THE LORD'S PRAYER IN CANDLES
OBJECTS: A Number of Colored Candles
In this chapter the truths of the Lord's Prayer are made to shine forth. This is done by the use of a number of common candles.
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet," says the old true Book. We will turn on the light of the Lord's Prayer and let it shine into our hearts so that we may see God's truth.
1. "Our Father." Here introduce a tall white candle. Let this stand for the words "Our Father." Highest and tallest of them all. "The Higher Light." God is light. The Light of the World and the ages. Have this light burning before the meeting opens. Don't light it as a part of the exercise. This light never had a beginning. How dark this world would be if this light should grow dim or go out! But God is Our Father and he has promised he will never leave us alone, and in this prayer we are told to ask him for the things we need. A little chap was busy with his lessons, and they proved so hard for him to study that the tears began to flow down his little cheeks. His father noticed this and came over and sat by his side and helped him through with the hard part of the lesson. The father said, "Now crying did not help you, my son, did it?" The little fellow replied, "No, it did not help me, but it brought to my side some one who did." Prayer brings to our side "Our Father in heaven," and he can and will help us.
2. "Who art in heaven." For this sentence secure a blue candle which reminds us of the blue heavens above us. God is beyond the blue, but by his light is everywhere, and from his throne in heaven is ever watching us. My own dear mother was a little old-fashioned mother, and from her window watched her children play in the backyard. Her watchful eye was ever on us, and if some wild boy of the street jumped over the fence and annoyed us, Mother saw him first, and came down-stairs into the yard, and the bad boy soon disappeared. My little brothers and myself were always glad for mother's watchful eye from the upper window. So our Father looks down from his window in heaven, and we are safe and happy because Father is looking down upon us.
3. "Hallowed be thy name." For this sentence secure a green candle. Green is the most enduring of colors. The cedar and pine are green all the year. Winter and summer it shows forth its green just the same. Green is the everlasting color. The name of God is the name "Everlasting." It will endure forever; so long as this old earth shall stand his name will be spoken, and by human hearts be supremely loved. When this world has passed away in the life of the ages his name will also be the highest and best of all. In this prayer we are taught to reverence this eternal name. This is the only part of the prayer where God seems to be thinking about himself, and asks his followers to protect and revere his name. A little girl, one night, closed her little prayer by saying, "and please, dear God, take good care of yourself." She was thinking of God, so this prayer wants us to think of his name and keep it holy.
4. "Thy kingdom come." These words are represented by a purple candle. Purple is the royal color. The robes of the king are in purple. The decorations of the throne are all in this majestic color. Purple is the kingdom color. May God hasten the coming of the Royal Purple Day. You can help God to answer this prayer by trying to bring in his kingdom. Whenever you help one another, and are kind to each other, whenever you are truthful and faithful to God, whenever you let your light shine, then you are helping God to bring in his kingdom.
5. "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." This sentence can be represented by a brown candle representing the color of the earth, the brown ground of the world. If so desired, another blue candle may be introduced to represent, as in a former instance, the blue of the heavens. It would be best, if possible, to get a candlestick holding two candles to represent this truth. This should be done so the two blue candles may not be confused one with the other. The truth of God's will being done on earth as perfectly as in heaven is the cardinal truth of this sentence. A little boy who wanted to go out to the park with his mother, noticed it had begun to rain, and soon it was raining very hard. He turned to his mother and said, "Do you suppose God wanted it to rain?" His mother replied, "God knew best, and so sent the rain." The little boy replied, "I think it would be safe to let him have his own way." I think the little fellow was right. God knows best. His will must be done.
6. "Give us this day our daily bread." Represent these words by a yellow candle, yellow standing for the color of the golden grain from which we make our bread. This is a prayer for physical needs. The Greek word for bread means "food," so this is a prayer for all our temporal needs to sustain this present body, which is the present home of the soul. God wants to feed the world. He likes to give because he loves us. God also gave us the spiritual bread, the bread of life, which is his Son, and so supplies all our spiritual needs. Trust God, live simply, work honestly, and verily thou shalt be fed; so pray daily, "Give us this day our daily bread."
7. "Forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors." This sentence is represented by a silver candle, which is the color of the coin by which we pay our debts. This is a hard prayer for some of us to say, when we remember how some evil people have hurt us. This prayer tells us to forgive, because that is what God does when people by their wicked deeds hurt him. Put down the number 490, and as you look at it, what do you think it means? It contains a commandment of Jesus. This is just what Jesus means by that figure. It tells us how many times we are to forgive one another. He says we are to forgive seventy times seven. That gives us the figure 490. This prayer teaches us to forgive our enemy four hundred and ninety times, and by that time God will soften the heart of our foe, and he will no longer be an enemy.
