Wh

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p
C ong r eg ati on

at

aui nt

of Objec t Sermon s Pr eache d to th e Juni or

Congregation of Su mm it P e byter ian C hur ch
Ger mantown Pa by the Pastor

Ser i e s

MA
J ni r C hri sti n E n d
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m ny y rs

RO B IN S O N P D B E NN ETT
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PHILADELPHIA

WEST MIN STER PRES S

I91 3

by

AND ER HE N RY D D
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C p y i g h t 9 b y th T r st
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P R E FA C E

T h i s l ittl e manua l of metho d s an d materi a l for

wor k with chil d ren i n the serv ices o f the church is
the result o f severa l years o f actua l experience
with j ust such conditions as are mentione d herein
an d the sermons are the resu l t o f an attempt to
meet the chil d s n eeds i n t h e morning service o f
th e ch urch T he p l a ns a d vocate d h av e b een trie d
an d appro v e d either b y the author o r by an
expert i n this form o f wor k For man y years
these id eas relative to th e ch ild at church have
b een forming themse l ves i n th e author s min d an d
heart as h e has d eal t with children i n Christian
E n d eavor wor k S un d a y schoo l an d churc h
services T h e appende d sermonettes are for the
most p art original an d are an attempt to meet
th e needs o f pastors wh o h a v e e i ther n o t i me o r
no aptitu d e for such sermonic composition
As a further reaso n for th e publication o f th i s
l ittl e b oo k let me s ay that i n th e perusa l o f many
books o f sermons adapte d to children I nd t h at
there are few pub l ishe d upon this side o f th e water
I t i s with a d esire to a dd to the American l iterature
,

PRE FAC E

t h e Children s Churc h an d with a stil l greater

desire to s ee t h e inauguration o f a C h ildren s

C h urch in every Co n gregation of Christians t h at
I commit t h is work to t h e hands of my brethren
in t h e ministry
R P D B

of

Germantown

Pa

M arch

91

C O NT E NT S
Pag e

IN T ROD UC T I ON B Y AL EX ANDE R H EN RY D D
TH E M O T I V E
TH E M I S S I O N
TH E M E T H O D
THE M AT E R I AL O R T HE M E SSA GE
TH E R AIL RO AD FRO G
S M OOTH I NG O UT T HE B U M P S
TH E F U NNE L T HE SI FT E R A ND T HE SP O NGE
B OLTS A ND HI NGE S
THE BRE AD O F L I F E
L IF TE R S A ND L E ANE R S
I N S UL AT ED C H R I ST I A N S
TH E G I RL O N T HE PENNY
N OT s o F U NN Y T HEN
,

PH CE B E

P AL M S O R G AR MEN TS ?
T H E CRYI NG S T O NE S
Ho w JE S U S C AME D O WN T HE S T AI R S
H O W TO S EE T HE RI S EN JE S U S
JE S U S T HE G A RDENE R

G E TT I NG O N T O H IS C U RVE S
L E SS O N S O F T HE T A R GE T
T H REE F L O WE R S 0 F FREEDO M
I NVI S I BL E E NEM I E S
,

CONTENTS
Pag e
HO W TO TELL

P O I S ON S
B U B BL E H O NO RS
TH E T H REE SI E V E S
TH E L I O N T HE B E A R A ND T HE S E R P EN T
WE I GH I NG H E ARTS
THE DA NGE RO U S S H AD O W
B AC , I N H A RNE SS

, EYED U P
P IC , I NG U P T HE B u oYs
ARE Y OU A H O B AB ?
N AT U RE S WRE ATH REM AI N S
C ANNED G O OD ,S ,
TH E L E SS O N O F T HE S U ND I AL
.

1 0

I12

1 1

1 1

1 22

1 26
.

TO

1 09

TWO

1 0

ON E

S AL T

30

35

38

41

45

I 49

C H ANGED C U P S
C H RI ST S S ENT I NEL
WH AT JE S U S S EE S I N U S
TH E E M P T Y S E ATS
WH O S AFRAID P
U N APP RE C IAT ED C H RI ST M AS G I FTS
TH E

52

59

63

T6 O
1

71

I N T R O D U CTI O N

S ecurin g the atten d ance O f th e chil d ren at the

church services is a subj ect that i s fre q uently d i s
cussed nowadays

Wh en we h a d th e o l d family pew an d the

famil y occupying i t every S unday morning there
was n o q uestion Of th e presence Of the children
W ith th e changing con d itions Of church l ife an d
church serv ices h owever the chil d ren hav e b ecome
more conspicuous by their absence than by their
attendance
Various p l ans h av e b een propose d for b ringing
the boys and girl s to the preac h ing S ervices O ne

Of these plans i s k nown as T h e J unior Congre

gation
The youth O f the congregation under
th e ages o f ten o r twelve years are forme d into a
congregation t h at is expecte d to atten d the S unday
mornin g serv ice
After th e O ff ering has b een ma d e the pastor
preaches a b rief sermon to t h e b oys an d girls Wh o
are seate d s o far as possible i n the front pews
U pon th e conclusion Of t h is sermon a hymn is
s un g ; an d d urin g th e Si ngin g any Of th e chil d ren
.

INTROD UCT I ON
Wh o desire to l eave t h e chu r c h o r to s i t With their
pa r ents are at liberty to do S O
T h is plan h as been in Ope r ation several years i n
Summit Presbyte r ian C h urc h Germantown Pa
T h e sermons fou n d in t h is volume we r e preac h e d to
t h e c h ildren at t h ese services I t was my privilege
to h ear a n umber O f t h em a n d I can bear te s timony
to t h e fact t h at t h ey were o f interest to t h e adults
as well as to t h e c h ild r en O n more th an one
occasion i t seemed to me that if t h e le s so n s c o n
tai n ed i n t h ese c h ild r en s se r mons were j u s t the
lessons t h e fat h ers a n d mothe r s needed to learn
Pastors Wh o a r e preac h i n g to t h e c h ildren will
nd this book sugge s tive an d helpful I t would
be a good plan for pa r ents to get it a nd read a
chapter to their chil d ren o n Sunday afternoon
,

AL E X AN DE R H E N RY

T H E M OTIV E
T he J unior Congregation i s not a plan upon
paper I ts substance is not a k in to t h e roseate
h ues o f an evanescent dawn I t i s not th e c h ild
I t is t h e real
O f a preac h er s holiday d reams
thing
I t has b een put to the test o f time o f
criticism Of monotonous methods and poor p r each
ing an d has come o u t pure gol d I t meets a need
I t gets the child I t saves the church
T h e J unior Congregation i s not a Chri stian E n
I t i s t h e church o f Christ in
d eavo r Society
j unior form
I t is the church Of Chri st i n th e lives
Of b oys an d girls I ts O b j ect i s not to help t h e
church i ts Obj ect i s to b e the church
I t i s an
attempt o n t h e part Of the church to realize i n
the l ives Of the b oys an d girls t h e fact Of their
union with th e v isible ch urch i n b aptism
I t is
not seeking to train c h i l dren to work i n the church
when t h ey are grown b ut to wor k i n the church
now
I ts chief purpose is to d raw the minds Of the
children to t h e t h oug h t that above an d b eyon d all
outside associations an d societies th e chief organ
Of the S aviour for the propa gation Of his kin gdom
in the wo r l d is the c h urch
T h e name Of this new organization i n the his
tory Of Christian p rogress which i s meeti n g the
.

WH AT I TELL

MY JU N I OR

CONG RE GAT I ON

rea l need in th e church life o f to day came f r om

th e First Refo r med C h urc h O f B rooklyn being
given by th e pastor Rev J M Fa r rar D D
wh ose g reat h eart a nd great p h ysique as well have
ever been given to t h e c h ildren O f his c h urch
I n t h at c h urc h for many years th ere h as been
th e O rganized J u n ior Co n gregation t h e rst to be
S O orga n ized in t h is country
o r for al l t h e author
knows in any oth e r
T h ere is a powe r ful motive behind th is par ti c

ular branch O f c h u r c h activity

Fi r s t T h ere is
t h e poor trai n i n g manifested in t h e members O f
th e c h urch to day Wh at pa s tor is not burdened
Wit h the con s ciousne s s O f ins u fciency in the great
maj ority O f h is c h u r c h members ? And in seeking
th e reason for t h is deciency may we not lawfully
amo n g ot h er things to
s ay t h at it is la r gely due
the lateness Of t h e h our Of life at w h ich t h ey b e
gan to realize their respo n sibilities to t h e rea l
work Of th e church ; and to th e want Of k nowl
edge as to the meth ods employed i n t h e v arious
b ranch es Of th e work O f t h e c h urch
I must confess t h at it was some time after my
union with the church that I came to k now t h e
workings Of those great b oards Of the church
t h rough w h ose instrumentality the rea l work Of
th e c h urch is done We begin i n t h e primary
sch ools Of o u r l and to day to teac h t h e babes t h e
meth ods Of o u r civil government
Then Wh y
shoul d w e tarry til l these impress ibl e y ears are
-

10

TH E

M OT I VE

gone to tel l the chil d the methods Of his M aster s

k ingdom an d to accustom him to t h e wee kly
routi n e O f church going an d church working ?

S econ d T h ere i s a reason in the l ac k Of a proper

valuation place d b y t h e p resent g eneration u pon

t h e O fce Of th e Christian c h urch

Can t I b e a
Christian without j oining the c h urch ?
H O W many
times i n a month d o we pastors get heartsic k over
the sentime n t embodie d i n these words
An d d o
we not k now the sorrow Of h aving a l arge meeting
Of C h ristian E ndeavorers le o u t from the l ectu re
room an d go home w h ile th e empty seats at th e
after evenin g service Of the ch urch cal l to them
i n v ain
I t i s b ecause t h ere are S O man y excel
l ent organizations that are p aralleling th e l ife
an d wor k o f th e church that th e J unior Congre
I s i t not true
g a ti o n has b ecome a necessity
that doing th e w or k Of these organizations which
are Of course a p art Of t h e church life t h e young
people fee l i t entirely u nnecessary to enter i nto t h e
r eal fe ll ows h ip o f t h e c h urch ?
The sacraments are not v al ue d as they once
w ere A n d we Often h ave the sad d ening spectacl e
Of p astors stu fng the mai l boxes wit h pleading
c i rcu l ar l etters almost b eseeching the C h ristians
to come to the table o f their L ord
An d when it comes to t h e matter Of b enevolences
i t i s not at al l a di f cult matter to conceal from o u r
l eft han d what o u r right han d doeth When o u t
Of a mem b ershi p Of three hun d re d about fty per
,

11

WHAT I TE LL MY

JU NIO R

C ONG RE GAT I ON

cent contribute regularly to the c h urch su p port ;

and when o u t Of a like membership only forty
units contribute to the b oards Of the church with
any regularity Or system i s there not motive
enough for th e careful a n d systematic i ndo ctri
nation O f t h e c h ildren o f t h e church i n th e matter
Of t h eir steward s h ip to Go d
T h e whole attitu d e Of men an d w omen to the
c h u r ch as a means o f g race is that o f g rowin g

indi ffere n ce There are few Sons o f t h e Taber

nac
le to day as compare d with t h e d ays Of y our
boyhood The attractive power Of the church as
a center toward w h ich Christians naturally gravi
tate i s s o much l ess i n these days o f numerous
societies and cults as to ma k e t h e cultivation Of
church l ife a feature i n t h e religious trainin g Of
o u r b oys an d girls
To b e a bl e to present to the
comin g generation a company Of young men an d

women wh o c an h onestly s ay I must b e i n my

Father s h ouse an d about my Father s b usiness

an d wh o woul d rather be doorkeepers in the c h urch
Of Go d than P ast Gran d E xalted R u l ers Of the
nest organization Of men ever g ot together
wil l b e a service that will amply repay al l the
energy the pastors Of the present day church
c an expend
There i s a b od y Of men an d w omen
in o u r c h urch es w h o have b een aptly d ubbe d

The O uter C h urch

They are th e church t h at
surrounds th e t r ue church T hey are atten d ants
at her s ervices t h ey are contri b utors to her n ee d s
,

12

TH E MOT I V E

they are i ntereste d in h er tempora l progress B ut

there th e i nterest stops They care not fo r her
sacraments
They wil l not j oin the i nner circle
Of h er l ife T he y w i ll n o t share her r espo ns i b i l
i ti es
A mem b er Of m y con g regati on w ho ha d run the
g amut Of churches from Friends M eeting to High
Church E p i scopacy when aske d why h e di d not
unite w i th th e church h e was now attending

replie d
I have b een to al l Of t h em c an agree
with none Of them and s o I now s i t o n t h e fence

an d watch them a ll pass by

B ear witness with
me ange l s Of th e churches that y ou dea l with
many such
S itting o utside y our church proper you k no w
y ou h ave a miserable lot Of Noah s carpenters
wh o hel p to d rive t h e nancia l nails to hol d your
wor k together b ut wh o like N oah s carpenters
will not come i nto the ark after they h av e helped
to buil d i t
I t is i n the eld o f this outer church that I can
gl ean suf cient motive for th e establi s h ment Of a
J unior Congregation which shall teach th e children
Of o u r churches that t h ere is more i n o u r church

duties than sittin g o n th e fence an d seeing

t h e thin g go round I t i s th e unfortunate l ack O f
persona l responsibility to al l th e services an d
sacraments Of th e church o n t h e pa r t Of t h e
mem b ers Of i t that i s responsible for What D r W

J D aw son calls The A r r est Of Christianity

.

