Cleveland County herald., 1918-05-02
SlJIlII)DAYSS(Il()OL lI)A
 LESSON tBy REV. r.. B. FITZW ATER, D. D.. Teacher of English Bible in the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago) Copyright, 1918 Western Newspaper Uniono
LESSON FOR MAY 5
JESUS SETS NEW STANDARDS OF
 LIVING.

l LESSON TEXT-Mark 10:1-31. | GOLDEN TEXT-Seek ye first the king dom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. | Matthew 6:33.
 DEVOTIONAL READING-Ephesians l 6:10-20
 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FOR | TEACH ERS-Genesis :27: 2:1S-25; Exodus 202-17; Matthew 1S:1-14; 19:16-3o; Luke IS: | 15-29
 PRIMARY TOPIC-Jesus and the chil- l dren
 LESSON MATERIAL-Mark 1o:1S-16. l MEMORY VERSE-Suffer the little | children to come unto Me, and forbid them not.-Mark 10:14.
 JUNIOR TOPIC-How God would have us live.
 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL-Exodus 20: 2-17; Levitcus 19:11-1S; Matthew 22:34-40
 l. Regarding Marriage (vv. 1-12).
 The question touching divorce, which the Pharisees temptingly put to Christ brought forth teaching which exhibits marriage in it's true light.
 1. Should not be degraded by di- vorce (vv. 1-6).
 Divorce was not instituted by God The marriage relationship is indis- soluble. Moses suffered divorce. lin1- ited and regulated 1t. Its existence it's practice, is indicative of the coarse ness and perverseness of man. Sin is its real cause.
 2. Marriage is Gods primal law (vv 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 q Cor. II :11).
 B. Remarriage of the divorcer is adultery (vv. 10-12).
 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 (vv. 13-16).
 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 int in 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 chil- dren should ponder well 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 a 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 (vv. 17-3D.
 1. The young rulers question (v. I'D.
 This question reveals void in his heart. He was young man with lovable character. The Savior's af- factions 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.
 ?. Jesus reply (vv. IS, 19).
 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.
 8. Lacking one thing and yet lost (vv. 21, 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 (vv. 23-3D.
 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. l 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 ing in them is a very short one. The l tendency of growing wealth is to de- 1 stroy the nobler life of the soul. Many | of the most useful men in ancient and
 .~Q