Part 12

You are entirely right; plan a play-hour for the children of "the meeting." They have a right to their play. God gave them that right. Help them to use it to the limit. Let them make merry with their friends. It will do more for them than just give them a happy evening; it will give them a blessed memory, for when they are grown up, and look back to their childhood days, then will they remember that their religion was all tangled up with smiles and glee.

In those older days they will not say Christians are "joy-killers" and have outlawed the smile. Write it down in letters which stick. They must have their play-hour, they _shall_ make merry with their friends.

It may help you to build your program by looking over the following simple little stunts and pastimes. A half million children have given them their O. K.

=1. Doing Something No One Else Can Do=

Announce that you will do something in this room that no other person can possibly do, "I will seat myself where it will be impossible for another person to do so." Now, sit down in another person's lap. Nobody else can sit there while you sit there.

=2. Can't See the Candlestick=

For this stunt you hold in your hand an ordinary candle in a common candlestick. State that you will put this candle in a place where everybody but one can see it, and that person will not be blindfolded, nor shall he be prevented from examining every part of the room to find it, neither shall the candle be hidden. This is done by placing the candle on his head, taking care that there is no mirror or looking-glass in the room.

=3. A Coin Trick=

Stand up before the children. Place a coin in each hand, and stretch out both hands as far from each other as possible. Now say, "Without bringing my hands together, I can cause both coins to come into the same hand." This is the way to do it. Place the coin on a table, then turn around and pick it up with the other hand.

=4. The Prison Circle=

The circle that makes you a prisoner. Draw a circle around a person, placed in the center of the room, so that he will not be able to jump out of it, though his legs be free. This is done with a piece of chalk. Draw the circle around his body.

=5. Crawling into a Pint Bottle=

How to crawl into a pint bottle. This is a play on words in every sense, so it is played by playing on words. Hold in your hand a little ink bottle, or a pint bottle, and state that you will ask some little boy to crawl into this bottle. Watch every movement, keep your eye upon him. Select some little boy, who has been instructed beforehand, and also rehearsed in private, to come forward and place the pint bottle in the center of the floor. He is told to go out of that room and think how it can be done, and when he is ready to do it, he is to knock on the door. You then open the door, and he crawls into the room on all fours. This is crawling into the pint bottle.

=6. Candies Under the Hat=

Place three candies on the table about ten inches apart, and cover each with a hat. Announce that you will now place these three candies under one hat without touching but one hat. Look wise and approach the hats with a thoughtful and solemn face, waving your hand over them and muttering some incoherent words like "Hocus-pocus," and then call upon three boys to lift the hats to see if the sweets are yet there; after they have lifted the hats, quietly pick up the three candies, place them in your mouth, and put a hat on your head, and say, "The three candies are now all under one hat, and I touched only one of the three hats." You can add a little variation to this game if you so desire by saying after you have placed the candies under the three hats, "On second thought I will turn my back, and when I do so, I would like some one to rearrange the candies under the hats." You have previously arranged with one of the boys to do this service. He appears to be playing the joke on you by eating the candies himself. When you look under the hats you will find nothing there, but when you turn around, you quietly put one of the hats on his head so the candies are now all under one hat.

=7. Will Tell the Date=

Ask some one in the room to select a penny and note its date. You will now say, "I am under the charm of King Copero, and I will try to tell you the date. Don't let me see the coin at close range, because I want to tell the date without seeing the coin and cause you to witness King Copero's mystic power. I will now ask you to place it under the corner of the rug, and then stand on it, and King Copero will tell me the date." You now close your eyes and exclaim, "Copero the mystic, come to my thoughts and tell me the date!" Open your eyes, and look around the room for the King, and then place your hand back of your ear and exclaim, "Speak, Copero, tell me the date." You now exclaim, "I hear you, King. You have spoken indeed." Then with great dignity say, "The date is 1925. I did not say I would give you the date on the coin, but would give you 'the date,' and the present date is 1925 or the year in which you play the game." This will produce a smile and provoke genuine jollity.

=8. Making a Strong Man Sweat=

Here is the way to make a strong person sweat and become tired by carrying a small stick out of the room. This seems impossible, and it causes you to smile as you think it over.

This is the way to do it. Select the strongest and tallest boy or man present, and say that you have a task for him to perform. Place in his hands a thin stick not much thicker than a pipe-stem and about six inches long. Tell him he is to carry it out of the room and lay it down one foot from the other side of the door without sweating or becoming tired. Of course, he not knowing your intention will laugh at this proposition.