13

WH AT I TELL

MY JUN I O R

C ONG RE GAT I O N

Third T h en th ere i s the Obj ect l esson to b e

seen in many c h urch es o f t h e conspicuousness o f

the child r en emp h asized b y t h eir absence

A re

the children Of p rofessi n g C hr i s ti a n s a s ks D r J

M Far r ar fami l i ar with any d oor Of t h e church

save t h e o ne i nto the Sunday sch oo l room ?

For every ve a d ults t h ere Sh oul d b e at l east o ne
c h il d i n th e church B ut i n ho w many churches
.

is this ratio maintained ?

S O gr eatly has t h eir absence from the services
Of t h e church become a m atter Of course t h at it
is n o t uncommon to h ear it sai d o f a c h urch t h at
has a l arge attendance Of the boys an d girls

Why h ow man y chi ld ren y ou have i n your

congregation I
T h ere is a fearful fal l acy d eep roote d in the mind s
Of many parents t h at a c h ild s h ould never be urge d
to go to c h urch for fear t h at i n after y ears he may
acquire a distaste for c h urch worsh ip
T h is makes t h e pastor s problem a harder o ne
an d his responsibility more keen He must
attract where parents refuse to compel
Here then is another reason for t h e J unior Con

Bac k to the church

must be t h e
g r egati o n
c ry
for children s work i n these d ays an d the
J unior Congregation brings th e children b ack

Fourth T h ere i s t h e incentive broug h t by

the hopefulness Of c h ildhood
B ishop B rooks
used to s ay
H e w h o helps a chil d helps
humanity with a distinctness an d an i mmed iate
,

14

T HE MOTI VE
ness that no other help given at any other t i me

c a n supply
T h ere is no age S O rich in treasures to the future
A n d this
O f Christ s k ingdom as that O f ch ildhood
is t h e children s age T h e norm Of human l ife
in th e Ol d en d ays use d to b e th e man T o day th e
norm Of l ife i s t h e chil d I n no age has i t b een s o

true that the chil d i s father Of the man

The s ad fact however i s that while th e worl d
Of science an d e d ucation has realized this t h e
church Of Christ has not exce p t per h aps i n the
realm Of th e S un d ay school
T h e church i s followin g rather than l ea d in g i n
th e great wor k Of t h e age for children
T h ere are to d ay c h ildren s p l aygroun d s for
whic h as i n Ph iladel p hia recently a whole city is
laid u nder tribute
T h ere are c h ildren s l ibraries
in connection with every city library Of any size
in t h is country There are even as i n o n e o r two
cities c h ildren s t h eaters Wh ere strictly j uvenile
plays are put upon t h e b oards B ut it is only wit h
i n th e l ast fe w y ears that w e hav e ha d a c h il
d ren s church
T h e plea h as b een i n many cases that w e hav e
no room for them I t has for ages b een th e c r y
Of society There was no room for the l ittle new
comer i n th e inn at B ethlehem A t a summer hote l
a littl e fellow was ordere d O ff the piazza with the

rema rk that this piazza is for grown people

The l ittl e fell o w l ooke d l ongin gly at the b roa d
.

15

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I O R

CONG RE GAT I ON

verand a with its inviting coolness and s moothness

and said wistfully

B ut hasn t it got any little

boy end ?
I t is a s ad state Of a ffairs when a church has no

little boy end o r corner

B etter knock o u t a partition o r two an d mak e
room for the hopefuls Dr Step h en H Ty ng of
St George s C h urch New Yo r k City once said

Wh en a choice m u s t be made between th e adult

and t h e child I make it i n favor O f t h e ch ild

For the ch il d is t h e c h urc h o f t h e future The
genera l secretary Of th e I ndu s trial C h ri s tian

Alliance Of New Yor k writes :

From my point
o f view
engage d i n resc u e work I believe th e
p r eve n tive work Of a Ju n ior Congregation in
e fciently trai n ing th e children i n t h e development
Of cha r acter will materially reduce the number Of
men in such insti tutions as ours I woul d like
to know how t h e c h urch may be mad e to und er

stand t h i s
T h e hopefulness Of th e chil d as a can d i d ate for
membersh ip in t h e church o f Ch r ist ough t to stim
every pastor to give more time to t h e
nl a te
training Of the c h ildren along th e line Of Christian
duty and churc h work For we k n ow t h at t h e
little ones S lip into t h e fellowship Of the church
most naturally an d si m ply w h en th ey are drawn
towar d it b y wise an d l oving meth ods T h ey
come to realize di s c ipleshi p s o easily t h at h e has
l o s t th e g olden moment who n eglects gently to

1 6

WH AT I TELL MY

JUN I O R

CONGRE GAT I ON

heard at church that morning He was not a pro

fessing C h ristian L ooking full into the fath er s

face t h e elder said

J esus must ha v e l oved us
very much to do that ; don t you l ove him for it

fath er ?
They then went o n to tel l Of th e trials
an d su fferi ngs Of Christ and Sh e aske d again t h e

question
Don t you l ove him for t h at fath er ?
And w h en t h ey had S poken Of t h e death o n t h e

cross t h e little one asked for a th ird time N Ow

don t you love him fat h er ?

T h e father had to put t h e chil d ren d ow n and go
He after
o u t O f t h e room to hide h is emotions
wards confessed th at he felt worse under the artless
questioning O f the little ones th an under any sermon
h e ever ha d heard
He afterward s j oine d t h e
c h urc h
T h e hopefulness of chil d ren as church members
l ies too in their simple and unequivocal faith Did
you ever make t h e experiment Of going down t h e
aisle Of a c h ildren s meeting and questioning t h e
little ones as to their disciples h ip ? I f S O you have
been plea s ed with t h e ce r tainty an d immediateness

NO
Of t h eir replies
Are you a Christian ?

Are you a Christian ?

Yes
There is no
hesitation
T h e loyal ty an d a ffection Of a child for the church
Of w h ic h it is a member is a furth er incentive for
t h e gathering th em i n to suc h s ympath y with t h e
church t h at t h ey will eventually unite with its
communion
.

18

TH E M I SS I O N
The mission o f t h e J unior Congregation i s Of
course the S upplying o f th e deciency i n church
metho d s an d the l ac k i n church l ife that gives
rise to thes e motives mentione d i n the p revious
chapter
I t i s therefore not a su b sti tute for an y other
organization Of the c h urch s life nor i s i t i nten d e d
to interfere with a ny Of t h ose most estimable
societies for the training Of young hearts along the
li n e Of C h ristian wor k I ts mission is apart fro m
t h ese T h ey paralle l th e l ife o f t h e church and
its worship ; th e J unior Congregation i s an i ntegral
part Of the church an d i ts wors h ip W hile its
methods fol l ow closely Of necessity those Of
Christian E n d eav or societies an d missi on b ands
i t i s no t i ntende d to be merge d into the Christian
E n d eavor movement
The o ne wo r ks fo r the ch urch T he other is
the church at work The distinction may b e mo r e
fa n cie d than real y et i f the intent Of the J unior
Congregation movement be carrie d o u t th e c h ildren
will be conscious Of a p art i n t h e church l ife which
Christia n E ndeav or no matter how excellent
cannot supply Th e J unior E ndeavorer looks
fo r ward to a day when h e s h al l become a part Of
the b od y Of the church T h e j unior member Of
,

1 9

WH AT I TELL MY

JUN I O R

CONG RE GAT I ON

the congregation is al read y a part O f the bod y Of

the churc h
I t is to teach th e chil d that as a baptized member
Of the v isible churc h O f C h rist he has a real place
in its worship its government an d its life T h e
m ission Of the J unior Congregation is also to foster
a l ove for church g oin g an d fo r the h ouse o f
God

M any a d istracte d parent has sai d to me : I d o

S O dislike to force my c h ildren to go to c h ur c h and

yet what am I to do ? I fai l to get t h em i nterested

I t h ink I k now w h y A b ack seat where t h e little
h ea d c a n scarcely lift itself o ver t h e pew i n front
with s uch a s ea Of b on n ets i n his l ine o f vision
t h at h e cannot see t h e preacher A l on g formal
service followe d by a sermon i n w h ich t h ere is
never a reference to t h e c h il d nor an illust r ation
h e c a n g rasp A glance occasionally from t h e
paternal relatives corner t h at freezes t h e blood
whenever tire d nerv es rebel an d l ittle feet s h u fe
an d kick t h e pew i n front
How many o f you preachers an d teachers who

rea d these lines ever really loved t h e house of

Go d under s uch conditions ? How many Of you
woul d h ave given t h e contents Of your boyi s h
pockets at that moment no matter how full o f
boyh ood s treasures to b e free ? B e honest and
co n fess it An d yet strange as i t may seem to
you I h ave heard Of c h ild r en wh o eagerly a s ked
permission to atten d divine worship an d w h o
.

20

THE M I SS I ON

meetin g th e preacher o n the way h a v e stop p e d

h i m to ask him
What s i t goin to b e a b out to

day ?
B ut th ese chil d ren w ere mem b ers Of a
J unior Congregation
T h ere i s a mission which th i s organizati on h ol d s
i n trainin g t h e y oun g min d to l isten to p reac h ing
I c an b lame n o o n e fo r not b eing attentive
to that wh ich i s unintelligible I recentl y l istened
for ve minutes to a l ecture o n Christian S cience ;
then I spent th e remainder Of t h e half hour count
i ng th e p attern s q uares i n th e ceilin g
B y trainin g th e young min d to l isten to a l ogical l y
thought out sermon w ith i ts head s an d su b heads
i ts r s tl i es an d s eco ndl i es an d even th e d eadly
third ly b ut couche d i n such l an guage an d illus
tr a ted i n such form that i t xe d the attention while
it i nstructe d an d lle d th e min d ; an d then getting
the chil d to write o u t an anal ysis Of the same to
b e b rou ght i n th e followin g S ab b ath y O1I give
the chil d a taste for sermon p rocesses an d a k nowl
edge O f how to hear an d d igest the truth th at
w il l stay by h i m forev er
A n d then i t is their
sermon
N o t for a moment d oes i t b el on g to
mother o r father a l though I hav e l earne d that
b oth mother an d father are ch ild ren after a ll an d
l ove b est the thoughts that are p reache d to the
child B ecause i t is theirs they l ove i t and w ith
a child s l oyalty deem i t the b est sermon the p astor
p reaches
T here i s a v ery d e nite nee d o f teach i n g the
,

21

__

WH AT I TELL MY

JUN I O R

CONG RE GAT I ON

young to hear preaching T he excelle n t meth ods

Of C h ristian E ndeavor have been rat h er toward
practice th an precept an d have g iven t h e pen
d u l u m a swin g toward doin g rather t h an doctri n e
Th is i s not b y an y means a wholesome attitude
for i t i s carrie d to such excesses t h at t h e young
people after singing an d reading v erses in t h e
lecture room pass o u t i n l arge numbers to their
homes neglecting t h e c h urch service where the
truth is preac h ed
T h e v ery natura l result is
th at th e rea l deep truths Of the gospel wh ic h
t h ey have not b een able to th in k o u t for t h em
selves they have not acquired An d as a c o n s e
q u en c e the C hr istian life an d t h e c h urc h life
become s h allow emotional an d without a solid
foundation
T h en t h e J unior Congregation has a mission in
th e creation Of a love in th e h eart Of th e c h ild for
W e k now th e tende n cy i n c h ild
c h urc h work
t r aining to l ea d a chil d to its life s work t hr ough
the medium o f play O n e Of th e mo s t p r ecious
of books to me as a c h ild was a v ol u me high ly

illu s trated and entitle d Playing Trades

We
a r e al l conscious Of t h e value Of t h is meth od For
to everyone t h e wo rk t h at becomes p lay i s t h e
better done Pl ayi n g at c h urch work i s a part o f
t h e J unior id ea An d w h o does not k now th e j oy
th at comes to a c h il d w h o i s co n sci ous th at h e is
a part Of a great undertaking a n d is co n t r ibuting
to i ts s uccess , not from t h e outsi d e as an on l ooker
.

