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PINEY
WOODS
A PRAYER MEETING VARIATION.
L. W. Marks, Edmond, Okla.
Some folks are great on variety in
religious services. I, myself, have al
ways favored a fair measure of it,
well distributed through the services.
But about the hardest place I have
■ever found to introduce edifying vari
ety is in a hum drum prayer meeting.
I will also, here and now confess that
a good many of my prayer meetings
have been of that sort.
Lumbering around in the attic of
my memory, I stumbled onto this ludi
crous exception to these stereotyped
prayer meetings, that test the faith
and try the souls of the faithful.
In a certain town, not namable here,
where I was pastor, I joined with
some good brethren, who were mostly
sisters, to do something for the spir
itual uplift of the small contingent of
the underworld that existed, nobody
knew how, within our little city. We
■opened an afternoon Sunday School
on a grass lawn. It was tremendous
ly popular, with a noticeable increase
along toward Christmas. As winter
approached and shelter became a mat
ter of necessity, some o fthe workers
advised that we adjourn till spring,
but the way interest and piety grew
and spread, made it easier to believe
the story of Jonah’s gourd, and knock
ed the wind out of all pessimists, so
a shelter for the thriving mission must
be found.
In due time we rented a two-room
house, with scant petition. The very
house itself was a lively place as I in,
cidentally learned by hanging my hat
on the wall, and coming back found it
inhabited. But after much cleaning
we continued our thriving Sunday
School. The appeal for preaching was
insistant, and a meeting soon follow
ed. Evidently the Lord approved, and
THE VICTORIES OF FAITH.
(Review.)
June 29th, 1913.
Read Acts 7:9 to 16, and Heb. 11:20
to 22.
The Golden Text —“This is the vic_
tory that hath overcome the world,
even our faith.” John 5-4.
Suggestive Thoughts—What Should
I Do?
Learn the central truth of each les
son and teach it to others.
Lesson No. 1.
April 6th, 1913. Gen. 27:22 to 34.
That God’s promises are sure, “wait
for Him,” and you wil obtain the
promised blessing without the evil
consequences that folow obtaining it
by fraud and sin.
Lesson No. 2.
April 13th, 1913. Gen. 28:10 to 22.
That God’s promises are great and
that He will never leave or forsake us
until He has done all that He promised.
Lesson No. 3.
April 20th, 1913. Gen. 33:1 to 15.
The great truth taught in this les
son is that God has power over the
human heart and if we get right with
God, He will cause our enemies to
get right with us.
Lesson No. 4.
April 27th, 1913. Gen. 37:23 to 36.
Wrash-*-
good was done, for there were several
conversions.
But it was in our regular prayer
meeting, in our good meeting house,
just a few blocks away, that the varia
tion came. We had a good church and
large membership, but neither our
prayer meeting nor our other services
had been visibly affected by the relig
ious upheavel around the corner. But
we were just heading in to a hard
winter and I noticed this paradox, that
certain thinly clad folks warmed up
to the church as the weather got cold
er.
On a certain prayer meeting night,
without notice or warning, there raced
into the room and up near to the front,
a man, direct fruit of our mission,
about six feet two, I should judge, and
built after the pattern of a bean pole.
Very nearly at the same time, and al
most exactly in the same spot, came
a diminutive individual of the female
persuasion, evidently determined to
keep step with her husband’s new
found religion.
The meeting opened in regular or
der and proceeded after the usual
fashion. In due time it was open for
remarks and voluntary service. Our
elongated man began to get up, and
kept on getting up, until his head
collided with a chandalier and put a
good lamp out of commission, but his
purpose was-too deep to be affected by
trivial matters like that. A very pious
deacon actually grinned, the stoical
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
By! B. LACY HOGE, Richmond, Va.
The great truth is taught in this
lesson, that if we harbor envy in our
hearts‘it will bear fruit in the most
infamous sins and crimes.
Lesson No. 5.
May 4th, 1913. Gen. 40:9 to 23.