8. "Lead us not into temptation." Here we introduce a red candle, red standing for sin, into which temptation, if we yield to it, is sure to lead us. In this prayer we are to pray to be delivered from sin. We must all have some kind of temptation, God had one Son without sin, but he never had a Son without temptation. He says, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive a crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him." So temptation resisted is blessed. How can we resist temptation? By going to God in prayer. When tempted pray the prayer of Jesus, "Bring us not into temptation," as a revised edition of this prayer puts it. You can resist temptation by keeping on God's side of the fence. An old minister said to a little boy who was trying to serve God, and he a Christian: "When tempted, my boy, kneel down and pray for God's help, but never climb over the fence into the devil's grounds, and then kneel down and pray for God's help. Pray from God's side of the fence." That was good advice. Do not run into temptation, never go on the devil's side of the fence.
9. "But deliver us from evil." The black candle is produced which represents the dark deeds from which we pray that we may be delivered. Black deeds are dead black, because the wages of sin is death. Keep the black out of our life. Evil thoughts are seeds from which black fruits of sin are raised. Think white thoughts, that will make our lives right, and we will not do evil things.
10. "For thine is the kingdom." Produce another double candlestick, holding first a purple candle standing for the words, "Thine is the kingdom," and a white candle representing the great white throne, the seat of God's power, God has power to do all the things we ask of him in this prayer. We have asked the Father Allpowerful to help us. He can, and he will. History tells us of Hudson, the navigator, who was exploring in the arctic regions when his crew mutinied, and they put him and his son, and one or two sailors into a little boat, and left them to drift on the cold northern waters until death came and released them from all their hardships. The boat was found, months later, floating among the icebergs of the frozen Arctic Ocean. The father was in an upright position, as if steering the boat, with his little son between his knees, both frozen to death. You could see, by the tightened hand, how he had grasped the handle of the rudder, and by the terrible stare in his frozen eyes, what a determined man he was, but his face was full of despair and woe. He had not been able to save his son. Our Father has power to save all that come unto him, and power to keep them until the end.
11. "And the glory forever and ever." This sentence is represented by the orange candle. The orange color stands for the glory of God, as it is the dominant color in the glorious sunset from which shines forth the glory of God. The great painters of the Middle Ages represented the flame in the "burning bush" as being orange in color, which in their day was understood to stand for Jehovah. This last sentence is like a great doxology sung at the close of the prayer. It is like a grand organ chanting a loud "Amen." And now here we have the truth of the Lord's Prayer shining. No prayer is so full of divine radium as The Lord's Prayer. It is composed of sixty-six words, but this congress of words contains might and glory that have never before appeared in so many words. These sixty-six words are Holy Chapel Bells which call the world to prayer.
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HOW GOD COVERS MY SINS
OBJECTS: Two Large Prepared Cards
How to get rid of our sin! This has been the question of the ages. The answer can be given in a second. "They must be taken away." Jesus, the Sin-bearer, must take them away if they are to be taken away to stay.
When the Standard Oil Company was trying to refine petroleum there was a substance they could not dispose of. It was black and sticky. They could not burn it, it would not burn; it made a mighty stench. They could not run it into the river, because it would kill the fish. So they offered a big reward to any chemist who could solve the problem.
Chemists took it and worked day and night on the problem. One day, a chemist walked into the office of John D. Rockefeller and laid down a pure white substance which we now know as paraffin.
Your heart is like that black substance. You cannot make it white, but Jesus can make is as white as snow. Look and listen. I will show you the good news. Prepare a piece of cardboard twelve inches square, have on it the outline of a heart with a big black dot in the center of it, and write over and under it "My Sins."
Hold this up before the audience as a gospel X-ray photograph of the heart. Sin is an affair of the heart. It is a bad heart condition. The gospel offers the only cure. It comes down from heaven, Jesus brought it with him and gave it to the world.
Prepare also another card of the same size containing the words, "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin."
One night Martin Luther had a dream, and he thought he saw himself standing before the judgment-bar. Looking into the open book he saw opposite his name a fearful lot of sins. Some were sins of commission, others sins of omission. Some were deliberate sins, others sins of thoughtlessness.
Satan, standing at his side, said: "Behold your record [Hold up the heart]. There is no hope for you." But just then he saw to his great joy, written above the crimson stain, the words, "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." Now place the second card over the first, and the sins have all disappeared, and are under the blood forever. This is the way to take away sin, so it is taken away forever.
In old Scotland, in the lake district, they tell a quaint little story about a lonely little pool of water on the mountainside of Lock Lomond called the Fairy Loch. If you look into it you will see a great many colors on the surface of the water due to the varied nature of the minerals which form the bottom. There is a legend which says that fairies used to dye things from these waters for the people.
One day a shepherd brought a black sheep to the Fairy Loch and asked the fairies to dye it white. This the fairies could not do. They could dye white any color, but not the black. This was an impossibility, so in their despair they threw all their colors into the Loch at one time. This gives the Loch the colorful appearance now. No fairy or any human power can change the black of sin into the white of righteousness.