22

TH E

M I SS I ON

but from the inside as a partaker O n o ne Of the

Sound steamers a little fellow runnin g about o n
t h e u pper dec k ha d l ai d hol d Of t h e great tiller
that is carrie d attache d to t h e ru d derhea d fo r use
i n steerin g i n a n emergency A n d as th e g reat
h elm move d to an d fro i t carrie d th e l ittl e cha p
with i t I n the greatest glee h e crie d o u t to h is
mother
S ee s ee moth er I m stee r ing t h e

boat
T o give the J unior even a hol d o n t h e
i n ner wo r ki ngs o f t h e church i s to i nspire i n him
somewhat Of t h e same zeal
I c a n wel l recal l t h e feelin g Of pri d e that came to
me i n those blissfu l ci r cus days Of b oyhood to

feel t h at I was a part Of the Greatest S h ow o n

E arth because I was allowe d to carr y water for

t h e elephants
For the members Of the J unior Congregation
to take u p t h e O ffering Of t h eir o w n l ittle b an d o n
a S abbath morning before t h e great c h urch serv ice
to us h er to their seats the newcomers among t h e
boys an d girls to h ol d their b usiness an d devo
ti o n al meetings an d elect O fcers j ust s uch as are
electe d at t h e annua l b u s ines s meetings o f t h e
church is a su fcient i ncentive to secure their i n
teres t i n th e c h urch an d its l ife for y ears to come
A n d i n ad d ition to al l this the great missionary
i nterests Of the C h urch are to b e helpe d T here is
Of course a most usefu l an d systematic training in
missions o f the b oys an d girl s i n th e E ndeavor
s ocieties an d m i ssion b an d s b u t there i s a s a d
.

23

WH AT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CON GREGATION

l ack Of l oyalty in many o f them to t h e great

c h annels Of missionary work and life t h e great

boards Of the church es M ore an d more m u s t
we emphasize t h e necessity Of th e suppo r t Of t h ese
regularl y appointe d c h annels through w h ose most
e fcient agency the gifts Of th e ch urch es are passed
o n to the el d s where the work is bein g done
It
is true o f the d enomination to which t h e writer b e
l ongs that no oth er religious denomination is S O
eclectic i n i ts meth o d Of g iving as we for every
charitable i nstitution has a clai m U pon o u r gifts
while Often t h e great boa rds must report serious
indeb te d ness T O train t h e c h ildren t h at t h e gifts
t h ey make should go t h rough t h e regularly appoint
e d channels is to b r ee d a l oyalty to t h eir c h ur c h
an d is to protect i n a most necessary man n er t h e
auth ority an d u s efulness Of t h e agencies O f t h e
churches T his I believ e the J unior Con grega
tion wil l d o
T h us t h e mission Of the J unior church migh t
be enlarge d indenitely as t h e needs o f t h e c h urc h
present t h emselves for w h atever th e duties O f t h e
ch urc h member a r e to be t h ey can b est be i n
stil led with in h im when h e is a c h ild
.

24

WH AT I TELL MY

JUN I O R

CONGRE G ATION

An d if y ou are half a man the sigh t o f t h at array

Of sweetness and ligh t will make you a preac h er in
spite O f yourself T h e boyi s h heart is c h ivalrous s o
u
wil
l
have
bo
y
ushers
to
seat
t
h
e
young
ladies
o
y
as they come i n Four Of them can take up th e
O ffering an d I miss my estimate Of the ch ildren if
t h ey will not feel a swelling pride as th ey stan d
with t h e us h ers Of th e c h urc h w h ile the pastor
asks God s blessing upon th eir gifts L et th e gifts
be made in tiny numbere d e n velopes for the
Juniors d esire to be regular contributors to the
church
And then you will preach to them Yes I must
use t h e word but with its ste r nness all removed
Y o u will be t h e c h ild s interpreter as J esus speaks
to th eir hearts And you must k now t h eir lan
g uage
O h those blessed ten minutes never exceeded

w ithout loss w h at a preparation for th e message

for their parents by and by ,
Then you wil l sing t h eir hymn an d they will
p ass out
Sometimes th ey will sing i n chorus before the

great congregation
Sometimes t h ere will be
a whol e morning devoted to th em B ut th ey will
O f h aving
to
t
h
eir
homes
i
n
t
h
e
consciousness
O
g
been in God s h ouse and t h at God s minister has
b rough t God s message to t h em
T h en per h aps you have given them textbooks
i n w h ich to keep record Of the sermon preache d
,

26

TH E ME THOD

There will b e a great d ay when at the en d Of

eve r y quarter t h ese books are returne d an d ex
a m i n ed and some o n e o f t h e many smiling faces
will be doubly radiant as t h e owner comes forwar d
before th e g rown ups to get t h e prize for th e b est
kept b ook o r to receive the rewar d for h aving
written th e best outline O f a specia l sermon preach ed
to t h e c h il d ren t h at t h e y might l earn t h e met h o d
Of properly listenin g to preac h ing Vari e d as the
mind Of man are the methods with o u r boys an d
girls at c h urch
I f we gather them for a meetin g we S hal l
s ee to i t that the w h ole organization o f a l ocal
church Of t h e d enomination to w h ich they b elong
is represented to them in miniature T h ere will
needs be deacons an d el d ers an d trustees ; d ea
co messes and board s an d societies There will b e
a prayer meeti n g an d a b oard meeting I n S hort
every branch of t h e c h urch s activities c a n be rep
resented in these gath erings Of the J uniors d uring
the week Christian E n d eavor metho d s may
prevail b ut t h e main i d ea l i s to get the boys and
girl s to understand t h at they are a part of the great
church at work and acq ua i nt the m w ith th e rea l
activities Of church life
,

27

WHAT I TELL MY

JUNI OR

C ONG RE GAT I ON

T H E MAT E R I AL O R T H E M ESSA G E

U nder this hea d I hav e gathere d together a set

Of sermons preac h ed to my o w n congregation Of
boys and girls An d i n S O doing I h ave tried to
give only t h ose that seeme d to reac h and i n
uence the c h ild heart
T h ey are not intended to

be exhaustive but only suggestiv e mere outlines

upon which to build complete sermons
.

28

T H E RAI L R OA D F RO G

Text J o b
He k no w e t h t h e w a y t h a t I t a k e
O bj e c tA ra i lroa d fro g or o ne fro m a c hi l d s t o y ra i l wa y
.

M y Dear Young Travel ers :

To d ay marks the beginning o f a new j ourney i n

that g reat tour Of L ife that you are all making

What can I s ay to you as you are starting ? W h at
advice c an I give you as I l oo k b ack at you from
the place to which some Of th e Ol d er O f us have come
an d as w e s ee you g ettin g o n the train j ust where
we once got o n ?
The oth er d ay I was coming o u t from tow n o n
the railroa d an d when we reache d the car yar d s
i n th e western part Of t h e city we went over an
innumerable number Of trac ks an d switches all
running together l ike the thread s Of a S pi d er s web
W e crosse d an d recrossed an d rattle d over switch
after switch til l we nally got o n the righ t track
towar d home Ho w we did i t seeme d as o n e
looke d at i t a mystery that no o ne coul d ex
plain HOW that train going at ful l spee d never

slowing up foun d its way o u t Of that mystic

maze Of tracks an d nally got to o u r station

seeme d as we s at in the cars like doing the
i mpossi bl e
.

29

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I O R

CONG RE G AT I ON

B ut it was v ery easy Why ? B ecause at each

crossing was a frog

like this only made Of
steel an d much l arger with a point running i n
between t h e rails t h at caught t h e ange o f t h e
w h eels an d turne d them i n th e proper courses

An d b ecause t h ese cross frogs were there we

got o u t Of t h e tangle Of rails an d so at l ast to o u r
station I th ink Of your y oung l ives at t h e b e
ginnin g O i th is new year as t h e starting Of s o many
trains Of cars al l moving O ff togeth er Pau l
likene d o u r lives to a race but i n t h e s e d ays Of
rapid travel we may t h in k Of o u r lives as a train
You l eave t h e station at t h e rst day Of th e year
an d with a ful l head Of steam o n you move o u t o n
th e tracks I t is not l ong before you get i nto the
tangle Of ways T h ere a r e a hu n d r ed path s and
a hundred t r acks and y ou get confuse d an d d o
not k now j u s t w h ich way you are going an d you
get a l ittle anxious as to w h ere y ou are coming o u t

B ut you c an go on for there i s a frog j ust a h ea d

wh ich t h e Great Train M a s ter has p ut t h ere and
when y ou come to it it wil l turn you o n to t h e rig h t
track T h is f r og that I am speakin g Of my young
fellow v oyagers i s the p u rp ose of God f or y ou

To d ay we make many resolutio n s b ut few o f

t h em will b e kept for w e cannot foresee j ust what
is coming i n t h e j ourney B ut Go d k nows He

knows j ust w h ere h e has put t h e frog Of h is wil l

for y ou An d when you come to i t y our trai n
wil l slide safe ly over onto the trac k where he wants
.

3O

THE RAI LR O AD FRO G

y ou to b e T hat is w h at J ob meant when he sai d

to us i n o u r new year text

He k noweth t h e

way that I take

Now if Go d h as put these f r ogs O f his purposes
i n o u r line o u r part is S imply to go on How
funny it woul d b e if an engineer s h ould get o u t O f
his c ab at every frog and S it down a n d wonder
w h y it was put there T h at s t h e business O f the
superintendent Of t h e road

B ut let me as k a moment what is it that

makes it possible fo r the frog to turn t h e train in
t h e right track ?
I t i s that part Of the whee l w h ich falls b elow

the rai l which we cal l the ange

That little
ange runs into the grooves Of t h e fro g an d guides
the cars to t h eir d estination A n d I thin k that
each o f us S houl d s ee as we start this new year
j ourney that th e anges Of o u r trains are strong

What shall we cal l them ?

I think
Tr u s t
Sometimes the anges are not perfect an d d o not
follow the frog and then t h ere is an awful accident
and men an d women an d chil d ren are killed And
sometimes we d o not want to follow God s pur
poses an d are not willing that h e S hou ld guide us
Go d puts a fro g in o u r way an d we j ump it an d get
O ff the track
B ut O h , what a comfortable feeling
we can have i f we k no w that the anges are all
righ t an d we c a n S it i n o ur seats an d bump an d
b ump over the rails an d k now that it s al l right an d
we shall come o u t When I was i n the Catacombs
.

