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Dear Young Disciples,

The report had to be submitted the next the morning, and 100 pages still needed to be entered. Mr. Halfax wasn’t worried. He knew that his three secretaries could easily do that in half a day.

When his secretaries arrived in the office, they chatted for nearly half an hour. They finally got to work, but it wasn’t long before one got sidetracked on a website. Another broke a fingernail and decided to redo all her nails. Meanwhile, the third secretary took a long phone call from a friend.

After lunch, Mr. Halfax checked on their progress. Only about one quarter of the pages had been entered! Alarmed, he called in three additional secretaries. They were a bit more industrious. Still, they seemed to find ways to waste a lot of time.

Those Juniors, Part 36: Windows

by Eric B. Hare

Last week: Without the correct steps, a teacher may miss a vital opportunity of applying the lesson to his students, and thus not fulfill the extent of the good he may do for the children in his care. God wants us to be “better men (and women).”

Of Jesus’ teaching we read, “Without a parable spake He not unto them,”1 and the reason is very evident. In His congregations were those who had eyes but did not see; and who had ears but did not hear. The ears of some were stopped with ignorance; the ears of others were stopped with bigotry. Jesus said, “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”2

The inference is clear, whether their ears were closed from ignorance or by bigotry. The story was the most likely form of discourse to bring enlightenment to their hearts.

Illustrations are like windows in a house. They are not the house, but they let in the light so that we can see the beauty of the house. Illustrations are like the scaffolding used to build a cathedral. The scaffolding is not the cathedral, but by it the workmen are enabled to lift stone upon stone, block upon block, till at last you can take the scaffolding away, and the cathedral stands forever grand and glorious.

In the same way illustrations help to build truth that shall stand forever.

My Dreams for His

by Jessica Pendleton

Life apart from love is just not working out too well for this planet I call my own.

The painful cries of suffering humanity can be heard from every corner. And when one lets the surrounding needs really sink in, there is no question: A life of even the most faithful service is as a drop in the ocean compared to the great need.

And yet in the midst of it all, I stand with my dreams clutched tight. Some are shattered beyond belief, while others remain pure and strong and beautifully whole. And I wonder: Can I really afford to trade my dreams for the dreams God has for my life?

Those Juniors, Part 35: A Better Man

by Eric B. Hare

Last week: While teaching the lesson is important, more so is actually applying the lesson to your class. There are five steps to arriving at successful application.

To illustrate these five steps, let us take the lesson which is entitled “Abraham’s Visitors.” We have already decided to take “God’s great mercy” as the theme. Now let us see how this theme can be developed and applied.

The Law Condensed

by Lilienne, teenage Morning Manna member

This morning, I was studying Matthew 22:36–40.

"Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

Using Strong's Concordance, I looked up what the words meant in the original language. When I replaced key words with their meanings, I came up with this paraphrase:

"Master, which is the exceeding great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt agape (which means unselfish love) the Lord thy God with all thy thoughts and feelings, with all thy vitality (actions?), and with all thy deep thoughts. This is the chief and exceeding great commandment. The second is like unto it, Thou shalt agape anyone you come in contact with as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the old testament law."

Wow! So basically the law means, "Love God & love your neighbor," which then can be condensed into one word: Love.  

Do we love God that much? Do we put others before ourselves that much?

It's the one chief and exceeding great commandment!

Turning Time Wasters to Tools

by Cheyenne Reiswig

Yes, I'm a smartphone user, and this photo is evidence.
It was taken with my phone!

I don’t know about you, but when I read inspired statements like these, my conscience winces a bit:

“Our time belongs to God.”

“The value of time is beyond computation.”

“Of no talent He has given will He require a more strict account than of our time.”

“We have no time to waste, no time to devote to selfish pleasure, no time for the indulgence of sin.”

“Christ regarded every moment as precious.”1

I do try to be efficient with most of the hours in my day: the time I devote to work, study, cooking, etc. But what about the spare moments—the hours driving (or riding) in the car, the minutes between breakfast and going to work, my lunch break, and evening time when I’m waiting for family worship?

I’ll admit it: When I have unscheduled free time, too often I reach for my smartphone or my laptop. Either way, time gets frittered away as I check out the latest happenings in distant friends’ lives, watch humorous video clips, or read blogs.

Those Juniors, Part 34: The Art of Application

by Eric B. Hare

Last segment: Patterns of how to reach the juniors and keep their interest and get them excited about Sabbath school.

We have seen that the superiority of inductive teaching over deductive lies in the stimulation it gives to “thinking.” We have also noticed that the natural thinking process is an addition of percepts to make concepts, a comparison of concepts to form judgments, a weighing of judgments (which is reasoning) in order to form new judgments and conclusions.

Moreover we are instructed:

“Every human being, created in the image of God, is endowed with a power akin to that of the Creator,—individuality, power to think and to do. The men in whom this power is developed are the men who bear responsibilities, who are leaders in enterprise, and who influence character. It is the work of true education to develop this power; to train the youth to be thinkers, and not mere reflectors of other men’s thought.”1

It will be the study of this chapter, therefore, to consider and illustrate a lesson outline which will be in harmony with these principles.

All in All

by Kezzia Keener

It’s not like he didn't have everything. Power, popularity, and approval followed the steps of this Pharisee who outwardly lived a blameless life (according to the righteousness stipulated in the law). This suited him fine—he wanted esteem, honor, and greatness—and he didn't hesitate to pull others down in order to gain a higher position for himself. But everything changed when this man, a “Hebrew of Hebrews,” came face to face with glory and saw himself as he really was: a sinner in need of grace.

Dissatisfied Robin

by Danielle Gerber

Thump . . . thump . . . thump.

Like an alarm clock, the rhythmic thud roused me in the early morning. What could it be? As I rubbed my eyes, I remembered: that stubborn robin was at it again!

Springtime had brought the flowers and songbirds back—and among them a certain strong-willed robin. He had been perching outside my window on the edge of the grapevines growing up the fence, watching for rival robins. Catching a reflection of himself in my window, the robin flew toward it and rammed into the glass over and over again. Of course, no matter how hard he tried, he never could get that other bird to go away.

Pebbles & Mountains