The pool of life is full of these fancy colors that declare that they have the power to change black to white, but they are only bubbles on the surface. Don't trust them. This is a matter for eternity. God alone can change black into white. The blood of Jesus Christ takes all sin away.
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WHAT THE FLAG SIGNALS SAY
OBJECTS: Four Plain Flags of Different Colors
Flags have a language. They talk to men when they are employed as signals. The standard signals of the railroad system send forth most important messages. Let us see what they teach on the Railroad of Life.
Prepare four common bunting or muslin flags, mount them on a plain flagstaff about the size of those used by the flagman at the railroad crossing.
First Flag. A red flag. This signifies danger, and when displayed it means "Stop." As you wave it, ask the little folks what things that cross our path need to be stopped. Help them by naming them first. Profane words should be stopped. The commandment which says, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" is a red flag that God waved out from Mount Sinai. Flag profane words which means, "Stop, don't swear."
Rev. Doctor Scudder, the celebrated missionary to India, on his return passage, while standing on the deck of the steamer with his son, heard some one using profane language. "My friend," said the doctor, "this boy, my son, was brought up in a heathen country, but in all his life he never heard a man blaspheme his Maker until now." A man reporting this event said what a shame it was that a heathen had a cleaner lip than a Christian. He was wrong. The true Christian never takes the name of his Maker in vain. He always flags that word. He throws out the red flag of danger.
Stealing needs the red flag also. Boys and girls are often tempted to take that which does not belong to them. It may be a pencil from the school desk next to them. Whatever it may be it is stealing. God flung out the red flag from Mount Sinai when he said, "Thou shalt not steal."
A boy was arrested in Buffalo recently for the theft of a bar of gold from a jewelry firm of New York City. The gold was worth $1,500. When asked why he had taken it, the boy said, "I was tired of working for almost nothing, and thought I could go out West and lay the foundation of a fortune with this."
What a foundation that would have been, a foundation made of a broken commandment of God. There are many people thus building today. They steal from the poor, giving scant measure to the tradesman, and stealing the good name of their companions. This is a bad foundation to build on. Flag the act of stealing.
Second Flag. A yellow flag. This stands for Caution. It means "Go slow, be careful." There are a great many things in life that may be harmless in themselves, but must be handled with care. Fire is a very useful thing. It prepares our food, and gives us comfortable heat for our homes, but we must handle fire with care, lest it break away from us and bring destruction to us all. So there are many acts we must watch, because if we do not heed the Yellow Flag of Caution it will bring great trouble into the world. We should always plant the yellow flag in the center of our amusements. Amusements, when they are pure and good, are right for us all. There is no harm in clean pleasures. God wants us to enjoy them, because we shall have pleasure forevermore in heaven, but here below evil pleasures are so mixed with the good that we must use the yellow flag of caution. Ask the children to name other things in which we must use caution, by reminding them that all doubtful things belong to this class. The yellow flag of caution should always fly over things we are not sure about.
Third Flag. A blue flag. This flag is called the "working flag." When it is displayed on the track, it means the trackmen are working there. Often they are repairing the road, or working on a wreck. The blue flag, therefore, stands for work. God plants this flag in our path every hour. Boys and girls with bright eyes see this flag flying, and start and get busy. There is an office boy in Chicago of whom his employer is justly proud. He likes to tell how he came to take him on. Busy at his desk one morning, he looked up to see a little fellow waiting, cap in hand, to speak to him. He went on with his work and in about three minutes the boy spoke to him. "Excuse me, but I am in a hurry." "Oh, you are, well what are you in a hurry about?" "Got to be in a hurry. Left school day before yesterday to go to work, and haven't struck a job yet. If you don't want me, say so, and I'll look somewhere else. I can't waste any time. The only place where I stay long is where they pay me." "When can you come to work?" asked the surprised merchant. "I'm here now," said the boy, "and I'd have been to work five minutes ago, if you had said so."
This lad saw the blue flag hanging from the window of the merchant's office, and he walked right in and reported for service at once. Over the gateway of the Lord's vineyard this blue flag is flying today. Jesus put it there, and on it is written in letters of gold, "Son, go work today in my vineyard." Let us walk in, and be as anxious to work for God as the lad was for the merchant. If we have an anxious heart and want to work with all our heart, we will see the blue flag flying everywhere. Lift up your eyes, and behold the world waving with blue flags.
Fourth Flag. A green flag. This signifies "Go ahead, road clear." The church flies the green flag. Walk in. It is the gate to the road that has been made clear for you. Walk in. Walk in, the flag is green.
The green flag is waving from the foot of the Cross. All is clear from that point to go. Go straight ahead. Ride over obstacles in the road. Keep going, and you will find God with your pardon all prepared for you and ready for your taking. He will also dispatch a guard of angels to go with you who will bear the green flag. They know the way of God; follow them and the green flag.