31

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CONG RE GAT I ON

Of R ome way down among the O l d d ea d saints

t h ere was a mo n k t h at guided us th rough the
narrow an d criss cro s s path s al l s o pitch y dar k
and d ismal an d I th ough t Of t h is text and how
gla d was I that the monk k new the way t h at we
-

were to take
Here is a pretty l ittl e story o f trust
Some years ago I too k my l ittle boy to church
The pavements were v ery slippe ry a n d alth ough
th e b oy b oa s ted t h at he could wal k alone h e
f r equentl y fell an d it was not til l h e place d his
h a n d in mi n e t h at he could wal k without t h e
danger Of falli n g T h e d ay after C hr i s t m as he

sai d to me Fat h er yesterd ay the Devi l trie d

to make me eat candy t h at moth er said I mu s u t
touc h ; but he couldn t do it alth ough I did

want it
I reminded him of the wal k we too k th e previous
S unday a n d a s ked h im if he remembered how
h a r d it was to stand u p and how Often h e fell ;
an d al s o h ow it was t h at he nally manage d to

stand and walk along safely

Yes I re m e m ber

it all
he said ;
I put my han d i n yours

fath er

An d now my boy when

An d t h en I said
th e Devil tempts you to do wro n g how will you

be able to stand a n d walk up r igh t ? And t h e little

fellow answered reverently

I ll put my h and in

God s
I s th at what you boys an d girls are willing
.

32

S M OOTHI N G O U T TH E B U M P S

Text L u k e

moo th

An d

t h e ro u gh wa ys s h a l l b e

ma d e

O bj e ctA l e

M y Dear J uniors :
I f you have travelled on t h e trolley cars much
i n o u r city you h ave probably noticed t h e j olting
th at o ne gets w h en t h e w h eels o f t h e c ar hit t h e
cracks at t h e j oints Of t h e rails And if you l ive
o n a street where trolleys run you ha v e found it
di fcult o n a summer s nigh t to get to S leep b e
cause O f the constant t h ump thump Of the w h eels
o ver these bumps
B ut if you co u l d go o u t v ery l ate at night o n
some Of t h e streets you woul d s ee men very
busily engage d i n drawing back an d fo r th over
th ese j oints huge les wo r ked by two men o n e Of
w h om pu s h ed an d o n e pulled O n i n qui r ing you
would n d t h at they are smooth in g o u t t h ese
bumps an d making t h e passage from O n e rail to
t h e ot h er less pai n fu l to the rider an d l ess di s turb
i n g to t h e sleeper
What a b enevolent l ot Of men they seeme d to
me as I s aw t h em
E ngage d i n rubbing o u t
bumps wh ile othe r s sleep Smoothi n g t h e path s of
o thers w hom p erhaps t h ey wou ld n ever s ee
An d
.

34

S MOOTH ING

OUT

TH E B UMP S

you have never thought for I never ha d b efore

w h at a h ost O f men an d women i n t h is great w eary
worl d are engaged i n gettin g ri d Of t h e bumps an d
smoothin g t h e p ath for others There are the
railroad section hand s that k eep th e track s l eve l
T h ere i s the engineer that runs t h e steam roller
i n front Of y our home to make th e roa d smooth
for driving Yes an d there i s t h e teac h er staying

after schoo l to help l ittle B ill over the har d

places An d best O f al l there is mother working her
d ear h ands O ff to ma k e life easier for her boy an d
gi rl
N ow o u r text tells us that J oh n th e B apti st
was coming to tel l Of the k ingd om Of J esus an d to
smooth things o u t i n th e l ives Of men S O that t h at
For the progress
kingd om Of l ove might come
Of that ki ngd om Of J esus means always a smoot h in g
It
o u t Of th e b umps a n d unevennesses o f l ife
means h ospitals for the sick an d homes for the
p oor an d orphanages for the l ittl e ones an d the
d oin g away w ith war an d st r ife
S O w hen J esus comes into o ur h earts we must
at once g et ri d o f al l the b umps an d smooth o u t
th e p ath for ot h ers i n t h e w orld about us who
have g ot to trave l i ts highways
W e must tr y each day to smooth mother s path
an d teacher s path a n d l ittle sister s o r brother s
path ; an d to make l ife a little better for o u r play
mates an d fo r those w h o are i n need
And then too w e ca n l i ke J oh n th e Bapti st
,

35

WHAT I TELL MY

JU N I O R

CONG RE GAT I ON

make the way easier for o ur d ear L or d an d

M aster Jesus
Wh en Presi d ent Gareld was S O very il l after
the bullet Of t h e assassin h ad laid h im l ow the
doctors said he must get to t h e s ea S O willing
hands wo r ked nigh t and d ay laying a trac k from
L ong B ranch to E lberon th at his car in which
h e was being borne migh t not have to be c h anged
for a carriage t h at h e might be move d from t h e
White House i n Washington to the s eashore
without a j ar
An d s o ough t we to work my young laborers to
b uil d a smoot h and h appy h igh way along w h ich
o u r King c a n move
Some time ago a gentleman did me a kindness

and when I th anked h im he said O h it is noth ing ,

I am in this world to m a ke it move a little more

smoothly if I c an
W h at a blessed mission ,
The oth er nig h t o n o n e of the great L ong Island
Sound steamers I watch e d t h e oiler reac h ing o u t
over t h e great pistons and as eac h came roun d h e

dropped o n e drop O f Oil o n t h e hot bearings to

make t h em run wit h out f r iction
What a h appy O fce o n e has i n life wh o makes
it hi s o r her b usiness to ma ke things run smooth ly
.

36

TH E F U N N EL TH E S I FT E R AN D TH E
S PON G E
,

Text PS 1 1 9 1 1
T h y w ord h av e I hid
t h a t I m ight n o t s i n a ga i ns t th ee
O bj e ct sA f u nne l a s i ft e r a n d a sp o ng e
.

i n m i ne

h eart

M y Dear Young Hearers :

Here are some cu r ious Obj ects from t h e house
hol d w h ich may serve u s t h is morning to illustrate
the proper and improper ways O f treati n g the wo r d
Of God t h at is preac h e d to us each Sunday from
this pulpit an d taught to u S i n t h e S unday school
I have a funnel a S ifter for our an d a sponge
T h ere are some Of us w h o h ear t h e wor d Of Go d
after t h e manner Of the funnel The u s e o f this
useful utensil in th e k itc h en you a ll k now When
moth er wants to pour from a l arge vesse l into a
small the narrow neck O f t h is funnel and its broad
to p ma k e suc h a thing possib l e
Al l goes through
nicely with out S pillin g a d rop o r leaving any
b ehin d Now some o f you b oys and girls are apt
to treat Go d s word much as the water t h at passes
t h rough the funnel You l et i t al l g o through

easi l y S ometimes we s ay that it goes i n one

ear an d o u t Of the other

We s i t an d li sten to
al l that is sai d but none Of i t sticks
I t al l runs
through B y S unday nigh t i t has al l gone an d we
cou ld hardly te ll mother when w e g ot home what
.

37

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I O R

CONG RE GAT I ON

text w as O r perh a ps as we listen and take it al l

i n we say to o u rselve s
T h at was a ne sermon for

J oe o r T h at tr uth w as a g o od one for M ary

an d we let it r un ri g h t th roug h u S for w h om it
was r eal ly meant hoping that J oe or Mary will
hear it and h eed it Now w h en we d o th at we

ar e w h at we migh t call
funnel h earers
not
th e kind Of h ea rers th at t h e Psal mist s p eaks
Of here
T h en th e r e a r e some O f us wh o hear th e word O f
God after th e manner of th e S ifter You h ave seen
th e coo k sifti ng ou r for h er b r ead making Some
Of it goe s th rough a n d a li ttle s tays beh ind B ut
th at w h ich stays be h ind is usuall y lumps a n d dirt
T h e good goes th rough
an d is th ro w n away
S O it is that some O f us hear th e word O f God
We
keep t h e di rt or th e u s eless part and let a l l t h e
go od go th r ou gh Not th a t a ny O f th e word O f
God is w h olly u s ele ss but we Often keep and r e
member th e th ings t h a t a r e not important Some
study th e B ible o n ly to nd th e aws i n it
Some study o n ly to nd th e peculiar pass ages in
it
Some h u n t to n d out th e s h o r test an d longest
verses O ne O l d m an was one day sitti n g ponder
ing on th e wo r d O f God an d a pas s erby said to h im

Nel l my broth er w h at h ave you fou n d in th e

book to d ay th at i n terest s you ?

And th e O l d man

l ooking u p eagerly repli ed

I have fou n d th at

I h ave two mo r e s h eep th a n Job had

B ut God
di d not mean us to use his wor d th at wa y I t i s
th e

38

TH E F UNN EL TH E S I FTE R

AN D

TH E S PONG E

l l e d with messages that are to d o us goo d if we

receive them and live them We are not to sift
o u t the best an d k eep the merely pleasurable or

curious
Such people we might cal l
S ifter

hea rers
Then there are some who hear the wor d Of God
after the manner Of th e sponge N OW when we
d i p the sponge in water i t soa ks u p the water and
instead Of letting it go through i t holds it Every
l ittle pore Of the sponge ta kes its S hare an d keeps
i t A n d we ca n onl y get the water o u t b y s q u eez
i ng I a m gl a d to s ay that there are men an d
women an d boys an d girls that S O receive the wor d
Of God when i t is rea d an d taught an d preache d
S O was i t with th e Psalmist whose wor d s we ha v e

quote d to d ay
Thy word he tells us ha v e I

hid in mine heart that I migh t not sin against thee

He had taken t h e wor d i nto his heart as the s p onge
ta kes the water into itself

I t was E ngland s queen who tol d us to mark

l earn an d inward ly d igest t h e word of God

Thy

word s were foun d an d I d i d eat them says o ne

Of Go d s prophets
These then are t h e sponge

hearers
Now l oo k I a m goin g to d ip this

sponge i n this re d in k See i t takes u p an d h ol d s

the color o f the i nk I f I take s i n into my sou l it
wil l stain i t forever B ut if I take up God s word
i nto my l ife my l ife wil l be always colore d with

God s truth L et us then l earn to be sponge

hearers
T a k e heed how ye hear A n d remember
.

39

WHAT I TELL

MY

JUNIOR

CONGRE GATION

the word s Of t h e apostle L et the wor d o f C h ri s t

dwel l i n you rich ly

I t is marvelous how l i k e to a sponge the brains
Of you young C h ristians are Thin k Of the wonder
ful th ings you h ave absorbe d i n the l ast few years
You learn more in your rst ve years Of life t h an
you will ever learn i n t h e next twenty B y and
by w h en you grow Old and gray you will be better
able to tell about wh at is h appeni n g in your lives
to day t h an w h at happene d the day wh en you were
fty
I t is marvelous to consider t h e number O f t h ings
th at you learn in your c h ild h ood
And I h ope t h at you will take up and ret
as
well that w h ich is o f more v alue t h an all
ur

sto r es Of knowledge th e message Of God to our

souls J ust as in t h e sponge t h e water lls every
o ne Of t h e many pores S O let God s word go into
every little portion O f your young lives

When Paul tells us to let t h e wo rd O f Go d dwell

in us ric h ly h e really says in t h e language i n wh ich

he wrote
keep house
An d we know t h at
w h en we keep h o u se we have access to all t h e rooms
S O are we to let God s word come i n to every ch amber
and secret closet O pen your eyes a nd ears but
above all Open your h earts to t h e entrance O f t h e
wor d Of God
,

40

WHAT I TELL
an d

MY JUNIOR

CONG RE GATION

giving in I t means meekness b ut no t

weak ness Sometimes we get the idea t h at to

yiel d is to b e a mol lycoddle

Nothing o f the
kind I t s the b ravest kin d o f b ravery to b e a bl e

give up
to
N OW some peop l e are put together l ike this
,Illustrate by the bolt which is sti ff an d unyielding,

no give to them n o gentleness in them n o

moderation in them
Wh en is it b etter then to b e a hing e that moves
b ac k an d forth ?
I n times Of an inj ury done you by another
J esus use d the h in g e in his life most Of the ti me
He was forgiving L ord Ear d l y Wilmot once

said
I t may be manly to resent an inj ury but

it is Christlike to forgive o ne
There was once an Ol d woman who ha d b een a
v ery great sinner an d had had a very vile tongue
S h e had given herself to J esus and o n e day o ne Of
her Old companions came u p and tried to provo ke

her ending by calling her a good for nothing

O l d hag
but t h e o l d lady ha d put a h inge in w h ere

th e bolt used to be and s h e answered

Yes an d
isn t it wonderfu l that J esus C h rist could save an

Old hag like me ?

