The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1896-05-01
The Sunday School Institute.

The following essay was written by
Mrs. Minnie Walker of Santa Fe, and
read before the Sunday-School Institute
Wednesday April %, and was unani-
mously requested for publications;
DEVOTIONAL PREPARATION FOR CLASS
RECITATION.
Our first duty in preparing the Sun
day-school lesson is to find out what is
in the lesson for us as teachers. If we
find great lesson truths for us as indi-
viduals and ask God to help us be bene-
fitted by them, and to live them in our
every day lives, we are better prepared
to ask his direction and guidance in
preparing the lesson for others. If l
begin preparing my lesson on Sunday
afternoon for the next Sunday and try
each dav during the week to live the
great truths, how much better / am
fitted to bring those same truths or
lessons home to each member of my
class on Sunday morning?
We should ask for Gods help in
applying the lesson to each member of
the class. Study the class as individu-
ais, know their surroundings, and find
something that will be especially
adapted to each one. My class is made
up OF ladies from fifty years down to
comfort and encouragement to the tired
hungry soul may be as nothing to the
young girl who may need lesson of
more piety, or perfect obedience, or
more earnestness, and my plan is to
ask Divine guidance in making suitable
application of each great lesson truth to
the individual who may most need the
lesson. If we have studied the lesson
with that prayer in our hearts and have
first asked for the lesson to be brought
home to us as teachers, then we are bet
ter prepared to use them as God wants
us to.
In remembering our class at a throne
of grace let us single out each member
to the Lord and pray for a blessing on
each one, and not just simply as class.
When we greet each one as they may
come in ON Sunday morning, and as we
look into the face we may see yearn-
ing for some great lesson of faith in one,
desire for more knowledge in another,
discouraged look in another, and per-
haps don't care look in another, how
much we feel the need of a prayerful
preparation of the lesson in order to
find something helpful for all.
We need to feel our inability and
weakness and fall humbly at our dear
Redeemer's feet for knowledge and
hears and answers the prayers of teach
ers in behalf of their classes. l have
tried the plan l am trying to give you.
Have found verses in the lesson that |
thought some certain one could use and
asked that one to read the verse. Then
asked what it contained for them.
Perhaps some one may say you are too
personal, but with Gods help | don't
think we can make it so.
While my subject calls only for the
preparation of the recitation, allow me
to dwell just little on the recitation
| Our first duty is to be there on time and
ready to greet each one as they may
come in. When time comes for the
recitation begin at once and don't allow
time for conversation to be carried on,
for the time is precious and we need to
use each moment of it in Gods service
Don't allow one or more to disturb the
class with whispering. You may make
prayerful preparation of the lesson
and then one thoughtless girl or boy
man or woman, may take away the in
terest of the whole lesson by some need
J less conversation. If every one could
be impressed with the lesson of con
Quoting themselves properly in the
house of God there would be no need OF
this caution. Keep perfect order in
your class even if you have to reprovt
some one and ruffle their feelings
a little. Better do that than lose preciou:
time that does not belong to us. | trus
/ have helped some one in this grea
work. | ask Gods blessings on all o.
you. Yours in christian work,
MINNIE c. WALKER.