Chapter C: H. Woolston (1)

EAST BAPTIST STUDY, PHILADELPHIA, PA.
April, 1926.

=CONTENTS=

CHAPTER PAGE 1. JUST A FEW WORDS TO THE CHILDREN ............................. 1 2. WHEN THE BABY DISCOVERS AMERICA! ............................. 3 3. A MILLION-DOLLAR CIGARET ..................................... 5 4. HEALING LEAVES ............................................... 10 5. WHAT THE BIBLE IS LIKE ....................................... 12 6. JUDGING BY APPEARANCES ....................................... 17 7. A CHILD FOR SALE ............................................. 20 8. WEEDS ........................................................ 25 9. THE SWORD OF -- .............................................. 28 10. WHAT CAN TAKE A WAY MY SINS? ................................. 33 11. WORDS OF ANGER ............................................... 37 12. THE COPPER-FACE GIRL ......................................... 41 13. MAKING A CHURCH FLAG ......................................... 44 14. AN IMMORTALITY LESSON ........................................ 48 15. "OFF FOR HAPPY LAND" ......................................... 51 16. FORGOTTEN HOLY NAMES ......................................... 55 17. I LAY MY SINS ON JESUS ....................................... 59 18. THE LORD'S PRAYER IN CANDLES ................................. 62 19. HOW GOD COVERS MY SINS ....................................... 68 20. WHAT THE FLAG SIGNALS SAY .................................... 71 21. THE DEVIL'S GOAT ............................................. 75 22. SHINING TRUTH ................................................ 77 23. THE BEATITUDES IN COLORS ..................................... 82 24. THE GOSPEL IN THE FLAG ....................................... 84 25. WHAT THE LETTERED BLOCKS SAID ................................ 87 26. BLOTS TAKEN AWAY ............................................. 89 27. A LOST HEART, AND WHERE IT WAS FOUND ......................... 92 28. "BRIGHTEN YOUR CORNER AS A BUSINESS" ......................... 97 29. THE POSTAGE-STAMP AS A PREACHER .............................. 101 30. CANDLES IN THE PULPIT ........................................ 105 31. A POST-CARD SERMON ........................................... 109 32. MAKING JOY ................................................... 112 33. YE LITTLE OLD FOLKS .......................................... 114 34. THE CRUCIFIXION IN COLORS .................................... 116 35. THE GOSPEL BY RIBBONS ........................................ 119 36. JOINING THE CHURCH ........................................... 122 37. GOD'S MAIL-BAG ............................................... 126 38. TURNING THE PALMS INTO A CROSS ............................... 131 39. JESUS CHANGES THINGS ......................................... 134 40. THE BUNDLE OF LIFE ........................................... 137 41. THE NORTH POLE OF THE BIBLE .................................. 142 42. OBJECT-LESSONS FOR SPECIAL DAYS .............................. 146 43. PUTTING A GOD TO BED ......................................... 174 44. HOW TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS FLAG ................................. 179 45. THAT SOCIAL HOUR ............................................. 183 46. "THE WORDLESS BOOK" .......................................... 189 47. THE HEART OF SEVEN DEVILS .................................... 196 48. SHOW YOUR COLORS ............................................. 204 49. THE BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT IN STORY FORM ................. 208 50. WHAT TEN CORDS COULD NOT DO .................................. 210 51. OBJECT-LESSONS EXTRAORDINARY ................................. 214 52. A BOTTLE OF MOSQUITOES ....................................... 222 53. A CHRISTMAS TREE IN AUGUST ................................... 228 54. THE JUNIOR POST-OFFICE ....................................... 232 55. THE BLACK FLAG ............................................... 236 56. HOW FIVE SPADES DUG THROUGH .................................. 240 57. THE KAISER'S CUP ............................................. 245 58. HOW TO MAKE A RAG MAP ........................................ 248 59. STATIONS OF SALVATION ........................................ 252 60. A SUGGESTIVE PROGRAM ......................................... 261 61. A MORNING AND EVENING PRAYER ................................. 263

=LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS=

OPPOSITE
PAGE
A Group of Children Just After a Happy Hour Service at
Winona Lake, Indiana; These Represent the Children to
Whom This Book is Dedicated .............Frontispiece

Rev. C. H. Woolston and Professor Homer Rodeheaver ............... 18

A Meeting of Children in the East Baptist Church, Philadelphia
(Where the Author is Pastor) Giving Attention
to Object-lessons Described in This Book ..................... 98

Atlas, the Big Lion, a Docile, Friendly Beast, Performing
for the Children ............................................. 216

A Baby Lion, Six Weeks Old, Receiving the Name of the
Youngest Baby in the Audience ................................ 218

A Baby Leopard, Seven Months Old, Used to Illustrate the
Scripture Reference to the Leopard's Spots ................... 220

The Bear Is Called the Clown of the Animal Kingdom. This
Baby Bear, Visiting a Children's Meeting in Doctor
Woolston's Church, Was Used to Illustrate the Sin of
Stubbornness ................................................... 222

=1

JUST A FEW WORDS TO THE CHILDREN

SOME HELPFUL WORDS TO THE
SPEAKER TO CHILDREN=

At some time during the service the minister will say, "Now just a few words to the children." He has a big task before him, and if he is strong enough to know _how_ to say these "few words," is he learned enough to know _what_ to say in these "few words"?