At last, my dear reader, when the sunset comes and the day of mortal life is ending, and you are looking out over the sea of eternity, may you see the green flag flying there. Then you will know "All is clear—go ahead."
It may give a good setting to this lesson if you should ask a boy or girl to come to the platform, and hold the flags as you present them one by one. Hold a grand review of the four flags and ask questions as to their meaning. This will help you to plant these flags in the hall of memory of old and young.
21
THE DEVIL'S GOAT
OBJECTS: A Number of Wooden Blocks and a Piece
of Stove Coal
It is good and proper to have real friends; friends that play straight and stick to the end. Evil companions are Satan's road-agents to hold us up, and rob us of the best we have. It is easy to sin with the crowd.
Sin masses men together until they think they are strong and often declare themselves right because "They all do it." This is a hard lesson to learn, and few there are who learn it early in life. A daughter asked her father's permission one day to visit a gay young friend of the world. Her father said, "I cannot allow it." Then she replied, "Then you must think me uncommonly weak." The father picked up a piece of coal [you do likewise] from the hearth and handed it to his daughter, but she hesitated to accept it. "Take it, my child," said he, "it will not burn you." The daughter obeyed, and the milky whiteness of her hand had instantly gone. The father said, "We must be careful how we handle coal, if it doesn't burn it may blacken."
No boy or girl can spend an hour with an evil companion and be one with them without coming away with a stain inside. If we continue with them, it is a direct route, fast express line, to fall with them. To illustrate this fact, set up the blocks endwise in a straight line a short distance apart. Knock down the first block, and all the others will fall with it. Now raise the last block, and see if they will all rise with it. But no, if once down they must all be raised one by one. How easy it is to fall with a crowd, but when we want to return we must come back one by one. Don't walk in the sinner's way or stand in the way of the transgressor, for together they will all fall into the pit.
Be on your guard. Don't handle the black coal of evil companionship. If it does not burn, it will soil.
One day a minister of the gospel was sitting in the office of a superintendent of a large abattoir, when a large goat came in and rubbed his head against the superintendent, "What is the meaning of that?" asked the minister. He replied, "Large flocks of sheep are often delivered to the slaughter-houses, and in order to get them easily into the place of death, Judas, the goat, is always on hand, and never fails to trot and lead them to the gate which leads to the gangway that takes them to the slaughter."
Beware of the Devil's Goats. They are working overtime. Walk in the narrow path and with the Good Shepherd. He slays the devouring beast seeking to destroy the sheep bearing his name. Don't tramp with sinners; stand alone. Stand alone in God's strength, and you stand forever.
Now take one of the blocks, stand it up endways; put a Bible on each side of it, and you will notice it is too far away from the other blocks to be hurt by them, and so stands securely, and can never be overthrown.
22
SHINING TRUTH
OBJECTS: An Assortment of Candles Teaching a Number
of Lessons
In this chapter you will find a few brief candle-light lessons which you can use when you wish to give a series of short talks of seven minutes. They can be arranged into one whole sermon if so desired. It is a cluster of shining truth candles, arrange them as you like.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Arrange ten candles in a straight line. Select blue candles, because they are called "Blue Laws," but show that the light is white because it is night, and they have been shedding light for the whole dark world.
The universal laws of the nations are taken from these great legal lights. They are God's lights, because they came from God, and if the world ever extinguishes them the world will be lost in hopeless darkness forever. Produce two yellow candles which stand for the two commandments Christ gave which contain the truth of all the Ten Commandments. This is how the blue laws turn to gold.
THE HIDDEN LIGHT
Produce a candle from a box in the corner. This represents a hidden light which does not shine even "in its own corner." It is a light hidden under a bushel. Many a soul has fine powers to serve the world for Jesus, but they are hidden in the dark box of disuse, and are worthless in the black world. They have buried the talent. Take it out of the box, light it, and place it on top of the box, and say, "Henceforth thou shalt be as a city set on a hill whose business it is just to shine."
THE VANITY FAIR CIRCLE
Arrange a semicircle of a number of highly ornamented candles. Name them Mr. Fine Clothes, Miss Fine Feather, Mrs. Good Opinion, Miss Show Off, etc. This is an exclusive circle, some of the noted 400 giving a little pink tea. Now bring in a plain white candle and say: "After all, this white candle shines forth as brightly as any one of them. It makes no noise, says nothing about itself, but just goes on and shines. It is not the clothes which make the light of life shine the brighter."
EXAMPLE CANDLES
Arrange on a table a long row of unlit candles. Light the first one, the second one from the first, the third, from the second one, and so one until the end of the line. This illustrates the power of a good example. One follows after another.
