The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1899-01-13
THE VOICE OF THE NEW YEAR.
To Sunday School Teachers.

renecGl0n. Let every Sunday school
teacher begin the year by spending a
little time in solemn inquiry, What
personal acquaintance have 1 with
Christ as my personal Saviour
l. We are aware there are teachers
who have engaged rather under the in
fuence of others, than because they felt
constraint to it by the love of Christ. A
young person of amiable disposition
may be easily persuaded to teach class
in Sunday school, even without per-
sonal knowledge of Christ There may
be some again who have commenced
the work under feeling of religious
excitement, or under some strong i'm
pressions and convictions on the subject
OF rel gion, and now those convictions
have subsidized and those impressions
have died away, and although they do
not experience the same feeling Of in
terest in this work, yet they are ashamed
to withdraw from it, Please ask your
self this question at the beginning of
this year, Am l really disciple of
Christi"
II Assuming that you are truly a
child of God, ask yourself whether the
tone of your piety is deepening; whether
your apprehensions of the truth are
more lively; whether you are entering
more fully into the spirit of the religion
which you profess; whether you have
more enjoyment of God in communion
with Him through faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ? Have you felt this in
your heart?
III. Is your employment as Sun
day school teacher conducive, as it may
be with the Lords blessing, ITO the
furtherance of the work Of grace in your
own hearth"
". How short space of time com
paratively is allotted each Sunday for
the great work in which you are en-
gagged and therefore how necessary that
you should go before your class well
prepared to improve every moment.
The whole of that time ought to be i'm
proved in advancing in some way the
spiritual interests of those under your
care. You are not to amuse them but
instruct First gain their attention;
remember this is not the end however,
but it ought only to be the means by
which some spiritual lesson may be en-
forced on their consciences and find its
way to their heart.
Twas astonished and grieved not long
ago while visiting the primary depart
ments of one of our large schools in this
city, to notice the lack of discipline,
although there were several ladies in
the room-li little boys whistling aloud
and scuffiing with each other. 1t is in
the primary room where children ought
to be taught the propriety of being rev.
rent in Gods house.
1 will refer to our foreign Sunday
schools again. If they can maintain or
der even among their young, why can
not the American people, Foreign
children are composed of flesh and
blood. Teach our little buds of promise
reverence In Sunday school-teach them
it pleases the Lord. Order is Heaven s
first law, and half the battle is won 1t
is the part of the Sunday school teacher
to try and show all that is acquired
may be sanctifed and used to the glory
of God in His service. rs this your
aim?'
V. We all have much cause for
humiliation and ESTABLISHMENT before
God, in reviewing our work of the past
year. How much has been left undone;
how much spoiled through our manner
of doing it; how little of the Spirit be-
coming us have we attained after all
our experience. In the sight of God we
must remember that we must look up
on ourselves as called of Him, and
therefore, whatever is deficient or care
less in us is sin before Him Do you
realize this?
VI, Last. The one thing needed in
all our Sunday schools and young peo-
pies societies, is Spiritual Life. God
will give His spirit to those that ask
Him. Without Him all our efforts will
prove fatal. Without Gods Holy
Spirit, instruments may be used, new
machines may be set in motion We
may contrive and devise every kind of
method for the furtherance of the OBJ
ject in view, but all our efforts will not
effect the salvation of one soul, yet
whenever we come short of saving souls
we fail in the grand result Obi that
there might be spirit of fervent, earn
est, effectual prayer called forth among
us; that there would be cause for graft
tude and we might take new courage
What will each individual and each
church and Sunday school of Blue Earth
county do to make our next county Sun
day school convention spiritual sue
cess as well as full house as becomes
the cause, so we whose hearts are in the
work will not have to be ashamed for
those who act as though they cared and