Part 15

Announce at your Junior Service that you would be glad if they would write to you about the story or lesson of the evening. Let them tell the story you told in their own words, and you will be richly rewarded with a stock of information which they will thus give to you as to how children listen and oftentimes fail to get your point and don't understand the meaning of the words you use. You will often be surprised to note how well they do hear and how much you have put into their heads and hearts. You will notice the words they use, and how they construct their sentences. You will also get a hint as to the action of their little minds when they are thinking.

All of these things are of the utmost value to the worker with children who has his heart in his task. Sometimes ask them a question and ask for a written answer through the Junior Post-office. For instance, ask them if some good friend should give them a thousand dollars, what would they do with it. You will be amused with the answers you will receive. When this was tried once with a bright group of juniors in a city church, one of the answers was, "I would put it in the bank and save it "; another answer was, "I would buy books of travel," etc. The best answer the pastor said was this one, "I would give it to my parents." Each of these letters was answered personally and good counsel given to the letter writer. At the next meeting all these letters were read out to the children, and they took a vote as to the best answer. Sometimes the letters which come through the Junior Post-office will be little complaints. One wants to know why it is that he is never put on any committee, especially the committee for the annual excursion. Another wants to know why she is never asked to sing a solo at the meeting. Another calls the pastor's attention to a modest and backward boy who is a good reciter, but will never push himself forward. Another little girl inquires if her little brother at home who is too young to come to the meeting, might be made a member of the meeting and get all cards, papers, and other things that are given away.

These questions the children ask are big questions to them. They should be answered with dispatch and dignity. They are windows through which you can look into child life and "see things." Sometimes the letters will tell you of their little sorrows and troubles which to them are as real as your own. Your answer may give them a lift which they will remember all their lives. Often they will write to you about the Bible and its wonderful stories, and in their own language they will discuss these events. Children all believe the Bible unless some older head has been tampering with them. Sometimes this fact will come out in their letters. Your answer can easily set the matter right for all time. They believe in you, and what you say is the "big law" in the case, and that settles it. They will often tell you the story of their little lives which seems to be long and important to them, and by your answer you can tell them of their big friend Jesus, and how he leads all the way to the end.

At times they will want to know what they must do to be a Christian. The answer to this letter should always contain an invitation for them to come and see you personally and talk it over with you. You must, however, fix the time, or many of them will not act quickly. This is the best method to use in bringing children to Jesus. If in the open you ask them, "All of you who want to be saved and live a Christian life, come forward to the platform," after the first two or three respond they will often come forward with a rush. Of course, they do not want to be lost, but many of them have no real thought of what that act means, and so before their names are taken for church-membership they should each be dealt with personally. Just putting the name on a card declaring they desire to be a Christian is entirely insufficient and should never be regarded as final. Each one should be dealt with personally and alone.

After Decision Day or revival season their names should be secured and written to, and an announcement should be made that there are letters in the Junior Post-office for them, which should contain a request for a personal interview with them, at which time you can make plain the way of life. This Junior Post-office method will be a new way of approach to their inner life and will enable you, as their pastor, to give counsel that will linger with them for all time. They will also find that you are their good friend and belong to the company of juniors as well as the congregation of elders.

This, of course, will take the pastor's time. Well, so let it be; it is time well spent. And what if the work is hard at times? It is first-place work and pays the most in the work of the kingdom.

Jesus said to Peter, "Feed my lambs," before he said, "Feed my sheep." He put first things first. Go thou and do likewise.

=55

THE BLACK BAG

OBJECT: A Plain Black Bag=

When I was a boy in my early teens I had a Sunday-school teacher who was surely fifty years ahead of her times.

She knew nothing of a teacher-training course or child psychology. She never talked in public on the Art of Teaching a Sunday School Class. She knew but very little of those well-chosen words which the public speaker commands. She knew nothing of the science of public instruction. But she did _know boys_ and was a master of the self-learned art of interesting and instructing a class of early teen-age boys.

We boys noticed that often she would bring with her a black bag and would say to us, "Now boys, give me your attention, and after the lesson I will show you something I have brought with me to the class, and which I have in my little black bag."

This little idea showed her mastery over boys. She aroused their curiosity, and as curiosity is the mother of attention we all listened like regular fellows to what she had to say, and also kept a longing eye on the bag. We were all set to see what strange things she would draw from it when the lesson was over. She was a great teacher and always gave us boys a story form lesson, and it sank in to stay, and often memory brings back the truth she gave us and also the contents of the black bag. We can yet see pouring out of it wonderful truth as from a horn of plenty.