As soon as he promises to do this task take the stick and with a knife cut off a little bit so small he can hardly see it; then bid him carry that first. Then give him another piece of the stick, and so until it is all carried out. This would cause him to make about a thousand trips and more before he has carried out the entire stick, and it would take him two weeks working day and night to complete the task. It would surely make him sweat and grow weary. He himself will so conclude. This little stunt seems quite insignificant at first, and that makes the laugh more hearty at the last. This was a stunt quite common in the days of Washington and the Colonial children.

=9. The Disappearing Square=

Draw a square about two feet square on a large sheet of common paper. Pin it up on the door and say you have the pleasure of presenting to your audience the Wondrous Square which has the marvelous power of disappearing and reappearing right before your very eyes. Then ask the audience to close both eyes and they will note the square has perfectly disappeared. Then ask them to open their eyes, and the square immediately reappears again. This little stunt has been used by over a thousand little friends of mine and has helped them to make "merry with their friends."

It will often help a little to secure a small box of tricks and show them how to do them. Sometimes one of the invited boys may own such a box. Ask him to bring it with him, and show them how to do wonders also.

This can be made a large evening for the teacher personally. Be careful to listen to the children as they speak, observe the laws of their conversation, note down the words they use when they talk to each other, and when you talk to them talk as they talk, observe the same rules of conversation, and use their words when you talk to them in the lesson, then will they hear a lesson in their own tongue. It will be something new for them, and the lesson will be a success, and you will feel well paid for the labors of your social hour.

=46

"THE WORDLESS BOOK"

OBJECTS: A Small Book with Five Colored Pages[1]=

Some years ago in one of the mining-towns of central Pennsylvania, a Christian English miner was noticed going to a secluded spot every noon, and holding in his hand a small red book. He seemed to be reading it, and was deeply interested in its contents.

This caused his fellow workmen no little astonishment as the book was so small that he could easily read it through in a few minutes, yet he continued to keep the book before his eyes each noon for many long months. What could he be doing? Was he reading it or just looking at it?

That was the big question they all had in their minds. At last they determined to find out the truth about the book if possible, so one day they approached him with the question: "What makes that little book so interesting to you? It certainly must contain a most wonderful story to engage your attention for so long a time." The man made a courteous reply by saying: "It is a wordless book, and you are quite correct when you say it must contain a wonderful story, for it does record the most wonderful story the world has ever heard; it is the story of salvation." He then showed them the book. It was a book of colors only, not words, It was the Story of Salvation in Colors. He then explained: "The first page is black; that stands for sin. The second page is red; that stands for the blood of Jesus which covers the black. The third page is white; that stands for righteousness. And the last page is yellow; that stands for heaven with its streets of gold. This is the most wonderful story of the world, because it is the Story of Redemption which never grows old, and I never grow tired of thinking about it and seeing it by colors."

Years ago when I was a child I saw a little book just like that. It was published in London, England. When I first began to use object lessons in talking, I made an enlarged copy of it.

Later I got out an improved edition of this book, using one additional color (green) and have put it on the market. It is called the "American Improved Wordless Book."

With but little difficulty you can make one for your own use. This is the way to do it. Secure an ordinary note-book and cover the two open pages with black paper; this stands for sin. Cover the next two open pages with red paper, which will stand for the blood of Christ. Cover the next two pages with pure white paper without the ruled lines on it; this will stand for righteousness. Cover the next two with green paper; this will represent fruitfulness or good works. Cover the last two open pages with yellow; this will stand for heaven, with its sheets of yellow gold. You may make this book as large as you desire, and when you have finished it hold it up before your hearers and open it at the black pages and say, "The black stands for the sinful heart of man."

Read the following Scripture, "By one man sin entered into the world, so death [black crape] passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Rom. 5:12). Quote also John 3:19, "Men love darkness [black] rather than light because their deeds are evil" (black). Romans 6:23 is also a black verse; it reads, "The wages of sin is death" (black). Ezekiel 33:11 is another black verse. It says: "Turn ye, turn ye from your evil [black] ways; for why will ye die?" (Black.)

This is a picture of the heart covered with unforgiven sin, just as Jesus sees it and just as the judgment will show it.

What shall I do to get rid of the black? Look, and I will show you how. Open the next two pages, and they are red; that stands for the blood of Jesus. Now you notice that the black is hidden because it is all under the blood. Read Hebrews 9:22: "Without the shedding of blood [red] there is no remission." Isaiah 53:5-8 tells us: "He was wounded [red] for our transgressions, he was bruised [red] for our iniquities, ...the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity [red] of us all." Also quote 1 John 1:7, "The blood [red] of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin." Make it clear that the only thing that will cover sin so it will stay covered is the blood (red) of Jesus. "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" (Ps. 32:1).

