Morning Exercises in Our Church-Schools by C. H. Countryman

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Tacoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 3, 1908

Morning Exercises in Our Church-Schools

By C. H. Countryman

The purpose of this article is to suggest how the morning exercises in our church-schools may be made interesting and profitable to the youth who are seeking a Christian education.

In order to maintain the interest of the school in this part of the daily exercise, we must make changes—not every day or every two days, but at least once a week. Our children, as it was said of Timothy, should know the Scriptures from their youth; but how may the morning exercises be made a factor in obtaining this desired end?

In the first place the children of Seventh-day Adventist parents should know in their simplest form the truths which we hold dear. Suppose we devote one week of each month to the consideration of some Bible topic, making an outline, or short reading. Our first would be on the “Word of God.” This exercise, if rightly conducted, may be made very interesting. The children will enjoy looking up the texts at home; and after the weekly study is properly arranged in logical form, they should be requested to copy them in a note-book, for future reference and review. Written tests add greatly to the interest of the exercise, and should be given once a month. So we pass on, devoting the first week of every month to a short reading, which should be so impressed upon the average child’s mind that he can, when out selling papers, talk to the people if they ask questions concerning the truth, giving reasonable answers. At the end of a year we have completed the subjects of Christ’s Second Coming; the New Earth, the Sabbath, the Resurrection, the Destruction of the Wicked, and Justification by Faith, all of these having been presented simply.

Another very important exercise which can be employed with much benefit to those instructed, is the learning of chapters in the Bible, such as Psalms 1, 13, 19, 23, and 91; also Isaiah 55. These are all excellent chapters for this purpose, and will prove a great blessing to the school.

The third week of each month can be very profitably employed in looking up, for instance, scriptures concerning the hand, ear, tongue, eye, different animals, birds, hail and frost, rivers, and many other things in nature, besides having readings from the book, “Ministry of Healing.”

Some profitable study should be assigned to the fourth week of the month. The miracles of the Old and New Testaments may be dwelt upon, such as Elijah’s and Elisha’s deeds, the miracles of Christ, noticing the prophecies which relate to his work here on earth, his deeds of kindness, his healing, and illustrations from nature. The books, “Early Writings,” and “The Great Second Advent Movement,” are especially useful in this part of our school work.

C. H. COUNTRYMAN.