Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

overthrow.''serve"men."pel"well."obedient to His Holy Will. Let us always press forward, Phil. 3:13, 14.Early the next morning Abrahamarose and looked toward Sodom andGomorrah and "lo, the smoke of thecountry went up as the smoke of a furnace. And it came to pass, when Goddestroyed the cities of the plain, thatGod remembered Abraham, and sentLot out of the midst of theHere is perfect proof that God answersprayer. God heard Abraham's prayerand saved Lot.Questions to answer:1. Why did Abraham move from Urto Canaan? (Gen. 12:1-5)2. Why was Abraham so interested inSodom?3. What is the difference between intercessoryprayer and prayer in the ordinary sense?4. Can everyone serve as an intercessor?5. Name other Bible people who prayedfor others. What were the results?6. Do our prayers make it easier foiothers to find Christ? (James 5:16)For your notebook:Draw a thermometer-like diagram,using the numbers in Abraham's prayer,with fifty at the top, followed withspaced intervals marked with 45, 40, 30,20, 10, 4, and 3. Color the lower 3 spaces-red to represent Lot and his two daughters who were saved. The fourth spacemay be shaded gray to represent Lot's"wife whose heart and mind were uncertain even to death. The remaining spacesshould be black to represent the resultsof sin. At the bottom of the page copyHeb. 2:1-3.To the Leader:For the flash card for this lesson,-sketch or paste a picture of "The Praying Hands."Over it print the word,"PRAYER.""the memoryBelow give the reference ofverse. Have the Juniorswrite out lists of definite requests ofprayer for them to use daily. Tell themto cross out the ones that God answersand keep adding new ones. This will definitely help improve their prayer life andsee how God does answer prayer.SABBATHSCHOOL LESSONSeptember 5, 1954by Rev. Joseph A. Hill(Lessons based on International Sunday School"Lessons ; the International Bible LeBsons forChribtlan Teaching, copyrighted by the International Council of Religious Education.)GROWTH THROUGH USEFUL WORKLesson Material and Printed Text: Colossians 3:23, 24; I Thessalonians 4:10b,11; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 13Memory verse: Colossians 3:23 "What-August 18, 1954soever ye do, work heartily, as unto theLord,and not untoIn the ancient city of Sergovia, Spain,there was a high stone aqueduct whichstood in tact and in use for eighteen centuries. It was built by the Romans in theyear 109 A. D. and it was held togetherwithout any cement! A few decades agoit was decided that the aqueduct shouldno longer be used for conducting waterinto the city, but that it should be preserved asan historic monument. Thewater was therefore diverted into newpipelines. In a few years, however, theold aqueduct, no longer held tight by theweight and pressure of the water running along its walls, began to fall intoruin. Once again the physical teachesa moral lesson: "By much slothfulnessthebuilding decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeththrough"(Ecc. 10:18). Idleness resultsin deterioration; onlywork can buildup. While building houses and ships, menare building character. While idle, theyare wrecking character.I. The Christian View of WorkColossians 3:23. It is part of the Christian world-and-life view that all ourlabors, in every field, are performedunto the Lord of life. Too often, "secular"work is regarded as having no connection with God's plan for the world.For the Christian, all constructive workis Kingdom work. The Christian is consecrated in all his activities, to God. Godcalls men into industry and medicine aswell as into the ministry. The Christiancarpenter as well as the missionary, isin full-time Christian service."Work heartily" how we need toheed these words of the great Taskmaster! What satisfaction there is in doinga piece of work well, because we haveput our soul into it! Dr. Clarence Edward Macartney, in a sermon on Paul'sshipwreck (Acts 27:27) tells how twohundred and seventy-six passengers onthat ship were depending on how wellsome workmen had done their jobs. Theycast anchor in the storm. Everything depended on those four anchors. "If theydrag, or if their cables snap, the ship willdrive onto the rocks in the darkness andall will perish. But some nameless ironworker of Damascus has done his workwell. Some ropemaker of Syracuse haddone his work well. Some carpenter ofBrundisium had been faithful and conscientious in his work. When you do anhonest piece of work, whether it is preparing a sermon, or weaving a garment,or forgoing an iron, or making a rope,you never know how many you will(Great Nights of the Bible, byC. E. Abingdon-Macartney, Cokesbury,1943, p. 56).Work well done receives high wagesfrom the Master. The highest pay of allis the joy that comes from knowing thatI have done it for Him.II. Christian Pietyand Work/ Thessalonians 4:10b, 11. For somereason, possibly because they were excited with the expectation of the Lord'simmediate return, the Christians at Thessalonica had become indolent. We knowfrom Paul's epistles to the Thessalonians that they were disturbed by somemisapprehension concerningthe SecondComing of Christ. Perhaps they expectedChrist to return very soon. Evidentlysome thought it more pious to stop working at their common labors so that theymight prepare themselves for the comingof the Lord. But Paul charges them withthe duty of daily work. True piety is doing the will of God, and doing the will ofGod is just fulfilling the tasks set beforethe Christian each day. A person is nomore pious when he is reading his Bibleor on his knees in prayer than he is whenhe is plowing or feeding hogs or keepingbusiness accounts. There is a time forprayer and Bible study, to be sure. Thereis also a time to be busyat work hardwork. It is not right for us to be working when we ought to be praying. Neitheris it right for us to be praying when weought to be working. True piety includesboth.III. The Christian Example of Work// Thessalonians 3:6 13. This passagesets forth the apostle Paul's own exampleand precept in the matter of daily work.While ministering among the Thessalonians, Paul earned his own living, presumably by his trade of tent making. Hehad a perfect right to "live by the gos(1 Cor. 9:13-14), but in order tobe a good example of Christian diligence,Paul labored with his hands day andnight.After giving several exhortations concerning diligent work, Paul sums it all upby saying (verse 13), "But ye, brethren,be not weary in well doing." What a fine,Christlike motto for life ! Be not weary inwell-doing. A great incentive! There is alegend at Harvard that the late Le BaronRussell Briggs, beloved dean of the college, once asked a student why he hadfailed to complete an assignment. "Iwasn't feeling very well,Smith,"student. "Mr. said the Dean, "Isir,"said thethink that in time you may perhaps findthat most of the work of the world isdone by people who aren't feeling very(Frederick Lewis Allen in ThisWeek, quoted in "The Reader's Digest,"March, 1953).There is nothing wrong about beingtired. That is only a matter of musclesand bones. But being weary is tragic,because it is a matter of the heart. Oneof Satan's most effective tools is weari-107