Part 3

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

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

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

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

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

=9

THE SWORD OF --

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

=10

WHAT CAN TAKE AWAY MY SINS?

OBJECTS: A Number of Lettered Cards=

The teaching of this chapter is that faith alone in Christ can save. Prepare a large black card with the words "My Sins" painted upon it. Hold it up before the audience so all can see it, and remark: "My sins are dark and terrible. The Bible tells me they are like a thick cloud. (Isa. 44:22.) Note the first letter of sin is an S, which resembles a serpent in the act of striking its deadly blow. You cannot pronounce the letter S without hissing as a serpent. Sin is a deadly thing. It is poison for the heart and will. Sin is like a monster serpent coiled around our soul, and will at last crush out its life forever. I must get rid of my sins, They will not only ruin my own soul but will smite others also. Some years ago some scientific men made an investigation as to the cause of a contagious disease which had spread over a great city.

"It was discovered that a young man had been stealing goldfish which he put into a little tank in the floor of his room and covered it with boards to hide its secret place until he could sell them to another man.

"Soon after a great contagion sprang up in that vicinity, indeed in that very room, It began with him at first, and he was left crippled and blind and went limping along on crutches, a suffering permanent invalid. The contagion spread to others, and upon examination made by scientific men from Warsaw and Berlin they found out these fish had died in the tank, and were of such a nature as to spread at once a contagion which became of a most malignant type. A scourge overspread the land and carried away tens of thousands of innocent people. Sin acts just like that. Every act of evil deposited in a heart given over to disobedience to God breeds a miasma, the fumes of which go out on the silent air, poisoning the life of others as well as that of the sinner.

"I _must_ get rid of my sins for the sake of the other man as well as my own soul."

"How can this be done? What will take away my sins? Let me _show_ how my sins can be all taken away."

Prepare another card about an inch smaller all around it. Paint on it the word "Working." Shall I work? Shall I do penance? Shall I suffer bodily torture? Will these works obtain my deliverance? Now place this card over the black card "My Sins," and you notice it does not cover my sins. They still are visible. Working cannot save me. The "working"' card is not big enough to do it.

Now prepare a card with the word "Weeping" upon it, making that two inches shorter on all sides, and place it over the "My Sins" card, and you notice it does not cover the black card. It is too short. Weeping will not wipe away my sins. Weeping will not wash out my sins.

Weeping will not save me; Though my face be bathed in tears, That could not allay my fears, Could not cleanse the sins of years; Weeping will not save me.

After this prepare a card smaller still on which is painted the word "Praying." Place this against the black card "My Sins," and again this card does not cover the "Sin" card. Praying for deliverance from sin is essential, but we must act as well as pray. We realize our lost condition, and hear the voice of God say, "Come unto me." We must do something more than just cry, "Save, Save." We must _do_. The Prodigal Son would never have left the far country if he had merely cried out in fervent prayer, "I have sinned against thee." But he _arose_ and _went_. That was his way home. It is our way too.

Praying will not save me; All the prayers that I could say Could not wash my sins away, The debt I owe could never pay; Praying will not save me.

Prepare now a card only half as large as "My Sins" card, painting on it the word "Feeling." Try now to cover the black "Sin" card with this card and it will not half do its work, Waiting for "feeling" is useless delay. It would never save you if it should come. All the feeling that is needed is to "feel your need of him."

Feeling will not save me; Though I may so happy be As to think God's pardoned me, Feelings change continually; Feeling will not save me.

At last prepare a red card about an inch larger all around than the sin card on which you have painted the words "Faith in Christ." Now put this over the black "Sin" card, and you will perceive that it covers completely all your sins. It hides "My Sins" forever more. They are all taken away to stay, and as you say this remove the black "Sin" card and let it fall behind the desk, or cast it back of you, for this is what God does with our sins when he forgives them for Christ's sake. He casts them behind his back. Now lift up the red card, and the black has been taken away--and--taken away to stay. That is what faith in Christ will do. They are rolled away as a thick cloud forever.

Faith in Christ will save me! Let me trust thy gracious Son, Trust the work that he has done, To his arms, Lord, let me run, Faith in Christ will save me.

=11

WORDS OF ANGER

OBJECTS: A Large White Pasteboard Card with a Heart in the Center; a Number of Black Pins; a Large Apple=

I once heard a story about a little boy whose bad temper troubled him, because when in anger he would speak words that would cut and stick in, So in order that he might know how bad were the bad words he uttered he made a large white heart, and in its center he put a cross. He hung this card in his own room and called it "The Heart of Jesus." Whenever he said an angry word, he would stick in the heart a black pin, just to remind him of the fact that every cross word he said hurt Jesus. This soon brought him to his senses, and the heart with the black pins hurt him so greatly that it was a check to his bad speaking. This teaches us the fact that our sins hurt Jesus. When he was among men he wept over the sinner. Perhaps he does now.

Secure a pasteboard heart about one foot in diameter and pin it up on some background where the audience can see it, then tell the above story, and begin to put the black pins (or other pins) in the heart as you name the bad words the children say. Black pins are preferred as they will show more plainly by reason of the white background. After there are a number of pins in the heart call the attention to the fact that some of those piercing words were spoken about very small, simple things.

There is an old story that tells us about two brothers who were out walking together. One night, one of them looking up to the sky said, "I wish I had a field as large as the night heavens." The other boy also looking up, said, "I wish I had as many oxen as there are stars in the sky." "Well," said the first brother, "How would you feed so many oxen!" The other brother replied, "I would turn them out into your pasture." "What," said the first brother, "would you do that without my permission?" "Yes, whether you would give permission or not." And so they quarreled, and when the quarrel was ended one of them had been slain by the other. It began by playful talk, but ended in tragedy. I think that boy must have filled the heart of Jesus with black pins of temper.

