Part 6

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.

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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."

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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.

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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."

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"BRIGHTEN YOUR CORNER AS A BUSINESS"

OBJECT: An Old-fashioned Candlestick with a Small Candle in It=