Sometimes it would be some little trinket which had a bit of history connected with it that brought our heads together and opened our eyes in wonder as we looked and listened. The first object I remember she produced from the bag was a little idol from China. She had a sister there who had sent it to her. We had never seen an idol before, and as we passed it around the class for close inspection and listened to her tale of how the heathen worshiped it, it seemed to our boyish minds as fascinating as a fairy tale, and just as wonderful. Sometimes it would be a little flower for each of us that was produced from the black bag. She lived in those days when many of the city homes had a front-yard garden. She had such a garden, and when any of us were ill she brought us a cluster of beautiful flowers. Sometimes the black bag yielded a big apple apiece, and we boys never tasted such apples before, and devoured them as only an always hungry boy can do when he is at his best.

We were always at our best when the black bag produced. Generally the lesson from the black bag had nothing to do with the regular Bible lesson, but was a supplementary lesson. Oftentimes there was no lesson to the object at all, but just a little gift which took its place with the reward cards of that day.

One Saturday morning I met my teacher going to the market. She always stopped me when we met and had a few words with me, and often down in her basket she found a stick of candy among the contents which she always gave me, and which I always received with thanks. Her thoughts were with her boys so constantly that she always had a bit of candy among things in her basket, thinking that perhaps she might meet some of her boys playing in the street as she passed by.

This particular morning she said: "Clarence, tomorrow I will have something new and wonderful in the black bag; tell all the boys to be sure to be present." Then she gave me a stick of candy which had a magic effect on my heels, for they seemed to have wings, as I spent the entire afternoon running around to the homes of the scholars and giving them the great news about the "Black Bag."

Next day we were all in our places and ready for the lesson and also anxiously waiting for the opening of the black bag. When it was opened she gave us a small bag of chestnuts and a picture-card. I have never forgotten the black bag, as you see I am recalling now its history in detail half a century after it opened to us its first simple lesson.

That dear teacher long ago put on her white garments and went to heaven. Her boys, six in number, never forgot their teacher and the black bag. I recall now that two of those boys became ministers of the gospel. Two of them went into the practise of law. One went West, and the other passed on. I am all that is left of the old class. The other boys are with her in heaven, and I often think that perhaps they talk over yet the story of the black bag.

I have such a black bag now, and whenever I use it in teaching I tell them the story of my dear teacher and her black bag. I use it now as a covering for my objects. If the children see the objects before you use them the surprise element is lacking. If they are brought out of a bag as you use them, the children will be curious about what comes next, and will wait and watch as you speak.

The black bag can be easily made as it is a regular bag. Make it about the size of a child's school-bag, and as books of learning come forth from such a bag tell them that they can learn something from your black bag. You may load it with a variety of objects, if you so desire, and let each object teach a lesson. Some of the objects used in the chapters of this book can be made first to appear from the black bag.

=56

HOW FIVE SPADES DUG THROUGH

A CHAPTER TO BE READ FOR THE TRAINING OF THE OBJECT WORKER=

This is an uncommon object-lesson. It is a curio in visual instruction. One summer while traveling in the great Northwest, I dropped into a Salvation Army meeting, and in their _War Cry,_ which I then purchased, I read the following story.

It is a record of the conquest of an uncommon object-lesson upon which God had put his great O.K. by the salvation of a soul. Read it through as another helpful illustration of the ministry of visual instruction in thorny ground. This was the story.

"A friend of mine was once coming on a train when five of the nine in the coach began to play cards; they were evidently sharpers, and before long challenged others to play with them, but all declined, At last they turned to my friend and said:

"We can see by your face that you fully understand the game; come, take a turn."

"I did know the cards once; but it is so long since I played that I forget how to play."

"Nonsense!" they said, "you could win all our money, if you only tried."

"Perhaps that would not be very much," he replied; "anyway, I will not attempt. Five of you are enough for your game; we will look on."

As they still pegged away at him, he said at last:

"Gentlemen, I tell you I cannot play; but there is one thing I can do."

"What is that?" they asked eagerly.

"I can tell fortunes."

"Capital! Will you tell ours?"

"If you wish it; but, I warn you it may not be very flattering."

"What card will you want?"

_"The five of spades, please,"_ and it was handed to him with expectation of great sport.

"I shall require one other thing, if you don't mind," he further said.

"What?" they asked a little impatiently.

_"A Bible."_

They could not produce one.

"No, but you had one once," said the fortune-teller, "and if you had followed its precepts you would not be where you now are. However, I have one," and to their dismay he produced it.

