The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1908-04-30
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Sunday School Lesson for May ,, 1908
Specially Prepared for This Paper

GOLDEN TENT.-'In my Fathers
house are many mansions John 14:2
TIMB.-Thursday evening, April 6, A.
ID. 30. Jesus farewell discourse with his
disciples was spoken the evening before
his cruchxlon.
PLACE.-An upper room in Jerusalem.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
The world and everything in 1t, is
bundle of needs Everything is hun
CRY. The ground greedily drinks in
the rain and the sun. The tree
stretches It's hungry roots into the
soil and its hungry leaves into the air.
Your house Is a focus for incoming
supplies, OF coal and food and
thousand luxuries Every man is hun
CRY for bread, and air, and knowledge,
and love-
This sense OF need in man is
good thing. Without Il, there could
be no life, no growth When a child
is not hungry, its parents Justly begin
to fear for its health. When the soul
does not see its needs. It is in a sad
condition.
Perhaps the chief cause OF the dis
ciples' trouble was Christ's predicted
departure into the Great Unknown.
See John 1896. All that have seen
their dear ones slipping from sight un.
derstsnd that one Of the principal hu.
man needs and desires is to know
whittier they have gone. and " there
Is to be reunion.
Christ answered that question for
them and for us.
1. BY revealing heaven as a place.
his Father house. Heaven ig a home
like place, familiar and dear, with
lights shining for us in the windows,
and the Father waiting for us at the
open door.
2. BY revealing heaven as a place
OF private, personal abodes, not a vast
caravanssry. In It are many man
sions," "sbiding-placeS." "mAnsions'
coming from manere, 10 remain. These
are permanent homes, not transient
abodes like ours on earth.
3. By revealing heaven as a large
place. with many mansions-room for
all. Heaven will contain immense
throngs without being crowded It's
children will be as the grains OF sand
|
stars that begem the vault of night
Yet there is room! The many man.
slons are not all tenanted."-F. B.
Meyec.
BY revealing heaven as a pre-
pared place; prepared, moreover, by
the one best able to make 1t delight
full, since he is the creator OF all de
lightful things on earth, and thor
oughy knows our tastes and desires
s. BY revealing heaven as the place
of communion with Christ. That was
the purpose of his going, which sad
dened his disciples-to make ready q
place to which he could bring them
for fellowship without any more
parting.
6. BY insisting that what was left
unrevealed concerning the hereafter
is to be thought of as joyful and mo-
grievous. "If 1t were not so," If heav
en- we're not this warm, loving home
like, beautiful place, 81 would have
told you" would have warned you anC
! prepared you
II is not enough to know the truth
about God, or be In the way to God, OF
even to have the divine life in us; the
human soul longs after God himself
Our Lord met this need by disclos
ing the final, supreme truth, that he
was God: "If ye had known me, -
} recognized my true nature-"y'
should have known my Father also
For Christ was the complete image o.
the Father. But this answer did no
satisfy Philip. He wanted some mar
velous vision of God such as Moses
saw on Horeb. Perhaps of all tn,
disciples Philip was the least recep
tive and the slowest to comprehend
the thoughts and spiritual beauty o
the Master. He was the materialist o
the company. Rev. j. G. Green
hough.
Christ emphasized the great truth
his oneness with the Father.
l. BY reminding Philip of the Ions
time he had been with Christ-for h
had been among the first disciples
and of all the evidences he had seer
of Christ's divinity
2. Dy specifying these evidences
beginning with the words" he haC
spoken, the wonderful parallels, the
beatitudes, the model prayer, the ser
mons, the private conversations
words so gracious, wise, and powerful
that they must come from God.
E 8. BY naming also the works he hat
done, the long series of convincing
miracles, showing such a mastery o
nature, disease, and death as only Coz
could possibly possess.
4. BY a personal appeal: "Believ,
me" when tell you that am in thu
Father, and the Father in me-" Chris
here turns to all the disciples, To-
believe" is In the plural, and urgeI
them to consider his credibility. Wa
he the kind of man to lie? to indulge
in empty boasts? to be guilty Of what
= II false, would be horrible bias
phemy?
The character OF Christ, even NOR,