The Gifts of the Spirit. With what is St. Barnabas said to have been endued? (Collect.) What is the character given of him in the Acts of the Apostles? (Acts xi. 24.) Shew that the miraculous gifts of the Spirit were given for the confirmation of the Gospel. (Acts xiv. 3.) Might these miraculous gifts be possessed without saving grace? xiii. 1-2.) (Matt. vii. 22-3. 1 Cor. Shew that the gifts of the Spirit were given for the edification of the Church. xiv. 12.) (1 Cor. For what gifts do we pray in the Collect, and how do we pray that we may use them? How does our Lord encourage us to pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit? (Luke xi. 13.) Why is the manifestation of the Spirit given? (1 Cor. xii. 7.) Shew that, by the Holy Spirit, Christians are enabled to pray—to persevere in the faith—to speak the word with boldness,- —are upheld and strengthened, and are qualified for offices in the Church. (Rom. viii. 26. 2 Tim. i. 14, and 6-7. Rom. xv. 13. Luke xxiv. 49.) The Office and Character of St. John the Baptist. What was there remarkable in the birth of John the Baptist? (Luke i. 5-21, and 57-64.) Whose way was he sent to prepare, and how was he to prepare it? (Collect.) How was this foretold by Isaiah and Malachi ? (Isaiah xl. 3. Mal. iii. 1.) How was he called to this office? (Luke iii. 2.) How did he fulfil it? (Matt. iii. 1-12. John i. 35-6.) By whom was our Lord baptized? (Matt. iii. 13-15.) What remarkable circumstances attended it? (Matt. iii. 16-17.) What character did our Lord give of John the Baptist? (Matt. xi. 11.) Shew his humility. (Matt. iii. 11.) How and on what occasion was he put to death? (Matt. xiv. 6-12.) In the Collect, what do we pray for grace to do? Feeding the Flock of Christ. To what does our Lord compare himself, and to what does he compare his people, in John x. 14-15? What does David say on this subject in the 23rd Psalm ? What is said on the same subject in Ezek. xxxiv. 11-16? What name is applied to ministers? What is said to them in this character, in the service for ordaining priests? How do we pray that they may feed the flock of Christ? (Collect.) With what are we to desire to be fed? (1 Peter ii, 2.) In what sacrament is Christ said to be our "spiritual food and sustenance?" What command did St. Peter receive respecting the flock of Christ? (John xxi. 15-17.) Was there a special command respecting the lambs of the flock? (John xxi. 15.) How did our Lord declare his good-will towards them? (Mark x. 13-16.) Leaving all for Christ. When St. James was called by our Lord, what (Collect.-Matt. iv. 21-2. Luke did he do? v. 11.) What do we pray, in the Collect, that we may forsake and be ever ready to follow? Did the young man mentioned in Matt. xix. 1622, follow the example of St. James? What was the command and promise which our Lord gave him? (Matt. xix. 21.) Was he willing to leave all for Christ? xix. 22-3.) (Matt. How did Abraham act when God commanded him to leave his country, kindred, and father's house? (Gen. xii. 1-4. Heb. xi. 8.) Can we be Christ's disciples if we are unwilling to leave all for him? (Matt. x. 37-8.) What is promised to those who resign all for Christ? (Mark x. 29-30.) Can any earthly advantage make up our loss, if we are tempted thereby not to give up all for Christ's sake, and at God's command? (Mark viii. 36-7.) Love of the Word. In the Collect, what great blessing do we ask for the Church? Shew that the Scriptures are the Word of God. (1 Thess. ii. 13.) Prove that they are the ground of our faith. (Rom. x. 17.) What were the Psalmist's feelings respecting the Word of God? (Psalm cxix. 97 and 111. Shew that the Word is to be treasured up in the heart. (Psalm cxix. 11.) Shew that the Christian delights in the Word, and meditates upon it. (Psalm i. 2.) What value did the Psalmist set on the Scriptures? (Psalm xix. 10.) Shew that the possession of the Scriptures is to be regarded as a great privilege. (Rom. iii. 2.) To whom must we look for a right understanding of the Word of God? (John xvi. 13. 1 Cor. ii. 12.) |