Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 11, Number 8, DeMotte, Jasper County, 9 January 1941 — IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL Lesson [ARTICLE]

IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL Lesson

By HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST. D. D.

bean of The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. (Released by Western Newspaper Union.)

Lesson for January 12 Lesson subjects and Scripture texts selected and copyrighted by International Council of Religious Education; used by permission. . CHRIST’S VALUATION OF PERSONALITY LESSON TEXT—Luke 14:1-14. GOLDEN TEXT—Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?— Matthew 6:25. People, people, and more people 1 Have you ever said, “I’m just so tired of people. I wish I could get away from everybody”? Most of us have felt that way some time and have possibly needed and deserved a rest. We must not permit that feeling to so color our thinking, however, that we lose our interest in men and women, boys and girls. Jesus had His times of prayer and quiet communion with the Father, but for the most part we find Him out among people. He loved them and consequently dealt faithfully with them, showing tenderness to those who needed it, and often being severely plain and direct in dealing with those who were hypocrites. . He valued human personality highly, hence He gave Himself in sacrificial devotion to winning, guiding, controlling and, above all, saving men. The lesson presents some interesting contrasts. I. How and Hovy Not to Use the 'Sabbath (vv. 1-6). a Jesus was at a formal gathering with invited guests (v. 7) in one of the chief houses of the community, 6n the Sabbath Day. That such a gathering was held on that day was a sign of the degeneracy of the age. “The same thing is being done on Sunday by Christian people today, They go to church (if convenient) in the morning and devote the afternoon and evening to recreation and social” occasions. We agree with Dr. Morgan that “the whole thing is a sign of spiritual .decadence.” That’s how not to spend the day of rest and worship. Another wrong thing was that they used the occasion to try to entrap Jesus. He was at the feast, not to “have a good time,” but to minister to their spiritual needs. They brought the sick man in to; tempt Jesus to heal on the Sabbath Day, He used their trickery to condemn them and to silence them (vv. 4,6). Declaring God’s truth and His love for man by worship and by work for Him—that is the right way to use the Lord’s Day. Let’s get back to its proper observance. 11. What and What Not to Do for Advancement (vv. 7-11). Getting ahead, even at the expense of others, seems to have been quite the thing in our Lord’s time, as it is today. Looking at that smug, selfsatisfied crowd of “grabbers,” Jesus made good use of His presence at the feast to expose their folly and selfishness. Again we agree with Dr Morgan that one should not “try for the chief seat. Why not? Because the place of honor is for the honorable man; and a man who struggles to sit in the place of honor proves thereby that he is not an honorable man.” Think it over! The way up in spiritual things is always down. Humility, which is so despised by the world, is precious in the sight of God, and will be rewarded by Him. The principle stated in verse 11 is and always will be true. The young man or woman who really wants to get ahead will do well to let it control both thought and deed. It is a far better rule for the New Year than any resolution you may have made—and probably forgotten by ‘now. 111. Who and Who Not to Invite for Dinner (vv. 12-14), Is the Lord interested in such a matter as that? Indeed He is! Everything about life concerns Him, and, as a matter of fact, this \s a very important point. Here an attitude toward life is revealed which is vital and fundamental. Hospitality is a virtue highly regarded by the Bible (see such pas L sages as Rom. 12:13; I Tim. 3;2; Titus 1:8; I Pet. 4:9). To debase it by asking only thpse whom we expect will ask us in return, is ; really to destroy it. It is not hospitality at all to limit our invitations to those who invite us. Obviously we are not to cut them off simply be L cause they do ask us. That is not the point. We are not to let that be the controlling factor. Ask those who cannot pay you back, if you really want to get a blessing out of it. There is so much need in the world that we who follow Christ have little time to spend merely entertaining those who have no need. God will recompense. Dr. J. W. Bradbury in The Gist of the Lesson well says, “There is a good reason not to seek recompense here; there are more enduring and valuable recompenses hereafter (Matt. 6:1-6, 16-18). When we get no recompense here for the good we do, we ought rather to rejoice than be sad. It assures better recompense hereafter.” He goes on to say, “The professing church has often followed the world’s method rather than Christ’s (James 2:1-6).” Sad—but true. What shall we do about it?