{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_71416/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_71416","id":"gutenberg_71416","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/71416","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Teaching & Education","Children's sermons"],"text":"Transcriber's Notes:\n\nItalicized text is rendered as _text_, bold text is rendered as\n=text=.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: Front cover]\n\n\n\n\n                        THE BIBLE OBJECT BOOK\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: A Group of Children Just After a Happy Hour Service at\nWinona Lake, Indiana. These Represent the Children to Whom This Book\nIs Dedicated]\n\n\n\n\n                               _=The=_\n                         =BIBLE OBJECT BOOK=\n\n             A Book of Object Lessons Which Are Different\n\n             WRITTEN IN PLAIN ENGLISH AND IN COMMON WORDS\n\n                                 _By_\n                Rev. CLARENCE HERBERT WOOLSTON, D. D.\n\n                             _Author of_\n        \"SEEING TRUTH,\" \"PENNY OBJECT LESSONS, Nos. 1 and 2,\"\n         \"THE GOSPEL OBJECT BOOK,\" and \"THE CURIOSITY BOOK.\"\n    Also Originator of the \"SEEING TRUTH PACKETS,\" Containing the\n                      Lessons and Objects Needed\n\n                [Illustration: Torch and wreath logo]\n\n                             PHILADELPHIA\n                           THE JUDSON PRESS\n               BOSTON          CHICAGO     LOS ANGELES\n               KANSAS CITY     SEATTLE     TORONTO\n\n\n\n\n                         Copyright, 1926, by\n                           THE JUDSON PRESS\n                        Published August, 1926\n\n\nPRINTED IN U.S.A.\n\n\n\n\n                       _This book is dedicated\n                      to the many Boys and Girls\n                     who have both heard and seen\n                        these visual addresses\n                at Bethany Hall, Winona Lake, Indiana\n                     and to Mrs. Carrie Besserer\n            who made these wonderful gatherings possible_\n\n\n\n\n            _For what shall it profit a church if it gain\n             the whole world and lose its own children_\n\n\n\n\n                            =INTRODUCTION=\n\nDr. C. H. Woolston is the one man I know who is most eminently fitted\nto write a book for children or for the teachers of children. First,\nbecause he loves and understands children; for work among children is\nan affair of the heart. In the second place, through many years he\nhas proved his theories by actual, practical experience and testing.\nWe know that his plans really work.\n\nHe is being urged by many of his eminent friends in children's work\nto give all his time to this great service. He will have a large\nmission in teaching preachers and teachers how to win children and\nyoung people to Christ. For twenty years he has appeared in the great\nBible conference at Winona Lake, Ind., and has always been received\nby adults with great appreciation while the children have hailed him\nwith huge delight.\n\nWe must all admit that there is nothing of greater importance among\nall the problems of the church today. While he has not been able to\ngive all his time to this work he has been most generous and patient\nin showing others how to use the mechanical and wonder object-lessons\nin the teaching of children.\n\nIn this work he gives the worker something entirely new and off from\nthe beaten path of the regulars, something which would cost months of\nstudy and research and literally hundreds of dollars to acquire.\n\nIn addition to the wisdom of this and other works he has published\nand thus given to the world, he will always be glad to help in any of\nthe problems of winning for Jesus the children that may present\nthemselves. His study is an open post-office. Write to him.\n\nAnd so, for these reasons and many others I am especially glad to\ncommend this newest book of Doctor Woolston. I hope the readers of\nthis book may be able to have him in their churches or in Bible\nconferences some time. To know him personally is a rare pleasure. He\nis, in my estimation, the greatest talker to children we have in this\ncountry at this present time. His new methods of reaching children\nand adults through their eyes has given him the highest place among\ngospel illustrators.\n\n                                                      HOMER RODEHEAVER\n  SUNDAY PARTY, Winona Lake, Ind.\n\n\n\n\n                              =PREFACE=\n\nThese short addresses are designed to help the busy pastor get a\nflying start in his effort to fill the minds of his church children\nwith compelling imagery and their eyes with the sweet lessons by\nSeeing Gospel Truth.\n\nI have made no attempt at phrase-making, nor have I sought to create\na literary marvel.\n\nI have used the greatest simplicity of language at my command, in\nsome cases employing the unpolished words of the children themselves.\nThis I have done because many of these chapters have been framed for\ntheir eyes and ears, and it has always been my ambition that the\nchildren should hear the truth in their own tongue.\n\nPerhaps my words and sentences would not pass the Sanhedrin of the\nuniversities, but my ideas are on the run to catch the child before\nthe ever-shortening days of youth have passed, and perhaps sometimes\nI have run by some of the standards of the school.\n\nWhen Evangelist D. L. Moody was in London, England, the first time\nsome of the critical divines made sport of the fact that Mr. Moody in\npronouncing the word \"Jerusalem\" did so in two syllables. The secular\npress also took up the matter and made high glee over it. C. H.\nSpurgeon, then in all his glory at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, in\none of his sermons used the following language, \"I am glad there is\none minister in London who is in such haste to give the gospel to the\npeople that he does not stop to pronounce every syllable.\"\n\nThe King's business requires haste, and this business of gaining the\nKing's children requires double haste. This will explain some of the\nsentences of this book that may cause you to stop and think why I\nsaid them. C. H. Spurgeon has given you my answer.\n\nThese talks aim to fill the eye as well as the ear. This is the\nreason that a line of simple objects is used.\n\nThese objects are golden hooks which hang up ideas in the hall of\nmemory to stay \"put\" evermore.\n\nSome of the chapters are designed for children and adults alike, for\nthere are some adults who, like Peter Pan, refuse to grow up and\nstill \"like to see things.\"\n\nRead over each chapter twice before you attempt to work it out.\n\nThink yourself back to childhood's happy days and \"be a child again\njust for tonight,\" and then when your ideas are romping about in your\nhead with the zest of youth, tell your lesson and show them \"the\nthings.\"\n\nAnd may it come to pass that you may turn the Wonderful Eyes and\nHearts of the Wonderful Children toward the \"Rose of Sharon\" as the\nrose of the garden turns toward the light of the Sun.\n\nThis is the prayer of the author to whom God has given the\ndistinguished honor of talking to a million and a half of little\nfolks about Jesus, \"who loves the little children of the world.\"\n\n                                                       C. H. WOOLSTON.\nEAST BAPTIST STUDY, PHILADELPHIA, PA.\n      April, 1926.\n\n\n\n\n                              =CONTENTS=\n\nCHAPTER                                                           PAGE\n 1. JUST A FEW WORDS TO THE CHILDREN .............................   1\n 2. WHEN THE BABY DISCOVERS AMERICA! .............................   3\n 3. A MILLION-DOLLAR CIGARET .....................................   5\n 4. HEALING LEAVES ...............................................  10\n 5. WHAT THE BIBLE IS LIKE .......................................  12\n 6. JUDGING BY APPEARANCES .......................................  17\n 7. A CHILD FOR SALE .............................................  20\n 8. WEEDS ........................................................  25\n 9. THE SWORD OF -- ..............................................  28\n10. WHAT CAN TAKE A WAY MY SINS? .................................  33\n11. WORDS OF ANGER ...............................................  37\n12. THE COPPER-FACE GIRL .........................................  41\n13. MAKING A CHURCH FLAG .........................................  44\n14. AN IMMORTALITY LESSON ........................................  48\n15. \"OFF FOR HAPPY LAND\" .........................................  51\n16. FORGOTTEN HOLY NAMES .........................................  55\n17. I LAY MY SINS ON JESUS .......................................  59\n18. THE LORD'S PRAYER IN CANDLES .................................  62\n19. HOW GOD COVERS MY SINS .......................................  68\n20. WHAT THE FLAG SIGNALS SAY ....................................  71\n21. THE DEVIL'S GOAT .............................................  75\n22. SHINING TRUTH ................................................  77\n23. THE BEATITUDES IN COLORS .....................................  82\n24. THE GOSPEL IN THE FLAG .......................................  84\n25. WHAT THE LETTERED BLOCKS SAID ................................  87\n26. BLOTS TAKEN AWAY .............................................  89\n27. A LOST HEART, AND WHERE IT WAS FOUND .........................  92\n28. \"BRIGHTEN YOUR CORNER AS A BUSINESS\" .........................  97\n29. THE POSTAGE-STAMP AS A PREACHER .............................. 101\n30. CANDLES IN THE PULPIT ........................................ 105\n31. A POST-CARD SERMON ........................................... 109\n32. MAKING JOY ................................................... 112\n33. YE LITTLE OLD FOLKS .......................................... 114\n34. THE CRUCIFIXION IN COLORS .................................... 116\n35. THE GOSPEL BY RIBBONS ........................................ 119\n36. JOINING THE CHURCH ........................................... 122\n37. GOD'S MAIL-BAG ............................................... 126\n38. TURNING THE PALMS INTO A CROSS ............................... 131\n39. JESUS CHANGES THINGS ......................................... 134\n40. THE BUNDLE OF LIFE ........................................... 137\n41. THE NORTH POLE OF THE BIBLE .................................. 142\n42. OBJECT-LESSONS FOR SPECIAL DAYS .............................. 146\n43. PUTTING A GOD TO BED ......................................... 174\n44. HOW TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS FLAG ................................. 179\n45. THAT SOCIAL HOUR ............................................. 183\n46. \"THE WORDLESS BOOK\" .......................................... 189\n47. THE HEART OF SEVEN DEVILS .................................... 196\n48. SHOW YOUR COLORS ............................................. 204\n49. THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT IN STORY FORM ................. 208\n50. WHAT TEN CORDS COULD NOT DO .................................. 210\n51. OBJECT-LESSONS EXTRAORDINARY ................................. 214\n52. A BOTTLE OF MOSQUITOES ....................................... 222\n53. A CHRISTMAS TREE IN AUGUST ................................... 228\n54. THE JUNIOR POST-OFFICE ....................................... 232\n55. THE BLACK FLAG ............................................... 236\n56. HOW FIVE SPADES DUG THROUGH .................................. 240\n57. THE KAISER'S CUP ............................................. 245\n58. HOW TO MAKE A RAG MAP ........................................ 248\n59. STATIONS OF SALVATION ........................................ 252\n60. A SUGGESTIVE PROGRAM ......................................... 261\n61. A MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER ................................. 263\n\n\n\n\n                       =LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS=\n\n                                                              OPPOSITE\n                                                                  PAGE\nA Group of Children Just After a Happy Hour Service at\n    Winona Lake, Indiana; These Represent the Children to\n    Whom This Book is Dedicated .............Frontispiece\n\nRev. C. H. Woolston and Professor Homer Rodeheaver ...............  18\n\nA Meeting of Children in the East Baptist Church, Philadelphia\n    (Where the Author is Pastor) Giving Attention\n    to Object-lessons Described in This Book .....................  98\n\nAtlas, the Big Lion, a Docile, Friendly Beast, Performing\n    for the Children ............................................. 216\n\nA Baby Lion, Six Weeks Old, Receiving the Name of the\n    Youngest Baby in the Audience ................................ 218\n\nA Baby Leopard, Seven Months Old, Used to Illustrate the\n    Scripture Reference to the Leopard's Spots ................... 220\n\nThe Bear Is Called the Clown of the Animal Kingdom. This\n  Baby Bear, Visiting a Children's Meeting in Doctor\n  Woolston's Church, Was Used to Illustrate the Sin of\n  Stubbornness ................................................... 222\n\n\n\n\n                                  =1\n\n                   JUST A FEW WORDS TO THE CHILDREN\n\n                      SOME HELPFUL WORDS TO THE\n                         SPEAKER TO CHILDREN=\n\nAt some time during the service the minister will say, \"Now just a\nfew words to the children.\" He has a big task before him, and if he\nis strong enough to know _how_ to say these \"few words,\" is he\nlearned enough to know _what_ to say in these \"few words\"?\n\nMany a great preacher meets his Waterloo here. Will he retire beaten\ndragging the white flag of surrender after him, and hang low his head\nbecause of the conscious defeat, or will he with flying banners put\nit over in these \"few words,\" and take his place in line with the\nworld's greatest conquerors?\n\nHe must remember all children will not prick up their ears and listen\nhard just because he is a great preacher. Children are great critics.\nTheir criticism takes the form of not listening. They know perfectly\nthe art of withdrawing attention when they are not interested in the\n\"few words,\" but their minds are not vacant during the unheeded \"few\nwords.\" They are counting the number of people present in the pews\ndirectly in front of them. They are watching the inattention of the\nmembers of the choir. They are thinking of their games of yesterday,\nor something they received at Christmastime, or of some book just\ngiven them as a birthday gift. They may be whispering or nudging each\nother, or if they have a bit of pencil with them they may be\nsketching caricatures of the deacons before them or even of the\nminister who is addressing them.\n\nThe little girl's motherly thought may be straying home to a sick\ndoll, or may be smiling at the funny ways of puppy or kitten that she\njust happens to remember. The boy may be smiling over some funny\nsituation he saw yesterday at the \"movies.\" They are all very\nresourceful in themselves to save them from being bored by an address\nthat has lost its way in its pilgrimage from the minister to their\npews in which they are seated. The \"just a few words\" like birds have\ntaken to their wings, and gone over the children's heads to the \"land\nof nowhere.\" The minister, if he has normal eyes and a common mind,\nis conscious of the fact he has \"missed fire,\" and wonders what he\ncan do to put it over so it will stay \"put\"! If he thus thinks, there\nis large hope for him, because he has not graduated from the\nlearner's bench. Let him be a child again and think as a child. Let\nhim learn how to talk to them and not about them, and then his \"just\na few words\" will become as interesting to their mind as the toys\nthey left behind them. This is worth the effort; even the adults who\nare only \"tall kids\" will like the talk better than \"the preaching\nat\" in which they have only a feeble interest. Even the \"polar bear\"\ndeacon will thaw out and catch himself smiling at the \"few words\" of\nthe preacher that just \"talks.\"\n\nHappy is the man who can interest the child in his \"few words\" and\ncan also interest the child in its efforts to translate the \"few\nwords\" into big acts on the inside building of a child's character.\n\n\n\n\n                                  =2\n\n                   WHEN THE BABY DISCOVERS AMERICA!\n\n                   SOME IMPORTANT THOUGHTS FOR WORK\n                           AMONG CHILDREN=\n\n             A Study of the Object as Well as the Subject\n\nEvery little cradle is a ship starting on the voyage of life. Little\nEyes looks out from its cabin windows and discovers that the land it\nsees is America. It is not dreaming of lakes sublime or rivers\nmajestic. It is not in fact a discoverer. It is a _see-er_. It is\nseeing things, real things, in the land it has just discovered. Its\nfirst adventure is the finding of Mother, which means it has\ndiscovered perfect love, protection, and tender care. Mother is\nheaven, her shining eyes are the stars. There is a cry in the night.\nMother understands its language and gives her holy ministrations.\nWatch Mother, she is the teacher God has trained. Listen to her first\n\"few words.\" Baby does. Mother understands. God give the preacher\nthis understanding. Learn how Mother her first \"few words,\" then\n\"try, try again.\" Learn your first lesson in the language of a child.\nIt loves picture words. It learns the names of common things first.\nThings fix themselves in the eyes. Its language is born as it looks.\nLooks at a cow and calls it \"moo cow.\" A picture word with action in\nit! It looks at a lamb and coins its own word \"Baa-lamb.\" Teach the\nchildren in words full of pictures. They see objects and fix on them\ncertain ideas. Do the same in teaching them in their older days.\nClothe objects with ideas, and they will shine like stars in the\nchildren's understanding. Words that are dear and familiar to adult\nchurch-goers are so by long and sacred associations. Children have no\nsuch relation to our \"churchly\" words.\n\nThis does not mean that we are to talk down to them and use \"baby\" or\nsilly talk. Children know when they are being \"talked down to,\" and\nresent it. When the preacher arrives to address the children in a\n\"few words,\" he should be of the same age as the child in his words\nin order to establish contact. Why not? The Mother talks to the\nchildren in words of their age. Let the preacher be like the Mother\nwhen he stands to address his words to the little folks. Let him use\nshort words, plain sentences, pictureful words, and objects which the\nchildren know, and thus become a child again. Let him see the big\nworld through the eyes of the children, and he will know what stories\nthe children like and do not like, and when he arrives in the pulpit,\ntheir eyes will be fastened on him, and they will hear him gladly\nbecause he is one of them.\n\nSo, as baby discovers America, you discover baby.\n\n\n\n\n                                  =3\n\n                       A MILLION DOLLAR CIGARET\n\n           OBJECTS: A Black Muslin Flag on Which Is Written\n                Some of the Woes of the Cigaret Habit=\n\nSome months ago in Jersey City, N. J., a large warehouse and its\ncontents were destroyed by fire. This was the dreadful blaze known as\nthe Great Triangle Fire which finally destroyed a million dollars\nworth of property. The deadly cigaret was believed to have been the\ncause of this disaster. An employee walking about the place tossed or\nallowed to drop from his hand a lighted cigaret.\n\nA cigar thus dropped goes out at once; a cigaret continues to burn\nuntil it burns itself out, and so this cigaret continued to burn and\nignited other material, and thus the great fire had its start, and\none million dollars worth of property was thus destroyed. That was a\nMillion Dollar Cigaret.\n\nAll cigarets are costly. They destroy things much more valuable than\npersonal property or real estate. They destroy health, character, and\nthe chances of good success in life. These things are more valuable\nthan hills of gold. The cigaret is more deadly than natural death,\nfor it produces a living death and at last flings the ruined soul on\nthe bank of the Lost River in the Kingdom of Eternal Darkness.\n\nSir Christopher Furness has found that cigaret smoking among boys not\nonly causes deterioration of physique, but \"tends to develop lounging\nhabits, with the result that the juvenile smoker's work is less\nconscientiously done, and he is lacking in sprightliness and\nalertness. Where, as is often the case,\" Sir Christopher adds, \"the\nboy smokes clandestinely, habits of deceitfulness will probably be\nformed.\" Sir George William's experience as an employer has\nconclusively proved to him that a boy is a far from satisfactory\nworker if he smokes, and he says:\n\nThe effects of smoking, with its tendency to encourage drinking, are\nto reduce a lad's energy, to lessen his intellectual capacity, and to\nweaken his moral character.\n\nThe fact that every great public school prohibits smoking among its\nboys, and punishes offenders with a strong hand, is eloquent of the\nevil effect tobacco has on the young mind. The Leeds School Board\nsome time ago enlisted the services of eminent medical authorities in\nits battle against the cigaret, and the Plymouth Board circularized\nthe teachers and parents of the children on the subject. A Committee\nof the Liverpool School Board which investigated the matter declared\nthat \"cigaret smoking affects the system generally, and arrests\nphysical development,\" and it would be possible to quote thousands of\nsuch opinions from the educational side.\n\nIt goes without saying that the doctor is the strongest enemy of the\ncigaret for boys. \"All the evidence,\" says Dr. Andrew Wilson, \"points\nto the undermining of a growing lad's physique by indulgence in\ntobacco,\" and Doctor Wilson continues:\n\nAdd to this the moral effect--that of rendering the already\nprecocious boy still more precocious, and of turning him into an\ninsufferable prig, and you thus condemn the habit from another point\nof view.\n\nSir Henry LittleJohn, the veteran medical officer of health for\nEdinburgh, has used his great influence against the boy smoker on\nmany grounds, and there is much force in his argument that\n\nthe practise is fraught with dangers to society at large, owing to\nthe secrecy with which the habit is carried on, the assembling at\nnights, the tendency to visit ice-cream shops to assuage the heat of\nthe mouth that has been engendered by the filthy practise, and, in\naddition, we have ultimately that disregard of the proprieties due to\nthe other sex which is introducing in our midst a laxity of morals,\nwhich, in the future, must bear fruit.\n\nMagistrate Crane of New York City says:\n\nNinety-nine out of a hundred boys between ten and seventeen years of\nage, who come before me charged with crime, have their fingers\ndisfigured by yellow cigaret stains... The poison in the cigaret\nseems to get into the system of the boy and destroys all moral fiber.\n\nTobacco interferes with the functions of the eye, of the heart, and\nof the kidneys. Tobacco smoking interferes with the development of\nthe boy.\n\nProfessor McKeever says the cigaret-smoking boys of several schools,\nthe records of which were investigated, were described by his\ninformants by such epithets as sallow, sore-eyed, puny,\nsqueaky-voiced, sickly, short-winded, and extremely nervous.\n\nThe greatest danger of the cigaret habit is its insidious nature. The\nboy does not realize the danger until it is too late to correct it.\nHundreds of tombstones today bear silent testimony to this fact.\n\nA chemist took the tobacco used in an average cigaret and soaked it\nin several teaspoonfuls of water and injected a portion of it under\nthe skin of a cat. The cat almost immediately went into convulsions\nand died in fifteen minutes. Dogs have been killed with a single drop\nof nicotine.\n\nInvestigation shows that prominent business men positively refuse to\nengage men for responsible positions who smoke cigarets. The cigaret\nsmoker, sooner or later, proves to be unreliable either physically,\nmentally, morally, or all three.\n\nIn Detroit alone, sixty-nine merchants have agreed not to employ\ncigaret-users. Chicago firms such as Montgomery Ward & Co., Marshall\nField & Co., Morgan & Wright Tire Co., all prohibit cigaret smoking\namong employees, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, head of the Ford Motor\nCompany, are both opposed to the cigaret.\n\nThe manager of one of Ohio's largest mercantile houses, when asked\nfor a job for a boy who smoked cigarets, said:\n\nI'm sorry, but I can't use cigaret smokers. First, they smell bad,\nand I don't want to put them in contact with the nice young ladies\nwho work here or the nice ladies who trade here. Second, cigarets\nprevent the development of strong, clear, reliable moral character.\nThey excite the lower passions and dull the sense of right and wrong.\n\nJudge Ben Lindsay of Denver says:\n\nI have been in the Juvenile Court nearly ten years, dealing with\nthousands of boys who have disgraced themselves and their parents,\nand I do not know of any one habit which is more responsible for the\ntroubles of these boys than the vile cigaret habit.\n\nSuperintendent, Mervine of the Wells Fargo Express Company, issued a\nletter to all agents of the company, in which he said:\n\nAny one who habitually smokes cigarets, in this climate especially,\nhas something connected with his record or his qualifications that\nmakes him a dangerous person.\n\nDr. Sims Woodhead, professor of pathology in Cambridge University,\nsays that cigaret smoking, in the case of boys, partially paralyzes\nthe nerve-cells at the base of the brain, and this interferes with\nthe breathing or heart action.\n\nNow produce a flag made of black muslin which you call the Cigaret\nFlag, on which you have pinned small slips of paper on which you have\nwritten some of the short sayings herewith given, Read these lines\nfrom the flag and say, \"We will now listen to the message of the\nCigaret Flag.\"\n\nIf you blow a mouthful of cigaret smoke through a clean white\nhandkerchief, it will leave a dark brown slimy stain. In this carbon\ndeposit are the different poisons which eat on the delicate spongy\nmembrane of the back of the throat like acid on a piece of cloth.\n\nConclude by warning the boys not to smoke the deadly cigaret, never\nto begin; and if they have smoked, then first urge them to make the\nlast cigaret the last forever. Tell them that Jesus wants boys with\nclean lips and pure hearts. The cigaret habit has roots which go deep\ninto the heart. This is what makes the grip of the habit so strong.\nJesus said that \"Every plant my heavenly Father has not planted shall\nbe rooted up.\" So this is one of the plants doomed by God. Let him\npull it out from your heart by the roots; only thus can it be taken\naway to stay.\n\n\n\n\n                                  =4\n\n                            HEALING LEAVES\n\n             OBJECTS: A Collection of Eucalyptus Leaves=\n\nSecure from a regular drug-store a few dried leaves of the eucalyptus\ntree which grows in California. Mount them on cardboard or hold them\nup in a cluster so all the hearers may see them. Then open your Bible\nand read Revelation 22:2, \"and the leaves of the tree were for the\nhealing of the nations.\" This can be used as a text for this lesson.\n\nThis great tree is to remind the saved in heaven that there is no\nsickness there, for the cure of the nations and the ages is under the\nshade of the leaves of this healing tree. This tree with its healing\nleaves is to remind us of Jesus. He is the great Tree of Life, \"a\nroot out of the dry ground.\" His leaves of truth have been for the\nhealing of the nations. This collection of leaves which you now hold\nin your hand has healing power. An oil is extracted direct from these\nleaves which has great medicinal value.\n\nSecure some of this oil from your regular druggist and ask him as to\nhow it is used by the local doctors.\n\nIn Africa the natives do much of their curing by leaves. They believe\nthat all diseases can be cured by leaves, and when a person is ill or\nbitten by a serpent they hasten to the jungles and secure a healing\nleaf. This was one of the most primitive means of healing known to\nmen.\n\nThere is another great Tree of Knowledge which we call the great\nBible. The leaves of this tree have long been healing the nations.\nEvery leaf has a healing word in it. As you say this hold up the\nBible with the other hand and read what some of the leaves say. Read\nJohn 3:14 and 16. These words on the leaves of the Bible have healed\nthe millions. They have been and are for the healing of the nations\nalso, and thus a countless number have received the eternal Health of\nSalvation and are now in heaven, well forevermore.\n\nI remember my mother often told me a Civil War story which to my\nlittle head was a wonder story. She said that once in this war a\nsoldier's life was spared because the enemy's bullet embedded itself\nin the leaves of a New Testament he carried in his pocket. So the\nleaves of the Bible saved his mortal life. Often the smaller birds\nfly into the leaves of the trees for safety when the larger wild bird\nseeks their life.\n\nGod's word is a mighty fortress and a shelter from the storm. Its\nleaves of truth cover us and surround us, like a great wall of\nchariots and armed horsemen, so we are safe forevermore.\n\nIf you have a cluster of leaves put a tag on each containing a verse\nof Scripture which speaks of God's saving power. Pin these leaves\nwith their tags up on some background and explain that there are the\nleaves from the Tree of the Bible, with sure healing in them for the\nnations of the world.\n\n\n\n\n                                  =5\n\n                        WHAT THE BIBLE IS LIKE\n\n         OBJECTS: A Lamp, a Mirror, a Bowl, a Glass of Milk,\n           Bread, a Cup of Honey, a Hammer, a Sword, a Jar\n                              of Seeds=\n\nIn this chapter we think together as to what the Bible is like, and\nproduce the object referred to.\n\nWe confine our thoughts to what the Bible says it is likened unto.\n\n1. The Bible is likened unto a lamp. Here produce an Oriental lamp if\npossible; if not, use an ordinary house lamp, and quote the following\nScripture: Psalm 119:105, 130; Proverbs 6:23.\n\nThis is a dark world, it is under the power of darkness. (Col. 1:13.)\nIt is controlled by the \"rulers of darkness\" (Eph. 6:12). Unless it\nis enlightened by the Bible lamp it will go to its own place, \"the\nblackness of darkness forever\" (Jude 1:13). \"God so loved the world,\nthat he gave us his Lamp that whosoever should follow the Light,\nmight not perish, but have everlasting life.\" Like the golden\ncandlestick it shines upon divine things near at hand, and like the\npillar of fire it lights up the way through the wilderness journey.\nAll other lamps will go out, but this light shines more and more to\nthe perfect day.\n\nHarken, ye children of men, listen, ye people of all nations, \"The\nentrance of thy word giveth light.\"\n\n2. A mirror. (2 Corinthians 3:18; James 1:25.)\n\nAn ordinary looking-glass can be used here if it is put in an upright\nposition.\n\nIt shows me myself just as I really am, not as I think I am, but as I\nam. (Rom. 3:19.) The human heart shrinks from looking at it for it\nshows the heart as it really is. And yet, to see one's self as it is\nrevealed in the mirror is the first step in the true way back to God.\n\nA missionary to China once read aloud, to a large audience, Romans 1.\nOne of the Chinamen present said he thought it was very unfair and\nunkind for the \"foreign devil\" (as missionaries were there called) to\ncome to find out all their secret sins and write them down in a book,\nand read them out in that public way. It is a truth that the Bible is\na mirror, \"Mine to tell me what I am.\"\n\n3. A laver. (Ephesians 5:26.)\n\nA large silver bowl can be used here and placed in line with the lamp\nand mirror. The Bible not only shows us our sins as in a mirror, but\nshows us the way the remedy can be secured. In the old wilderness\ntabernacle, a laver was provided at the entrance of the tabernacle to\ngive a means of cleansing from the defilement which would oftentimes\nrender the worshiper unfit for God's presence; so a cleansing stream,\nseen only by the eye of faith, flows through this book. It broke\nforth from the first promise of the woman's seed (Gen. 3:15) and\nflowed all the way through the Bible until it broke into the\ntrumpet-song of the redeemed in glory. \"Unto Him that loved us, and\nwashed us from our sins in his own blood\" (Rev. 1:5). As water\ncleanses by separating the body from the outward stains, so the Word\nof God applied by the Holy Spirit causes the heart to abhor the\ndefilement of sin which would stain and defile the inward life. \"Thy\nword have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee\" (Ps.\n119:11); and Jesus said, \"Now are ye clean through the word which I\nhave spoken unto you\" (John 15:3).\n\n4. Milk. (1 Corinthians 3:2; Hebrews 5:12,13.)\n\nHere place by the side of the laver a glass or bottle of milk.\n\nThis is to teach us that the Bible is so plain and simple that little\nchildren can feed on it as they do on milk. Some people declare that\nthe Bible is too profound for children, and that they should seek and\nread some other simpler book on religion first. But where is the\nchild that can understand human words that does not grasp the stories\nof many of the Bible records? Noah and the Ark; Daniel in the Lions'\nDen; The Hebrew Children in the Furnace; the story of the Finding of\nMoses; Joseph and His Brethren, and the parables and the miracles of\nJesus, etc. We are all babes in Christ when first converted, and are\nexhorted to drink the pure milk of the pure word of God.\n\n5. Bread. (Deuteronomy 8:3; Isaiah 55:10.)\n\nHere secure a few small cakes, and explain the bread of the Bible was\nnot like our loaf of bread, but like our cakes. Place them on a plate\nand put them in line with the other objects. Here we are taught the\nBible is food for the soul. Without it we will all perish.\n\n\"I have esteemed thy word more than my necessary food\" is the\nconfession of the heart that finds the Bible the real bread for the\nsoul.\n\nThe prophet said, \"Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not\nbread? harken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and\nlet your soul delight itself in fatness.\" This is free bread; it is\nwithout money and without price. Come to the gospel Free Market and\nlive.\n\n6. Honey. (Psalm 119:10.)\n\nPlace now in line with the other symbols a bottle of honey.\n\nThis teaches the truth that the word of God is not only to give us\nour plain, necessary food, but to provide for us God's sweets. An\ninvitation to help ourselves to heaven's luxuries. The Bible is so\nfull of such delights that David cried out, \"How sweet are thy words\nunto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth\" (Ps. 119:103).\n\n7. Fire. (Jeremiah 20:9; 23:29.)\n\nPour out into a metal plate a small quantity of alcohol and light it\nwith a match. It will burn for a few minutes, at least long enough to\nbring home the lesson. Fire breaks out and spreads forth, so if we\nare saved and have the Bible in our hearts, it will break forth into\nacts, and the world will behold it. And with burning words on our\nlips we will speak it forth; messages for the dying world to hear.\n\n8. Hammer. (Jeremiah 23:29.)\n\nSecure a large mallet if possible, for this is the form of a Bible\nhammer; if not possible use an ordinary one. Place this in line with\nthe other objects. Some people's hearts are harder than stone. It\ntakes a strong effort to break their hearts of iron. This is often\ndiscouraging work. The hammer does not always work at the first blow.\nIt hits again and again, and if we who swing the hammer of the word\nare faithful to the end the rock heart will at last break asunder;\nGod's word never fails.\n\n9. Sword. (Ephesians 6:17.)\n\nPlace an ordinary sword on the table with the other objects. The\nBible is a sharp sword, and in the hands of a skilful soldier will\noften, by quick action, bring down the nature that can avoid the\nhammer wielded by the workman's hand. It was a quick instrument of\nlight on the day of Pentecost. It reached the heart, and a full\nsurrender was made. Sometimes it falls with a quick, mighty stroke\nupon those who continue to rebel against its divine authority. (Rev.\n19:15.)\n\n10. Seed. (Luke 8:11; Isaiah 55:10.)\n\nSecure a jar of any kind of seed, and place in line with the other\nobjects.\n\nThe Bible declares we are born again of \"incorruptible\" seed, \"by the\nword of God\" (1 Peter 1:23). It is our task to go forth and sow this\nseed. \"Behold, a sower went forth to sow\" should be said of us every\nday we leave our homes. We should sow beside all waters. We should\nsow at all times. \"In the morning sow thy seed, and at evening\nwithhold not thy hand,\" for \"He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing\nprecious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing\nhis sheaves with him\" (Ps. 126:6).\n\nAfter you have taught this lesson, cause your audience to repeat with\nyou what the Bible is like.\n\n\n\n\n                                  =6\n\n                        JUDGING BY APPEARANCES\n\n            OBJECTS: A Collection of Paper Drinking-cups=\n\nThis is a lesson on the folly of judging by appearances or coming to\na conclusion from knowing just one side of the truth, which in the\nlanguage of the people is called \"jumping at conclusions.\"\n\nSecure ten or twelve paper drinking-cups; cut them all except one\ninto two parts, put the top parts into each other, so that they will\nlook like a pile of cups, but the only real cup is the bottom cup.\nSay: \"Here we seem to have a stack of drinking-cups from which to\ndrink when we are thirsty. Here we seem to have enough cups for a\nparty of ten or twelve [according to the number you have] but in\nreality there is only one cup that is a real cup that will hold\nwater.\"\n\nTake the half cups out of the pile, and show the children they are\nmistaken. You only appeared to have a collection of cups. Then teach\nthe danger of judging by appearances; always be sure you are right\nbefore you speak and judge. _Look into_ the cup as well as _at_ it\nbefore you declare that here there are ten (or more) cups. It is a\ndangerous thing oftentimes to judge by knowing a half-truth only.\n\nPeople who jump at conclusions are in the way of making frequent\nmistakes and often do great mischief. A woman standing in line before\nthe window of a New England savings-bank, waiting her turn to deposit\nfive dollars, saw a man step up and draw out nine hundred dollars.\nShe was not used to the sight of so much money, and, supposing that\nthis meant a heavy drain on the resources of the bank, held on to her\nfive dollars, and not only that, but went and told her friends about\nit, saying that the bank must be in danger. The news spread, and soon\nthere was a \"run\" on the bank. Before the panic was over, and scared\ndepositors satisfied that the bank was sound, between ten thousand\nand twenty thousand dollars had been withdrawn. Better be sure of\nfacts and not judge by appearances. This \"supposing\" things makes\ntrouble.\n\nSome time ago a young man in looking around among the people at a\npublic gathering, noticed a tall, heavyset, well-built man, and made\nup his mind that he was the new minister. He went up to a friend and\nsaid: \"Very strong, good-looking man, isn't he? I am well pleased and\nsatisfied he will make a very good minister.\" That man replied to his\nfriend, \"Why he is no minister, he is the manager of the new\ntheater.\" It takes more than a fine-looking man to be a minister. He\nmay only look like one, and be only half a cup.\n\nA gentleman noticed a refined-looking stranger seated opposite to him\nat the table. He had a magnificent forehead and a fine, venerable,\nbald head. His eyes were shooting off sparks of expression which\nseemed to be born of the fires of genius. \"Ah,\" thought he, \"if he\ncould but speak, what grand words we would hear! What large\nutterances would fall from his eloquent lips!\" Suddenly the gentleman\nwho possessed the venerable head and a great talent for silence spoke\nand said, \"Hand me them dumplings, them's the jockeys for me.\" He was\nwise only in appearance. He was half a cup. There was nothing of\neloquence or talent in him. Things are not what they seem to be.\n\n[Illustration: Rev. C. H. Woolston and Professor Homer Rodeheaver]\n\nIn 1 Samuel 16:7, the Bible teaches us this lesson: \"Look not on his\ncountenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused\nhim.\" God saw both sides of the man. What he looked like, and what he\nreally was. \"Man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh\non the heart\" (1 Sam. 16:7). Learn to see things as God sees them,\nthen you will see aright.\n\n\n\n\n                                  =7\n\n                           A CHILD FOR SALE\n\n              OBJECTS: A Child and a Number of Prepared\n                           Business Cards=\n\nCall a little boy to the platform and ask: \"What is a child worth?\nNot long ago in the great city of Philadelphia a little girl was\nfatally hurt by a trolley-car. The jury awarded a verdict of $5,000\nfor damages. Five thousand dollars was the legal value of a child.\nWould you sell your little girl for that figure? Is that what your\nchild is worth? Are children for sale in this world of sin and\nunbelief? This child is for sale, and the world, the flesh, and the\ndevil bid for him. Who bids first for this child?\"\n\nA man then walks up to the platform saying, \"A business man makes the\nfirst offer.\" Read the card and say: \"Mr. A. Cigaret, representing\nthe Smoke and Brownleaf Co., bids for the child. He offers good\nfellowship, the thrills of the happy smoker, and the name of a jolly\ngood fellow.\" This card you have prepared before the service, and\nplaced in the hands of one of your assistants who delivers it to you\nat your call; after he presents the card he takes his seat. In reply\nto this bid you say: \"This bid is rejected. King Tobacco cannot have\nthis boy with the pure life and happy smile. The bid is rejected for\nthe following reasons.\n\n\"It is a deadly poison. 'In a cigaret there are five poisons: the oil\nof nicotine, the oil in the paper, saltpetre to preserve the tobacco,\nopium to make it mild, and the oil in the flavoring.'\n\n\"It leads to insanity. Dr. Forbes Winslow says, 'Cigaret smoking is\none of the chief causes of insanity.'\n\n\"It is a crime-maker. A New York City magistrate says: 'Yesterday I\nhad before me thirty-five boy prisoners; thirty-three were confirmed\ncigaret smokers. Tobacco is the boy's easiest and most direct road to\nwhisky.'\n\n\"It is the highway to disease. 'Tobacco is the admitted cause of\nupward of eighty diseases, including blindness, and cancers of the\nlower lip and tongue, and is credited with killing twenty thousand in\nour land every year.'\n\n\"It is an agent for death. Dr. J. J. Kellog says: 'I had all the\nnicotine removed from a cigaret and made a solution of it. I injected\nhalf of it into a frog, and the frog died almost instantly. The frog\nwas full grown and average size. A boy smoking twenty cigarets in a\nday inhales enough poison to kill forty frogs.'\n\n\"A cigaret smoker is slain before he is dead. Slain to all the good\nchances for success in life.\n\n\"E. H. Harriman, former head of the Union Pacific R. R. System, says,\n'We might as well go to the lunatic asylum for our employees as to\nhire cigaret smokers.'\n\n\"The cigaret is a deadly thing. You are seeking the young child's\nlife. Your bid is therefore rejected.\"\n\nThe next bid is brought to the platform by an assistant who hands you\nthe prepared business card marked: \"Mr. Pool-room. I will give a\njolly evening for years to come in my game-room. There will be a\nbunch of happy lads there, full of glee, happy all night long. I will\ngive him the thrill of making money easy. Will preserve him from hard\nwork. Will help him drive away dull care.\"\n\nYou reply: \"This bid is rejected for the following reasons:\n\n\"The poolroom is the place of the gambler's table. It will teach him\nto get dishonest money, tainted and yellow with sin. He will meet the\ndepraved, and they will be his companions. He will lose the purity of\nheart God has given him. It will steal the roses from his cheek and\npaint his face with the lines of dissipation. It will take him from\nhis father and mother, and some day toss him up against the door of\nthe old homestead a human wreck. You cannot have him, Mr. Pool-room.\nHe shall not walk in the sinners' way. I reject your offer.\"\n\nAnother prepared card is brought to the platform with the words: \"His\nHighness, Lord Ignorance. I bid for this lad, and for him I offer an\nopen mind. Let him do his own thinking, live as he pleases. I will\nnot let him go to school or trouble about knowledge. The less he\nknows the happier he will be. I will just let him do as he pleases.\nThat will be his religion and education.\"\n\nThen you reply, saying: \"Your bid is also rejected. Your card has on\nit the stain of the blackness of the Dark Ages. You would make merely\nan animal of my boy, just feed him and turn him loose like a beast.\nYou would bring down on him all the misery of the Dark Ages. You\nwould cover him in a dense cloud of ignorance. You would starve his\nmind and feed his body, and so make a monster of him. You would lead\nhim astray, and he would not know the deadly thing you were doing.\nYou would put out the eyes of his mind so they could not see God's\nway. No, you cannot purchase the soul of this lad for such a price.\nBack, Lord Ignorance, into the Dark Ages; that is where your castle\nof sin is built. You are a black dragon of shadows and dwell in the\nshades of blackness. Your bid is therefore rejected.\"\n\nYou then say, \"Who will bid for the soul of this boy?\" You can have\nvarious cards prepared with the words, Mr. Profanity, Mr. Infidelity,\nMr. Highwayman, etc. After you have worked it out according to your\nliking you say, \"I am now open for the last bid.\" A card is sent up\nwith the words \"The Church.\" The bid reads as follows:\n\n\"I, the Church of the Lord Jesus, will now bid for the soul of the\nboy. I will put him into the ranks of the Sunday-school children. He\nwill be in the army of 'the millions.' He will be taught to sing\nGod's praises, and his lips to speak white words. He will be taught\nthe way of the heavenly life from the Bible, God's book of wonders.\nHe will be taught to stand upright in all life's tasks. God will lift\nhim to a high station of life and give him great success, and at last\nGod will take his soul to heaven through his faith in the Lord\nJesus.\"\n\nYou then say: \"O Church Militant, I accept your terms of the sale.\nThe boy is yours for this world and for the next.