Many a great preacher meets his Waterloo here. Will he retire beaten dragging the white flag of surrender after him, and hang low his head because of the conscious defeat, or will he with flying banners put it over in these "few words," and take his place in line with the world's greatest conquerors?

He must remember all children will not prick up their ears and listen hard just because he is a great preacher. Children are great critics. Their criticism takes the form of not listening. They know perfectly the art of withdrawing attention when they are not interested in the "few words," but their minds are not vacant during the unheeded "few words." They are counting the number of people present in the pews directly in front of them. They are watching the inattention of the members of the choir. They are thinking of their games of yesterday, or something they received at Christmastime, or of some book just given them as a birthday gift. They may be whispering or nudging each other, or if they have a bit of pencil with them they may be sketching caricatures of the deacons before them or even of the minister who is addressing them.

The little girl's motherly thought may be straying home to a sick doll, or may be smiling at the funny ways of puppy or kitten that she just happens to remember. The boy may be smiling over some funny situation he saw yesterday at the "movies." They are all very resourceful in themselves to save them from being bored by an address that has lost its way in its pilgrimage from the minister to their pews in which they are seated. The "just a few words" like birds have taken to their wings, and gone over the children's heads to the "land of nowhere." The minister, if he has normal eyes and a common mind, is conscious of the fact he has "missed fire," and wonders what he can do to put it over so it will stay "put"! If he thus thinks, there is large hope for him, because he has not graduated from the learner's bench. Let him be a child again and think as a child. Let him learn how to talk to them and not about them, and then his "just a few words" will become as interesting to their mind as the toys they left behind them. This is worth the effort; even the adults who are only "tall kids" will like the talk better than "the preaching at" in which they have only a feeble interest. Even the "polar bear" deacon will thaw out and catch himself smiling at the "few words" of the preacher that just "talks."

Happy is the man who can interest the child in his "few words" and can also interest the child in its efforts to translate the "few words" into big acts on the inside building of a child's character.

=2

WHEN THE BABY DISCOVERS AMERICA!

SOME IMPORTANT THOUGHTS FOR WORK
AMONG CHILDREN=

A Study of the Object as Well as the Subject

Every little cradle is a ship starting on the voyage of life. Little Eyes looks out from its cabin windows and discovers that the land it sees is America. It is not dreaming of lakes sublime or rivers majestic. It is not in fact a discoverer. It is a _see-er_. It is seeing things, real things, in the land it has just discovered. Its first adventure is the finding of Mother, which means it has discovered perfect love, protection, and tender care. Mother is heaven, her shining eyes are the stars. There is a cry in the night. Mother understands its language and gives her holy ministrations. Watch Mother, she is the teacher God has trained. Listen to her first "few words." Baby does. Mother understands. God give the preacher this understanding. Learn how Mother her first "few words," then "try, try again." Learn your first lesson in the language of a child. It loves picture words. It learns the names of common things first. Things fix themselves in the eyes. Its language is born as it looks. Looks at a cow and calls it "moo cow." A picture word with action in it! It looks at a lamb and coins its own word "Baa-lamb." Teach the children in words full of pictures. They see objects and fix on them certain ideas. Do the same in teaching them in their older days. Clothe objects with ideas, and they will shine like stars in the children's understanding. Words that are dear and familiar to adult church-goers are so by long and sacred associations. Children have no such relation to our "churchly" words.

This does not mean that we are to talk down to them and use "baby" or silly talk. Children know when they are being "talked down to," and resent it. When the preacher arrives to address the children in a "few words," he should be of the same age as the child in his words in order to establish contact. Why not? The Mother talks to the children in words of their age. Let the preacher be like the Mother when he stands to address his words to the little folks. Let him use short words, plain sentences, pictureful words, and objects which the children know, and thus become a child again. Let him see the big world through the eyes of the children, and he will know what stories the children like and do not like, and when he arrives in the pulpit, their eyes will be fastened on him, and they will hear him gladly because he is one of them.

So, as baby discovers America, you discover baby.

=3

A MILLION DOLLAR CIGARET

OBJECTS: A Black Muslin Flag on Which Is Written
Some of the Woes of the Cigaret Habit=

Some months ago in Jersey City, N. J., a large warehouse and its contents were destroyed by fire. This was the dreadful blaze known as the Great Triangle Fire which finally destroyed a million dollars worth of property. The deadly cigaret was believed to have been the cause of this disaster. An employee walking about the place tossed or allowed to drop from his hand a lighted cigaret.

A cigar thus dropped goes out at once; a cigaret continues to burn until it burns itself out, and so this cigaret continued to burn and ignited other material, and thus the great fire had its start, and one million dollars worth of property was thus destroyed. That was a Million Dollar Cigaret.

All cigarets are costly. They destroy things much more valuable than personal property or real estate. They destroy health, character, and the chances of good success in life. These things are more valuable than hills of gold. The cigaret is more deadly than natural death, for it produces a living death and at last flings the ruined soul on the bank of the Lost River in the Kingdom of Eternal Darkness.

