Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

Sabbath SchoolLessonLesson Helps for the Week of July 25For July 25,1971WHY THE FAMILY?Gen.l:26-31; 2:18-25;Luke 2:39-42;! Cor.13Comments by John K. GaultThe family is the reproductive unit ofcivilized society. It consists of one male,one female, and their children.1: The Family Is a Divine Institution(Gen. 1:27,28; 2:21-25)"So God created man in His ownimage, in the image of God created Hehim; male and female created He them.And God blessed them, and God said untothem. Be fruitful and multiply, andreplenish the earth, and subdue it." "Andthe Lord God caused a deep sleep to falTupon Adam, and he slept: and He took oneof his ribs, and closed up the flesh insteadthereof; and the rib, which the Lord Godhad taken from man, made He a woman,and brought her unto the man. And Adamsaid, This is now bone of my bones, andflesh of my flesh: she shall be calledWoman, because she was taken out ofMan. Therefore shall a man leave hisfather and his mother, and shall cleaveunto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."Marriage, then, through which the family isconsummated, "is an ordinance of God,instituted in the law of nature, andrecognized in Divine revelation. It is anagreement between one man and onewoman only, in which the parties solemnlyvow and covenant, that they will faithfullyperform all the duties belonging to it.Marriage was ordained for the mutual helpof husband and wife; the population of theworld with a legitimate offspring; theincrease and building up of the church witha holy seed, and the prevention of uncleanness,and is common to all sorts ofpeople." (Declaration and Testimony,Chapter 28, Sections 1 and 2).2: The Family Is a Strong Provincelor Spiritual Influence and Instruction.This is shown in the childhood ofJesus. Luke 2:21,22,39-42 tells us, "Andwhen eight days were accomplished for thecircumcising of the child, His name wascalled Jesus. .And when the days of herpurification according to the law of Moses,were accomplished they brought Him toJerusalem, to present Him to the Lord. .And when they had performed all thingsaccording to the law of the Lord, theyreturned into Galilee, to their own cityNazareth. And the child grew, and waxedstrong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and thegrace of God was upon Him. Now Hisparents went to Jerusalem every year at thefeast of the Passover. And when He wastwelve years old, they went up to Jerusalemafter the custom of the feast."In view of the holy origin of thefamily, religion should occupy the chiefplace in the family relationships. This,evidently, was true in Jesus' home, anditshould be true concerning every home.Paul said to his young convert, Timothy in1:5, "When I call to remembrance theunfeigned faith that is in thee, which dweltfirst in thy grandmother Lois, and thymother Eunice; and I am persuaded that inthee also." This "unfeigned faith" of whichPaul spoke, operates through familyworship, regular attendance at the churchservices, and through the general Christianinfluence of the home. Next to the church,the family has been the greatest upliftingforce in the world.3: The Family Requires the Exerciseof Love.Even though people may belong tothe same family there may be frequentdisplays of human tendencies. There maybe anger, envy, selfishness, and other eviltraits of character. There is a spiritualantidote which people of the same familycan take, which will nullify the venom ofevil in a person's character. This antidote iscalled love. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:4:"Love suffereth long and is kind; loveenvieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is notpuffed up; doth not behave itself unseemly,seeketh not her own, is not easilyprovoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not ininiquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;. . .Lovenever faileth. . ." In the parable of theprodigal son the father received thewayward son back to his home without aword of recrimination, because he lovedhim. The "elder brother" resented all thefestivities of welcome for the returnedprodigal because he did not love hisbrother. When people become inoculatedwith the antidote of love they can overlooka lot of faults in others both inside andoutside of the family.4: People Should Be Careful BeforeEstablishing a Home.As has been shown marriage is asacred ordinance. Since this is true peopleshould marry only in the Lord. It was Godwho said in the first place,"It is not goodthat man should be alone; I will make anhelp meet for him." If one of the contractingparties to a marriage is an unbelieveror has evil habits the effort ofrearing the children is made much moredifficult.5: When is Divorce Permissible?Jesus said in Matthew 5:32, "But 1 sayunto you, that whosoever shall put awayhis wife, saving for the cause of fornication,causeth her to commit adultery;and whosoever shall marry her that isdivorced committeth adultery."The Declaration and Testimony,chapter 28, paragraph 7 says, "Though themarriage covenant is not dissolved byevery argument which the corruption ofman, excited by passion and disappointment,may produce to separate thosewhom God hath joined; yet eitheradultery, or such willful desertion as admitsof no civil remedy, is sufficient causefor its dissolution: and after the divorce hasbeen regularly obtained, from the ecclesiasticalor civil authority,it is lawful forthe innocent party to marry another, as ifthe offending party were dead."6: Family Responsibilities Can BeMet, only by doing the Will of God."Lesson based on International Sunday SchoolLessons: the International Bible Lessons forChristian Teaching, copyrighted 1967 by the Divisionof Christian Education, National Council of Churchesof Christ in the USA"Junior TopicForIuly25,1971UNIT: GOD'S GIFT OF NATURENature's Revelationby Mrs. Robert McElroyMemory Psalm: Psalm 148.Memory Verse: Psalm 19:1.Scripture: Psalm 19:1-6; 97:6; Acts 14:17;Romans 1:20.Our lesson tonight ends our study ofGod's Gift of Nature. Our topic, Nature'sRevelation, continues the idea that thevery existence of nature is evidence of theexistence of God. The lessons, beauty, andmysteries of nature are visible proof of asupreme being.Our first Scripture reference, Psalm19:1-6, tells us the heavens declare theglory of God. The heavens are so great thatthe person who created them would needto be even greater and more powerful. Theheavens, the stars, moon, and sun couldnot have been a casual meeting of elementsor an accident of time. They had to bemade by someone higher than humans.JUNE 30, 1^71 11