\"\n\nBefore he leaves the platform you present him with a New Testament\nwhich you tell him is life's great lantern to guide him to the end.\nYou give him a little cross which, you say, is to remind him of his\nfaith in the Son of God, and last, give him a church conquest flag to\nremind him that the Christian life is a battle, and he must fight his\nway onward, as he is a Christian soldier. Shake hands with him and\npointing forward say, \"Onward, Christian soldier!\" Let the organist\nplay this melody as he walks to his seat.\n\nThe address each bidder makes for the boy may also be all written out\nand placed in a sealed envelope and presented to you with the card\nannouncing the bidder's name. You can then break open the contract\nand read as noted in the body of this chapter.\n\n\n\n\n                                  =8\n\n                                WEEDS\n\n                  OBJECTS: A Number of Common Weeds=\n\nI was noticing the other day, that, in my garden, after the winter\ndays had passed, the first green things to show their head were the\nlittle weeds. They seemed to say to me, \"Hello, we are back again for\nbusiness.\" And a pretty lively business they are in, surely. We are\nsorry to see them come, and glad to see them go, but before they do\ngo I want to teach you some important life lessons from them.\n\nThey are very like the most of us, so they talk to us as old friends.\nThe first thing I hear them say is, \"We grow very fast.\" They\nmultiply quickly. The red poppy will give fifty thousand seeds. The\ndandelion (show one if you have it in your collection) will give over\ntwo thousand seeds. Weeds stand for evil things and useless things.\nThey seem to be like the sands of the sea in number. So our life is\nfull of weeds very often. We tell one lie, and then another to\nprotect ourselves against the evil of the first lie, and by and by we\nhave told many of them, and the habit of lying has been so formed,\nthat often thousands of lies will be told. So little boys and girls\nmust watch the weeds, for they grow very fast in the heart. Take care\nof your words. Don't let the lie get mixed up with them.\n\nThese are some of the evil weeds we must watch: Envy, bad temper,\nuntruthfulness, selfishness, unkindness--and there are many more.\nCall all these things weeds, and don't let them get into the garden\nof the heart.\n\nThen, again, I heard the weeds say: \"I will walk into your garden and\ncome up as noiselessly as the beautiful flowers. I will push up my\nsoft harmless little leaves, and do it so gently that I will not\ndisturb your roses.\" And so evil things creep into our life, and look\nquite as harmless as the little weed. When they get in, we like them\nand encourage them, and often will not let them go, because we love\nthem; then at last we cannot let them go if we would. Just a little\nwhite lie, just for fun, then a lying life, with everything false.\n\nA whole town were once horrified by the confession of a mere boy that\nhe had killed his playmate. He seemed to have no fear or sorrow\nbecause of the act, but his mother said when he was a small child he\nwould catch the flies and pull their wings off, and smile as he noted\nthe suffering of the fly. First it was the wings of a fly, at last it\nwas the murder of a playmate. Weeds are not good things in a garden.\nThey are not good things in the heart, Watch them when they first\nshow their little heads. Close the door at once, they soon turn to\npoison and death in the soul.\n\nThen again the weeds say to me: \"My real name is Determination. I\nwill come in, and you will have a hard time to get rid of me.\" They\nare determined to stay. It is no use to pull off their leaves, but\npull them up by their roots and cast them into the fire. Just as soon\nas an evil thought comes into our minds, kill it at once. Cast it out\nof our thought. Don't talk about it, or it will drive its roots down\ndeep, and will come to stay.\n\nEvil-thought weeds come from everywhere; some from far-off lands,\nothers are carried in our mail, and in our schoolbooks. Some are\npassing tramps, but they come and take us unawares. Soon evil acts\nfollow naturally and as certainly as day follows night. Fill your\nmind full of good thoughts, and don't look on evil weeds. Solomon\nsaid, \"Look not on the wine.\" This was good advice, for looking upon\nevil creates the longing for it. Let Jesus come into the mind as well\nas the heart, and he will cast out the evil thoughts, because he\ncannot stay with the weeds of sinful thoughts. Let your daily prayer\nbe, \"Take away all the ugly weeds from my heart, O Lord, and plant\nbeautiful thought flowers there, that it may be always sweet for\nthee.\"\n\nIn delivering this address display the weeds in separate bunches. Put\nthem in a number of glasses and put all in a row on the front of the\ntable so all the class may see them.\n\nAfter the lesson gather them into one bunch and cast them aside (or\nout of door or window). This is what God does with the _thorns_ and\n_thistles_. These are Bible names for _weeds_.\n\n\n\n\n                                  =9\n\n                            THE SWORD OF --\n\n          OBJECTS: A Small Sword with the Name of \"Benaiah\"\n                        Written on the Blade=\n\nI hold in my hand a small sword. It belongs to a great soldier whose\nname is mentioned in the Old Testament in 2 Samuel 23. I find his\nname on this sword. I don't think you have ever pronounced it. If you\nhave, you have forgotten it, yet the soldier whose name is written\nhere was great and brave and full of kindly deeds. It is too bad his\nname has been forgotten. I will tell you about his deeds, and then, I\nhope, after I have told you his name you will never forget him.\n\nThere once lived a priest in a little country town. Its streets were\nlined with beautiful palm trees, and its well of water was deep,\ncool, and sweet. This priest had a son who was so strong and brave\nthat he was greatly beloved by his father. Often when he talked with\nhis father, he said, as many other boys have said, that some day when\nhe was older he wanted to be a soldier. He often looked from the door\nof his home upon the passing army of soldiers, with their glittering\narmor and shining spears, and then, sometimes, boylike, he would\nfollow the procession to the city gates and wave his hand to them, as\nhe saw the flying banners disappear in the distance. When he grew up,\nhe was of the same mind, and one day never to be forgotten he said\ngood-by to his father and all his old friends and went a long journey\nto join the king's army.\n\nHis bravery soon made him famous, so much so that he was soon\npromoted to the position of captain.\n\nOnce he was met by two robbers of another nation, who thought they\ncould easily kill him, and so rid their nation of a troublesome and\npowerful enemy, but they did not find this to be so easy a task,\nbecause he was so strong, and his sword was so powerful, and he\nfought so desperately that he not only made his escape, but left his\ntwo persecutors dead by the roadside. He was a good soldier and\nfought well with his sword of defence.\n\nOne winter's day there came a man, in great haste, crying out, \"There\nis a lion prowling about just outside the city gate.\" All the\nchildren were greatly frightened and ran into their houses and shut\nthe door to keep the mad lion from entering their homes to destroy\nthem. It was a cold, long winter, and the lion was hungry. He had\nbeen unable to find his food in the wild woods, and had come to the\nwalls of the town in search of food. Wolves and other wild animals do\nthe same thing. All the people were alarmed, so they sent their\nmessenger in haste to the brave soldier with the mighty sword. He was\nurged by this messenger to make haste and come out and kill this lion\nbefore its hunger should drive it to enter into the town and carry\noff some man or woman, or perhaps some little boy or girl. When the\nbrave man heard this he quickly took his sword and followed the guide\nto the place where he had seen the lion. Some of the people informed\nhim that it had fallen into a pit and was struggling to get out and\nroaring with madness. When the brave man saw this, he sprang into the\npit with the lion, and after a terrible struggle killed it with his\nsword. He was so handy with his sword, that I think, just as the lion\nwas about to make a mad rush upon him, he gave him such a mighty\nsword-thrust that the lion fell back dead into the pit. So we see he\nwas not afraid of man or beast. He knew how to give a fatal\nsword-thrust that gave him victory at last.\n\nWhat was his name? Such a brave man should have his name written in\nletters of iron in the temple of the mighty swordsmen of the world.\nJust hear me again, and then I will tell you his name.\n\nOne day the king, his master, who was now getting old, was in the\ncamp. It was a hot day, and the great king felt thirsty and was eager\nfor a drink of water. The king thought of the clear cold spring of\nwater in his old home town, to which he had often gone on a hot\nsummer day to drink of its cool refreshing water. He had often bathed\nhis hands and face with it. He could even now see its waters dancing\nin the sunlight before him, But alas, that old home town was in the\nhands of the enemy. How could he ever get that water to his lips.\nHalf unconsciously he cried out, \"Oh that some one would get me a\ndrink from that spring near to the gates of the old home town!\" Our\nbrave soldier boy overheard this wish expressed by the king, and so\ncalled two of his companions and said to them: \"I heard the king say\njust now, that he longed for a drink from the water of the well near\nthe gate in his old home town, where he was born. The enemy is in\npossession of that town, and it may cost us our lives, but the king\nis old, and it would greatly please him. Shall we try?\" His friends\nsaid, \"Yes, we will, and let us start at once.\" So they started off\nwith quick steps and brave hearts. So quickly did they move that\nbefore very long they were in sight of the little town. They could\nsee the soldiers moving about the spring, but, like good soldiers,\nthey secretly drew nearer and nearer without being seen. When the\nenemy was not looking these brave soldiers slipped down, and before\nthe enemy knew what was happening, they thrust the flask into the\nwaters of the spring and let it fill itself with the good water for\nthe king. A shower of darts from the enemy flew about them, but they\nmade their escape and safely reached their camp and king. Tears\nfilled the eyes of the old king when he saw the flask and remembered\nthe perils his faithful men had passed through. He did not drink of\nthe water. It had cost too much. It was too precious for the lips of\nman. So he poured it out on the ground, which was the way this\nancient people had of giving it to God. So you see our brave\nswordsman had something more than a strong arm, that would give a\nsword-thrust with mighty effect; he also had a big strong heart.\n\nHe loved the king. He served him with his heart and hand. His name is\nwritten on this sword. What was the name of this forgotten hero? I\nwill read it for you, I have it written on this sword. Benaiah was\nhis name. David was the name of the king. The well was just outside\nthe little town of Bethlehem.\n\nLet us speak his name again. Let us all repeat it together, and\noften, when we think of Bethlehem at Christmastime let us repeat the\nname of the brave hero, the swordsman of King David, and tell the\nstory of the fight for water just outside the gates of Bethlehem, and\nthen tell the story of the Child Jesus who came to bring us the Water\nof Life from heaven, for did he not say, \"Whosoever drinketh of the\nwater that I shall give him, shall never thirst, but the water that I\nshall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto\neternal life\"?\n\nIn delivering this lesson hold the sword in your hand and refer to it\nwhenever you use the name of Benaiah the swordsman.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =10\n\n                     WHAT CAN TAKE AWAY MY SINS?\n\n                 OBJECTS: A Number of Lettered Cards=\n\nThe teaching of this chapter is that faith alone in Christ can save.\nPrepare a large black card with the words \"My Sins\" painted upon it.\nHold it up before the audience so all can see it, and remark: \"My\nsins are dark and terrible. The Bible tells me they are like a thick\ncloud. (Isa. 44:22.) Note the first letter of sin is an S, which\nresembles a serpent in the act of striking its deadly blow. You\ncannot pronounce the letter S without hissing as a serpent. Sin is a\ndeadly thing. It is poison for the heart and will. Sin is like a\nmonster serpent coiled around our soul, and will at last crush out\nits life forever. I must get rid of my sins, They will not only ruin\nmy own soul but will smite others also. Some years ago some\nscientific men made an investigation as to the cause of a contagious\ndisease which had spread over a great city.\n\n\"It was discovered that a young man had been stealing goldfish which\nhe put into a little tank in the floor of his room and covered it\nwith boards to hide its secret place until he could sell them to\nanother man.\n\n\"Soon after a great contagion sprang up in that vicinity, indeed in\nthat very room, It began with him at first, and he was left crippled\nand blind and went limping along on crutches, a suffering permanent\ninvalid. The contagion spread to others, and upon examination made by\nscientific men from Warsaw and Berlin they found out these fish had\ndied in the tank, and were of such a nature as to spread at once a\ncontagion which became of a most malignant type. A scourge overspread\nthe land and carried away tens of thousands of innocent people. Sin\nacts just like that. Every act of evil deposited in a heart given\nover to disobedience to God breeds a miasma, the fumes of which go\nout on the silent air, poisoning the life of others as well as that\nof the sinner.\n\n\"I _must_ get rid of my sins for the sake of the other man as well as\nmy own soul.\"\n\n\"How can this be done? What will take away my sins? Let me _show_ how\nmy sins can be all taken away.\"\n\nPrepare another card about an inch smaller all around it. Paint on it\nthe word \"Working.\" Shall I work? Shall I do penance? Shall I suffer\nbodily torture? Will these works obtain my deliverance? Now place\nthis card over the black card \"My Sins,\" and you notice it does not\ncover my sins. They still are visible. Working cannot save me. The\n\"working\"' card is not big enough to do it.\n\nNow prepare a card with the word \"Weeping\" upon it, making that two\ninches shorter on all sides, and place it over the \"My Sins\" card,\nand you notice it does not cover the black card. It is too short.\nWeeping will not wipe away my sins. Weeping will not wash out my\nsins.\n\n                Weeping will not save me;\n                Though my face be bathed in tears,\n                That could not allay my fears,\n                Could not cleanse the sins of years;\n                Weeping will not save me.\n\nAfter this prepare a card smaller still on which is painted the word\n\"Praying.\" Place this against the black card \"My Sins,\" and again\nthis card does not cover the \"Sin\" card. Praying for deliverance from\nsin is essential, but we must act as well as pray. We realize our\nlost condition, and hear the voice of God say, \"Come unto me.\" We\nmust do something more than just cry, \"Save, Save.\" We must _do_. The\nProdigal Son would never have left the far country if he had merely\ncried out in fervent prayer, \"I have sinned against thee.\" But he\n_arose_ and _went_. That was his way home. It is our way too.\n\n                Praying will not save me;\n                All the prayers that I could say\n                Could not wash my sins away,\n                The debt I owe could never pay;\n                Praying will not save me.\n\nPrepare now a card only half as large as \"My Sins\" card, painting on\nit the word \"Feeling.\" Try now to cover the black \"Sin\" card with\nthis card and it will not half do its work, Waiting for \"feeling\" is\nuseless delay. It would never save you if it should come. All the\nfeeling that is needed is to \"feel your need of him.\"\n\n                Feeling will not save me;\n                Though I may so happy be\n                As to think God's pardoned me,\n                Feelings change continually;\n                Feeling will not save me.\n\nAt last prepare a red card about an inch larger all around than the\nsin card on which you have painted the words \"Faith in Christ.\" Now\nput this over the black \"Sin\" card, and you will perceive that it\ncovers completely all your sins. It hides \"My Sins\" forever more.\nThey are all taken away to stay, and as you say this remove the black\n\"Sin\" card and let it fall behind the desk, or cast it back of you,\nfor this is what God does with our sins when he forgives them for\nChrist's sake. He casts them behind his back. Now lift up the red\ncard, and the black has been taken away--and--taken away to stay.\nThat is what faith in Christ will do. They are rolled away as a thick\ncloud forever.\n\n                Faith in Christ will save me!\n                Let me trust thy gracious Son,\n                Trust the work that he has done,\n                To his arms, Lord, let me run,\n                Faith in Christ will save me.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =11\n\n                            WORDS OF ANGER\n\n         OBJECTS: A Large White Pasteboard Card with a Heart\n        in the Center; a Number of Black Pins; a Large Apple=\n\nI once heard a story about a little boy whose bad temper troubled\nhim, because when in anger he would speak words that would cut and\nstick in, So in order that he might know how bad were the bad words\nhe uttered he made a large white heart, and in its center he put a\ncross. He hung this card in his own room and called it \"The Heart of\nJesus.\" Whenever he said an angry word, he would stick in the heart a\nblack pin, just to remind him of the fact that every cross word he\nsaid hurt Jesus. This soon brought him to his senses, and the heart\nwith the black pins hurt him so greatly that it was a check to his\nbad speaking. This teaches us the fact that our sins hurt Jesus. When\nhe was among men he wept over the sinner. Perhaps he does now.\n\nSecure a pasteboard heart about one foot in diameter and pin it up on\nsome background where the audience can see it, then tell the above\nstory, and begin to put the black pins (or other pins) in the heart\nas you name the bad words the children say. Black pins are preferred\nas they will show more plainly by reason of the white background.\nAfter there are a number of pins in the heart call the attention to\nthe fact that some of those piercing words were spoken about very\nsmall, simple things.\n\nThere is an old story that tells us about two brothers who were out\nwalking together. One night, one of them looking up to the sky said,\n\"I wish I had a field as large as the night heavens.\" The other boy\nalso looking up, said, \"I wish I had as many oxen as there are stars\nin the sky.\" \"Well,\" said the first brother, \"How would you feed so\nmany oxen!\" The other brother replied, \"I would turn them out into\nyour pasture.\" \"What,\" said the first brother, \"would you do that\nwithout my permission?\" \"Yes, whether you would give permission or\nnot.\" And so they quarreled, and when the quarrel was ended one of\nthem had been slain by the other. It began by playful talk, but ended\nin tragedy. I think that boy must have filled the heart of Jesus with\nblack pins of temper.\n\nTemper is a blemish, a black spot, and often happy little children\nthat are called \"sunshine,\" can in a moment turn about and show the\nblack spot of temper and spoil all the sunshine. A good mother trying\nto teach this lesson to her little girl held up before her a\nbeautiful apple and asked her what she thought of it. She said it was\nperfect and lovely. The mother turned it around, and there on the\nother side was a large black spot. \"Oh, that spoils it all,\" cried\nthe little girl. Then the mother said to her little girl, \"I think\nthat resembles my little daughter,\" and the little girl knew what it\nmeant. Her temper was her black spot. So every black pin in this\nheart came out of the black spot in the heart of the one who spoke\nthe angry words. A few days later the beautiful apple lost its glory,\nthe black spot had spread, and the apple soon decayed. This was to\nteach the little girl that if the sin of temper was not thrown out,\nand persistently kept out, it would at last destroy the soul.\n\nYou can here introduce an apple fair and beautiful with a speck on\nthe other side of it. This will help visualize the truth. Don't think\nthat the black spot of temper will always remain on the hidden side,\nbecause it will find its way out sooner or later and will find you at\nlast.\n\nA schoolmaster one day missed several boys from school. He had a\nshrewd suspicion they were playing truant. In the afternoon the boys\ncame to school and he asked one of them where he had been. The boy\nreplied that his mother had kept him home that morning to mind the\nbaby. \"Let me look at your tongue,\" said the master, and he did so,\nand it was black. \"It is just as I thought. You have spent the\nmorning rambling in the woods, picking blackberries.\" He examined the\ntongues of the other boys and found them all black also. Their\ntongues had told on them. Black tongues of temper always tell out\ntheir black words. What shall I do with my angry words? My hot mouth\nso often shoots off evil words. You cannot slay them; when you think\nthey are buried, they will walk out of their graves and fight again.\n\nBring your heart to Jesus, because your tongue only says what your\nheart whispers to it, Ask Jesus to give you daily good thoughts and\nlet them speak out in good words.\n\nOnce I read a fairy tale about a good little boy. Every time he spoke\nthere fell from his lips a piece of gold. He grew more beautiful\nevery day, and at last married the daughter of a king. This is only a\nfairy tale, but it teaches us a real lesson. When we say kind words\nthe angels treasure them in heaven as pure gold.\n\nNow take the pins out from the heart, and cut out a number of blocks\nof gold paper, and as you recite the good words pin them on the heart\nof Jesus. Such people are precious in his sight. They are his\npriceless jewels.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =12\n\n                         THE COPPER-FACE GIRL\n\n        OBJECT: An Old Penny with a Indian Girl's Face on It=\n\nWe all love to have our names written in important places. When I was\nin the Tower of London, I found one of the walls so filled with names\nwritten there, that it seemed to me to be impossible for any one to\nwrite another name. They wanted to be remembered. I think we all do.\nI want to tell you a true story about a little girl that had her\npicture engraven upon copper. She did not plan to do this, she gained\nthis publicity unsought, and yet her face was in more homes in this\nland than any other. Even the homes of the poorest were glad to get\nit. The rich also rejoiced to look into her sweet face. Now look\nsharp at your penny, and you will see an Indian face. Look again with\nboth eyes, and let me ask you, Do you see Indian features there? I do\nnot think you do, not even the slightest trace of them, because the\ngirl on the penny was not an Indian at all. Look again, and you will\nsee it is the face of a gracious American girl. This is the story of\nhow this sweet little American girl got her face made over in copper\nand stamped on an American penny. Her name was Sarah Longacre Keen.\nShe lived in Philadelphia and died there a few years ago. For\nthirty-five years she was the Secretary of the Philadelphia Branch of\nthe Women's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal\nChurch. One day, when she was a child, five or six years old, a\ndelegation of Indians from the Northwest visited Washington. They\ncame to see the sights of the great capital and to hold a pow-wow,\nwith the Great White Chief--the President. After they had spent some\ntime in Washington they visited Philadelphia. While here, among other\nplaces they were shown the U.S. Mint. The little girl's father was a\nmaster engraver, and connected officially with the great money\nfactory. He was a good, generous man, and invited the Indian\ndelegation to some sort of an entertainment at his house. One of the\nChiefs had his attention attracted to the little Miss. He was so\npleased by her figure and face and maidenly bearing that in a mood of\nsportiveness, he took off his head-dress and put it on her head. This\ndid not frighten the little girl and so she stood still for a moment\nand let the people look at her. Then they all laughed and greatly\nenjoyed the joke, Some one present had an eye for beauty, and also\nartistic skill, and he was so struck by the appearance that little\nSarah made in her Indian hat that he sketched her on the spot.\n\nThe sketch was engraved by her father. Later on when the Government\nwanted a new face on the new one-cent pieces they chose this\nengraving, and so little Sarah Keen's features became the best known\nface in America. This is the story of the Little Copper-face, and\nthis was the way a little Philadelphia girl was remembered.\n\nThere is a better way to be remembered than stamping your face upon\ncopper. We could not do this if we wished, but we can all be\nremembered by God, if we do his will, and try to do our best to serve\nhim. This is the way to engrave our names on his heart. There was\nonce a Bible-woman by the name of Phoebe. We read about her in Romans\n16:1. She is there called \"Phoebe, our sister.\" She is mentioned only\nonce in the New Testament. A small matter, you say, to make her\nremembered forever. She did one simple, little act; yet we are all\nrich today because she did it. She carried Paul's letter to the Roman\nchurch which is now called by that name. A great French writer has\nsaid that Phoebe carried the foundation stones of the great temple of\nChristian doctrine. This was all she did. We never hear anything\nabout her after that act, but think what it has meant for the great\nChristian church, and think what it means to all Bible readers today!\nIn that letter, more than all others, is God's grace revealed to us.\n\nShe worked for Jesus in a humble way, and in such a simple way that\nall children can follow her example. She just carried things for God.\nShe was God's errand-girl, so her character is engraved on the bronze\ntablet of Biblical history. Paul says, \"I commend unto you Phoebe.\"\nGod will commend you if you do as Phoebe did.\n\nIn delivering this talk hold up the penny as you describe it. This\nparticular penny is a bit rare these days, but the banks will supply\nthem, and some of the older people who have \"savings\" from other\ndays, will gladly make an exchange for it. If you found it possible,\nyou would make a great impression on the little hearts if you should\ngive each an old penny with the Indian head.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =13\n\n                         MAKING A CHURCH FLAG\n\n            OBJECTS: The Word \"Come\" Made by Flag Signals=\n\nOne of the best church flags is the flag of invitation.\n\nLet me tell you how you can make one to hang from your steeple point,\nand decorate your meeting-room. You can also carry it in your church\nparade, and hang it over the pulpit when you give your lesson.\n\nIt is a set of signal flags which spell out \"Come.\" Here are the\nflags arranged as a streamer. They can be made of bunting or silk and\nfastened on a cord in the following order.\n\nThese flags say \"Come\" to the outside world. It is your invitation in\nthe air.\n\nThe colors can be made to mean \"White--Purity\". Here is the church to\nwhich you are invited. You will be taught that purity is a gift from\nGod, through Jesus Christ. It is given away in the church at the\nmeeting. Come, and receive it.\n\nThe Red stands for the blood of Jesus, which makes black white, and\ntakes away sin.\n\nThe Yellow stands for Glory. Yellow is the dominating color in the\nsunset which shows forth the glory of God. The glory of life is\nproduced by the forgiveness of sin. The glory we can take with us to\nthe City of Glory. The life all-glorious is the life offered by the\nchurch. The salvation of the soul makes the soul shine forth like the\nsun.\n\n[Illustration: Diagram describing four flags: a white triangular flag\nwith a red circle in the center, a rectangular flag split diagonally\nwith yellow and red halves, a blue rectangular flag diagonally\ncrossed with white stripes, and a triangular flag divided into red,\nwhite, and blue thirds]\n\nNote that the last flag of the word \"Come\" contains the three colors\nof our flag, the red, white, and blue; so in the church the best\ncitizens are made and stay made. The flag calls you to the ascending\nlife.\n\nThese flags are like the bells around the high priest's garments--the\nbells of invitation. When the Jews heard the clang of those bells in\nthe hem of the high priest's garment they knew it was a call to\nworship. The bells said, \"Come, worship!\" The word \"come\" occurs six\nhundred and forty-two times in the Bible. It is \"Come to the supper\";\n\"Come to the waters\"; \"The Spirit and the Bride say, Come\"; \"Come,\"\n\"Come _now_\"; \"Come to Jesus.\" The call is for all. Hang this signal\non the top of the world, the highest mountaintop, it tells the same\nstory to all people, \"Come.\" A minister of the gospel hastening to\nthe train with only a moment to spare, was stopped by a gentleman,\nwho ran after him, and asked him this question, \"O, sir, stop a\nmoment, I am anxious about my soul, and I want to know what to do.\"\n\"Well,\" said the pastor, \"my train is just here, and I can only say\nturn to Isaiah 53:6. Go in at the first 'all,' and go out at the last\n'all.'\" \"What does he mean,\" said the stranger. He went to the Bible\nand read the text: \"All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have\nturned every one to his own way, and Jehovah hath laid on him the\niniquity of us all.\" So he repeated to himself the minister's message\n\"Go in at the first 'all,' come out at the last 'all.'\" So he read\nthe text again, \"All.\" \"All _we_ like sheep have gone astray.\" That\nwas the first \"all.\" \"Yes, that is where I am to 'go in,' I'll go.\"\nHe believed it. \"Hath laid on him the iniquity of us _all_.\" The\nsecond \"all.\" \"Jesus bore the sins of 'all,' so he bore my sins. That\nis where I go out, through the last 'all.' I go in as a sinner on the\nfirst 'all,' I come out through the last 'all' because my sins were\nall laid on him\"; and in so doing he rejoiced in Christ, his Saviour.\nThat is what the signal \"Come\" says. Hear it singing, \"Come.\" Listen\nto the call of the signals which, interpreted by Isaiah 53:6, rings\nout, \"Come in at the first 'all,' go out at the last 'all.'\" And so\nmake your church flag, and as you read its meaning, go and tell it to\nall the people.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =14\n\n                        AN IMMORTALITY LESSON\n\n                OBJECTS: A Collection of Colored Eggs=\n\nThe Indian, years before he was told by the white missionary that\nwhen a man dies he shall live again, believed in the life beyond.\nWhen the chieftain was buried they placed his weapons of stone and\nbronze in the grave with his body, in order that he might pursue his\nlife in the Happy Hunting-grounds. He lived on and was a hunter\nstill.\n\nOur tombstones were first placed on our graves that the departed\nspirit, if he should return, might find his body and learn also that\nhe had not been forgotten. The egg was used to tell the story in the\nearliest ages. In fact, the egg has found a place in the earliest\ntraditions. A fable tells us the earth was hatched from a monstrous\ngolden goose egg. Tradition tells us how the egg broke in two, and\none-half became the firmament, and the other, half, the earth. This\nis the way the earliest people explained the making of this old\nworld. To their minds the golden egg seemed to be the prison from\nwhich this world was released. Here exhibit a gilded egg. This is the\nstrangest story ever told in which the egg played so important a\npart, containing the great world which was released as a living chick\nfrom the dead egg.\n\nHere in remote history the egg taught that life sprang from the egg\nprison. The practise of giving eggs to friends is a very old one. It\ncommenced way back with the Persians. It was also a custom among the\nEgyptians, Jews, and Hindus. When it was first used among Christians\nit symbolized the resurrection, or life from the tomb. It was always\ncolored red to remind the people of the blood of Christ shed for\nsinners.\n\nThe red egg stood for the blood of Calvary, and the grave in Joseph's\nGarden. This egg contains a germ of life; under proper conditions the\nlife of the chicken will break the shell and come forth. At this\npoint hold up the red-colored egg. The people of long ago often\nplaced eggs on the graves of their friends which told forth the fact\nthat they believed in immortality. They just _thought_ so. Now we\nknow so, for Jesus said, \"I shall be raised the third day.\" That is\nthe reason that on Easter Day the people rejoice because Christ came\nup from the grave, and so shall we. This the ancients only thought,\nbut now we know it as a fact. That makes Easter such a glad day.\n\nWe call the place where we bury the dead \"cemeteries,\" which means\n\"sleeping-places.\" It is a beautiful thought to think of the little\ngraves as little cradles where rest the bodies of little children,\nbut only our bodies sleep there, for the soul has gone to the God who\nmade it. So the egg at Eastertime is a symbol of immortality, and we\nshould all be glad we have seen the red egg which stands for the\nresurrection of Christ because he has told us the story of heaven and\nhow to get there. The origin of the old English word \"heaven\" is a\ncurious one. It means \"to cast up\"': so the sky is a place \"cast up\"\nor \"heaved up\" or \"heaven\" as we speak of it today.\n\nMartin Luther used to tell his children that heaven was a beautiful\ngarden full of merry children in little golden coats gathering apples\nunder the trees and shouting in great glee. Luther was just trying as\nbest he could to describe heaven as a happy place for little boys and\ngirls. Jesus lives, says the broken egg, and because he lives we\nshall live also, and so we all want to go to heaven at last.\n\nOnce upon a time a minister took his son to learn mountain-climbing.\nBeing a stout lad he grew tired and stopped for a little rest. The\nfather went on alone, and when he arrived at the top of the mountain,\nhe found a splendid seat for the boy and marked his name on it, so he\nmight easily find it when he arrived at the top. Then he called down\nto the boy: \"James, my son, come up here. There is a seat up here on\nthe top of the mountain, and your name is written on it.\"\n\nThis gave new strength to the boy, and he rose to his feet once more,\nand climbed to the top, and at last found his seat with his name upon\nit. His father had gone on before him and prepared a place for him.\nSo God calls today: \"My son, up, up to the top. There is a mansion\nprepared for you. Your name is graven on the door. Turn this way and\nkeep on climbing, and at last you will find heaven, the top of the\nuniverse.\"\n\n\n\n\n                                 =15\n\n                         \"OFF FOR HAPPY LAND\"\n\n          OBJECTS: A Piece of Plain Note-paper Containing a\n                  Sentence Written in Invisible Ink=\n\nDo you want a free ticket for Happy Land? If you do, stop and listen,\nand I will tell you how to get one. All the world seem to fix their\neyes on the golden country, but the road is so narrow that few there\nbe that find it. All people are pilgrims seeking that fair land, but\nat the end of their trail they meet the wreckage of the failures of\nthe ages. Harken, and I will tell you how to find the trail that\nleads to the Land of Happiness. Once upon a time a lad called upon a\nwise man and asked him if he would direct him to this land of joy.\nThe wise man in reply said to him, \"I will not only direct you to the\ncountry of smiles but will give you a free ticket that will take you\nthere.\" He handed him a little slip of paper upon which the lad could\nsee nothing. To him it was a blank. He told the wise man so, but the\nwise man replied, \"Hold the paper close to a lighted lamp so the heat\nthereof may strike the paper with full force, and then will appear\nthe lines which will answer your question, and this will be your sure\npassport to your destination.\" This the lad did. When the heat struck\nthe blank paper, there appeared in distinct letters the sentence, \"If\nyou would find the land of happiness become a Christian and then do\nsome good thing for Jesus every day.\" This the lad tried with all his\nheart to do, and did do it, and the smiles he planted on the face of\nthe other man, reflected a beautiful light on his own face, and his\nheart was bounding in joy. This is the secret trail, walk in it.\n\nBut all this depends on the fact that your own heart is right with\nGod, and that Jesus has come to live with you. Then every good thing\nyou do is done as unto him, and his \"thank you\" sets all the\njoy-bells ringing. That is the Happy Land, and this is the way to\nfind it. A woman came to her pastor one day and said she was very\nmiserable and unhappy, she could not find that contentment of heart\nwhich she declared she heard others say they possessed. He told her\nthe secret of being happy in the Lord, and said: \"There is a poor old\nlady living at the foot of the street. Go and see her, and take with\nyou a basket full of good things; give them to her, and you will take\naway with you a heart filled with joy. The door of her house is the\nopen gate to Happy Land.\" This was the wise man's secret, \"Do some\ngood today for Jesus.\"\n\nJesus went about doing good, and in so doing he was revealing the\nopen way to the land of heart happiness.\n\nThe French people have a story about a wonderful Happy Land called\nColaigne. It is full of men and women always happy. In this land\nthere are no storms of rain or snow. It is never too cold or too hot.\nThere is no lightning or whirlwind, no war, no sickness, no death.\n\nWhite monks and gray nuns live in a fair abbey built of gems and\nspices. The ladies are all fair and every month the people all have\nnew clothes. In this wonderful land there is a bubbling fountain.\nWhoever drinks of its waters never grows old, and if those who are\nold drink of it they become young and vigorous again, be they ever so\nold or ugly. Now I suppose all of the little folks are saying they\nwould like to live in that land, but I am sure you would find when\nyou reached there it was not a land of pure happiness. Happiness does\nnot come from having everything done for you. The wise man was\nspeaking the real truth when he gave as his secret message that doing\nthings for others in the name of Jesus was passing through the gates\nto the City of Real Happiness.\n\nIn preparing for this lesson use a piece of plain writing-paper, with\na match sharpened to a point write in lemon juice \"Be a Christian,\"\nand \"Do some good thing for Jesus every day.\" When it is dry it will\nbe invisible. When held up to the heat of a lamp it will become\nvisible so all can read it. In doing this before the class first hold\nup the paper before them, showing both sides to be blank. At that\ntime tell the story of the wise man and blank paper given to the lad,\nthen hold it before the flame of lamp until the heat has had\nsufficient time to bring out the writing. Experiment with this while\npreparing the lesson so you can regulate your talking according to\nthe time it takes to develop the hidden words. There are many other\nlessons you can give, using invisible ink, that will teach a strong\nlesson. \"What Is in the Heart,\" can be the title of another lesson.\nIn this case cut out a paper heart, and write the word \"Sin\" on it.\nCall the lamp the Holy Spirit, and show that he brings out just what\nis in the heart.\n\nYou can also teach the lesson \"The Secrets of the Lord Revealed.\"\nPresent a piece of paper that seems to be a blank, but it holds a\nsecret hidden from our human eyes. Call the lamp the Word of God.\nTake the paper to the lamp of God's Word. Through that word he\nreveals his will to us, so we can read and understand. Lessons will\nmultiply in your mind, as you think it through, which will be of\ngreat interest to your listeners.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =16\n\n                         FORGOTTEN HOLY NAMES\n\n           OBJECTS: A Number of Cards Contain the Names of\n             Forgotten Bible Characters Written on Them=\n\n\"Lest we forget\" sang the old English poet. Well, we do forget\noftentimes some of the worthies of the Old Testament. Perhaps we have\nnever heard of them, then this lesson will introduce us to them and\nhelp us not to forget them in the days to come.\n\nWrite the names of the people that you mention on a visiting-card,\nand hide these cards somewhere on the pulpit, and say: \"I am about to\nintroduce some strangers to you. A few good people that some of us\nhave forgotten.\" Look behind the pulpit chair and on the floor pick\nup a visiting-card and say: \"Here is a forgotten friend I want to\nintroduce to you. The Dog.\"\n\nDid I ever hear of him before? Well his name is among the greatest\nnames in the Bible. He lived in a camp of travelers. He was known as\nThe Dog. Some of us would be insulted to be called _a dog_. Often we\nspeak of people as being \"As mean as a dog,\" but any one who really\nunderstands dogs loves them. The dog is the first to greet you and\nthe first to defend you, he is quick to forgive you, and will be\nfaithful to you to the last.\n\nThis \"dog\" was faithful, courageous, and loving. He was made the\nleader of a small group of people that went forth to discover\nsomething about a people who lived beyond the bushes in an enemy's\nland. They pressed their way under the guidance of \"the dog\" into the\nstrange land. There they found the rich and fruitful vineyards,\ngrapes, pomegranates and figs so large they did not know how to bring\nthe fruits of the vine back to show the people in the camp. \"The Dog\"\nthought it out, and calling his fellow laborers to him, he put a\nstout stick across their shoulders to which he fastened the precious\nload. When the people saw \"The Dog\" returning with this wealth of\ngood things they greeted them with shouts of joy. The friends of \"The\nDog\" said, \"These are the fruits of the enemy's country, but we will\nnever be able to conquer the land because the soldiers protecting the\nland are very many and very strong.\"\n\nThen the people cried out in despair and said, \"Let us get another\nleader.\" Then \"The Dog\" stepped forward, and with a confident look in\nhis face and a determined ring in his voice stretched forth his hand\nto command silence. There was a great hush among the people, and all\nwas quiet in their ranks. Then \"The Dog\" said: \"The land is splendid\nand rich and fruitful. God is on our side--we have no need to be\nafraid of the giants. The Lord is with us, fear them not.\" At last\n\"The Dog\" and his companions marched into the land, and found it\nflowing with milk and honey. Who was \"The Dog\"? His name was \"Caleb\"\nwhich is the Hebrew name for dog, and Captain Joshua was his\ncompanion. Read the full story if you wish. Its record is found in\nNumbers 13 and 14.\n\nIn closing remark we have giants to fight today--Pride, Anger, Sloth,\nUntruthfulness--but never forget the words of \"The Dog,\" \"The Lord is\nwith us, fear them not.\"\n\nHere is the story of another forgotten character.\n\nThis story can be used for a second address under the title of\n\"Forgotten Names\" or it can be used with this lesson also.\n\nYou now bring out from under the pulpit, a bundle of old papers which\nyou remark are to be thrown into the waste-basket as worthless, but\nin the act of throwing them into the basket which you have put on the\nplatform previously you find another visiting-card with another\nforgotten name upon it, which you now state you have rescued from the\npapers doomed for the fire. On the card you have written the words\n\"The Mountaineer.\" This man was born in a wild mountain home. His\nparents passed away in his early days, and he could never remember\nthem. As he wandered on the hillsides he talked with God, and the\nhills seemed to speak to him. He grew to manhood and became strong in\nbody, and fleet of foot. He was a magnificent runner, and was so\nstrong he once went forty days without food. The King of the land was\na weak man with a wicked wife, and the King hated him because he was\nso good. One day this weak King and the young man met, and the King\nhissed out, \"You are the man who is bringing ruin upon the land.\" He\nanswered: \"I have not brought ruin upon the land, but you and your\nfather's house have forsaken the commandments of God, and worship\nidols. I challenge you, therefore, bring all your people to the\nmountain, bring your idols and their prophets, and let us see who is\nright.\" The King agreed to this, and at the appointed time they were\nall present on the mountain.\n\nThe tall Mountaineer, with bronzed face, hair streaming down his\nshoulders, wearing a rough coat of camel's hair, stepped forward and\nsaid: \"Why halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow\nhim, but if the idols be God, follow them. Let us each build an\naltar, and put a bullock on it, but put no fire under it; then each\nof us in turn will call upon his God, and the God that answers by\nfire let him be God.\" Then he said to the false prophets, \"It is your\nturn first.\" The heathen danced around their altar all the morning,\nand when noon came they were still dancing, but no fire came down.\nThen the Mountaineer called out to them and said, \"Cry a little\nlouder, perhaps your God is asleep or gone on a journey.\" Maddened by\nthese words, they renewed their shouting, cutting themselves with\nknives and lancets until their blood splashed on them, but no fire\ncame down. When the time for the evening sacrifice came they ceased\ntheir crying, and the Mountaineer called the people to come to him,\nand he told his men to throw barrels of water over his altar: after\nthis was done, he prayed, and scarcely had he finished his prayer\nwhen there came out of the heavens a vivid flash of light which\nconsumed the offering on the altar, and the people fell on their\nfaces, and a great cry went up: \"The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is\nGod.\" Who was this \"Mountaineer\"? He was the Tishbite, Elijah. The\nfull story you will find in First Kings 18. This story teaches us the\ngreat fact that \"If God be for us, who can be against us?\"\n\n\n\n\n                                 =17\n\n                        I LAY MY SINS ON JESUS\n\n           OBJECTS: A Block with the Word \"My Sins\" Painted\n              on It, Another Block with the Words \"Jesus\"\n              Marked on It=\n\nThis lesson illustrates the truth that our sins were laid on Jesus.