Newspaper Page Text
visit he says, 'Ye have made it a den
of thieves.' (Matt. 21:13.) The more
i wicked and hardened men are, the
louder must be our protest, and sharp
er our rebuke." ? Ryle.
Going Into the House of Jeliovah in
Nyassaland.
A missionary was traveling in a
distant part of Nyassaland, where no
European preacher had yet been. One
afternoon he reached a native village.
Soon the headman of the village and
several others came to greet him, of
fering a hearty welcome. The mis
sionary told them the purpose of his
journey, stating that he was a mes
senger of the great God and that he
came to tell him ot. his salvation.
"Oh, yes," replied the headman,
"we know about him."
"What do you mean?" asked the
missionary, "What do you know about
Him, and from whom have you
heard?"
"Some time back," was the answer,
"one of the boys from your mission
passed this way. He carried a book
with him, and when we asked him
what it was, he said that it was the
word of God in our language. We
asked him to read to us out of it,
and when we had heard we wanted to
hear more, so we persuaded hlrtl to
stay with us a little while.
"Then he told us that if we wanted
to worship the great God, out of the
book he was reading to us, we must
do two things. First of all, we must
read one day out of seven, and next
we must build a house in which to
pray to Him. We agreed to do so,
and went to the forest to cut poles,
while our wives cut grass for the
roof. And so we built the house which
you see there, which is the house of
God.
"Well, the youth remained with ub
for some weeks, reading to us out of
the word of God and praying for us.
Afterwards he had to proceed on his
journey. But although we have no
one to teach us we still worship God
in His house."
"And how do you worship Him
now?" asked the missionary.
"We Just come here on every sev
enth day, and sit down in the house
of God, and there we wait before Him
and are quite silent. We have
no one to read to us or teach us, and
we do not know how to pray, so we
just sit still, and we think that the
great God will see us, and He will
say, There are some people who have
no one to teach them, and who want
the word,' and perhaps He will send
us a teacher." ? Andrew C. Murray,
in "The Bible in the World."
THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON
COMMITTEE. *
The semi-annual meeting of the In
ternational Lesson Committee met in
the Prince Albert Hotel, New York,
December 28. All of the various sub
committees were in session during the
previous day, and much of the actual
work of the committee is done in
these smaller sections. The great
burden of the work falls upon the
Committee on Uniform. Lessons, of
which Dr. John R. Sampey, of Louis
ville, Ky., is the chairman. At pre
vious meetings the lessons for 1918
were concluded and advance work on
the three succeeding years is being
pushed forward.
The present Lesson Committee con
sists of about thirty members. Eight
members are chosen by the Interna
tional Sunday-School Association,
eight by the Sunday-School Council
of Evengellcal Churches, and one
member by each denomination that
has a Committee on Lesson Courses.
In the final adoption of any cycle or
any lesson in a cycle, the vote is taken
by sections ? the International Section,
the Council Section, and the Denomi
national Section. The baBls of orgapi
zation requires a majority vote of all
these three sections In order to adopt.
So far the lessons that have been fin
ally determined upon received a
unanimous vote In all of the sections.
Lesson editors and writers are now
laboring with the first year of the
Graded Uniform Lessons, or "The Im
proved Uniform Lessons," as they are
technically called. Many of our read
ers may be interested in the follow
ing paragraphs from the Introduction
to the Lesson Schedule for 1918, de
scribing the general principles on
which the new scheme of lessons has
been outlined:
The International Lesson Commit
tee, after full and frank discussion of
various proposed lesson schemes, has
decided to issue Improved Uniform
Lessons for a cycle of eight years be
ginning in 1918. Uniformity is
maintained by the use of a common
title for the whole school, a common
brief lesson text for printing, and a
common Golden Text. All the teach
ers are also encouraged to read the
same selected Readings; and with
many lessons a Devotional Reading
has been chosen for use in the public
exercises of the school in lieu of the
passage as the common lesson for the
day.
Having thus sought to conserve the
advantages of the Uniform System,
the Committee decided to. seek to
adapt the lessons, as thoroughly as
possible, to the various departments
.of the school. Special topics, special
memory verses, and additional mate
rial have been designated, wherever
it seemed possible thereby to make
the lessons more helpful to pupils in
the different departments. It has been
the aim of the Committee to provide
for teachers in each department a
thoroughly teachable lesson.
