MR. ALCOTT. And does the study of his Conscience enlighten yours? ANDREW. Yes. MR. ALCOTT. Is there any one word that means and includes Conscience in you, in Jesus Christ, and in God? ONE. Spirit. Mr. Alcott then read the Before the Vulgar Era, 26. Julian Period, 4739. Bethabara. In the road to * Gen. iii. 15. † Ps. xvi. 9, 10, FIRST DISCIPLES OF JESUS. Faith. JOHN i. 35, to the end. 35 Again, the next day after, John stood, and two of his disciples; 36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou? 39 He said unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day; for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the Son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone. 43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. 44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile ! Before the Vulgar Era, 26. Julian Period, 4739. In the road to & xxxvii. 25. Dan. ix. 24. Mic. vii. 20. Mal. iii. 1. & iv. 2. Faith in Spirit. 48 Nathanael said unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. 50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. AUGUSTINE. They followed him because they thought "Lamb of God" inust mean Christ. GEORGE K. think they did not mean that he should turn and speak to them; they wanted to see him do some miracles. LEMUEL. So do I. MR. ALCOTT. Then you do not think they followed in faith, but from curiosity? What are the greatest WELLES. I think they had faith. They did not follow to see things with their eyes, but to be made better. JOHN B. So I think; they wanted him to teach them to be better; though they liked to see miracles. FREDERIC. They expected every thing good. MR. ALCOTT. How many of you have faith in all good people, and believe some good thing will come from their influence? (Many.) EMMA. I think their faith was the true faith. MR. ALCOTT. Who think they have faith in goodness, or true faith; and who would have more faith in something which came to their eyes as extraordinary? ONE. We ought to have more faith in goodness, but we do not always. MR. ALCOTT. Do you think that all instruction comes from Goodness? ALL. Yes. MR. ALCOTT. Would your faith in Jesus have been increased, had you seen him doing miracles? CHARLES. No; I think we believe in Jesus more than those people could, because we knew all they knew, and more too. (Every scholar spoke on this question intelligently; expressing the Idea that true Faith was excited by the inward rather than by any external manifestation.) Example. MR. ALCOTT. Why did they want to know where he dwelt? CHARLES. They wanted to observe his habits, to see how he acted, so as to do so too. They wanted to hear him talk, so as to think as he did. MR. ALCOTT. He said "Come and see." FREDERIC. They must live with him, to get the knowledge they could get in no other way, so they "abode with him that day." ELLEN. He wanted to encourage them to be his disciples. MR. ALCOTT. What feeling made him say, and see "? SEVERAL. Hospitality. ness. Kindness. Affection. Gentlemanliness. "Come Polite (Mr. Alcott remarked on the true meaning of the word gentleman.) MR. ALCOTT. What do you think they talked of that day? SEVERAL. They talked about religion; about Spirit. They asked where he came from; what he would do. Affability. MR. ALCOTT. How were the manners of SEVERAL. Gentle. Graceful. Full of bright smiles. Cheerful. Sweet. MR. ALCOTT. What manners do you think Christianity, that is, the thoughts and feelings that were in Jesus Christ, would give every one? Do you think that if a child grew up as gentle as Jesus, as respectful to the old, as tender to every companion, without ill temper, indolence, or want of feeling, he would be graceful and polite? (He enlarged, and they responded affirmatively.) So they passed the time delightfully. Do you think that you ever had any such time? Idea of Idea of and Sermons. SEVERAL. Yes; these Conversations on OTHERS. In good ministers' talk. OTHERS. In sermons. ONE. Some sermons are dry. MR. ALCOTT. Who have delightful ideas and feelings about ministers? (Almost all held up hands.) How many take great pleasure in hearing sermons ? EMMA. Dr. Channing is so easy to understand. says. Fraternal Affection. I never understand all that any minister MR. ALCOTT. Why did Andrew go and find Peter? EMMA. him to hear too. Because he loved him, and wanted MR. ALCOTT. Do you think Andrew was a good brother? SEVERAL. Yes. Kind. Generous. Affectionate. CHARLES. He had faith that Jesus was Christ. MR. ALCOTT. What does Christ mean? Names of Jesus. CHARLES. GGORGE K. Saviour. MR. ALCOTT. Messiah. What does Saviour mean? CHARLES. One who saves you from sin. MR. ALCOTT. JESUS (the Hebrew word) means, he saves; EMMANUEL means, God present; CHRIST means, annointed with oil; MESSIAH means, a Messenger sent. Emblem of Why did Jesus call Simon a Stone? AUGUSTINE and ANDREW. Stone represents GEORGE B. Courage. LEMUEL. Courage to suffer. NATHAN and LUCIA. Because he was strong. FREDERIC. No; it was because he was hard-hearted and would deny Jesus. EMMA. Peter seemed often to speak without thinking, but this is no emblem of that. CHARLES. Peter always spoke true to his feelings. MR. ALCOTT. Why did Jesus call Philip? MR. ALCOTT. What did Philip mean by what he said to Nathanael? CHARLES. He wanted Nathanael to have the same advantages of instruction. Guilelessness. MR. ALCOTT. What was meant by "an SEVERAL. Honest. Unpretending. Not hypocritical. |