\nHe bore them in his own body on the tree. This is the old Bible\ndoctrine that Christ took our place on the cross, and took upon\nhimself the penalty that our sins had brought on our souls. \"This is\nJesus, King of the Jews,\" Pilate caused to be written and nailed over\nthe cross. We take down the superscription and in its place put up\nanother which reads, \"He died for me,\" and under this line write our\nown name. This is how we illustrate this truth. Place in the hollow\nof your hand the block marked \"Sin.\" Cause the block to be painted\nblack, because sin is a deadly thing. \"The wages of sin is death.\" It\nis the mark of death. As you hold the sin block in your hand you say:\n\"Sin is now on me. I must bear my own sins.\" Bunyan was right,\naccording to the Scriptures, when he made Pilgrim carry a burden. It\nwas a heavy load, and Pilgrim exclaimed, \"Who shall deliver me?\" He\nfelt his sin was on him, and it was a burden too heavy for him to\ncarry. \"Who will help?\" Send out the S.O.S. call, which being\ntranslated in the terms of the gospel means, \"Save, oh save!\" \"Shall\nwe hide it or try to forget it?\" Suiting your action to your words\nyou place the block in your pocket, and you think since it is hidden\nit has been taken away. But the angels saw you hide it. God's great\neye is fixed on it. It won't sink out of sight. Sin is a sticky\nthing. It hangs around.\n\nAn old sailor, who in his young days had been a smuggler, and had\nbeen in prison for the offense, said: \"One day there was a revenue\ncutter heading straight for us, and we had on board a cargo of\ntobacco. Well, if we were caught we knew every man of us would go to\njail, the ship would be sunk, and the tobacco confiscated. So we\npitched the stuff overboard as fast as we could. When this was done,\nthe captain sent up the cabin-boy to report the approach of the\ncutter. In an instant he was down-stairs again, his face as white as\na sheet, and gasping for breath. 'What is it,' said the captain. 'The\ntobacco is overboard, but it won't sink!' said the boy. Yes, there\nwas the tobacco floating all around the ship, proclaiming our guilt.\"\nNo, sin won't sink. It won't stay hid. We cannot be separated from\nour sins in that way.\n\nTake it out of the pocket and say: \"The almighty eye of the Great\nFather can see the contents of our pockets and discover the\nhiding-place of our sins.\" Hold the block in the hand and say: \"Still\nthe sin is on me. What shall I do to be saved? It will sink me into\nthe darkness of the next world, I shall be lost forever.\"\n\nA little girl was anxious for the conversion of her dear father. He\naccompanied her to the revival meeting, but when she asked him to\ngive his heart to Jesus, he said, \"Not now, some other day.\" This\ncaused the little girl to cry herself to sleep that night, and in her\nsleep she had a dream. This was the dream. She seemed to see a throng\nof angels coming in through the window, and passing into her father's\nroom. This alarmed her greatly, for she thought they had come after\nher father, and remembering he had rejected Jesus the night before,\nshe knew he was not ready to go, so she followed them and looked into\nthe room. They all had gathered around her father's bed and had been\ntrying to lift him up in their arms, and having failed she overheard\none angel say: \"He is too heavy for the angels. We cannot take him to\nheaven, for his sin is on him, and all the angels in the skies could\nnot lift him.\" This startled the little girl, so she awoke from her\ndream. The next day she told her father the dream and said, \"The\nangels said that you 'are too heavy for the angels.'\" This thought\ncaused the father to think--\"to heavy for the angels\"--and this\nthought brought him to Jesus, and he got rid of the sin on him. This\nis how he did it. It was the same way that Pilgrim got rid of his\nburden. He knelt at the foot of the Cross with a broken, penitent\nheart, and the burden of his sin rolled away.\n\nNow take the block of sin, lay it on the larger block painted red and\nmarked \"Jesus,\" and say, \"I now by faith lay my sins on Jesus, and\nthey are all taken away, and taken away to stay.\" \"He hath laid on\nhim the iniquity of us all.\"\n\n\n\n\n                                 =18\n\n                     THE LORD'S PRAYER IN CANDLES\n\n                OBJECTS: A Number of Colored Candles=\n\nIn this chapter the truths of the Lord's Prayer are made to shine\nforth. This is done by the use of a number of common candles.\n\n\"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet,\" says the old true Book. We will\nturn on the light of the Lord's Prayer and let it shine into our\nhearts so that we may see God's truth.\n\n1. \"Our Father.\" Here introduce a tall _white_ candle. Let this stand\nfor the words \"Our Father.\" Highest and tallest of them all. \"The\nHigher Light.\" God is light. The Light of the World and the ages.\nHave this light burning before the meeting opens. Don't light it as a\npart of the exercise. This light never had a beginning. How dark this\nworld would be if this light should grow dim or go out! But God is\n_Our Father_ and he has promised he will never leave us alone, and in\nthis prayer we are told to ask him for the things we need. A little\nchap was busy with his lessons, and they proved so hard for him to\nstudy that the tears began to flow down his little cheeks. His father\nnoticed this and came over and sat by his side and helped him through\nwith the hard part of the lesson. The father said, \"Now crying did\nnot help you, my son, did it?\" The little fellow replied, \"No, it did\nnot help me, but it brought to my side some one who did.\" Prayer\nbrings to our side \"Our Father in heaven,\" and he can and will help\nus.\n\n2. \"Who art in heaven.\" For this sentence secure a _blue_ candle\nwhich reminds us of the blue heavens above us. God is beyond the\nblue, but by his light is everywhere, and from his throne in heaven\nis ever watching us. My own dear mother was a little old-fashioned\nmother, and from her window watched her children play in the\nbackyard. Her watchful eye was ever on us, and if some wild boy of\nthe street jumped over the fence and annoyed us, Mother saw him\nfirst, and came down-stairs into the yard, and the bad boy soon\ndisappeared. My little brothers and myself were always glad for\nmother's watchful eye from the upper window. So our Father looks down\nfrom his window in heaven, and we are safe and happy because Father\nis looking down upon us.\n\n3. \"Hallowed be thy name.\" For this sentence secure a _green_ candle.\nGreen is the most enduring of colors. The cedar and pine are green\nall the year. Winter and summer it shows forth its green just the\nsame. Green is the everlasting color. The name of God is the name\n\"Everlasting.\" It will endure forever; so long as this old earth\nshall stand his name will be spoken, and by human hearts be supremely\nloved. When this world has passed away in the life of the ages his\nname will also be the highest and best of all. In this prayer we are\ntaught to reverence this eternal name. This is the only part of the\nprayer where God seems to be thinking about himself, and asks his\nfollowers to protect and revere his name. A little girl, one night,\nclosed her little prayer by saying, \"and please, dear God, take good\ncare of yourself.\" She was thinking of God, so this prayer wants us\nto think of his name and keep it holy.\n\n4. \"Thy kingdom come.\" These words are represented by a _purple_\ncandle. Purple is the royal color. The robes of the king are in\npurple. The decorations of the throne are all in this majestic color.\nPurple is the kingdom color. May God hasten the coming of the Royal\nPurple Day. You can help God to answer this prayer by trying to bring\nin his kingdom. Whenever you help one another, and are kind to each\nother, whenever you are truthful and faithful to God, whenever you\nlet your light shine, then you are helping God to bring in his\nkingdom.\n\n5. \"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.\" This sentence can\nbe represented by a _brown_ candle representing the color of the\nearth, the brown ground of the world. If so desired, another blue\ncandle may be introduced to represent, as in a former instance, the\nblue of the heavens. It would be best, if possible, to get a\ncandlestick holding two candles to represent this truth. This should\nbe done so the two blue candles may not be confused one with the\nother. The truth of God's will being done on earth as perfectly as in\nheaven is the cardinal truth of this sentence. A little boy who\nwanted to go out to the park with his mother, noticed it had begun to\nrain, and soon it was raining very hard. He turned to his mother and\nsaid, \"Do you suppose God wanted it to rain?\" His mother replied,\n\"God knew best, and so sent the rain.\" The little boy replied, \"I\nthink it would be safe to let him have his own way.\" I think the\nlittle fellow was right. God knows best. His will must be done.\n\n6. \"Give us this day our daily bread.\" Represent these words by a\n_yellow_ candle, yellow standing for the color of the golden grain\nfrom which we make our bread. This is a prayer for physical needs.\nThe Greek word for bread means \"food,\" so this is a prayer for all\nour temporal needs to sustain this present body, which is the present\nhome of the soul. God wants to feed the world. He likes to give\nbecause he loves us. God also gave us the spiritual bread, the bread\nof life, which is his Son, and so supplies all our spiritual needs.\nTrust God, live simply, work honestly, and verily thou shalt be fed;\nso pray daily, \"Give us this day our daily bread.\"\n\n7. \"Forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors.\" This sentence is\nrepresented by a _silver_ candle, which is the color of the coin by\nwhich we pay our debts. This is a hard prayer for some of us to say,\nwhen we remember how some evil people have hurt us. This prayer tells\nus to forgive, because that is what God does when people by their\nwicked deeds hurt him. Put down the number 490, and as you look at\nit, what do you think it means? It contains a commandment of Jesus.\nThis is just what Jesus means by that figure. It tells us how many\ntimes we are to forgive one another. He says we are to forgive\nseventy times seven. That gives us the figure 490. This prayer\nteaches us to forgive our enemy four hundred and ninety times, and by\nthat time God will soften the heart of our foe, and he will no longer\nbe an enemy.\n\n8. \"Lead us not into temptation.\" Here we introduce a _red_ candle,\nred standing for sin, into which temptation, if we yield to it, is\nsure to lead us. In this prayer we are to pray to be delivered from\nsin. We must all have some kind of temptation, God had one Son\nwithout sin, but he never had a Son without temptation. He says,\n\"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried he\nshall receive a crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them\nthat love him.\" So temptation resisted is blessed. How can we resist\ntemptation? By going to God in prayer. When tempted pray the prayer\nof Jesus, \"Bring us not into temptation,\" as a revised edition of\nthis prayer puts it. You can resist temptation by keeping on God's\nside of the fence. An old minister said to a little boy who was\ntrying to serve God, and he a Christian: \"When tempted, my boy, kneel\ndown and pray for God's help, but never climb over the fence into the\ndevil's grounds, and then kneel down and pray for God's help. Pray\nfrom God's side of the fence.\" That was good advice. Do not run into\ntemptation, never go on the devil's side of the fence.\n\n9. \"But deliver us from evil.\" The _black_ candle is produced which\nrepresents the dark deeds from which we pray that we may be\ndelivered. Black deeds are dead black, because the wages of sin is\ndeath. Keep the black out of our life. Evil thoughts are seeds from\nwhich black fruits of sin are raised. Think white thoughts, that will\nmake our lives right, and we will not do evil things.\n\n10. \"For thine is the kingdom.\" Produce another double candlestick,\nholding first a _purple_ candle standing for the words, \"Thine is the\nkingdom,\" and a _white_ candle representing the great white throne,\nthe seat of God's power, God has power to do all the things we ask of\nhim in this prayer. We have asked the Father Allpowerful to help us.\nHe can, and he will. History tells us of Hudson, the navigator, who\nwas exploring in the arctic regions when his crew mutinied, and they\nput him and his son, and one or two sailors into a little boat, and\nleft them to drift on the cold northern waters until death came and\nreleased them from all their hardships. The boat was found, months\nlater, floating among the icebergs of the frozen Arctic Ocean. The\nfather was in an upright position, as if steering the boat, with his\nlittle son between his knees, both frozen to death. You could see, by\nthe tightened hand, how he had grasped the handle of the rudder, and\nby the terrible stare in his frozen eyes, what a determined man he\nwas, but his face was full of despair and woe. He had not been able\nto save his son. Our Father has power to save all that come unto him,\nand power to keep them until the end.\n\n11. \"And the glory forever and ever.\" This sentence is represented by\nthe _orange_ candle. The _orange_ color stands for the glory of God,\nas it is the dominant color in the glorious sunset from which shines\nforth the glory of God. The great painters of the Middle Ages\nrepresented the flame in the \"burning bush\" as being orange in color,\nwhich in their day was understood to stand for Jehovah. This last\nsentence is like a great doxology sung at the close of the prayer. It\nis like a grand organ chanting a loud \"Amen.\" And now here we have\nthe truth of the Lord's Prayer shining. No prayer is so full of\ndivine radium as The Lord's Prayer. It is composed of sixty-six\nwords, but this congress of words contains might and glory that have\nnever before appeared in so many words. These sixty-six words are\nHoly Chapel Bells which call the world to prayer.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =19\n\n                        HOW GOD COVERS MY SINS\n\n                  OBJECTS: Two Large Prepared Cards=\n\nHow to get rid of our sin! This has been the question of the ages.\nThe answer can be given in a second. \"They must be taken away.\"\nJesus, the Sin-bearer, must take them away if they are to be taken\naway to stay.\n\nWhen the Standard Oil Company was trying to refine petroleum there\nwas a substance they could not dispose of. It was black and sticky.\nThey could not burn it, it would not burn; it made a mighty stench.\nThey could not run it into the river, because it would kill the fish.\nSo they offered a big reward to any chemist who could solve the\nproblem.\n\nChemists took it and worked day and night on the problem. One day, a\nchemist walked into the office of John D. Rockefeller and laid down a\npure white substance which we now know as paraffin.\n\nYour heart is like that black substance. You cannot make it white,\nbut Jesus can make is as white as snow. Look and listen. I will show\nyou the good news. Prepare a piece of cardboard twelve inches square,\nhave on it the outline of a heart with a big black dot in the center\nof it, and write over and under it \"My Sins.\"\n\nHold this up before the audience as a gospel X-ray photograph of the\nheart. Sin is an affair of the heart. It is a bad heart condition.\nThe gospel offers the only cure. It comes down from heaven, Jesus\nbrought it with him and gave it to the world.\n\nPrepare also another card of the same size containing the words, \"The\nblood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.\"\n\nOne night Martin Luther had a dream, and he thought he saw himself\nstanding before the judgment-bar. Looking into the open book he saw\nopposite his name a fearful lot of sins. Some were sins of\ncommission, others sins of omission. Some were deliberate sins,\nothers sins of thoughtlessness.\n\nSatan, standing at his side, said: \"Behold your record [Hold up the\nheart]. There is no hope for you.\" But just then he saw to his great\njoy, written above the crimson stain, the words, \"The blood of Jesus\nChrist cleanseth from all sin.\" Now place the second card over the\nfirst, and the sins have all disappeared, and are under the blood\nforever. This is the way to take away sin, so it is taken away\nforever.\n\nIn old Scotland, in the lake district, they tell a quaint little\nstory about a lonely little pool of water on the mountainside of Lock\nLomond called the Fairy Loch. If you look into it you will see a\ngreat many colors on the surface of the water due to the varied\nnature of the minerals which form the bottom. There is a legend which\nsays that fairies used to dye things from these waters for the\npeople.\n\nOne day a shepherd brought a black sheep to the Fairy Loch and asked\nthe fairies to dye it white. This the fairies could not do. They\ncould dye white any color, but not the black. This was an\nimpossibility, so in their despair they threw all their colors into\nthe Loch at one time. This gives the Loch the colorful appearance\nnow. No fairy or any human power can change the black of sin into the\nwhite of righteousness.\n\nThe pool of life is full of these fancy colors that declare that they\nhave the power to change black to white, but they are only bubbles on\nthe surface. Don't trust them. This is a matter for eternity. God\nalone can change black into white. The blood of Jesus Christ takes\nall sin away.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =20\n\n                      WHAT THE FLAG SIGNALS SAY\n\n            OBJECTS: Four Plain Flags of Different Colors=\n\nFlags have a language. They talk to men when they are employed as\nsignals. The standard signals of the railroad system send forth most\nimportant messages. Let us see what they teach on the Railroad of\nLife.\n\nPrepare four common bunting or muslin flags, mount them on a plain\nflagstaff about the size of those used by the flagman at the railroad\ncrossing.\n\nFirst Flag. A red flag. This signifies danger, and when displayed it\nmeans \"Stop.\" As you wave it, ask the little folks what things that\ncross our path need to be stopped. Help them by naming them first.\nProfane words should be stopped. The commandment which says, \"Thou\nshalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain\" is a red flag\nthat God waved out from Mount Sinai. Flag profane words which means,\n\"Stop, don't swear.\"\n\nRev. Doctor Scudder, the celebrated missionary to India, on his\nreturn passage, while standing on the deck of the steamer with his\nson, heard some one using profane language. \"My friend,\" said the\ndoctor, \"this boy, my son, was brought up in a heathen country, but\nin all his life he never heard a man blaspheme his Maker until now.\"\nA man reporting this event said what a shame it was that a heathen\nhad a cleaner lip than a Christian. He was wrong. The true Christian\nnever takes the name of his Maker in vain. He always flags that word.\nHe throws out the red flag of danger.\n\nStealing needs the red flag also. Boys and girls are often tempted to\ntake that which does not belong to them. It may be a pencil from the\nschool desk next to them. Whatever it may be it is stealing. God\nflung out the red flag from Mount Sinai when he said, \"Thou shalt not\nsteal.\"\n\nA boy was arrested in Buffalo recently for the theft of a bar of gold\nfrom a jewelry firm of New York City. The gold was worth $1,500. When\nasked why he had taken it, the boy said, \"I was tired of working for\nalmost nothing, and thought I could go out West and lay the\nfoundation of a fortune with this.\"\n\nWhat a foundation that would have been, a foundation made of a broken\ncommandment of God. There are many people thus building today. They\nsteal from the poor, giving scant measure to the tradesman, and\nstealing the good name of their companions. This is a bad foundation\nto build on. Flag the act of stealing.\n\nSecond Flag. A yellow flag. This stands for Caution. It means \"Go\nslow, be careful.\" There are a great many things in life that may be\nharmless in themselves, but must be handled with care. Fire is a very\nuseful thing. It prepares our food, and gives us comfortable heat for\nour homes, but we must handle fire with care, lest it break away from\nus and bring destruction to us all. So there are many acts we must\nwatch, because if we do not heed the Yellow Flag of Caution it will\nbring great trouble into the world. We should always plant the yellow\nflag in the center of our amusements. Amusements, when they are pure\nand good, are right for us all. There is no harm in clean pleasures.\nGod wants us to enjoy them, because we shall have pleasure\nforevermore in heaven, but here below evil pleasures are so mixed\nwith the good that we must use the yellow flag of caution. Ask the\nchildren to name other things in which we must use caution, by\nreminding them that all doubtful things belong to this class. The\nyellow flag of caution should always fly over things we are not sure\nabout.\n\nThird Flag. A blue flag. This flag is called the \"working flag.\" When\nit is displayed on the track, it means the trackmen are working\nthere. Often they are repairing the road, or working on a wreck. The\nblue flag, therefore, stands for work. God plants this flag in our\npath every hour. Boys and girls with bright eyes see this flag\nflying, and start and get busy. There is an office boy in Chicago of\nwhom his employer is justly proud. He likes to tell how he came to\ntake him on. Busy at his desk one morning, he looked up to see a\nlittle fellow waiting, cap in hand, to speak to him. He went on with\nhis work and in about three minutes the boy spoke to him. \"Excuse me,\nbut I am in a hurry.\" \"Oh, you are, well what are you in a hurry\nabout?\" \"Got to be in a hurry. Left school day before yesterday to go\nto work, and haven't struck a job yet. If you don't want me, say so,\nand I'll look somewhere else. I can't waste any time. The only place\nwhere I stay long is where they pay me.\" \"When can you come to work?\"\nasked the surprised merchant. \"I'm here now,\" said the boy, \"and I'd\nhave been to work five minutes ago, if you had said so.\"\n\nThis lad saw the blue flag hanging from the window of the merchant's\noffice, and he walked right in and reported for service at once. Over\nthe gateway of the Lord's vineyard this blue flag is flying today.\nJesus put it there, and on it is written in letters of gold, \"Son, go\nwork today in my vineyard.\" Let us walk in, and be as anxious to work\nfor God as the lad was for the merchant. If we have an anxious heart\nand want to work with all our heart, we will see the blue flag flying\neverywhere. Lift up your eyes, and behold the world waving with blue\nflags.\n\nFourth Flag. A green flag. This signifies \"Go ahead, road clear.\" The\nchurch flies the green flag. Walk in. It is the gate to the road that\nhas been made clear for you. Walk in. Walk in, the flag is green.\n\nThe green flag is waving from the foot of the Cross. All is clear\nfrom that point to go. Go straight ahead. Ride over obstacles in the\nroad. Keep going, and you will find God with your pardon all prepared\nfor you and ready for your taking. He will also dispatch a guard of\nangels to go with you who will bear the green flag. They know the way\nof God; follow them and the green flag.\n\nAt last, my dear reader, when the sunset comes and the day of mortal\nlife is ending, and you are looking out over the sea of eternity, may\nyou see the green flag flying there. Then you will know \"All is\nclear--go ahead.\"\n\nIt may give a good setting to this lesson if you should ask a boy or\ngirl to come to the platform, and hold the flags as you present them\none by one. Hold a grand review of the four flags and ask questions\nas to their meaning. This will help you to plant these flags in the\nhall of memory of old and young.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =21\n\n                           THE DEVIL'S GOAT\n\n            OBJECTS: A Number of Wooden Blocks and a Piece\n                            of Stove Coal=\n\nIt is good and proper to have real friends; friends that play\nstraight and stick to the end. Evil companions are Satan's\nroad-agents to hold us up, and rob us of the best we have. It is easy\nto sin with the crowd.\n\nSin masses men together until they think they are strong and often\ndeclare themselves right because \"They all do it.\" This is a hard\nlesson to learn, and few there are who learn it early in life. A\ndaughter asked her father's permission one day to visit a gay young\nfriend of the world. Her father said, \"I cannot allow it.\" Then she\nreplied, \"Then you must think me uncommonly weak.\" The father picked\nup a piece of coal [you do likewise] from the hearth and handed it to\nhis daughter, but she hesitated to accept it. \"Take it, my child,\"\nsaid he, \"it will not burn you.\" The daughter obeyed, and the milky\nwhiteness of her hand had instantly gone. The father said, \"We must\nbe careful how we handle coal, if it doesn't burn it may blacken.\"\n\nNo boy or girl can spend an hour with an evil companion and be one\nwith them without coming away with a stain inside. If we continue\nwith them, it is a direct route, fast express line, to fall with\nthem. To illustrate this fact, set up the blocks endwise in a\nstraight line a short distance apart. Knock down the first block, and\nall the others will fall with it. Now raise the last block, and see\nif they will all rise with it. But no, if once down they must all be\nraised one by one. How easy it is to fall with a crowd, but when we\nwant to return we must come back one by one. Don't walk in the\nsinner's way or stand in the way of the transgressor, for together\nthey will all fall into the pit.\n\nBe on your guard. Don't handle the black coal of evil companionship.\nIf it does not burn, it will soil.\n\nOne day a minister of the gospel was sitting in the office of a\nsuperintendent of a large abattoir, when a large goat came in and\nrubbed his head against the superintendent, \"What is the meaning of\nthat?\" asked the minister. He replied, \"Large flocks of sheep are\noften delivered to the slaughter-houses, and in order to get them\neasily into the place of death, Judas, the goat, is always on hand,\nand never fails to trot and lead them to the gate which leads to the\ngangway that takes them to the slaughter.\"\n\nBeware of the Devil's Goats. They are working overtime. Walk in the\nnarrow path and with the Good Shepherd. He slays the devouring beast\nseeking to destroy the sheep bearing his name. Don't tramp with\nsinners; stand alone. Stand alone in God's strength, and you stand\nforever.\n\nNow take one of the blocks, stand it up endways; put a Bible on each\nside of it, and you will notice it is too far away from the other\nblocks to be hurt by them, and so stands securely, and can never be\noverthrown.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =22\n\n                            SHINING TRUTH\n\n         OBJECTS: An Assortment of Candles Teaching a Number\n                             of Lessons=\n\nIn this chapter you will find a few brief candle-light lessons which\nyou can use when you wish to give a series of short talks of seven\nminutes. They can be arranged into one whole sermon if so desired. It\nis a cluster of shining truth candles, arrange them as you like.\n\n                        =THE TEN COMMANDMENTS=\n\nArrange ten candles in a straight line. Select blue candles, because\nthey are called \"Blue Laws,\" but show that the light is white because\nit is night, and they have been shedding light for the whole dark\nworld.\n\nThe universal laws of the nations are taken from these great legal\nlights. They are God's lights, because they came from God, and if the\nworld ever extinguishes them the world will be lost in hopeless\ndarkness forever. Produce two yellow candles which stand for the two\ncommandments Christ gave which contain the truth of all the Ten\nCommandments. This is how the blue laws turn to gold.\n\n                          =THE HIDDEN LIGHT=\n\nProduce a candle from a box in the corner. This represents a hidden\nlight which does not shine even \"in its own corner.\" It is a light\nhidden under a bushel. Many a soul has fine powers to serve the world\nfor Jesus, but they are hidden in the dark box of disuse, and are\nworthless in the black world. They have buried the talent. Take it\nout of the box, light it, and place it on top of the box, and say,\n\"Henceforth thou shalt be as a city set on a hill whose business it\nis just to shine.\"\n\n                       =THE VANITY FAIR CIRCLE=\n\nArrange a semicircle of a number of highly ornamented candles. Name\nthem Mr. Fine Clothes, Miss Fine Feather, Mrs. Good Opinion, Miss\nShow Off, etc. This is an exclusive circle, some of the noted 400\ngiving a little pink tea. Now bring in a plain white candle and say:\n\"After all, this white candle shines forth as brightly as any one of\nthem. It makes no noise, says nothing about itself, but just goes on\nand shines. It is not the clothes which make the light of life shine\nthe brighter.\"\n\n                          =EXAMPLE CANDLES=\n\nArrange on a table a long row of unlit candles. Light the first one,\nthe second one from the first, the third, from the second one, and so\none until the end of the line. This illustrates the power of a good\nexample. One follows after another.\n\n                    =THE PRODIGAL SON IN CANDLES=\n\nThis is the dear old story of the Prodigal Son in candles. Produce a\nsolitary candle. This represents the boy at home. Surround it with a\nnumber of other candles, calling them the Prodigal's family. He feels\nhe is all alone. He is not happy with parents and brother, so goes\nout where he may shine. Now move the light to the other end of the\ntable. This you may call the \"far country.\" Here bring a few other\nlighted candles and put them around the Prodigal light, and call them\nthe gay company he found in the white way of the new land. Now take\nall the lights away except the Prodigal light, and say: \"Now he is\npoor and alone. His gay companions have taken their departure, they\nhave forsaken him and left him in want and poverty.\" Move his light\nto another part of the platform or place it on the floor. He is now\ndown and almost out. He is feeding swine in the field. He is left all\nalone. No man cares for the swine-tenders. Now bring in a small\nyellow candle and place this beside him and say, \"This represents\nmemory,\" so he thinks of his Father's home and his Father's\nbread--enough and to spare, and as he thinks he says he will arise,\nand go home again. (Here remove the \"memory\" light.) Place another\nlight in the middle of the table representing the Great Father who\ncomes out to meet him. Now take both the lights back to the old home.\nAt this point bring in a cluster of lights to represent the neighbors\nand friends who have come to greet him, and rejoice with his Father.\n\"And they began to be merry.\" Then from another corner produce a\ncandle which represents the elder brother, who would not go in to the\nbanquet because of his dislike for his brother. Now take a light from\nthe Home Cluster representing the Father, take it over to the Elder\nBrother light, and bring both lights back to the feast. Sing\n\"Brighten the Corner,\" and drive home the lesson of coming back to\nthe light, to Father and home.\n\n                       =THE HOT TEMPER CANDLE=\n\nThis candle represents the angry man, the man with the ungovernable\ntemper. With a good rasp, file off an ounce from the fire end of a\npoker. The iron filings produced are perfectly combustible, as may be\nproved by sprinkling them over the flame of a candle. As they descend\ninto the flame they take fire, each particle burning like a\nstar--producing, in fact, miniature fireworks.\n\n                [Illustration: THE HOT TEMPER CANDLE]\n\nThe little shower of sparks will greatly impress the small eyes and\nwill not be forgotten. (See Fig. above.)\n\n                   =SHINING THE LONGEST FOR JESUS=\n\nAn evangelist was talking to a meeting of children. He illustrated\nhis talk by bringing out a row of candles on a board. A very long\ncandle was at one end and a short candle at the other. Between the\nlong and short candles there were candles of various heights. He said\nby these candles he wanted to represent the Grandfather, the\nGrandmother, Father and Mother, and boys and girls, and the baby of\nthe family who had never heard of Jesus until a missionary came, whom\nhe represented by a lighted candle, and then they gave their hearts\nto Jesus, and from that day loved and served him. He then lit all the\ncandles and said, \"The whole family are now shining for Jesus.\" He\nthen asked which candle represented the Grandmother, the Grandfather,\nand so on. They all thought the tallest candle would represent the\noldest of the family, and said that one must stand for Grandfather.\nThe evangelist said \"No, that stands for the baby, the youngest\nmember of the family,\" and then said, \"Do any of you know why?\"\nPresently a little fellow piped out, \"I know why, he has the chance\nto shine the longest for Jesus.\" That was a wonderful answer, and it\nmade a great impression on the audience. It was the heart of the\nlesson, Thus we find a message in the candle. Hear it. See it.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =23\n\n                       THE BEATITUDES IN COLORS\n\n          OBJECTS: A Number of Colored Ribbons Illustrating\n                     the Truth of Each Beatitude=\n\nThis is a lesson for older heads. It illustrates the opening verses\nin the Sermon on the Mount.\n\nArrange a number of ribbons upon a cross-piece in the following\norder. If using ribbons is too costly, cut out strips from cheaper\ngoods of the proper color and use them.\n\n1. Gray.  \"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom\nof heaven.\" Gray is the color of humility, and the poor in spirit are\nGod's humble ones.\n\n2. Black.  \"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be\ncomforted.\" Black is the color of mourning.\n\n3. Violet.  \"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.\"\nViolet is the color of the meek and lowly.\n\n4. White.  \"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after\nrighteousness, for they shall be filled.\" White stands for\nrighteousness.\n\n5. Red.  \"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.\" Red\nis the color of love, and mercy is the fruit of love.\n\n6. Gold.  \"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.\"\nGold stands for heaven, the golden home of God. It is there that we\nshall see him.\n\n7. Purple.  \"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called\nthe children of God.\" Purple is the royal color. We are children of\nthe King. We bear the family purple mark.\n\n8. Orange.  \"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness'\nsake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.\" Orange is the color of\nthe setting sun, and stands for the glory of God. We shall see the\nglory of God's kingdom in heaven.\n\n9. A cluster of ribbons, or one ribbon with colored stripes on it,\nrepresents the stripes of the garments which the Prophets wore who\nwere persecuted. \"Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and\npersecute you, and say all manner of evil against you, falsely, for\nmy sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in\nheaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.\"\n\nAs each color is put in its place, enlarge on the teaching of the\nBeatitude for which it stands. Fasten a little sleigh-bell on the\nbase of each ribbon so they will jingle as did the bells on the skirt\nof the high priest. So the truths of the Beatitudes are like golden\nbells sending forth their message of truth to the world.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =24\n\n                        THE GOSPEL IN THE FLAG\n\n         OBJECTS: One Large Flag and a Number of Small Flags=\n\nFor patriotic occasions this lesson, I trust, will prove to be of\nvalue to you. Too much front space cannot be given our flag.\nLawlessness and defiance to our Constitution is everywhere\npronounced. Use the flag often, and show that we, as Christians, love\nour flag because it preaches the gospel as well as America's\nindependence.\n\nSecure a number of little flags, ask the children in the audience to\ncome forward and occupy the front seats, then pass out to them the\nflags. Let them hold them in their hands as you bring out the gospel\nlessons from the folds of Old Glory. Notice we have three colors in\nour flag, red, white, and blue. The _Red_ teaches us that the gospel\ndeclares that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. That is\nthe heart of the gospel. God loved the world and gave his Son for the\nCross. Every time I look at the red of the flag it makes me think of\nCalvary. I am glad the red comes first in the flag. It is first in\nthe gospel also.\n\nAfter this comes the _White_. This is correct also according to the\ngospel. The blood makes the heart white as snow. Purity is a great\ngospel lesson taught by the flag. After this comes the _Blue_ which\nstands for faithfulness. We say of the boy who stands firm for the\nright, \"He is true blue.\" This is a mighty gospel truth. Faithfulness\nis a rare virtue, but the gospel tells us, we must be faithful to the\nend in order to be saved.\n\nNow note the _Stars_. They make us think of the star of Bethlehem and\nthe sweet Christmas story. Jesus is the Bright and Morning Star, and\nhe seems to be looking down on us from the star field of the old\nflag. Then as I look again the stars of the flag seem to say that,\n\"They that be wise shall shine forth as stars.\" Then I pray that as\nthese forty-eight stars represent our forty-eight States, so may the\nStar of Bethlehem be the national star of every State in our glorious\nUnion.\n\nDid you ever note the letters U.S. are the last two letters of\n_Jesus?_\n\nSo may all the other letters of the word Jesus be spelled out in the\nlife of every true American, The J for Justice, the E for Eternity,\nand S for Salvation. As I look at the flag again I learn the lesson\nof the strength of organization. The Red, White, and Blue as separate\ncolors stand for themselves alone. Unite them in the flag, and they\nstand defended by the Army and  Navy of the country. Christians often\nsay they can live the Christian life outside the organized body of\nChristians, called the church, but by so doing they stand alone and\nfor themselves. United in the church, they are backed by the greatest\norganized power in the world, the church of Jesus.\n\nI notice there are seven red stripes, which means that every day of\nthe week we should be true to our country and to our religion. Note\nthat here the red also comes first. There are six white stripes. Let\nthese stripes stand for the great wars which have been fought with a\nclean sword, and so we learn that Old Glory is a preacher of\nrighteousness. Long may she teach in the land of the brave and the\nhome of the free.\n\nHave a large flag on the pulpit, and ask all the children with their\nlittle flags to come up and stand around it, while all the people\nsing \"My Country, 'Tis of Thee\" and \"All Hail the Power of Jesus'\nName.\"\n\nThis lesson can be used for a regular Sunday-night service for adults\nas well as for children. It could be used as a national lesson--just\nwhat is needed for Flag Day or Independence Day.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =25\n\n                    WHAT THE LETTERED BLOCKS SAID\n\n                    OBJECTS: Some Lettered Blocks=\n\nSecure the loan of a set of children's lettered blocks such as they\nuse during their play hours on the nursery floor. Spell out the word\nG-O-O-D.\n\nFind out how many great words you can spell out from the letters on\nthese blocks.\n\nFirst we find the word G-O-D.\n\nThis is a lesson causing us to remember God in all our play. How do\nyou suppose Jesus played? I think he certainly did play, for he was a\nreal child, as we all were once. I think he played as we should play,\nremembering that God was near to see all we do, and hear all we say.\n\nMy dear little mother watched me play in the garden from the window.\nShe never took her eyes from me. In those days sometimes children\nwere stolen, or easily went astray. I can remember that often when a\nchild was lost, an officer would go through the streets of my home\ncity, ringing a bell and crying, \"Lost Child--a little boy--five\nyears old--dark hair--blue eyes.\" He had gone out to play and lost\nhis way coming back. This was the way they had in that day of finding\nthe lost child, and my mother kept her eyes on me when I played so I\nwould not lose my way. God watches us in our play.\n\nLet these blocks spelling \"God\" be placed on a shelf looking at us as\nmy dear little mother watched me when I played.\n\nNext go to the word \"GOOD\" and get the word G-O.\n\nThat is a fine little word. It says, \"Always go when mother calls, go\nand do what she asks you to do.\" These two blocks teach us to be\nobedient to her call, and if you do so good people will call you a\nPrince. Some time ago the Prince of Wales visited America, and every\nlittle boy wished he could be a prince and have a large crowd of\npeople looking at him saying, \"Is he not fine?\" Well, we can all be\nprinces, that is if we go when mother calls we will be obedient, and\nto be obedient is to be more than a prince in God's eyes. The\nobedient \"GO\" boy should be called little Prince Obedience--for\nobedience means \"GO\" when mother calls, and \"GO\" comes out of \"GOOD.\"\n\n\n\n\n                                 =26\n\n                           BLOTS TAKEN AWAY\n\n                   OBJECTS: Two School Copy-books=\n\nJohn Maynard was a scholar in a little old-fashioned red schoolhouse\nfar back in the olden times. He had been a shiftless boy and had\ndrifted along aimlessly and carelessly. He had no desire to learn and\ndid not study. One midwinter day some kind words from his teacher\nroused him to take a new start, and he became distinctly a different\nboy and worked hard to make up for his earlier faults. His copy-book\nlessons had been poor. There was a big blot on the first page. Inky\nfinger-marks appeared on numerous pages. Sometimes he made foolish\ndrawings at the bottom of the page just to make the scholars laugh.\nHis copy-book was full of the marks of a careless scholar. But now he\ntried to go straight and clean, and no longer made the blots of\ncarelessness. The closing examination came, and to the great joy of\nhis father and mother who were present he passed well and with honor.\nBut he discovered that his copy-books, which he had used during the\nentire year, were to be displayed on a table for the inspection of\nthe visitors. He saw his mother looking over his books. All the blots\nand finger-marks of former times seemed to grow like big clouds. He\nwas heartily ashamed of his early books, a mass of blots and bad\nwork, and as he watched his mother looking over these books his heart\nwas sick as he knew she would see them all. What would she say to\nhim? What would she think of him? But to his great surprise he saw\nthe smile of approval on his mother's face, and noticed she had\ncalled his father over to look also, and a look of pleasure beamed on\nhis father's face, and they both told John how pleased they were with\nhis fine work. They said nothing of his blots, finger-marks, and\ncareless work. Afterward he discovered that his good teacher had\nremoved all the bad pages from the book, and made the copy-book begin\nfrom where he started to do better. His dear teacher was just like\nGod. He had given him another chance and had put the past out of\nsight forever. So God offers this chance to all who will turn to him.\nHe will take away all the old blots of sin that blacken the past and\ngive us all another chance, and he will make our life's record begin\nwith the new start.\n\nTo illustrate this lesson secure two common school copy-books, the\nfirst one filled with careless lines and numerous blots. Let the\ncover be torn in many places to represent careless handling. It is\nfull of marks of imperfection. It is a thing of ugliness to look at.\nOn the front place a red heart, saying: \"This is a record of a boy\nwith a red heart of sin, This heart was the big cause of the crooked\ncontents of the book. The boy now becomes a Christian. God takes the\nold book and gives him another, and a new start.\"\n\nOn the front page of the second copy-book put a white heart, which\nmeans \"Here begins the new life.\" This book should have a perfect\nline at the top of the page you exhibit, and under this a childish\nhandwriting should be placed. It should be a copy, as near as\npossible like the perfect top line. In this book, while all the lines\nare not straight or perfect, you can see they have been written by a\nhand that tried to follow the copy. It is also noted that the farther\nyou look through the book you can note marked improvement in all of\nthe work, So in the new life with the new start we do not always make\nperfect lines, but we try with all our heart to do so, and the older\nwe grow the more perfect our lines will be. At the last day, the\nGreat Review Day, the grand and awful day at the end of the way, only\none book will be opened before the Judge for inspection. It will be\nthe last book, the book of the white heart. The old book of the red\nheart will not appear, God has forgotten all about it. It has been\ncast behind his back. It has been sunk into the depths of the sea of\nforgetfulness. The book has been lost forever. It will never come up\nas a witness against us. We often sing, \"They are all taken away.\"\nAnother line should be added to this which would read, \"They are all\ntaken away to stay.\" This is according to the Scriptures.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =27\n\n                 A LOST HEART AND WHERE IT WAS FOUND\n\n              OBJECTS: A Child's Bank and a Paper Heart=\n\n_\"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.\"_\n\nA little girl, daughter of a Western banker, was anxious to bring her\nfather to Jesus, but he always said, when she talked with him on the\nsubject, that he was too busy at the bank and did not have time to\nthink of religion. This troubled the little girl greatly, because she\nknew her father's soul was in danger if he did not give his heart to\nJesus. It seemed to her as if he had given his heart to the bank and\nnot to God.\n\nOne night the little girl went to bed with a troubled mind, and in\nher sleep had this strange dream. She thought her father came\ndown-stairs one morning and said that when he awoke he discovered\nsomewhere that during the night he had lost his heart. He could not\nfeel it beating in his breast, and therefore was sure some power had\ntaken it away from him, and he was without a heart. The little girl\nthought, in her dream, that she heard all the family laugh at this\nstrange story of Daddy, and they said, \"Father must have lost his\nmind,\" if he thought he had lost his heart, but he only said, putting\nhis hand upon his breast, \"My heart is not here, I have lost it\nsomewhere.