God's red covering, the blood of Jesus his Son, is the only covering for sin; the Bible has so revealed it. Sometimes we try to cover over our sins with a lie or smooth words, but our sins will not stay covered that way. The Bible says, "Be sure your sin will find you out," which means, Be sure your sins will find their way out also.

I read in a little old story-book years ago this interesting little tale. Three little brothers had been promised by their father that if they planted a certain number of hills with beans they might go to the circus that afternoon, and see the clown and everything. They began early in the morning and worked with great vigor and zeal to finish their task, but just before they got to the last row they heard the circus band playing and saw the horses and elephants passing by in the great street parade of the greatest show on earth. They were sure they would be too late if they finished that row and planted all the beans their father had given them, so the Tempter said to them: "Dig a hole, put all the beans you have left into it, and fill up the hole and roll a big stone over it, and they will be hidden out of sight. Then go and tell your father you have finished your planting, and he will then give you your circus money, and you will thus see all of the show."

They listened to the Tempter, and did as he told them, and reported to their father their work was done, and the father according to his promise sent them to the circus. Some weeks afterward the father was inspecting his garden, and noticed there was an entire row of bean-hills from which no little green blades had yet made their appearance. The father sent for his sons and called their attention to the fact that in every row but the last one the beans had sprouted; he wanted to know if they could explain to him the failure of the last row. The boys assured the father that the seeds had been planted and if he would wait just a little while longer they would come up like the other seeds. The boys were troubled a lot about it, but they thought their father would never know why the seeds did not come up, because they had been cast into a hole and a great stone had covered them over so no one would ever see them. But one day a week or so after this the father was walking out again in that part of the garden and thought he noticed some little green blades pushing themselves out from beneath the stone; so he rolled away the stone and there in the hole were the little seeds trying to sprout and come up out of the dust.

He called his boys to him and showed them the sight, and they confessed their wrong-doing and promised they would never deceive him again, even to go to the greatest show on earth. So we see how their sins did not stay covered, they found their way out. So it will be with all our sins, they will find us out, and at the day of judgment will find their way out also.

The only thing that will cover sin so that it will not find us out is to put it under the Blood. There it will not find its way out, because forgiven sin is taken away to stay forever.

Open now the next pages, and you will find them pure white. The white stands for righteousness. Read Psalm 51:7: "Whiter than snow." This is the Snow Prayer. Ask the children to repeat it in concert. Read John 13:10: "Clean every whit"; this means all the black has gone, and the all white has come in its place. Only the blood of Jesus can do this. Make no effort to explain this, but quote it as a fact. It is so stated in the Bible and the Bible is true.

Now open the pages showing the green and say: "Green stands for fruitfulness, as it is the green branch which bears the leaf, blossom, and fruit, so should we bear much fruit or as the great Sankey sang in other days, 'When Jesus has found you, tell others the story'; that is what I am doing now, telling you the story and trying to bear fruit." Read Matthew 21:28, "Son, go work today in my vineyard." Read also Galatians 6:10, "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men."

Say to the children that as the pine and ivy are green all the year around and never change with the seasons, so should the Christian always be abounding in the work of the Lord. Read Galatians 6:9; "And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."

Now open the last pages and you will note they are both "yellow"; these pages stand for heaven, with its streets of yellow gold. These pages remind us of our eternal home, the home of the soul to which we will all go if we follow the teaching of this book. Quote John 14:2,3: "I go to prepare a place for you... I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there you may be also." Read also selections from Revelation 22.

You now say I have finished my story. It is the most wonderful story in the world, because it is the story of salvation. It is a story without words, because it is a story in colors.

Close the book, and ask the children how many colors they saw in the book. Ask them to name the colors in their proper order. Drill them in repeating the colors of the book. Then ask them to give you the meaning of each color, after this fashion: Black for sin, red for blood, white for righteousness, green for fruitfulness, yellow for heaven.

Drill them now in the meaning of the colors. When I am giving this lesson I ask some little fellow to come to the platform, and offering him the book, I say: "Would you like to have this little book as your own?" Of course, he says, "Yes," and as you offer it to him he reaches out his hand to take it, and you explain that this is just the way to receive salvation. You simply "Take it." Conclude by quoting "The Spirit and the Bride say, Come, and whosoever will let him take."

A private use may be made of this book in the devotional hour. Look at every page and read the Scripture noted, and then meditate in silence.

[1]The author has prepared such a book. Write to him about it in care of the publishers.

