Messages To The Children


—Cradle Roll Day


—Children




The Scriptures Are Full of Beautiful Thoughts for Cradle Roll Day.






THE LESSON—That God loves a baby; that both the Father and the Son, through their recorded words, constantly express their love of the little ones.






This somewhat "unusual" chalk talk will not fail to accomplish its object in getting the attention of the c

ildren and causing them to consider some of the especially beautiful thoughts appropriate to Cradle Roll Day.



The Talk.



"I want to see the hand of every boy or girl who likes to get a letter. Yes, and you like to get pretty post cards, too; don't you? And the reason you like to get them is that you know, then, that someone thinks of you and cares for you.



"Well, then, on this Cradle Roll day, I am sure we would all like to get a letter from someone who cares for us, and so, I will first draw the envelope and then see if there is a message in it for us. [Draw the envelope on the paper in black outline and then, with the broad side of your crayon give it an even tinting of pink, light blue or other dainty color. Then, with your black crayon, address the envelope to your own school, by revising the wording as here shown. Add the stamp in brown, and the postmark in black, completing Fig. 90.]



Figure 90: A letter addressed to the Sunday School.


"Well, here is the envelope. Now, I wonder if there is anything in it for us.



[With a sharp pen knife or scissors cut a slit in the paper at the end of the envelope as if you were opening it. Thrust in your hand and bring forth a sheet of paper like a letter only much larger—folded to fit the envelope (Fig. 91). This, of course, is placed there in advance, beneath the outer sheet, attached with thumb tacks so it will tear loose readily. The action will arouse much interest.]



Figure 91: The speaker removing a letter from the envelope.


"Well, surely we have something here that looks like a letter or a message. Ah, yes, it is a message of love to the little ones from the Savior Himself, for it was Jesus who spoke these beautiful words:



"'Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven."



"And let us see if there is a message for the little boys and girls of the Sunshine and the primary classes. Ah, yes, here it is; and it is from the Bible, too (Eccl. 12: 1), and this is what it says:



"'Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, when, the evil days come not nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.' And this means that if you are faithful to your Sunday school and will remember the beautiful things you learn here and carry them through life with you, you will be more than grateful in the years that are to come.



"I wonder if there is anything here to let these boys and girls know whether God thinks they are worth anything or not. Yes, here is a message from the Psalms which says: 'Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are children of the youth. Happy is he whose quiver is full of them!' And so a man is rich if he has those about him who call him father, and a mother is blessed in the love of her children.



"Does the message say anything about how the boys and girls should treat their fathers and their mothers? Let us see. Yes, it says: 'Honor thy father and mother, that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' And again it says: 'My son, heed the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother.' And then, too, it adds this word: 'Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.'



"And is there a message for us older ones on this Cradle Roll Day? I believe there is, for I find here this message: 'Except ye become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven.'



"And is there a message to the parent which sheds any light on the way they should treat their children? Yes, here it is: 'The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.' When we are boys and girls we must obey father and mother or suffer punishment to keep us in the right pathway.



"And is there a message to the grandfathers and grandmothers on this glad day? I think so, for I find here this message, 'Children's children are the crown of old men.'



"Let us remember all of these messages which have come again to us on this glad Cradle Roll Day."





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