Sir Christopher Furness has found that cigaret smoking among boys not only causes deterioration of physique, but "tends to develop lounging habits, with the result that the juvenile smoker's work is less conscientiously done, and he is lacking in sprightliness and alertness. Where, as is often the case," Sir Christopher adds, "the boy smokes clandestinely, habits of deceitfulness will probably be formed." Sir George William's experience as an employer has conclusively proved to him that a boy is a far from satisfactory worker if he smokes, and he says:

The effects of smoking, with its tendency to encourage drinking, are to reduce a lad's energy, to lessen his intellectual capacity, and to weaken his moral character.

The fact that every great public school prohibits smoking among its boys, and punishes offenders with a strong hand, is eloquent of the evil effect tobacco has on the young mind. The Leeds School Board some time ago enlisted the services of eminent medical authorities in its battle against the cigaret, and the Plymouth Board circularized the teachers and parents of the children on the subject. A Committee of the Liverpool School Board which investigated the matter declared that "cigaret smoking affects the system generally, and arrests physical development," and it would be possible to quote thousands of such opinions from the educational side.

It goes without saying that the doctor is the strongest enemy of the cigaret for boys. "All the evidence," says Dr. Andrew Wilson, "points to the undermining of a growing lad's physique by indulgence in tobacco," and Doctor Wilson continues:

Add to this the moral effect--that of rendering the already precocious boy still more precocious, and of turning him into an insufferable prig, and you thus condemn the habit from another point of view.

Sir Henry LittleJohn, the veteran medical officer of health for Edinburgh, has used his great influence against the boy smoker on many grounds, and there is much force in his argument that

the practise is fraught with dangers to society at large, owing to the secrecy with which the habit is carried on, the assembling at nights, the tendency to visit ice-cream shops to assuage the heat of the mouth that has been engendered by the filthy practise, and, in addition, we have ultimately that disregard of the proprieties due to the other sex which is introducing in our midst a laxity of morals, which, in the future, must bear fruit.

Magistrate Crane of New York City says:

Ninety-nine out of a hundred boys between ten and seventeen years of age, who come before me charged with crime, have their fingers disfigured by yellow cigaret stains... The poison in the cigaret seems to get into the system of the boy and destroys all moral fiber.

Tobacco interferes with the functions of the eye, of the heart, and of the kidneys. Tobacco smoking interferes with the development of the boy.

Professor McKeever says the cigaret-smoking boys of several schools, the records of which were investigated, were described by his informants by such epithets as sallow, sore-eyed, puny, squeaky-voiced, sickly, short-winded, and extremely nervous.

The greatest danger of the cigaret habit is its insidious nature. The boy does not realize the danger until it is too late to correct it. Hundreds of tombstones today bear silent testimony to this fact.

A chemist took the tobacco used in an average cigaret and soaked it in several teaspoonfuls of water and injected a portion of it under the skin of a cat. The cat almost immediately went into convulsions and died in fifteen minutes. Dogs have been killed with a single drop of nicotine.

Investigation shows that prominent business men positively refuse to engage men for responsible positions who smoke cigarets. The cigaret smoker, sooner or later, proves to be unreliable either physically, mentally, morally, or all three.

In Detroit alone, sixty-nine merchants have agreed not to employ cigaret-users. Chicago firms such as Montgomery Ward & Co., Marshall Field & Co., Morgan & Wright Tire Co., all prohibit cigaret smoking among employees, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, head of the Ford Motor Company, are both opposed to the cigaret.

The manager of one of Ohio's largest mercantile houses, when asked for a job for a boy who smoked cigarets, said:

I'm sorry, but I can't use cigaret smokers. First, they smell bad, and I don't want to put them in contact with the nice young ladies who work here or the nice ladies who trade here. Second, cigarets prevent the development of strong, clear, reliable moral character. They excite the lower passions and dull the sense of right and wrong.

Judge Ben Lindsay of Denver says:

I have been in the Juvenile Court nearly ten years, dealing with thousands of boys who have disgraced themselves and their parents, and I do not know of any one habit which is more responsible for the troubles of these boys than the vile cigaret habit.

Superintendent, Mervine of the Wells Fargo Express Company, issued a letter to all agents of the company, in which he said:

Any one who habitually smokes cigarets, in this climate especially, has something connected with his record or his qualifications that makes him a dangerous person.

Dr. Sims Woodhead, professor of pathology in Cambridge University, says that cigaret smoking, in the case of boys, partially paralyzes the nerve-cells at the base of the brain, and this interferes with the breathing or heart action.

Now produce a flag made of black muslin which you call the Cigaret Flag, on which you have pinned small slips of paper on which you have written some of the short sayings herewith given, Read these lines from the flag and say, "We will now listen to the message of the Cigaret Flag."

If you blow a mouthful of cigaret smoke through a clean white handkerchief, it will leave a dark brown slimy stain. In this carbon deposit are the different poisons which eat on the delicate spongy membrane of the back of the throat like acid on a piece of cloth.