I f I strike this hinge thus i t wi ll b end An d
Jesus said t h at we are to turn the oth er cheek

A soft answer turneth away wrath

There are times t h en wh en it is b etter to b e a
hinge than a b olt
up

42

B OLTS AN D HING E S
A n d it is b etter i n the time Of trouble
I t is b etter to be n d t h an to break I t is b etter
to smile t h an s ti fy to bear o u r sorrows W hen you
were little fellows you used to run o n the melting

ice o n t h e pon d doing what we calle d running

benders
An d y o u use d to c r y o u t as y o u ran

As long as Sh e b ends s he holds

When we
b end under trials we d o not su ffer S O
B ut t h ere are times when a bolt is decidedly
b etter
Pau l tell s the Corinthians i n his rst letter to

them
B e ye steadfast unmovable
I t i s always b etter to b e a bo l t when it comes to
a matter Of d oin g right
I t i s always b etter to b e a b Ol t when it i s a
matter Of doing o u r d uty
J oseph use d a l ot Of b olts i n his b uildin g Danie l
w as b olte d together fast S O were the three
young men w ho went into the ery furnace
Jesus found i t v ery Often b etter to use the b olts
than t h e hinges as when he d ro v e the money
changers o u t O f the temple
B oys and girls a l ways have p l enty o f b ackbone
An d b e sure you always k now when to use o ne
an d when to use the other
.

43

TH E B R EAD O F L I F E

O bj e ct A l oaf O f bread

My Dear Young Disciples :

I am sure t h at eve r y boy o r girl h ere to d ay k nows
wh at it is to be hu n gry I Sh o u l d be worrie d
about you if you did n o t For some h ow hunger is
a part Of t h e program o f your c h ild h ood
N O matter w h o the
N O W hunger is unive r sal
boy is o r w h ere h e is h e is bou n d to be hungry
All t h e wealt h O f C r oesus o r as better k n own to
you Of M r R ockefeller would not prevent t h at
S O God i n his mercy and wisdom has made
arrangements for t h at an d we nd that b read
too is universal N O matter wh at oth er kinds
o f food t h e di ff erent nations eat with few exceptions
bread is everyw h ere I n Scotland t h e boys an d

gi r ls eat scones
i n Germany t h ey eat Kaiser

rolls
i n Italy the great cart wh eel loaves o f
coarse our ; in France bread w h ich because Of
its yard long length s looks as though it migh t

be righ tly called th e sta ff Of life and be taken

for M r R oos evelt s big stick

And here in our
o w n dear homeland we eat the nest O f t h e w h eat
Jesus knew th at we would all be h ungry and al l
eat b read and 8 0 h e ta u gh t us to s ay as we pray

Give us this d ay o u r daily bread

.

44

TH E B RE AD OF L IFE
N ow al l b rea d comes Of course from Go d the
Fat h er W h en h e sent t h e manna i n th e wilder
ness i t was to teach th em w h ence their provisions
came Sometimes we fee l t h at we h ave earne d
o u r bread
o r th at t h e farmer has produced it for
us but we must recollect that :
.

Ba c k O f t h e b rea d i s t h e s no wy o ur
An d b a c k O f th e o u r th e m ill
And b a c k O f th e m ill th e wh ea t a n d t h e s h ower

An d t h e s u n and th e Fa t h er s w i ll
,

B ut there i s another k in d Of hunger my h ungry

young Christians W e cal l i t soul hunger What
is t h at ?
Well di d you ever when you were
little very little Of course d o a naughty thing
an d when moth er s heart was vexe d an d the tears
were i n her eyes because Of your naughty dee d

o
run to her arms an d s b
I want to be goo d

mother I want to b e goo d ?

Yes Of course you h ave And when you were

saying I want to be goo d you had a h ungry

feeling i n your little heart for goodness You ha d
soul h unger j ust then O f course you di d not
k now i t was that b ut it w as And j ust as God
sent you bread from heaven to fee d your bodily
hunger S O h e sends you brea d for your sou l hunger
Jesus tells you about it i n t h e Gospe l O f J ohn Fo r

h e talks about b eing himself the B rea d which

cometh d own from h eaven

He tells us h e is
the brea d Of which i f a man eat h e shal l never
hunger an d shal l l ive forever J esus O ffers h i m
,

45

WHAT I TELL MY

JUNI OR

CONGRE GATI ON

self to b e t h at b read
An d when y ou are hungry
to b e good Jesus O ff ers h imself to your young
hearts to satisfy you and make you good
I t is a goo d t h ing to be hungry when there i s
b read in th e closet but a poor th ing when there
is not B ut t h ere i s always heavenly brea d in
th e closet Jesus is always ready to feed you with

h is l ife and he says

Blesse d are they that

hunger after righteousness for they shal l b e fed

All b read costs somet h ing I t costs l a b or an d
sacrice
That i s wh y we cal l patient toiling

father the b read winner ; he has to wi n i t b y

the energies Of his life An d soul b rea d costs

something too J esus said

The b read whic h I

give to t h e world is my esh

A nd to g i v e u s
his li fe he ha d to die o n the cross
T o d ay we have spread before you the b rea d Of
the communion I t is only earth ly b read b ut i t
represents to us sou l bread I t speaks to us Of
that bread which is Jesus o w n life which he broke
Will you not learn
o n the cross an d gave to us
to s ee th at when you are sou l hungry this is the
place to come and meet Jesus and l et him fee d
you ? I hope that you will
.

46

L I FT E RS A N D L EA N E RS

Tex t Gal 6 2
Bear y e o ne a no t h er s b urd e ns

O bje ct s A w oo d e n h a nd l e for c arryi ng b undl e s

s ma ll t o y l a dd er

a nd

M y Dear Young Christians :

I have i n my hand to d ay two l ittl e symbols
that denote the two classes into which I have been
a b l e to d i vi d e al l t h e people in the worl d I wonder
i f it ever occurred to you as it di d to me to see
into what two classes we could put al l mankin d
i f we were calle d to d ivide them into halve s
as y ou d o when you are choosing u p side s for a
game Of tag First Of all I trie d to put t h em into

the two classes which we cal l good an d b ad

B ut I soon found t h at t h is was impossible fo r they
woul d get so horribly mixed u p I foun d that

some Of those that I had s et o n the goo d side

Of the l ine woul d constantly go over o n to the

bad S i d e Of t h e line and that those that I h a d

l abele d bad woul d get over some h ow o n to the

good side Of the line An d I came to t h e c o n

el usion
as J esus di d when he told t h e young

ruler that there were n one whol l y g oo d but

God
I foun d that
-

T h ere i s

g oo d i n t h e w ors t o f us
An d so m u c h b a d i n th e b e s t of u s
T h a t it littl e b e h oo ve s th e mo st o f us,
To t a lk ab o u t th e re s t of u s
SO

m uch

47

WH AT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CONGREGATION

There is goo d in the very worst Of men at times

S ome time ago I read Of a crimina l wh o was being
taken across the street from t h e p r ison to t h e
court r oom i n o ne Of o u r crowded cities and w h o
while crossing t h e street s aw a little c h ild fall i n
front Of an advancin g trolley c a r I nstantly he
broke from his escort and picked the child from
th e j aws Of death only to be run down and terribl y
inj ured himself
Then I t h ought I cou l d put them into two cl asses

s ad
calle d
happy and
b ut when I had
;
put them t h ere the sad began to be happy and
the happy b egan to be s ad and I knew t h at every
happy l ife has its s ad days an d every sad life its
happy days an d I k new that t h is wou ld nev er d o ;
for I rememb ere d the poet says :

I nt o ea c h li fe s o me ra i n m u s t fa l l
S o m e d a y s m u s t b e d ar k a n d d reary
.

T hen I divi d ed them into rich an d poor ;

b ut here again I was at fault for I s aw at once
that those that I had put o n t h e rich side Of t h e
line were constantly l onging for t h e t h ings that
t h ey ha d wh o were o n t h e poor side Of t h e line
There were millionaires who wante d the health

an d the happy c h ild r en Of th ose o n the poor

si d e an d th ere were th ose o n t h e poor side that

woul d not give them for all the gol d to those

rich side Of t h e line S O I k n ew t h at

o n th e
many poor are rich an d many rich are p oor I t
wou ld never d o
.

48

I N S ULAT E D CH R I STIAN S

Text I I Cor

Wh erefore o me

o ut

from a mo ng
t o uc h not the

th em a nd b e y e s e p ara t e s a ith th e Lord a nd

u nc l ea n thm g
a n d I will re c e iv e y o u

O bj e ct s A pi e c e of i ns u l a t e d t e l e gra ph w ire S trip O ff

s o m e O f th e c o v er i n g s of th e i n s u l a ti o n
A b it of c rud e ru b b er
,

My Dear Young Christians :

I h o l d in my hand here a bit O f wire use d in
makin g t h e electric connections for o u r c h urch
organ You will s ee th at I have stripped O ff some
Of t h e v arious coverings that enfold it i n order
that you may see how t h e copper wire with in th at
carries the elect r ic current is s o protected t h at
it may not be brought i n contact with anyth ing
that would rob it Of its power Not l ong ago I
had the privilege Of going t h rough th at great wire
factory in Trenton New Jersey w h ere much Of
the insulate d wire use d in electric wo r k is made
I t was a most interesting expe r ience We saw th e
crude rubber such as I hold in my hand washe d
and rolle d in great hot rollers till it was quite soft
and smooth t h en mixed again and again in oth er
rollers with t h e compoun d t h at made it t for
w rapping t h en cleane d and put th rough various
processes until it was cut in strips and mechanically
wrapped about t h e copper wire t h at already h ad
had a coating Of cotton t h read T h en the rubber
c oate d w ire was b eautifully wrappe d by a l ot Of
.

50

I NS ULATE D CHR I STIAN S

little b obbins i n j ust the style that you b oys an d
girls may have wrapped a M aypole only a h undred
times quicker an d better ; and t h en subj ecte d to
a cl ipping in a coat Of tar preparation to keep i t
from the weather Then i t was sent d own to the
testing room to be teste d A long tan k Of water
charge d with man y volts Of electricity through
which th e wire was d rawn revealed i ts weaknesses
For if t h ere was a spot where t h e wrapping w a s
imperfect there woul d be a S p l utter and snapping
and a beautiful light woul d l ig h t u p the wh ole
tank
Where the weak ness occurre d the place
was mark e d an d the wire was sent bac k to the
repair shop to be wrapped b y hand once more
Singular that S O muc h trouble was taken w i th
ab it o f wire isn t it ? B ut we are to remember that
that wire would carry power and that in th e carry
ing it would come in contact with many things
t h at being con d uctors as we cal l t h em would take
awa y its power an d S O rob it Of its usefulness
Hence al l the troub l e that was ta ken to ren d er it

insulate d o r separate

N o w there are such th i ngs as

insu l ate d

Christians
A nd i t is to these that Paul is writ

i ng when h e says
Come o u t from among them
an d be y e separate
an d touch not the uncl ean

th ing
The man o r b oy w ho does that is insu

late d
Years ago i n t h e history Of Israel when
the people Of God ha d gotten S O mixe d up wit h
the l ife Of the heathen about them that it w as har d
,

51

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN IO R

CONG RE GATION

to tel l whic h were and wh ich were not Go d s

people th ere came forth a sect Of Nazarites

separated ones
T h ey wore l ong h air and
or
dra n k no wine and kept vows of purity O f life to
show Israel w h at kind O f people God s people ou ght

to be T h ey were insulated Israelites

You all remember J o h n t h e Baptist who was

a burning and s h ining ligh t for C h rist B ut

you cannot be a b urning an d shining l ight unless
like the great electric arc l igh ts we s ee i n t h e
streets you are insulated Now J oh n t h e Baptist
was insulated He separate d h imself from all t h e
wickedness Of his day living i n the wilderness
eating locusts an d wil d honey
He was an

insulated C h ristian
S ometimes we sing :

J e s u s bid s u s S h i n e w ith a c l ear p ure l ight

L ik e a litt l e ca n dl e b u rn i n g i n th e n ight
.