THE PRODIGAL SON IN CANDLES
This is the dear old story of the Prodigal Son in candles. Produce a solitary candle. This represents the boy at home. Surround it with a number of other candles, calling them the Prodigal's family. He feels he is all alone. He is not happy with parents and brother, so goes out where he may shine. Now move the light to the other end of the table. This you may call the "far country." Here bring a few other lighted candles and put them around the Prodigal light, and call them the gay company he found in the white way of the new land. Now take all the lights away except the Prodigal light, and say: "Now he is poor and alone. His gay companions have taken their departure, they have forsaken him and left him in want and poverty." Move his light to another part of the platform or place it on the floor. He is now down and almost out. He is feeding swine in the field. He is left all alone. No man cares for the swine-tenders. Now bring in a small yellow candle and place this beside him and say, "This represents memory," so he thinks of his Father's home and his Father's bread—enough and to spare, and as he thinks he says he will arise, and go home again. (Here remove the "memory" light.) Place another light in the middle of the table representing the Great Father who comes out to meet him. Now take both the lights back to the old home. At this point bring in a cluster of lights to represent the neighbors and friends who have come to greet him, and rejoice with his Father. "And they began to be merry." Then from another corner produce a candle which represents the elder brother, who would not go in to the banquet because of his dislike for his brother. Now take a light from the Home Cluster representing the Father, take it over to the Elder Brother light, and bring both lights back to the feast. Sing "Brighten the Corner," and drive home the lesson of coming back to the light, to Father and home.
THE HOT TEMPER CANDLE
This candle represents the angry man, the man with the ungovernable temper. With a good rasp, file off an ounce from the fire end of a poker. The iron filings produced are perfectly combustible, as may be proved by sprinkling them over the flame of a candle. As they descend into the flame they take fire, each particle burning like a star—producing, in fact, miniature fireworks.
The little shower of sparks will greatly impress the small eyes and will not be forgotten. (See Fig. above.)
SHINING THE LONGEST FOR JESUS
An evangelist was talking to a meeting of children. He illustrated his talk by bringing out a row of candles on a board. A very long candle was at one end and a short candle at the other. Between the long and short candles there were candles of various heights. He said by these candles he wanted to represent the Grandfather, the Grandmother, Father and Mother, and boys and girls, and the baby of the family who had never heard of Jesus until a missionary came, whom he represented by a lighted candle, and then they gave their hearts to Jesus, and from that day loved and served him. He then lit all the candles and said, "The whole family are now shining for Jesus." He then asked which candle represented the Grandmother, the Grandfather, and so on. They all thought the tallest candle would represent the oldest of the family, and said that one must stand for Grandfather. The evangelist said "No, that stands for the baby, the youngest member of the family," and then said, "Do any of you know why?" Presently a little fellow piped out, "I know why, he has the chance to shine the longest for Jesus." That was a wonderful answer, and it made a great impression on the audience. It was the heart of the lesson, Thus we find a message in the candle. Hear it. See it.
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THE BEATITUDES IN COLORS
OBJECTS: A Number of Colored Ribbons Illustrating
the Truth of Each Beatitude
This is a lesson for older heads. It illustrates the opening verses in the Sermon on the Mount.
Arrange a number of ribbons upon a cross-piece in the following order. If using ribbons is too costly, cut out strips from cheaper goods of the proper color and use them.
1. Gray. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Gray is the color of humility, and the poor in spirit are God's humble ones.
2. Black. "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." Black is the color of mourning.
3. Violet. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Violet is the color of the meek and lowly.
4. White. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." White stands for righteousness.
5. Red. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Red is the color of love, and mercy is the fruit of love.
6. Gold. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Gold stands for heaven, the golden home of God. It is there that we shall see him.
7. Purple. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." Purple is the royal color. We are children of the King. We bear the family purple mark.
8. Orange. "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Orange is the color of the setting sun, and stands for the glory of God. We shall see the glory of God's kingdom in heaven.
9. A cluster of ribbons, or one ribbon with colored stripes on it, represents the stripes of the garments which the Prophets wore who were persecuted. "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you, falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you."
As each color is put in its place, enlarge on the teaching of the Beatitude for which it stands. Fasten a little sleigh-bell on the base of each ribbon so they will jingle as did the bells on the skirt of the high priest. So the truths of the Beatitudes are like golden bells sending forth their message of truth to the world.
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THE GOSPEL IN THE FLAG
OBJECTS: One Large Flag and a Number of Small Flags
For patriotic occasions this lesson, I trust, will prove to be of value to you. Too much front space cannot be given our flag. Lawlessness and defiance to our Constitution is everywhere pronounced. Use the flag often, and show that we, as Christians, love our flag because it preaches the gospel as well as America's independence.
Secure a number of little flags, ask the children in the audience to come forward and occupy the front seats, then pass out to them the flags. Let them hold them in their hands as you bring out the gospel lessons from the folds of Old Glory. Notice we have three colors in our flag, red, white, and blue. The Red teaches us that the gospel declares that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. That is the heart of the gospel. God loved the world and gave his Son for the Cross. Every time I look at the red of the flag it makes me think of Calvary. I am glad the red comes first in the flag. It is first in the gospel also.
