The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1921-12-10
Sunday School
Lesson
Sunday School Lesson for Dec. nth
Scripture: Philemon 8-21.

Sunday School Lesson for Dec. 1lth
Scripture: Philemon S-21.
The subject given is Paul Writes
to a Friend" and that is good so far
but that it not all: he writes to a
friend for a friend. Philemon was a
wealthy man who had a slave whose
name was Onesimus. He had been
converted and now Paul is writing
Philemon in his behalf and the best
part of the letter as | see it is in
verses 16 to 49, He is brother now,
member OF the family and he is a
beloved brother and Paul says if he
owes anything, charge it to me, I'll
pay it. In the Epistles he was teach
ing them how to live, how to treat the
other fellow, but now he is doing the
Thing he'd been teaching We have a
so-called socialist who are great fe!-
lows for teaching the thing but they
! ;ont do it by any means. Another
point is, there are people who are in
7 terested in the big fellow, the fellow
on top, but the under dog-not 80.
/ They can wash dishes and scrub in
| the rich home, but not the poor home
lCn the back street. We some times
hear sermon on the survival of the
! fittest, but that don't work in the
, Friendship we find in the gospel of
cur God He gave his son for the
lowest, the meanest, the smallest. AS
I've already said it lifted the slave
out Of his place to membership in the
family. Can | ask my reader, have
you that sort of a gospel? Paul takes
the place of the slave and pleads as if
he was the slave and had done the
wrong. Don't you see it? What il
we could find a whole congregation
like that
A poor fellow who was down and
cut himself came to S. H. Hadley
when he was in charge of the Water
street mission, and said: 81 have
friend in Jail and l wish you'd gel
him out for me- Mr.. Hadley said
I'm always interested in the fellow.
who has friend, so l went with him.
we got him out and | took him to the
mission. He was there about a week
when he took my overcoat and was
gone. Later | met him and said not
word about the coat, but, you must
come back, we have missed you, Come
right on with me, you might get in
trouble again but with us you are all
right and so welcome. He came along
! and later he stole some small things
| and was gone again. But still later
we got him back and this time he
was so blessedly converted, and like
Paul in the Bible, he went
and is one of the best used ministers
of today in the state of New York
and he says the thing that won him
wah my not blaming him for the
coat"
My, but wouldn't we want to dig
into him. Then we'd lose our man.
Most people are seeking friends not
| knowing that the best way to find
friends is to be a friend, but they
lack the patience of friend. A true
friend is one who is in his stead.
One has said:
IF God would speak to me
And say He were my friend,
How happy should be,
Oh, how would | attend
Say reader, no friend like He.
When He wanted to show His people
His love and friendship He used the
mother and said: Let her if she can,
butIll not forget thee nor fail thee"
LIST. 1915. H. C. Trumbull said:
THE men who are ready to worship
their fellows are commonly the read
lest to join in stoning on slight pro-
vocation; but they who worship Him
never" G. C. Morgan said: mot
every man who says good morning
Mr.. Morgan as he meets me on the
street is my friend" Suppose you set
down by the side of a fellow on a
train at this station to go to Portland
and you must entertain him all the
way or he'll think you are out of
sorts about something. He's not your
friend, but if he believes in you at
any cost, he's you friend. The work
of real friend is never done until
the other fellow is lifted onto his feet.
You'll find that the real friend is the
one through whom God is working.
You can grieve him, but you can't in
suit or discourage him. You can use
him as a last resource, like so many
use our blessed Lord, and yet go on
hoping to sneak into His heaven when
they are done with His world
81 think there's nothing l care to
buy" said mother to the woman at the
door. please let me show you what
this polish Does And the woman
rubbed some on the door making it
shine like a mirror. 4Well, if it
works like that I'll have some,'' saio
mother and the woman sold some at
almost every house. You say, But so
few know HON to treat real
| friend" 1t is indeed too bad that that
| is true, but by the grace of God let
! us see to it that we don't lose out in