God has made you b oys an d g irls the wires for

t h e carryi n g Of ligh t an d love to oth ers The
Holy Spirit can use you for t h e tran s mission Of
h is power but you must be S O insulated that you

will avoid touch i n g t h e unclean th ing

all sins
O f t h e es h an d h eart
N O W t h e c h urch and t h e
Sunday sc h ool are like a great insulate d Wire fac
tory where we are trying s o to t you that contact
wit h the worl d will not ro b you Of your power
an d I am hoping t h at when t h e test is made all
t h e boys an d girls h e r e will not splutter nor snap
b ut wil l b e proof against temptations
.

52

T H E GI R L O N TH E P E N NY
Of

Text Isa

9
4

: 1

hands
O bje ctA p e nny
my

I h a v e gra v e n t h e e u p o n

the

p a l ms

M y Dear J uniors :
I won d er if any o ne Of y o u has ever seen his
p icture printe d i n th e daily newspapers ? I f so
what a feeling O f satisfaction i t has given you an d
at least a l ittle pride T h at is if the picture is

not a woo d cut which some wag has calle d the

most unkin d est c u t Of all

I thi nk you k now
some people who woul d move heaven an d earth
A n d if
to get their pictures i n th e newspapers
you have ever been to S ee any spot that is p ar ti c
u l a r l y h istorica l o r sacre d you will n d the names
and initials Of a host Of S illy people c u t i n th e
woo d Of the b ench o r written u pon t h e walls
When I was i n S h akspere s birth place i n E ngla n d
last summer I s aw a ceiling an d walls i n o n e Of
t h e rooms S O covered that it would h ave been
impossible to put another name there without
writing over two o r three others We all love
notoriety an d publicity when it does no t cost us
anything o r w h en we are sure it wil l not ruin o u r
reputation
B ut let me tell you of a littl e girl who got that
p ublicity an d notoriety unsought an d whose l ittle
.

53

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CONGRE GATION

face was u p to a year o r S O ago i n more homes i n

this land th an any oth er I ndeed t h ere was not
a home Of even t h e poorest th at was not glad to
l ook upon h er sweet little face Now get out
your pennies and s ee if you have one with t h e head
Of w h at we all have mi s taken for an I n dian Yes
here is a gi r l t h at h as o n e N O W look sharp
D O you see any I n dian features there ? Not a bit
Of it Not a trace Of t h em
I t i s the h ea d O f a gracious American woman
wh o for man y years was held i n admiration
b oth for her b eauty an d her goodness and
who onl y a few weeks ago passed on to h er g reat
r eward

Her name was Keen S arah L ongacre Keen

S h e lived i n P h iladelp h ia For t h i rty v e years
s h e was t h e secreta ry Of t h e P h iladelp h ia B ranc h Of
the Woman s Foreign M is s ionary Society Of the
M ethodist E piscopal C h ur c h
When Sara h was a c h ild o f ve o r s i x years of
age a delegation Of I n dians from t h e nort h west
v isite d Wash ington T h ey came to see t h e sights
and pay th eir respects to t h e Big C h ief Of th e
nation After having spent considerable time at
th e capital t h e I ndians were taken to P h iladelphia
Here th ey were Sh own th e mint T h e little girl s
fath er was a ne e n graver an d h e ha d O fcia l
connection with t h is great money factory He
was a kindly benevole n t man as well an d h e i n
vi ted t h is d e l egation o f re d men to s om e s ort Of
,

54

THE G IRL ON TH E PE NN Y
entertai nment at his home O ne Of the ch i efs
ha d his attention attracte d to the l ittl e miss an d
h e was S O p l ease d with her gure an d mai d enly
b earing that i n a mood Of sportiveness h e too k O ff
his hea dd ress an d put i t o n her head She was
not frightene d ; but len d ing herself to th e enj oyment
Of the j oke sh e stoo d for a moment an d let the com
pany l ook at her S ome o ne present wh o ha d
b oth an eye for b eauty an d artistic Sk i ll was S O
struc k b y the appearance wh i ch l ittl e S arah L ong
acre made i n her I ndian hat that h e sketche d her
The s ketch w as en g rav e d by her
o n th e s pot
father
When the Go v ernment w ante d a n ew face to
p u t o n the new o ne cent pieces they chose this
engravin g an d l ittle Sarah Keen s features b e
came the b est k nown face in A merica
B ut there is a far b etter place than a cent o n
which o u r names an d faces may b e put an d put
fore ver O ur text tells us that the great and goo d
Go d promises to engrave o u r names and our faces
upon the palms Of his mighty hands T h is was
his promise to Israe l S O dearl y did he love his
chosen people that h e w ishe d to have them i n
constant remembrance an d S O p ut their names
upon the palms Of his mighty hands We are
al l aware that Go d d oes not have hands like man
but i t means that S O dear are you c h ildren to God
t h at he keeps you i n con s tant remembrance

S to p an d t h in k what the migh ty han d Of Go d

.

55

WH AT I TELL MY

JUN IOR

CONG RE GATION

hath done i n t h e wo r ld and t h en r eme mber t h at

o n t h at mig h ty hand t h e names O f God s c h osen
ones are written
W h at makes it possib l e for us to be thus

remembered ? T h is that we in turn Sh al l bind

God s laws upon o u r hand s I n Deut 6 : 8

we read
An d t h ou s h alt bin d t h em for a S ign

upon th ine h and

Keep God s will ever before
us an d Go d wil l kee p us ever b efore h im

56

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CONGREGATION

uppose t h ere i s not a b oy o r girl here to

d ay w h o does not k now that prayer Of child

hOOd : Now I l ay me d own to sleep

which has

in it this little if
I f I shou l d die b efore I

wake
L ittle Donny was k neeling at grandmoth er s
k nee and saying his evening prayer
F I s h ould

d ie fore I wake

I pray
prompted a gentle voice
GO on

Donny

Wait a minute
i nterpose d the smal l boy
scramb lin g to his feet an d hurrying d own stairs
I n a few moments h e was i n his place again and
d ropping o n his knees took u p his l ittle prayer j ust
where he ha d l eft it B ut when the l ittle w h ite
gowned form was safely tucked i n bed gran d moth er
bent over an d questione d him l ovingly as to why

he had faltered
B ut I di d not th ink what I was
sayin grandmother an d th at s why I had to stop
You s ee I upset Tod s menagerie an d stoo d all
his woo d en soldiers o n their heads j ust to s ee how
he d tear round in th e morning
B ut if I s h ould

h
die fore I wake W y I didn t want him to nd
t h em that way S O I had to go down and x em
right There s l ots Of things t h at seem funny if
you re goin to k eep o n livin b ut you don t
want em that way if y ou shou ld die afore you

wake
I th in k we al l thin k ali k e with Donny A n d I
want to tell you young people a few Of t h e things
I

58

NOT S O F UNN Y THE N

that we want to set ri gh t i n case we should die

afore we wake

F i r s t We shou l d want to have given o u r young

hearts to J esus
I f I shoul d die before I wake

I pray the L or d my sou l to ta k e

I f we want J esus to take o u r souls i nto h i s
bl esse d k eepin g w e must g ive them to h i m to d ay
I t wil l be to o l ate when we hav e gone to s l ee p
S ay now while we are awake :
.

J e s u s t a k e t hi s h eart O f mi ne
M a k e it p ure a nd wh o lly th i ne
T h o u h a s t b l e d a nd di e d for m e
I wo u l d h e n ceforth li ve for th ee
,

S econ d We shoul d want to put b ac k that p enn y

that we too k O ff mother s b ureau t h e other day
an d which has b urne d l i k e a re d hot coal i n o u r
conscience e v er since We shoul d want to take
b ack that l ie we tol d to father when we l oo ke d h i m
s q uare i n t h e eye an d d enie d o u r guilt because
we cou ld not b ear to meet J esus with that s i n u n
confesse d A n d we shoul d want to g O awa y over
to M ary L on g s an d take b ack that unkin d thing
w e said about her the ot h er d ay W e woul d want
to make al l these t h ings right b ecause you k now
they seem s o di fferent when a fello w i s per h a p s
going to die b efore he wakes

Third I thin k we woul d g o an d ma k e u p

with B ill W e ha d i t o u t i n the b ack l ot l ast

wee k an d we hav e not spoken since b ut B il l s a

59

WHAT I TELL MY

JU N IO R

CONGRE GATION

good feller and if we a r e not going to live forever

we migh t slip away with out xi n it up

Y es
J u n iors t h ere are many many t h i n gs t h at do not

look S O funny if we s h ould die afore we wake

B ut we can never be sure Of t h at so we ha d better
begin and s et things right now

60

PH ,E B E
T ex tRo m 1 6 1
O bje ct A c o gwh ee l
.

M y Dear J uniors :
L ike Paul in his E pistl e to the R omans I w ant

this mornin g to commen d to y ou

Ph oeb e o u r

sister
S h e is mentioned Only once i n the N ew
Testament an d only to tel l us that she carrie d a
l etter from C orinth to R ome A smal l matter
y ou s ay to ma k e her name memorable w h erever the
B ible is read B ut though s he carrie d onl y a l etter
j ust think what a l etter t h at letter was Fo r the
piece Of parc h ment o r p apyrus w h ich s he s o care
fully carrie d was Paul s great letter to the R omans
that great letter in whic h is set forth the whole
system Of d octrine which we as Christians b eliev e
concern i ng o u r sa lvation A great French writer
name d R enan has sai d that Ph oeb e carrie d t h e
future Of Christian doctrine with her I t was
on l y o ne thing that she di d an d we never hear Of
her again
B ut t h in k what it meant for the church
o f Christ an d t h ink what it meant for us to d ay
For i n that epistle more than all others i s Go d s
grace re vealed to us
I have here i n m y han d s a cogwhee l such as
they use i n mills
Y o u see the numerous l ittle cogs o r l e v ers that
,

61

WHAT I TELL M Y JUN IOR CONGRE GATION

Now as t h e wheel revolves against
i t contains
i ts fellow w h eel each Of t h ese l ittle cogs meets and
.

strikes th e c o g in th e other wheel b ut once i n eac h

O nly once b ut if that little co g
r evolution
failed o r was b roken i t woul d t h row, al l the
mach inery o u t Of gear
T h e other day I was l i s tening to a sym phony
played by a great orchestra an d way u p at the
back o f th e stage s at a man with a pair o f cymbals
in hi s h ands I ha d ha d my eye o n him for a long
time wondering wh at h e woul d do an d w h en he
woul d do it B ut h e sat as still an d motionless as
Su d denl y i n the very l ast piece Of music
a statue
as the v ol ume Of sound swelle d great an d greater
the man arose an d b rou gh t his cymbals together
i n a mighty crash that was like a thunderclap
an d s et t h e ec h oes runnin g into al l the corners Of
the great buildi n g
O nly once T h at was t h e only part he too k in
the whole performance and yet with out t h at O n e
crash Of cymbals th e w h ole woul d have been ruined
T h e most extraordinary band is that in the I mperia l
Palace at M oscow in R ussia I n this b an d each
performer plays o n his instrument b ut o ne single
note an d y et so perfect is th e skill an d trainin g Of
these men that they prod u ce the most perfect
harmony B ut i f o ne Of t h ose l ittle pipes u pon
w h ich they play s h oul d fai l to blo w j ust once
that harmony woul d be spoiled
Al l these i llustrations are to show us that
.