\" The little girl was greatly troubled because she thought\nit was a sure sign that her father would soon die, because he could\nnot live without a heart. Then in her dream a good angel came to her\nand said: \"Dear little girl, your father is right. He has indeed lost\nhis heart. He loves his gold, he loves it so much that he has given\nhimself to the bank and forgotten God. Now, little girl, you can help\nyour father find his heart again, for I am going to tell you where\nhis heart has gone.\" The angel said: \"On yonder shelf you will see a\nlittle iron bank; open it up, and you will find buried beneath the\ncoins of this bank your father's heart.\" She did as the good angel\ndirected, and there, sure enough, amidst the copper and silver coins,\nshe found her Daddy's heart. She was very glad indeed at this find,\nand in her great joy she awoke from her dream. The next day she told\nher father this dream which she had had the previous night. He\nlistened to it thoughtfully and said something about foolish little\ngirls who think out strange things in their sleep, and then he turned\ntoward his bank and spent another day, amidst his banking books. But\nall day long his thoughts were upon his little girl and her foolish\ndream, but the more he thought about it the less foolish it seemed to\nhim, and at last he said to himself: \"Dear little dreamer, God was\ntalking to you in your sleep and was talking to me also. It is true I\nhave lost my heart. It is buried under the gold of my bank. I have\nloved my gold more than God, and have given my bank my heart. The\nGood Book says, 'Where your treasure is, there will your heart be\nalso.' My treasure is in my bank. There is my heart also.\" This\nmessage from Dreamland caused him to give his heart to God, and he\nbecame a Christian, and then he let God keep his heart for him, and\nso Jesus found the father's heart and kept it for him forevermore.\n\nTo illustrate this, secure a small toy iron bank such as children use\nfor the safe keeping of their pennies. Cut out a piece of cardboard\nthe shape of a heart, and put this inside of the little bank, and at\nthe proper time in the story draw it out and show the children that\nthe bank contained the father's heart, covered up with the money.\nThis money stands for the treasure of the people, and there you will\nfind the people's hearts also. You can also paste upon this heart a\nnumber of pennies, so that when you take the heart out it will be\nliterally covered with the treasures. What must be done with this\nheart that it may be separated from the treasures of gold which will\nseparate the heart forever from heaven? It must be brought to Jesus\nand a new heart will be given in exchange. Although this heart\ncovered with the gold of this world is therefore very attractive to\nmost people, it is as black as night in the sight of God and the\nangels.\n\nThere was once a boy named William. He was in the habit of doing\nwicked things. Once he told a great lie about his classmate because\nhe was angry at him, and the teacher punished this classmate,\nbelieving that what William said was true. At the next recess William\nnoticed that the scholars kept away from him and looked at him as if\nthey were frightened, but he did not think much of this. When he went\nback to school that afternoon he saw his teacher looking at him very\nstrangely, and when he went home his mother looked at him and burst\ninto tears. William then ran up into his little room to look himself\nover and stood before the mirror to see if he could determine what\nwas the matter, and there he saw a terrible sight. By some mysterious\npower he had become so transparent that his heart showed right out\nfrom his body through his thick clothing, and it was a dreadfully\nblack one. His coat was black, but it looked quite white compared\nwith the blackness of his heart that was piercing through his coat,\nand when he saw this he was ashamed to go out, and hung his head\nwhenever he passed any of his classmates, He tried to run into dark\ncorners where people could not see his heart, but he could not find\nany hiding-place dark enough to hide his black heart. At last with\ntears in his eyes he ran to his mother and asked what he should do.\nHe confessed to his mother the big lie he told about his classmate.\nHis mother now led him to the mirror when he had finished his sad\nstory. She said: \"See, William, now that you have made this\nconfession, your heart is less black than it was before. I think it\nwill become entirely white if you pray to Jesus to forgive you. Tell\nyour classmate and teacher and the scholars how sorry you are.\"\nWilliam said to himself, \"I will.\" That night he prayed long and\nearnestly and when the morning had come he was astonished to see how\nmuch lighter his heart had grown. This pleased him very much and he\nsaid: \"I don't think I will trouble any more about my heart. It is\ngrowing so much lighter that I think the last remnant of the\nblackness will pass away in a day.\" So he ran off to school very\ngladly, but his teacher looked at him very strangely, and the\nclassmates all shrank and ran away from him and he said he was ill\nand must go home. When he got to his room and looked in the mirror he\nsaw his heart with more intense blackness than ever before. So that\nnight he prayed very earnestly to Jesus to take away his black heart.\nIn the morning he ran off to school in great haste. As soon as the\nschool was opened, he arose before all the scholars and told what a\ndreadful thing he had done and asked their forgiveness. They all\nforgave him gladly, and at recess everybody was kind to him and\nplayed with him, and best of all when he got home and looked in the\nmirror he found that there was no great black heart showing through.\nHe was a happy boy again, just as he had been before he told the\nterrible lie. This little story teaches the big lesson that the\nsinful black heart can only be made right by bringing it to Jesus.\n\nTo illustrate this you open the Bible to some great promise of\nforgiveness of sin, and place the heart on that promise, and close\nthe Bible. So the sinful heart is now taken away. You open the Bible\nagain at another promise of forgiveness of sin, and there take out of\nit a white heart, which you have put in there previously, and say,\n\"This represents the heart of forgiveness.\" You place it back in the\nBible and close the Bible tight, and say, \"My heart have I hid in his\nword, and it is safe there forever more, and in his keeping it can\nnever be lost again.\"\n\n\n\n\n                                 =28\n\n                 \"BRIGHTEN YOUR CORNER AS A BUSINESS\"\n\n          OBJECT: An Old-fashioned Candlestick with a Small\n                            Candle in It=\n\nSome years ago an old friend of mine put into my hands an ancient\ncandlestick containing a short stump of a candle. It was an old\nhomestead relic. The good lady had used it in her childhood, and her\nmother had used it in her early days also. It was at least\nseventy-five years old, and had not been lighted for more than fifty\nyears. It had been stowed away in the old garret and forgotten, until\none day it was taken with other common things from its dusty\nhiding-place, and fell into my hands. At once I lit the stump of\ncandle, and it sent forth its golden light again just as it did fifty\nyears ago. It seemed to say to me, \"I will always shine whenever I\nget the chance.\" I do not say, as some of you humans of the day, \"If\nyou had no better place for me than a dark corner in a garret, if you\nhave forgotten me, and failed to recognize my place in the world, I\nwon't shine for you now.\" No. \"But I will shine for you or anybody\nthat will put the taper to my heart. It is my business to shine. I\ncannot do anything else.\"\n\nI have often seen folks unlike this old candle. If they cannot be\nfirst in the work they won't help at all. If somebody else is asked\nto take part, and they are not, they sulk about it, refuse to join in\nand work. If they are asked to do something that some other person\nhas been asked to do, and refused, they say: \"Play second fiddle! I\nguess not!\" The New Testament tells us of a proud man who loved to\nhave the prominent place among them. This is not a Christian spirit.\nJesus said, \"If any man will be great among you, let him be your\nservant.\" Brighten your corner as a business. This is the business of\nthe Christian--to shine. The candle can do nothing more than this. It\nshines just as it is. It never tries to be an electric light, or to\ndo the work of electricity, but is content to do its own work, and\nthat is the work of a candle, just to shine as a business. The\nelectric light gives ten, fifteen, forty candle-power light. The\nelectric power turns washing machines, runs vacuum cleaners, heats\nirons, and does all sorts of things at the touch of its finger of\npower. All the candle can do is to give its small-power light. But\nnotice how cheerful it is in the midst of darkness. It knows it\ncannot do the task of electricity, so it does not fret itself about\nit, but just shines and does its best to brighten the little dark\ncorner; that is its business--just to shine. Watch it shine, and you\nwill notice it puts its whole life into the business of shining.\nMeasure it as it shines, and you will discover it grows less and\nless, and leaves nothing behind it--gives itself, and all of itself\ninto the business of shining. It consumes itself in the process of\nshining, This is a true light picture of the Christian. Real service\nrequires the giving of the entire self. David Livingstone, the heart\nof Africa missionary, gave all that he had and consumed all his\nenergies for the good of the Dark Continent. He just let his light\nshine out until his body burned out, and when the natives found him\ndead kneeling by his bed, they found an old worn-out body burnt out\nin the business of shining in Africa's dark corner. But his light\nstill shines. The natives as they sit by their evening fire talk in\nsoft tones about the great White Chief. They are watching that White\nCandle Chief burn in the jungles of their wild land. He being dead\nyet shineth.\n\n[Illustration: A Meeting of Children in the East Baptist Church,\nPhiladelphia (Where the Author is Pastor), Giving Attention to\nObject-lessons Described in This Book]\n\nThat is the way to shine forever. Burn out here, and you will shine\nforever in God's kingdom. So we learn that we are not only letting\nour light shine as a business, but in so doing we light the dark\ncorner lights around the world. This candle I now hold in my hand can\nlight a thousand other candles, and they in turn another thousand,\nand so on until it could light shining candles girdling the round\nworld. Light is contagious. It easily passes from one candle to\nanother.\n\nOne courageous enthusiastic person can fire many others to shine in\ntheir dark corners also. If every one of my audience held an\nunlighted candle in their hands, this one lighted candle would carry\nthe flame to all the candles. This room would be transfigured into a\ncongress of flickering stars. This is the way the kingdom of heaven\nmust come in. One life touches the other life, and they all shine in\ntheir corner as their business, which is the King's business also.\n\nBut learn the first great essential lesson. This candle, to shine\nforth in the dark corner as a business, must first be lit itself. It\ncannot light itself. It cannot say, \"Let there be light,\" for no\nlight can shine forth by a self-command. Some power greater than a\ncandle must touch our dark heart with its taper of flame before we\ncan shine forth. So we must come to the great Light of the World and\ngive ourselves to him, and become his disciples, and he will give us\nthe light which shines in our hearts, and out from our own lives.\nThen we become \"Candles of the Lord,\" and brighten the corner where\nwe are as a business.\n\nIn using this lesson suit your actions to your words. Secure if\npossible an old-fashioned candlestick with a stump of a candle in it,\nand say, \"This resembles the old candlestick mentioned in the\nlesson.\" You can use an ordinary candle for other parts of the lesson\nreferred to in the chapter.\n\nYou can close this lesson by asking a group of children to come to\nthe platform and ask them to hold a candlestick with a lighted candle\nand sing together, \"Brighten the Corner Where You Are.\"\n\n\n\n\n                                 =29\n\n                   THE POSTAGE-STAMP AS A PREACHER\n\n            OBJECTS: A Collection of Foreign and Domestic\n                           Postage-stamps=\n\nHold up a letter with a plain two-cent postage-stamp upon it. \"Let me\nintroduce to you the Preacher of the hour! He is clothed in his white\nrobe (the envelope) and is ready to be a preacher to us all.\"\n\n1. This stamp is more than a common piece of paper. It has on it the\nstamp of the Government; therein is its value. It has the O.K. of the\nauthorities of Washington. So we must have stamped on our life the\nimage of the Good Father to make us worth anything in this old world.\nWe must bear the mark of our Owner before we can be backed by the\nkingdom of heaven.\n\n2. If the stamp was made by ourselves it would have no power. The\nletter bearing the stamp would be returned. So we can do nothing of\nourselves. There is no good in us. When I was a little boy I was a\nstamp-collector, and when we could not find a stamp of the desired\nnation, there was issued what is called a \"facsimile\" of the\noriginal. It was a \"make-believe\" stamp. It looked all right in our\nstamp-book, but it was out of place and worthless on an envelope. It\nwas only a pretender so we must not be contented with appearances\nonly. That is the way hypocrites are made.\n\n3. The stamp in the stamp box is always ready for service, just\nwaiting to start on its journey. It has the mark of approval on it\nwhich the Government has given it. It has the sticking power which\nman has given it, and is just waiting to be called into service. Paul\nsaid, \"I am now ready\" not only to die but to live. He who is ready\nto die, is best prepared to live. Always ready for service, like a\npostage-stamp, is to be ready to go anywhere for the Master.\n\n4. The postage-stamp is a good missionary. It will work anywhere. It\nwill go to any part of the homeland or any part of the world, just as\nit is directed. No dividing-line between home or abroad, It will go\nto any part of the world. It just goes where it is sent. It is like a\npair of bifocal glasses. It can see home needs as well as the\nfar-away needs. It sees both clearly. That is the plan of Jesus,\nJerusalem and the uttermost parts--both are alike to him as far as\nconcerns their need of salvation.\n\n5. I remember also that when I was a stamp-collector, I had one page\nin my book on which I had a stamp from each nation. They were all at\npeace with each other. It was the first picture of \"The League of\nNations.\"\n\nTo illustrate the truth, get as many stamps of the various nations as\nyou may be able, and fix them on a large cardboard, and show them to\nthe children, or bring them out of the Bible to show that if they are\ntrue to God's Word, they will live together in peace. This is the\nonly \"League of Nations\" that can stand through the ages.\n\n6. The postage-stamp does what it is told to do. It fulfils its task.\nWhen it is placed on the envelope, it takes the letter to the address\ngiven. That is its business. That is all that is expected of it. It\ndoes not seek to know the contents of the letter, but to deliver the\nletter to the party named. So it is our business to do just as we are\ntold to do by our Good Father. We are not to pry into his will, or\nseek to know his unrevealed secrets. Our business is to carry his\nmessage. We are to speak where God's Book speaks, We are to be silent\nwhere the Book is silent. We should all try to do as well as a\npostage-stamp.\n\n7. The stamp is a non-combatant. When it is licked it does not hit\nback. It is a peace-lover. It opens not its mouth. So we should learn\nthat when criticism and hardship come to us, when the road is\ndifficult, and we are discouraged, when the enemy does his worst, and\nSatan tries to dislodge us, we must just stick like a stamp. When we\nput the stamp on the envelope, we often give it a blow with our fist.\nThat just makes the stamp stick tighter. So when we are hit by hard\nexperiences we should tighten our grip all the more and just stick.\n\n8. The stamp sticks to its job to the finish. It holds tight to the\nletter till it gets there. Happy is that boy or girl who continues to\nthe end. A little newsboy by the name of George in the City of\nPhiladelphia, Pa., sold papers in the street for a living. He\nbelieved if he stuck to his task he would some day be a great man.\nOne day he stood looking up at the great building in which the paper\nwas published and said, \"I will some day own that building, and\nbecome the editor of the paper I now sell.\" He stuck to his task\nuntil at last he was owner of the paper and its editor also. His name\nwas George Washington Childs, and the paper was The Public Ledger. He\nwas like the postage-stamp. He stuck fast until he got there. That is\nthe only way to \"get there.\"\n\n9. The postage-stamp never has a complaining word. Sometimes it is\nput on upside down or very crooked, and struck a great blow by the\ncancelling-machine in the Post Office, but it never speaks a word of\ncomplaint, just stands by its post and waits. If it goes to an\naddress that has been changed, the new address is put on the\nenvelope, and it starts on its journey again. It makes no complaint\nbecause of extra work, but starts away on another journey. So we\nshould always \"try again\" and make another start. Many a man has\n\"made good\" by doing this. There is a medical remedy called \"606.\"\nWhen the firm was asked why this number was given it, the reply was,\n\"We tried 605 times to find a proper remedy, and failed; but the next\ntime we found just what we were after, and so called it No. 606.\" Do\nnot be afraid to try over and over. The next time may be the 606th of\nsuccess. Now when you look at the little red postage-stamp let it\npreach over and over again to you the lessons I have given you in\nthis chapter. Look again, and you will see on this stamp the face of\nthe great George Washington, who lived out all these lessons in his\nlife, and he is now \"stuck fast\" to the hearts of his countrymen.\n\nNow, Mr. Postage-stamp, we thank you. You have preached to us a fine\nsermon this morning.\n\nWhen you receive a stamped letter from the postman remember the\nPostage-stamp Preacher. Hear ye him.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =30\n\n                        CANDLES IN THE PULPIT\n\n             OBJECTS: A Number of Candles and a Small Green\n                             Tree Branch=\n\nLet us ask the candles to preach to us. These white-robed prophets\nwill now speak. Candle No. 1, come to the desk and be preacher for us\nnow.\n\nIn answer to this call a small boy or girl comes up upon the platform\nbearing a small candle and gives it to you. This, you say, is a\nlittle, but mighty preacher. In ancient story we are told of a\nmansion illuminated by a thousand candles, and in one of the\ncandlesticks there was hidden the owner's will. The heirs searched\nfor the candle with its message of gold. That candle had a message in\nit. So let us find the hidden truth in this and all the other candle\nprophets this night.\n\nAfter lighting it you say, \"It is a light bearing God's truth.\" Place\nit on the desk, saying, This is a little light, yet if the room was\ndarkened it would lighten the entire room. This little prophet\nrepresents the child in the home, church, and world. The Bible says,\n\"A little child shall lead them.\" That little child is Jesus. He led\nthe wise men in the Temple of old. He is leading all men by the light\nof his Star to the Cross where sins are taken away. \"And I, if I be\nlifted up, will draw all men to me.\" This is the attractive power of\na little child. All little children are sweet little lights, \"the\nlight of the home,\" so we all declare, and we are speaking well as we\nthus say, When this light is extinguished it has led many a soul back\nto God. This little light stands for the Primary Department of our\nSunday school. They come to the school, they listen, and receive.\nThey are there taking in light. They go out, and let it shine out,\nand many a soul has seen it and been saved. All the little folks look\nforward and see the light. Be ye little lights and shine in your\ncorner for Jesus.\n\nOur next preacher will be the large candle now brought forth by a\nlarger boy. Place it on the desk, and remove the small candle,\nextinguish it, and put it out of sight.\n\nThis large candle is the pastor in the pulpit, who is a preaching\ncandle. He is to tell the truth about things and to warn the people\nof dangers and present perils. Sometime the flock does not like his\nplain talk, and in Bible times they took him from his holy place and\ncast him out and stoned him to death. At this point have the boy so\ntrained that he will come forward to the desk and try to take the\ncandle out. You will stop him and ask him what he is doing. He will\nreply: \"He talks too plain to us. We don't like it.\" You tell him,\nthe preacher stands in God's place and is talking for him. Let all\nthe people hear what the prophet has to say to the people. The candle\nis then placed back on the desk, and the preaching light continues to\nshine out its message.\n\n\"Who next will be our preacher tonight?\" This call is responded to by\ntwo little girls, one bearing an ornamented candle coming first, the\nother bringing a plain candle following. As you take the first candle\nyou say: \"Beauty and adornment are useless and only pure vanity if\njust on the surface. People like to show off in religion, that is,\nthey often like to show off their clothes and personal adornment, but\nyou will notice after you have lit this candle that it does not give\nany more light than this plain candle,\" which you now take from the\nlittle girl standing a little space from you. You light the plain\ncandle, and place them side by side, and by the side of the\npreacher's candle, and the preacher says, \"Both the poor and the rich\ncan shine alike for God, for he is Maker of them both.\"\n\nGive the call again, \"Who will preach for us next?\" A child comes\nforward with a box wrapped in paper, and gives it to you. After you\nhave opened it you produce a fine white candle. What does this mean,\nMr. Preaching Candle? The candle answers, \"I am a soul which hides\nhis light under a bushel. I have gone out.\" Light it and place it by\nyour side, that its light may call the people out of the easy pew and\ncomfortable chair to the fortress to fight by light.\n\nBehold! I see another prophet approaching. It is a foreigner. As he\ncomes to the platform he bears the flag of China, and carries a\nChinese lantern. He is coming not to preach but to listen. Hold up\nthe lantern close to the preacher candle and say: \"China is asking\nfor the true light. What doth the preacher candle say?\" And the\ncandle answers: \"Hear me, all ye people, Our Master's great\ncommission tells us we are to go into all the world and preach the\ngospel. China is the largest nation of the world, and so according to\nthe order of the Light of the World, we give China the light.\" Here\nlight the lantern, and give it back to the child, and bid him\nGodspeed in his mission of light to his people who sit in darkness.\n\nGive the call again, and six boys and girls come forward with a tall\nunlit candle in a candlestick. These are six Lay Preachers, Helpers\nof the Pastor. They do his bidding, and then they are sure to shine.\nNow light the six candles and let them stand around the desk holding\ntheir candles. Spread the children out as far as possible, so there\nwill be no danger of their burning each other. Now the preacher\ncandle says: \"I am backed by my church-membership. They stand back of\nme. They are shining forth the same light that I shine out. This is a\npulpit of power.\"\n\nHere endeth the sermon of the candles in the pulpit. You now take the\ncandles from the children and place them on the desk with the other\ncandles and close by singing \"The Light of the World Is Jesus.\"\n\n\n\n\n                                 =31\n\n                          A POST-CARD SERMON\n\n                 OBJECTS: A Collection of Post-cards=\n\nIf you wish to preach to the little folks and cause them to remember\nwhat you have said, try the post-card sermon.\n\nWhen you announce the sermon for little eyes ask them to come to the\nfront of the church and stand around the pulpit. Then hand to each\nchild a pictorial post-card and make it the subject of your talk to\nthem. Tell them the card now belongs to them, and they can take it\nhome with them to keep. Preach about the picture on the card, calling\ntheir attention to every little detail. Drive home some truth as\npictured on the card. Ask them to look intently at every point in the\npicture you are talking about.\n\nThis sermon should not be over seven minutes long. Children find it\ndifficult to stand in one place for any length of time. If you seek\nto hold their attention too long, they will grow tired and their\ninterest will slacken. You must be brief.\n\nThere are beautiful post-cards without number and the cost is very\ntrifling. Use historical cards. Take, if you so desire, the card\ncontaining the \"Liberty Bell,\" and preach upon the text of the Bell:\n\"Proclaim liberty throughout the land.\" Describe the bell, give its\nhistory in a few words. The seasonal post-cards, Christmas, Spring,\nWinter, Thanksgiving, Hallowe'en, etc., give a new meaning to these\ndays, and tell things the children should know about them.\n\nUse beautiful post-cards. Select some beauty spot in your own country\nand explain what makes it beautiful and what makes its beauty worth\nwhile to us. Use post-cards that have a children's story connected\nwith them, such as \"The Lighthouse-keeper's Daughter, Grace Darling,\"\n\"The Boy Lincoln and His Log-cabin Home,\" \"George Washington and the\nCherry Tree.\" These pictures are running over with simple truth.\n\nUse curious post-cards, such as of the Natural Bridge in Virginia,\ncave pictures, the gold-fields of Alaska. Tell them of the Natural\nBridge as the work of God, and of the other bridge God made, a Bridge\nfrom Calvary to heaven, the Bridge of the Cross.\n\nSelect foreign post-cards. This will enable you to tell missionary\nstories about the people who live in those lands. Pictures of idols\nwill help you to cause the children to want to tell the heathen\nchildren the story of the true God.\n\nSelect religious post-cards. Reproductions of the great works of art\ncan be secured. Di Vinci's \"Last Supper\" is a good one to select. You\ncan tell about the face of Judas and that of Christ being taken from\nthe same living model. The face of Judas was the disfigured face of\nJesus which had become repulsive because of the presence of sin. This\nis what sin will do for a face.\n\nSelect picture-cards of Bethlehem, and tell the story of the town as\nit now is, and as it was in David's time, and in the time of Jesus.\nIt would be but small trouble to make a course of eight short sermons\nor more, using post-cards.\n\nUrge the children to put the cards thus received in a little book,\nand put under each card the date you preached the sermon. If any\nchild who attends regularly is absent mail a card to them the next\nday, with a short lesson written on the card. Children always like\nthe postman to bring them something by mail. If they are out of town,\nfind their address and send it to them. If they \"just did not come,\"\nsay to them that some Sunday morning if they will call to see you,\nyou will give them the card they missed. It will give you a chance\nfor a pleasant word with them. It often goes a long way with little\nfolks. On the last Sunday of the course bring your full line of cards\nyou have used, and have a short review and ask some questions about\neach card. This is only another, but a new, way of preaching to the\nwonder eyes of the wonderful folks we call our children.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =32\n\n                              MAKING JOY\n\n         OBJECTS: Large Cardboards Containing the Word \"Joy\"=\n\nThis is a day of making things. The wise man could have said of\nthings as he said of books, \"Of the making of many things there is no\nend.\"\n\nDid you ever try to make joy? It is a big business. All the world is\ntrying to learn that trade. The world is richer than it has ever\nbeen, that is because we have learned to make money. The world is\nwiser than it has ever been; that is because we have learned to make\nmany books. The world at heart is sadder than it has ever been; that\nis because it has never learned how to make JOY.\n\nThe joy the world knows is like the desert plant. It fastens its root\nby the side of a little stream, and drinks in the moisture, and\nspreads out its leaves of life. The stream is dried up at last by the\nheat of the desert, and the roots loosen their hold on the soil, and\nthe windstorm rolls the plant over the desert like a dead leaf until\nanother piece of wet ground is found. There it fastens for another\nshort season, and again the sun dries up this spring of life, and\nhurls the root on in the heart of the desert storm, This is repeated\nover and over again until at last it tosses it out into the piercing\nrays of the sun a withered dry old root dead at the heart. So men and\nwomen are like this dry root. They absorb this pleasure and another\nuntil at last, when old age finds them they are like the old dead\nroot east up by the winds of time. Dead in the inside. They never\nfound any joy to which they could anchor. They never knew where to\nfind real joy.\n\nLook and listen--I will tell you where to find it. Secure three large\ncardboards and paint on them the word \"JOY.\" One letter on each card,\nstand them up on a background where they can be seen by all present.\nThese letters spell the word \"JOY.\" This is what all the world is\nafter. The first letter stands for Jesus. The middle letter a cipher\nor \"nothing.\" The last letter stands for You. Nothing between Jesus\nand you. This is the way to bring real joy to the soul. Most of our\nsorrows come from disobedience, and that means that something has\ncome between the J and Y that will never spell JOY.\n\nPaint on a black card the letter S which stands for Sin. Hang this\ncard up in the place of O. J.S.Y. will never spell JOY. Sin keeps the\njoy from passing from J to Y. Only a short time ago thousands watched\nthe eclipse of the sun. There was darkness at the last. In some of\nthe great cities the street lamps were lit because of the darkness\nall around. It was because something had come between us and the sun.\nIt was the moon. It looked like a great O. It shut off the sunlight\nfor a little season. There was something between. Let nothing come\nbetween you and Jesus and you will find \"JOY.\" The O is a cipher\nwhich means nothing. Nothing between J (Jesus) and Y (You). That\nspells JOY. That is the big shop where joy is made.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =33\n\n                         YE LITTLE OLD FOLKS\n\n          OBJECT: A Picture of Verse from an Old Illustrated\n                      Bible Used 100 Years Ago=\n\nA century ago there were but few books for children. Preachers never\nthought of a children's sermon, but here is a page which appeared in\na rare old book the children used in that day. It is over a century\nold. It illustrates Deuteronomy 5:29. From some picture-book cut out\nfigures like these to illustrate this Bible verse. Pin them up on\nsome background which they can see. The journals of the day abound in\ninteresting pictures. Cut them out and try to teach the children the\nScriptures by pictures they have often seen. It will interest them\ngreatly as it doubtless did Ye Little Olde Folks. This text is one of\nmany that has some words in it for which you can substitute a\npicture. In fact, the Bible is a picture-book, not simply in the\nsense that it tells so many interesting stories about men and women\nand children, and tells them in such a taking way, but even where it\nis not telling a story, it uses words and sentences that are\npictures, not the less effective because drawn or painted in speech.\nThis text is such a sentence.\n\n                          DEUTERONOMY v. 29.\n\n[Illustration: O that there were such an _heart_ in them, that they\nwould fear me, and keep all my _commandments_ always, that it might\nbe well with them, and with their _children_ for ever.]\n\n\n\n\n                                 =34\n\n                      THE CRUCIFIXION IN COLORS\n\n               OBJECTS: A Collection of Colored Papers=\n\nThis is a lesson on the Crucifixion of Jesus. It is taught by small\ncolored papers. Each stage of the crucifixion is illustrated by a\ncolor. The paper used is the common glazed paper which can be\nsupplied by any paper store that deals in fancy paper. You can also\nuse little blocks of muslin or any other colored goods. Cut the\nblocks about 4 x 5-1/2 inches in size; some of the pieces you will\nnotice will be long and narrow. (See Diagram.)\n\nPin these blocks upon some background so all the listeners may see\nthe work. You will notice by the diagram that when every piece is in\nits place a perfect cross is formed. Follow the order of the diagram\nand commence at the foot of the cross. At this place put a brown\ncolor. This color stands for the common earth, the ground of Calvary\nin which the cross was planted. Talk about holy ground if you so\ndesire, but say this is the Most Holy Ground. It was here they placed\nthe cross and crucified Jesus.\n\nThe next block is divided into two parts--white and blue. These were\nthe dominant colors of the high priest's garments to whom Jesus was\nsent the hour of his arrest. Describe now the wild scene--the mad mob\nall seeking to bring him to trial for death sentence.\n\nThe next block is gold--the dominant color in the royal robe of\nPilate. It was the color of his scepter and the golden eagle, the\nsymbol of the government of Rome which he represented. Before him\nJesus was brought and tried, and ordered to be sent to the cross.\n\n[Illustration: DIAGRAM]\n\nNext put up the purple block. This represents the purple robe the\nsoldier put on Jesus.\n\nThe next color is green--the color of the thorns of the bush, which\nhad been twisted into a crown of thorns.\n\nThe next color is white--the color of Christ's own robe that the\nsoldiers put on him.\n\nRed is the next color, and it stands for the blood he shed. Black\nstands for the darkness which was in the land from the sixth to the\nninth hour.\n\nYellow is the next. This stands for the yellowish sponge which was\nput to his lips.\n\nThe next colors, white, red, and purple, were the colors of the veil\nof the Temple which was rent in twain when Jesus gave up the ghost on\nthe cross. And the last color, silver, stands for the armor of the\ncenturion who, when he saw the Crucified One, proclaimed his belief\nin the Son of God. You have now built a cross as you talked, and each\npart of the cross represents some striking step in the tragedy of the\nGreen Hill.\n\nAfter the color blocks are in their place, ask the children to tell\nyou the story according to the colors. After they have been well\ndrilled let them put the color strips up in their proper place, and\ntell you the story.\n\nAfter you are through with this lesson it would be a good plan to\npaste these colors on a piece of muslin or heavy paper, and hang the\ndiagram up on the wall and often refer to it, and ask the children\nits meaning. This is a Good Friday subject, and can always be used as\na redemption story.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =35\n\n                        THE GOSPEL BY RIBBONS\n\n                OBJECTS: A Number of Colored Ribbons=\n\nIn this chapter the story of salvation will be told by different\ncolored ribbons. This will be attractive to the eye as the bright\ncolors appear, and the colors will not only teach the truth of the\nlesson but will fasten the truth in the mind for years to come. Color\nmakes a deep impression on the mind. It is like a foot-print in the\nclay. It comes to stay as time hardens the mental clay.\n\nSome years ago I was asked by an old friend to be a witness to the\ntransfer of a large tract of land into his possession. The document\nwas drawn up in full legal form, and deposited by the housewife in a\nsecure and secret place. About a year afterward my friend informed me\nthat the document could not be found. The wife had forgotten where\nshe had placed it, and believed it to be lost. I was asked if I could\nremember anything about it. At first my mind seemed to be a blank,\nand then I remembered all about it, and this was the how of it. On\nthe day of the transfer I remembered the wife took the document and\ntied around it a piece of red ribbon. I remembered she put it in a\nsmall closet back behind the old-fashioned fireplace. In closing the\ndoor a portion of the red ribbon was left exposed on the outside. I\nnoticed that _red_ ribbon in that position which I thought it might\ndirect attention to the document and thus expose it to a thief and so\nendanger its safety. I remembered the wife arose and opened the door,\nput the ribbon inside, and I let the matter pass from my mind, and it\nwould have passed out of my mind forever, had it not been that that\n_red ribbon_ had fastened itself down in my memory. The red ribbon\nlocated the lost document. A color is a tack which holds down the\ntruth in the human mind. May the colors of the lesson have the same\nministry.\n\nSecure a number of ribbons of the colors about to be mentioned. They\ncan be about one inch wide and each one six inches long. Sew them\ntogether at the ends. Place them in a box, and draw out six inches at\na time in the following order.\n\nFirst produce the _white_, holding it in the hand as if considering\nit, and say: \"Thus was man created--in white. He was placed in the\nWhite Garden where all was purity and spotless. But the Tempter\nentered this White Garden and tempted the white soul to sin, and so\nman sinned and the _black_ of sin took the place of the _white_ of\nrighteousness.\" As thus you speak you draw out from the box the black\nribbon; as you hold this in your hand, you remark that the black is\nthe sign of death, for \"the wages of sin is death.\"\n\nNow draw out the _red_ ribbon, and say, \"The blood of Jesus has now\ncome to take away the _black_ of sin and death.\" As you say this let\nthe _black_ drop out of sight, and let the _red_ appear. \"They shall\ncall his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.\"\nTell the story of the scarlet rope which was displayed in the window\nof the house on the wall at Jericho, and how safe was Rahab when the\nred signal was in her window. How safe are all they who are hiding\nbehind the red line of Salvation by the Blood. Now draw out the\n_white_ and remark, \"Now the Blood has brought back the white state\nto the heart again, for when we stand clothed in Christ's\nrighteousness we have been restored to the place in God's heart that\nAdam occupied before the fall.\"\n\nNow draw out the _purple_ ribbon. This represents the royal standing\nof the believer. Purple was the color of the king's robe. The saved\nare children of the King, joint heirs with the Son. It is the family\ncolor. All Christians are children of the King of kings.\n\nNow produce the _blue_ ribbon. This represents the standfastness of\nthe believer. He is \"true blue\" for God--faithful to the end, and to\nall the family of God in Christ Jesus.\n\nNow produce the _gold_ ribbon. This represents the mansion of gold in\nheaven. It reminds us of the streets of the White City of God which,\nwe are told, are paved with pure gold. May our eyes look at, last\nupon its gates of pearl. May our feet walk through the streets of the\ncity, the streets of gold.\n\nLast, produce the _green_ ribbon. This represents everlasting life,\nhaving reference to the fixed color of green, the same all the year\nround. This ribbon is the trail home to God, our everlasting home in\nheaven.\n\nAfter this lesson is taught ask two of the children to take hold of\nthe ends, and let the whole span the front of the room. Ask them to\ntell you the meaning of the colors. Often give them this drill; it\nwill fasten the Bible truth and Bible order in their hearts for years\nto come.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =36\n\n                          JOINING THE CHURCH\n\n           OBJECTS: Seven Cards with the Letter \"I\" Printed\n                               on them=\n\nThis is a lesson showing the importance and value of joining the\nlocal church after the heart has been given away to Jesus. There are\nsome people who think that this is an act purely voluntary. Do as you\nplease they think is the thing to do, and so they dismiss the\nquestion as settled. The fact is they do not understand the\narithmetic of the New Testament.\n\nThere 2 and 1 make more than three. Joining the church enables the\nChristian to count more than one. There is power in organization. I\nmay take a piece of red silk, also a piece of white and blue, and I\ncan shoot them full of holes--no one will object. They stand for\nnothing. They are simply a piece of personal property. I may do as I\nplease with them all. But, if these three colors are united and made\nover into a flag, then, the man who shoots them full of holes must\nanswer to the government of the United States, for every soldier and\nmarine is pledged to protect those colors from harm. They are\norganized into a flag. They mean more than simple strips of colors.\n\nTo illustrate this big fact, secure seven large cards and have on\neach one the figure \"1\" painted, making it as large as possible.\nDistribute them to children in various parts of the church, avoid\ngiving two children in one row each a card. The children holding the\ncards represent the Christian who declared that he can be \"just as\ngood a Christian outside the church as in it,\" and so stays outside\nof organized relationship. Now ask them to give you the number on\ntheir cards, and they all exclaim \"Number one.\" That is all they\nstand for, \"Number one.\" That really means they stand for themselves\nand by themselves. They stand for \"one,\" themselves. This is just\nwhat \"Number One\" looks like. They represent nobody, they are\nindependent units, they stand alone: they have but small\nrepresentative power.\n\nSome years ago when the West was a child, a little boy wandered away\nfrom his prairie home, and was lost in the tall grass, and could not\nbe found. His parents and neighbors started on a searching expedition\nto find him. They all went in different directions, and after a\nday-long search came back without the child. They could not find him\nby individual searching. The next day they formed a line each in\nsight of the other and, like a net, swept the prairie, and within two\nhours the lad was found and brought home to his sorrowing parents.\nThey failed as individuals--they succeeded as a united body. God knew\nthis first, and so established his church, where unity of action\ncould do more than independent service.\n\nNow ask the children to come to the platform, and stand them in a\nline holding the figure \"one\" side by side. Once they stood for one\nonly, now united they stand for one million one hundred and eleven\nthousand one hundred and eleven. This is the large reason why all\nChristians should join the church, and thereby multiply many times\ntheir value to their Master and his Kingdom.\n\nIf you are a Christian make the most of yourself, and you can do this\nby coming into church relationship with the brotherhood of\nChristians. A young convert gave as his reason for joining the church\nthe following: \"If I was going to Chicago on the Broadway express and\nhad my ticket straight through to my destination, including the\ncomforts of a Pullman car, and then stood outside on the platform all\nnight, standing up and facing the storm, what a miserable man I would\nprove myself to be, and what a faulty thinker I would also be. But I\nam going to get all my ticket grants me. I will go inside and take\nall the pleasure and comfort of the journey. So I am going into the\nchurch and take all my salvation has provided for me. I will no\nlonger stand on the platform of the world. I want the best and all of\nit.\" He was right. Get all that is coming to you, and get it now.\nCome inside; you are entitled to a seat.\n\nYears ago a boy, sixteen years old, came into New York City, with a\npack on his back containing all his belongings. He was a stranger in\na great city. Wandering through the streets one night, he saw a\nlighted church with open doors, heard sweet singing from within. He\nentered uninvited except by the open door. He heard the story of\nJesus and was saved. At once he offered himself for baptism, and was\nreceived into church-membership. There the lad was trained and\nschooled in righteousness. He became a great man. His name was\nWilliam Colgate, the founder of the great firm bearing his name. He\ndied worth millions, most of which he gave to his church, and left a\nname that will never die. His influence permeated the denomination\nthat he honored as the perfume from his shops has permeated the\nworld. The Colgate Perfume Company of which he was the first member,\ngathered its first sweetness from the Rose of Sharon that he found in\nthe Lord's sweet garden--the church of the First-born.\n\nBefore you dismiss the children and send them to their seats, pray\nthat God may deepen the lesson of the hour so it may sink into their\nhearts, and charge the children to go and govern themselves\naccordingly.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =37\n\n                            GOD'S MAIL-BAG\n\n         OBJECTS: The Bible and Nine Lettered Cards Spelling\n                        the Word \"Salvation\"=\n\nHold up the Bible and say: \"This is God's Mail-bag; the Holy Bible,\nfilled with holy letters for you. This Mail-bag came from heaven. It\ncontains God's latest wonderful message. I am God's letter-carrier. I\nhave nine special-delivery letters. They are all directed to you. My\nbusiness is to carry the mail for God. I will now deliver the mail\nGod has addressed to you.\"\n\nBefore the meeting secure nine envelopes, commercial size, and on\neach draw in large outlines one of the letters in the word Salvation.\nBefore the meeting place these letters in various parts of the Bible.\nHolding the open Bible in your hand, you say: \"I have now opened the\nMail-bag from God, and find nine letters for you. The first letter\nyou take from the Bible you find in Genesis, and it is the letter\n'S.'\" Give this to the child who takes the first place in the line.