OPENING SERVICE - First Quarter, History Apostolic Church. NOTE. At the sound of the bell the school comes to order, and joins heartily in the following service. All business may be attended to either before the hour or after the lesson. From the beginning of worship to the close of the lesson, let nothing interrupt. 1. OPENING SENTENCES. Superintendent. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, School. Thy testimonies are wonderful: Therefore doth my soul keep them. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 2. OPENING HYMN: Saviour, Like a Shepherd Lead us. Saviour, like a shepherd lead us, Thou hast bought us, thine we are. We are thine, do thou befriend us, Hear thy children when they pray. 3. PRAYER, closing with the Lord's Prayer, in unison. 4. GLORIA PATRI. (School standing.) 5. RESPONSIVE READING, selected passages. (School standing.) Supt. O come, let us sing unto the LORD: Sch. Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Supt. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, Sch. Let us make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. Supt. I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; Supt. And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD: Sch. It shall rejoice in his salvation. Supt. Let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God: Supt. I have set the LORD always before me: Sch. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Supt. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: Sch. My flesh also shall dwell in safety. Supt. Thou wilt shew me the path of life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; Sch. In thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. 6. SONG. (Selected.) 7. ANNOUNCEMENTS. 8. THE SCRIPTURE READING FOR THE DAY. See Lessons. It is recommended that the Biblical Catechism be occasionally read responsively in place of the Scripture Selection for the day. 9. REPETITION OF THE GOLDEN TEXT, in unison. 19. STUDY OF THE LESSONS. A A BIBLICAL CATECHISM. A Brief Outline of the History and Teachings of the Apostolic Church in Questions and Answers, the Answers Being in the Words of Scripture. It is recommended that the answers connected with each lesson be committed to memory when the lesson is learned, and that they be called for by the superintendent at the close of the Sunday-school each Sunday. These questions and answers may occasionally be read responsively in place of the regular Scripture reading at the opening of the school, if desired. 1. Superintendent, or Teacher. shortly before His Ascension? 66 What charge did Christ give His disciples School, or Class. 'Being assembled together with them, he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, ye heard from me: for John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." Acts 1: 4, 5. 2. What were His last command and promise to the disciples? "Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Acts 1: 8. 3. What wonderful gifts did the disciples receive at Pentecost? 66 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Acts 2:4. 4. How had this great event been foretold? "And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh : And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, And your old men shall dream dreams." Acts 2: 17. 5. What revelation did Peter make to the Jewish Council about Jesus Christ? 66 In none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved." Acts 4: 12. 6. How did the new life of the believers show itself in Jerusalem? : "The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul and not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common." Acts 4: 32. 7. How did the Apostles answer the command not to preach Christ? 66 Peter and the apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather than men." Acts 5: 29. 8. What was the substance of the early Apostolic preaching? "Every day, in the temple and at home, they ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus as the Christ." Acts 5:42. 9. What was Stephen's appearance as he stood before the Council? 66 All that sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." Acts 6: 15. 10. How did Stephen meet his death? 66 They stoned Stephen, calling upon the Lord, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Acts 7:59. II. How did the persecution that followed the death of Stephen affect the spread of the Gospel? 66 They therefore that were scattered abroad went about preaching the word." Acts 8: 4. 12. What revelation from heaven came to Saul near Damascus? 66 Suddenly there shone round about him a light out of heaven: and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." Acts 9: 3-5. 13. How was Saul's preaching an advance on that of the other Apostles? 66 Straightway in the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus, that he is the Son of God." Acts 9: 20. 14. What commission from God did Saul receive at Jerusalem? "He said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee forth far hence unto the Gentiles." Acts 22: 21. 15. What was revealed to Peter in the conversion of Cornelius? "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him." Acts 10: 34, 35. 