The Oskaloosa herald., 1911-11-09

the teacher will find a ready appre-
citation when she draws forth the
truths contained in the lessons.
Many teacher has been discour-
aged when asking the simplest ques.
tions relating to Bible passages or
events to find that the scholars are
thoroughly ignorant with regard to
them. Her time is too limited to
repeat the same over and over again.
and this to find that they are lost.
The parent can thus greatly aid the
teacher in laying a foundation upon
which she can build and bring home
the truths contained in the lessons.
The parents should not only teach
the simple stories of the Bible, but
at an early stage communicate to the
child the destructive doctrines con-
tanned in the Word of God. In for.
mer days there was custom in
nearly all the churches to catechise
the children. This was done by the
pastor who would meet all the chill
dren of his parish once week to in.
struct them in the doctrines of the
word of God, This is still the Gus
tom In our Holland churches. The
parents would then prepare the chill.
dren for the catechism class. The
home thus becomes a training school
for the church.
Further, the parent is responsible
that the child shall have a Holy rev.
erence for sacred things. The Sab
bath should be day of service to
God and not day of recreation and
pleasure. We would not reinstate
the Puritanic Sabbath, but we do
maintain that much of the Sabbath
Dissertation is due to the lack of ear
ly home training. The child should
also learn to keep the Sabbath day
holy and be restrained from frivil-
GUS pastimes and evil associations.
Attendance upon divine service in
the house of God Is sorely neglected.
The S. S. has in many instances TAX
en- the place of public worship and the
child Is taught that the regular
preaching service is for the older
folks and the s. S. is the childrens'
service.
The parent is greatly to blame for
this tendency of weaving the child
from the attendance upon divine
worship.
We would also point to the great
Importance of the regular and stated
seasons of family prayer where the
fathar chalI coll around hin, oil pf
the members of the household, even
to the child on mothers knee, and
hold short service of prayer reading
of a portion of scriptures and if need
be added a few explanatory remarks
and leading in, prayer.
The family altar is many home cir.
cles thing unknown. The blessed
and hallowed influence of this old
time custom has been the most help
full to the church and the Sunday
school in installing reverence for all
the means of grace. In this busy and
hustling world in which we live there
seems to be little time and inclination
for such devotional exercises and So
cial life seems to crush out all desire
to set apart brief time for family
devotion and prayer.
Let us no" look at some encourage
ments which we are apt to forget.
The world God commands.
The word OF God is fun Of encouT-
agements and directions in regard to
family religion and training. We
need none of us to feel we are pre-.
Stunning in any efforts that we may
make to lead our children to the
Savior and training them for the
church and the Sunday school, no one
is made to feel that God would not
welcome His children also. On this
point we cannot apply the commands
of Scripture to the wrong family. We
cannot forget the wrong child in any
everyone may and should bring up
his children in the nature and ad-
monition of the Lord.
A lady it is said, once told Arch.
bishop Sharpe that she would not
communicate religious instruction to
her children until they had grown up
to years of discretion. She received
an answer from the prelate no less
true than blunt, as he replied Mad
am, if you do not teach them the
Devil will"
The work to which every parent
Is thus commanded is full of promise.
1t has the promise of nature. Most
training when wisely and persevering.
ly pursued does succeed. The obedi-
ent vine and tree which yield to the
gardner, the dog who learns from the
sheppard, the horse and OK that learn
to obey their trainers all these preach
encouragement.
If the Christian training of children
be more difficult it has to meet that,
the higher stimulus of the promise of
God.
God co-operates with the pious par.
ent. We are workers together with
God. The promises are to us and to
ours also. If we are Christian parents |
and if We have not that necessary
qualification our first duty is to seek |
Christianity for ourselves. Do we go
to this work feeling as We do it, that
God works with us?
The work has an eternal and glor- |