Adult Christian Life: October- December 2020

By R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation

Adult Christian Life is a best-selling quarterly study guide that is specially written for practical adult life experiences. These lessons provide clear, biblical interpretations and stimulating discussions for everyday living.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.H. Boyd Publishing Corporation
• Release date: Sep 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781681677613

Book preview

Seeking God’s Guidance

Suggested Opening Exercises

1. Usual Signal for Beginning

2. Prayer

(Closing with the Lord’s Prayer)

3. Singing (Song to Be Selected)

4. Scripture Reading:

Psalm 100 (KJV)

Director: Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

School: Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Director: Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

School: Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

All: For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Recitation in Concert:

James 3:3–8 (KJV)

3 Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.

4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.

5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:

8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

CLOSING WORK

1. Singing

2. Sentences:

Isaiah 9:6–10 (KJV)

6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

8 The LORD sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.

9 And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,

10 The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones: the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars.

3. Dismissal with Prayer

A TRUE FRIEND INTERVENES

RESOURCES: New National Baptist Hymnal 21st Century Edition, Boyd’s Commentary for the Sunday School

KEY VERSE: And Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father, and said unto him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David; because he hath not sinned against thee, and because his works have been to thee-ward very good. 1 Samuel 19:4, KJV

Intro

You’ve probably heard the phrase caught between a rock and a hard place. The idiom perfectly describes the conundrum in which Prince Jonathan found himself in this lesson. Jonathan was caught between the rock of his father’s wrath and the hard place of doing right by his friend David. Certainly this dilemma is relatable for most people. The trinity of our moral compass, love, and the inner urging of the Holy Spirit often posits us between the proverbial rock and hard place, which is where we meet Jonathan. In this epic saga of friendship, the words of the writer of Proverbs ring out as clear as a dinner bell to hungry ears. A friend is devoted at all times and a brother is born to share adversity (Prov. 17:17, JSB). Today we will learn a true friend intervenes and how they intervene.

As you explore today’s lesson, the themes that will emerge are family, the roles and responsibilities of parents to their children, the roles and responsibilities of children to their parents, and changing values along generational lines. However, we will concentrate on friendship and the ways in which God can use those relationships. Through the pen of the prophet Samuel, we are given a front-row seat to see the handiwork of God manifesting itself through human friendship. We are left to ponder what wonderful and divine blessings God may want to deposit into our lives through our friendships today.

Think About It

When was your love for your friends strong enough that you were willing to take a stand, even when it was difficult? Have you ever been like that old childhood maxim that states, I’ll be your friend through thick and thin, but if nine jump on you, I’ll make ten?

1. A King on the Warpath (1 Samuel 19:1)

Know It

Here we find an angry and sorely vexed king fueled by the kind of rage that can come only from jealousy. In the previous chapter, we read a saga of Saul’s growing contempt and jealousy for David that would make even the seediest tabloid television show green with envy. Saul was jealous because David had been successful and Saul’s subjects didn’t just know it, they showed it by making up songs about David’s success (18:7). What was worse was that even Saul’s children took strong likings to David—first Jonathan, whose soul knit with David’s (18:1), and then Michal. Ironically, Michal is the first woman in Scripture recorded as loving a man (18:20), which suggests she was head over hills for the courtyard rock star and giant-slayer David. That was enough to rev up the jealous wrath of the king.

Saul made several attempts to rid himself of David. Saul threw a spear at him (18:11), put him on the front line of battle (18:13), reneged on a marriage arrangement (18:17–19), and sent him on a suicide mission into enemy territory (18:25). All of these attempts to sabotage and sink the rising star were rendered unsuccessful and, worse yet, made David even more popular. No wonder by the time we meet Saul in this text he was out for blood and wanted David dead. However, what truly made this tragic for Saul was that he realized Yahweh was with David (18:28). Yet Saul, the king of Israel, failed to realize that when the King of eternity has favored an individual, no earthly power can derail what God already has set in motion for this person.

It is good to know as the anointed children of God that God has the final say regardless of how jealousy and fear co-opt others who may be planning and aiming for our downfall. His yes is louder than all of their attempts to sabotage what God wants to do in us!

2. The Responsibilities of a Friend (1 Samuel 19:2–5)

Jonathan’s actions stand as a sterling example of what godly friendship looks like. As soon as he heard about the danger David was facing, he immediately sprang to action. We will examine closely what friendship in action looks like.

Friends warn other friends of imminent and approaching danger. In verse 2, Jonathan warned David of the threat upon his life. As friends, we have the obligation to warn our friends when they are headed toward destruction. Conversely, we also see through the actions of David