The Reformed Presbyterian Standard and also 0\ir ... - Rparchives.org

December 9, 1914.
A FAMILY PAPER.
E D I T O R I A L
John W. Pritchard, Editor.
The flyingyears reveal to us that a living friend
is more to be desired than tbe death of a foe.
Another reason why the purchasing public
should read an advertisement is that a merchant
who advertises does not have an opportunity to
keep anything on hand long enough for it to become
either shopworn or out-of-date.
Our Santa Claus is "St. Nicholas" in Holland,
"Samiklaus" in Switzerland, "Sonner Klas" in
Heliogoland, and "Kris Kringle" in Germany;
but "daddy" and "mom" in every land, and his
spirit ds always the spirit of the Christ who said,
'^Suffer the little children to come unto Me and
forbid them not."
There is a "Scrooge & Marley" in many another
city than London, with Marley dead and
Scrooge grinding on. Christmas as a holy day
we resent, but not Christmas as a holiday, whose
function it is to melt the hearts of the Scrooges
and send them clothed and in their right mind
on errands of mercy.
Some days appear to be so crowded with routine,
unbroken by anything unusual, as to have
nothing in them worthy of remembering or recording;
yet the apparently insignificant haippening
of such days not infrequently produce results
of immeasurable importance in one's life.
Only God can weigh our days.
Jack London in "John Barleycorn,'" says the
"down-and-outs" find refuge and a welcome in
the saloon which is always open; but he admits
that the saloon manufactures the "down-and-outs"
and that the main business of the saloon is the
same as other factories, which is to manufacture
its "product," not "house" it.
The cynical part of our world makes the charge
that of funds given to public charities, nine-tenths
are expended in "administration." Reversing the
proportions would bring the charge nearer the
truth; and in many of the smaller denominations
of 'Christians the people's gifts to the needy are
handled for very much less than one per cent.
A Mr. Lamar, called "the wolf of Wall Street,"
was last week tried In the Federal Court in this
city, convicted of impersonating certain Congressmen,
in conversations over the telephone,
for fraudulent purposes, and sentenced to two
years in jail. No one thinks the less of real
Congressmen because of this counterfeit one; but
when men and women impersonate Christians for
fraudulent purposes, shallow people reflect on
real Christians because of these 'counterfeits.
The question has often arisen as to the inconvenience
which our 'Church suffers by not
having a Board of Publication, but we are far better
ofl! than we realize. The majority of our congregations
have naturally adopted the Presbyterian
Board, with its many branches, and the
Board has proven itself a blessing to the Covenanter
iChurch, for they are supplying us with
our every need at practically a cost price, and
.still we are not asked for one penny for its general
up-keep. And there is not a more efficient
Board in the country today. It is the largest of
its kind and has a much larger variety of helps
for the Sabbath School, etc., 'than many of us
realize. In addition to their regular headquarters
in Philadelphia, they occupy an outside rooia
ten thousand feet square used just for the periodical
department. And besides their Philadelphia
offices, they have headquarters in New
York, Chicago, €inclnnati, Nashville, St. Louis,
San Francisco and Pittsburgh. They have the
very best lesson helps which the Covenanter
Church can secure anywhere and this year they
have improved their list of periodicals for the
Sabbath School by discontinuing "The Comrade"
and "The Morning Star" and issuing "Kings'
Treasuries," prepared especially 'or the boys, and
"Queens' Gardens," especially prepared for the
girls. Their latest and most advanced step, however,
is the "Graded Sabbath School Lesson
Helps," which will be published in addition to
their regular quarterlies of the past, "The Westminster
Uniform Sabbath School Lessons."
The new Graded Lessons, chosen for the Sabbath
schools of North America by 'the International
Lesson Committee, are simply Sabbath
school lessons arranged in courses of one year
each. These lesson courses are graded. Each
course is chosen to fitthe needs of pupils of a
certain age. There is a course for children six
years old; another for children of nine; another
for boys and girls of thirteen, and so on. According
to present plans, there will be seventeen
courses in all, covering each of the years from
three or four Up to twenty. For the Adult classes
no courses are planned at present; they need a
different kind of lessons not graded by years.
There are two years .of lessons for the Beginners'
Department, children of three, four and
flve years; then three years for the Primary Department,
children of six, seven and eight; then
four for the Junior Department, boys and girls
of the ages of nine, ten, eleven and twelve; then
four for the Intermediate Department, ages thirteen,
fourteen, flfteen and sixteen; and then four
for the Senior Department, ages seventeen to
twenty.