=47

THE HEART OF SEVEN DEVILS

OBJECTS: Cardboard Hearts and a Number of Colored Cards=

Text, Luke 8:2: "Mary Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils."

The heart of this unhappy woman was like a steel-girded prison cell. It had locked in it as prisoners seven devils. Jesus opened the door, and cast them out, and went in himself, and shut the door after him, and when he shuts no man can open. Mary Magdalene was in the hollow of God's hand forever.

Let me tell you how the seven devils got into her heart, and the story of how they were cast out when she met Jesus.

Mary Magdalene was just like the rest of us, for we all have seven devils in our heart, and some have a few more. She was born in sin like all of us. She was not born a sinner; none of us are, for we do not become sinners until we arrive at that age when with a free choice we choose to do evil, then we are sinners.

Mary Magdalene began like a pure stream which starts in the mountain; but as it descends to a lower level polluting streams of water flow into it, and by and by the river is dark with impurities.

The Hudson River has its head in the highlands of the Adirondack mountains, 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. It has a good start. It is almost "holy ground." There the trees have grown tall and beautiful for hundreds of years. Beneath the shade of these the baby river rolls out and on. It plunges over the rocks in beautiful cascades and races on to its river bed. Wild beasts wade through its cooling waters, slake their thirst, and at night sleep by the river's side when the high sky hangs out its golden lanterns and smiles at the little baby climbing over the sides of its mountain cradle. And so the river rolls on larger and larger with the benediction of God and nature.

At first the child river is as clear as the air, as polished as the fairest diamond. So Mary Magdalene started life as fair as the mountain stream. She was born on the shore of the blue waters of the Lake of Galilee. She was not born in the slums, nor was she in her early days surrounded by the vicious, she did not spend her childhood in rags and filth. Beyond all doubt she was well born, and belonged to the upper class.

She seems to have inherited wealth which she spent in after years, ministering to the work of the Saviour. She was like a zephyr, pure as the mountain air; she was as free and cheery as the birds of the high hills. Then temptations came, and the polluting streams of sinful rivers flowed into this little mountain stream. At last her beautiful heart became the prison house of seven devils.

To illustrate this lesson prepare a _white_ cardboard heart. Make it a double heart with the top of it left open, so you can put into it seven small cards, representing so many devils.

Call this heart Mary Magdalene, and then as you talk of the polluting streams which flow into it deposit the cards standing for the seven devils into the heart that is clean and white.

Name the devils:

_Disobedience._ This is the sin that is ready to grip us as soon as we tumble over the side of the cradle of life. She went wrong just by disobeying her parents; at least most little folks do, and I suppose she was just like the rest of us. Once there was a prisoner who sat in his cell awaiting the fast approaching hour of his execution. While he was thus waiting, with a piece of clay he drew on the wall of his cell a picture of the gallows upon which he was soon to die. He made a number of steps which led up to it, and called each step after a sin which he had done that soon would lead him up to his doom on the gallows. The first step he marked was "Disobedience to Parents." That was his first great sin, as he saw it. Now take a small _black_ card on which you have written the word "Disobedience" and put it into the heart. This is the first devil.

The next polluting power which entered the heart we will call "Sinful Dress." In the land where Mary Magdalene was raised the people dressed in gay colors, and wore much and very elaborate jewelry on the ankles, arms, neck, and head; there they placed their bands of gold. They had large opportunity to overdo the dress question, and they did so. The rich owned many changes of raiment, and often like the leaders of fashion today could boast that they could change their costumes hourly if they so desired. She was doubtless very beautiful and charming. Her Oriental garments made her look like a queen in royal splendor. She soon "fell" for this polluting poison called "fashion," and like millions of her present-day sisters her feet got tangled up in her robes of fashion, and she slipped and fell from the pinnacle of purity into the madly burning lake of sin. As you make this remark drop in the heart a _pink_ card on which the words "_Sinful Dress_" have been written. This is the second devil.

Make it clear to your hearers that carefulness in dress is not wrong, and neatness is not vanity.

Now produce a blue card on which you have marked two large letters "CO.," which stands for "Company."

Soon Mary Magdalene found evil company as did the Prodigal Son and soon she was a common sinner.

Evil company is like evil spirits seeking to pull down to their level the highest and best. As you say this deposit this card into the heart and say, "This is the _third devil._"

The next devil to enter the heart we will call "Bad Money."

Write down on a yellow card the dollar sign ($), and say that once a minister of the gospel read from his pulpit a request for prayer which was as follows: "Prayers are requested for a young man who has just inherited a fortune."