The Committee has decided to
prepare a cycle of lessons running
through eight years, the first four of
which have been tentatively agreed
upon as follows:
January-June, 1918. The Gospel
of the Son of God: Studies in Mark.
July-September, 1918. Studies in
the Christian Life.
October, 1918-March, 1919. The
Patriarchs and Early Leaders of
Israel: From Abraham to the Settle
ment of Canaan.
April-September, 1919. Great
Teachings of the Bible.
October, 1919-March, 1920. Studies
in the Lives of Peter and John.
April-September, 1920. Early Lead
ers and Kings of Israel.
October, 1920-March, 1921. The
Gospel of the Kingdom: Studies in
Matthew.
April-June, 1921. The Missionary
Message of the Bible.
July-December, 1921. Life and Let
ters of Paul.
The eight-year cycle has been
chosen with the view (1) to the in
corporation of several short topical
courses, in addition to the usual se
ries on a chronological basis; (2) the
Committee has also had in mind the
desirability of a more frequent sur
vey of the entire Bible with varying
methods of approach than was possi
ble under pie six-year cycle; (3) It
is desired also to harmonize the period
of the cycle with the newly adopted
quadrennial conventions of the Inter
national Association.
The topical courses are designed in
general to provide surveys of impor
tant Biblical truth and discussions of
important aspects of Christian living,
gaining light from all parts of the
Bible, and systematizing more care
fully and thoroughly than is possible
in a series exclusively, chronological.
The following exhibit of the lessons
In detail for January, 1918, may help
to a fuller understanding of the
scheme that has been adopted:
First Quarter, 1018.
1. Jan. 6. JOHN PREPARES THE
WAY FOR JESUS.
Lesson: Mark 1:1-11.
Golden Text: Behold, the Lamb of
God, that taketh away the sin
of the world! John 1:29.
Teachers' Readings: Isa. 40:3-5;
Mai. 3:1-3; Luke 1:5-25, 39-80;
, Matt. 3:1-12; Luke 3:1-18; John
1:19-42.
Primary Memory Verse: Thou
shalt call his name Jesus; for
it is he that shall save his people
from their sins. Matt. 1:21.
Intermediate, Senior and Adult
Topic: Heralds of the Cross.
Intermediate Memory Verses: Luke
10:1, 2.
Additional Material: Luke 9*1-6
10-161' 10;1"12' 17'20; Act8 9:'
2. Jan 13. JESUS BEGINS HIS
WORK.
Lesson: Mark 1:12-20.
Golden Text: Repent ye, and be
lieve in the gospel. Mark 1:15.
Teachers' Readings: Matt 4,1-H?
Luke 4:1-13; Heb. '4:14-16,'
Matt. 9:9, 10; Matt. 8:18-22;
Luke 9:57-62; Acts 9:1-9.
Primary Topic: Jesus Chooses Pour
Helpers.
Lesson Material: Mark 1:16-20
Memory Verse: Come ye after
me. Mark 1:17.
Intermediate Topic: Overcoming
Temptation.
Memory Verse: 1 Cor. 10:13.
Additional Material: Matt. 4:1
11; Heb. 2:18.
Senior and Adult Topic: How Jesus
Faced Hia Task.
Additional Material: Matt. 4:1-11;
Heb. 4:14-16; John 4:34-38.
3. Jan. 20. JESUS AT WORK
Lesson: Mark 1:21-45. Print Mark
1:21-34.
Golden Text: I must work the
- workB of him that sent me, while
It is day. John 9:4.
Teachers' Readings: Matt. 4:23
25; Luke 4:16-22, 31-44. '
Primary Memory Verse: Jesus
went about . . . teaching.
? ? . and preaching . . . and
healing. Matt. 4:23.
Junior Memory Verse: And he
healed many that were sick.
Mark 1:34.
Intermediate Topic: The Power and
Sympathy of Jesus.
Memory Verse: Bear ye one
another's burdens, and so fulfil
the law of Christ. Gal. 6:2
Senior and Addlt Topic: Jesus
Meeting Human Needs.
Additional Material: Matt. 9:35
38; 11:28-30; Luke 8:1-3.