16. What resulted from the preaching of Hellenists to Gentiles in Antioch? "The hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number that believed turned unto the Lord." Acts II: 21. 17. What is the central teaching of the Epistle of James? Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves." Jas. I: 22. 18. How does this Epistle describe a true Christian? “Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." Jas. 1: 27. 19. How did James sum up the relation of works to faith? "As the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead." Jas. 2:26. ABSTRACT OF LESSONS IN THE COURSE Note 1. INTRODUCTORY NOTES. THE PART TITLES. These are intended to define the leading periods in the growth of the Apostolic Church, and to indicate their distinguishing characteristics. Note 2.-THE LESSON TITLES AND SUB-TITLES. These have been prepared with great care. They are designed to show the successive steps in the progress of the history. This has been possible only approximately in Part V and in some portions of Part IV, where the exact date of the material is obscure and disputed. Note 3.-MEMORIZING THE LESSON TITLES AND SUB-TITLES. These are to be firmly fixed in memory. Where this is done the pupil will possess the framework of the entire history. Note 4.-THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE APOSTOLIC PERIOD. The Apostolic period begins with the year of our Lord's crucifixion, which in all probability occurred in A.D. 30, and closes with the death of the apostle John, about A.D. 100, but in the Acts and the epistles, notations of time are either absent altogether, or are only incidental and indefinite. Nearly all the dates accompanying these lessons must therefore be regarded as only approximate the best that can be given in the present condition of Biblical knowledge. PART AND LESSON TITLES. (Subject to Revision.) PART I. FROM THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST UNTIL THE DEATH OF STEPHEN: The Primitive Church in Jerusalem. A.D. 30-34 (see Note 4). LESSON I. INTRODUCTORY. The Disciples Tarrying in Jerusalem for the Prom(Acts, ch. 1. A.D. 30.) LESSON 2. THE OUTPOURING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Power from on High Received, and Multitudes Converted. (Acts, ch. 2. A.D. 30.) LESSON 3. THE HEALING OF THE LAME MAN, AND ITS RESULTS. The Beginning of Persecution. (Acts 3:1-4:31. A.D. 31.) LESSON 4. LIFE WITHIN THE CHURCH. The Community of Goods During the Early Years, and the Sin of Ananias and Sapphira. (Acts 4:32-5:11.) LESSON 5. THE APOSTLES ARRESTED AND BEATEN. The Renewal of Persecu tion. (Acts 5: 12-42. About A.D. 33.) LESSON 6. THE STONING OF STEPHEN. The Choice of the Seven, and the First Christian Martyr. (Acts, chs. 6, 7. About A.D. 34.) PART II. FROM THE DEATH OF STEPHEN UNTIL THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A GENTILE CHURCH IN ANTIOCH: The Church Spread Abroad through Persecution. A.D. 34-44 (see Note 4). LESSON 7. A GREAT PERSECUTION IN JERUSALEM, AND ITS IMMEDIATE RESULTS. The Gospel Carried to Samaria, and the Ethiopian Eunuch Converted. (Acts, ch. 8. About A.D. 34.) LESSON 8. THE CONVERSION OF SAUL. An Apostle to the Gentiles Called. (Acts 9:1-19a; comp. 22:4-16; 26:9-18; 1 Cor. 15:8-10; Gal. I: 15, 16a. About A.D. 35.) LESSON 9. SAUL'S PREPARATION FOR HIS FUTURE WORK. His Experiences in Damascus, Arabia, Judea, Syria, and Cilicia. (Acts 9:196–30; 22: 17-21; 2 Cor. 11: 32, 33; Gal 1:166-24. A.D. 35-42.) LESSON 10. THE CONVERSion of CornELIUS. The Vision of Peter, and the First Gentile Converts. (Acts 9:31-11: 18. About A.D. 40.) LESSON II. LESSON 12. THE ESTABLISHING OF A GENTILE CHURCH IN ANTIOCH. Further FAITH AND MORALS IN THE JEWISH CHURCHES. The Epistle of LESSON 13. REVIEW OF PARTS I, II: LESSONS 1-12. PART III. FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A GENTILE CHURCH IN ANTIOCH UNTIL THE CLOSE OF PAUL'S THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY: Paul's Missionary Journeys, and the Conflict Concerning the Relation of the Gentiles to the Jewish Law. A.D. 44-58 (see Note 4). LESSON 14. THE PERSECUTION BY HEROD. The Killing of James, the Brother of John, and the Miraculous Deliverance of Peter. (Acts 12:1-24. A.D. 44.) LESSON 15. CARRYING THE GOSPEL INTO CYPRUS AND ASIA MINOR. The Beginning of Paul's First Missionary Journey. (Acts, ch. 13. A.D. 45, 46.) LESSON 16. THE WORK IN ICONIUM, LYSTra and DerbE, AND THE RETURN TO SYRIA. The Continuation and Close of the First Missionary Journey. (Acts, ch. 14. A.D. 46–48.) LESSON 17. THE COUNCIL IN JERUSALEM. The Beginning of the Conflict Concerning the Gentiles and the Jewish Law. (Acts 15:1-35; Gal., ch. 2. A.D. 50 or 51.) LESSON 18. CARRYING THE GOSPEL INTO MACEDONIA. The Beginning of Paul's Second Missionary Journey. (Acts 15:36-16: 40. About A.D. 51.) LESSON 19. PREACHING IN THESSALONICA, BERCEA AND ATHENS. Paul's Work Continued in Macedonia, and Begun in Achaia. (Acts, ch. 17; I Thes. 2:1-12. About A.D. 52.) LESSON 20. THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH IN CORINTH, AND THE RETURN TO |