A pistol would hardly have been a more unwelcome object. But the fortune-teller began:

"Gentlemen, you see these two pips at the top of the card? I wish them to represent your two eyes; this one in the middle, your mouth; and these other two, your knees. Now, in Revelation 1:7 I read, 'Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him.' The speaker is the Nazarene, once red with blood for sinners like you and me. Your eyes will see him, and you will have to stand before him to be judged. That is the future of your eyes," he continued; "now concerning your mouth and knees, let me read Philippians 2:9-11: 'Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.' From this I foretell that: your knees will bow to Jesus, and your tongue that used to say, 'Gentle Jesus' and 'Our Father,' will have to confess that he is Lord of all. Your eyes will see him, and when you see him, your knees will grow weak, and you will fall before his majesty."

They got more than they bargained for; but he gave them some more.

"Gentlemen, that is only the first reading of this card; now for the second, if you please. These five spades represent five actual spades that are already made, and may, ere long, dig the graves of you five sinners, and then your souls will be in _the lost world_ crying in thirst for a drop of water and you will wish you had never been born."

The five card-sharpers were getting more and more fidgety; but it was useless, for they could not get out, as the train would not stop for some time yet.

"Gentlemen," continued the fortune-teller, "you may escape this terrible future, and my fortune not come true, if you will do what I did, and perhaps I was the worst of the six. My eyes saw Jesus upon a cross for me in my stead, bearing my doom, My tongue confessed him as Lord, and my knees bowed to him in lowly submission. If you do this, I can foretell the very reverse of all I have said. I have told your fortunes, as I promised, and if I am right, you ought to cross my palm with a dollar apiece; but I do not wish your five dollars. I will be content if one of you will promise to try the Saviour whose blood cleanseth from all sin."

They would neither pay nor promise; but as the train pulled up at the station they tumbled out as if the carriage had contained a smallpox patient, leaving my friend in possession of the "five of spades."

"Stop," he cried, "here is your card," which he tossed after them.

Recently walking near his home at Shepherd's Bush, London, he was accosted by some one saying,

"Good evening, sir."

"It is a good evening, if all your sins are forgiven," was the rejoinder.

"Yes, and I am glad you are still at it," replied the stranger.

"Still at what?"

"Telling fortunes."

"That is not my line."

"Well, you told mine more than ten years ago."

"I think you are mistaken," said my friend.

"No; any one who has once seen you can never mistake you."

He then recalled the memorable ride.

"Ah! I remember, and you left like a lot of cowards, without paying the fortune-teller."

"I am your payment. Your words came true of three of us; _three spades have dug their graves_. The other one I saw a few days ago; he is anxious to be saved from the fortune you foretold, and is attending religious meetings. As I parted with him I said, 'Sam, don't forget the five of spades.'"

"And what about yourself?"

"When you saw me, I had been to a sister's. I was right down miserable. Mother had just died. Calling me to her bedside, she had said: 'William, kiss your mother, and I leave you this Scripture: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him"' (Rev. 1:7). When you quoted those very words, it seemed as if my dear mother rose up and frowned upon the cards. That text followed me. I drank, and drank, and drank again; but continually I heard, 'Every eye shall see him.' At last I went to California, for the gold-diggings. As soon as I landed, having nothing to do, I stopped to hear some singing; the singers formed a little procession, and I followed to a hall, When the young man got up to speak, he gave out as his text, 'Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him.' It was more than I could stand; that night I bowed my knees in submission, saw Jesus as my Saviour, and with my tongue confessed him."

He was soon going back to the diggings; but that one interview was good payment for the fortune-teller.

This is the story of five spades which dug their way through a hardened conscience and there found the open door to a closed heart.

It was God's way and therefore wonderfully good.

=57

THE KAISER'S CUP

OBJECTS: A Plush Box and a Plain Wooden Box=

In one of the great New York daily newspapers some days ago I read the following announcement:

The Kaiser's Cup which belonged to the winner of a trans-Atlantic yacht race has been sold for the benefit of the Red Cross and was publicly broken into pieces in New York City. It was supposed to be made of solid gold and to be worth five thousand dollars. It was really made of pewter with a thin gold lining and was valued at about forty dollars.

"Things are not always what they seem to be," said one of the wise men of the other century, and the famous Kaiser's Cup is another illustration of the truth of that statement. When I was a child I read in my old blue primer the story of a great dance at which time two children appeared on the floor dressed in gay attire and danced to the great delight of the assembled people, who greatly wondered at the skill of two such small people when suddenly some one rolled an orange across the floor when the two little dancers stopped their fancy dancing and made a mad rush for the orange; they fought for it to such an extent that they tore off their gilded robes, and lo, they were only two little monkeys. It was the story of the Kaiser's Cup dramatized on a ballroom floor. Don't let a bright exterior dazzle your eye, remember the cup may be made of pewter, not gold.