After this comes the White. This is correct also according to the gospel. The blood makes the heart white as snow. Purity is a great gospel lesson taught by the flag. After this comes the Blue which stands for faithfulness. We say of the boy who stands firm for the right, "He is true blue." This is a mighty gospel truth. Faithfulness is a rare virtue, but the gospel tells us, we must be faithful to the end in order to be saved.
Now note the Stars. They make us think of the star of Bethlehem and the sweet Christmas story. Jesus is the Bright and Morning Star, and he seems to be looking down on us from the star field of the old flag. Then as I look again the stars of the flag seem to say that, "They that be wise shall shine forth as stars." Then I pray that as these forty-eight stars represent our forty-eight States, so may the Star of Bethlehem be the national star of every State in our glorious Union.
Did you ever note the letters U.S. are the last two letters of Jesus?
So may all the other letters of the word Jesus be spelled out in the life of every true American, The J for Justice, the E for Eternity, and S for Salvation. As I look at the flag again I learn the lesson of the strength of organization. The Red, White, and Blue as separate colors stand for themselves alone. Unite them in the flag, and they stand defended by the Army and Navy of the country. Christians often say they can live the Christian life outside the organized body of Christians, called the church, but by so doing they stand alone and for themselves. United in the church, they are backed by the greatest organized power in the world, the church of Jesus.
I notice there are seven red stripes, which means that every day of the week we should be true to our country and to our religion. Note that here the red also comes first. There are six white stripes. Let these stripes stand for the great wars which have been fought with a clean sword, and so we learn that Old Glory is a preacher of righteousness. Long may she teach in the land of the brave and the home of the free.
Have a large flag on the pulpit, and ask all the children with their little flags to come up and stand around it, while all the people sing "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name."
This lesson can be used for a regular Sunday-night service for adults as well as for children. It could be used as a national lesson—just what is needed for Flag Day or Independence Day.
25
WHAT THE LETTERED BLOCKS SAID
OBJECTS: Some Lettered Blocks
Secure the loan of a set of children's lettered blocks such as they use during their play hours on the nursery floor. Spell out the word G-O-O-D.
Find out how many great words you can spell out from the letters on these blocks.
First we find the word G-O-D.
This is a lesson causing us to remember God in all our play. How do you suppose Jesus played? I think he certainly did play, for he was a real child, as we all were once. I think he played as we should play, remembering that God was near to see all we do, and hear all we say.
My dear little mother watched me play in the garden from the window. She never took her eyes from me. In those days sometimes children were stolen, or easily went astray. I can remember that often when a child was lost, an officer would go through the streets of my home city, ringing a bell and crying, "Lost Child—a little boy—five years old—dark hair—blue eyes." He had gone out to play and lost his way coming back. This was the way they had in that day of finding the lost child, and my mother kept her eyes on me when I played so I would not lose my way. God watches us in our play.
Let these blocks spelling "God" be placed on a shelf looking at us as my dear little mother watched me when I played.
Next go to the word "GOOD" and get the word G-O.
That is a fine little word. It says, "Always go when mother calls, go and do what she asks you to do." These two blocks teach us to be obedient to her call, and if you do so good people will call you a Prince. Some time ago the Prince of Wales visited America, and every little boy wished he could be a prince and have a large crowd of people looking at him saying, "Is he not fine?" Well, we can all be princes, that is if we go when mother calls we will be obedient, and to be obedient is to be more than a prince in God's eyes. The obedient "GO" boy should be called little Prince Obedience—for obedience means "GO" when mother calls, and "GO" comes out of "GOOD."
26
BLOTS TAKEN AWAY
OBJECTS: Two School Copy-books
John Maynard was a scholar in a little old-fashioned red schoolhouse far back in the olden times. He had been a shiftless boy and had drifted along aimlessly and carelessly. He had no desire to learn and did not study. One midwinter day some kind words from his teacher roused him to take a new start, and he became distinctly a different boy and worked hard to make up for his earlier faults. His copy-book lessons had been poor. There was a big blot on the first page. Inky finger-marks appeared on numerous pages. Sometimes he made foolish drawings at the bottom of the page just to make the scholars laugh. His copy-book was full of the marks of a careless scholar. But now he tried to go straight and clean, and no longer made the blots of carelessness. The closing examination came, and to the great joy of his father and mother who were present he passed well and with honor. But he discovered that his copy-books, which he had used during the entire year, were to be displayed on a table for the inspection of the visitors. He saw his mother looking over his books. All the blots and finger-marks of former times seemed to grow like big clouds. He was heartily ashamed of his early books, a mass of blots and bad work, and as he watched his mother looking over these books his heart was sick as he knew she would see them all. What would she say to him? What would she think of him? But to his great surprise he saw the smile of approval on his mother's face, and noticed she had called his father over to look also, and a look of pleasure beamed on his father's face, and they both told John how pleased they were with his fine work. They said nothing of his blots, finger-marks, and careless work. Afterward he discovered that his good teacher had removed all the bad pages from the book, and made the copy-book begin from where he started to do better. His dear teacher was just like God. He had given him another chance and had put the past out of sight forever. So God offers this chance to all who will turn to him. He will take away all the old blots of sin that blacken the past and give us all another chance, and he will make our life's record begin with the new start.
