Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1925-05-28
IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
Sil11ldaySchoel
' Lesson '
(By REV p b. FITZWATER, ID, Dean
of the Evening School, Moody Bible A
stitute OF Chieago.)
(0, 1875. Western Newspaper Unios.)
Lesson for May 81
PETER AT LYDIA AND JoPPa

LESSON TExT-Asts s:s2-4s.
] GOLDEN TExT-And they wesk
forth and preached everywhere, the
Lord working with them, and sonhTm-
ing the word with signs feDowtRg-
Mark 1920.
PRIMARY TOPIC-Twe Wonderful
Things That Peter Did.
JUNIOR TOPIC-The story of Two
Miracles.
INTERMEDIARY AND SENIOR TOP
IC-Two Great Miracles.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TsP-
IC-The Place of Miracles N the
Spread ofthe Gospel.
In order to grasp the siga6eaIce
of this lesson, we should reeah ne
condition which prevailed IN ne
church as suggested In vssse IL
l. Freedom From PersecutisR.
Saul, the ringleader of the Persecu-
tors, had only recently been convert
ed, thereby disorganizing their forces
and causing the church to enjey
breathing spell. This period Of rest
was not used for growing lazy isddf-
ferent, worldly and forgetful Of &sd.
but for growth in grace and in the
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
.. Spiritual Growth and Develop
ment.
Most blessed will be the results
following the times of outward peace
if the members of the church will bat
spend time in building IT up. The
real meaning of the word, edited" is
built up This does not mean merely
that the members were being instruct
ed and comforted, but that strenuous
efforts on the part of individual mem
bers, as well as the body as a whole,
were being made for the advance
ment of the divine life AS suggested
by another, this metaphor involves:
% A Foundation This is Jesus
Christ No other must be laid q Cor
8 1915.
(2) Continuous progress. This
means that Christians activities are
purposeful, and that the work he uR-
dertakes moves forward with the
proper progression.
(3) Persistent effort This means
that the present days work begins the.
foundation upon which tomorrow's
work must be built. Thus day by day
his life is being raised higher and
higher as each separate round of ma
terial is being LAID by strenuous eff
forts.
a. Completion. Finally the work
is done. The building is completed
the top stone is brought forth and
placed
3. Outward Growth
Building up within the church
causes the whole work to be admired
and respected by those without, in
ducing them to come and identify
themselves with it.
|. Peters Tour Among the Saints
". 32).
This resulted in securing new CON
verts.
II. Two stupendous Miracles wv.
32-43).
These were the greatest sigae
wrought since the days of Christ The
dreadful malady of palsy is van
pushed, and corpse is retenanted
by the departed soul. The Lord had
promised these signs as they went
forth with the gospel message. They
were given as encouragements to the
disciples to convince them that the
gospel did not lose any of its power
by being spread, but rather it In
creased in power.
1. The Healing of Aeneas ". 32-35).
This mans needy condition appealed
to Peter just as men today should ap-
peal to US in their semi-dead state
Like his Master, Peter could not re-
fuse the needed help. In this he does
not direct attention to himself, but
confidently appeals to the power in
the name of Christ He said, Jesus
Christ healeth thee" The man who
had kept his bed for eight long years
Immediately arose and made his bed
Peter wisely kept this miracle from
being the end by making it the means
30 enc va6-that end was the preass-
ing Of the gospel.
2. The Raising of Dorcas wv. S.
43).
This woman was full of good works
and almsdeeds which she "did," net
what she talked of doing She was a
practical Christian woman Her death
was a real loss as was evidenced by
the mourning of those who had been
helped. If all protesting Christia&
women would use their needles as
Dorcas did there would be much less
of, that proitless fancywork done.
When this good woman fell sick and
died, the disciples sent for Peter.
This shows their growth in faith In
the Divine power Peter again imi-
tated the example of Jesus in putting
them all forth. At his command her
soul came back to live in her body,
This again caused the people to be-
lieve on the Lord.