parents

Bible Study Guides – Infancy: The First Seven Years

by

May 20, 2012 – May 26, 2012

Key Text

“Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.” Psalm 8:2.

Study Help: Child Guidance, 193–198; The Adventist Home, 255–269.

Introduction

“Infancy extends to the age of six or seven years. Up to this period, children should be left, like little lambs, to roam around the house and in the yards, skipping and jumping in the buoyancy of their spirits, free from care and trouble.” A Solemn Appeal, 133.

1 PRENATAL INFLUENCES

  • What can we learn from the instructions given by heavenly angels to some prospective parents, soon to be educators? Judges 13:1–14; Luke 1:5, 11–15.

Note: “The effect of prenatal influences is by many parents looked upon as a matter of little moment; but Heaven does not so regard it. The message sent by an angel of God, and twice given in the most solemn manner, shows it to be deserving of our most careful thought.

“In the words spoken to the Hebrew mother, God speaks to all mothers in every age. … The well-being of the child will be affected by the habits of the mother. Her appetites and passions are to be controlled by principle. There is something for her to shun, something for her to work against, if she fulfills God’s purpose for her in giving her a child. If before the birth of her child she is self-indulgent, if she is selfish, impatient, and exacting, these traits will be reflected in the disposition of the child. …

“But if the mother unswervingly adheres to right principles, if she is temperate and self-denying, if she is kind, gentle, and unselfish, she may give her child these same precious traits of character.” Counsels on Diet and Foods, 217.

2 THE BABY HAS ARRIVED . . . AND IT GROWS!

  • If God entrusts us with a baby, why should we constantly pray for wisdom? Psalm 127:3; I Corinthians 3:2, first part; 10:31.

Note: “The best food for the infant is the food that nature provides. Of this it should not be needlessly deprived. It is a heartless thing for a mother, for the sake of convenience or social enjoyment, to seek to free herself from the tender office of nursing her little one.

“The period in which the infant receives its nourishment from the mother is critical. Many mothers, while nursing their infants, have been permitted to overlabor and to heat their blood in cooking; and the nursling has been seriously affected, not only with fevered nourishment from the mother’s breast, but its blood has been poisoned by the unhealthy diet of the mother, which has fevered her whole system, thereby affecting the food of the infant. The infant will also be affected by the condition of the mother’s mind. …

“The character also of the child is more or less affected by the nature of the nourishment received from the mother. How important then that the mother, while nursing her infant, should preserve a happy state of mind, having the perfect control of her own spirit. By thus doing, the food of the child is not injured, and the calm, self-possessed course the mother pursues in the treatment of her child has very much to do in molding the mind of the infant. If it is nervous and easily agitated, the mother’s careful, unhurried manner will have a soothing and correcting influence, and the health of the infant can be very much improved.” The Adventist Home, 260, 261.

“No general rules can be established in the care of all infants, in consequence of their almost endless varieties of condition at birth, and their different constitutional wants.

“The term properly called infancy, requires several changes as to the periods of taking food. Before birth it is receiving nourishment constantly. And the changes from this to the establishment of only two meals a day, which may, in most children, be done from the ages of one to three years, must be gradual.” The Review and Herald, April 14, 1868.

“The lessons that the child learns during the first seven years of life have more to do with forming his character than all that it learns in future years.” Child Guidance, 193.

3 BASIC EARLY LESSONS

  • After the first joyful moments of parenthood, what sad reality also comes to light? II Timothy 3:2. What parental mistakes often follow?

Note: “One of the signs of the ‘last days’ is the disobedience of children to their parents [11 Timothy 3:2]. And do parents realize their responsibility? Many seem to lose sight of the watch-care they should ever have over their children, and suffer them to indulge in evil passions, and to disobey them. They take but little notice of them until their own feelings are raised, and then punish them in anger.” The Review and Herald, September 19, 1854.

“You should correct your children in love. Do not let them have their own way until you get angry, and then punish them. Such correction only helps on the evil, instead of remedying it. After you have done your duty faithfully to your children, then carry them to God and ask Him to help you.” Ibid.