Conclude by warning the boys not to smoke the deadly cigaret, never to begin; and if they have smoked, then first urge them to make the last cigaret the last forever. Tell them that Jesus wants boys with clean lips and pure hearts. The cigaret habit has roots which go deep into the heart. This is what makes the grip of the habit so strong. Jesus said that "Every plant my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up." So this is one of the plants doomed by God. Let him pull it out from your heart by the roots; only thus can it be taken away to stay.

=4

HEALING LEAVES

OBJECTS: A Collection of Eucalyptus Leaves=

Secure from a regular drug-store a few dried leaves of the eucalyptus tree which grows in California. Mount them on cardboard or hold them up in a cluster so all the hearers may see them. Then open your Bible and read Revelation 22:2, "and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." This can be used as a text for this lesson.

This great tree is to remind the saved in heaven that there is no sickness there, for the cure of the nations and the ages is under the shade of the leaves of this healing tree. This tree with its healing leaves is to remind us of Jesus. He is the great Tree of Life, "a root out of the dry ground." His leaves of truth have been for the healing of the nations. This collection of leaves which you now hold in your hand has healing power. An oil is extracted direct from these leaves which has great medicinal value.

Secure some of this oil from your regular druggist and ask him as to how it is used by the local doctors.

In Africa the natives do much of their curing by leaves. They believe that all diseases can be cured by leaves, and when a person is ill or bitten by a serpent they hasten to the jungles and secure a healing leaf. This was one of the most primitive means of healing known to men.

There is another great Tree of Knowledge which we call the great Bible. The leaves of this tree have long been healing the nations. Every leaf has a healing word in it. As you say this hold up the Bible with the other hand and read what some of the leaves say. Read John 3:14 and 16. These words on the leaves of the Bible have healed the millions. They have been and are for the healing of the nations also, and thus a countless number have received the eternal Health of Salvation and are now in heaven, well forevermore.

I remember my mother often told me a Civil War story which to my little head was a wonder story. She said that once in this war a soldier's life was spared because the enemy's bullet embedded itself in the leaves of a New Testament he carried in his pocket. So the leaves of the Bible saved his mortal life. Often the smaller birds fly into the leaves of the trees for safety when the larger wild bird seeks their life.

God's word is a mighty fortress and a shelter from the storm. Its leaves of truth cover us and surround us, like a great wall of chariots and armed horsemen, so we are safe forevermore.

If you have a cluster of leaves put a tag on each containing a verse of Scripture which speaks of God's saving power. Pin these leaves with their tags up on some background and explain that there are the leaves from the Tree of the Bible, with sure healing in them for the nations of the world.

=5

WHAT THE BIBLE IS LIKE

OBJECTS: A Lamp, a Mirror, a Bowl, a Glass of Milk,
Bread, a Cup of Honey, a Hammer, a Sword, a Jar
of Seeds=

In this chapter we think together as to what the Bible is like, and produce the object referred to.

We confine our thoughts to what the Bible says it is likened unto.

1. The Bible is likened unto a lamp. Here produce an Oriental lamp if possible; if not, use an ordinary house lamp, and quote the following Scripture: Psalm 119:105, 130; Proverbs 6:23.

This is a dark world, it is under the power of darkness. (Col. 1:13.) It is controlled by the "rulers of darkness" (Eph. 6:12). Unless it is enlightened by the Bible lamp it will go to its own place, "the blackness of darkness forever" (Jude 1:13). "God so loved the world, that he gave us his Lamp that whosoever should follow the Light, might not perish, but have everlasting life." Like the golden candlestick it shines upon divine things near at hand, and like the pillar of fire it lights up the way through the wilderness journey. All other lamps will go out, but this light shines more and more to the perfect day.

Harken, ye children of men, listen, ye people of all nations, "The entrance of thy word giveth light."

2. A mirror. (2 Corinthians 3:18; James 1:25.)

An ordinary looking-glass can be used here if it is put in an upright position.

It shows me myself just as I really am, not as I think I am, but as I am. (Rom. 3:19.) The human heart shrinks from looking at it for it shows the heart as it really is. And yet, to see one's self as it is revealed in the mirror is the first step in the true way back to God.

A missionary to China once read aloud, to a large audience, Romans 1. One of the Chinamen present said he thought it was very unfair and unkind for the "foreign devil" (as missionaries were there called) to come to find out all their secret sins and write them down in a book, and read them out in that public way. It is a truth that the Bible is a mirror, "Mine to tell me what I am."

3. A laver. (Ephesians 5:26.)

A large silver bowl can be used here and placed in line with the lamp and mirror. The Bible not only shows us our sins as in a mirror, but shows us the way the remedy can be secured. In the old wilderness tabernacle, a laver was provided at the entrance of the tabernacle to give a means of cleansing from the defilement which would oftentimes render the worshiper unfit for God's presence; so a cleansing stream, seen only by the eye of faith, flows through this book. It broke forth from the first promise of the woman's seed (Gen. 3:15) and flowed all the way through the Bible until it broke into the trumpet-song of the redeemed in glory. "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood" (Rev. 1:5). As water cleanses by separating the body from the outward stains, so the Word of God applied by the Holy Spirit causes the heart to abhor the defilement of sin which would stain and defile the inward life. "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee" (Ps. 119:11); and Jesus said, "Now are ye clean through the word which I have spoken unto you" (John 15:3).

