People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 February 1897 — THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.

LESSON IX. FEB. 28— ACTS 8: 117 —DISCIPLES DISPERSED. Golden Text: “They That Were Scattered Abroad Went Everywhere Preaching the World’’—From Acta, Chapter 8, Verse 4 —The Good Samaritans.

(frmj N the summer of 37 Jril A" t * le events yyjm I here related took S./M1 place. Places, Jeru*/M\ salem and Samaria. \ The text of the les ' J -J son follows: 1. And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jeru-

salem; and they were &U scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2. -And devout men carried Stephen to hl3 burial, and made great lamentation over him. 3. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house and hailing men and women, committed them to prison. 4. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching 4 the word. 5. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. 6. And the people with one accord gave heed Unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them; and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. 8. And there was great joy in that city. 9. But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: 10. To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying. This man is the great power of God. 11. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. 12. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13. Then Simon himself believed also; and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. 14. Now when the , apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: 15. Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost.

HINTS TO THE TEACHER.

The lesson opens with the picture of the Persecutor. 1. He was sincere. Saul's fierce and apparently bloodthirsty conduct is set in Its true light by such statements as Acts 23, 1; Acts 2fi, 9, 10; 1 Tim. 1, 12, 13. Such bigots have been seen In every age, honest, but mistaken. Such was the spirit of Dominic, of Calvin against Servetus, of the Puritans in New England. 2. He was intense, because it was his nature to be earnest in everything. Saul, like Paul, could do nothing by halves. What aroused the persecution was the doctrine, launched by Stephen, that Jews and Gentiles were to become one in the Gospel. 3. He was, nevertheless, fighting against conviction. What were “the pricks" against which he was kicking (Acts 9,5) but a feeling which he could not overcome, that Stephen was right, that Jesus was the Christ, and that the salvation was for all men? The next picture is that of the Church. The time to estimate a church or a character is not when it is prosperous, but when it is in the midst of trial. Notice here the traits of a true Christianity. 1. It has growth—germinative power; it propa-'. gates itself. It is a seed which springs up wherever it is dropped, whether in Judea. Samaria, or Antioch; in America or in Japan. 2. It has breadth. Verses 5, 6. It overcomes the prejudices of race and nation, breaks the bonds of sect, and brings Jews and Samaritans into one fellowship. 3. It has powei'. Verse 7. The physical miracles of the apostolic qg« were pictures of its spiritual working In all ages. Even now the Gospel drives out unclean spirits and gives power to the impotent. 4. It brings Joy. Verse 8. Every truly converted soul tastes the Joy of salvation, and has within a fountain of happiness. 5. It has discipline. Verses 14-16. The Church was a unit, whether in Judea or Samaria. It recognized the central authority of the apostles, and submitted to it. The last picture is that of Simon the Sorcerer, showing the traits' of a false Christianity. We need not waste much time in the profitless inquiry about Simon’s powers, which were not unlike those of so-called “mediums" nowadays. 1. Even in the true Church, and in its purest days, there was a false disciple, Simon, among the disciples; and, bplieving after a fashion, he was not altogether a hypocrite. 2. He was a Christian in form, a baptized member, but not in heart and life. He carried worldly aims and methods into the Church. 3. He supposed that other disciples were on his own plane, and offered money to the apostles to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit. His spirit was that of selfish ambition, seeking power over men, rather than power with God.