To illustrate this truth, secure two boxes; one should be covered with plush, the other, just a common wooden box. The plush box should be empty, the plain box loaded with beautiful flowers or other valuable things. Have these two boxes on the table in full view of the audience. After you have told the story of the Kaiser's Cup, turn to the two boxes and say: "Look at these two boxes on the table before you; which of them do you think is of the greater value? I think I hear you answer and say, 'The beautiful plush box, it looks just like a box containing jewels.' You open it and find it contains nothing. It is the truth of the Kaiser's Cup in wood. Gold on the outside, pewter on the inside."

Then open the plain wooden box and show it to be full of flowers which you scatter about on the table or distribute among the people, "Things are not what they seem to be" is as true today as when the saying was first uttered. Learn to see things as God sees them; man looketh upon the outward countenance, but God at the heart.

Remember there is coming a time when the Kaiser's Cup will be broken. We call that time the Day of Judgment, the Bible gives it that name. When that day does come, then all that is hidden will be revealed; then our cup of life will be tested by God's word. Will it be pure gold or will it be like the Kaiser's Cup?

A little girl surprised her father by asking him the question, "What is God's address?" The father, wishing to teach his little child a lesson, said, "1421 Grand Avenue." It was the number of their own house he had given. He meant to say to her, "God is living here with us." Both God and the little girl had the same address. The cup of their home was gold inside also. Martin Luther had the same thought in his mind when once a stranger knocked at his door and said, "Who lives here?" Luther replied, "God and Martin Luther." If we can say this of our hearts, "Jesus and I live in the same heart together," we shall be able to stand when the great day comes when evil things will be opened up and broken up.

Remember the Kaiser's Cup.

=58

HOW TO MAKE A RAG MAP

OBJECT: A Map of Palestine Constructed with Pieces of Rags=

Here is another way of teaching children sacred geography.

It is a map of the Holy Land made of pieces of canton flannel cut out into various forms and put together in map form before the class. Secure a piece of black canton flannel or dye it black if it cannot be secured in that color. Mount it on a frame with the rough finished side on the front, giving it a slight tilt backward. Make this background as large as you desire, the larger the better, and make all the figures herein mentioned of the same material and put the rough side of each figure against the background, pressing down the figure and smoothing it out with the hand, and it will stay in its place without the use of pins or tacks. The fact that it stays put develops a great degree of interest in the little folks, and they will watch you with big eyes of curiosity. In building this rag map first cut out a number of strips about one inch wide, and with these make the coast-line.

After this cut out strips of blue representing the water ways and put them in their proper places. After this cut out a number of pointed pieces about five inches to the peak. These will represent the mountains. Put these in their respective places. Now cut out a number of square red pieces about two inches square, and cause these to represent the cities and put them in their proper locations.

After this much of the map is finished drill the children in the location of the rivers, mountains, and cities. Let them put the figures in their proper places and build that part of the map themselves. After this teach them the Bible history of each locality.

Cut out a star in yellow, put this over Bethlehem, and tell them the Christmas story. Put a red cross over Jerusalem, and call it the Crucifixion City, and tell them the story of the Cross. Now make a flat form of a water-pot and place it next to the city of Cana and tell the story of the first miracle.

Next cut out in brown a small ladder and place it next to Bethel. Tell the story of Jacob and his dream.

Cut out a representation of a bottle which you call a "bottle of oil," and place it near to Jericho, and tell the story of the Good Samaritan and how the oil was poured into the wounds of the man who fell among thieves.

Cut out now a representation of a hammer and place it over Nazareth, and tell the story of the Carpentershop and how Jesus worked in it while he was learning his trade. Cut out a side view of an altar and put it on Mount Carmel and tell the story of Elijah and the priests of Baal.

Cut out a representation of a green tree; place that next to Gethsemane and tell the story of the prayers of Jesus under the olive-trees.

Cut out a white representation of a tent and place it by the side of Hebron and tell the story of Abraham and the Visiting Angels.

Now cut out a number of dark green trees, and place them in the Mountains of Lebanon in the far north, and tell them the story of the building of Solomon's Temple, and how they took the timber from these hills to build the Temple.

Cut out a representation of a one-story Oriental house, and place it near to Bethany, and tell the story of the Home of Mary and Martha, the place where Jesus loved to go. After the map is finished take down these pictures, and ask the children to put them back into their proper places and tell the Bible story connected with each.