4. Milk. (1 Corinthians 3:2; Hebrews 5:12,13.)

Here place by the side of the laver a glass or bottle of milk.

This is to teach us that the Bible is so plain and simple that little children can feed on it as they do on milk. Some people declare that the Bible is too profound for children, and that they should seek and read some other simpler book on religion first. But where is the child that can understand human words that does not grasp the stories of many of the Bible records? Noah and the Ark; Daniel in the Lions' Den; The Hebrew Children in the Furnace; the story of the Finding of Moses; Joseph and His Brethren, and the parables and the miracles of Jesus, etc. We are all babes in Christ when first converted, and are exhorted to drink the pure milk of the pure word of God.

5. Bread. (Deuteronomy 8:3; Isaiah 55:10.)

Here secure a few small cakes, and explain the bread of the Bible was not like our loaf of bread, but like our cakes. Place them on a plate and put them in line with the other objects. Here we are taught the Bible is food for the soul. Without it we will all perish.

"I have esteemed thy word more than my necessary food" is the confession of the heart that finds the Bible the real bread for the soul.

The prophet said, "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? harken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness." This is free bread; it is without money and without price. Come to the gospel Free Market and live.

6. Honey. (Psalm 119:10.)

Place now in line with the other symbols a bottle of honey.

This teaches the truth that the word of God is not only to give us our plain, necessary food, but to provide for us God's sweets. An invitation to help ourselves to heaven's luxuries. The Bible is so full of such delights that David cried out, "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth" (Ps. 119:103).

7. Fire. (Jeremiah 20:9; 23:29.)

Pour out into a metal plate a small quantity of alcohol and light it with a match. It will burn for a few minutes, at least long enough to bring home the lesson. Fire breaks out and spreads forth, so if we are saved and have the Bible in our hearts, it will break forth into acts, and the world will behold it. And with burning words on our lips we will speak it forth; messages for the dying world to hear.

8. Hammer. (Jeremiah 23:29.)

Secure a large mallet if possible, for this is the form of a Bible hammer; if not possible use an ordinary one. Place this in line with the other objects. Some people's hearts are harder than stone. It takes a strong effort to break their hearts of iron. This is often discouraging work. The hammer does not always work at the first blow. It hits again and again, and if we who swing the hammer of the word are faithful to the end the rock heart will at last break asunder; God's word never fails.

9. Sword. (Ephesians 6:17.)

Place an ordinary sword on the table with the other objects. The Bible is a sharp sword, and in the hands of a skilful soldier will often, by quick action, bring down the nature that can avoid the hammer wielded by the workman's hand. It was a quick instrument of light on the day of Pentecost. It reached the heart, and a full surrender was made. Sometimes it falls with a quick, mighty stroke upon those who continue to rebel against its divine authority. (Rev. 19:15.)

10. Seed. (Luke 8:11; Isaiah 55:10.)

Secure a jar of any kind of seed, and place in line with the other objects.

The Bible declares we are born again of "incorruptible" seed, "by the word of God" (1 Peter 1:23). It is our task to go forth and sow this seed. "Behold, a sower went forth to sow" should be said of us every day we leave our homes. We should sow beside all waters. We should sow at all times. "In the morning sow thy seed, and at evening withhold not thy hand," for "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him" (Ps. 126:6).

After you have taught this lesson, cause your audience to repeat with you what the Bible is like.

=6

JUDGING BY APPEARANCES

OBJECTS: A Collection of Paper Drinking-cups=

This is a lesson on the folly of judging by appearances or coming to a conclusion from knowing just one side of the truth, which in the language of the people is called "jumping at conclusions."

Secure ten or twelve paper drinking-cups; cut them all except one into two parts, put the top parts into each other, so that they will look like a pile of cups, but the only real cup is the bottom cup. Say: "Here we seem to have a stack of drinking-cups from which to drink when we are thirsty. Here we seem to have enough cups for a party of ten or twelve [according to the number you have] but in reality there is only one cup that is a real cup that will hold water."

Take the half cups out of the pile, and show the children they are mistaken. You only appeared to have a collection of cups. Then teach the danger of judging by appearances; always be sure you are right before you speak and judge. _Look into_ the cup as well as _at_ it before you declare that here there are ten (or more) cups. It is a dangerous thing oftentimes to judge by knowing a half-truth only.

People who jump at conclusions are in the way of making frequent mistakes and often do great mischief. A woman standing in line before the window of a New England savings-bank, waiting her turn to deposit five dollars, saw a man step up and draw out nine hundred dollars. She was not used to the sight of so much money, and, supposing that this meant a heavy drain on the resources of the bank, held on to her five dollars, and not only that, but went and told her friends about it, saying that the bank must be in danger. The news spread, and soon there was a "run" on the bank. Before the panic was over, and scared depositors satisfied that the bank was sound, between ten thousand and twenty thousand dollars had been withdrawn. Better be sure of facts and not judge by appearances. This "supposing" things makes trouble.