\nExplain that the message which you wish them to remember is the\nmessage of the Ark. Eight souls were saved in this big ship. All were\ninvited, only those who accepted were saved. All who did accept were\nsafely delivered into the new world. During the voyage they just\ntrusted God. He fed them as he did the widow with her cruse of oil\nand little portion of meal. The supply was given each day according\nto their need.\n\nGod will take care of you. God will supply all your need. This is the\nmessage of \"S.\" It is a lesson in salvation. Now produce the letter\n\"A\" from Genesis containing the story of Joseph. Give this to some\nchild who now takes his place next to the child with the letter \"S.\"\nThe message God gives from this story is that Truth wins out at last.\nJoseph, hated, sold in slavery, because of false accusation cast into\nprison, but at last elevated to the throne, did not forget the home\nfolks. These are great facts to be remembered because they were steps\nupward. Because he was true to God, he found his feet at last walking\nin the golden way of true success. That is the message of the letter\n\"A.\" This is a story of salvation.\n\nReturn to the Mail-bag, and draw out the letter \"L\" from the book of\nDaniel. Give that to the child next in line. This is a letter from\nDaniel, and his message is always dare to stand firm for God. When\naway from your home as was Daniel, don't be ashamed to let people\nknow that you pray. Daniel prayed before the open window because he\nwas not ashamed to be seen talking to God. He faced the lions as well\nas the people, and God gave him the victory over both, and his\ntestimony counted one hundred per cent, because he was a real servant\nof the Most High God, and this is another story of salvation.\n\nOpen the Mail-bag again, and produce the letter \"V,\" from the story\nof the Hebrew Children, asking another child to hold the letter,\nstanding next in line. The message from these three faithful boys is\nthat God's children should stand together like three links in a\nchain. This gives strength stronger than iron. Good companionship is\nthe need of boys today. Fall in with the right crowd. A minister of\nthe gospel, who was appointed spiritual adviser to a boy about to be\nexecuted, asked him one day what was his first step downward, and he\nreplied, \"I fell in with the wrong crowd.\" The Hebrew Children were a\ncrowd made good by God, and they went through the fire before they\nwould bend their knees to the idols of the heathen land. God stands\nwith such a crowd; one and two made four in God's table of numbers.\nHe is always in the midst of them. Jesus said, \"Where two or three\nare gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.\"\nThe king saw him and said, \"He is like unto the Son of man,\" and this\nwas the reason. Three boys were fire-proof saints, so the fire did\nthem no hurt.\n\nOpen the Mail-bag again and produce the letter \"A.\" This you take\nfrom Psalms--open to the Twenty-third Psalm. This letter hand to\nanother child and tell the message of the Psalm, God is the Shepherd\nof his people, and his sheep shall know no want. They shall find\ngreen pastures, which signifies fresh pastures. Still water, deep\nwaters, and so an endless supply. Still water runs deep in the\nTwenty-third Psalm. Paths of righteousness open up before the soul,\nlike the golden sunrise every morning. Evil cannot make afraid, no\nenemy can destroy. Goodness and mercy, like two faithful shepherd\ndogs, follow and protect in the rear till the house of the Lord lifts\nitself above the clouds of time, and the \"forever with the Lord\"\ncomes at last to all who follow the Good Shepherd. This is the story\nof salvation from our enemies and the open door to the house of the\nLord in heaven.\n\nAt the first part of Matthew open again the Bible Mail-bag and take\nout the letter \"T,\" and ask another child to hold it and take his\nplace in line as before. Let this letter stand for the birth of\nJesus, the Angels' glad song, and the sky's \"Merry Christmas\" to the\nShepherd with its glad melody of Jesus now born among men, the\nVirgin's Son. This is the story of the Glory Song of Salvation.\n\nOpen again the Bible Mail-bag at the resurrection and take out the\nletter \"I,\" asking another child to take his place in line with this\nletter. This letter delivers the message of the resurrection of\nChrist. It is God's special-delivery letter that the last and latest\nnews is that Christ is risen from the grave, and orders that all the\nbells of joy shall be rung and the message declared to all the\npeople. Salvation has been accomplished, and the stone that was\nrolled away from the grave by an angel's hand, has become the\nkeystone of our faith. This is the story of salvation from the grave.\n\nNow take out the letter \"O\" from the Bible Mail-bag opened at the\nbook of Acts. This is to proclaim how the gospel works among men, how\nit turned cities upside down, and multitudes were converted. It\nproclaims that all must be saved through the name of Jesus. Even the\nwicked Saul of Tarsus is turned into another man by the gospel's\npower, and all who will come in truth will also be turned, and by\nGod's grace will stay turned. This is the story of the salvation of\nthe soul. Tell the children that they can never get God's full mail\nfrom just one letter from the book. We must seek to get all God has\nsaid before we can know his perfect truth.\n\nThere is yet one more letter to come to give the full Bible message.\nOpen once more the Mail-bag, and in the book of Revelation you find\nthe last letter from God, and then you produce the letter \"N.\" Ask\nagain some child to come forward and hold this letter standing last\nin the line. This is the message of the book of Revelation. \"Jesus is\ncoming back again,\" and our prayer should be \"Come back, Lord Jesus,\nthe world is on fire, come back quickly.\"\n\nNow you will note the nine letters from God spell \"Salvation.\" That\nis the message the Mail-bag contains. This is the message to you and\nto the world. God's Mail-bag contains nine letters for the \"Whosoever\nTribe,\" which means all kindreds and tribes that on the earth do\nwell. These letters can then be pinned up on some background in the\nform of a cross, teaching the truth that Salvation comes only through\nthe Cross. There is no other way.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =38\n\n                    TURNING THE PALMS INTO A CROSS\n\n       OBJECTS: Strips of Palm-leaves or Strips of Green Paper=\n\nHave you ever noticed on the Sunday before Easter that some of the\nboys and girls wear in their coats a cross made out of strips of\npalm-leaves? It always seemed strange to me that the palm-leaf of joy\nshould be turned into the cross of tears, but that was just what\nhappened one day in Jerusalem. Jesus was to enter the city as a King.\nThe people were very glad because they thought that he would deliver\nthem from the Roman rule, which was very cruel and hard for them to\nbear. They were all very much excited at the thought of seeing Jesus,\nfor they had heard so many wonderful things about him. They thought\nhe was coming to do wonderful things for them also, so they flocked\naround the gates of the city to welcome him when he came. They all\nsent forth great shouts of welcome, and the children stripped the\nbeautiful big leaves from the palm-tree and made a pathway of them\nfor Jesus, and the children sang and shouted their praises. It was\nthe first junior choir we ever read about in the Bible, a choir of\nboys and girls praising Jesus.\n\nSecure, if possible, a long green leaf which you can call a\npalm-leaf, or make one out of green paper, and pin it on the\nblackboard. Teach them the Hosanna cry which the children used to\nwelcome Jesus. After this is done, say: \"But in a few hours a great\nchange came over the people, and they no longer showed their joy, but\nwere silent, then angry.\n\n\"He did not cast out the Roman governor. He did not end the wicked\nrule of the government. They did not understand that his kingdom was\nto come first into the hearts of men. They could not grasp this\ntruth. They wanted a new law. Jesus had come to give them a new life,\nand they must patiently wait God's time. So their hearts grew cold,\nand then they grew angry. They listened to evil men who wanted to get\nrid of Jesus, and so it came to pass in a few days the crowd rushed\ninto Pilate's hall and cried 'Crucify him,' and went to Calvary, and\nwith hard hearts saw him die.\"\n\nThis is how a palm-leaf was turned into a cross. Here add a shorter\npiece of leaf and make the cross. Some of us are doing the same thing\ntoday. We say with glad words we will follow Jesus. We sing with glad\nstrains \"O Happy Day that Fixed My Choice!\" We join his holy church\nand say we will live for him forevermore. Then, soon after this glad\nhosanna, when Mother asks us to do things we do not want to do we\nanswer back in bad temper and ugly words, and often refuse to obey at\nall. Sometimes in the game we don't play straight, and often cheat a\nlittle in our examples. Then we have stopped our hosannas, and Jesus\nis sad because he sees us doing wrong and making a cross out of the\npalm-leaf, for when we act in that sinful way we are crucifying\nChrist the second time.\n\nSometimes there are older people who once lived happy Christian\nlives, worked in the church, gave in their glad testimony, and lived\nthe glad game of the Christian life; they were waving palm-branches,\nand their life shouted \"Hosanna!\" Then they grew cold and lost their\ntestimony. They slipped back into the old path of sin. They did not\ngo to God's house any more. They made close friends of the world.\nHosannas languished on their tongues, and they lived without God;\ntheir palm-branches had been turned into crosses. They had crucified\nChrist afresh, put him to open shame in the eyes of the world. That\nis another way in which the palm-leaf is turned into a cross. Keep\nyour palm-leaves for Jesus, always living a consistent life, and\nnever let the world grip you, and your palm-leaf will not turn into a\ncross, but into a crown.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =39\n\n                         JESUS CHANGES THINGS\n\n           OBJECTS: A Large Prepared Card, a Collection of\n                          Colored Envelopes=\n\nTo illustrate this lesson secure a piece of cardboard about ten\ninches square, and place on it in straight rows a number of smaller\npieces of cardboard about one inch square. First, place a row of\nwhite squares. This represents the white race. The next row make\nyellow to represent the Chinese race. Next, a row all brown to\nrepresent the people of India. Next, a row all red to represent the\nIndians. The last row, black, representing the African people.\n\nOn the other side make the same number of rows, but put them all in\ngold.\n\nHold up first the side containing the colored cards, and tell the\nfollowing story.\n\nA weary missionary fell asleep and had a dream. A messenger had\narrived announcing the Master was coming, and to her was given the\ntask of getting all the children ready to receive him. So she\narranged them on benches in tiers, putting the little white children\nfirst, and nearest to where the Master would stand. Then the little\nyellow, red, and brown children far back, and on the last row of\nseats sat the little black children, As you thus describe the mission\nhall hold up the card and say, \"Here is the order in which the\nchildren were seated to meet the Master.\" When she had completed the\narrangements she looked at it, and it did not seem quite right. Why\nshould the black children be so far away? Perhaps they ought to be on\nthe front benches. She started to arrange them over again, giving the\nblack children the front place, but when all was in a state of\nconfusion footsteps were heard. It was the Master's tread. He was\ncoming before the children were ready, and she was greatly troubled\nto think the task entrusted to her had not been accomplished in time.\nThe footsteps drew near, and she was obliged to look up, and lo, as\nher eyes rested upon the children all shades of color had disappeared\nand differences vanished! The little children in the Master's\npresence were all alike. Here reverse the card showing the little\ncards all in gold. They were all precious in his sight, more precious\nthan gold, for he loves them all alike, all the little children of\nthe world.\n\nTo teach the same lesson as to the value of all souls, begin just the\nsame.\n\nSecure a white envelope and put in a silver dollar. Then ask how much\nis a silver dollar worth in a white envelope, and the reply would be\none hundred cents. Take the same dollar and put it into a red\nenvelope, which stands for the Indian race, and the reply would be\njust the same. Now place it in the yellow envelope, standing for the\nChinese race, and still the answer would be the same. Likewise the\nsame reply would greet placing it in the brown envelope. At last put\nit in a black envelope, asking its value, and the answer of course\nwould be that its worth had not changed. The dollar represents the\nsoul, the colored envelopes the races. The souls of the white, red,\nbrown, yellow, and black are worth just the same to God. Jesus died\nfor all mankind, and his blood was shed to save all the races of the\nearth, for he loves the nations of the earth. He died to save all\nsouls. They all look alike to him, for Jesus changes things.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =40\n\n                          THE BUNDLE OF LIFE\n\n          OBJECTS: Two Small Bundles Containing a Number of\n                 Articles Described in this Chapter=\n\nText, 1 Samuel 25:29: \"But the soul of my lord shall be bound in the\nbundle of life with the Lord thy God.\"\n\nMany long years ago David had fled from the angry King Saul who was\nseeking to kill him. He and a few of his faithful followers had taken\nrefuge at Carmel.\n\nWhile there the Elect Lady by the name of Abigail brought David and\nhis hungry men \"good things to eat.\" Her gift was 200 loaves, 2\nbottles of wine, 5 sheep, 5 measures of parched corn, 100 clusters of\nraisins, and 200 cakes of figs.\n\nWhat a wonderful housekeeper she must have been, as we note this fine\nmixture of good things she had; she prepared for David because she\nwas loyal and true. She was also a brave woman as she broke through\nthe enemy's line to find one who was to be her king and help him. She\ndid more than prepare a table for him in the presence of his enemies,\nfor she comforted his soul not a little. She fell down at David's\nfeet and said: \"Jehovah will certainly make my lord a sure house,\nbecause my lord fighteth the battles of Jehovah, and evil shall not\nbe found in thee all thy days, and although men be risen up to pursue\nthee to seek thy soul, the soul of my lord shall be bound in the\nbundle of life with the Lord thy God.\" Perhaps when she used the word\n\"bundle\" she was thinking of the bundle of good things she had\nbrought him, so she comforted her king by her strong words of truth.\nWhy should he fear his enemies? He was safe indeed, because he was\nwrapped up as in a bundle with his Lord.\n\nYes, Abigail was right, there is a bundle of life, all of us like\npilgrims must carry this \"pack\" to the end of life's journey.\n\nTo illustrate this truth prepare two bundles wrapped up as an\nordinary bundle. Place them both on the platform table where they can\nbe seen by all the audience. The first bundle you call the \"Sinner's\nBundle of Life.\" It contains the following articles: A small paper\nserpent; a small bottle; a bag with the bottom left open representing\na bag with holes in it; a cardboard heart with a large black spot on\nit. Around this bundle in place of the common cord place a small\npiece of chain to hold it together. When you are ready to consider\nthis package hold it up and say, \"This is The Sinner's Bundle of\nLife. Note it is bound together by this chain. This teaches us that\nthe sinner is in bondage to sin. He is a slave and chained to the\nevil one. He is held captive to all the dark things we shall find in\nhis life's bundle.\" Now unwrap the bundle and produce first the\nserpent. This teaches us sin is an ugly thing, a deadly serpent. It\ncrept with the bundle of life far back in the garden of Eden and has\nbeen there ever since. Only Jesus can cast it out. Now produce the\n\"bag\" with holes in it. Drop in it some coins, and they pass out of\nthe holes in the bottom. This illustrates the truth that the sinner's\nlife is one of constant losses. God gives him great opportunities to\ndo right and be right, but instead of holding on to them and making\ngood, he lets them slip out of his life, and they are lost. He is\nlike the children on the sands by the seashore; they gather up a\nhandful of sand, then open their little fingers and let it slip\nthrough and back again to the sands of the sea and their little hands\nare empty. His gold also on the wings of dissipation and foolishness\nflies away from him and is lost.\n\nNext take out the small-sized bottle. This we will call the tear\nbottle; in the Scriptural times the ancients bottled their tears and\nkept the bottle and its contents as a remembrance of their sorrow. So\nthe sinner has his sorrows also. Outwardly he is gay and happy, but\nif the door of the heart could be open we would behold a house of\nmourning. A hopeless sorrow, the saddest of all sadness, because\nthere is no Jesus there to bear his sorrow with him. At last produce\nthe heart with a black stain on it; this is to teach us that down in\nthe depths of life, so long as the heart is wrong, all else is wrong,\nfor \"out of the heart are the issues of life.\" What will the angels\ndo with this bundle if it remains as it is until the last day? They\nwill cast it into the pit of destruction, the place where all evil\nworks must go at last.\n\nLet us now consider \"The Christian Bundle.\"\n\nIn preparing this package have placed into it the following articles:\nA Bible; a cross; a piece of white goods; a card with the words \"My\nSoul\" marked on it; a card with the word \"God\" marked on it. Tie this\nbundle up with a piece of scarlet tape.\n\nIn presenting this bundle say: \"You will note it is tied together by\na scarlet cord. This teaches us that, as in the days of old when the\nspies were let down from the windows of the house on the wall in the\ndays of Rahab and thus made their escape, so the scarlet thread of\nsalvation binds us together and holds us to the throne of God, and we\nare safe indeed. We are kept in the hollow of his hand. This cord is\nthe first thing we note because we must seek Jesus and his salvation\nfirst. We must seek first the kingdom, and all else shall be added.\nLet us see what has been added as we unwrap the bundle and look it\nover.\n\n\"First we find _the Bible_. When this is taken into our life it\nbecomes a radiant lamp. This book is a flaming torch lighting the\nway. We will never lose our way if we walk in this light. This Book\nin life's bundle produces a Bible life. This creates the Master\nChristian.\"\n\nNext produce the cross. This stands for the fact that we trust daily\nin the atoning work of the Cross of Jesus. Now bring out the white\ngoods which stands for Peace. The flag of peace waves from over the\ndoor of every Christian heart; peace through the Cross of Christ.\nNext display the card with the words \"My Soul\" marked on it. This\nteaches the idea that all these wonderful qualities are soul deep and\ntherefore will go with you into the other life.\n\nAt last produce the card containing the word \"God\" marked on it. This\nteaches the fact that if God be in us and with us, wrapped up in us,\nwe are safe for both worlds.\n\nWhat will the angels do with this bundle? They will carry it through\nthe gates, for the soul is in it, and the soul goes up to God. Now\nmake your personal application and say: \"We are all packing up our\nBundle of Life; may we all make it The Christian's Bundle.\n\n\"Do the first thing first, and do it now. Cling to the scarlet\nthread. Remember Jesus is standing at the door. He is waiting for you\nto open wide the heart's door. Let him come in, and he will shut the\ndoor after him, and when once he shuts the door, no man can open it.\nYou are safe forever more. You are wrapped up as if in a bundle with\nGod. Do it _now_.\n\n\"So you will note there are two Bundles of Life. Which is yours?\"\n\n\n\n\n                                 =41\n\n                     THE NORTH POLE OF THE BIBLE\n\n         OBJECTS: A Pole Painted White Standing Erect on the\n            Platform with a Scripture Reference on It. Also\n            a Red-and-White Cardboard Heart.=\n\nThe North Pole has been discovered at last. This is an achievement\nwhich history will record in large headlines.\n\nThe names of Nansen, Kane, Amundsen, Scott, and Peary and others are\nengraven on golden tablets in the World's Hall of Fame. These famous\nmen now wear the crown of achievement. Through fields of ice they\nplowed, enduring the rigors of the long Arctic winters, suffering the\npangs of hunger and loneliness, but with iron wills and nerves of\nsteel they pressed on and won out.\n\nAnd yet there are ocean depths that never a human eye hath seen;\nmountain peaks that never yet have been pressed by a human foot;\nmighty rivers up which no civilized man has ever sailed. Of a truth\nthere remains much land to be possessed.\n\nBut harken: the largest and most mighty adventure in this old world\nof ours is to find the larger North Pole of Creation.\n\nThis larger North Pole you will find in the Bible, and all who\nbelieve God should be striving to find it.\n\nHere you see standing on the platform before you a white pole. We\nwill call it the North Pole of the Bible. On it you will notice a\npassage of Scripture which reads, \"And he answering said, Thou shalt\nlove the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and\nwith all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as\nthyself\" (Luke 10:27). This should be life's greatest endeavor, to\nlove God with the big measure of this text.\n\nThis is a gigantic adventure. You are invited to join the expedition.\n\nA man by the name of Thomas Boston, who wrote the \"Fourfold State,\"\nwas much afraid when a boy that the number of God's chosen ones,\n144,000 spoken about in Revelation, was already made up, and that his\nname was not among the number because he had come into the world too\nlate. But no one may despair that his name is not among the number\nchosen by God to reach the Greater North Pole of the Bible, for all\nthe believing world are asked to seek and find, and all who seek\naright shall indeed find.\n\nThe reason so few fail to find it is because they don't seek long\nenough. Did you ever hear the story of the discovery of gold in\nCalifornia? It seems that two men seeking the yellow stuff had gone\nto California. One man's name is not known in history. Marshall was\nthe name of the other man. One morning after long months of fruitless\ntoil the man of the forgotten name threw down his pick and pan and\ndeclared he was through, and said he did not believe that gold could\nbe found in that spot, and he left for his Eastern home. Marshall\nsaid he would try again because he believed the yellow stuff was\nthere. Six hours after his companion had left Marshall struck a vein\nof the finest gold and became rich and famous. Both of these men were\nbrave and strong, only Marshall was brave just six hours longer than\nhis companion, and so won out.\n\nIt is the man who can believe the longest and work the hardest that\nwill find the North Pole of the Bible. This is the secret passage to\nthe Greater Pole: Love God, and stick to it until you can do it with\nall your soul. It is sad to think that not every one will do this.\nThis is why God can't reign in his own world, because of the people's\nunbelief.\n\nGod is yet waiting to show the world what mighty things he can do for\nus with the man who loves him with his whole heart, and the man who\ndoes this has reached the North Pole of the Scriptures. To love God\nwith the whole heart means to love God first and most, and all the\ntime.\n\nTo illustrate this thought prepare two hearts made of cardboard. One\nshould be red; this stands for man. The other card should be white;\nthis represents God. Make this heart a little larger than the red\nheart. Make it of double cardboard and open at the top. Hold up the\nred heart in the left hand and the white heart in the right hand.\nHold both hands far apart, bearing in mind that the red heart stands\nfor man and the white heart for God.\n\nNow say that God calls the red heart to come to him, to repent of sin\nand forsake all evil ways, and to love him ever afterward with the\nwhole heart. The truth is he asks for your whole heart, which means\nyour full and perfect love. He will hide you in his great heart of\nlove. As you make this remark cause both hearts to approach each\nother. You will notice that the white heart moves toward the red\nheart, this is to make clear the fact that God meets us always _half\nway_.\n\nThe only time God was ever in a hurry was when he ran out to meet the\nreturning Prodigal Son. He is anxious and yet more than anxious to\nmeet half way the soul who will seek him and wants to love him with\nall his heart. Now let the hearts approach each other and when they\nmeet let the red heart slip into the white one, and say: \"God is\nready to receive the believer who wishes to be lost in his love. This\nis perfect love. This is loving the Lord thy God with all thy heart,\nand with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy\nmind, and thy neighbor as thyself.\"\n\nThis is finding the North Pole of the Bible.\n\nNow fasten the white heart containing the red heart on the Pole. God\nwill give us large wings of Faith which can endure the long hard\nflight to the North Pole of the Bible.\n\nThere we will find Jesus, this is where he lives, in the perfect love\nof God. In the Book of Life, which is God's Blue Book of \"Who's Who\nin the Kingdom,\" you will find written in letters of gold the names\nof those who had perfect love and so have reached the North Pole of\nthe Bible.\n\nJesus asks us so to do. \"Let's go.\"\n\n\n\n\n                                 =42\n\n                   OBJECT-LESSONS FOR SPECIAL DAYS\n\n         OBJECTS: A Large Collection of Simple Objects Herein\n                              Described=\n\nHolidays, festival seasons, and historical events are always\ninteresting to the little people and may be made of large value to\nthem.\n\nAs these days come around, and public attention is thus called to\nthem, you can use these special seasons as an occasion for the\npresentation of certain important truths suggested by them and to\nhelp the children see and feel the real good for which the days\nstand.\n\nYou can thus cause these days to stand for something more than events\npast. You can make them gleam with truths worth while for the\npresent. Some of these events noted in this chapter vary as to their\ndates in the several States and countries; this matter you can\nrearrange to fit your own State. Of course other festival days and\nspecial seasons will occur to you, and you can fit them into your\nschedule of events according to your liking.\n\nSome of the objects are very simple, but they may suggest others to\nyou of greater importance. The Scripture reading for certain of the\ndays will give you an opportunity to line up religious truths also\nwith the event you are noting.\n\nHere is a partial list of some of the special seasons and holidays.\n\n=New Year's Day.  January First=\n\n_The Forward Look Day_ would be a good name also for this day.\n\nRead Philippians 3:1-14.\n\nUse a blank book with the figures of the New Year on its cover.\nExplain that the New Year is like a blank book of 365 pages. What\nshall I write on its pages? Put a verse of Scripture on the top of\neach page. Live by its teachings and commit to memory each day's\nverse on its day. That will give you a clean page, not a blank one,\nbut one written all over with God's truth. Each action of yours will\nbe like a quill. It will write down the story of your life.\n\nYou may also use a string of beads to illustrate that truth. Secure a\npiece of strong white thread, and call this the string of time. Place\non this string one bead at a time, 365 in all; these beads you call\nthe days of the year. Every seventh bead should be a large and\nunusual one which we will call the Sabbath Day. If that day is a\ncommon day of pleasure put a plain bead as the seventh bead. Instruct\nthem to make every seventh bead the best of all the beads by keeping\nthe day holy; it will be holy unto the Lord.\n\n=Snowflake Day.  In January=\n\nRead as a Scripture lesson Job 37:1-14 or Psalm 147.\n\nThis can be used any day in the winter. If there is a large fall of\nsnow on the ground, it can be used at that time with good effect. Cut\nout a number of small stars and pin them on a background and say:\n\"Once upon a time there was a little boy who had just discovered that\nevery snowflake was like a little star in shape and exclaimed to his\nMother as he watched them fall, 'Oh, Mother, it's snowing stars.'\nYes, he was right; if every flake could be examined under a large\nmagnifying-glass we would find each flake to be a tiny star. Some\npeople never tire looking at the beautiful flakes falling down over\nstreet and field. How wonderful to watch God snow stars. The\nsnowflake is a six-pointed star. That is the shape of the Bible star.\nAncient history tells us that on the shield of David there was a\nsix-pointed star. It was called the star of David. It is so called by\nthe Jews at the present time. How beautiful it is to have a White\nChristmas. The wonderful snow covering the ground with spotless\nwhite. How much more wonderful it is to remember that each snowflake\nis a six-pointed star covering the ground with the stars of David,\nreminding us that there is born this day, in the City of David, a\nSaviour, who is Christ the Lord.\"\n\n=Franklin's Birthday.  January 17=\n\nThe selected Scripture for that day could be Solomon's description of\nthe man of thrift as found described in Proverbs 6:6-11.\n\nSecure a boy's kite, and tell the part it played where Franklin\nbrought down the lightning from the sky to serve man. We also bring\ndown prayer power from above, for by Prayer we bring down God's power\nto serve us.\n\n=McKinley's Birthday.  January 29=\n\nRead Matthew 5:1-12 wherein Jesus describes the well-balanced man.\nPresident McKinley was a man thus put together. Secure a picture of\nhim if possible, and comment on the main features of his life. Like\nLincoln and Garfield, he gave his life for the right and God. We may\nnot be called upon to surrender our life as did President McKinley\nfor the cause of humanity, but we can do what God likes just as\nmuch--we can _live_ for him and his cause.\n\n=Ground-Hog Day.  February 2=\n\nTell the old story of how this little animal is believed by some to\ntell certain things about the weather, so they watch to see him peep\nout of his little hole in the ground. Pin up some pictures of an\nanimal on a background and tell a few short stories about them.\n\n=Missionary Day.  February=\n\nShow a map of the heathen country and secure some small idols or\ncurios from some missionary headquarters and exhibit them to the\nchildren. Tell the audience that though we may smile at these ugly\nshapes the heathen people revere them and cling to them as their only\nhope. They will not give them up because we just say they are false\ngods. They will fight for them and often suffer more for their gods\nthan we will for the true God. A returned missionary told the\nfollowing story. He was holding special meetings for the children and\ntrying to reach them by teaching them to sing the little Christian\nsongs our mothers taught us. At once the heathen priests opened a\nchildren's meeting directly opposite to his place of meeting. The\nmissionary taught the children to sing,\n\n                  Oh, how I love Jesus,\n                  Because he first loved me.\n\nThe heathen priest taught the children to sing by the same tune the\nwords:\n\n                  Oh, how I love Buddha,\n                  Because he first loved me.\n\nSo you see we must fight a long battle and endure much for Jesus\nbefore we will put the name of Jesus in the place of Buddha in the\nhearts of the people of the heathen land. Here exhibit a Conquest\nFlag which stands for warfare. The war is on--but Jesus will conquer.\nThe Conquest Flag tells us this.\n\n=Lincoln's Birthday.  February 12=\n\nRead as the Scripture lesson how God chose Moses to be the\nEmancipator of the Hebrews, Exodus 3:11-22.\n\nHis was a heart trust in God. Read this truth in Psalm 91.\n\nSecure a broken chain to represent the millions made free from the\nbondage of slavery.\n\nSing the \"Battle Hymn of the Republic\" and also \"America.\"\n\nSecure a large picture of Lincoln and have it displayed before the\naudience as you speak of him as Father Abraham the Liberator. Mention\nhis strong faith in God; this was the big sword with which he fought\nthe big battles of the Union Army.\n\n=Boys' Day.  Any Day=\n\nIn some of our great cities they now celebrate what is known as\n\"Boys' Week.\" The boys run the town for an hour. In Philadelphia,\nPa., Hon. W. Freeland Kendrick at this present writing is now our\nmayor; for one hour he surrendered his office to a bright boy of the\ntown, and all the city was glad to give the boy the first place.\n\nThis goes to prove that the boy has his opportunity in this present\nday, and it is a _great_ opportunity, for it means that the boy can\ncome to his own if he will.\n\nIf you have a Boy Scout organization in your church ask one or more\nof them to come to the platform or to serve on the floor as ushers.\nUse also the members of the other boy organizations you may have in\nthe church. Have the entire program conducted by bright boys and\nreserve for yourself only the place of the speaker.\n\nJapan is a children's country. They have lots of holidays which\nalways make children glad. There is something quaint and happy in\nthem. There is a special holiday which they call the \"Boys'\nFestival.\" On a pole in front of almost every house in Japan there\nflies a great \"paper fish.\" These are made hollow so that the wind\ncan come in at the opening of the mouth and fill the paper fish with\nair, and thus the fish seems to swing about in the air with a\nlifelike wriggle.\n\nEvery fish kite in front of the house means that a boy lives in that\nhouse. The parents are glad to make that fact known and are proud of\nit. The paper fish is made after the pattern of the carp, which is a\nfavorite fish in that country. It is a vigorous fish, and no current\nseems to be too strong for it. It swims against the current, and when\nit comes to a waterfall it jumps high into the air and falls into the\nwater beyond the falls. They claim that nothing can stop it when it\ndetermines to go ahead. Because it is such a wonderful fish they have\nmade it a badge for their boys. They want their boys to be just as\nsteady and courageous. Let all the boys of the wide world learn this\nlesson. Plow your way throughout the adverse current of life.\n\nLet it be said of every boy, \"Nothing can stop him.\" Come to Jesus;\nthat is the kind of boy he makes, and that boy will make good.\n\nNow you ask me, \"Do they forget little girls in Japan?\" Never, only\nthey hang a doll on the pole instead of a fish. If you are located\nnear a Japanese bazaar you may be able to get this paper fish. Secure\none if possible; it will write the lesson on the eyes and memory of\nthe children.\n\n=St. Valentine's Day.  February 14=\n\nTell the story of godly men who in ancient times were called saints.\nRead Psalm 16 as the lesson.\n\nSecure a number of paper hearts and distribute them to some of the\nolder children and ask them to write on the heart some good deed;\nthen collect the hearts, put them on a small tree which you have\nplaced on the platform, and call it the Tree of Good Deeds. Show that\neach one can make the life like this tree if it is rooted in the\nheart of Jesus. Secure now a large white heart, and pin it to the\nroot of the tree which stands for the heart of Jesus from which all\ngood comes. If your life is like this tree of Goodness it is greater\nthan any saint who ever lived.\n\n=Edison's Birthday.  February 11=\n\nSecure if possible the picture of this modern miracle man and tell\nthe story of his discoveries. Secure an electric wire, an electric\nlamp, and a phonograph record. Explain that he was a \"light\" man, not\nthat he created light, but he knew how to make men see it. So we\nshould all be light-givers. The light is locked up in God's wonderful\nbattery, the Great Bible. We are the wires; if we let God's truth\ncurrent shine through us the world will see God's light. We are\nliving epistles known and read of all men because they see in us\nGod's light.\n\n=Washington's Birthday.  February 22=\n\nRead as the Bible lesson 1 Samuel 18:5-16.\n\nSecure a toy hatchet and tell the story of the cherry tree. Secure a\ncolonial hat and tell the story of Washington's soldier days. Secure\nan old colonial flag, that is, thirteen Stars and Bars, and tell the\nstory of our first national struggle.\n\n=Longfellow's Birthday.  February 27=\n\nAs the Scripture lesson read Psalm 95.\n\nAs an example of poetic beauty, also read Psalm 96; it contains the\nsame strong lines. Secure his picture if possible. Give a short\nreading from his poetic work. Call attention to the fact that the\nBible gave him the master type of the highest class poetry.\n\n=Ash Wednesday=\n\nRead Matthew 6:16-21, which will give the Bible idea of fasting.\nSecure a piece of purple goods, which stands for a penitential heart.\nEvery day should be Ash Wednesday; that is, it should be confession\nday, for every day brings its load of sins, and the thing to do with\nthem is to confess them; this makes every day Ash Wednesday. Write\nthe word \"Sin\" on a card, and say if we bring our sins to God and\nconfess them he will forgive and cast them behind his back. As you\nsay these words drop behind your back the card with \"Sins\" marked\nupon it. This was the way the ancient kings did when they were\nforgiving the criminal. They tore up the charges and cast the torn\nparts behind their backs, which meant there was nothing against the\noffender now. This was the way a little boy made Ash Wednesday out of\nChristmas. It was a cold and snowy day. The ice was thick in the\nmiddle of the streets where the horses were trying to walk, but many\nof them were falling because of the slippery places. So the little\nfellow felt \"sorry for the poor horses\" as he expressed it; he\ntherefore slipped out of the house with a box of ashes, and covered\nthe ice with the ashes; after this the horses would not slip. That\nwas Ash Christmas, The truest Ash Wednesday lasts through every day\nof the year.\n\n=St. Patrick's Day.  March 17=\n\nSt. Patrick was one of the early missionaries to Ireland. He held\ngreat revival meetings as did Billy Sunday, and thousands were\nconverted to the true God. Today the shamrock is used as the national\nleaf. It is said he chose it because it taught the lesson of the\nTrinity, having its leaf divided into three large blades.\n\nCut out a large leaf after this fashion and say: St. Patrick was the\ngreat preacher of the Trinity, He told them about the Father, Son,\nand Holy Ghost. He was an object-teacher.\n\n=Holy Week.  Week Before Easter=\n\nThis is sometimes called Passion Week because it has to do with the\nsufferings of Jesus during his last week. Common objects can be used\nfor each day: Sunday, a palm-leaf, and on each following day select\nsome object mentioned in the Scripture used on that day.\n\n=Good Friday=\n\nThis is Crucifixion Day. The great Day of Atonement.\n\nThere were three crosses on the green hill of Calvary that day. There\nare three crosses now among men. Secure three small crosses. Let the\nfirst one be painted black. This is the cross of people who reject\nJesus, as did the impenitent thief. The second is a purple cross;\nthis stands for the people who are sorry for their sins and do truly\nrepent with the heart, as did the penitent thief. The other is the\nred cross, the cross on which Jesus died and shed his precious blood.\n\nEverything depends upon which side of this red cross we take our\nstand; if on the black side, then we are lost forever; if on the\npurple side, then we are saved forever. Ask the children to come\nforward if they will accept Jesus and take their stand by the purple\ncross. Then it will be Good Friday in their hearts.\n\n=Saturday Night=\n\nA representation of a spear like the one carried by the Roman guard\nwho stood at the door of the tomb all day. Read Matthew 27:62-66.\n\n=Easter Day=\n\nRead Matthew 28:1-10; also 1 Corinthians 15:1-20.\n\nSecure a small tree, not an evergreen tree, but a common tree with\nleaves just commencing to appear on its branches. This is the Easter\ntree just awakening from the grave of winter. Only a few months ago\nthe winds whistled through its bare branches, and the snow nestled on\nits limbs in peace. It was to all appearances dead.\n\nBut the gentle sun began to shine, and the soft winds began to blow,\nand the tree life returned again. It was the resurrection day for the\ntree, and when the green leaves bloomed it was an Easter tree. In\nancient times in a great gay cathedral far away on Easter dawn the\npeople assembled to greet the return of Easter Day. The great choirs\nmarched in, singing their glad tones. At the end of the procession\nthe bishop marched, carrying in his hands a great tall candle five\nfeet high and six inches thick. He set it into a stone socket on the\ntop step of the altar. Silence fell upon the great crowd as they\nworshiped in the dark and waited for the dawn.\n\nThe sunshine was just commencing to creep through the cathedral\nwindows and at last the sun's ray had touched the tip of the great\ncandle. The bishop took from his robes a burning-glass lens and held\nit over the candle wick centering the sun's ray upon it. The wick\nsmoked, then glowed, and burst into flame. The Easter sunrise had\nlighted the Easter candle. The choirs sang a hymn of joy. The people\npressed forward and lit their pieces of tinder from this candle, and\nas they did so they said, \"Christ is risen indeed.\"\n\nThey carried the flickering light to their houses, from which they\nlit their hearthfires. Soon the kindling caught, the logs began to\nsmoke, the fire began to glow, and over it they cooked their Easter\nbreakfast. Tradition says they never let it go out for one year,\nuntil Good Friday came again. May all of us take from this service\ntoday a Resurrection Light that will never be extinguished. \"Christ\nis risen today,\" is an everlasting light. Let us live in this light\nevermore.\n\n=Miracle Day.  May=\n\nMiracles are everywhere these early May days.\n\nJust watch the new leaves come forth and you will believe in\nmiracles. They seem so feathery that they resemble the wings of the\nbeautiful butterfly. They are as tender as rose petals, and yet they\nhave forced themselves through the tree's armor of wood, and not a\nsingle leaf is torn by the struggle. The days of miracles have not\ngone by, every day is a miracle day when God's May days return.\n\nRemember the story of the miracle of water turning into wine. That\nwas the Master's first miracle. But every time the rain falls on the\ngrape-vines God is turning water into wine. If I can believe in the\nmiracle of the vineyard I can believe in the miracle of Cana. In Cana\nJesus did in a second what in the vineyard he does in a season. It\nwas only a question of time. I believe in miracles because I see them\nevery May day and every other day.\n\n=Tree Day.  Early Springtime=\n\nRead Psalm 1.\n\nHe shall be like a \"tree planted.\" This is the meaning of Tree Day.\nThe time for the planting of a tree. Show a little acorn and say,\nThere is a miniature tree in this little acorn. Plant it, and\ntherefrom a mighty tree will finally come forth. So little acts bloom\nforth into forces of strength and glory.\n\nLittle good words are acorns. Plant lots of them. Trees help the\nlittle birds, for they fly into the branches for safety when pursued\nby some wild, larger bird.\n\nTrees mean homes for the next generation. They will live in the\nhouses the timbers will give. If possible, secure a young tree and\nhave a service of planting after the meeting is over. Name that tree\nafter the Junior Society of your church.\n\n=Forefather's Day.  April 18=\n\nFor this day read Proverbs 22:17-19, which exhorts us not to remove\nthe landmarks of the fathers.\n\nTell the story of the Pilgrim Fathers. Make up an Indian hat which\nwould stand for the Indians with whom they had to battle when they\nlanded on our shores. Secure an old Bible and say, This old book\ncontained their laws of living. Secure a school rule which you say\nstands for the exactness of their daily living.\n\nRemember our Revolutionary Forefathers also, and to visualize this\nidea secure if possible a colonial gun or some old-fashioned piece of\nfurniture, such as was used in those days by those old worthies,\nsecure also if possible a facsimile of the Declaration of\nIndependence and call the names of the mighty men who signed it.\nIntroduce the Forefathers of the past to the children of the present\nday--it will be a wonderful meeting. Ask the children to stand as you\nread the names of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence.\nTell them where the original of the famous old document is still\ncarefully preserved, guarded now against the destructive action of\nthe light, and urge them to use their earliest opportunity to see\nthis Declaration for themselves.\n\n=Mother's Day.  May 10=\n\nRead 1 Timothy 5:1-10, and speak of the great need for a holy respect\nfor mothers.\n\nRead Ruth, chapter one, and tell them the story of an old-fashioned\nmother who was kind and good.\n\nRead Exodus 20:1-12, and tell the little hearers that they are to\nhonor their father and mother.\n\nRead Matthew 15:1-11, and tell over again the duty of honoring the\nparents which God has given us.\n\nI have used with good results a little card containing some timely\nwords for children. The title of the card is \"Mother's Ten\nCommandments.\"\n\n                      MOTHER MINE--C. H. WOOLSTON\n\n    _Harken unto all these words, my children, for the comfort of\n                    mother and the glory of God._\n\n1. Be obedient unto her good word.\n2. Always show her a joyful face--Be an indoor sun to her.\n3. Put cross words far from your lips and always speak the truth.\n4. Don't fail to be thankful and always say so with your lips.\n5. Learn quiet ways: it will comfort mother's head.\n6. Always be contented when mother has done her best.\n7. Be a loving child and kiss your mother first.\n8. Never forget your baby days, for then mother was all the\n    world to you.\n9. Be courteous to your mother for she is the first lady in the\n    land to you.\n10. Be a strong Christian, for mother always wished the best\n    things for you and this is the best of the best.\n\nRead these lines over slowly and let the children repeat them after\nyou. Urge them to wear a flower in mother's memory. Secure a few\nextra flowers, and ask some little girl or boy to come forward and\ndeposit the flowers on the table in memory of the \"forgotten mother,\"\nthe mother whose children have forgotten her.