To illustrate this lesson secure two common school copy-books, the first one filled with careless lines and numerous blots. Let the cover be torn in many places to represent careless handling. It is full of marks of imperfection. It is a thing of ugliness to look at. On the front place a red heart, saying: "This is a record of a boy with a red heart of sin, This heart was the big cause of the crooked contents of the book. The boy now becomes a Christian. God takes the old book and gives him another, and a new start."
On the front page of the second copy-book put a white heart, which means "Here begins the new life." This book should have a perfect line at the top of the page you exhibit, and under this a childish handwriting should be placed. It should be a copy, as near as possible like the perfect top line. In this book, while all the lines are not straight or perfect, you can see they have been written by a hand that tried to follow the copy. It is also noted that the farther you look through the book you can note marked improvement in all of the work, So in the new life with the new start we do not always make perfect lines, but we try with all our heart to do so, and the older we grow the more perfect our lines will be. At the last day, the Great Review Day, the grand and awful day at the end of the way, only one book will be opened before the Judge for inspection. It will be the last book, the book of the white heart. The old book of the red heart will not appear, God has forgotten all about it. It has been cast behind his back. It has been sunk into the depths of the sea of forgetfulness. The book has been lost forever. It will never come up as a witness against us. We often sing, "They are all taken away." Another line should be added to this which would read, "They are all taken away to stay." This is according to the Scriptures.
27
A LOST HEART AND WHERE IT WAS FOUND
OBJECTS: A Child's Bank and a Paper Heart
"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
A little girl, daughter of a Western banker, was anxious to bring her father to Jesus, but he always said, when she talked with him on the subject, that he was too busy at the bank and did not have time to think of religion. This troubled the little girl greatly, because she knew her father's soul was in danger if he did not give his heart to Jesus. It seemed to her as if he had given his heart to the bank and not to God.
One night the little girl went to bed with a troubled mind, and in her sleep had this strange dream. She thought her father came down-stairs one morning and said that when he awoke he discovered somewhere that during the night he had lost his heart. He could not feel it beating in his breast, and therefore was sure some power had taken it away from him, and he was without a heart. The little girl thought, in her dream, that she heard all the family laugh at this strange story of Daddy, and they said, "Father must have lost his mind," if he thought he had lost his heart, but he only said, putting his hand upon his breast, "My heart is not here, I have lost it somewhere." The little girl was greatly troubled because she thought it was a sure sign that her father would soon die, because he could not live without a heart. Then in her dream a good angel came to her and said: "Dear little girl, your father is right. He has indeed lost his heart. He loves his gold, he loves it so much that he has given himself to the bank and forgotten God. Now, little girl, you can help your father find his heart again, for I am going to tell you where his heart has gone." The angel said: "On yonder shelf you will see a little iron bank; open it up, and you will find buried beneath the coins of this bank your father's heart." She did as the good angel directed, and there, sure enough, amidst the copper and silver coins, she found her Daddy's heart. She was very glad indeed at this find, and in her great joy she awoke from her dream. The next day she told her father this dream which she had had the previous night. He listened to it thoughtfully and said something about foolish little girls who think out strange things in their sleep, and then he turned toward his bank and spent another day, amidst his banking books. But all day long his thoughts were upon his little girl and her foolish dream, but the more he thought about it the less foolish it seemed to him, and at last he said to himself: "Dear little dreamer, God was talking to you in your sleep and was talking to me also. It is true I have lost my heart. It is buried under the gold of my bank. I have loved my gold more than God, and have given my bank my heart. The Good Book says, 'Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.' My treasure is in my bank. There is my heart also." This message from Dreamland caused him to give his heart to God, and he became a Christian, and then he let God keep his heart for him, and so Jesus found the father's heart and kept it for him forevermore.
To illustrate this, secure a small toy iron bank such as children use for the safe keeping of their pennies. Cut out a piece of cardboard the shape of a heart, and put this inside of the little bank, and at the proper time in the story draw it out and show the children that the bank contained the father's heart, covered up with the money. This money stands for the treasure of the people, and there you will find the people's hearts also. You can also paste upon this heart a number of pennies, so that when you take the heart out it will be literally covered with the treasures. What must be done with this heart that it may be separated from the treasures of gold which will separate the heart forever from heaven? It must be brought to Jesus and a new heart will be given in exchange. Although this heart covered with the gold of this world is therefore very attractive to most people, it is as black as night in the sight of God and the angels.