Some time ago a young man in looking around among the people at a public gathering, noticed a tall, heavyset, well-built man, and made up his mind that he was the new minister. He went up to a friend and said: "Very strong, good-looking man, isn't he? I am well pleased and satisfied he will make a very good minister." That man replied to his friend, "Why he is no minister, he is the manager of the new theater." It takes more than a fine-looking man to be a minister. He may only look like one, and be only half a cup.

A gentleman noticed a refined-looking stranger seated opposite to him at the table. He had a magnificent forehead and a fine, venerable, bald head. His eyes were shooting off sparks of expression which seemed to be born of the fires of genius. "Ah," thought he, "if he could but speak, what grand words we would hear! What large utterances would fall from his eloquent lips!" Suddenly the gentleman who possessed the venerable head and a great talent for silence spoke and said, "Hand me them dumplings, them's the jockeys for me." He was wise only in appearance. He was half a cup. There was nothing of eloquence or talent in him. Things are not what they seem to be.

In 1 Samuel 16:7, the Bible teaches us this lesson: "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him." God saw both sides of the man. What he looked like, and what he really was. "Man looketh on the outward appearance, but God looketh on the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7). Learn to see things as God sees them, then you will see aright.

=7

A CHILD FOR SALE

OBJECTS: A Child and a Number of Prepared
Business Cards=

Call a little boy to the platform and ask: "What is a child worth? Not long ago in the great city of Philadelphia a little girl was fatally hurt by a trolley-car. The jury awarded a verdict of $5,000 for damages. Five thousand dollars was the legal value of a child. Would you sell your little girl for that figure? Is that what your child is worth? Are children for sale in this world of sin and unbelief? This child is for sale, and the world, the flesh, and the devil bid for him. Who bids first for this child?"

A man then walks up to the platform saying, "A business man makes the first offer." Read the card and say: "Mr. A. Cigaret, representing the Smoke and Brownleaf Co., bids for the child. He offers good fellowship, the thrills of the happy smoker, and the name of a jolly good fellow." This card you have prepared before the service, and placed in the hands of one of your assistants who delivers it to you at your call; after he presents the card he takes his seat. In reply to this bid you say: "This bid is rejected. King Tobacco cannot have this boy with the pure life and happy smile. The bid is rejected for the following reasons.

"It is a deadly poison. 'In a cigaret there are five poisons: the oil of nicotine, the oil in the paper, saltpetre to preserve the tobacco, opium to make it mild, and the oil in the flavoring.'

"It leads to insanity. Dr. Forbes Winslow says, 'Cigaret smoking is one of the chief causes of insanity.'

"It is a crime-maker. A New York City magistrate says: 'Yesterday I had before me thirty-five boy prisoners; thirty-three were confirmed cigaret smokers. Tobacco is the boy's easiest and most direct road to whisky.'

"It is the highway to disease. 'Tobacco is the admitted cause of upward of eighty diseases, including blindness, and cancers of the lower lip and tongue, and is credited with killing twenty thousand in our land every year.'

"It is an agent for death. Dr. J. J. Kellog says: 'I had all the nicotine removed from a cigaret and made a solution of it. I injected half of it into a frog, and the frog died almost instantly. The frog was full grown and average size. A boy smoking twenty cigarets in a day inhales enough poison to kill forty frogs.'

"A cigaret smoker is slain before he is dead. Slain to all the good chances for success in life.

"E. H. Harriman, former head of the Union Pacific R. R. System, says, 'We might as well go to the lunatic asylum for our employees as to hire cigaret smokers.'

"The cigaret is a deadly thing. You are seeking the young child's life. Your bid is therefore rejected."

The next bid is brought to the platform by an assistant who hands you the prepared business card marked: "Mr. Pool-room. I will give a jolly evening for years to come in my game-room. There will be a bunch of happy lads there, full of glee, happy all night long. I will give him the thrill of making money easy. Will preserve him from hard work. Will help him drive away dull care."

You reply: "This bid is rejected for the following reasons:

"The poolroom is the place of the gambler's table. It will teach him to get dishonest money, tainted and yellow with sin. He will meet the depraved, and they will be his companions. He will lose the purity of heart God has given him. It will steal the roses from his cheek and paint his face with the lines of dissipation. It will take him from his father and mother, and some day toss him up against the door of the old homestead a human wreck. You cannot have him, Mr. Pool-room. He shall not walk in the sinners' way. I reject your offer."

Another prepared card is brought to the platform with the words: "His Highness, Lord Ignorance. I bid for this lad, and for him I offer an open mind. Let him do his own thinking, live as he pleases. I will not let him go to school or trouble about knowledge. The less he knows the happier he will be. I will just let him do as he pleases. That will be his religion and education."

Then you reply, saying: "Your bid is also rejected. Your card has on it the stain of the blackness of the Dark Ages. You would make merely an animal of my boy, just feed him and turn him loose like a beast. You would bring down on him all the misery of the Dark Ages. You would cover him in a dense cloud of ignorance. You would starve his mind and feed his body, and so make a monster of him. You would lead him astray, and he would not know the deadly thing you were doing. You would put out the eyes of his mind so they could not see God's way. No, you cannot purchase the soul of this lad for such a price. Back, Lord Ignorance, into the Dark Ages; that is where your castle of sin is built. You are a black dragon of shadows and dwell in the shades of blackness. Your bid is therefore rejected."