62

PH,E BE

there i s some o ne thin g for each Of us to d o A n d

th at i f we d o not d o that o ne th i ng the whol e
harmony Of life wil l b e spo i led I t may b e that
we k no w what that thin g is o r w e ma y b e i n i g
T herefore the safe way to d ea l with
morance Of it
al l such matters i s to d o the v ery next thing that
i s aske d o f y o u that i s goo d an d b elieve that is
the o ne For that wil l be o u r p art L ife is li k e
a g reat machine with many cogs a ll ttin g i nto
o n e another an d i f o ne c o g fai l s to d o i ts duty a ll
i s spoiled
T he g reat church o f Chri st i s com p ose d o f

wheel s with in wheel s as the p ro p het tells us

an d i f the smal lest o f these wheels s h al l fai l the
whole g reat mac h inery Of the church l oses power

I have an O ld fashione d music b ox at home that i s

practically ruine d b ecause o ne l ittle c o g i n t h e
great whee l attache d to the sprin g faile d to d o
its p art an d t h e other cogs slippe d a gainst the
ratchet an d were hopelessly b roken an d th e music

stilled B oys an d girls l ike Ph oebe o u r sister

learn to do the thing that Go d has given y ou i n
life to d o with al l y our might You wi ll n e ver
k now j ust ho w im p ortant i t i s
I t is Often the simplest d uti es that prove Of

g reatest w orth I commen d to y ou Ph oebe

.

63

PA L MS OR GA R M E NTS ?

T ex t Ma tt

21

Obje ct s A p a l m

t uni c

Pa l m S u nd a y Addre s
l eaf and a s ma l l i mit a t i o n o f

an eas

t ern

My D ear S ons an d Daugh ters O f the Tabernacle :

T h is is Palm S un d ay a n d t h is beautifu l da y
b ri n gs to o u r minds that oth er lovely spring day
in Palestine when J esus came over t h e J ud aean
hills i nto his city O f J erusale m attended by t h e great

HO
t h rong Of Galil aeans w h o with s h outs Of

preceded and followed him in t h e brief

s a n n ah
triumph he was to have before the cr u cixion
I n t h at t h ro n g were a crowd of c h ildren whom
Jesus afte r wards h eard si n gi n g a n d s h outing h is
praise i n t h e temple a n d who s e loyalty and en thu
Jesus S O heartily commended
T h ese
s i as m
too j oine d in t h at act Of devotion with t h e rest ;
some tearin g O ff b ranches O f palm a n d strewing
t h em i n th e way before him and ot h ers taking
their outer garments an d spreading them
O ff
like carpets Of royal purple before a k i n g i n h is
onward way P alms o r ga r me n ts w h ich are you
boys an d girl s l aying b efo r e him to day ? For
each Of these i n dicates a di ffere n t deg r ee O f d evo
tion an d l o v e for Je s us The ga r ments O f course
were the most costly E ven th e peasant took
g reat p ri d e i n his outer garments which w ere
,

64

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

C ONGRE GATI ON

were happier far for the patches an d d a m s they

had to wear T h ink Of having a coat with a patch

o n the side and being able to say

T h e ass o n

which J esus rode steppe d o n my coat j ust here

Wh at woul d we gi ve for a coat l ike that to d ay ?
B ut the pa l m wavers woul d n d t h at th eir palms
woul d wither an d they wou ld hav e li ttle to be
p roud Of
O n this day when we cel eb rate the triumph
Of Jesus both i n going into his city Of J erusalem
an d his city Of glory above w h at shal l o u r O ffering
b e ? S hall we cast down onl y p alms t h at cost us
noth i ng o r S hal l we g i v e him garments that are
costly ?
M rs B allington B ooth Of the Volunteers Of
A merica tells us th at when she was a little girl sh e
and her broth ers use d to p lay Noah s A r k and
O ffer t h e animals o n the a l tar in sac r ice ; but i t
was always t h e broken ones th at were O ffered
A little girl w h o was th e daugh ter o f a minister
had been to ch urch o n e morni n g and heard t h e min
ister pleading for an O ff ering to t h e L ord an d saying
th at th e di fference between an O fferi n g and a

collection was th at th e O ffering was w h at we

give gladly an d from th oughtfu l hearts and t h at

th e collection was simply w h at we happen to

h ave l eft in o u r pockets T h at day at di n ner
her little dog Fido came an d begged piteou s ly for

a mouthful
sai d h er mot h er
N O my dear

y ou must no t feed Fi d o now b ut y o u can give

.

66

PALM S O R G AR M E NTS ?
7

h i m wh at i s l eft after dinner

S O after d inner s h e
scrape d al l t h e p lates an d foun d only a fe w chicken
bones T h ese s he took o u t to th e kenne l an d sai d

sadly
Here Fido d ear I wante d to give y o u an

O ff ering b ut I coul d only get a collecti on

I wonder how many o f us to d ay are simp l y giv
i n g to J esus what costs us l ittle what we happened
to have l eft over
L et us take O ff o u r costly
garments the t h ings we val ue truly an d give t h em
as o fferings to o u r triump h ing King J esus
.

67

TH E C RYI NG ST O N ES
T ex tL u k e 1 9 4o P a l m S u n d a y S erm o n

O bj e c t A b it of s t o n e t a ke n fr om so m e n o t e d ch urch
a n y bit O f s t o n e
-

or

M y D ear L ittle P i l grims :

I hol d in my h and to d ay a b it Of the m arbl e
taken from t h e oor Of St Peter s Cathedra l while

it was being repaire d I t is o ne Of t h e stones Of

the temple Of w h ic h J esus is speaking i n o u r text

this morn ing Not Of t h e origina l temp l e but Of
a great hou s e Of Go d in R ome You all recal l o n
this Palm Sunday t h at wonderfu l entry Of Jesus
into t h e city Of J erusalem and how t h e great
multitudes th at had accompanied him from
Galilee an d t h ose that ha d come o u t to meet h im
as he rode in lowly state o n t h e little ass h ad to m
the branc h es from t h e trees and cast their garments

in his path crying o u t

Hosannah to the s o n o f

David
N ow in th at crowd were many chi ldren
and with al l the enth usiasm with whic h you boys
an d girls follow a great procession t h ese c h ildren
had k ept up th at cry long after t h ey had entere d
th e city gates and even t h e temple itself The
scribes an d P h arisees an n oye d at b oth th e ch ildren s
crying in th e temple a n d t h e nature Of t h eir c ry
ordered J esus to rebuke th em as they had asked
him to rebuke his disciples M atthew an d L uke
-

68

TH E C RYI NG STON E S

tell us what J esus said i n reply M atthew says

h e said
Hear what these s ay
L uke says h e

said
I f these shoul d hol d t h eir peace t h e v ery

stones woul d c ry o u t
An d w h at h e meant was

j ust t h is i f you d o not l et these boys an d g irls

worship me here i n God s holy temple th e v ery
stones that are i n the oors an d i n t h e wal ls Of
the temple itself wi ll cry o u t i n their stea d
Wh at then c a n we l earn as o u r Palm S un d ay
l esson from t h ese word s Of J esus ?

Firs t That Jesus must ha v e worshi p His

l ife is such that h e re q uires i t He is s o wort h y
Of it that it must come I n that wonderful picture
i n J oh n s B ook Of R e velation t h e great hosts O f

heaven cr y
Wo rthy is t h e L amb
to receive
power and riches an d wisdom an d stren g th an d

honor an d glory an d b le s sing

The very nature o f Jesus and h i s glorious kingl y
C haracter deman d praise

Secon d We are to learn that it is most natural

that boys an d gi r ls should praise him T h e O l d
gray b earded scribes an d t h e h aughty wrinkle
faced Ol d Pharisees w h o ha d forgotten all about
how it feels to be a boy thoug h t not but J esus
kn ew b etter For J esus knew all about children
because h e li ve d much with t h em an d love d them
H e had not forgotten his o w n boyhoo d an d how
h e l ove d to s h out an d run and play He knew
that Go d ha d made these c h ild r en s mouths to
p raise him A n d more th an t h at h e k new that
.

69

WHAT I TELL MY

CONGRE GATI ON

JUNIOR

Go d gets t h e most perfect Of al l praises from you

boys an d g irls for in t h e eigh th Psalm we read

O ut Of t h e mouth Of b abes an d sucklings he

hath perfecte d praise

Third We must l earn that if you chi ld ren d o

not praise him l ifeless Obj ects will T h e stones
wil l c ry o u t I t was an Old proverb w r itten by

For t h e
Hab b aku k that Jesus was quoting

stones shall c r y o u t O f the wall

And you boys
and girl s w h o remember your B ible stor i es will
remember how t h ose very stones crie d o u t w h en
Jesus was crucie d an d a gain when Jerusalem
was taken b y her enemies
To d ay in t h e E ast they are d igging d own
i nto b urie d cities an d coming upon stones with
inscriptions that are proving t h e truth O f S O much
th at J esus sai d and taugh t T h ese stones are
praising him S hal l c h ildren be worse t h an sticks
and stones an d senseless t h ings ? Al l nature t h is
beautiful S unday Of palms is lifting u p its voice
to praise o u r King
S h al l we not j oin created
things in addin g o u r praise ? Jesus l oves to hear
your voices i n the sanctuary He l oves to s ee
you in th e ch urch You may praise him as loud
as you w ill an d there will be no g ray bearded
Pharisee to stop you
L earn th en to come to
this temple wh ich we have erected here i n wh i ch
to w orshi p ou r Kin g and Saviour
,

70

WJ ESU S

HO

CAM E D OW N T H E STAI RS

Tex t Ph i l 2 6 9
O bj ect sA p a ir O f s t a i rs mad e Of c ard b oard wi t h t h e t rea d s
O f th e s t e p s re m o v a b l e a n d o n w hi c h th e fo ll o wi n g w or d s
h a v e bee n writt e n : In th e Form of G o d
H
u mb l e d H i m

Took U p o n Hi m th e Form of a S erv a nt

L ik e n e ss
se l f
of Men
Ob e di e nt Unto Dea t h and a t th e foo t O f th e
s t a i r s a s ma ll c ro ss
-

M y De ar J un i ors :
This wee k we shall b e th i n ki n g conti nually Of
the death Of Jesus in o u r b ehalf A nd we s h a ll
value that death o f J esus for us much more high ly
if we k now j ust w h at it cost him to come to this
earth at al l an d stil l more what it cost him to die
o n t h e cross
I n the v erses Of P au l s letter to t h e
P hilippians which I have rea d to y o u j ust now
we nd a picture Of a pair Of steps an d those Of
the b oys an d girls w ho ha v e eyes that s ee things
an d min d s that d iscern things have perhaps
already seen that picture B ut that you may
b etter s ee i t I have b rough t these l ittle stairs
to d ay An d we wil l b ui ld anew the steps down
which the S av iour came from his home in glory
that h e might be o u r S aviour L et us then l ay
upon the topmost stone th i s step the step where

In
J esus stoo d wh en h e b egan to come d own

N OW we b el ieve that J esus was

the form of God
Of th e s ame d ivi ne substance as G o d b ut we are
.

71

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CONGREGATION

tol d here t h at h e was also i n t h e form Of Go d

Wh at a glo r y t h at
S O that h e was j ust like God
was for th e M aster H e an d h is Fat h er were one
He held the high est pla c e then i n t h e universe
when he began to descend to us poor sinners
Then we lay for t h e rs t step down t h is truth

H e hu mbl ed hi mself
H e laid a s ide the form Of
Go d w h ic h h ad been his prize and glory He di d
w h at it is s o h a r d for us all to do He h umble d
himself W e all love ourselves and o u r o w n com
fort an d ho n or S O mu c h better t h an we l ove all

else B ut J esus took t h e rst step down he hum

b le d himself
Then we put o n the next step
Took u p on hi m

Servant h ere mea n s slave

the fo r m of a s erva nt
T h i n k Of it boys t h i n k Of it gi r ls
T h is Jesus
th e Son Of God and eq u al with h im too k t h e form
Of a slave T h at means t h at he too k upon him
al l t h e t h i n gs th at make a s lave a slave that
make a slave a se r va n t He w h om angels served
was now to serve like a slave in th e service Of
men That is co m ing down somew h at isn t it ?

L i keness of
Now put o n th e next step down

Still h e de s cen ds going farth er a n d farther

men
down the stairs Of his h umiliation U p to this
point he might have retained h is heavenly form
even wh ile he was servi n g men for we are tol d
t h at angels become th e mini s ters Of men B ut
Je s us came way down to our level H e b ecame
o ne Of us
He was made like man b orn i n a
.