  • What warning must we heed regarding God’s house? Genesis 28:17; Leviticus 19:30, last part; Habbakuk 2:20.

Note: “The house of God is often desecrated by Sabbath-keepers’ children. Their parents allow them to run about the house, play, talk, take the attention of the people, and manifest their evil tempers in the very meetings where they have assembled to worship God. I have seen that in the assembly of the saints a holy stillness should reign. But the house where God’s people assemble is often made a perfect babylon, a place of confusion and disorder. This is displeasing to God. If the parents have not government, and cannot control their children in meeting, God would be better pleased for them to remain at home with their unruly children. They had better suffer the loss of meetings, than to have a large number annoyed, and their meetings spoiled. If parents leave their children uncontrolled, unsubdued at home, they cannot have them do as they wish in meeting. Who should be the sufferers in this case? Certainly, the parents. They should not feel afflicted if others do not wish to have their peace disturbed when they meet to worship God.” Spiritual Gifts, vol. 2, 288, 289.

4 WE NEED HELP!

  • What curse rests upon the disobedient nations today? Isaiah 3:1–4.

Note: “As parents who profess to love the Lord Jesus Christ, we should see to it that the spirit of peace is in our households. God commands us to take our children and fashion them after the divine similitude. From their earliest life children should be taught to obey their parents, to respect their word, and to reverence their authority. But many allow Satan to take their children under control, and in their early life the spirit of Satan manifests itself in the little ones in passionate screams or in sullen manners. One child under the control of this evil disposition will disturb the whole household, and banish peace from its borders. Parents should take time to discipline their children. Our most precious time belongs to our own flesh and blood. Never let your child hear you say, ‘I cannot do anything with you.’ As long as we may have access to the throne of God, we as parents should be ashamed to utter any such a word. Cry unto Jesus, and He will help you to bring your little ones to Him, and to keep them out of the power of the enemy. If Satan cannot succeed in ruling the fathers and the mothers, he will try with all his power to control the children, and make them rebel against God, and become disturbers of the peace of a family.

“Parents, you have a solemn responsibility resting upon you. It is your duty to co-operate with Christ in aiding your children to form right characters. Jesus can do nothing without your co-operation. It is not mercy or kindness to permit a child to have [his] own way, to submit to [his] rule, and to neglect to correct [him] on the ground that you love [him] too well to punish [him]. What kind of love is it that permits your child to develop traits of character that will make him and every one else miserable? Away with such love! True love will look out for the present and eternal good of the soul. …

“Do not indulge your children in evil ways, but from their very infancy let them see that you love the Lord, and that you mean to train them up as He would have you. … Of what avail will be a list of church resolutions, if we have not the Spirit of God in our homes? Christ is watching to see who are training their families for the great family above. Suppose one of your little children whom you have failed to correct, should be taken away in one of its fits of temper, what would be the result? I leave you to answer the question.” The Review and Herald, July 16, 1895.

5 CHOOSING GOODNESS

  • What woe must God’s people determine to avoid? Isaiah 3:12.

Note: “Parents, if you wish the minds of your children to be evil, let them have their own way.” The Signs of the Times, February 18, 1897.

  • Why is the example of Hannah an inspiration? I Samuel 1:20–22.

Note: “From the earliest dawn of intellect she [Hannah] had taught her son to love and reverence God, and to regard himself as the Lord’s.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 572.

“During the first three years of the life of Samuel the prophet, his mother carefully taught him to distinguish between good and evil.” Child Guidance, 197.

  • Name some things to teach during infancy and childhood. Matthew 5:8; Philippians 4:8.

Note: “During the first six or seven years of a child’s life, special attention should be given to its physical training, rather than the intellect.” Child Guidance, 300.

“From their infancy, children should be taught lessons of purity. Mothers cannot too early begin to fill the minds of their children with pure, holy thoughts. And one way of doing this is to keep everything about them clean and pure. Mothers, if you desire your children’s thoughts to be pure, let their surroundings be pure. Let their sleeping rooms be scrupulously neat and clean. Teach them to care for their clothing.” Counsels on Health, 103.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 In pregnancy, what can both parents do for their baby’s character?

