Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1940-10-24
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Lesson \ aAa. !. s

Christian Motives for Abstin-
ence, international Temperance
Lesson) Luke 1:13-16; 2:40; 6:2l-
As. for Sunday, October 27:
No rigid distinction can be made
between motives which are Chris
tian and those which are not, Tor
any thing that Injuries men In any
way was a concern of Christ and
should be Of his followers.
v. 13. but the angel said unto
him, Fear not, Zacharias; for thy
prayer is heard; and thy wife Eliza
beth, shall bear thee a son, and
thou shalt call his name John. :
God is greatly interested IN our
prayers when according to his will.
and he will answer them in his own
good way.
v. IA. "And thou shalt have joy
and gladness; and many shall re-
joice at his birth" We were born
to have joy and so sorrows endure
but a night. Possibly the greatest
JOY that can come to parent is to
see his children be in great Chris
tian service. True parents will see
to it that nothing interferes with
their child's strong Christian char
acter. Therefore they cannot toler-
ate drinking.
Is. 'For he shall be great in
the sight Of the Lord, and shall
drink neither wine nor strong
drink; and he shall be filled with
the Holy Ghost" This son shall be
great (a) in the divine regard, CD
in abstraining from drink, (c) in
the Holy Spirits presence, Cd In
Gods service Here is our program
for true greatness.
v. 16. "And many of the chill
dren of Israel shall he turn to the
Lord their God" A, truly great
child of God is a soul-winner and
the art of soul-winning ought to be
ones study of first Importance.
v. 40. "And the child grew and
waxed strong in spirit, filled with
wisdom; and the grace of God was
upon him. In these days when
stress is placed on a college educa-
tion for our youth we may well stop
and look at the way Jesus prepared
for his work which was blessed
with wisdom and grace of God.
There is no place for drink in his
program.
v. 4. "And Jesus answered him
saying, 1t is written, That man
shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word of God" Though
bread is necessary for physical sus-
tenance, yet something more and
higher is needed Spiritual life
must be nurtured by spiritual food.
The one who becomes addicted to
drink places first the qualification
of his perverted appetite and neg
lects the true bread. His whole
life is lived on the plane of the
physical.
v. 21. "Blessed are ye that hun
ger now; for We shall be filled.
Blessed are ye that weep now for ye
shall laugh A state of humility
and a feeling of great need prepares
the way for better life sooner or
later, at which time there will be
real rejoicing in victorious living.
". 25 "Woe unto you that are
full; for ye shall hunger. Woe un-
to you that laugh now, for ye shall
mourn and weep" Those that use
time, talent and wealth in self-in
duIgenec of any kind will have a
sorry end, for they have built up
lH6ulS6lNcS ucollCo, app
tites and passions which can not be
satisfied in a pure environment.
V. 43. For a good tree bringeth
not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth
corrupt tree bring forth good
fruit" A good tree and corrupt
tree may look very much alike;
but when the fruit is gathered, the
vital difference between them may
be seen. Likewise the deeds of peo-
pie make known the condition OF
their hearts. AS bad fruit shows
there is something wrong with a
tree, so evil morals show there is
something wrong with man and
also with system of philosophy or
religion that has encouraged his
wrong-doing.
V. A. For every tree is known
by his own fruit, for of thorns men
do not gather figs, nor of bramble
bush do they gather grapes" This
correspondence of external prod
ucts with internal character is es-
sential. If the heart is good, good
results follow.
V. As. ga good man out of the
good treasure of his heart bringeth
forth that which is good; and an
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