Middletown transcript., 1918-05-04
LESSON FOR MAY S
JESUS SETS NEW STANDARDS Of
LIVING.

LESSON TExT-Mark 1o:1-31.
GOLDEN TEXT-Seek ye first the king
dom Of God, and His righteousness; an,
al! these things shall be added unto you
Matthew 6:3S.
DEVOTIONAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
$1,000.
ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FOF
TEACHERS-Genesi ! :27:. 2:1S-25; Exodu.
N2-17: Matthew 1S:1-14: 1860; Luke Is
1929
PRIMARY TOP1C-Jesus and the chill
dren.
LESSON MArER1AL-Mark 1o:1s-1s
MEMORY VERSE-Suffer the little
children to come unto Me, and forbil
them not.-Mark 1914.
| JUNIOR TOPIC-How God would have
US live
ADDITIONAL MArER1A-Exodus 20
PIT; Leviticus 19:11-1S: Matthew 22:34-40
!. Regarding Marriage wv. 1-12).
The question touching divorce, which
the Pharisees temptingly put to Christ
brought forth teaching which exhibits
marriage in Its true light.
1. Should not be degraded by di.
vorce wv. 1-6).
Divorce was not instituted by God
The marriage relationship is fndis-
soluble. Moses suffered divorce, lin
! tied and regulated it. Its existence,
its practice, is indicative of the coarse
ness and perverseness of man. Sin is
its real cause.
2. Marriage is Gods primal law wv.
6-9).
The ideal law of life for the sub
jects of the kingdom Of marriage. This
Is proven by the fundamental fact Of
sex. The union of the male and fe-
male natures is physical. mental and
spiritual. In marriage, the male and
female natures are mutually compile
mented. Gods intention is that man
should not be without the woman, nor
the woman without the man Il Cor.
IL :1D.
3. Remarriage of the divorcer is
adultery wv. 1922.
The marriage relationship can only
be broken by death and sin. In view
Of the fact that marriage is for life,
men and women should not enter this
relationship without very serious con-
sideration. Divorce for other than
marital infidelity does not give the
right to remarry.
II. Regarding Children wv. 1916.
The union of the male and female
natures, according to Gods purpose.
lays the foundation for family life.
The issue of such union Is children.
In connection with the divine law of
marriage, it is fitting that Jesus should
set forth his estimate of children and
interest in them. The disciples con-
sidered it beneath the dignity Of the
Master to spend time with the chill
dren. Those who think it beneath
their dignity to give attention to chill
dren should ponder we'll the words
Of Jesus. This will give the disciples
proper consideration for work among
children, and also to the nurture and
discipline of their own children.
Christian men and women will regard
children as the property of the Lord,
and will esteem it high and holy
privilege to train them for him. Due
attention to Christ's teaching regard
ing children would transform the home
life Of society.
III. Regarding Riches wv. 17-31).
1. The young rulers question ". ~.
This question reveals q void in his
heart. He was young man with
lovable character. The Savior's af-
fections were enraptured by him. He
was moral. honest, earnest and cour-
ageous. He had a wrong conception
Of eternal life. He thought that eter-
nal life could be obtained by good
works. Though he claimed to have
kept the law, he was conscious Of
something lacking. He was willing to
do something to fill up that which was
lacking; therefore he came to Jesus
making inquiry as to that lack.
2. Jesus reply wv. 10, 1917.
He knew the young mans heart, and
put his finger on the weak spot. When
it came to parting with his posses
sions in order to help his neighbor he
parted with the Lord. going away sor-
rowful. This revealed the fact that
he was cOvetous man, violator of
the tenth commandment.
3. Lacking one thing and yet lost
wv. q. 22).
When the Lord pointed out to him
that the defect in his life was the love |
Of his money. he was unwilling to pay |
the price. When the time came in |
his life to choose between eternal life |
and riches, he chose wealth and part
ed company with Christ, perhaps, for
ever.
4. The peril Of riches wv. 23-31).
The difficulty does not lie in the fact |
that a man possesses riches, for a man
may possess great riches and still be
an heir Of the kingdom. Wealth is a
mighty power. In itself it is good.
It will provide bread for the widow
and orphan, amelioration for the suf-
fering, and send the Gospel of Christ
to the ends of the earth. The
step from possessing riches to trust
!ns in them is very short one. The
of growing wealth is to de-
stroy the nobler life of the soul. Many
Of the most useful men in ancient and
modern times have been men Of
wealth; but they. like Abraham, chose
to live in tents, looking :ss The heav-
anly city which hath foundations. As
ong as man possesses riches he is
safe. but as soon as riches possess the
man he is In deadly peri'
One Secure.