The task of reaching the goal in our Sunday school work may be likened to that of a sea captain who steers his ship safely into port. He knows his destination and the direction he must take. He frequently consults a compass and with its aid establishes and maintains a true course. He also studies a chart in which have been indicated the positions of shoals, rocks, and other points of danger; and he wisely guides his vessel away from such points into deeper and safer waters.
Sunday school teachers also have a compass to consult, a chart to follow, and a port to reach. Article XX of the Manual of The Mother Church might be called the compass, and, figuratively speaking, the Holy Bible and its interpreter, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy, the chart. The port or goal is the full understanding of the Science of Christ, or Christian Science.
The compass gives both general and specific directions for the guidance of the officers and the teachers of our Sunday school. It provides that "children shall be taught the Scriptures, and they shall be instructed according to their understanding or ability to grasp the simpler meanings of the divine Principle that they are taught" (Manual, Art. XX, Sect. 2). In Section 3 are given specific directions concerning the lessons. The Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, with its spiritual interpretation as given in the Christian Science textbook, and the Beatitudes comprise the "first lessons." "The next lessons consist of such questions and answers as are adapted to a juvenile class, and may be found in the Christian Science Quarterly Lessons, read in Church services."