\n\nIf you so desire, it might be well to place a single flower on the\nBible on the pulpit in memory of Mary the mother of Jesus.\n\n=Peace Day.  May 18=\n\nRead for that day as your Scripture lesson Psalm 48, where it is\ndeclared that the weapons of war are to be turned into farm tools and\nthat wars are to cease.\n\nRead also Isaiah 2:4, where it is declared that nation shall not lift\nsword against nation. Prepare a large white flag. This is the flag of\npeace.\n\nAsk the children to stand around this flag as you tell them the story\nof the birth of the Prince of Peace who came to give peace on earth\nand good-will among men.\n\n=Memorial Day.  May 30=\n\nRead as your Bible lesson for that day Psalm 46, announcing the end\nof war.\n\nRead Psalm 47 where the nations are called upon to praise God, and\nread also Matthew 22:15-22 describing the duty of citizens. Secure a\nwreath of flowers, place it upon the flag, and tell the audience the\nstory of the brave men who died for their country and their flag.\nClose by singing the National Hymn. Ask that all the children wear\nsmall flags, and have them march around the room singing together the\nBattle Hymn of the Republic.\n\n=Flag Day.  June 14=\n\nRead as your Scripture lesson Psalm 46. After you have read this\nlesson, ask some of the children to come forward with flags and stand\naround the reader while he reads Psalms 67 and 72. Tell the story of\nthe making of the flag in Philadelphia by Betsy Ross.\n\n=School Closing Day=\n\nRead as the Bible lesson Ecclesiastes 12, and urge them in their\nyouthful days to remember God.\n\nRead also Matthew 25:14-30, in which the use of the individual talent\nis urged.\n\nTell them that \"school-days\" are not all over, the real school of\nlife has just begun. The Bible is the greater text-book of the school\nof life.\n\n=Children's Day.  June=\n\nLet the children conduct this service, all but the address, you may\ngive this yourself or secure another to do it for you.\n\nDraw lessons from the flowers, bring in a bird in its cage, and read\nMatthew 6:19-34.\n\nTell the story of the Ark, the biggest bird-cage ever made, and what\nthe Raven and Dove did in the great flood story. After the lesson, if\npossible let them put the flowers you have been using on the graves\nof the little children of the church who have died during the past\nyear.\n\n=Independence Day.  July 4=\n\nThis day should always be kept as a religious day. The noise of\ngunpowder should no longer be heard. It should be a day exalting\npeace, not commemorating bloodshed, therefore cause the decorations\nto be white intertwined with the flag. Let the little girls dress in\nwhite and the boys wear a white flower or have white bands around\ntheir arms.\n\nWar love must be crushed for the sake of the best things. The idea\nthat might is power plunged the world into the great World War. The\nonly war the kingdom of heaven knows is war against war and all its\nevil things. Display the conquest flag, and tell the story how the\nCross of Jesus is marching on to save this old world from sin.\n\nClose by telling them that when they forsake all sin and come to\nJesus and are saved, they are an assembly of braves and have put\ntheir names to the new declaration of independence.\n\n=Labor Day.  September (First Monday)=\n\nFor the Scripture lesson for this day read the story of \"the laborer\nbeing worthy of his hire,\" as you will find it recorded in Luke\n10:1-11. Also the call for laborers for the vineyard, as written in\nMatthew 20:1-15.\n\nTake a walk into the carpenter-shop of Nazareth and watch Jesus\nworking at his trade at the carpenter's bench. Talk of Jesus as the\nmodel Carpenter. Use the carpenter tools as object-lessons: the saw a\nseparator from wrong. A divider of good things, Jesus shared his life\nwith the world as a saw divides the board.\n\nThe hammer can be used to show how to fix things in their places so\nthey will stay fixed. Jesus nailed down his commandments as fixed\nlaws by which the world was to be saved.\n\nShow the rule, and talk about the Golden Rule that measures things\ncorrectly, and gives a wonderful standard by which we should govern\nour acts among men.\n\nDisplay the plane, an instrument to smooth things out and to take off\nthe rough places. Love is that plane, and Jesus always used it to\nsmooth out the hard and ugly places that hate had made in life. So\ncontinue to talk about Jesus and his tools. Put up a cardboard sign\non the outside of the church containing a message for the laboring\nman. Let it read, \"'God bless the working man' is the prayer of the\nChildren of this Church.\"\n\n=Columbus Day.  October 12=\n\nTell the story of Abraham, who, like Columbus, went forth on a\nwonderful adventure. You will find this recorded in Genesis 12:1-10.\n\nShow the children pictures of ships which sail the deep sea.\n\nShow them a handful of reeds, and explain that Columbus discovered\nfloating in the sea a number of weeds which did not grow in his\ncountry and therefore reasoned they must come from an unknown land.\n\nWrite on a piece of large white paper the word \"AMERICA\"; roll it up\nand hide it, and then during the meeting ask some boy or girl to\npretend to be Columbus, and let him go forth to find the new world.\nIf he fails to find the parchment let another child try. Let the\nfortunate child who does at last find it come back to the platform,\nand then give him a new name--call him the \"Discoverer.\"\n\nTeach the lesson that all of us are starting out in life to \"find\nthings,\" but the best thing to find is the truth. Place in his hands\na Bible and say, This will be your guide to all truth, follow its\nlight, and you will find the Cross which is the door to salvation and\nto heaven.\n\n=Hallowe'en.  October 31=\n\nRead as the Scripture lesson for this service Romans 1:1-12. It\nannounces the fact that we are all called to be saints. Every good\nboy and girl made good by being saved is a saint according to the New\nTestament.\n\nHallowe'en is the eve before All Saints' Day, and the term means\n\"Holy Evening.\"\n\nIt does not seem much like an holy evening when we remember it is a\ntime of unearthly noises, witches, spirits, ghosts, elfish creatures,\netc., the time when fortunes are supposed to be told in many a walnut\nshell or in a tub with a burning candle. All of this superstition\nbelongs to the realm of frolics.\n\nDisplay some post-cards with pictures of witches on them and say, \"We\ndo not fear these witches because they don't live,\" but tell them of\nthe true witches, lying, stealing, profanity, falsehood, anger,\ntemper, etc., which are all witches that we should fear for they are\nreal and seek to get into our hearts at all times.\n\nExplain the \"new\" meaning of the decoration you use for this special\nseason, \"the black and orange.\" Let the black stand for the night of\nsin, and the orange, the color of the rising sun, for the dawn of the\nday of truth and the coming of the light. Darken the room, and let a\nchild from the rear with a lighted candle represent the light that\nGod sends into our world of darkness. This is a simple but\nentertaining pastime.\n\nFor the conclusion of the service have a peanut party.\n\nHallowe'en is the season of nuts of all kinds. So the peanut can be\nused to the best advantage because it can be easily secured\neverywhere. Secure a number of peanuts and hide them in all parts of\nthe room, explain this to the children, and at your command let them\nall start in to find them. The one finding the largest number should\nbe given some simple little prize. Ask them to drop them all in a\nlarge bowl, then ask six children to shut their eyes, and reach in\none hand and take out a handful, and the one having the number\nnearest to 25 will receive another simple little prize.\n\nConclude by having a peanut auction. Prepare a number of parcels\ncontaining simple little things such as an apple, a stick of candy,\nan orange, a bunch of raisins, a lead-pencil, etc. Wrap these\narticles up in large bundles so the contents cannot be guessed by the\nshape. Ask some merry-hearted lad to be the auctioneer and sell the\npackage to the highest bidder, payment to be made of course in\npeanuts, which at last you cast on the floor--asking the children to\nhelp themselves. If so desired serve peanut sandwiches as a special\nrefreshment.\n\n=Election Day.  November= (first Tuesday after first Monday)\n\nRead as the Scripture lesson Romans 13. This teaches the lesson that\nwe are to be subject unto authority. Read also Matthew 22:15-22,\nwhich gives us a lesson of the \"citizen's duty.\"\n\nSecure if possible a sample ballot. Display it before the children,\nand explain how the people of proper ages vote. After this, in the\nplace of the names of the candidates and party write such words as\nTemperance, Good Citizenship, Good Schoolhouses, Full Churches, and\nLarge Sunday Schools, and say we can all vote for all of these. Put\ndown your cross mark under each name. Sing \"America,\" salute the\nflag, and all say, \"God Bless Our Native Land.\" Let us help to make\nit God's Great Land.\n\n=Armistice Day.  November 11=\n\nFor the Scripture lesson read about the time when wars shall cease,\nas you will find it mentioned in Psalms 46 and 47, and also in Isaiah\n2:1-11, describing the time when nation shall not lift sword against\nnation.\n\nTalk about the World War and display the flags of all nations. Have a\nlarge white flag prepared, and call it Armistice Day, that great day\nwhen the guns ceased firing. As you say this ask the children who\nhold the flags of all nations to come forward and stand around the\nwhite flag in a circle. Tell how glad the people were on that day,\nand describe the noises the children made. But this day did not bring\nlasting peace among the nations, for there is a whisper about war\ncoming back again, and nations seem to be preparing for that event.\nThe only peace which shall last and endure is the Peace of God--the\nworld can never take that peace away.\n\nAsk a boy to come to the platform holding a large cross in his hand,\nand as he does this let all the nations kneel around it. The power of\nthe Cross alone will give the nations of the world God's wonderful\npeace; until then there will be no lasting peace among the peoples of\nthe world.\n\n=Thanksgiving Day.  November= (last Thursday of month)\n\nRead Isaiah 12 as a thanksgiving song, also read 2 Samuel 22:1-18,\nwhich contains the same thought. Psalms 92, 100, and 136 are called\nthanksgiving songs. Ask some boy or girl to read these lessons.\n\nRead Luke 17:11-19, the story of a good thanksgiving example. Read\nthis lesson at the close of the meeting. Display on the table some\nfruits, also some large vegetables, all showing how good God is in\nhis wonderful gifts at harvest-time.\n\nTell the story of the early settlers, and why the first Thanksgiving\nproclamation was made.\n\nThanksgiving Day is Old Home Day. The separated family come together\nin one glad reunion, and the young folks go bounding to see grandma\nand grandpa, and all have a good time.\n\nNow tell the children we will all consider ourselves one big family,\nand so prepare for a good time. Pass around a number of candles, and\nwhen each has received one, ask the children to eat them. The candles\nare made out of apples; the wick is made of a bit of almond, which on\nbeing lit will blaze for a minute. After this suspend a hoop in the\ndoorway and make snowballs of tissue-paper by crushing them into\nround shapes. Give each scholar four balls, and standing them a given\nnumber of feet away, see how many of the balls each can put through\nthe hoop at the first trial. Give the child who can do this a bag of\npeanuts as a reward.\n\nIf you wish an exclusive religious service for that day, secure a\nsmall-sized tree and place it on the platform, Distribute small paper\nhearts, and ask the children to write on them the reason they are\nthankful, and at the proper time ask them to bring the heart to the\nplatform. After you have read them to the children, pin them on the\ntree and call the tree the Thanksgiving Tree. It should grow all the\nyear around in everybody's home.\n\n=Christmas Eve.  December 24=\n\nAsk the children to keep their eyes on the door. Turn down the lights\nof the room until only a dim light is seen. Tell them the Christmas\nEve story. Long ago the people had a kind of Christmas fancy that the\nChild Jesus came to earth again each Christmas Eve and wandered about\nthe streets looking for some one to recognize him and take him into\ntheir house.\n\nThrough the winter night he tramps on, cold and homeless, so the\nstory goes, peeping in at the windows where evergreen wreaths and\nwarm fires make all who live in that house comfortable and happy. At\nlast some one is sure to see the dim face outside the window, and\nwill fling wide open the door and bid him come in, and give the\nlittle stranger loving welcome to all their comforts. Here recite the\ntext Revelation 3:20: \"Behold I stand at the door and knock.\" Open\nthe door of the heart, for the real Christ is there tonight and every\nother night also. Did you ever notice that the paneling of the door\nresembles a cross, so it is true of the door of the heart, we must\ntake up his cross in our heart first, and then the door will open\nwide to let Jesus in. Open the door of the heart to Jesus on\nChristmas Eve, and that will make every day a Merry Christmas.\n\nIt is a good plan to read by candle-light a Christmas story. Place a\nlighted candle on the table, extinguish all other lights, and say,\n\"Now listen to a Christmas Eve story,\" and then read Luke's account\nof the Nativity.\n\nWish the little folks a Merry Christmas and send them early to their\nhomes.\n\n=Christmas Day.  December 25=\n\nFor a good Christmas lesson read the story of the Nativity as\nrecorded in the second chapter of Luke. Read also the story of the\nWise-men as written in Matthew 2:1-12.\n\nSecure nine tall candles, and as you light them remark how beautiful\nthe candle-light looks on Christmas night, for this is the happy eve\nof twinkling lights. Even the stars throb and glow as if trying to\nsmile on little children. You will notice that I have here nine\ncandles, each candle standing for a letter in the word Christmas.\n\nLet us see what each sparkling Christmas light says to us. This first\nlight stands for the lights of the inn, the place where Joseph and\nMary went the night Jesus was born. This light made plain the path to\nthe rear of the inn where they found the manger crib that God had\nprepared for the little Son. It was a humble nest, but it was all the\ninn-keeper had to offer his guests. They were lights of welcome to\nJesus, and so Merry Christmas was born there. He who walks in the\nlight of humility walks in the Christmas light.\n\nThe next light represents the light from the camp-fires of the\nShepherds, around which they gathered and read the words of the Great\nProphet of Israel as to the Coming One, while they watched their\nflocks by night. These were quiet lamps of patient waiting. They were\nlamps of faith which made stout their courage as they believed with\nall the heart. Jesus was coming soon, and so God rewarded their\nfaith, for their fires were not extinguished until he came indeed. We\nshould keep the camp-fires burning while we are waiting for his\nglorious coming again. Every Christmastime should cause us to be glad\nbecause he did come once, and we have his promise he will come again.\nNever let that lamp of hope die out.\n\nThe next light stands for the heavenly light shining in the skies.\nFor a bright light shone about them, \"the Light of the World\" was\nabout to be born. This light was full of angels who sang by that\ngolden light the story of \"peace on earth and good-will toward men.\"\n\nThe next light represents the light of the stable lantern which the\nshepherds brought with them. They were the lamps of the \"seeker,\"\nthey had heard of the little Saviour, and they went forth to seek\nhim. Always carry the seeker's light with you, for it is the\n_finding_ light. As Bobby Burns puts it, \"They never seek the Lord in\nvain who seek the Lord aright.\"\n\nThe next light represents the starlight which the Wise-men saw. They\nfollowed it, and it brought them to the place where the young child\nlay. The wisest men of this world are led by heaven's lamp of truth.\nHolding up a Bible, say, \"This is the lamp from Heaven, follow it and\nyou will at last find the Christ on his throne where it is Christmas\nevery day.\"\n\nThe next light represents the lamp of the house where the Wise-men\nfound Jesus and his mother. What a wonderful house that must have\nbeen. It was a house glorified because Jesus had once lived there in\nall of his heavenly beauty. Let Jesus into your house, and it will be\nfull of golden lamps which will make the home all glorious within.\n\nWhat did those lamps see? They saw the gifts of gold which the\nWise-men brought, and it seemed to turn to a shining crown and the\nbabe's voice was the voice of the little King. They shone upon a\nbeautiful urn of frankincense. This is a pure gum from a certain\nArabian tree which when burned gives a sweet-smelling smoke. In\nhistory it has always been used as a symbol of prayer and praise.\nThis gift meant that all the world was to pray to him and praise him\nwith all their heart. These home lamps saw also a golden cup of\nmyrrh. This is a bitter gum and very precious. It used to be wrapped\nup with the coverings of those who died. It was to teach us that into\nthe baby's life some day the cross would come, and the winding-sheet\nwith its precious myrrh would prepare his precious body for the\ngrave; so that house was made beautiful by the shadow of the wondrous\nCross.\n\nLet the Christmas light come into your heart, and all the people will\nsee in you the beautiful life of peace, contentment, faith, love, and\njoy.\n\nThe next light represents the light which Jesus brings to the dark\nplaces of the world. He is a light which shines through the darkness.\nHere tell the story of heathen countries waiting for the light. He is\nthe Light of the World.\n\nThe next light represents the light of his church. Paul Revere saw\nthe lights flashing from the tower of Old North Church of Boston, and\non his fleet-footed horse dashed down through the valley spreading\nthe message of alarm to the people of the sleeping homes. Every true\nchurch is a light-house. It warns us of the power of sin. It shows us\nthe way of the Cross.\n\nThe next light represents the lamp of heaven. Jesus came to open the\ndoors of heaven, where there is eternal light, and to bid us enter\nand be at rest. When he ascended he left a light in the window for us\nall, which is his good promise that \"Where I am there ye shall be\nalso.\" These are the Merry Christmas lights. Once, years ago and\nmiles away, there was an ancient castle. It was the home of the\nsilent and absent Prince. It was always dark and gloomy, no light\ncould be seen in its windows day or night. There was an old tradition\nthat some time the Prince would return, and then the lights would\nappear at every window and the bells would chime out most merrily.\nOften the quiet villagers would look up at the castle on the hill and\nwonder if the Prince would ever return, and if their eyes should ever\nsee the long-promised lights. One night the people of the village\nwere startled by the sound of bells, and from every window of the\ncastle beautiful lights were shining. The Prince had returned, and\nthere was great joy among the people. Let us light these nine\nChristmas lights now, and we shall all have a Merry Christmas, for\nthe long-expected Prince from heaven has come to this old dark\ncastle, the world dwelling in darkness.\n\n=Wilson's Birthday.  December 28=\n\nRead as the special Scripture lesson for the hour Isaiah 11:1-10,\nwhich describes the man of peace. Read also Proverbs 3:13-26, which\ndescribes the scholar and education. Secure a picture of the late\nPresident and dwell on his dreams of peace.\n\n=New Year's Eve=\n\nIt is hardly possible that you will hold a watch-meeting for the\njuniors, but the following program will make a good order for adults\nas well as for such children who will attend with them. Secure a\nnumber of candles, one for each hour of the service. If the service\ncommences at eight o'clock and continues until midnight, put four\nlighted candles on the table, one for each hour, and extinguish one\nat the end of each hour, and you will have one candle left for the\nlast hour. This will be impressive.\n\nAt the last moment of the hour extinguish this candle and in total\ndarkness let the old year pass out. At the first minute of the New\nYear turn on all the lights, arise, and sing, and after the Lord's\nPrayer, in which they all join, say to the people \"A happy New Year\nto all,\" and the meeting has ended, and the New Year begun.\n\nAs an additional feature for this meeting prepare as large a book as\npossible with all the pages white and say, This is your book of the\nNew Year. It is a fresh start for you, There will be nothing written\non its pages of white except what you write there. Begin tonight and\ngo straight and keep white. Write over the first page, \"In the\nbeginning God.\" That makes the start right, so it will always be\nwhite. Write this on the fresh page of every day also, and you will\ngo straight for the whole year.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =43\n\n                         PUTTING A GOD TO BED\n\n                     OBJECTS: Three Small Idols=\n\nI suppose you have often heard of little girls putting their dollies\nto bed. Well, here is a story of a full-grown woman by the name of\nMichal who put her little god to bed.\n\nWe read this strange story in the Bible and we will find it written\nin 1 Samuel 19:13. \"And Michal took the image, and laid it in the\nbed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it\nwith the clothes.\" But who was this Michal who put her god to bed?\nShe was the wife of King David, and you would have thought she had\nthrown her idols all away long ago, but she did not do this but\ncontinued to put one god to bed long after she had become the wife of\na king who believed only in the one true and living God. I suppose\nshe often sang with David her husband, \"The Lord is my Shepherd, I\nshall not want,\" and often with her husband had repeated, \"God is our\nRefuge and our Strength,\" but with all this she nevertheless put her\nidol to bed and motherlike, she found herself down on her knees\nplacing the bolster under the head of her idol and carefully covering\nit with clothes just as mother tenderly tucks in her little baby boy\nfor the night.\n\nWell, after all, I guess she was just like the most of us, she openly\nconfessed her belief in the true God, but on the side had a darling\nidol or two.\n\nLet us examine ourselves and see if we are putting idols to bed also.\nSecure three images of Buddha. They can easily be purchased in the\nshops as they are now sold for incense-holders. The first idol we\nwill label \"Irreverence.\" I am afraid that most all of us have this\nidol in our possession. We pray to God on Sunday, and then the rest\nof the week we live any old way. Sometimes when we are in church we\nwhisper, talk, and run about during the service, or look about the\nroom during prayertime, and pay but little attention to the minister\nwho is speaking to us for God. We often pay more attention to our\nearthly friends than we do to God who is our Chief Friend. All this\nis a display of Irreverence. Do not let us do this, but put this idol\nout of our life, and worship the true God only. The best way to\ncultivate reverence is to go to God's house and learn how to worship\nhim. The music, the message, and the holy surroundings of the place\nof prayer all make it easy for us to be reverent.\n\nOliver Wendell Holmes said he had a tender little plant in his heart\nwhich he called \"Reverence,\" which he needed to water once a week to\nkeep it fresh and fragrant, so he went to church to water that plant;\nthere he came under the showers of blessing which God sends to his\npeople who are reverent and worship him. Reverence grows fast when we\ngo to church. After you have said this, put the idol in an old bag\nwhich you have made to hold cast-off things.\n\nThe second idol we will label \"SELFISHNESS.\" When we put ourselves\nfirst and are self-willed and always want our own way, then we are\nputting the idol of \"selfishness\" to bed. This idol is like the white\nant of Africa which is a secret destroyer. It feeds on wood.\n\nA man built himself a house on a piece of land that he thought was a\nsafe place, and after it was finished all the people said it was a\nthing of beauty. But suddenly one day it fell with a great crash. Now\nlook over the wrecked timber, and you will discover that the inside\nof the timbers had been eaten clean away. This ant is no respecter of\nthings. It eats books, furniture, trunks, chairs, dolls, and toys, or\nanything.\n\nSelfishness is like this ant. It secretly eats away the heart of\nlove, and we are dead to the appeal of the world for sympathy. No boy\nor girl can love himself or herself above all others without dying\ninside. Like the African ant, selfishness destroys from within, it\nkills the heart.\n\nBishop Butler, one of the most learned men, said, \"Be more afraid of\nthyself than of the world.\" Be afraid of the idol of selfishness, it\nis yourself at your worst. Put it away, _not_ to bed.\n\nA poor little girl in the slums of London one cold snowy night said\nto her little brother who was shivering with the cold by her side,\n\"Come closer to me, dear little brother, come under my shawl, it will\nstretch and cover us both.\" She never knew anything of the idol of\nselfishness, no one ever does who stretches the shawl for two. Put\nthis idol in the old rag-bag and put it out of sight.\n\nThe third idol we will label \"Hatred.\" We worship this idol when we\nsay to another, \"I hate you,\" and then add all sorts of evil words\ndesigned to hurt and kill, and so often we seem glad to believe all\nthe evil said about our enemies, and so worship this idol with glad\nhearts. Often we get some foreign substance in our eye, and we cannot\nsee except with a blurred vision. We do not see things as they really\nare. Thus \"hate\" often blurs our sight, and we cannot see straight.\n\"Hate\" is a foreign substance in the mind's eye and we cannot see\npeople as they are.\n\nJohn Hus the Reformer was bound to the stake to be burned to death\nbecause of his faith in Jesus. A poor old peasant woman came up with\na piece of wood to add to the fire which was to burn the martyr to\ndeath, and when it was flung on the pile, she seemed to be happy and\ncontented. John Hus said to her, \"Have I ever harmed you or yours\nthat you are so bitter against me?\" \"Never,\" she replied, \"but you\nare a heretic, and wood is scarce, and it looks like a hard winter,\nbut I am glad to do my part to rid the world of such an accursed\nheretic.\" John Hus reached out his hand and drew the fagot close to\nhis side and said, \"With my heart I forgive you,\" for John was a\nChristian. She was a heathen putting her idol of \"hate\" to bed. She\nwas so blind with hate that she did not know a saint when she saw\none.\n\nBe like Jesus who loved all men. A brother of mine when he was\nconverted said, \"I feel like kissing everybody.\" He had put the idol\nof hate in the rag-bag and, like Jesus, loved everybody. Should you\nnot go and do likewise?\n\nIf this lesson is given to small children secure a doll's bed, and\nhave the idols all put to bed before the children assemble. Place\nthis bed on the table or any place where it can be seen by all. Take\nthem out of bed one by one, and give the lesson, and then say, \"Shall\nI put them back to bed or in the rag-bag?\"\n\nAfter this tell them we are all to love God and not idols. Tell them\nthe true God never goes to bed, and neither slumbers nor sleeps, but\nwatches over us to see if there is not some good thing he can do for\nus the next day. His Son looks on and says, \"Suffer the little ones\nto come unto me.\" Let's go.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =44\n\n                     HOW TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS FLAG\n\n           OBJECTS: A Piece of Blue Bunting or Muslin and a\n                       Yellow Six-pointed Star=\n\nBring back Jesus into Christmas. This should be in our thoughts as we\nplan a Christmas program for children and young folks for this day.\nChristmas is Christ's birthday, but it is too often a birthday-party\nwithout Christ. We cannot truly celebrate his glad natal day if we\ncrowd him out of the celebration.\n\nI have attended Christmas celebrations where a cantata was rendered\nfull of fairies, Brownies, and Santa Claus, and the name of Christ\nwas not mentioned from start to finish. The cantata could have been\ngiven with entire acceptance at an infidel's celebration or in a\nHindu temple. Christmas is a merry day, and I would not take one glad\nnote from its music, but do not forget the King. It is his birthday\nwe are celebrating.\n\nTo bring back Jesus into Christmas perhaps it will help a little to\nintroduce a Christmas flag, and hang it up in sight of all the\npeople. Before the festivities begin explain the Christmas flag, and\nby so doing we shall be introducing Jesus and giving him first place\non the program.\n\nTo make a Christmas flag, secure a piece of sky-blue bunting or\nmuslin, and explain that the blue stands for our faith in Jesus which\nis as clear as the blue sky above us without a cloud of unbelief in\nit.\n\nWe believe Jesus to be God's only divine Son without a single cloud\nof doubt. In the center of the plain blue background place a\nsix-pointed golden or yellow star commonly called the Star of David.\nThis is beyond all doubt the Bible star. Jesus was the Bright and\nMorning Star. Let this star stand for Jesus of the House of David.\n\nThe history of the six-pointed star is most interesting. It will be\nreal news to many of the young people. This star now appears on the\nJewish flag.\n\nDuring the recent convention of the Federation of American Zionists\nin Pittsburgh, the display of the six-pointed star flag was very much\nin evidence. On a white background two heavy blue stripes are sewn,\nand between them the Jewish emblem, the double triangle, forming a\nsix-pointed star, and known as the \"Shield of David.\" The Zionist\nflag, therefore, symbolizes in the white background the priestly\nnation; the blue stripes stand for loyalty and unity of all Israel,\nand the \"Shield of David\" represents the star of faith in the unity\nof the one true and living God.\n\nInquiry has often been made as to the origin of the \"Shield of\nDavid.\" The common opinion held among the Jews is that it originated\nwith King David, and became the religious emblem of the nation, and\nwas the conspicuous symbol on Solomon's Temple. From that time on it\ncontinued the popular sign of the Jews and may be seen at the present\ntime on synagogues, temples, and Jewish institutions. Tell the\nchildren where they may see it in their own neighborhood.\n\nThe popular belief regarding this emblem, however, finds no\nhistorical support. Its origin is shrouded in impenetrable mystery.\nThe Jewish Encyclopedia does not shed very much light on the subject\nand makes only the following observation:\n\nThe Jewish view of God, which permitted no images of him, was and\nstill is opposed to the acceptance of any symbols, and neither the\nBible nor the Talmud recognized their existence. It is noteworthy,\nmoreover, that the \"Shield of David\" is not mentioned in Rabbinical\nliterature. The \"Shield of David,\" therefore, probably did not\noriginate within Rabbinism, the official and dominant Judaism for\nmore than 2,000 years, nevertheless a David's Shield has recently\nbeen noted on a Jewish tombstone at Tarentum, in Southern Italy,\nwhich may date back as early as the third century of the Common Era.\n(C. M. Adler in _Jewish Quarterly Review_, 14, 3.)\n\nThe earliest Jewish literature which mentioned it, the _Eskol\nHakofer_ of the Karaite Judah Hadassi (middle of the twelfth\ncentury), says in chapter 242 some names of angels precede the\nMezuzah (a tiny tin case containing a scripture fastened on the\nside-posts of doors of orthodox Jewish houses): Michael, Gabriel,\netc. Tetragrammaton protect thee! And likewise the sign called\nDavid's Shield is placed beside the name of each angel. It was\ntherefore at this time a sign on amulets. Later Jewish writers speak\nof its popularity, but little of its origin.\n\nIn using this star you will make a strong appeal to Jewish children\nand to all Christian children. It will help to keep Christ in\nChristmas.\n\nAfter you have finished your address on the Christmas flag teach them\nthe following _salute_. Tell them to place their hands upon their\nheart and to fix their eyes on the flag and to say the following\nwords:\n\n\"I salute thee, dear old Christmas flag, I will give my love and\nservice to Jesus whose birthday we are celebrating. I believe in his\nChurch and the Holy Bible, and will defend it with all my heart.\"\n\nNow all stand and sing \"Joy to the World, the Lord Is Come.\" Close by\nusing a Christmas march. On a staff carried by a boy place the Star\nof David. He will lead the march, the children will follow him around\nthe room, representing the Wise-men following the star.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =45\n\n                           THAT SOCIAL HOUR\n\n              OBJECTS: A Series of Stunts and Pastimes=\n\nWhen I ask the young folks to spend a pleasant evening with me at my\nhome, what shall I do to entertain them and give them a pleasant\ntime? This is a vexing question. I do not understand the children at\nthe play-hour. What shall I do?\n\nYou are entirely right; plan a play-hour for the children of \"the\nmeeting.\" They have a right to their play. God gave them that right.\nHelp them to use it to the limit. Let them make merry with their\nfriends. It will do more for them than just give them a happy\nevening; it will give them a blessed memory, for when they are grown\nup, and look back to their childhood days, then will they remember\nthat their religion was all tangled up with smiles and glee.\n\nIn those older days they will not say Christians are \"joy-killers\"\nand have outlawed the smile. Write it down in letters which stick.\nThey must have their play-hour, they _shall_ make merry with their\nfriends.\n\nIt may help you to build your program by looking over the following\nsimple little stunts and pastimes. A half million children have given\nthem their O. K.\n\n=1. Doing Something No One Else Can Do=\n\nAnnounce that you will do something in this room that no other person\ncan possibly do, \"I will seat myself where it will be impossible for\nanother person to do so.\" Now, sit down in another person's lap.\nNobody else can sit there while you sit there.\n\n=2. Can't See the Candlestick=\n\nFor this stunt you hold in your hand an ordinary candle in a common\ncandlestick. State that you will put this candle in a place where\neverybody but one can see it, and that person will not be\nblindfolded, nor shall he be prevented from examining every part of\nthe room to find it, neither shall the candle be hidden. This is done\nby placing the candle on his head, taking care that there is no\nmirror or looking-glass in the room.\n\n=3. A Coin Trick=\n\nStand up before the children. Place a coin in each hand, and stretch\nout both hands as far from each other as possible. Now say, \"Without\nbringing my hands together, I can cause both coins to come into the\nsame hand.\" This is the way to do it. Place the coin on a table, then\nturn around and pick it up with the other hand.\n\n=4. The Prison Circle=\n\nThe circle that makes you a prisoner. Draw a circle around a person,\nplaced in the center of the room, so that he will not be able to jump\nout of it, though his legs be free. This is done with a piece of\nchalk. Draw the circle around his body.\n\n=5. Crawling into a Pint Bottle=\n\nHow to crawl into a pint bottle. This is a play on words in every\nsense, so it is played by playing on words. Hold in your hand a\nlittle ink bottle, or a pint bottle, and state that you will ask some\nlittle boy to crawl into this bottle. Watch every movement, keep your\neye upon him. Select some little boy, who has been instructed\nbeforehand, and also rehearsed in private, to come forward and place\nthe pint bottle in the center of the floor. He is told to go out of\nthat room and think how it can be done, and when he is ready to do\nit, he is to knock on the door. You then open the door, and he crawls\ninto the room on all fours. This is crawling into the pint bottle.\n\n=6. Candies Under the Hat=\n\nPlace three candies on the table about ten inches apart, and cover\neach with a hat. Announce that you will now place these three candies\nunder one hat without touching but one hat. Look wise and approach\nthe hats with a thoughtful and solemn face, waving your hand over\nthem and muttering some incoherent words like \"Hocus-pocus,\" and then\ncall upon three boys to lift the hats to see if the sweets are yet\nthere; after they have lifted the hats, quietly pick up the three\ncandies, place them in your mouth, and put a hat on your head, and\nsay, \"The three candies are now all under one hat, and I touched only\none of the three hats.\" You can add a little variation to this game\nif you so desire by saying after you have placed the candies under\nthe three hats, \"On second thought I will turn my back, and when I do\nso, I would like some one to rearrange the candies under the hats.\"\nYou have previously arranged with one of the boys to do this service.\nHe appears to be playing the joke on you by eating the candies\nhimself. When you look under the hats you will find nothing there,\nbut when you turn around, you quietly put one of the hats on his head\nso the candies are now all under one hat.\n\n=7. Will Tell the Date=\n\nAsk some one in the room to select a penny and note its date. You\nwill now say, \"I am under the charm of King Copero, and I will try to\ntell you the date. Don't let me see the coin at close range, because\nI want to tell the date without seeing the coin and cause you to\nwitness King Copero's mystic power. I will now ask you to place it\nunder the corner of the rug, and then stand on it, and King Copero\nwill tell me the date.\" You now close your eyes and exclaim, \"Copero\nthe mystic, come to my thoughts and tell me the date!\" Open your\neyes, and look around the room for the King, and then place your hand\nback of your ear and exclaim, \"Speak, Copero, tell me the date.\" You\nnow exclaim, \"I hear you, King. You have spoken indeed.\" Then with\ngreat dignity say, \"The date is 1925. I did not say I would give you\nthe date on the coin, but would give you 'the date,' and the present\ndate is 1925 or the year in which you play the game.\" This will\nproduce a smile and provoke genuine jollity.\n\n=8. Making a Strong Man Sweat=\n\nHere is the way to make a strong person sweat and become tired by\ncarrying a small stick out of the room. This seems impossible, and it\ncauses you to smile as you think it over.\n\nThis is the way to do it. Select the strongest and tallest boy or man\npresent, and say that you have a task for him to perform. Place in\nhis hands a thin stick not much thicker than a pipe-stem and about\nsix inches long. Tell him he is to carry it out of the room and lay\nit down one foot from the other side of the door without sweating or\nbecoming tired. Of course, he not knowing your intention will laugh\nat this proposition.\n\nAs soon as he promises to do this task take the stick and with a\nknife cut off a little bit so small he can hardly see it; then bid\nhim carry that first. Then give him another piece of the stick, and\nso until it is all carried out. This would cause him to make about a\nthousand trips and more before he has carried out the entire stick,\nand it would take him two weeks working day and night to complete the\ntask. It would surely make him sweat and grow weary. He himself will\nso conclude. This little stunt seems quite insignificant at first,\nand that makes the laugh more hearty at the last. This was a stunt\nquite common in the days of Washington and the Colonial children.\n\n=9. The Disappearing Square=\n\nDraw a square about two feet square on a large sheet of common paper.\nPin it up on the door and say you have the pleasure of presenting to\nyour audience the Wondrous Square which has the marvelous power of\ndisappearing and reappearing right before your very eyes. Then ask\nthe audience to close both eyes and they will note the square has\nperfectly disappeared. Then ask them to open their eyes, and the\nsquare immediately reappears again. This little stunt has been used\nby over a thousand little friends of mine and has helped them to make\n\"merry with their friends.\"\n\nIt will often help a little to secure a small box of tricks and show\nthem how to do them. Sometimes one of the invited boys may own such a\nbox. Ask him to bring it with him, and show them how to do wonders\nalso.\n\nThis can be made a large evening for the teacher personally. Be\ncareful to listen to the children as they speak, observe the laws of\ntheir conversation, note down the words they use when they talk to\neach other, and when you talk to them talk as they talk, observe the\nsame rules of conversation, and use their words when you talk to them\nin the lesson, then will they hear a lesson in their own tongue. It\nwill be something new for them, and the lesson will be a success, and\nyou will feel well paid for the labors of your social hour.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =46\n\n                         \"THE WORDLESS BOOK\"\n\n          OBJECTS: A Small Book with Five Colored Pages[1]=\n\nSome years ago in one of the mining-towns of central Pennsylvania, a\nChristian English miner was noticed going to a secluded spot every\nnoon, and holding in his hand a small red book. He seemed to be\nreading it, and was deeply interested in its contents.\n\nThis caused his fellow workmen no little astonishment as the book was\nso small that he could easily read it through in a few minutes, yet\nhe continued to keep the book before his eyes each noon for many long\nmonths. What could he be doing? Was he reading it or just looking at\nit?\n\nThat was the big question they all had in their minds. At last they\ndetermined to find out the truth about the book if possible, so one\nday they approached him with the question: \"What makes that little\nbook so interesting to you? It certainly must contain a most\nwonderful story to engage your attention for so long a time.\" The man\nmade a courteous reply by saying: \"It is a wordless book, and you are\nquite correct when you say it must contain a wonderful story, for it\ndoes record the most wonderful story the world has ever heard; it is\nthe story of salvation.\" He then showed them the book. It was a book\nof colors only, not words, It was the Story of Salvation in Colors.\nHe then explained: \"The first page is black; that stands for sin. The\nsecond page is red; that stands for the blood of Jesus which covers\nthe black. The third page is white; that stands for righteousness.\nAnd the last page is yellow; that stands for heaven with its streets\nof gold. This is the most wonderful story of the world, because it is\nthe Story of Redemption which never grows old, and I never grow tired\nof thinking about it and seeing it by colors.\"\n\nYears ago when I was a child I saw a little book just like that. It\nwas published in London, England. When I first began to use object\nlessons in talking, I made an enlarged copy of it.\n\nLater I got out an improved edition of this book, using one\nadditional color (green) and have put it on the market. It is called\nthe \"American Improved Wordless Book.\"\n\nWith but little difficulty you can make one for your own use. This is\nthe way to do it. Secure an ordinary note-book and cover the two open\npages with black paper; this stands for sin. Cover the next two open\npages with red paper, which will stand for the blood of Christ. Cover\nthe next two pages with pure white paper without the ruled lines on\nit; this will stand for righteousness. Cover the next two with green\npaper; this will represent fruitfulness or good works. Cover the last\ntwo open pages with yellow; this will stand for heaven, with its\nsheets of yellow gold. You may make this book as large as you desire,\nand when you have finished it hold it up before your hearers and open\nit at the black pages and say, \"The black stands for the sinful heart\nof man.\"\n\nRead the following Scripture, \"By one man sin entered into the world,\nso death [black crape] passed upon all men, for that all have sinned\"\n(Rom. 5:12). Quote also John 3:19, \"Men love darkness [black] rather\nthan light because their deeds are evil\" (black). Romans 6:23 is also\na black verse; it reads, \"The wages of sin is death\" (black). Ezekiel\n33:11 is another black verse. It says: \"Turn ye, turn ye from your\nevil [black] ways; for why will ye die?\" (Black.)\n\nThis is a picture of the heart covered with unforgiven sin, just as\nJesus sees it and just as the judgment will show it.\n\nWhat shall I do to get rid of the black? Look, and I will show you\nhow. Open the next two pages, and they are red; that stands for the\nblood of Jesus. Now you notice that the black is hidden because it is\nall under the blood. Read Hebrews 9:22: \"Without the shedding of\nblood [red] there is no remission.\" Isaiah 53:5-8 tells us: \"He was\nwounded [red] for our transgressions, he was bruised [red] for our\niniquities, ...the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity [red] of us\nall.\" Also quote 1 John 1:7, \"The blood [red] of Jesus Christ his son\ncleanseth us from all sin.\" Make it clear that the only thing that\nwill cover sin so it will stay covered is the blood (red) of Jesus.\n\"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered\"\n(Ps. 32:1).\n\nGod's red covering, the blood of Jesus his Son, is the only covering\nfor sin; the Bible has so revealed it. Sometimes we try to cover over\nour sins with a lie or smooth words, but our sins will not stay\ncovered that way. The Bible says, \"Be sure your sin will find you\nout,\" which means, Be sure your sins will find their way out also.\n\nI read in a little old story-book years ago this interesting little\ntale. Three little brothers had been promised by their father that if\nthey planted a certain number of hills with beans they might go to\nthe circus that afternoon, and see the clown and everything. They\nbegan early in the morning and worked with great vigor and zeal to\nfinish their task, but just before they got to the last row they\nheard the circus band playing and saw the horses and elephants\npassing by in the great street parade of the greatest show on earth.\nThey were sure they would be too late if they finished that row and\nplanted all the beans their father had given them, so the Tempter\nsaid to them: \"Dig a hole, put all the beans you have left into it,\nand fill up the hole and roll a big stone over it, and they will be\nhidden out of sight. Then go and tell your father you have finished\nyour planting, and he will then give you your circus money, and you\nwill thus see all of the show.