You then say, "Who will bid for the soul of this boy?" You can have various cards prepared with the words, Mr. Profanity, Mr. Infidelity, Mr. Highwayman, etc. After you have worked it out according to your liking you say, "I am now open for the last bid." A card is sent up with the words "The Church." The bid reads as follows:

"I, the Church of the Lord Jesus, will now bid for the soul of the boy. I will put him into the ranks of the Sunday-school children. He will be in the army of 'the millions.' He will be taught to sing God's praises, and his lips to speak white words. He will be taught the way of the heavenly life from the Bible, God's book of wonders. He will be taught to stand upright in all life's tasks. God will lift him to a high station of life and give him great success, and at last God will take his soul to heaven through his faith in the Lord Jesus."

You then say: "O Church Militant, I accept your terms of the sale. The boy is yours for this world and for the next."

Before he leaves the platform you present him with a New Testament which you tell him is life's great lantern to guide him to the end. You give him a little cross which, you say, is to remind him of his faith in the Son of God, and last, give him a church conquest flag to remind him that the Christian life is a battle, and he must fight his way onward, as he is a Christian soldier. Shake hands with him and pointing forward say, "Onward, Christian soldier!" Let the organist play this melody as he walks to his seat.

The address each bidder makes for the boy may also be all written out and placed in a sealed envelope and presented to you with the card announcing the bidder's name. You can then break open the contract and read as noted in the body of this chapter.

=8

WEEDS

OBJECTS: A Number of Common Weeds=

I was noticing the other day, that, in my garden, after the winter days had passed, the first green things to show their head were the little weeds. They seemed to say to me, "Hello, we are back again for business." And a pretty lively business they are in, surely. We are sorry to see them come, and glad to see them go, but before they do go I want to teach you some important life lessons from them.

They are very like the most of us, so they talk to us as old friends. The first thing I hear them say is, "We grow very fast." They multiply quickly. The red poppy will give fifty thousand seeds. The dandelion (show one if you have it in your collection) will give over two thousand seeds. Weeds stand for evil things and useless things. They seem to be like the sands of the sea in number. So our life is full of weeds very often. We tell one lie, and then another to protect ourselves against the evil of the first lie, and by and by we have told many of them, and the habit of lying has been so formed, that often thousands of lies will be told. So little boys and girls must watch the weeds, for they grow very fast in the heart. Take care of your words. Don't let the lie get mixed up with them.

These are some of the evil weeds we must watch: Envy, bad temper, untruthfulness, selfishness, unkindness--and there are many more. Call all these things weeds, and don't let them get into the garden of the heart.

Then, again, I heard the weeds say: "I will walk into your garden and come up as noiselessly as the beautiful flowers. I will push up my soft harmless little leaves, and do it so gently that I will not disturb your roses." And so evil things creep into our life, and look quite as harmless as the little weed. When they get in, we like them and encourage them, and often will not let them go, because we love them; then at last we cannot let them go if we would. Just a little white lie, just for fun, then a lying life, with everything false.

A whole town were once horrified by the confession of a mere boy that he had killed his playmate. He seemed to have no fear or sorrow because of the act, but his mother said when he was a small child he would catch the flies and pull their wings off, and smile as he noted the suffering of the fly. First it was the wings of a fly, at last it was the murder of a playmate. Weeds are not good things in a garden. They are not good things in the heart, Watch them when they first show their little heads. Close the door at once, they soon turn to poison and death in the soul.

Then again the weeds say to me: "My real name is Determination. I will come in, and you will have a hard time to get rid of me." They are determined to stay. It is no use to pull off their leaves, but pull them up by their roots and cast them into the fire. Just as soon as an evil thought comes into our minds, kill it at once. Cast it out of our thought. Don't talk about it, or it will drive its roots down deep, and will come to stay.

Evil-thought weeds come from everywhere; some from far-off lands, others are carried in our mail, and in our schoolbooks. Some are passing tramps, but they come and take us unawares. Soon evil acts follow naturally and as certainly as day follows night. Fill your mind full of good thoughts, and don't look on evil weeds. Solomon said, "Look not on the wine." This was good advice, for looking upon evil creates the longing for it. Let Jesus come into the mind as well as the heart, and he will cast out the evil thoughts, because he cannot stay with the weeds of sinful thoughts. Let your daily prayer be, "Take away all the ugly weeds from my heart, O Lord, and plant beautiful thought flowers there, that it may be always sweet for thee."

In delivering this address display the weeds in separate bunches. Put them in a number of glasses and put all in a row on the front of the table so all the class may see them.

After the lesson gather them into one bunch and cast them aside (or out of door or window). This is what God does with the _thorns_ and _thistles_. These are Bible names for _weeds_.

