or Sunday
School pupils, I recommend you read the
previous pages, if you
have
not already, for background information on the Fourth Commandment.
Based upon that material, my lesson ideas spring from the following
interpretations:
a) The "Sabbath Day" is a time to drop our worldly
activities and turn our thoughts to
God. We are also to allow others
under our control to have the time for rest, as well.
b) The Sabbath
can be a day, an hour, or even a moment, if during that time we find
our peace and rest in God's presence and comfort.
c) We must have
earned our rest through righteous activity governed by God, good.
d) The Sabbath has both literal and spiritual meanings. In
Christian
Science, we find
in
Mary Baker Eddy's writings many statements relating
to work and rest, and our
oneness with the divine Principle, God.
Children who attend Sunday School are familiar with the fellowship
of church, and
they can easily see they are participating in one form
of "remembering the sabbath."
But, what about those families who do
not attend church, for one reason or another?
Do children have to
feel that if they belong to a non-church going family that they
cannot
be obedient to God's commandment? Or, what should they think if "dad"
prefers to golf on Sunday rather than attend church with the rest
of the family? Should
they be critical of that parent? No. In Christian
Science, at least, we can find many
statements in the writings of
Mary Baker Eddy, and in the life and words of Jesus and
Paul, that
support the point that attending a particular church or denomination
is not
necessary to be able to worship God, or to demonstrate the
Fourth Commandment in
our lives (refer back to my previous pages).
Our cycle of work and "sabbath rest,"
we learn in Christian Science,
is a mental activity reflecting the operation of divine
Principle.
LESSONS FOR LITTLE CHILDREN:
Make sure your youngest children know
what the terms "rest," "remember," and
"holy" mean. Use a regular
dictionary to give them basic meanings before exploring
what the Commandment
is telling us. You can give a simple Biblical explanation
of the Sabbath
Day, and how it was originally practiced by the Hebrews.
Little children
can understand the idea of "work first, then rest," or that we work
hard
to carry out a task, but check in with Mom or Dad to see if it
is being done correctly,
or to get help when we see we need it. For
instance, here is a possible lesson for
little children in Sunday
School that might help to explain the concept of "work, then
rest:"
"
STRAW AND STICKS -- OR BRICKS?" This is what I'm calling a game you
might play with young students. Most of them will be familiar with
the story of
"The Three Little Pigs." (I'm not going to retell the
whole story here to save space.)
Ask the kids if they know the story,
and then go over it briefly. Remind them that the
pigs had to leave
home and make their own way in the world. They needed to build
their
own houses to live in and no longer depend upon their mother's support.
But,
they were also thrilled at their new freedom. Two of the pigs
were so impatient to
get back to playing and having fun, that they
did not take the time and effort to design
and build a really strong
home. One pig put together a poorly made house of straw,
and the other
one made a house of sticks. Sure enough, they were off having a good
time right away. But the third pig was willing to work very hard to
build a strong
house that would withstand attacks from such bad things
as hungry wolves and
violent weather. So, he did put in all the extra
work required, while his brothers
laughed and played. When he was
through building his house of bricks, that pig
probably appreciated
his well-earned rest. But, he did his work first.
We know from the
story what happened when the wolf came. He was able to "huff
and puff
and blow" the house of straw and the house of sticks down. But he
was not
able to blow down the house of bricks. And that pig was saved
-- and perhaps saved
his brothers, too, depending upon which version
of the story you have!
Now, using this story, tell your students you
will play a game of "straw and sticks
-- or bricks?" Tell them that
we all have to build a strong "house" in our conscious-
ness, or where
we think our thoughts. We must use good thoughts, which are kind of
like sturdy and long-lasting bricks. And we must devote time to this
work of building
our house of good thoughts and ideas. When we do
this, we are putting in our "six
days of work." Then we can take a
rest -- our "Sabbath day" -- where we find
freedom from worry and
fear, and protection from our enemies, just as the third little
pig
did.
Then tell the kids that in the game to be played, they will have
to decide whether a
certain activity or way or thinking is building
their house with "straw and sticks -- or
bricks." If the activity
seems frivolous or worthless or sinful, then it would be "straw
and
sticks." If the activity or thinking is a good and solid one, based
upon intelligence,
love, or truth, etc., then they would be building
with "bricks."
For instance: "watching cartoons all Saturday morning"
(straw and sticks) -- or
"helping Mom do some chores" (bricks) --
"Doing a good deed for a friend or sibling"
(bricks) -- or "stealing
an extra cookie after being told not to take any more" (straw
and
sticks) -- "getting homework done before it is due" (bricks) -- "handing
in home-
work only half done and with a poor excuse" (straw and sticks)
-- "telling a lie"
(straw and sticks) -- "apologizing for hurting
someone" (bricks), etc. You get the
point. Perhaps have the children
come up with their own ideas to suggest. After
mentioning an activity
or quality of thought, ask them: "is this building our 'house'
with
straw and sticks -- or bricks?"
Remind them that this gives us an
idea about the Fourth Commandment. We have
work to do on earth --
God has given each of us a mission. We must do our work,
including
prayer daily. Then, we need to take time to check in with God, and
hand
things over to Him. We need to spend time thinking about Him,
and not ourselves.