2 How does the way an infant is nourished affect his or her character?

3 Why must we take heed of our infants’ behavior in public worship?

4 How do many misinterpret the essence of true parental love?

5 What priority of Hannah should be shared by us today?

© 2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Bible Study Guides – Our Deep Need for Educational Reform

by

May 6, 2012 – May 12, 2012

Key Text

“The Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6.

Study Help: Testimonies, vol. 6, 126–133.

Introduction

“John the Baptist received a training for his life work, not in the schools of the rabbis, but in the wilderness, alone with God and His Word.” Sermons and Talks, vol. 1, 394.

1 A DISTINCT RESPONSIBILITY

  • What is God’s mandate for all human beings who accept the Three Angels’ Messages? Revelation 14:6–12; I Peter 1:12.

Note: “In the book of Revelation we read of a special work that God desires to have His people do in these last days. He has revealed His law and shown us the truth for this time. This truth is constantly unfolding, and God designs that we shall be intelligent in regard to it, that we may be able to distinguish between right and wrong, between righteousness and unrighteousness.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 127, 128.

“There are many precious truths contained in the Word of God, but it is ‘present truth’ that the flock needs now.” Early Writings, 63. [Emphasis author’s.]

  • Why is studying prophecy vital to our education? II Peter 1:19.

Note: “The third angel’s message, the great testing truth for this time, is to be taught in all our institutions. God designs that through them this special warning shall be given, and bright beams of light shall shine to the world. Time is short. The perils of the last days are upon us, and we should watch and pray, and study and heed the lessons that are given us in the books of Daniel and the Revelation. …

“These things concern our eternal welfare, and teachers and students should give more attention to them.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 128, 129.

2 OUR MODEL OF TRUE EDUCATION

  • How early in life were the educational goals for John the Baptist established? Luke 1:13–17, 24, 25, 39–41. How did he respond?

Note: “John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, received his early training from his parents. The greater portion of his life was spent in the wilderness, that he might not be influenced by beholding the lax piety of the priests and rabbis or by learning their maxims and traditions, through which right principles were perverted and belittled. … It was John’s choice to forgo the enjoyments and luxuries of city life for the stern discipline of the wilderness. Here his surroundings were favorable to habits of simplicity and self-denial. Uninterrupted by the clamor of the world, he could here study the lessons of nature, of revelation, and of providence. The words of the angel to Zacharias had been often repeated to John by his God-fearing parents. From his childhood his mission had been kept before him, and he accepted the holy trust. To him the solitude of the desert was a welcome escape from the society in which suspicion, unbelief, and impurity had become well-nigh all-pervading. He distrusted his own power to withstand temptation and shrank from constant contact with sin lest he should lose the sense of its exceeding sinfulness.

“But the life of John was not spent in idleness, in ascetic gloom, or in selfish isolation. From time to time he went forth to mingle with men, and he was ever an interested observer of what was passing in the world. From his quiet retreat he watched the unfolding of events. With vision illuminated by the Divine Spirit, he studied the characters of men, that he might understand how to reach their hearts with the message of heaven.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 221, 222.

“He [John] did not live thus [in the wilderness] for any selfish purpose. In his time the Jewish religious teachers had well-nigh lost all spiritual life. Nothing in their teaching stood out clear and convincing. They had so inclosed themselves within themselves, and were regarded as possessing such sanctity, that none of the people disputed what they said or taught.

“But the life of John was a special life; and it was the will of God that he should separate from the busy haunts of men, and learn his life lessons from nature and from nature’s God, receiving his impressions from Him alone.” The Signs of the Times, February 18, 1897.

3 EDUCATED FOR A MISSION

  • As education is training for a lifework, what is the underlying lifework of all who accept the Three Angels’ Messages, regardless of the occupation they pursue? Matthew 3:1–3; Luke 11:1, last part.

Note: “What is our work? The same as that given to John the Baptist.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 9.

“The same spirit that actuated Jesus, controlled the mind of John the Baptist. Their testimony corresponded; their lives were given to the same reformatory work. … John, by his unselfish joy in the successful ministry of Jesus, presents to the world the truest type of nobility ever exhibited by mortal man.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, 138, 139.

