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The Bible And The Ballot

The first words of Jesus' public ministry were:
"The spirit of the Lord is upon me,
Because he has anointed me to preach
Good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives...
To set at liberty those who are oppressed,
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18)

This was Jesus' work and now it is ours. We are to release the captives of this segregated society, and bring liberty to those who are oppressed. We must preach the good news of equality and brotherhood to the poor. The time is ready for all God's children to learn to live together in peace and justice.

In America we change things through the ballot. The Constitution allows each man a vote for what he thinks to be the right way. In 1870 the fifteenth amendment was passed which gave all men the right to vote, regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude. Now if we want justice, freedom, peace, and equal rights, we must vote for people who will consider these things important. Every election is a chance to vote for good.

When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." This world can be more like God's Kingdom if men will learn to care for the poor and needy: If we can help to feed the hungry in other lands and ours; if each is concerned about the well-being of his neighbor and if each votes for persons who share these same human ideals.

The ballot is in our hands, to vote for good for all mankind.


Discuss the following questions:

1. What would happen in your community if faith in God was put aside and violence took over?

2. If you are not registered to vote, do you think you are doing justice to yourself and your fellow man?

3. We have a task which Jesus himself set before us, how can we best accomplish this work?

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REVIEW YOUR READING - IMPROVE YOUR WRITING 

For many years Negroes were forced to suffer in broken down school buildings.  One teacher taught many grades.  Children stopped school to pick cotton, dig potatoes, cut okra or crop tobacco.  On cold days the girls huddled around a pot-bellied stove, while the boys cut wood.  The building had a few lights, many broken windows, and scratched up black-board.  The teachers did the best they could, but it is a miracle that any of us learned anything.

Now there are more opportunities for young Negroes.  Schools are better and buses are provided.  But what of those who went to school prior to 1950.  We still need to know many things to live in the modern world.  Reading is the key to this knowledge.  This is why we are going to brush up on our reading.

Writing is also important.  Now we have an opportunity to improve our hand writing.  This will help us fill out the blanks to become registered voters.

Registered voters are First Class Citizens.
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