Arizona republican., 1914-10-03
THE WONDERFUL GROWTH OF
 AMERICAS SUNDAY SCHOOL

work as for preaching" Again he says,-"Many colleges are putting in courses for Sunday school workers. The great favor with which they have been received will probably cause them to be required in even more institutions than at present" Our theological schools and colleges are assisting in the pre- paration of teachers and officers for the Sunday school Let us not neglect our teacher training classes for the l young folks of the Sunday school, and a week. night class for the training of | our teachers and officers.
 And while we emphasize the mental l equipment, let us not forget the spirit | ual equipment. Truly, the heart forces 1 are the strongest and most important 1 Every Christian should, and every Sun i 1 day school teacher must keep the fire burning on the altar of private deVo- tion, by means of the morning watch" or the quiet hour. Let God talk to you | fifteen minutes each day, by prayer fully reading His Word. You talk to God fifteen minutes each day, then you
 talk for God fifteen minutes each day in personal work.
 Further, I wish the teachers and of ficers of every school could get to-
 gether for a short consecration service
 before each Sunday session.
 I was much impressed by a union prayer and consecration service which I attended in the City of Brotherly Love
 one year ago This meeting had been
 held every Saturday evening for fifteen
 years, and was very spiritual If the
 teachers of one or more schools would
 meet for an hour of prayer and study
 of the lesson each Saturday evening, I
 am sure they would be better prepared
 to lead souls into the Kingdom on Sun
 day.
 We would like to see every pastor at
 the right hand of his superintendent
 during the opening exercises of the
 school. We need you. And how can
 we carry forward the campaign, en-
 rolling every church member in some
 department of the Sunday school, with
 out your helpful presence?
 Not only tenth of our money but one day in seven should be wholly given to the Lords service. May I il- lustrate? On Sunday morning, Au- gust 31st, 1913, being in Philadelphia went out to Bethany church. I was in time to hear the great layman, the Hon. John Wanamaker, tell how he arose before daylight sixty miles away and leaving Atlantic City in the haze and mist of early twilight, had turned bic ar1 Ia said he found many machines leaving Philadelphia, but his was about the only one headed for the city. Good and
 inspiring words fell from MT Wana-
 makers lips during the day, but the
 morning drive above related, his active
 part in the prayer circle and in the de-
 votiOnal session of the Brotherhood
 which followed, then at the preaching service, seated among his men, who
 come largely from the laboring class, in , the afternoon teaching two large Bible
 classes, one at Bethany, and the other at the Church of Christ, where about a thousand laboring men sit under the teaching of MT. Wanamaker, all this } constituted a day of Christian service, , which was an object lesson to me, and which I think you could not duplicate } in the life of any other leading layman, } especially during the summer season, } and at twenty-seven years of age. This recalls to me Isaiah 5S: 13, 14: If thou } turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my Holy / Day; and shalt honor me, not doing
 thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and l feed thee with the heritage of Jacob,
 thy father: for the mouth of the Lord ? hath spoken it.
 = In closing l would suggest that on the morning of November third, our
 Sunday schools hold union sunrise l prayer meetings in every town. For : we have had Gods leadership in all
 this great temperance campaign, and 9 as in olden times he increased his s lpeople greatly, and made them stronger 9 than their enemies" so God will 9 strengthen us if we work and pray and : trust S w. w WILKINSON