\"\n\nThey listened to the Tempter, and did as he told them, and reported\nto their father their work was done, and the father according to his\npromise sent them to the circus. Some weeks afterward the father was\ninspecting his garden, and noticed there was an entire row of\nbean-hills from which no little green blades had yet made their\nappearance. The father sent for his sons and called their attention\nto the fact that in every row but the last one the beans had\nsprouted; he wanted to know if they could explain to him the failure\nof the last row. The boys assured the father that the seeds had been\nplanted and if he would wait just a little while longer they would\ncome up like the other seeds. The boys were troubled a lot about it,\nbut they thought their father would never know why the seeds did not\ncome up, because they had been cast into a hole and a great stone had\ncovered them over so no one would ever see them. But one day a week\nor so after this the father was walking out again in that part of the\ngarden and thought he noticed some little green blades pushing\nthemselves out from beneath the stone; so he rolled away the stone\nand there in the hole were the little seeds trying to sprout and come\nup out of the dust.\n\nHe called his boys to him and showed them the sight, and they\nconfessed their wrong-doing and promised they would never deceive him\nagain, even to go to the greatest show on earth. So we see how their\nsins did not stay covered, they found their way out. So it will be\nwith all our sins, they will find us out, and at the day of judgment\nwill find their way out also.\n\nThe only thing that will cover sin so that it will not find us out is\nto put it under the Blood. There it will not find its way out,\nbecause forgiven sin is taken away to stay forever.\n\nOpen now the next pages, and you will find them pure white. The white\nstands for righteousness. Read Psalm 51:7: \"Whiter than snow.\" This\nis the Snow Prayer. Ask the children to repeat it in concert. Read\nJohn 13:10: \"Clean every whit\"; this means all the black has gone,\nand the all white has come in its place. Only the blood of Jesus can\ndo this. Make no effort to explain this, but quote it as a fact. It\nis so stated in the Bible and the Bible is true.\n\nNow open the pages showing the green and say: \"Green stands for\nfruitfulness, as it is the green branch which bears the leaf,\nblossom, and fruit, so should we bear much fruit or as the great\nSankey sang in other days, 'When Jesus has found you, tell others the\nstory'; that is what I am doing now, telling you the story and trying\nto bear fruit.\" Read Matthew 21:28, \"Son, go work today in my\nvineyard.\" Read also Galatians 6:10, \"As we have therefore\nopportunity, let us do good unto all men.\"\n\nSay to the children that as the pine and ivy are green all the year\naround and never change with the seasons, so should the Christian\nalways be abounding in the work of the Lord. Read Galatians 6:9; \"And\nlet us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap if\nwe faint not.\"\n\nNow open the last pages and you will note they are both \"yellow\";\nthese pages stand for heaven, with its streets of yellow gold. These\npages remind us of our eternal home, the home of the soul to which we\nwill all go if we follow the teaching of this book. Quote John\n14:2,3: \"I go to prepare a place for you... I will come again and\nreceive you unto myself, that where I am there you may be also.\" Read\nalso selections from Revelation 22.\n\nYou now say I have finished my story. It is the most wonderful story\nin the world, because it is the story of salvation. It is a story\nwithout words, because it is a story in colors.\n\nClose the book, and ask the children how many colors they saw in the\nbook. Ask them to name the colors in their proper order. Drill them\nin repeating the colors of the book. Then ask them to give you the\nmeaning of each color, after this fashion: Black for sin, red for\nblood, white for righteousness, green for fruitfulness, yellow for\nheaven.\n\nDrill them now in the meaning of the colors. When I am giving this\nlesson I ask some little fellow to come to the platform, and offering\nhim the book, I say: \"Would you like to have this little book as your\nown?\" Of course, he says, \"Yes,\" and as you offer it to him he\nreaches out his hand to take it, and you explain that this is just\nthe way to receive salvation. You simply \"Take it.\" Conclude by\nquoting \"The Spirit and the Bride say, Come, and whosoever will let\nhim take.\"\n\nA private use may be made of this book in the devotional hour. Look\nat every page and read the Scripture noted, and then meditate in\nsilence.\n\n[1]The author has prepared such a book. Write to him about it in care\nof the publishers.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =47\n\n                      THE HEART OF SEVEN DEVILS\n\n          OBJECTS: Cardboard Hearts and a Number of Colored\n                                Cards=\n\nText, Luke 8:2: \"Mary Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils.\"\n\nThe heart of this unhappy woman was like a steel-girded prison cell.\nIt had locked in it as prisoners seven devils. Jesus opened the door,\nand cast them out, and went in himself, and shut the door after him,\nand when he shuts no man can open. Mary Magdalene was in the hollow\nof God's hand forever.\n\nLet me tell you how the seven devils got into her heart, and the\nstory of how they were cast out when she met Jesus.\n\nMary Magdalene was just like the rest of us, for we all have seven\ndevils in our heart, and some have a few more. She was born in sin\nlike all of us. She was not born a sinner; none of us are, for we do\nnot become sinners until we arrive at that age when with a free\nchoice we choose to do evil, then we are sinners.\n\nMary Magdalene began like a pure stream which starts in the mountain;\nbut as it descends to a lower level polluting streams of water flow\ninto it, and by and by the river is dark with impurities.\n\nThe Hudson River has its head in the highlands of the Adirondack\nmountains, 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. It has a good\nstart. It is almost \"holy ground.\" There the trees have grown tall\nand beautiful for hundreds of years. Beneath the shade of these the\nbaby river rolls out and on. It plunges over the rocks in beautiful\ncascades and races on to its river bed. Wild beasts wade through its\ncooling waters, slake their thirst, and at night sleep by the river's\nside when the high sky hangs out its golden lanterns and smiles at\nthe little baby climbing over the sides of its mountain cradle. And\nso the river rolls on larger and larger with the benediction of God\nand nature.\n\nAt first the child river is as clear as the air, as polished as the\nfairest diamond. So Mary Magdalene started life as fair as the\nmountain stream. She was born on the shore of the blue waters of the\nLake of Galilee. She was not born in the slums, nor was she in her\nearly days surrounded by the vicious, she did not spend her childhood\nin rags and filth. Beyond all doubt she was well born, and belonged\nto the upper class.\n\nShe seems to have inherited wealth which she spent in after years,\nministering to the work of the Saviour. She was like a zephyr, pure\nas the mountain air; she was as free and cheery as the birds of the\nhigh hills. Then temptations came, and the polluting streams of\nsinful rivers flowed into this little mountain stream. At last her\nbeautiful heart became the prison house of seven devils.\n\nTo illustrate this lesson prepare a _white_ cardboard heart. Make it\na double heart with the top of it left open, so you can put into it\nseven small cards, representing so many devils.\n\nCall this heart Mary Magdalene, and then as you talk of the polluting\nstreams which flow into it deposit the cards standing for the seven\ndevils into the heart that is clean and white.\n\nName the devils:\n\n_Disobedience._ This is the sin that is ready to grip us as soon as\nwe tumble over the side of the cradle of life. She went wrong just by\ndisobeying her parents; at least most little folks do, and I suppose\nshe was just like the rest of us. Once there was a prisoner who sat\nin his cell awaiting the fast approaching hour of his execution.\nWhile he was thus waiting, with a piece of clay he drew on the wall\nof his cell a picture of the gallows upon which he was soon to die.\nHe made a number of steps which led up to it, and called each step\nafter a sin which he had done that soon would lead him up to his doom\non the gallows. The first step he marked was \"Disobedience to\nParents.\" That was his first great sin, as he saw it. Now take a\nsmall _black_ card on which you have written the word \"Disobedience\"\nand put it into the heart. This is the first devil.\n\nThe next polluting power which entered the heart we will call \"Sinful\nDress.\" In the land where Mary Magdalene was raised the people\ndressed in gay colors, and wore much and very elaborate jewelry on\nthe ankles, arms, neck, and head; there they placed their bands of\ngold. They had large opportunity to overdo the dress question, and\nthey did so. The rich owned many changes of raiment, and often like\nthe leaders of fashion today could boast that they could change their\ncostumes hourly if they so desired. She was doubtless very beautiful\nand charming. Her Oriental garments made her look like a queen in\nroyal splendor. She soon \"fell\" for this polluting poison called\n\"fashion,\" and like millions of her present-day sisters her feet got\ntangled up in her robes of fashion, and she slipped and fell from the\npinnacle of purity into the madly burning lake of sin. As you make\nthis remark drop in the heart a _pink_ card on which the words\n\"_Sinful Dress_\" have been written. This is the second devil.\n\nMake it clear to your hearers that carefulness in dress is not wrong,\nand neatness is not vanity.\n\nNow produce a blue card on which you have marked two large letters\n\"CO.,\" which stands for \"Company.\"\n\nSoon Mary Magdalene found evil company as did the Prodigal Son and\nsoon she was a common sinner.\n\nEvil company is like evil spirits seeking to pull down to their level\nthe highest and best. As you say this deposit this card into the\nheart and say, \"This is the _third devil._\"\n\nThe next devil to enter the heart we will call \"Bad Money.\"\n\nWrite down on a yellow card the dollar sign ($), and say that once a\nminister of the gospel read from his pulpit a request for prayer\nwhich was as follows: \"Prayers are requested for a young man who has\njust inherited a fortune.\"\n\nHe certainly did need the prayers of good people, because money can\nbe made a mighty curse unless God is in it. Money is like a skeleton\nkey which unlocks a multitude of sin doors through which we enter to\nthe eternal hurt of our soul. Mary Magdalene found it paid for a\nseason in dollars and cents, but this is tainted money and slips\nthrough the fingers, and on wings supplied from the demons themselves\nflies away to come back no more forever. \"His money was his curse,\"\nthat the people often say when like a devil it has entered and\ndestroyed a human heart. We are now speaking only of the evil use of\nmoney. Put the card with the dollar mark on it into the heart and\nsay, This is the fourth devil.\n\n\"Temper\" is the next devil to enter the sinner's heart. Write this\nword down on a fiery red card. In anger folks seem to be under\ncontrol of another power; they do not seem like themselves. There is\na strange look in the eye, another expression has seized the features\nof the face, and they seem for a few moments to be \"changed into\nother men.\" The reason for all of this transformation is that temper\nis a devil, and it has taken possession of the heart.\n\nWhen I was a little boy there were two little brothers who lived on\nthe same street with me. One of them, the older one, had a very bad\ntemper, and when he grew angry he would fling himself upon the ground\nand kick and scream. All the neighbors noticed this and when they\nspoke to his mother about it she replied, \"Willie is not himself when\nin temper.\"\n\nShe was speaking the truth, he was possessed by the temper devil. One\nday this brother was playing with his little brother and in a moment\nof anger struck him in the face with his clinched fist. When the\ndoctor came he said the little brother would never see again. He\nwould be blind for life. Both brothers lived to be men. The elder\nbrother never had a happy hour afterward. He would often say, \"I\ndon't see how I could have done it.\" This was why he did it; as with\nMary Magdalene, the devil had entered his heart. The temper devil had\nentered the soul and taken full possession. As you say these words\nput the card into the heart and say \"_Temper_ is the fifth devil.\"\n\n\"_Unbelief_\" is the sixth devil. Mary Magdalene had sinned and lost\nher standing in the synagogue. Her sins were punishable by the laws\nof Moses with death; she was a doomed sinner, she had left God and\nwas alone. If she had kept the devil of unbelief out of her heart\nwhen she was first tempted, she never would have fallen into his\nblack hands. It never pays to leave God. Believe his word. He has\nspoken, trust him. This will keep the devil out. Many years ago in a\nNew England town there was a minister who preached a carefully\nprepared sermon on \"Casting all your care on him, for he careth for\nyou,\" and on his way home from church fell into a well and was\nseverely hurt. It was laughing-stock for a common community, and it\ndid seem just a little strange that after he had so carefully\nprepared his sermon and assured the people that if they put their\ntrust in God he would take care of them, and then an hour afterward\nhe should fall into a well and injure himself. The devil of unbelief\nwhispered in his heart, \"God did not keep his word, you are a fool to\ntrust him,\" but the young preacher resisted the whispering devil and\nsaid, \"Wait a little while, God will make it plain to me,\" and God\ndid. He was sent to a hospital in Boston, a town he had never seen\nbut always wanted to visit. While he was there some friends urged him\nto write the story of \"How God cared for a man by casting him into a\nwell.\"\n\nHe was a better writer than a speaker; an essayist, rather than an\norator. He wrote his story and told the world how he believed God and\ndid not doubt his promises. He told the story of Joseph who had been\ncast into a well and came forth to be a prince in Egypt. He thus\nattracted the attention of the entire city of Boston. He leaped into\nfame at once. He became one of the most famous writers of America,\nand for years was the leader of religious thought in all New England.\n\nGod took good care of him so he should fall into the well, for that\nwas the first round in the ladder of his great success. Many a man\nhas doubted God and stayed down the well of misfortune and upbraided\nGod, denounced him, and so lived the rest of his days in darkness,\nand dying went into eternal night. Put this card into the heart and\nsay \"Unbelief is the sixth devil.\"\n\n\"Unholy Pleasure\" is the seventh and last devil of this black-winged\ngroup. Have these words written on a piece of gold paper.\n\nThis devil of \"Unholy Pleasure\" is in full dress and a gentleman of\nthe world. A \"regular fellow,\" so the people of the world declare,\nbut he is a deceiver and destroyer. Seek pure pleasure. Play, but\nplay straight, or the lamps of sin over the pleasure garden of the\nworld will blind your eyes, so you cannot see the evil of sinful\npleasures.\n\nThis devil will be at the end of the road to make captive your soul\nforever. Place this card in the heart and say: \"Unholy Pleasure is\nthe seventh devil, and now there is a full house of devils. The heart\nwill soon come to the end of the way as it is now full of devils and\nfull of sin.\" As you say this produce a red heart the same size as\nthe white heart you have been using, and put it in front of the white\nheart. You can now see sin covers her heart entirely, she is down but\nnot out, because where the \"out\" begins Jesus stands and waits. He\nalways gives special attention to hard cases, and Jesus found Mary\nMagdalene just there, and saved her soul by casting out the seven\ndevils and making her clean again. He had forgiven all her\ntransgressions and remembers them against her no more forever.\n\nAs you say this, still holding the red heart in front of the white\nheart, take out all the devils at once if you can, and as you do so\ntake away the red heart also, drop them all on the table together and\nsay, \"Please note that when the devils all go out sin goes also\n[having reference to the red heart], and the heart is now white and\nclean, and it will so stay, for the devils have gone out to stay\nout.\"\n\nThis is the story of how seven devils entered the heart of Mary\nMagdalene, and the glad story of how they were cast out. God will do\nthe same for you, for he is no respecter of persons.\n\nIn delivering this address always keep the heart of Mary Magdalene in\nfull view of the audience. Hold it in your left hand if possible, and\nload the cards with the right hand. Be sure and make the heart large\nenough to contain the seven cards you put into it. Practise and\nrehearse.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =48\n\n                           SHOW YOUR COLORS\n\n           OBJECTS: An Eighteenth Amendment Flag; a Church\n               Flag; a Conquest Flag; an American Flag=\n\nText: Psalm 60:4: \"That it may be displayed because of the truth.\"\n\nThis is an expression we often use when we want to be out and out for\nany cause we wish to represent.\n\nWhen the World War was on we pinned a small flag on our coats because\nwe were glad we were Americans and wanted to be out and out for our\ncountry; we \"displayed our colors.\"\n\nLet us all try to show our colors as good Americans. Produce a flag\nfrom an inside pocket and say: \"As an American citizen I will now\nshow my colors; our text says, 'That it may be displayed because of\nthe truth.'\"\n\nWhen I was traveling in Europe I always had a little flag in my hotel\nroom. I did not keep it in the bottom of my trunk, nor did I keep it\nshut up in the closet, but I placed it in a conspicuous place where\neverybody who came into the room could see it.\n\nI can show my colors also by obeying my country's laws and always\nspeaking well of its President and those in authority. I am not\nashamed of them, so I show my colors as an American citizen, I now\nwill place this flag over the pulpit where you can all see it, and\nplace my hand on it and vow I will always show my colors as an\nAmerican; and lifting up the other hand I say, \"So help me God.\"\n\nFrom another pocket produce a white piece of bunting with the figures\n\"18\" marked on it, and say: \"I am a temperance advocate. I believe\nin the Eighteenth Amendment, and I will support it with all my heart.\nIt is a glorious part of the Constitution of the United States. I\nwill not call it a failure, and thereby cause the wicked to jeer at\nit. I will not speak slightingly of it, and thereby cause the weak to\ndisrespect it. I believe it came from God and it has come to stay. I\nam for it with all my soul.\"\n\nA visitor once came as a stranger to a Southern town on the eve of \"a\nlicense\" or \"no-license campaign,\" and was asked by one of the liquor\nmen which side he was on, He replied: \"You just step up to God and\nask him which side he is on; step up to the wives and children of the\ndrunkards, and ask them which side they are on; I am on the same\nside.\"\n\nHe was out and out a defender of the glorious Eighteenth Amendment.\nNow place this flag over the pulpit next to the Stars and Stripes. At\nthis time produce from another pocket the church flag, which is the\nwhite flag with a red cross in its center, and as you display it,\nsay: \"I am out and out for the Church of God. I love its walls and\nits glorious old songs. I live in it and live for it, because I want\nto do good by my example. I need the church. There is mighty power in\n'the assembly.'\"\n\nThis I say with my lips, and this I say also by my example. Jesus was\na church-goer, and I want to be like him. It was his custom to go to\nthe assembly. It was a good custom. The Church is \"the\nmeeting-place,\" not the place where we meet each other only, but\nwhere we meet God. It is good to be there. Jesus went there to meet\nhis heavenly Father, for \"God is in his holy temple.\" Heaven bless\nthe meeting-house.\n\nGod feels hurt if we do not come to see him, because we are the\nchildren of his heart. Let us go to church.\n\nWhen Mr. Moody was converted he went out every Sunday morning and\ncollected half a dozen boys and brought them into the church, and\nthey sat in the same church pew with him, \"He showed his colors.\"\nHere wave the church flag and place this flag beside the Eighteenth\nAmendment flag.\n\nDraw out now from another pocket a missionary flag (the conquest\nflag) and say, \"I believe in spreading the good news of the gospel to\nall the world.\" Here is a good story about a missionary potato. A\nlittle boy, a son of a rich and prosperous farmer, came home one day\nfrom Sunday school very much excited about the stories he had heard\nabout the heathen people who worshiped idols. \"Never mind about them,\nJohn,\" said the father, \"we have no money to send them, besides we\nhave heathen enough at home.\"\n\nThis did not satisfy John, and he puzzled his curly head with his own\nplans to help them.\n\nOne day he said to his father who seemed to be in a good humor,\n\"Daddy, if you will not give me money to help the heathen will you\ngive me a potato?\" \"Why certainly, son, I will give you a peck if you\nlike.\" John said, \"No, daddy, only one good one, and give me land\nenough to plant it in, and all it will produce in four years.\"\n\nThis pleased the father greatly and he promised him he would be glad\nto do this and he said to himself, \"This lad of mine will make a good\nfarmer some day.\" So John planted his potato, and the first year it\nrewarded him by producing nine. These he carefully kept for planting,\nand the second year he had a peck. These became seven and a half\nbushels the third year, and when the fourth harvest came, lo, the one\npotato had increased to seventy bushels. When he took them to town he\ntold the store-keeper that he had some missionary potatoes to sell.\n\"That must be a new kind of potato,\" the store-keeper said, \"well,\nbring them over and if they are all right I'll take 'em.\" So he sold\nhis potatoes for a good price and gave the money to missions. His\nfather seeing this, concluded he would become a missionary helper\nalso, and gave liberally each year of his money for the cause. So\nJohn showed his \"missionary colors\" and won his father by so doing.\nJesus wants us to come out into the open and tell the world the story\nof his love. \"Thou hast given a banner to them that fear thee, that\nit may be displayed [show your colors] because of the truth\" (Ps. 60:\n4). We are the flags in full view of the people. Let us display our\ncolors.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =49\n\n                    THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT\n                            IN STORY FORM\n\n                           A MEMORY LESSON=\n\nIt is of the highest importance that we teach our children the names\nof the books of the New Testament, and that they shall be able to\nrecite them from memory in their proper order.\n\nThis is not an easy task as it requires some memory effort, but it is\nworth the while and the effort. All children love stories, and\ninstruction by stories is always winsome to them. It is easy on their\nheads. This method puts life and movement into facts, and the little\nfolks like it much because the story method of learning things turns\nlabor into play.\n\nIn this chapter the names of the books of the New Testament have been\nput together in story form. Cause the children to commit to memory\nthe story and then to recite it in concert frequently during the\nmeeting. After they have learned it well, ask them to think of the\nstory, but repeat out loud the names of the books. By this simple\nmethod the books of the New Testament will be nailed down in their\nmemory for years to come. This is the story:\n\n=The Books of the New Testament in Story Form=\n\n_Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John_ determined on _Acts_ of discovery,\naccompanied by seven brave _Romans,_ started on a pilgrimage to find\nthe Temple of Truth. _First_ and _Second Corinthians_ gave them all\ntwo changes of raiment, and, as they were passing out of the city\ngate, they were met by _Galatians_ and _Ephesians_ who supplied them\ncamels for their journey, and there the two famous sword-makers,\n_Philippians_ and _Colossians_, gave them swords and shields for the\nconflict. As they journeyed on, they met _First_ and _Second\nThessalonians_ seated at Jacob's well reading _First_ and _Second\nTimothy_. With hearts stirred by the truth, they marched bravely on\nwhen they noticed the approach of a lone camel upon which was seated\n_Titus_, who was returning from a visit to _Philemon_, who he\nannounced was keeping the true faith. They then passed through the\nencampment of the _Hebrews_, where they found _James_ expounding the\ngospel to _First_ and _Second Peter_, who announced to them that the\nPalace of Truth was at the end of the road leading out of the\nencampment, and that _First, Second,_ and _Third John_ had been\nwatching for their caravan all night. When they arrived at the Palace\nof Truth, _Jude_ the door-keeper gave them an open door and told them\nto enter in peace. As they retired to rest in comfort after their\nlong journey, _Revelation_ stood on guard in the tower, watching the\nsigns of the times.\n\nAsk the children to repeat this story in concert as an opening\nexercise for their meeting.\n\nThis is a New Testament rosary. The beads are the books, the string\nis the story.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =50\n\n                     WHAT TEN CORDS COULD NOT DO\n\n               OBJECTS: Ten Cords Three Feet Long and a\n                            Double Heart=\n\nWhen the children of Israel were tenting and wandering in the\nwilderness God called Moses their leader up into the heights of Mount\nSinai. He wished to speak to him alone, and so Joshua, who had gone\nup with him, was left in the lower parts of the mountain to await his\nreturn, while Moses went up to the cloud-crowned top of the mountain\nto be alone, all alone with God. This conference with God continued\nforty days and nights, and when it was concluded Moses came down from\nthe smoking top bearing two tables of stone, upon which were chiseled\nthe ten laws or, as we say today, the Ten Commandments. In few and\nshort words they were as follows:\n\n1. Thou shalt have no other God before me.\n2. Thou shalt not make graven images.\n3. Thou shalt not take in vain the holy name of God.\n4. Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.\n5. Honor thy parents.\n6, Commit no murder.\n7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.\n8. Thou shalt not steal.\n9. Tell no falsehoods.\n10. Do not covet thy neighbor's things.\n\nThese ten commandments instruct us in all the duties of life. Yet we\nmay keep all these laws and not be a Christian. Once when Jesus was\nhere among men a rich young ruler came to him asking what he must do\nto be saved, Jesus asked him about the Ten Commandments. He replied\nthat he had kept them from his youth up, but when Jesus asked him to\nsell all and follow him, he then saw that the commandments had not\ngone through to his heart, for there he had the gold idol which he\nwould not give up even to follow Jesus. He had not kept the first\ncommandment. So we can all learn by this story that he was not a\nChristian although perhaps he had kept all the commandments, as he\nthought. They cannot change the heart. The law can never do that.\n\nThese Ten Commandments are like ten shining cords which may hold us\nback from evil-doing, but which can never change our heart and make\nus Christians.\n\nTo illustrate this point of the lesson secure ten strong cords, each\nof them at least three feet long; hang them over the back of a chair\nwhere the audience can see them. Call these ropes the Ten\nCommandments, and name each rope after one of the commandments. Then\ntell the following story. The ancient Greeks had a strange fable\nabout the Sirens. These were bewitching little sea-nymphs who sat on\na great rock in the sea called Sibylla, and as they sat there they\nsang such charming and wonderful songs that they lured the sailors to\ntheir destruction on the rocks. One day when the charming Ulysses was\npassing that way with his great ship, Circe warned him of the peril\nof these dangerous singers, and assured him that many a gallant ship\nhad been lost in these stormy waters. So Ulysses took heed to the\nword of caution and ordered that the ears of the sailors should be\nfilled with wax. Then he had himself fastened to the mast by many\nstrong cords, so when their ship reached the place where the\nbeguiling sea fairies worked, the sailors could not hear their music,\nand although Ulysses was enchanted by the music and struggled to\nbreak the cords which bound him, he failed to release himself, and so\npassed the temptation rock in safety and soon the music died away in\nthe distance.\n\nSome days afterward the brave and wise Argonauts were sailing over\nthe same enchanted waters, but they had on the ship with them the\nfamous Orpheus. He was a masterful player on the lyre, and when the\nship came near to the dangerous rock he poured forth such heavenly\nmusic that the sailors had no ear for the tempting tones of the\nSirens' songs, and so passed by in safety. The Sirens, seeing that\ntheir spell was broken, leaped into the sea, and their alluring tones\nwere never heard again.\n\nThe Ten Commandments were like the ten cords which bound Ulysses to\nthe mast but did not keep his heart from desiring to fly to the\nsinful song-makers. The cords kept him from sin, but did not take the\nlove of sin from his heart.\n\nThe Ten Commandments may keep us from doing and saying wrong things,\nbut they will never take the love of sin away or change our hearts.\nThe two new commandments of Jesus are like the music of Orpheus; they\nfill our hearts with a holy spell, and we lose all love for the\npleasures of sin, because the two new commandments have reached our\nhearts and made us Christians. To love God with all our heart and our\nneighbors as ourselves is the full teaching of Christ's two new\ncommandments.\n\nTo illustrate this truth, make a double heart out of strong cardboard\nso it will open by a hinge. Call this the Christian's heart. Mark it\non the outside with a cross. As you open the heart let them see the\nword \"God\" marked on one side and on the other side the word \"Man.\"\n\nIn the heart of every Christian you will find love for God and love\nfor man. This heart will keep us from evil by taking away the call to\nevil. This the ten cords could not do. The only way to get such a\nheart is to go to Jesus. He gives new hearts for old. This is the\nonly heart he gives away. If you will take it he will take all your\nsins away to stay.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =51\n\n                     OBJECT-LESSONS EXTRAORDINARY\n\n           OBJECTS: Pictures of Animals and Living Objects=\n\nThis chapter is simply a study for the object worker. It is an\nillustration of how ponderous and unusual objects can be used to\nteach religious truths. It is a far swing from the smaller and common\nobjects which are available for the regular teacher who employs the\neye appeal. Yet it is well to remember that ponderous things talk for\nGod, for it is written that the heavens declare the glory of God, and\nthere is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.\n\nIt is our big business to interpret the language of things in terms\nthe people can understand. Translate the voice of the heavens into\nEnglish. Some starlit night use the sky as an object-lesson. Gather\nthe children around you and ask them to look up at the sky. Tell them\na few things that astronomy has told you, concluding with the story\nof the Wise-men and the Christmas Star and other Biblical star\nstories. By so doing you will make the stars a golden path to Jesus\nand the objects in the heavens will preach of righteousness. If some\nday you can stand with the children by the side of the sea you can\nuse the ocean as an object-lesson. Tell them stories of the wonders\nin the deep.\n\nTell them the tales of sea adventures by the hardy mariners. Talk\nabout the ocean shells and sands at their feet. Conclude by telling\nthem Bible sea stories; how a runaway prophet was cast into the sea\nduring a great storm and what happened to him. Tell them about the\nstorm on the sea of Tiberias, and how Jesus commanded the winds and\nthe waves to obey his word. Tell them about Paul's sea journeys, and\nthe wreck of the prison ship, and how they all escaped to a friendly\nisland. In concluding tell them about the heavenly land where there\nshall be no more sea, and of the mercy of God which is like the\nwideness of the sea.\n\nYou will note that you have used ponderous object-lessons, the sky\nand the sea.\n\nSometime when it is possible use household pets as object-lessons.\nTell them how to be kind to animals. Explain to them the habits and\nneeds of the little creatures. Tell them when possible Bible stories\nin which these animals figure. A bird in a cage, a fish in the bowl,\netc., will make most interesting and fascinating object-lessons.\n\nWhen this is not possible use pictures of the animals you want to\ntalk about. Let me tell you how once upon a time I gave an\nobject-lesson extraordinary by using living wild animals. From\nchildhood I have been a lover of wild beasts. I could sit up all\nnight and read about wild animals, I loved these stories more than I\nloved my play. As I grew older I made them my special study. In later\nlife it was my good fortune to study them at close range which\nfinally enabled me to go into their cages with them. They became my\ngood friends. They treated me with the greatest consideration. It\nseemed to them I was their second keeper. Let me tell you about the\nwild animals that I have met, and whose pictures you will see on the\nfollowing pages.\n\n                        =\"ATLAS\" THE BIG LION=\n\nAtlas was four years old and as friendly and gentle as the house dog.\nWild animals, like humans, differ as to their dispositions; some are\nsnarling and cross, others are gentle and winsome. Atlas belonged to\nthe latter class.\n\nOne evening I invited 1,000 children to come to his winter quarters\nand see him. In the center of a large room there was a great cage\ninto which the animals were taken one by one for their daily exercise\nand run about. Into this big cage Atlas was brought, and I went in\nwith him. While we were together in this great cage he was as\nfriendly as any of my little pets. He purred away like the family cat\nbehind the kitchen stove on a snowy day. He would take his meat from\nmy hand, displaying at all times great concern lest he should in any\nway harm me. I did not use a whip or a gun, simply a little rod to\nurge him on a bit, but controlled him by tones, persuasive tones to\nwhich he made quick response. I told the children to use kind words\nwith animals as well as humans, as these were very winsome powers. A\nlion of docile disposition was dangerous only when sick, hungry, in\ntemper, or acting in self-defense. When the lion is seeking food he\ndisplays great intelligence. The monkey is a mimic, and can only do\nwhat it is taught to do, and even this he cannot in turn teach to its\noffspring, but a lion seems to think out its problems.\n\nA man in Central Africa was once out late in the day and far from\nhome. He saw a lion at some distance from him. The lion saw him and\nalso followed him slowly.\n\n[Illustration: Atlas, the Big Lion--A Docile, Friendly Beast\nPerforming for the Children]\n\nWhen the man walked fast, the lion walked fast; when the man stopped,\nthe lion stopped also. The big idea in the lion's head was to follow\nhim all day until dark, and then in the dark spring upon him. This\nwas the way the man outwitted the lion. When he came to a high cliff\nbelow which there was a deep hollow in the rock, he climbed down into\nthis cleft where the lion could not see him. Here he fixed a stick on\nthe rocks and put on it his hat and coat so as to make them look like\na man, and then hid under the rock to watch results. Soon the lion\ncame creeping slyly along, and seeing the coat and hat he made a\nsudden spring at them, and falling down on the rocks below, was\nkilled. But you see I was safe in the cage with Atlas, because they\ntook good care of him and he was _not hungry_.\n\nI concluded by telling the little folks about the story of Daniel who\nwas cast into a den of lions, which is the most remarkable lion story\nin the world, for in those days they kept the lions in a state of\nhunger so that they might destroy their victims with haste. Daniel\nwas saved from the hungry beasts because God sent his angel, and they\ncould not open their mouths and had no desire for food. Our God is\nable to deliver his children.\n\n                           =THE BABY LION=\n\nOne morning when I went to see my friend Atlas in the winter quarters\nthe friendly keeper said to me, \"Doctor, look into the lions' cage,\nin yonder corner.\" When I did so, what do you think, children, I saw\nthere? Lying close to its big mother lion I saw a little baby lion\nfast asleep. The big mother seemed very proud of it, for she looked\nat me with her big eyes and seemed to say, \"This is the most\nwonderful baby of the lion kingdom.\" And when the little baby opened\nhis eyes I thought so too. After a few days the little fellow would\nplay on the floor with me. He looked just like a big cat, and often\nwhen he went after the ball I sent rolling over the floor, he seemed\nto be a big cat and had the cat's way when he played.\n\nI took him to my church one day. The first lion who ever went to\nSunday school--and as it was an anniversary day with the school I\ngave an object-talk with the little fellow in my arms. I told the\nchildren that this lion, so docile and harmless, had a wild nature,\nand in a short time when that nature was fully developed it would not\nbe safe for the boys and girls to come near him. The little paw which\nI held in my hands would soon be so strong and wild that it could\nbring down in death the strongest man alive. I then permitted a few\nlittle girls to come to the platform and hold the little fellow for a\nfew moments, which they did with great glee and will tell their\nchildren's children of the day when they held a real living baby lion\nin their arms. I then told them that we all like lions have an evil\nnature. While we are young we are like this little lion, gentle and\nmild, but later on when our wild nature develops we do very wicked\nthings and become sinners. The little lion must always be a lion,\nthere is no power on earth that can change its nature. But although\nwe have an evil nature, Jesus has come to take away the evil within\nus and make us his gentle, obedient, and loving children. I then told\nthe children how much the mother lion loved her little baby. Mother\nlove is so strong that she is most dangerous when she has little cubs\nof her own; she so greatly fears the stranger will do them harm.\n\n[Illustration: A Baby Lion, Six Weeks Old, Receiving the Name of the\nYoungest Baby in the Audience]\n\nThen I told a baby lion story. A circus was in progress at Woodbury,\nN.J., one afternoon in May, 1919, when the keeper of a lioness named\nLucy and her two cubs entered her cage. He succeeded without\ndifficulty in driving the mother lion into a compartment at the other\nend of the cage, thus separating her from her cubs. All would\ndoubtless have gone well had he not stopped to fondle the cubs. This\naroused the wild anger of the mother, and she sprang with all her\nmight against the separating door, burst it open, and seized the\nkeeper by the neck and killed him instantly. She was transferred into\na mad lion when she thought her cubs were in danger. This story shows\nus how much the mother lion loves her little ones.\n\nAbout this time the baby lion grew restless and wanted to go home, so\nwhen we had named the little cub Norman after the youngest child\npresent that afternoon, we took him back to his mother.\n\n                      =THE BABY LEOPARD LESSON=\n\nFrom the wild animal market one day I borrowed a little baby leopard.\nHe was timid as a baby rabbit. He trembled with fear all the time I\nheld him in my arms. The little folks did not seem to be afraid of\nhim, because he looked just like a big cat, and indeed he was the\ncat's wild brother. As I held him in my arms I recited Jeremiah\n13:23: \"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?\nThen may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil.\" The great\nlesson this passage of Scripture draws forth from the leopard is that\nnone of us by our own effort can change our hearts and make them over\ninto good hearts. Jesus must do this. The leopard can never change\nhis spots nor can we alone ever change our hearts.\n\n                       =THE LITTLE BEAR STORY=\n\nOne day when I was thinking out a talk which I was to give to 1,000\nchildren in my Happy Hour Service for them, I learned that a rich man\nin my city had purchased a little bear for his children to play with.\nI said to myself here is a new and different object-lesson. At once I\ncalled on the owner, and he very gladly sent me the little fellow and\nhis keeper with him. He was a restless little bear and wanted to play\nall the time. When I took him into the meeting I had placed on the\ntable by his side a tub of water, for it was Teddy's delight to get\ninto the water and set up a great splash, which hugely amused the\nchildren. The bear is the clown of the animal kingdom. He is not an\nimitator like the monkey, but thinks out his own stunts. He has more\nintelligence by far than the monkey and is more human in his head.\nThey are often quite droll in their fun, they play leap frog, have\nwrestling-matches, and play bo-peep. This is the reason why they are\ncalled the \"Clowns of the Animal Kingdom.\"\n\nThis little bear, I said to the children, teaches us how foolish it\nis to be self-willed and stubborn. He must have his own way. You can\npunish him with a whip and hit him so hard he cannot for a few\nminutes stand upon his feet, yet when he does get his strength back\nhe will stand up and do the same thing over again. When wounded by\nthe hunter with a deadly shot he seems to be stronger in resisting\npower than ever. He cannot be taught to give up himself. That is the\nreason we say \"as stubborn as a bear.\" Sometimes boys and girls have\nthe will of a bear. Be stronger than a bear by giving up when you are\nin the wrong. So you all see now that ponderous unusual objects can\nbe used for teaching great religious lessons. This is a good chapter\nto read to the little folks.\n\n[Illustration: A Baby Leopard, Seven Months Old, Used to Illustrate\nthe Scripture Reference to the Leopard's Spots]\n\n\n\n\n                                 =52\n\n                        A BOTTLE OF MOSQUITOES\n\n                   OBJECTS: Five Prepared Bottles=\n\nIn the beginning God made a beautiful garden and dropped it into the\nPacific Sea. There it rested in sweet repose like a lily fair upon\nthe bosom of the deep. It was a Garden of Love as peaceful and calm\nas a star. Its name was Tahiti, but as the years passed by the worst\nfeatures of European civilization were flung into it, and like Eden\nof old the serpent came also and destroyed its primeval glory, and\nits royal beauty soon faded away forever.\n\nAmong the destroying influences introduced was a bottle of mosquitoes\nwhich a sailor out of sheer spite and hateful fun took to the island,\nand soon the land was overrun with these disturbing little pests\nwhich, added to other black things of civilization, soon robbed these\nislands of their virgin excellence.\n\nThe world today is full of its black bottles loaded with destructive\ncontents. Let us consider some of them.\n\nSecure three dark glass bottles; paint them black if necessary; load\nand label them as herewith described.\n\n_Bottle No. 1._  Label this bottle \"Liquor.\" Fill it with strong tea,\nwhich resembles liquor in color. Pour out a little in a glass, and\ntell the story of the wreck and ruin this bottle has caused on God's\nisland called the \"World.\"\n\nThis bottle came to us in earth's earliest ages. No one has ever\ndiscovered the date of its first appearance. Back before the Flood\nand in the days of Noah we read that wine was wrecking things. First\ncame the deluge of wine, then the deluge from the great deep. It was\na world-wrecker then, and is in the same business today, and will\ncontinue on in its black business unless the hand of God and the arm\nof the law shall shatter it and grind it to powder.\n\n[Illustration: The Bear Is Called the Clown of the Animal Kingdom.\nThis Baby Bear, Visiting a Children's Meeting in Doctor Woolston's\nChurch, Was Used to Illustrate the Sin of Stubbornness]\n\nProhibition has chained the monster of this black bottle, but not\nslain it. It still lives and is seeking to break its chains of\nbondage and start on its rampage again. There is a popular cry among\nmen now which demands we shall let the monster loose again. They say,\n\"Give us light wines and beer.\" This is a noise from hell. Light\nwines and beer would be leaks in the dam that now holds back this\nflood of death. Open the leaks, and that will finally wash away the\ndam, and let the river of death loose upon the people again. Place\nthe cork in the bottle and call the cork the Eighteenth Amendment. It\nshall never come out. The monster of rum must never come back.\n\n_Bottle No. 2._  Label this bottle \"Ignorance.\"\n\nPour out from this bottle into a glass a liquid that has been made\nblack by a few drops of ink, and this you call the \"Darkness of\nIgnorance,\" the bottled \"night of the Dark Ages.\" It is as black as\nEgyptian darkness.\n\nCenturies ago where the City of London now stands, a tribe of\nbenighted people lived. When they wished to start on a pilgrimage of\nmurder and plunder, and did not know which way to go to find the\ngreatest spoil, they placed a little maiden in a large basket, and\npierced it through with a sword slaying the little one, and they\nwatched to see through which side of the basket the blood would flow\nfirst. This, they declared, indicated the direction in which they\nwere to go on their murderous pilgrimage. They had all been drinking\nfrom the black bottle of ignorance. Yes, you say, that might all be\ntrue of heathen tribes. But it would be well to remember also that\nthe black bottle of ignorance is found with the wiser people of this\nday also.\n\nThe placing of the horseshoe over the door, the fear of the black cat\nwhich crosses our path at night, the dread of the number 13 and the\nday Friday, are all drops from the bottle of ignorance; and so it\nappears that civilized people are often influenced by these things.