There was once a boy named William. He was in the habit of doing wicked things. Once he told a great lie about his classmate because he was angry at him, and the teacher punished this classmate, believing that what William said was true. At the next recess William noticed that the scholars kept away from him and looked at him as if they were frightened, but he did not think much of this. When he went back to school that afternoon he saw his teacher looking at him very strangely, and when he went home his mother looked at him and burst into tears. William then ran up into his little room to look himself over and stood before the mirror to see if he could determine what was the matter, and there he saw a terrible sight. By some mysterious power he had become so transparent that his heart showed right out from his body through his thick clothing, and it was a dreadfully black one. His coat was black, but it looked quite white compared with the blackness of his heart that was piercing through his coat, and when he saw this he was ashamed to go out, and hung his head whenever he passed any of his classmates, He tried to run into dark corners where people could not see his heart, but he could not find any hiding-place dark enough to hide his black heart. At last with tears in his eyes he ran to his mother and asked what he should do. He confessed to his mother the big lie he told about his classmate. His mother now led him to the mirror when he had finished his sad story. She said: "See, William, now that you have made this confession, your heart is less black than it was before. I think it will become entirely white if you pray to Jesus to forgive you. Tell your classmate and teacher and the scholars how sorry you are." William said to himself, "I will." That night he prayed long and earnestly and when the morning had come he was astonished to see how much lighter his heart had grown. This pleased him very much and he said: "I don't think I will trouble any more about my heart. It is growing so much lighter that I think the last remnant of the blackness will pass away in a day." So he ran off to school very gladly, but his teacher looked at him very strangely, and the classmates all shrank and ran away from him and he said he was ill and must go home. When he got to his room and looked in the mirror he saw his heart with more intense blackness than ever before. So that night he prayed very earnestly to Jesus to take away his black heart. In the morning he ran off to school in great haste. As soon as the school was opened, he arose before all the scholars and told what a dreadful thing he had done and asked their forgiveness. They all forgave him gladly, and at recess everybody was kind to him and played with him, and best of all when he got home and looked in the mirror he found that there was no great black heart showing through. He was a happy boy again, just as he had been before he told the terrible lie. This little story teaches the big lesson that the sinful black heart can only be made right by bringing it to Jesus.
To illustrate this you open the Bible to some great promise of forgiveness of sin, and place the heart on that promise, and close the Bible. So the sinful heart is now taken away. You open the Bible again at another promise of forgiveness of sin, and there take out of it a white heart, which you have put in there previously, and say, "This represents the heart of forgiveness." You place it back in the Bible and close the Bible tight, and say, "My heart have I hid in his word, and it is safe there forever more, and in his keeping it can never be lost again."
28
"BRIGHTEN YOUR CORNER AS A BUSINESS"
OBJECT: An Old-fashioned Candlestick with a Small
Candle in It
Some years ago an old friend of mine put into my hands an ancient candlestick containing a short stump of a candle. It was an old homestead relic. The good lady had used it in her childhood, and her mother had used it in her early days also. It was at least seventy-five years old, and had not been lighted for more than fifty years. It had been stowed away in the old garret and forgotten, until one day it was taken with other common things from its dusty hiding-place, and fell into my hands. At once I lit the stump of candle, and it sent forth its golden light again just as it did fifty years ago. It seemed to say to me, "I will always shine whenever I get the chance." I do not say, as some of you humans of the day, "If you had no better place for me than a dark corner in a garret, if you have forgotten me, and failed to recognize my place in the world, I won't shine for you now." No. "But I will shine for you or anybody that will put the taper to my heart. It is my business to shine. I cannot do anything else."
I have often seen folks unlike this old candle. If they cannot be first in the work they won't help at all. If somebody else is asked to take part, and they are not, they sulk about it, refuse to join in and work. If they are asked to do something that some other person has been asked to do, and refused, they say: "Play second fiddle! I guess not!" The New Testament tells us of a proud man who loved to have the prominent place among them. This is not a Christian spirit. Jesus said, "If any man will be great among you, let him be your servant." Brighten your corner as a business. This is the business of the Christian—to shine. The candle can do nothing more than this. It shines just as it is. It never tries to be an electric light, or to do the work of electricity, but is content to do its own work, and that is the work of a candle, just to shine as a business. The electric light gives ten, fifteen, forty candle-power light. The electric power turns washing machines, runs vacuum cleaners, heats irons, and does all sorts of things at the touch of its finger of power. All the candle can do is to give its small-power light. But notice how cheerful it is in the midst of darkness. It knows it cannot do the task of electricity, so it does not fret itself about it, but just shines and does its best to brighten the little dark corner; that is its business— just to shine. Watch it shine, and you will notice it puts its whole life into the business of shining. Measure it as it shines, and you will discover it grows less and less, and leaves nothing behind it—gives itself, and all of itself into the business of shining. It consumes itself in the process of shining, This is a true light picture of the Christian. Real service requires the giving of the entire self. David Livingstone, the heart of Africa missionary, gave all that he had and consumed all his energies for the good of the Dark Continent. He just let his light shine out until his body burned out, and when