year, A. D. 29, began April | 16 At the time of this lesson the peo- pie from Galilee and beyond were on | their way to Jerusalem.
 PLACE.-An uncultivated grazing re- zion on the outskirts of Bethsaida duke | 9:10), called the Plain of Butaiha. It | lay on the northeast shore of the Sea | of Gallee at the foot of the mountains.
 Comment and Suggestive Thought. V. 5. Jesus then lifted up his eyes, | and saw a great company come unto
 him." And he had compassion on them because they were as sheep not | having a shepherd" (Mark 6:3q.
 Their bodily hunger and disease were but types of the deeper hunger and | the deadlier disease of sin.
 He showed his compassion in two | ways. CD He welcomed them and spake to them of the kingdom of God. v | CD Them that had need of healing
 he healed" Uuke SID.
 The whole world is a weary and
 hungry multitude, and Jesus has com
 passion on them Qsa. 43:1-3; 55:1, 2;
 Nal 3:17; Eph. 2:4, 5; John 3:16; Psalm 103, etc).
 The fields are white.
 In every land there are many per
 sons unreached by the Gospel so far hrir boartc on1 1iypc tn | Christ
 In many lands there are millions | who never even heard of the Gospel, and yet who need the blessings which l Christianity has brought us. What are these among so many? as we stand in the presence of the | evil to be overcome, the work to be | done, the multitudes to be converted | to Christ, the power of the enemy If, l indeed, these" were all, if there were ! no Holy Spirit, no omnipO 2nt Christ | working in and through them, then
 our efforts would be but Ito dam the | Nile with bulrushes," or irrigate Sa-
 hara with a garden hose.
 What a little boy can do. A name less, poor boy, but his record is i'm
 mortal Thank God there is a lad
 everywhere! No scene or incident is
 complete to me without boy in the foreground. It is the glory and charm
 of life that he is always in evidence. The real helpfulness of the average | boy is one of the sublimities of the | universe"
 He distributed to the disciples, as a ] matter of convenience, and as an ob- | ject lesson both to them and to the
 people, The divine gifts were con- veyed through human instrumentality,
 as in the case of spiritual food. The organization was CD that of the people in companies; CD the apostles
 as distributors of the bread, and work.
 CTS together with God.
 There are organized societies in | each denomination for the extension | of the Gospel to those in need at home 1 and abroad. Every church and each | individual in them should sustain these organizations to their utmost
 ability. The Sunday school should also give to the great denominational societies regularly, and usually in the
 months in which the collections are taken up in the church. Note also oth- CT organized methods of extending the Gospel, as the Young Peoples Mis- sionary Movement 056 Fifth avenue,
 New York;; the Christian Endeavor 1 movement; both of which are marvel ous interdenominational organizations
 of g aat power and usefulness. | It is said that the Women's Board s of Missions are the most effectually organized societies in the world for
 the spread of the Gospel, excepting | only the Jesuits.
 Laymen's Missionary Movement A movement has been started within a year to organize the laymen of each church in each denomination for | awakening interest in missions, pro- viding means of obtaining from each layman an increasing amount | given to missions, and thus secure | groups of laymen to promote cam paigns of intelligent and generous in- | terest in foreign missions, with spe- cial reference to the men of the church, the expense of these move | ments to be borne whenever possible | by such groups of men, so that the funds of the boards shall not be | drawn upon."
 The Young Peoples Missionary Movement, organized by the home
 and foreign missionary boards of the | Protestant churches of the United | States and Canada, less than five years ago, represents the best de l velopment of cooperative educational work on the part of these boards. Last | year, there were more than 60,000
 young people systematically studying
 home and foreign missions. It is pro- | posed now to extend the work which
 has been so successful among the young peoples societies of the churches to the Sunday schools.