This lesson teaches that all wisdom
comes from God. Let us praise Him
for it and praise and serve Him with
it.
Lesson No. 6.
May 11th, 1913. Gen. 41:25 to 40.
Joseph "was faithful to God and hon
ored Him at all times and we are here
taught that God will exalt the man
■who honors Him.
Lesson No. 7.
May 18th, 1913. Gen. 42:3 to 17.
The lesson is taught us in this scrip
ture that our sins are sure to find us
out and give us trouble. Be wise, con
fess and forsake them and have them
cleansed by the blood of Jesus.
Lesson No. 8.
May 25th, 1913. Gen. 43:18 and 19
and 13 3o 34.
The lesson taught here is that God’s
w r ork is sure and certain.
Lesson No. 9.
June Ist, 1913. Gen. 44-4 to 17.
Confess your sins is the great les
son here taught us. If we cover them
we will not prosper.
The Golden Age for June 19, 1913
s ster had to use her handkerchief,
and a visiting preacher almost wreck
ed the dignity of the ministry.
But that man clearly knew what he
was there for, so he drew forth, from
somewhere about his person, a song
book, battered and torn by long use,
and launched boldly out along the line
of a song. It was plain that this good
man, at some previous time, had had
a misunderstanding with tunes, and
they had not yet made up. He started
in entirely too high for even his six
feet two. The congregation was vis
ibly moved, probably they were afraid
he would fall, anyway they soon real
ized it would be useless to try to come
to his rescue.
But the little woman by his side
had no notion of abandoning her posi
tion of helpmate. She could not see
on the book, held high by her liege
lord, so she mounted a convenient
chair and pitched in to help. She
started in full four words behind, but
before he had reached the end of the
second line she had caught up and
passed him. She could read pretty
well, but her reading did not always
correspond with his memory. He had
started in somewhere in the neighbor
hood of C, and though breath was
scarce, he refused, flaMooted, to com.
promise on a lower note.
Now the woman had a good voice,
though a little out or repair, and she
knew about slurs and slide and holds,
Lesson No. 10.
June Bth, 1913. Gen. 45: 1 to 15.
We are here taught to forgive those
who have wronged us, and “be not
overcome of evil but overcome evil
with good.”
Lesson No. 11.
June 15th, 1913. Gen. 47:1 to 12.
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SKETCHES
By MARGARET BEVERLY UPSHAW
and all those things. In fact, she slid
severa times from a wedding march
down to a funeral dirge, crossing his
track at an angle of forty-five degrees.
By the time he reached the fourth
line he was clean out of breath and
had to let go. No danger of that
woman failing him in a crisis like
that. She felt that the honor of the
family was at stake and she rose to
the occasion. She plunged ahead at
a terrific rate, making frequent ex
cursions into the territory of other
tunes.
By the time she reached the third
verse he had somewhat recovered, but
not fully. However, it was nor or
never, so he girdled up his loins, so
to speak, and returned to the attack,
lighting in a few words ahead, appar
ently intending to travel by the way
of low bass for the balance of the
journey. But she was determined,
though, “by faith, to live on higher
ground.” I feared that this difference
in taste would produce domestic infe
licity. Though widely separated, and
traveling different roads, they both
seemed to be heading for the same
place, namely, the end of that song.
How many verses there were it is
not likely that I will ever know, as I
forgot to count until it was too late.
But like all other mortal things, both
good and bad, it came to an end and
we began to thank God and take cour
age. At the conclusion of this remark
able performance the man and woman
solemnly filed out, and to the best of
my knowledge have not yet filed in
again.
It is needless to say that the balance
of the prayer meeting program was
omitted, excepting a brief word of dis
missal. That was one of my prayer
meetings that at least had the merit
of variety.
Here we are shown the nobility of
Joseph’s character. And also taught
to honor our Fathers and Mothers.
Lesson No. 12.
June 22d, 1913. Amos 6:1 to 8.
The central truth taught here is
that sin blinds us.
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