The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1920-02-12


GOLDEN TEAT-The aneel OF the LORD
encsmpeth round about them that feai
him, and dcrvereth them. -PE 81
ADDITIONAL MArER1AI~-u King,
tll; LuHe q ~. Acts l6.2S. 8. Heb
III. James b.is-S
PRIMARY TOPIC - How an Ange
Helped Peter
JUNIOR ToPIc-Peter Delivered From
Prison
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
How Prayer Helps
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
Things Wrought 10 Prayer.
'. Peters imprisonment wv. ~.
!. BY whom ". -. Herod. the
grandson OF the wicked Herod who
slew the Innocent children M Bethle-
hem.
?. The reason ". ~. II was to gain
the favor Of the Jews. Herod was not
jew. and therefore Rnew that his
success was dependent upon having
the good viii OF the Jews. lie did not
particularly hpte the Church. but loved
popularity. Herod for the sake Of
popularity. assumed a deep sympathy
for degenerate Judaism. Since the
Church had developed into success
ful rival Of Jndaism-indced was al
ready displaciag lt-he saw an oppor-
tunity TO curry favor with the Jews by
putting his hand forth against IL.
B. The method ". ~. Peter was mr..
rested, put Into prison and guarded by
four qunternlons OF soldiers. A qua
ternion Is a guard ~ four soldiers ON
duty at the same time. Four quater
mons meant that special group was
on duty each watch OF the night II
was the custom for two soldiers 20 he
In the prison. one on each side Of the
prisoner. bound 10 his arms with
chains w. CD. The third one TO watch
outside the door and the fourth TO be
near the outside gate. Humanity
speaking Il was impossible to escape.
However, they made one fatal mis-
take they left out God.
". The Church Of God In Prayer
". -.
The Church was in crisis her sit.
ustion was most grave. James, one Of
the pillars Of the Church. was dead.
and Peter. the most prominent Of all.
was In prison. In this desperate strait
they did the wise thing: they betook
themselves 10 prayer. There Is moth
ing too hard for Cod. Theirs was
noteworthy prayer:
I. II was unto God. not unto men 20
be heard OF men. This Is very com
mon fault today. All true prayer is
unto God.
2 II was united prayer. II was
made by the Church. God hears the
prayers OF individuals. but there Is
peculiar power In the united prayer
OF Gods people.
3. II was an intensely earnest
prayer. t,Nas more than unceasing
prayer; Il was the yearning desire Of
the soul ms II stretched Itself out to-
ward God
4. II was definite prayer. They spe-
cifically interceded for Peter. Their
prayer was concentrated, definite and
specific.
~. Peter Delivered by an Angel
(vv. GID.
This occurred the night before Her
DDS plan TO make a public display OF
him.
I. Peter sleeping ". %. The angel
found Peter asleep. The Lord keeps
IN perfect peace those whose minds
are stayed on him Elsa. 20 ~. Again.
he gives his beloved sleep psalm
127 ~.
2. Peter leaving the prison wv. 7-i0).
The heavenly light shone In the prison.
The angel srnote Peter on the side.
the chains fell on. Peter put ON his
clothes. passed by one guard after an-
other, through the Iron gate out into
the city.
3. The effect upon Peter ". III. Al.
though the event was 30 wonderful to
Peter. and at first he thought II a
vision. when he came TO himself he
was assured beyond peradventure of a
doubt that God had miraculously de-
llvered him from Herod's wicked
hands.
". Unconscious Unbelief wv. I2-l9).
I. The behavior OF Peter and the
Church (vv, l2-iO. Peter went to
the house Of Mary and knocked. The
knock was answered by Rhoda. who
was so overjoyed on hearing Peters
voice that she forgot TO open the gate
and ran In and told them that Peter
was at The gate.
2 The behavior OF the soldiers (vv
Is, 100. There was great agitation
among them over Peters disappear
ince. This was serious matter.
since they were responsible for him.
Not being able TO account for Peters
escape, Herod commanded that they
De put 10 death.
Be Riot Too Sure.