  • Why should we be inspired by the example of Brother Shireman whom the Lord’s messenger saw fit to mention by name? Proverbs 2:6.

Note: “There is one here in this congregation, Shireman by name, who has established church after church; and how did he establish them? He went into a field where there was nothing. He was a carpenter. He would build his house, and then call in the people, and hold Bible readings. There he would work till a good, strong church was established. Then did he stand and say, Look at the good work I have done? No; he would go to another place, and repeat the same thing. This he did over and over again.

“Where did this brother get his education? I will tell you. He got it in the same manner that John the Baptist got his education, when he went into the desert and into the wilderness. The priests and rulers were so troubled and distressed because John did not walk according to the old, regular order in getting his education. Yet Jesus said there was not a greater prophet than John the Baptist.

“We do not say that you should go nowhere or anywhere to get an education, but we do say that every man is not dependent upon a school or college education to do work for the Master, if he is converted to God, soul, body, and spirit. He is in connection with the great Teacher, the greatest Missionary that the world ever knew.” The General Conference Bulletin, April 8, 1901.

4 THE BASIS OF ALL EDUCATION

  • What is the most effective protection against sin? Psalm 119:11.

Note: “The urgent necessities that are making themselves felt in this time demand a constant education in the word of God. This is present truth. Throughout the world there should be a reform in Bible study, for it is needed now as never before.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 131.

  • Explain the depth of the Bible’s role in true education. Proverbs 9:10.

Note: “The great work of life is character-building; and a knowledge of God is the foundation of all true education.” Christian Education, 64, 65.

“We commend to every student the Book of books as the grandest study for the human intelligence, as the education essential for this life, and for eternal life.” Special Testimonies on Education, 217.

  • How are we blessed by studying and obeying God’s word? Jeremiah 15:16; John 6:63; II Timothy 3:16, 17.

Note: “The word must be searched in order to purify and prepare those who receive it to become members of the royal family, children of the heavenly King.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 132.

“As they [God’s hungering, thirsting people] feed upon His word, they find that it is spirit and life. The word destroys the natural, earthly nature, and imparts a new life in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit comes to the soul as a Comforter. By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature. Love takes the place of hatred, and the heart receives the divine similitude. This is what it means to live ‘by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God’ [Matthew 4:4]. This is eating the Bread that comes down from heaven.” The Desire of Ages, 391.

5 THE HIGHEST PLACE: HUMILITY

  • When we are truly educated, what fruits are seen? James 3:17.

Note: “While the gospel constantly sanctifies and ennobles the receiver, it will never lead us to cherish selfish and exalted ideas of our own ability or merit in contrast with that of others. It never nurtures pride and self-esteem. Every soul who sees Christ as He is, will abase self. He will exalt the Saviour as the ‘chiefest among ten thousand,’ the One ‘altogether lovely’ [Song of Solomon 5:10, 16].

“The most essential, enduring education is that which will develop the nobler qualities, which will encourage a spirit of universal kindliness, leading the youth to think no evil of any one lest they shall misjudge motives and misinterpret words and actions. The time devoted to this kind of instruction will yield fruit to everlasting life.” Christian Education, 201, 202.

“The essence of true politeness is consideration for others. The essential, enduring education is that which broadens the sympathies and encourages universal kindliness. That so-called culture which does not make a youth deferential toward his parents, appreciative of their excellences, forbearing toward their defects, and helpful to their necessities; which does not make him considerate and tender, generous and helpful toward the young, the old, and the unfortunate, and courteous toward all, is a failure.” Education, 241.

  • What should educators ever keep in mind? II Corinthians 3:5.

Note: “We want more of God and less of self. When we get the education that is needful, we should impart it.” The General Conference Bulletin, April 8, 1901.

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1 Why is our era distinct in what needs to be taught in education?

2 What should we learn from the education of John the Baptist?

3 How did the attitude of Brother Shireman reveal his higher education?

4 Why is the Bible the most effective textbook we can have?

5 Instead of exaltation by degrees, what does God honor in education?

© 2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.