Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1921-08-04
IMPROVED UNIFORM INlLkNAlUNAL
Sll1lldaySchool q
' Lesson '
(By REV. p. B. FITZWATER, D. D,
Teacher of English Bible in the Moody
Bible Institute OF Chicago)
o. 1921. Western Newspaper Union)
LESSON FOR AUGUST 7
PAUL IN CYPRUS AND IN ANTI
OCH OF PISlDIA

LESSON TEXT-Acts 13:1-52.
GOLDEN TEXT-Ye shall be witnesses
unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the ut
termost part of the earth.-Acts is
REFERENCE MATERIAL = Matt. 13:
3l-33; 2S:lS-2O: Mark 1915; Luke "a :46, AZ.
PRIMARY TOPIC-Adventures of Paul
and Barnabas.
JUNIOR TOPIC-saul Silences a Sor-
cerer.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
Paul Begins His Missionary Travels
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
Paul Becomes a Missionary.
This marks the beginning of foreign
missions as the deliberately planned
enterprise of the church.
!. The Gifts of the Church at Anti
och ". -.
Young as Antioch, the new religious
center, was, she had prophets and
teachers. Such are essential to church
life. Indeed, they are never absent
from the true church. In Ephesians
4:S-12 Paul says that when Christ as
cended lie gave gifts unto men for the
purpose of perfecting the saints unto
the work of the ministry.
II. Barnabas and Saul Sent Forth
(vv. 2, y.
While the five ministers were pray
ing and fasting, the Spirit of God COM
manded them to send forth Barnabas
and Saul. The work of evangelizing
the world was laid so heavily upon
these men that they refrained from eat
ing in order to seek the will of the
Lord in prayer. This is the kind OF
fasting that meets Gods approval.
From the fact that they were directed
to send forth those whom the Spirit
called, we learn that the real call to
Christ's service comes from the Spirit.
The Spirit calls and the church sec
onds the motion by sending those who
are called. They sent the very best
men from the church at Antioch. There
was a second season of fasting and
prayer, accompanied by. the imposition
of hands before they went forth, show
ing that ordination has its place in the
sending forth OF missionaries.
III. Preaching the Word of God in
Cyprus (vv. 4, o..
We are not told as to why they first
went to Cyprus, but we infer that i
was because it was the home of Bar
nabas. 1t is most natural that those
who have heard good news should go
with it first to their kindred and
friends. AS they went forth they
preached the Word of God; not civic
righteousness, current history, philosO-
ply, etc. The great need today is
fV,it STNi1. 1nl
preaching Gods Word. In fact, Spirit
titled men will preach nothing else.
~. Withstood by EIymas the Sor-
cerer (vv. 6-12).
When Barnabas and Saul by invita-
ton were telling Sergius Paulus of the
Word of God, Elymas maliciously
sought to turn his mind from the faith.
This is the first obstacle they encoun-
tered. This oppOser is the same one
who came to Adam in Eden and to
Jesus in the wilderness. He is the
enemy of God and man. He now seeks
to bar the gospel as it enters upon its
career of the conversion of the hea-
then. Saul denounced him in the most
scathing terms, calling him the child OF
the devil, full of guile and viIlainy, and
pronounced him the enemy of all right
eousness, accusing him of perverting
the right ways of the Lord. Surely a
man is never more of villain than in
trying to turn a soul from the gospel.
Happily, the deputy needed Saul's
teaching and believed the gospel. 1t
was in this connection that Saurs
mama IUoc obopuad to por11
v. In the Synagogue at Antioch in
Pisidia wv. Is, 16).
From Paphos Paul and Barnabas
went northward to Perga. From
Perga they went into Antioch in Pi-
sidia, where they entered the syna-
gogue on the Sabbath day. Though
he was sent TO the Gentiles he does
not depart from the order of begin
ming with the Jews. After the usual
reading of the Scriptures, upon the
| invitation of the rulers. Paul deliv-
cred the discourse recorded in verses
| 17-41. This sermon is worthy of care
| full study. 1t consists of four parts
~ Historical wv. 1929; apologet-
ical wv. 24-3O; (3) doctrinal (vv.
80, 39); "a practical wv. 40. Az. 1t
sets forth the missionary message for
| all times and lands. Its essence
should ever be the same. In this ser
mon he presented the gloritied and
risen Christ as the Savior from sin
basing his proof upon the testimony OF
living witnesses and the inspired
Word.
vi. The Effect of the Sermon (vv.
1852.
Many of the Jews and proselytes
requested them to speak to them
again. Almost the whole city came
to hear the Word of God the next
Sabbath. This great crowd incited
the jealousy of the Jews. This jeal.
ousy could not long be restrained; il
broke out in open opposition. This
opposition was in turn answered by
Paurs rejection of them and turning
to the Gentiles.
The Inner Circles of Love.
How blessed all the inner circles Of