Obviously, there is a time in infancy when keeping a child contentedly occupied is the best a parent can hope for. Bringing a quiet toy, paper and pencil or crayons, which a child can enjoy while the parent participates in worship as much as possible, is the wisest course during that stage. However, too many parents prolong that stage beyond the time that it is profitable.

As soon as children can sing nursery rhymes, they should be encouraged to sing hymns by parents pointing in the song book to the words being sung. Very early, children can be taught to bow their heads during shorter prayers, and recognize that they are talking to God. Similarly, when Scripture is read, they can be taught reverence by having their own Bibles opened to where the Word of God is being read. This is profitable even before the child learns to read.

As soon as they can write, they should be encouraged to make notes on the sermon, writing down Scriptures cited and other items of interest. Elementary school children have shown me outlines they made of my preaching that were better than the outlines I was preaching from!

Children old enough to go to school but, still spending the whole worship hour with toys and coloring books, from before the announcements to after the benediction, with no cognizance at all of what is taking place, are missing out on several blessings, including the experience of worship, opportunity to feel they axe being treated as "grown-up," and valuable training in why people gather for worship.

Some diversion is necessary for children. Begin with a little participation, and gradually encourage more. Children can learn to participate in worship sooner than many think And the sooner the better, both for them and their parents!

Just Do Nothing
David Sain

I read somewhere about a French atheist who died and had willed his farm to the devil. Needless to say, this w as an unusual will, and it presented an awkward situation that ultimately ended up in court. Well, it was decided that the best way to carry out the wishes of the atheist was to do nothing - to just allow the farm to grow up in weeds and briars, and leave the house to decay and ruin. They concluded that the best way to let Satan have it was to simply do nothing.

There is a great moral in that story: The easiest way to let Satan have your life is simply do nothing. The Bible says that Jesus will bring eternal destruction upon those who do not obey the gospel (2 Thess. 1: 7-10). To lose your soul and be lost eternally, just do NOTHING!

Our hearts and sympathies go out to John Greene and family in the death of his brother Gene Ed Green in Tennessee this past week. Keep John and the family in your prayers.

Bible Lab Teachers

There will be a Bible Lab Teachers Meeting today (July 10th), immediately following the AM services. This meeting will be for all current Bible Lab teachers and assistants, as well as any who are interested in helping. We need help in the Bible Lab, so please plan on attending if you are willing to help out.

Men’s Breakfast

The monthly Men’s Breakfast will be held at the Jackson Ave. church of Christ building in Bartow this coming Saturday morning at 8am. The men of the 5th Avenue congregation will host.

America is a young and growing nation. The experts predict a continued rise in population. We are now riding the highest wave of religious interest ever known in American history. Millions of Americans, not now affiliated with any religious group, will accept some type of religion within the next decade. Now is the time to return to the Word of God with all its zeal, fervor, and enthusiasm.

, October 1975
still true 30 years later