Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1927-03-03
S1gzldoySchool
' Lesson Y
tBy REV & i FITzwAIER, DID. Dean
OF the Evening School. Moody Bible In
stitute of Chicago)
%, 1927. Western Newspaper Union.b
Lesson for March 6
SHARING THE GOOD NEWS

SHARING THE GOOD NEWS
LESSON TExT--Acts s:4-s. II Cor
5:14-20.
GOLDEN TExT-Ye shah be my wit
nesses,
PRIMARY TOPIC Telling Others
JUNIOR TOPIC-Winning Recruits
| for Christ's Army.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOP
IC-Telliny Our Companions About
Jesus.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOP
IC-Ch-lstian Evangelism: Duty. Meth
| cd. Results
!. Preaching Everywhere (Acts 8:4).
Following the st0ning of Stephen,
! the enemies of the Lord were more
active than ever In their efforts to
stamp out the new faith. With Saul
rs their leader they dragged men and
women from their homes and impris-
oned those who confessed Christ. The
devil overreached himself in this for
! this persecution scattered the be-
levers everywhere and they preached
the gospel as they went. The time had
now come for this witness-bearing to
extend beyond Jerusalem as the Lord
had commanded. The Lord permitted
this persecution so as to scatter them
| u. Philip Preaching the Gospel In
Samaria (vv. 5-S).
Philip was one of the seven so-called
! deacons. He was not an apostle, nor
a minister in the accepted sense of
that term, but a layman. He Is the
only man called an evangelist in the
New Testament. He is an example of
what devoted layman can do in
preaching the gospel In the evangeli-
cation of the world. He went to the
city of Samaria and preached Christ,
showing that the purpose of God in
| Guided these despised people. The
! fact that Philip preached Christ unto
these people shows that the true evan
gelist's message is Jesus Christ. He
did not preach Christ as an ethical
teacher or an example merely, but
Christ as the Savior from sin through
| the substitutionary offering of Him
self on the cross. This is shown by
! the fact that he preached Christ to
the eunuch from the fifty third chap
ter of Isaiah. He not only preached
Christ as the Savior from the guilt Of
sin, but from the power Of sin as
symbolized in baptism, which means
not only Identification with Christ in
His death, but to arise in the power
of His resurrection, to walk in new
ness Of life. Then, too, according to
verYe II he preached Christ as a
3feignlng king Philips preaching was
/ fruitful, for mutitudes believed his
+ message which was accompanied with
numerous miracles. He cast out I'M
clean spirits, healed the palsied and
the lame. Great joy accompanied the
reception of the gospel by these Sa-
maritans.
~. Paul an Example Of a True
Preacher Of the Gospel Oh Cor. 1920
/, His supreme aim was to please
God tv o.
10 live or to die was imma-
terlal to him if his service was but
acceptable to Cod This transcendent
aim was strengthened by the con
sciou~ness that every one must one
day stand before the Judgment seat of
! Christ. This aim explains Pauls de-
votiOu
>. Ills consciousness of RESPONSE
pility ". ~.
His sense of solemn responsibility
vas the explanation of Pauls be-
,..,+io,. G,,na fhouoht thaf no xuao
mentally unbalanced His knowledge
( i Gods holy nature and of mans
sinful condition moved him earnestly
10 persuade men TO be reconciled to
God. No one who knows Gods terror
viii be haIfhearted in his ministry
3 He was constrained by the love
of Christ ". 14).
| This means that he was governed
/ by Christ's love Ministerial devotion
! is the expression of repicrocal love.
| Christ's supreme love was expressed
| in His death for us Our love in re-
/ turn is expressed in our devotion to
/ Him.
| T. Consciousness of the God-wrought
change in Him (v 1D.
! II was because he was wrought upon
by God and was therefore new crea-
| ture that he sought TO do His will.
\ 5. The content Of the gospel which
I he preached wv. Is, 19).
/ The reconciliation of God through
/ the death of Christ was his central
message. In the incarnation God was.
in Christ, reconciiing the world unto
Himself.
/ g. Paul was an ambassador sent
/ from God to appeal to the world to be
/ reconciled unto God w. 20).
He was the ambassador from the
! high court of heaven sent to this re-
belious world. In real sense, every
/ Christian minister Is occupying the
! same position
Knowing the Lord