The aim of the Beginners Series is: To lead
the little child to the Father by helping him (1)
to know God, the heavenly Father, who loves
him, provides for and protects him; (2) to know
Jesus the Son of God, who became a little child,
who went about doing good, and who is the
Friend and Savior of little children; (3) to know
about the heavenly home; (4) to dis'tinguish between
right and wrong; (5) to show his love
for God by working with and for others.
The aim of the Primary Series, completed in
three years, is thus stated: To lead the child
to know the heavenly Father, and 'to inspire
within the child responsive love, trust and obedience;
to build upon the teachings of the first
year (1) by showing ways in which the children
may express their love, trust and obedience;
(2) by showing Jesus the Savior, in his love
and work for men; and (3) by showing how helpers
of Jesus and others have to do God's will;
to build upon the work of the first and second
years by telling (1) about people who chose to
do God's will; (2) how Jesus, by his life and
works, death and resurrection, revealed the Father's
love and will for us; (3) such stories that
will make a thing appeal to the child and arouse
within him a desire to choose and do that which
•God requires of him.
The Junior Series, completed In four years, has
for its aim: To awaken an interest in the Bible
and love for it; to deepen the impulse to choose
and do right; to present Jesus as our Example
and Savior; to lead the pupil to appreciate the opportunities
of his service, and to give him a
vision of what it means to be a Christian. In the
first year, there are seven lessons on Stories of
the Beginnings; thirteen lessons on Stories of
Three Patriarchs; six lessons on The Story of
Joseph; thirteen lessons on Stories of Moses and
of His Times; nine lessons on Parables of Jesus;
four lessons on The Journeys of Moses. The
second year is devoted to Stories of the Conquest
of iCanaan; incidents in the .Life of the Lord
Jesus. Followers of the Lord Jesus; Stories
of the Judges. The third year gives Stories
of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah; lessons
on The Exile and the Return of the People
of Judah; and an Introduction to the Life of
Jesus. The fourth year lessons are devoted to
The Gospel According to Mark; Studies in The
Acts; Later Missionary Stories; The Bible the
Word of God.
The Presbyterian Board are also prepared to
furnish us with every other description of supplies,
such as "Little Cross and Crown Series"
composed of pins, buttons, etc., for attendance;
also cards, envelopes, etc. They will also supply
you with black-boards, tables, chairs; in
fact, anything that is needed for either the church
or Sabbath school.
Can the Covenanter Church wish a better supply
house than this, especially when they are
fitted to furnish our very last need, whether it
be small or large. We could never expect such
a large institution of our own, for as stated above
it is the finest and largest in the country today.
The Presbyterian Board earnestly request our
trade, for our Sabbath School wants are practically
the same as their own. Most of our congregations
have been enjoying the many advantages
which they have to offer; and we suggest
that the others get in touch with them at once.
No man or woman can carefully read any copy
of Scribner's Magazine without being a better
educated and worthier and more efficient person
because of having read it. If every High School,
College and Xjniversity were to establish a department
of Current History and Literature and
make Scribner's Magazine their Text Book—and
what a charming text book it would be—every
year's reading and study would do more than
any other thing conceivable to make of the oncoming
generations, men and women of the highest
standard of intelligence, inspired and determined
to make their lives each a generous
contribution to the general sum of the World's
betterment.* Back of this great magazine there
is, we are sure, a cabinet of rarely gifted educators
and advisers, for only such ever possess the
imagination and far-seeing vision that are evidenced
in every issue. How, otherwise, can we
account for certain outstanding facts in the history
of Scribner's Whatever one's opinion may
be of Theodore Roosevelt in politics and statecraft,
the world grants him a chief place among
explorers, geographers and zoologists, and on
these subjects his word is final. Yet long before
other publishers awoke to the tremendous importance
of Mr. Roosevelt's contemplated invasion
of Africa and South America, Scribner's had
seen it and had secured the sole rights to the
story of his labors and discoveries. And the
public could have been sure that when Colonel
Goethals was ready to give his own account of
the greatest engineering feat in history, the
building of the Panama Canal, that Scribner's
would have it, as now announced.
And what is true in one realm of life, is true in
another; so that when an unpublished story tf
the loved Robert Louis Stevenson is discovered
among his manuscripts, people who know, are
prepared for the announcement that it will appear
flrst in Scribner's.
Now, as in all previous ages, genuine great
ness is the ability to "dip into the future" far
enough to see the most desirable things for
which to strive, and it is this ability which has
made and is continuing to make a great magazine
of Scribner's.