=9

THE SWORD OF --

OBJECTS: A Small Sword with the Name of "Benaiah"
Written on the Blade=

I hold in my hand a small sword. It belongs to a great soldier whose name is mentioned in the Old Testament in 2 Samuel 23. I find his name on this sword. I don't think you have ever pronounced it. If you have, you have forgotten it, yet the soldier whose name is written here was great and brave and full of kindly deeds. It is too bad his name has been forgotten. I will tell you about his deeds, and then, I hope, after I have told you his name you will never forget him.

There once lived a priest in a little country town. Its streets were lined with beautiful palm trees, and its well of water was deep, cool, and sweet. This priest had a son who was so strong and brave that he was greatly beloved by his father. Often when he talked with his father, he said, as many other boys have said, that some day when he was older he wanted to be a soldier. He often looked from the door of his home upon the passing army of soldiers, with their glittering armor and shining spears, and then, sometimes, boylike, he would follow the procession to the city gates and wave his hand to them, as he saw the flying banners disappear in the distance. When he grew up, he was of the same mind, and one day never to be forgotten he said good-by to his father and all his old friends and went a long journey to join the king's army.

His bravery soon made him famous, so much so that he was soon promoted to the position of captain.

Once he was met by two robbers of another nation, who thought they could easily kill him, and so rid their nation of a troublesome and powerful enemy, but they did not find this to be so easy a task, because he was so strong, and his sword was so powerful, and he fought so desperately that he not only made his escape, but left his two persecutors dead by the roadside. He was a good soldier and fought well with his sword of defence.

One winter's day there came a man, in great haste, crying out, "There is a lion prowling about just outside the city gate." All the children were greatly frightened and ran into their houses and shut the door to keep the mad lion from entering their homes to destroy them. It was a cold, long winter, and the lion was hungry. He had been unable to find his food in the wild woods, and had come to the walls of the town in search of food. Wolves and other wild animals do the same thing. All the people were alarmed, so they sent their messenger in haste to the brave soldier with the mighty sword. He was urged by this messenger to make haste and come out and kill this lion before its hunger should drive it to enter into the town and carry off some man or woman, or perhaps some little boy or girl. When the brave man heard this he quickly took his sword and followed the guide to the place where he had seen the lion. Some of the people informed him that it had fallen into a pit and was struggling to get out and roaring with madness. When the brave man saw this, he sprang into the pit with the lion, and after a terrible struggle killed it with his sword. He was so handy with his sword, that I think, just as the lion was about to make a mad rush upon him, he gave him such a mighty sword-thrust that the lion fell back dead into the pit. So we see he was not afraid of man or beast. He knew how to give a fatal sword-thrust that gave him victory at last.

What was his name? Such a brave man should have his name written in letters of iron in the temple of the mighty swordsmen of the world. Just hear me again, and then I will tell you his name.

One day the king, his master, who was now getting old, was in the camp. It was a hot day, and the great king felt thirsty and was eager for a drink of water. The king thought of the clear cold spring of water in his old home town, to which he had often gone on a hot summer day to drink of its cool refreshing water. He had often bathed his hands and face with it. He could even now see its waters dancing in the sunlight before him, But alas, that old home town was in the hands of the enemy. How could he ever get that water to his lips. Half unconsciously he cried out, "Oh that some one would get me a drink from that spring near to the gates of the old home town!" Our brave soldier boy overheard this wish expressed by the king, and so called two of his companions and said to them: "I heard the king say just now, that he longed for a drink from the water of the well near the gate in his old home town, where he was born. The enemy is in possession of that town, and it may cost us our lives, but the king is old, and it would greatly please him. Shall we try?" His friends said, "Yes, we will, and let us start at once." So they started off with quick steps and brave hearts. So quickly did they move that before very long they were in sight of the little town. They could see the soldiers moving about the spring, but, like good soldiers, they secretly drew nearer and nearer without being seen. When the enemy was not looking these brave soldiers slipped down, and before the enemy knew what was happening, they thrust the flask into the waters of the spring and let it fill itself with the good water for the king. A shower of darts from the enemy flew about them, but they made their escape and safely reached their camp and king. Tears filled the eyes of the old king when he saw the flask and remembered the perils his faithful men had passed through. He did not drink of the water. It had cost too much. It was too precious for the lips of man. So he poured it out on the ground, which was the way this ancient people had of giving it to God. So you see our brave swordsman had something more than a strong arm, that would give a sword-thrust with mighty effect; he also had a big strong heart.

He loved the king. He served him with his heart and hand. His name is written on this sword. What was the name of this forgotten hero? I will read it for you, I have it written on this sword. Benaiah was his name. David was the name of the king. The well was just outside the little town of Bethlehem.

Let us speak his name again. Let us all repeat it together, and often, when we think of Bethlehem at Christmastime let us repeat the name of the brave hero, the swordsman of King David, and tell the story of the fight for water just outside the gates of Bethlehem, and then tell the story of the Child Jesus who came to bring us the Water of Life from heaven, for did he not say, "Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life"?

In delivering this lesson hold the sword in your hand and refer to it whenever you use the name of Benaiah the swordsman.

=10

WHAT CAN TAKE AWAY MY SINS?

OBJECTS: A Number of Lettered Cards=