\nOur colonial fathers when they spilt salt at the table, threw a pinch\nof it over the left shoulder to keep the witches away; so it seems\nthat often this black bottle of ignorance finds a place on our table\nof daily bread. Let us seek knowledge and light always. Learn\nsomething every day, and keep far away from this bottle of dark\nignorance. Remember the mountaintop window of light is to know God\naright, and to love him and keep his commandments. If this we do, the\ncup of life will be so full that ignorance will find no place to\ndwell in it. The liquid night cannot reign where we all love Jesus\nand walk in his light.\n\nThe third bottle is labeled \"War.\" Load this bottle with a red liquid\nwhich can be produced by red ink or from regular dye-stuff. This\nliquid represents the blood that war has shed. As you pour this out\ninto the glass say, Modern war is murder made lawful by the nations,\nbut it is unlawful by the laws of God. War is sin, it is an enemy to\nJesus. He came to give peace on earth and good-will among men. That\nwas his way among men. \"Put up thy sword\" is one of the commandments\nof the New Testament. It is the word of the Prince of Peace. All the\nworld questions should be settled by arbitration. \"Come let us reason\ntogether\" is God's good way to settle questions with the sinner or\nthe nations. The spirit of this bad black bottle has slain its\ncountless trillions, and if all the human skulls through which war\nbullets have crashed could be assembled in one great Potter's Field\nthey would cover an acre of Towers of Babel. If all of the bones of\nthe slain by war could by some magic magnet be thrown together they\nwould well nigh cover the civilized acres of the world.\n\nPut the stopper into this bottle and say, Paralyzed be the hand that\never draws out the stopper of the bloody bottle of war.\n\n_Bottle No. 3._  Labeled \"Gold.\" Fill this bottle with a yellow\nliquid which resembles the gold color. Pour out into a glass and\nremark: The love of this yellow stuff is a universal destroyer. The\nworship of this demon will cause a man and woman to do all manner of\nevil. They will lie, steal, deceive, and sell their souls for it.\nThey will offer up the sacrifice of their own lives to possess it.\nThey will sell out both worlds just to toy with it for a few days.\nGold is evil only when we worship it, that is, think more of it than\nwe do of God. This is forbidden by the First Commandment. The\nIsraelites did this when in the wilderness they erected the golden\ncalf and worshiped it. When we use it aright it is not a black\nbottle, but a bottle with glad yellow sunshine. We then call its\ncontents charity (love). Paul said charity is even greater than faith\nand hope. This bottle is not yellow with the sunshine of love, but of\nsin, so I will put the cork into this bottle and put it out of sight.\nMay I put it out of my mind as I have put it out of sight. But here\nare two other bottles from which I may and will drink most freely and\nlive ever more.\n\nSecure two plain glass bottles. Label the first one \"WATER,\" and the\nsecond, \"MILK.\" Lifting up the bottle marked \"Water,\" explain that it\nstands for the Water of Life. Lifting up the bottle marked \"Milk,\"\nexplain that it will stand for the pure \"Word of God.\" Holding up the\nfirst bottle, pour a little of the contents into a new clean glass\nand say: This crystal water stands for the Water of Life or God's\nSalvation. Jesus once offered it to the woman of Samaria, and she\ndrank of it and was saved; she told all her town people of this\nwater, and hundreds drank from the same bottle to the salvation of\ntheir souls. Lift high the glass and say: This living Water is free\nto all; come, and drink, and live. Remember, O ye people, that just\nlooking at it with admiring eyes will not save you. Drink of it,\npartake of it--this alone will give you salvation. A thirsty man does\nnot have his thirst quenched by admiring the gushing fountain, he\nmust drink to lose his thirst.\n\nMy next and last bottle is labeled \"Milk.\" This stands for the Word\nof God, \"the pure milk of God's word.\"\n\nThis Bible milk adds daily strength to the soul which will live on\nit. It is heaven's prepared food. The Bible by its promises of help\ngives us a \"tall\" lift when we are weak and worn down.\n\nWhen the ten virgins went forth to meet the Bridegroom, the five wise\nvirgins not only took their lamps with them, but also other vessels\nfilled with reserve oil to be used in replenishing their lamps when\nthe oil had burned away. The extra bottle was their life preserver,\nfor when the midnight cry was heard, from this bottle they refilled\ntheir lamps, and went in to the wedding with the Bridegroom. In our\njourney home to God we must take this bottle of heavenly \"milk,\"\nGod's word with us. Take a _Milk Verse_ every day--that is, inwardly\ndigest a promise of God daily. This will give you strength now and\nvictory in the hour of death.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =53\n\n                      A CHRISTMAS TREE IN AUGUST\n\n         OBJECTS: A Tree Trimmed with Gifts for the Heathen=\n\nA Christmas-tree in August! This thought sounds like a misfit among\nideas. A Christmas-tree with its atmosphere of frost, snow, and\nDecember dropped down in the summer garden of August seems to be like\na rose-bush with its roots planted in the air. But the Christmas-tree\nthat I am thinking about is never a misfit in any month or in any\nplace. Any time is the right time for this good tree. Let me now tell\nyou about the Christmas-tree in August.\n\nIt is a foreign-mission tree. In order to send our Christmas gifts to\nforeign-mission stations so they will be received in time for\nChristmas, they must be sent months ahead of that date, and therefore\noften they are collected in August. This will give you ample time to\nsend the gifts to any port in the world. August is the best time to\ngather the children together also. They are free from school duties,\nand the weather is quite suitable for open-air services.\n\nSelect if possible some open space or a lawn on which there is\nstanding a small tree by itself, This tree should not be over five or\nsix feet high. Drop on its branches a few bunches of cotton to give a\nsnow-and-winter effect.\n\nWhen the people have assembled around this tree, and after a brief\nprayer has been offered, state that this will be a missionary\nservice, and that the Scripture lesson will be the closing verses of\nthe last chapter of Matthew containing the Commission. This tree we\nwill call our August Christmas-tree, for we will now trim it with our\nChristmas gifts for the children of the foreign lands.\n\nSome time previous to this date you have asked all the people to\nbring their Christmas gifts for foreign ports to this meeting, and to\nwrap them up in white packages securely tied with strong cord. Now\nask a few selected children to tie a Christmas card on every package.\nThese cards can be secured at any of the wholesale shops where\npictorial post-cards can be obtained. You then with the aid of the\nolder boys and girls trim the tree with these white gifts.\n\nThis Christmas-tree under the hot rays of an August sun is not unlike\nthe real Christmastime tree that many of the little folks in some of\nthe far-away lands will in reality have. For in some of these lands\nflowers and hot sun rays are with them at Christmastime.\n\nThis tree bowed down with white gifts will resemble a January tree\nafter a heavy snow-storm. It is a joy tree, for it will send joy to\nmany people.\n\nYou conclude the service by reading the Bible Christmas story and\ntelling the children our gifts will remind the heathen that peace and\ngood-will is for them also as the angels said, \"to all men.\" Then\noffer a concluding prayer that our gifts may all be safely\ntransported across the seas and that the presents may make our little\nbrothers and sisters very happy. Now ask the children to help you\nuntrim the tree, and as they take the presents down ask them to load\nthem on one or more small sleds as if sending them far away. Select a\nnumber of the very small children to take hold of the ropes of the\nsleds and to be prepared to march when the order is given. Place on\nthe children at the ropes the names of the countries to which these\ngifts are going, and let them draw the sleds over the lawn while the\nother children cheer them as they go on their journey.\n\nAt last let the children and the sleds disappear behind a cluster of\ntrees at the far end of the lawn where a committee of adults awaits\nthem to receive the gifts and attend to the final shipment to the\nmissionary boards of the Church. When the children come back with the\nempty sleds announce that just before they go home they can play a\n\"bit.\" Some days before this event roll up into balls some cotton\nuntil they look like snowballs. Let the children gather around the\nChristmas-tree and play snowball games. Try this little game: Hang up\nupon the tree a common basket with a handle on it. Give each child a\ncertain number of balls, ask them to stand ten feet away from the\nbasket, and in turn see how many of the little folks can cast into\nthe basket all their balls. Each child continues to cast in the balls\nuntil he misses, and then the next one will take his turn. All of the\nlittle folks who put all their balls in the basket should be given a\nsmall prize which may consist of a few nuts, some fruit, or small\ncandies.\n\nHere is another snowball game: Secure a small hoop and ask some large\nboy to hold it up as high as possible. Then select five girls and\nfive boys each holding five balls apiece. Ask them to stand six feet\naway from the hoop and to cast as many balls through the hoop as\npossible. Each child continues to cast the balls until he misses one,\nthen he is out, and the next child tries out his skill. The object of\nthe game is to see which side will cast through the hoop the larger\nnumber of balls. The side which does this is the winning side. These\ngames and others like them which may occur to the mind of the\ncommittee of arrangements will give the little folks a merry time.\nTell the children that this Christmas-tree in August is the king of\ntrees because it is a giving tree; it is therefore blessed by Jesus\nbecause he has said, \"It is more blessed to give than to receive.\"\n\n\n\n\n                                 =54\n\n                        THE JUNIOR POST-OFFICE\n\n        OBJECTS: A Box in Which the Letters Can Be Deposited=\n\nThis book has been telling you what to say to children. The Junior\nPost-office will enable the children to say words to you.\n\nThis is the Junior Post-office idea. Have a letterbox placed on the\noutside of your study door. Have posted up over this box the words\n\"For Junior Mail Only.\"\n\nAsk the children to write to you and drop their mail in this box, and\nyou will receive it promptly and will gladly answer every letter.\n\nWhen you receive the letters and answer them, announce from the\npulpit that you have letters for the following juniors, and then read\nout the names and say the letters will be found on the pulpit table\nand can be secured after the service. Sometimes it will have a larger\neffect if you send the answer through the regular mail to their\nhomes. Children like to receive letters in the regular way; they\nregard such letters as highly important.\n\nAnnounce at your Junior Service that you would be glad if they would\nwrite to you about the story or lesson of the evening. Let them tell\nthe story you told in their own words, and you will be richly\nrewarded with a stock of information which they will thus give to you\nas to how children listen and oftentimes fail to get your point and\ndon't understand the meaning of the words you use. You will often be\nsurprised to note how well they do hear and how much you have put\ninto their heads and hearts. You will notice the words they use, and\nhow they construct their sentences. You will also get a hint as to\nthe action of their little minds when they are thinking.\n\nAll of these things are of the utmost value to the worker with\nchildren who has his heart in his task. Sometimes ask them a question\nand ask for a written answer through the Junior Post-office. For\ninstance, ask them if some good friend should give them a thousand\ndollars, what would they do with it. You will be amused with the\nanswers you will receive. When this was tried once with a bright\ngroup of juniors in a city church, one of the answers was, \"I would\nput it in the bank and save it \"; another answer was, \"I would buy\nbooks of travel,\" etc. The best answer the pastor said was this one,\n\"I would give it to my parents.\" Each of these letters was answered\npersonally and good counsel given to the letter writer. At the next\nmeeting all these letters were read out to the children, and they\ntook a vote as to the best answer. Sometimes the letters which come\nthrough the Junior Post-office will be little complaints. One wants\nto know why it is that he is never put on any committee, especially\nthe committee for the annual excursion. Another wants to know why she\nis never asked to sing a solo at the meeting. Another calls the\npastor's attention to a modest and backward boy who is a good\nreciter, but will never push himself forward. Another little girl\ninquires if her little brother at home who is too young to come to\nthe meeting, might be made a member of the meeting and get all cards,\npapers, and other things that are given away.\n\nThese questions the children ask are big questions to them. They\nshould be answered with dispatch and dignity. They are windows\nthrough which you can look into child life and \"see things.\"\nSometimes the letters will tell you of their little sorrows and\ntroubles which to them are as real as your own. Your answer may give\nthem a lift which they will remember all their lives. Often they will\nwrite to you about the Bible and its wonderful stories, and in their\nown language they will discuss these events. Children all believe the\nBible unless some older head has been tampering with them. Sometimes\nthis fact will come out in their letters. Your answer can easily set\nthe matter right for all time. They believe in you, and what you say\nis the \"big law\" in the case, and that settles it. They will often\ntell you the story of their little lives which seems to be long and\nimportant to them, and by your answer you can tell them of their big\nfriend Jesus, and how he leads all the way to the end.\n\nAt times they will want to know what they must do to be a Christian.\nThe answer to this letter should always contain an invitation for\nthem to come and see you personally and talk it over with you. You\nmust, however, fix the time, or many of them will not act quickly.\nThis is the best method to use in bringing children to Jesus. If in\nthe open you ask them, \"All of you who want to be saved and live a\nChristian life, come forward to the platform,\" after the first two or\nthree respond they will often come forward with a rush. Of course,\nthey do not want to be lost, but many of them have no real thought of\nwhat that act means, and so before their names are taken for\nchurch-membership they should each be dealt with personally. Just\nputting the name on a card declaring they desire to be a Christian is\nentirely insufficient and should never be regarded as final. Each one\nshould be dealt with personally and alone.\n\nAfter Decision Day or revival season their names should be secured\nand written to, and an announcement should be made that there are\nletters in the Junior Post-office for them, which should contain a\nrequest for a personal interview with them, at which time you can\nmake plain the way of life. This Junior Post-office method will be a\nnew way of approach to their inner life and will enable you, as their\npastor, to give counsel that will linger with them for all time. They\nwill also find that you are their good friend and belong to the\ncompany of juniors as well as the congregation of elders.\n\nThis, of course, will take the pastor's time. Well, so let it be; it\nis time well spent. And what if the work is hard at times? It is\nfirst-place work and pays the most in the work of the kingdom.\n\nJesus said to Peter, \"Feed my lambs,\" before he said, \"Feed my\nsheep.\" He put first things first. Go thou and do likewise.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =55\n\n                            THE BLACK BAG\n\n                      OBJECT: A Plain Black Bag=\n\nWhen I was a boy in my early teens I had a Sunday-school teacher who\nwas surely fifty years ahead of her times.\n\nShe knew nothing of a teacher-training course or child psychology.\nShe never talked in public on the Art of Teaching a Sunday School\nClass. She knew but very little of those well-chosen words which the\npublic speaker commands. She knew nothing of the science of public\ninstruction. But she did _know boys_ and was a master of the\nself-learned art of interesting and instructing a class of early\nteen-age boys.\n\nWe boys noticed that often she would bring with her a black bag and\nwould say to us, \"Now boys, give me your attention, and after the\nlesson I will show you something I have brought with me to the class,\nand which I have in my little black bag.\"\n\nThis little idea showed her mastery over boys. She aroused their\ncuriosity, and as curiosity is the mother of attention we all\nlistened like regular fellows to what she had to say, and also kept a\nlonging eye on the bag. We were all set to see what strange things\nshe would draw from it when the lesson was over. She was a great\nteacher and always gave us boys a story form lesson, and it sank in\nto stay, and often memory brings back the truth she gave us and also\nthe contents of the black bag. We can yet see pouring out of it\nwonderful truth as from a horn of plenty.\n\nSometimes it would be some little trinket which had a bit of history\nconnected with it that brought our heads together and opened our eyes\nin wonder as we looked and listened. The first object I remember she\nproduced from the bag was a little idol from China. She had a sister\nthere who had sent it to her. We had never seen an idol before, and\nas we passed it around the class for close inspection and listened to\nher tale of how the heathen worshiped it, it seemed to our boyish\nminds as fascinating as a fairy tale, and just as wonderful.\nSometimes it would be a little flower for each of us that was\nproduced from the black bag. She lived in those days when many of the\ncity homes had a front-yard garden. She had such a garden, and when\nany of us were ill she brought us a cluster of beautiful flowers.\nSometimes the black bag yielded a big apple apiece, and we boys never\ntasted such apples before, and devoured them as only an always hungry\nboy can do when he is at his best.\n\nWe were always at our best when the black bag produced. Generally the\nlesson from the black bag had nothing to do with the regular Bible\nlesson, but was a supplementary lesson. Oftentimes there was no\nlesson to the object at all, but just a little gift which took its\nplace with the reward cards of that day.\n\nOne Saturday morning I met my teacher going to the market. She always\nstopped me when we met and had a few words with me, and often down in\nher basket she found a stick of candy among the contents which she\nalways gave me, and which I always received with thanks. Her thoughts\nwere with her boys so constantly that she always had a bit of candy\namong things in her basket, thinking that perhaps she might meet some\nof her boys playing in the street as she passed by.\n\nThis particular morning she said: \"Clarence, tomorrow I will have\nsomething new and wonderful in the black bag; tell all the boys to be\nsure to be present.\" Then she gave me a stick of candy which had a\nmagic effect on my heels, for they seemed to have wings, as I spent\nthe entire afternoon running around to the homes of the scholars and\ngiving them the great news about the \"Black Bag.\"\n\nNext day we were all in our places and ready for the lesson and also\nanxiously waiting for the opening of the black bag. When it was\nopened she gave us a small bag of chestnuts and a picture-card. I\nhave never forgotten the black bag, as you see I am recalling now its\nhistory in detail half a century after it opened to us its first\nsimple lesson.\n\nThat dear teacher long ago put on her white garments and went to\nheaven. Her boys, six in number, never forgot their teacher and the\nblack bag. I recall now that two of those boys became ministers of\nthe gospel. Two of them went into the practise of law. One went West,\nand the other passed on. I am all that is left of the old class. The\nother boys are with her in heaven, and I often think that perhaps\nthey talk over yet the story of the black bag.\n\nI have such a black bag now, and whenever I use it in teaching I tell\nthem the story of my dear teacher and her black bag. I use it now as\na covering for my objects. If the children see the objects before you\nuse them the surprise element is lacking. If they are brought out of\na bag as you use them, the children will be curious about what comes\nnext, and will wait and watch as you speak.\n\nThe black bag can be easily made as it is a regular bag. Make it\nabout the size of a child's school-bag, and as books of learning come\nforth from such a bag tell them that they can learn something from\nyour black bag. You may load it with a variety of objects, if you so\ndesire, and let each object teach a lesson. Some of the objects used\nin the chapters of this book can be made first to appear from the\nblack bag.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =56\n\n                     HOW FIVE SPADES DUG THROUGH\n\n                A CHAPTER TO BE READ FOR THE TRAINING\n                        OF THE OBJECT WORKER=\n\nThis is an uncommon object-lesson. It is a curio in visual\ninstruction. One summer while traveling in the great Northwest, I\ndropped into a Salvation Army meeting, and in their _War Cry,_ which\nI then purchased, I read the following story.\n\nIt is a record of the conquest of an uncommon object-lesson upon\nwhich God had put his great O.K. by the salvation of a soul. Read it\nthrough as another helpful illustration of the ministry of visual\ninstruction in thorny ground. This was the story.\n\n\"A friend of mine was once coming on a train when five of the nine in\nthe coach began to play cards; they were evidently sharpers, and\nbefore long challenged others to play with them, but all declined, At\nlast they turned to my friend and said:\n\n\"We can see by your face that you fully understand the game; come,\ntake a turn.\"\n\n\"I did know the cards once; but it is so long since I played that I\nforget how to play.\"\n\n\"Nonsense!\" they said, \"you could win all our money, if you only\ntried.\"\n\n\"Perhaps that would not be very much,\" he replied; \"anyway, I will\nnot attempt. Five of you are enough for your game; we will look on.\"\n\nAs they still pegged away at him, he said at last:\n\n\"Gentlemen, I tell you I cannot play; but there is one thing I can\ndo.\"\n\n\"What is that?\" they asked eagerly.\n\n\"I can tell fortunes.\"\n\n\"Capital! Will you tell ours?\"\n\n\"If you wish it; but, I warn you it may not be very flattering.\"\n\n\"What card will you want?\"\n\n_\"The five of spades, please,\"_ and it was handed to him with\nexpectation of great sport.\n\n\"I shall require one other thing, if you don't mind,\" he further\nsaid.\n\n\"What?\" they asked a little impatiently.\n\n_\"A Bible.\"_\n\nThey could not produce one.\n\n\"No, but you had one once,\" said the fortune-teller, \"and if you had\nfollowed its precepts you would not be where you now are. However, I\nhave one,\" and to their dismay he produced it.\n\nA pistol would hardly have been a more unwelcome object. But the\nfortune-teller began:\n\n\"Gentlemen, you see these two pips at the top of the card? I wish\nthem to represent your two eyes; this one in the middle, your mouth;\nand these other two, your knees. Now, in Revelation 1:7 I read,\n'Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him.' The\nspeaker is the Nazarene, once red with blood for sinners like you and\nme. Your eyes will see him, and you will have to stand before him to\nbe judged. That is the future of your eyes,\" he continued; \"now\nconcerning your mouth and knees, let me read Philippians 2:9-11:\n'Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name\nwhich is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee\nshould bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things\nunder the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus\nChrist is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' From this I foretell\nthat: your knees will bow to Jesus, and your tongue that used to say,\n'Gentle Jesus' and 'Our Father,' will have to confess that he is Lord\nof all. Your eyes will see him, and when you see him, your knees will\ngrow weak, and you will fall before his majesty.\"\n\nThey got more than they bargained for; but he gave them some more.\n\n\"Gentlemen, that is only the first reading of this card; now for the\nsecond, if you please. These five spades represent five actual spades\nthat are already made, and may, ere long, dig the graves of you five\nsinners, and then your souls will be in _the lost world_ crying in\nthirst for a drop of water and you will wish you had never been\nborn.\"\n\nThe five card-sharpers were getting more and more fidgety; but it was\nuseless, for they could not get out, as the train would not stop for\nsome time yet.\n\n\"Gentlemen,\" continued the fortune-teller, \"you may escape this\nterrible future, and my fortune not come true, if you will do what I\ndid, and perhaps I was the worst of the six. My eyes saw Jesus upon a\ncross for me in my stead, bearing my doom, My tongue confessed him as\nLord, and my knees bowed to him in lowly submission. If you do this,\nI can foretell the very reverse of all I have said. I have told your\nfortunes, as I promised, and if I am right, you ought to cross my\npalm with a dollar apiece; but I do not wish your five dollars. I\nwill be content if one of you will promise to try the Saviour whose\nblood cleanseth from all sin.\"\n\nThey would neither pay nor promise; but as the train pulled up at the\nstation they tumbled out as if the carriage had contained a smallpox\npatient, leaving my friend in possession of the \"five of spades.\"\n\n\"Stop,\" he cried, \"here is your card,\" which he tossed after them.\n\nRecently walking near his home at Shepherd's Bush, London, he was\naccosted by some one saying,\n\n\"Good evening, sir.\"\n\n\"It is a good evening, if all your sins are forgiven,\" was the\nrejoinder.\n\n\"Yes, and I am glad you are still at it,\" replied the stranger.\n\n\"Still at what?\"\n\n\"Telling fortunes.\"\n\n\"That is not my line.\"\n\n\"Well, you told mine more than ten years ago.\"\n\n\"I think you are mistaken,\" said my friend.\n\n\"No; any one who has once seen you can never mistake you.\"\n\nHe then recalled the memorable ride.\n\n\"Ah! I remember, and you left like a lot of cowards, without paying\nthe fortune-teller.\"\n\n\"I am your payment. Your words came true of three of us; _three\nspades have dug their graves_. The other one I saw a few days ago; he\nis anxious to be saved from the fortune you foretold, and is\nattending religious meetings. As I parted with him I said, 'Sam,\ndon't forget the five of spades.'\"\n\n\"And what about yourself?\"\n\n\"When you saw me, I had been to a sister's. I was right down\nmiserable. Mother had just died. Calling me to her bedside, she had\nsaid: 'William, kiss your mother, and I leave you this Scripture:\n\"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him\"' (Rev.\n1:7). When you quoted those very words, it seemed as if my dear\nmother rose up and frowned upon the cards. That text followed me. I\ndrank, and drank, and drank again; but continually I heard, 'Every\neye shall see him.' At last I went to California, for the\ngold-diggings. As soon as I landed, having nothing to do, I stopped\nto hear some singing; the singers formed a little procession, and I\nfollowed to a hall, When the young man got up to speak, he gave out\nas his text, 'Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see\nhim.' It was more than I could stand; that night I bowed my knees in\nsubmission, saw Jesus as my Saviour, and with my tongue confessed\nhim.\"\n\nHe was soon going back to the diggings; but that one interview was\ngood payment for the fortune-teller.\n\nThis is the story of five spades which dug their way through a\nhardened conscience and there found the open door to a closed heart.\n\nIt was God's way and therefore wonderfully good.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =57\n\n                           THE KAISER'S CUP\n\n             OBJECTS: A Plush Box and a Plain Wooden Box=\n\nIn one of the great New York daily newspapers some days ago I read\nthe following announcement:\n\nThe Kaiser's Cup which belonged to the winner of a trans-Atlantic\nyacht race has been sold for the benefit of the Red Cross and was\npublicly broken into pieces in New York City. It was supposed to be\nmade of solid gold and to be worth five thousand dollars. It was\nreally made of pewter with a thin gold lining and was valued at about\nforty dollars.\n\n\"Things are not always what they seem to be,\" said one of the wise\nmen of the other century, and the famous Kaiser's Cup is another\nillustration of the truth of that statement. When I was a child I\nread in my old blue primer the story of a great dance at which time\ntwo children appeared on the floor dressed in gay attire and danced\nto the great delight of the assembled people, who greatly wondered at\nthe skill of two such small people when suddenly some one rolled an\norange across the floor when the two little dancers stopped their\nfancy dancing and made a mad rush for the orange; they fought for it\nto such an extent that they tore off their gilded robes, and lo, they\nwere only two little monkeys. It was the story of the Kaiser's Cup\ndramatized on a ballroom floor. Don't let a bright exterior dazzle\nyour eye, remember the cup may be made of pewter, not gold.\n\nTo illustrate this truth, secure two boxes; one should be covered\nwith plush, the other, just a common wooden box. The plush box should\nbe empty, the plain box loaded with beautiful flowers or other\nvaluable things. Have these two boxes on the table in full view of\nthe audience. After you have told the story of the Kaiser's Cup, turn\nto the two boxes and say: \"Look at these two boxes on the table\nbefore you; which of them do you think is of the greater value? I\nthink I hear you answer and say, 'The beautiful plush box, it looks\njust like a box containing jewels.' You open it and find it contains\nnothing. It is the truth of the Kaiser's Cup in wood. Gold on the\noutside, pewter on the inside.\"\n\nThen open the plain wooden box and show it to be full of flowers\nwhich you scatter about on the table or distribute among the people,\n\"Things are not what they seem to be\" is as true today as when the\nsaying was first uttered. Learn to see things as God sees them; man\nlooketh upon the outward countenance, but God at the heart.\n\nRemember there is coming a time when the Kaiser's Cup will be broken.\nWe call that time the Day of Judgment, the Bible gives it that name.\nWhen that day does come, then all that is hidden will be revealed;\nthen our cup of life will be tested by God's word. Will it be pure\ngold or will it be like the Kaiser's Cup?\n\nA little girl surprised her father by asking him the question, \"What\nis God's address?\" The father, wishing to teach his little child a\nlesson, said, \"1421 Grand Avenue.\" It was the number of their own\nhouse he had given. He meant to say to her, \"God is living here with\nus.\" Both God and the little girl had the same address. The cup of\ntheir home was gold inside also. Martin Luther had the same thought\nin his mind when once a stranger knocked at his door and said, \"Who\nlives here?\" Luther replied, \"God and Martin Luther.\" If we can say\nthis of our hearts, \"Jesus and I live in the same heart together,\" we\nshall be able to stand when the great day comes when evil things will\nbe opened up and broken up.\n\nRemember the Kaiser's Cup.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =58\n\n                        HOW TO MAKE A RAG MAP\n\n          OBJECT: A Map of Palestine Constructed with Pieces\n                               of Rags=\n\nHere is another way of teaching children sacred geography.\n\nIt is a map of the Holy Land made of pieces of canton flannel cut out\ninto various forms and put together in map form before the class.\nSecure a piece of black canton flannel or dye it black if it cannot\nbe secured in that color. Mount it on a frame with the rough finished\nside on the front, giving it a slight tilt backward. Make this\nbackground as large as you desire, the larger the better, and make\nall the figures herein mentioned of the same material and put the\nrough side of each figure against the background, pressing down the\nfigure and smoothing it out with the hand, and it will stay in its\nplace without the use of pins or tacks. The fact that it stays put\ndevelops a great degree of interest in the little folks, and they\nwill watch you with big eyes of curiosity. In building this rag map\nfirst cut out a number of strips about one inch wide, and with these\nmake the coast-line.\n\nAfter this cut out strips of blue representing the water ways and put\nthem in their proper places. After this cut out a number of pointed\npieces about five inches to the peak. These will represent the\nmountains. Put these in their respective places. Now cut out a number\nof square red pieces about two inches square, and cause these to\nrepresent the cities and put them in their proper locations.\n\nAfter this much of the map is finished drill the children in the\nlocation of the rivers, mountains, and cities. Let them put the\nfigures in their proper places and build that part of the map\nthemselves. After this teach them the Bible history of each locality.\n\nCut out a star in yellow, put this over Bethlehem, and tell them the\nChristmas story. Put a red cross over Jerusalem, and call it the\nCrucifixion City, and tell them the story of the Cross. Now make a\nflat form of a water-pot and place it next to the city of Cana and\ntell the story of the first miracle.\n\nNext cut out in brown a small ladder and place it next to Bethel.\nTell the story of Jacob and his dream.\n\nCut out a representation of a bottle which you call a \"bottle of\noil,\" and place it near to Jericho, and tell the story of the Good\nSamaritan and how the oil was poured into the wounds of the man who\nfell among thieves.\n\nCut out now a representation of a hammer and place it over Nazareth,\nand tell the story of the Carpentershop and how Jesus worked in it\nwhile he was learning his trade. Cut out a side view of an altar and\nput it on Mount Carmel and tell the story of Elijah and the priests\nof Baal.\n\nCut out a representation of a green tree; place that next to\nGethsemane and tell the story of the prayers of Jesus under the\nolive-trees.\n\nCut out a white representation of a tent and place it by the side of\nHebron and tell the story of Abraham and the Visiting Angels.\n\nNow cut out a number of dark green trees, and place them in the\nMountains of Lebanon in the far north, and tell them the story of the\nbuilding of Solomon's Temple, and how they took the timber from these\nhills to build the Temple.\n\nCut out a representation of a one-story Oriental house, and place it\nnear to Bethany, and tell the story of the Home of Mary and Martha,\nthe place where Jesus loved to go. After the map is finished take\ndown these pictures, and ask the children to put them back into their\nproper places and tell the Bible story connected with each.\n\nThis method of teaching sacred geography you will find to be very\ninteresting to boys and girls because they are building together.\nHere is another use to which you can put the rag method.\n\nIf you so desire you can make profile or front-view pictures and tell\nmore Bible stories with them. Here is a representation of the Ark and\nTower of Babel.\n\n[Illustration]\n\nPut the hull part of the ark in place first, then add to the top, and\nlater put on the door and window; this will give a fair\nrepresentation of the Ark of Noah. The Tower of Babel can be built\nthis way also.\n\nIt is possible to draw line pictures on the smooth side of the\nflannel with the oil crayon which is now found in all the stationery\nshops at small cost. After the figure has been drawn out cut it into\na number of pieces and put them together on the background to add a\nlittle variety to this method of teaching. Bring all the rags out of\na bag which you call the \"Ragged Prophet's Bag.\" Turn the bag upside\ndown, allowing all the rags you use to fall out on the table top.\nHave the rags you use all pinned together so they will not mix with\nthe other rags of the bag.\n\nThis is how we use rags to teach big ideas. Let's try it.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =59\n\n                        STATIONS OF SALVATION\n\n         OBJECTS: Seven Cards Fully Described in the Chapter=\n\nThis is a pictorial attempt to make the plan of salvation as plain as\nday.\n\nThe Romanists have what they call \"The Stations of the Cross.\" These\nare fourteen in number. By these stations the way of the cross and\nits blessings are made plain to the worshiper. They offer a prayer at\neach station and pass on. There is no virtue in this devotion unless\nthey pray from the first station to the last.\n\nThe sinner in seeking Christ has his stations of salvation also. He\nmust not miss one.\n\nThe following stations of salvation can be reproduced on large\ncardboard and hung up upon the wall in front of the class, and the\nway of Salvation can be pointed out as each station is read and\nexplained. After this explanation, the prayer of each station should\nbe offered together.\n\nIf possible have these stations printed on small cards and given to\neach hearer to take home, and so make good use of them in daily\ndevotions.\n\nA Roman Catholic girl seeking the true light happened to be present\nwhen I was preaching on the stations of salvation and was convicted\nof her sins and converted to God. She had been trained since\nchildhood to see truth in this way and by these stations she found\nthe pathway of the Cross and the glorious Saviour.\n\nI had lantern slides made of each of these stations and used one of\nthem at a time as a sermon on salvation, and afterward used the seven\nstations as the conclusion of the sermon when I wanted to make a\npersonal appeal and urge a heart decision for Christ.\n\nThese seven stations of salvation can be used for older heads also.\n\nYou will note the cross at the top of each station. This is the great\ntheme of all the stations.\n\nYou will also observe the heart beneath the cross containing the\nwords \"I believe.\" This signifies that salvation is an affair of the\nheart, and not an empty form. In discussing each station ask the\npeople to recite the scripture together. After you have explained\nthese scriptures and commented on the subject of the station, ask\nyour people to repeat with you the prayer of the station, and then\npass on to the next station.\n\nThe following are the stations in their order:\n\nStation No. 1. Condemnation\n\n[Illustration: I BELIEVE\nTHE SEVEN STATIONS OF SALVATION\nStation No. 1\nFor all have sinned and come short as the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).\nThe soul that sinneth, it shall die (Ezek. 18:4).\nPRAYER\nO Lord, cause me to know that I am a lost sinner and under\ncondemnation in this life and will be lost forever in the life that\nis to come. O Lord, hear my solemn prayer. Lamb of God that taketh\naway the sin of the world, have mercy upon me. And this I ask in\nJesus' name. Amen.\nCONDEMNATION]\n\nCondemnation is the first step. This is an inward sense of sin. We\nmust all feel this, or we shall not be inclined to take the next\nstep.\n\nStation No. 2. Conviction\n\n[Illustration: I BELIEVE\nTHE SEVEN STATIONS OF SALVATION\nStation No. 2\nFather, I have sinned against heaven and before thee (Luke 15:18).\nGod, be merciful unto me a sinner (Luke 18: 13).\nPRAYER\nMy Father in Heaven, my sinful heart now condemns me and I know I am\nguilty of the sin of not believing on thy Son, my Saviour. O Lord, be\nmerciful to me a sinner, and hear my solemn prayer. Lamb of God that\ntaketh away the sin of the world, have mercy upon me. For Jesus'\nsake. Amen.\nCONVICTION]\n\nConviction must follow condemnation, or it will avail nothing. To\nknow I am condemned is of itself of little value. It must lead to\nconviction.\n\nStation No. 3. Repentance\n\n[Illustration: I BELIEVE\nTHE SEVEN STATIONS OF SALVATION\nStation No. 3\nRepent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt. 3:2).\nBring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance (Matt. 3:8).\nPRAYER\nHear thou my prayer, O Lord, for I have a godly sorrow for my sin and\ndo now turn away from my transgressions and turn to thee. Hear my\nsolemn prayer, Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world,\nhave mercy upon me. In his name. Amen.\nREPENTANCE]\n\nAfter conviction repentance must follow--repentance deep enough so\nthat we feel our sins have hurt the heart of God.\n\nStation No. 4. Redemption\n\n[Illustration: I BELIEVE\nTHE SEVEN STATIONS OF SALVATION\nStation No. 4\nIn whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins\naccording to the riches of his grace (Eph. 1:7)\nChrist hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse\nfor us (Gal. 3:13).\nPRAYER\nBlessed Lord, who didst hang on the tree of the cross for me, and\nthus redeem my precious soul, I do now accept thee as my Saviour and\nRedeemer. Hear, O Lord, my solemn prayer. Amen.\nREDEMPTION]\n\nRepentance when it is of the heart is sure to lead to redemption,\nbecause no truly repentant heart ever sought the Lord in vain.\n\nStation No. 5. Confession\n\n[Illustration: I BELIEVE\nTHE SEVEN STATIONS OF SALVATION\nStation No. 5\nReturn unto thy house, and show how great things God hath done unto\nthee (Luke 8:39).\nI will declare what he hath done for my soul (Ps. 66:16).\nPRAYER\nBlessed Lord, having been redeemed by thy precious blood, I now\ndeclare to the world what thou hast done for my soul, I will proclaim\nit by my baptism and union with thy blessed church. Make and keep me\never thine. Amen.\nCONFESSION]\n\nA sure sign we have been redeemed is that we will \"tell somebody\";\nnot because we must, but because we cannot help it. We must tell the\nworld of it.\n\nStation No. 6. Submission\n\n[Illustration: I BELIEVE\nTHE SEVEN STATIONS OF SALVATION\nStation No. 6\nSubmit yourselves therefore to God (James 4:7).\nFor one is your Master, even Christ (Matt. 23:8).\nPRAYER\nO Lord, I pass over my life into thy hands. I submit to thy\nrule--thou art my good Master. Work out thy will by thy Spirit in me.\nLamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, have mercy upon\nme. Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, give me peace.\nFor Jesus' sake I ask my prayer. Amen.\nSUBMISSION]\n\nIf we have received Jesus and openly confessed him we will submit our\nsouls to him. He is our master.\n\nStation No. 7. Glorification\n\n[Illustration: I BELIEVE\nTHE SEVEN STATIONS OF SALVATION\nStation No. 7\nThou wilt shew me the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of\njoy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16:11).\nAnd there shall be no night there (Rev. 22:5).\nPRAYER\nI pray thee, O Lord, bring me at last to thy right hand in heaven,\nand to thy pleasures everlasting, and so will I be glorified, and sin\nno more. Hear thou my solemn prayer. For Jesus' sake. Amen.\nGLORIFICATION]\n\nAt the end of the way we will find the golden gates to glory wide\nopen for us, and the angels waiting there all ready to sing the\nchorus of \"Welcome Home.\"\n\n\n\n\n                                 =60\n\n                         A SUGGESTIVE PROGRAM\n\n           This Program Is Simply a Little Hint as to \"What\n          Next\" in the Exercises. This and Any Other Program\n                 Should Be Completed in Not More Than\n                              One Hour.=\n\n                          SUGGESTIVE PROGRAM\n\n1. Call to Order. Three slow bells.\n2. Guard enters with the Bible and places it on the\n    desk. (All standing.)\n3. Flag-bearers enter with Conquest and United States\n    flags.\n4. Salute Conquest Flag. Sing Doxology. (Hand on\n    the heart.)\n5. Salute the United States Flag. Sing \"America.\"\n    (Hand over the eyes.)\n6. Prayer, concluding with Lord's Prayer.\n7. Recite in concert the Twenty-third Psalm.\n8. Evening Song.\n9. Prayer by Leader.\n10. Song of Praise.\n11. Elevation of the Scriptures.\n\n    Lift up the Bible, and say, \"This is God's\n    Holy Word, the guide of our fathers and the rule\n    of my life.\"\n\n12. All recite in response,\n\n    \"God's Holy Word, I promise to search. God's\n    Holy Word, I will try to keep.\"\n\n13. Address--An Object-talk or Picture-lesson.\n14. Notices, etc.\n15. Hymn.\n16. United Prayer.\n\n    All repeat the prayer after the leader.\n\n17. The Taps in Song.\n\n                  \"Day is gone,\n                   Night has come,\n                   Day has gone,\n                   Night has come,\n                   God is near,\n                   God is near,\n                   All is well,\n                   All is well.\"\n\n18. All in concert say, Good Night, Pastor.\n19. Pastor says, Good Night, Junior Church.\n\n\n\n\n                                 =61\n\n                     A MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER\n\n                          A MEMORY EXERCISE=\n\n                           MY FIRST PRAYER\n\nWhen I was a little fellow my mother taught me this simple little\nprayer:\n\n                  Now I lay me down to sleep,\n                  I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep.\n                  If I should die before I wake,\n                  I pray thee, Lord, my soul to take.\n\nDaniel Webster remembered this prayer when dying and repeated it with\nhis white lips as his last words. It is with all of us a prayer that\nwe cannot easily forget. It sinks into our childhood mind which is\nplastic so that ideas stick. It holds its place on the throne of\nmemory even when that throne totters with the weight of years.\n\nNow I want to give you a companion to that prayer as you begin your\nday, as you older grow:\n\n                  Now I wake myself to work,\n                  I pray thee, Lord, I may not shirk.\n                  If I should die before the night,\n                  I pray thee, Lord, my work be right.\n\nThis is not only a prayer for the nursery, but for the work-shop and\nthe day's task as well.","title":"The Bible object book : $b A book of object lessons which are different, written in plain English and in common words","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":68769}