We must remember to thank God for His blessings,
and we must remember that we
want to continue to work hard to be obedient
to Him and to help destroy the evils
of the world.
On a more practical
level, tell them that the idea of working before playing or resting
gives us a feeling of satisfaction and confidence, and we appreciate
our times of rest
and recreation more when we have earned it. If their
parents have asked them to
clean their room, isn't it better to do
it without complaint, and not worry that Mom or
Dad might get upset
with them for not doing it, rather than resist it hour after hour,
or
day after day, and then have to deal with the wrath of our parents?
LESSONS FOR OLDER CHILDREN
Depending upon the age and interest of
your children or pupils, you might wish to go
over the
historical
background of the Jewish sabbath and how it evolved by the time
of
Jesus. Some might be interested in how the Christian's "Lord's Day"
and the Jewish
sabbath become "one," as briefly explained in the previous
pages.
The following paragraphs contain a number of suggestions to
get you started on a
variety of ways to explore the Fourth Commandment
with various age groups:
Ask your pupils to read the following statement
in the
Manual of The Mother Church
on page 60, where Mrs. Eddy writes:
"A Christian Scientist is not fatigued by prayer,
by reading the Scriptures
or the Christian Science textbook. Amusement or idleness
is weariness.
Truth and Love rest the weary and heavy laden."
Would they agree or
disagree with Mrs. Eddy's assessment that "amusement or idle-
ness
is weariness." Ask them to explain. Ask how this statement might support
the
Fourth Commandment.
For Christian Science students, ask them to
consider the fact that the
Quarterly Bible
Lesson Sermon contains
six sections that we are to study and work on during the week,
and
then it is read to the congregation on Sunday. Is it possible Mrs.
Eddy had the
"six days of work" and a Sabbath rest in mind when she
devised this system? Can we
think of it that way?
There are several
instances of Jesus going up to a mountain, or to the desert, to pray
alone. This was usually after a busy period of healing or teaching.
Note, that he would
stay long enough to find refreshment, or guidance,
and that he would return to the
multitudes and their needs. Have your
students read these, and discuss the worth of
getting a balance of
work and rest -- both in our regular physical labors and our
spiritual,
mental work.
On a previous page, I listed a few citations from the
writings of Mrs. Eddy relating
to "work and rest." There are many
more to be found if you search the Concordance.
These can be used
in your discussions, along with appropriate Bible verses.
Use your
Bible concordance to find the stories relating to Jesus and the Pharisees
and
their criticism of his activities on Sabbath days. Show that,
although Jesus did attend
a local synagogue on the Jewish Sabbath,
he did not go along with the interpretations
that would make the Sabbath
more burdensome than other days of the week. Ask how
these ideas might
apply to our mental work in Christian Science.
In my book,
First Lessons,
Volume One: The Ten Commandments I have a number
of ready-made lessons
on the Fourth Commandment in which the concepts of harmony,
reflection,
completeness, and heaven are explored and how they relate to our "Sab-
bath" moments or days. Research these words in a Concordance (or the
computer
program Concord) and have your students or children study
citations that might show
what the reward of our "work" might bring
in the way of peace and harmony.
Earlier I mentioned Mrs. Eddy's reference
to the walls of Jericho, and how the
Hebrews marched around the walls
for six days. Have your pupils read this story in
the Bible, and then
show them Mrs. Eddy's comments. Ask how she might have come
up with
this interpretation, and how they might use this in their life.
Let
your pupils or children know that different families and churches,
"remember the
sabbath day" in a variety of ways. We are not to judge
anyone. Show them Paul's
statement on this. We do not know what is
in a person's heart. Just because people
do not share our religious
beliefs or practices, does not mean they are not honoring
God in their
own way. Trust that divine Love will lead all Her children "back home."
Ask questions that would explore this idea: a Sabbath can be any day,
or any hour,
or minute, or moment -- when we turn away from our activities,
or our struggles with
mortal mind beliefs -- and seek solace in Truth
and Principle.
A practical idea for your students to use can be found
in this statement in
Science and
Health: "Our heavenly Father, divine
Love, demands that all men should follow the
example of our Master
and his apostles and not merely worship his personality. It is
sad
that the phrase
divine service has come so generally to mean public
worship
instead of daily deeds." (S&H 40) Show them that doing
good deeds daily, rather
than making a public show of attending church
once a week, is what God wants us to
do. This is following the example
of Jesus, and he is our Master and Wayshower.
Ask the pupils if they
are ready to agree with this, and whether or not this means we
should
not go to church at all. How might an individual decide what is the
best way
to put this statement into practice? Bear in mind the Fifth
Commandment: "Honor
thy father and thy mother." How can minors balance
their emerging spiritual concepts
with their parents' preferences
for church (or non-church) attendance and membership.
That is is for
now! If you have any additional ideas for teaching this Commandment,
please feel free to share.
Remember: "The sabbath was made for man,
and not man for the Sabbath."
(Mark 2:23)
Return to Start of The Fourth
Commandment