Temper is a blemish, a black spot, and often happy little children that are called "sunshine," can in a moment turn about and show the black spot of temper and spoil all the sunshine. A good mother trying to teach this lesson to her little girl held up before her a beautiful apple and asked her what she thought of it. She said it was perfect and lovely. The mother turned it around, and there on the other side was a large black spot. "Oh, that spoils it all," cried the little girl. Then the mother said to her little girl, "I think that resembles my little daughter," and the little girl knew what it meant. Her temper was her black spot. So every black pin in this heart came out of the black spot in the heart of the one who spoke the angry words. A few days later the beautiful apple lost its glory, the black spot had spread, and the apple soon decayed. This was to teach the little girl that if the sin of temper was not thrown out, and persistently kept out, it would at last destroy the soul.

You can here introduce an apple fair and beautiful with a speck on the other side of it. This will help visualize the truth. Don't think that the black spot of temper will always remain on the hidden side, because it will find its way out sooner or later and will find you at last.

A schoolmaster one day missed several boys from school. He had a shrewd suspicion they were playing truant. In the afternoon the boys came to school and he asked one of them where he had been. The boy replied that his mother had kept him home that morning to mind the baby. "Let me look at your tongue," said the master, and he did so, and it was black. "It is just as I thought. You have spent the morning rambling in the woods, picking blackberries." He examined the tongues of the other boys and found them all black also. Their tongues had told on them. Black tongues of temper always tell out their black words. What shall I do with my angry words? My hot mouth so often shoots off evil words. You cannot slay them; when you think they are buried, they will walk out of their graves and fight again.

Bring your heart to Jesus, because your tongue only says what your heart whispers to it, Ask Jesus to give you daily good thoughts and let them speak out in good words.

Once I read a fairy tale about a good little boy. Every time he spoke there fell from his lips a piece of gold. He grew more beautiful every day, and at last married the daughter of a king. This is only a fairy tale, but it teaches us a real lesson. When we say kind words the angels treasure them in heaven as pure gold.

Now take the pins out from the heart, and cut out a number of blocks of gold paper, and as you recite the good words pin them on the heart of Jesus. Such people are precious in his sight. They are his priceless jewels.

=12

THE COPPER-FACE GIRL

OBJECT: An Old Penny with a Indian Girl's Face on It=

We all love to have our names written in important places. When I was in the Tower of London, I found one of the walls so filled with names written there, that it seemed to me to be impossible for any one to write another name. They wanted to be remembered. I think we all do. I want to tell you a true story about a little girl that had her picture engraven upon copper. She did not plan to do this, she gained this publicity unsought, and yet her face was in more homes in this land than any other. Even the homes of the poorest were glad to get it. The rich also rejoiced to look into her sweet face. Now look sharp at your penny, and you will see an Indian face. Look again with both eyes, and let me ask you, Do you see Indian features there? I do not think you do, not even the slightest trace of them, because the girl on the penny was not an Indian at all. Look again, and you will see it is the face of a gracious American girl. This is the story of how this sweet little American girl got her face made over in copper and stamped on an American penny. Her name was Sarah Longacre Keen. She lived in Philadelphia and died there a few years ago. For thirty-five years she was the Secretary of the Philadelphia Branch of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. One day, when she was a child, five or six years old, a delegation of Indians from the Northwest visited Washington. They came to see the sights of the great capital and to hold a pow-wow, with the Great White Chief--the President. After they had spent some time in Washington they visited Philadelphia. While here, among other places they were shown the U.S. Mint. The little girl's father was a master engraver, and connected officially with the great money factory. He was a good, generous man, and invited the Indian delegation to some sort of an entertainment at his house. One of the Chiefs had his attention attracted to the little Miss. He was so pleased by her figure and face and maidenly bearing that in a mood of sportiveness, he took off his head-dress and put it on her head. This did not frighten the little girl and so she stood still for a moment and let the people look at her. Then they all laughed and greatly enjoyed the joke, Some one present had an eye for beauty, and also artistic skill, and he was so struck by the appearance that little Sarah made in her Indian hat that he sketched her on the spot.

The sketch was engraved by her father. Later on when the Government wanted a new face on the new one-cent pieces they chose this engraving, and so little Sarah Keen's features became the best known face in America. This is the story of the Little Copper-face, and this was the way a little Philadelphia girl was remembered.

There is a better way to be remembered than stamping your face upon copper. We could not do this if we wished, but we can all be remembered by God, if we do his will, and try to do our best to serve him. This is the way to engrave our names on his heart. There was once a Bible-woman by the name of Phoebe. We read about her in Romans 16:1. She is there called "Phoebe, our sister." She is mentioned only once in the New Testament. A small matter, you say, to make her remembered forever. She did one simple, little act; yet we are all rich today because she did it. She carried Paul's letter to the Roman church which is now called by that name. A great French writer has said that Phoebe carried the foundation stones of the great temple of Christian doctrine. This was all she did. We never hear anything about her after that act, but think what it has meant for the great Christian church, and think what it means to all Bible readers today! In that letter, more than all others, is God's grace revealed to us.

She worked for Jesus in a humble way, and in such a simple way that all children can follow her example. She just carried things for God. She was God's errand-girl, so her character is engraved on the bronze tablet of Biblical history. Paul says, "I commend unto you Phoebe." God will commend you if you do as Phoebe did.

In delivering this talk hold up the penny as you describe it. This particular penny is a bit rare these days, but the banks will supply them, and some of the older people who have "savings" from other days, will gladly make an exchange for it. If you found it possible, you would make a great impression on the little hearts if you should give each an old penny with the Indian head.

=13

MAKING A CHURCH FLAG

OBJECTS: The Word "Come" Made by Flag Signals=

One of the best church flags is the flag of invitation.