4. Jan. 27. JESUS FORGIVING SIN.
Lesson: Mark 2:1-12.
Golden Text: The Son of man hath
authority on earth to forgive sins
Mark 2:10.
Teachers' Readings: Ps 32* Lukn
15:11-24.
Intermediate Topic: Jesus Healihg
Soul and Body.
Additional Material: Luke 7-36
60.
Senior and Adult Topic: Jesus
Meeting Man's Deepest Need.
Additional Material: Matt. 1:21;
Luke 7:36-50; Heb. 7:25.
A very considerable task will fall
upon editors and lesson wrltern to put
all this material into workable shape
for the different grades. ? The Chris
tian Union Herald.
Teacher in hygiene class: "We bad
scarlet fever to-day; to-morrow we'll
take typhoid."
An able and yet humble man is a
jewel worth a kingdom. ? William
Penn.
YOUNG PEOPLE'S SOCIETIES
CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR FRUITS.
M., Jan. 22. Decisions. Exod. 32:13-26.
T., Jan. 23. Sorvice. John 12:20-20.
W., Jan. 24. Workers. Matt. 4:18-25.
T., Jan. 25. Organization. Eph. 4:11-10.
J., Jan. 20. Fellowship. Mai. 3:16-18.
8., Jan. 27. Devotional spirit. Matt. 8:1-15.
8., Jan. 28. Topic ? Fruits of tho Christian En
deavor Tree. (Christian Endeavor
Day.) Rev. 22:1-5.
What fruit' hat Christian Endeavor produced in UJ?T
What hat Christian Endeavor meant Jar the ckurohl
What value ha ? Chrittian Endeavor for miuionj?
Our Saviour describes himself as
the "Vine" and his people as the
"branches." The branches derive
their life from the vine, but we ought
not to forget that it is the branches
that bear fruit. The branches could
not bear fruit without the vine, but
the vine itself does not bear fruit.
Our Saviour furnishes the life of his
people and expects them to bear fruit.
The fruit which Christian people are
expected to bear is called the fruit
of the Spirit, and is described by the
Apostle Paul in Gal. 5:22, 23, and
Eph. 5:9. Some very important fruits
of the Christian life are described in
the passages which are selected for
our study this week.
Decisions (Exod. 32:15-26.) Satan
had gained entrance into the camp of
Israel and many of the people wAire
following his lead, and so it bccan^o
necessary for Moses to find out who
were true to God. So he called upon
them to make a decision. Those who
were on the Lord's side were to come
to him, thus separating themselves
from the rest. Satan is continually
getting into every community and con
gregation, and it is just as important
today an ever for the Lord's people
to come out distinctly on His side. It
is impossible for any soldier to do his
duty to his country or cause if he
mingles with the enemy and maes
friends of them. What is needed is
that God's people should come out
clearly and distinctly on His side and
make all their lives conform to His
will.
Service (John 12:20-26): There
were some Greeks in Jerusalem on one
occasion, and they expressed a desire
to see Jesus. Jesus tells them that
merely seeing him is not sufficient, but
they must serve him. This should be
with such a whole-hearted service that
if necessary they must give up their
lives for him. When the soldier en
lists in the army of his country, it
doesn't necessarily mean that he is
going to die in this service, but that
?he is willing to do so if necessary, or
to make any other sacrifice which
will be expected in his service, or to
do anything that his country demands.
So a soldier of the cross should be
willing to do at least as much for
his great Captain and for the cause of
salvation. There are many ways in
which we can serve the Master If we
will but look for them. Some may
seem small and insignificant,, but done
with the proper spirit they will ap
pear great in the eyes of him we
serve.
Workers (Matt. 4:18-25): The
Jews expected the Messiah to be a
great earthly king, and many of them
hoped to have the privilege of occa
pying high positions in the klgndom
where they would enjoy luxury, plea
sure and honor. This was shown 1b
the requests of James and John, when
with their mother they asked if they
might sit one on the right hand and
one on the left in the kingdom. Oar
Saviour called hia disciples to follow
him, and then shows them by his own
example that they were called to work
and that this work was to be for the
good of their fellowmen. As soon as
these disciples began to follow him
he went out through all that section
of country healing diseases and reliev
ing trobule wherever he found It. Wa