Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

sinners."stead of worshipping the one true God,they began to worship many others,the sun, the moon, and idols of differentkinds. God had promised to Noah thatHe would never again destroy the earthbya flood because of its wickednessand although the earth was again becoming very wicked, He kept thatpromise. This time, He had a differentplan. As He had before the Floodchosen one man, Noah, so this timeHe again chose one man to be the leader of those who were to be God's ownpeople. The name of this man wasAbram at first, but God soon changedit to Abraham, the father of a multitude, and it is by that name we shallcall him in these lessons. He livedin one of the largest cities of that time,a city called Ur. People have dug upthis old cityand have found the ruinsof large houses, two stories high andwith as many as twenty rooms.Nodoubt it was a rich city and perhapsAbraham and his family had a beautiful home.But it was also a wickedcity and the people worshiped the moongoddess and even offered human beings as sacrifices. So God spoke toAbraham, perhaps face to face as wespeak to our friends, for God calledAbraham His friend (II Chron. 20:7;Isa. 41:8; James 2:23) He told him toleave this rich and wicked city and togo to a place that the Lord would showhim. God wanted him to get away fromthe example of people who worshipedidols and to go to a new land wherehe could worship Godas he wished.How many times God's people haveleft their homes for that reason! Manyof the Scottish Covenanters had toleave home and live in caves and amongthe hills because they wanted to worship God as they thought right. Manyof the people who came to this countryof ours in the early days, came hereso they could worship in the way theywished. So Abraham called together hisfamily and they decided to leave Ur andto go where God would lead them. Justas the neighbors of Noah thought himvery foolish to build the Ark,so the neighbors of Abraham musthave thought he had lost his mind, togive up all he had in the city and tostart out, not even knowing where hewas going. Read Hebrews 11:7-8. Theseverses tell what it was in the heartsof these two men that made them follow God at any cost. Faithful Abraham,the Friend of God! How much betterto be called the Friend of God than tohave all the riches of Ur!Find on the map in your Bible thelocation of the cityof Ur. On whatgreat river was it situated? It wouldbe along this river valley that the greatcaravan would move, many60camels anddonkeys carrying the familyof Abraham, his servants and all their posessions,traveling the river route forshade, food and water. Locate Haranalso on your map. By the scale of milesdetermine the approximate distancethey would have to travel. How longdo you suppose they were on the way?Loaded animals cannot travel fastwhat a long journey! Locate the landof Canaan on the map. Why did theytake such a round-about road to getthere?It seems that when they reachedHaran, they decided to make that theirhome for awhile, perhaps because Terahwas. old and did not wish to travelfarther, perhaps because all of themwere weary of the long days of slowtravel. But after the death of Terah,God again told Abraham to leave hishome and family and to go on to theland that He would show Him. AgainAbraham obeyed God, for he knew thatwhen God was his leader, all would bewell. Read the promises that God madeto Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3. In whatways did God promise to bless him?How is your family blessed through him,as God said all families would be?Though Abraham could see nothing ofall that God promised him, yet he believed God and once more started outwith his wife, his nephew and all thatthey had. In many ways this journeywould be more difficult than the firstone, for this time there was no rivervalley to follow, but with God leadingthe way, they would never lack for anything needful. Finally they arrived inthe land of Canaan, and since they livedin tents and had no settled home, therewere several stopping places mentionedin the story (Gen. 12:6-7; Gen. 12:8).What did Abraham build in each ofthese places? God was always there, nomatter where their stopping place mightbe. God prospered Abraham and madehim very rich in cattle and in silverand gold as well, so that even in aworldly sense,Abraham was a greatman. God always prospers those whofollow Him and are willing to forsakeall for his sake, though their faithmay be greatly tried.Your Note Book1. Draw an outline map locating Ur,Haran and the land of Canaan.Ur?2. Whywas Abraham told to leave3. Did he go directly to the land ofCanaan? Why?4. How old was he when he leftHaran?5. What blessings did God promiseto him?6. What is the most important way inwhich all the families of the earth areblessed in Abraham.7. Name some ways in which Abraham showed his faith.For the leaderFlash card No. 7, should have on ita small map locating Ur, Haran, andCanaan. At the top, place in large letters, the word, "ABRAHAM"; placedvertically down the side, the word,"FAITHFUL"; and at the bottom thereference of the memory verse. Giveout all seven cards, asking the childrento place them in correct order on theboard, giving the memory verse for eachcard. Name the characters so farstudied in this series. Any or all of theprevious methods of review may beused and any others occuring to theleaders. To impress on the minds of thechildren these stories and verses, itmust be review, REVIEW and REVIEW.Psalms:PRAYER MEETING TOPICAugust 18, 1954FAITH IN JESUS CHRISTPhil. 3:8-11Rev. Lester E. HUpatrick116:7-12, p. 282125:1-5, p. 32032:6-9, p. 74References: See the discussion.Read: Confession of Faith, ch. 14; Testimony, ch. 13; Shorter Catechism, 86.Faith in Jesus Christ is to be considered particularlyas it is a requirement for escaping sin's deserts.Our Testimony, 13:2, states that"Faith is the first and immediate actof the regenerate soul, under the powerful influence of the Holy Ghost, embracing Christ as offered by God inthe Gospel to The act of faithis simply accepting as true God's Wordon the authority of God who speaks init.Faith is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8, 9).Also, faith is a requirement if we wouldfind forgiveness and salvation (Heb.11:6). It is the connecting link orchannel bywhich we receive blessingfrom God, and by which our petitionsand obedience are conveyed to Him.In the Scripture passage we see inPaul's ownexperience what faith inJesus Christ did for him. Note thatfaith is here set forth, not as a goodwork, which God requires and whichwe accomplish, in order that we mayescape sin's deserts; but it is set forthas the source of a new and satisfyinglife received from God.Paul has just cited the royal marksof ancestry and legal attainment whichhe could claim. It is specifically fromthese "perfections'' that he turns inorder to speak of faith. In doingso hemust abandon former standards of moralTHE COVENANTER WITNESS