72

H OW T O S EE T H E R I S E N J ESU S
My Dear J uniors :
O n this brigh t E aster Day while we are a l l thin k
ing o f t h e ri s en J esus I have a question to as k you
An d because I d o not b elieve you c an answer it
I am going to answer it myself
Who s aw J esu s ri se? D o you k now ? We s ee
him l ai d away in t h e tomb the great stone rolled
against t h e rock h ewn cave t h e sea l o f R ome
placed upon it t h e guard o f soldiers s et an d t h en
suddenl y we n d him talkin g to M ary outside the
tomb
Wh o saw him shak e o ff the gravecl othes o f death
an d come forth ? T h e only possible witnesses o f
w h om I c a n th ink at t h is moment were the angels ;
but t h ey came down to rol l t h e stone away an d to
warn t h e women only after C h ri s t ha d risen and
when t h e grave was a l read y empty so t h ey di d
not s ee him rise

T h e women these came to the tomb v ery earl y

b ut t h ey foun d th e grave already empty

The soldiers but th e stone was th ere b efore the

tomb till th e ange l came and after that t h ey were
s o frightene d t h at the y fainte d an d s a w nothi n g
Wh o th en s aw him come forth ? N 0 o n e T h en
how d o we k now t h at h e did ? W e hav e ample
,

74

WT O SEE THE R ISEN JE SUS

HO

proof that h e came forth in the wa y h e a p peare d

to many o f those t h at l ove d him To t h ose sorrow
ing disciples that l ove d hi m h e sh owed himself

Then were th e d isciples gla d when they s aw the

L ord
N O W d oesn t i t seem a l ittle strange to
you b oys an d g irls that these disciples d i d no t g et
t h at j o y sooner ? I t might h ave come to them if
they ha d obeye d him For J esus ha d b id d en them

meet him i n Gali l ee sayin g

B ut after that I am
risen I wil l g o b efore you i nto Galilee
An d his
rst message to the women ha d b een Go quickly
an d tel l his d isciples that h e is risen from th e d ead ;
and behol d he g oeth before y o u into Gali l ee ; there

shall ye see him : 1 0 I have told you

B u t i ns tead o f obeying him an d g o i ng i n to Ga l i l ee
the y stayed sad l y i n J erusalem and for twenty
four hours they misse d the g reatest j oy i n a ll the
worl d
Now what can we get o u t o f a ll th i s ?
Jesus appeare d to men s physica l eyes He
showe d himself to th e women to the tw o t h at
were going home to E mmaus that s ad night
to Thomas t h e d ou b ter to the v e hundred
b rethren at once
J esus appeared i n visions to many o f those that
l oved him to their mind s eye He showed himself
to the mind s eye o f Paul o n the wa y to Da
m as cu s to t h e Apostle J oh n at P atmos to
Francis o f Assisi and J oan o f A rc an d Cather i n e
o f Sienna
.

75

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN IOR

CONG RE GATION

He appeare d al s o by his S pi r it to t h e heart s

Di d not o u r h eart
ey e o f t h ose t h at loved h im
b urn with in u s w h ile h e talked with us b y t h e
way said J o h n and Cleopas
While none o f us can h ave the rst an d few
Of us will h ave t h e second we c a n all have t h e
t h ird meth od o f seeing t h e ri s en Jesus We c a n
all be su r e t h is glad E aster Day t h at h e is rise n
by seeing h im wit h o u r spiritual eyes J esus said
to t h e disciples
Go ye into Galilee and you shall

He says s o to day
see me there
W h ere t h en is t h e Galilee w h e r e we can go and
s ee Jesus ?
J u s t w h ere h e reveals himself Now

J esus reveals himself in th e B ible

T h ese a r e

t h ey says he o f t h e S criptures
t h at testify

J esus is in t h is B ible I f you tak e him

o f me
o u t you w il l have l ittle left
Y o u can s ee him i n
t h e closet wh ere you go to pray You cannot tal k
to a d ead C hr ist And if you get an answer to
y our p rayers as I am su r e you all d o when y ou pray
arig h t t h en h e mu s t be t h ere in heaven I f I go
to th e telephone a n d get no answer from the ot h er
end I hang up B ut if I am sure there is some o ne
th ere I k eep o n tal king You can s ee J e sus i n
t h e lives o f oth ers T h at i s a Gali l ee I n that

b eautiful L ege n d Of S ir L au n fal

t h e k nigh t
W e s ee J esus when we
s ees C hr ist in t h e l eper
are ministe r i n g to oth ers
Then to o you will see Jesus when you k eep his

Jesus himself promised He that

c ommandments

76

WTO SE E TH E RI SEN JE S US

HO

hath m y commandments an d k eepeth them h e i t

i s t h at l ovet h m e an d I wil l
manifest myself

unto him
B ut t h e disciples di d not obey an d
they lost that v ision for twenty four s ad hours
Woul d you b oys an d girls like to see t h e risen
J esus with your hearts eyes ? Then go to Ga 1 i

l ee the Galilee o f the B ible

prayer servi c e

Obed ience an d he will S how himself u n to you

,

77

J ES U S

T HE

GA R D EN E R

T ex tJ o h n 2 0 1 5
Obj e ct sF l o w ers a nd gard e n i ng i mpl eme n t s
.

Jesus once sai d to Simon o f Capernaum concern

ing M ary M agdalene

She that hath been most

forgiven will love th e most an d E aster morning

showed that saying o f J esus to be true Fo r it
was M ary w ho w h en the others ha d g one away
from the tom b o f Jesus stoo d looking anxiou s ly
into the empty vault and would not give up till
I t was to this l ove too t h at
s h e ha d found him
Jesus manife s te d himself I f y ou woul d s ee Jesus
m y young friends you must l earn to love him
for you remember that since he d ie d he never has
s h own him s elf to t h ose that did not l ove him
M ary rst sees the angels an d t h en turning she
sees J esus himself standing B ut s o greatly have
his resurrection garments an d glory changed him
t h at a t rst s h e does not k n ow him S h e takes
h i m for t h e k eeper o f t h e gar d en i n which t h e tomb

was
supposing him to be t h e gard ener
s he

saith
I t was natural sh e should be s o mistaken
I t was a garden we are told in wh ich t h e new tomb
was I n t h ese days we do not make cemeteries
o u t o f o u r gar d ens but we try o u r best to make
gardens o u t o f o u r cemeteries We cover them
,

78

JE S US

THE GAR D ENER

with owers an d the crue l gash that the grav e has

made we cover u p wit h owers o f every sort
T h ere was no place for gra v es i n t h e world at
rst onl y for gard ens Go d mad e the garden i n
Ed en an d then S in came along an d carv e d a g rav e
where Cain b urie d his slain b rother
B ut the d ay wi ll come again when there sha ll b e
b ut only gardens once more
n o more g raves
Christ w ill come a gain an d l ev el up the gra v es an d
pl ant owers
M ary found n o b eauty i n the gard en wh il e the
g rave was i n it
I t w as a b eautifu l spri ng morning an d b e i ng i n
the month o f Nisan t h e ower month the garden
I i magine was lled with owers o f al l sorts an d
seein g a man stan d ing s h e naturall y thought i t
was h e wh o care d for the garden an d s h e s o
addresse d him
B ut sh e s oon foun d w hen h e s p o k e the l ovi n g
w ords to her that i t was J esus An d y et b oys
an d girls I d o not t h in k s h e was much mista ken

after all
S he supposing him to b e th e gard ener
well i s n o t that j ust w h at J esus w as an d i s ?
T his b right E aster Day we have b anke d o u r
churches with owers to ma k e t h e m l oo k l i k e
gardens an d as we gaze upon their b eauty I w an t
y ou to thin k with M ary that J esus i s a gard ener
W e have thought o f hi m as man y things He

sai d he is T h e Door
He sai d he i s The S hep

herd
The L ight o f the World b ut man y artists
.

79

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN IO R

CONGRE GATION

have t h o u gh t o f him too as a gardener an d

represented h i m wit h su c h i n struments as t h ese
in h is ha n ds

S h e supposin g him to be the gard ener

Wh y
was s h e righ t ?

Fi r s t Because it was h e by w h om God mad e al l

things He was t h e power by w h om God made
t h is world
With out h im was not anyth ing made

th at was made
And t h e rst t h ing we hear

about God was that h e was a gardener

T h e rst story o f God i n t h e B ible tel l s us that
h e plante d a garden calle d E den ; he lled it
with all po s sible b eauty a n d l oveliness and that
he gave it to an under gardener to till an d take care
Go d loves gardens and owers
o f name d Adam
,

T h e L or d G o d pl a nt e d a gard e n
In th e rs t w hit e d a y s of th e wor ld ;
An d s et th ere a n a ng e l ward e n
In a g arm e n t of light u n f u r l e d
.

T h e k i ss of t h e s u n for p ard o n
T h e s o n g of th e b ird s for m irth ;
On e i s n earer G o d s h eart i n a gar d e n

T h a n a nyw h ere e l s e o n earth

,

S econd B ecause J esus sends al l t h e owers

that b loom i n your garden an d mine Have you
.

ever seen him walking in your garden as Adam

saw God walking in h is garden o f E den at t h e close
o f the day ?
He plants t h e seeds and waters them He brings
the rain an d t h e dews t h e suns h ine and t h e showers

80

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CONGRE GATION

the tree Of life is b looming constantly After t h at

b eautifu l resurrection morning Jesus went u p
throu gh th e h eavens i nto t h e heave n ly p aradise o f
God A n d h e tells us th at he i s t h e keeper o f

that g ard en
I go to prepare a place for you

Fourth Then I thin k Jesus is a gardener because

he keeps the garden o f rest an d peace A garden
in the E ast i s a type o f restfulne s s T he gardens
were lle d with s h ade trees and owers b eautifu l
grasses an d fountai n s an d ponds Here men went
i n t h e coo l o f t h e day o r even in t h e midst o f its
Y o u remember h ow Christ
n oontide heat to rest
s aw Nathanae l w h en he was under t h e g tree
resting i n t h e heat o f t h e d ay
T h e M aster w h o rose from the d ea d has
prepare d peace an d comfort and rest for t h ose t h at

come to him
Come unto me al l ye t h at l abor

an d are heavy l aden an d I wil l give you rest

Now his resurrection o n that E aster morning proves
For
to us t h at al l t h e promises h e made are true

t h e greatest p romise th at o f his rising h as b een

fullled an d s o we are at liberty to b elieve all th e
oth ers h e mad e us
S O when h e tells us we may come into his garden
o f rest w e c a n accept the i nvitation and go
How
w e l ove to creep away from t h e heat o f the hot
city i n summer time an d get into t h e shade o f
some little gard en S o J esus says wh en we are
weary and oppre s sed we ca n come to him an d he
has provided a place o f comfort
.

82

THE G ARD E NER

JE SUS,

Wh e n my o l i fa i nt

thi rs t y
Nea th th e s h a d o w of h i s wi n gs
T h ere i s c oo l a n d pl ea sa n t S h e lt er

An d a fre s h a nd cry s t a l s p ri ng
s

and

Fifth He i s th e gardener b ecause h e ra i ses

.

owers that we c a n plant i n o u r cemeteries to make

gardens o u t o f them How we l ove to d ecorate
th e graves of o u r dead I f you g o into the cemeteries
in J une the y l oo k j ust l ike rose gardens B ut
these owers are only types o f the rea l owers we
p lant o n a Christian s grave
J esus th e gardener ha d some owers growing in
that gard en i n Jerusalem that were the rea l owers
o f b lessing to p lant i n o u r cemeteries
Here are
some o f them T here i s the ower o f hope That
grew o u t o f J esus tom b B efore that time men
ha d hope l essly l ai d t h eir d ear ones i n the grave
B ut no w w e k now that we may l ive again b ecause
h e l ives T hen there i s th e ower o f faith We
nee d ne v er fear that h e i n whom w e b elieve d will
fail after h e has conquere d death W e c a n s ay

with Paul I k now whom I have b e li ev ed an d am

persuade d that he i s a b le to k eep that which I

h ave committe d u nto h i m against that day

An d h e sai d we shoul d s ee o u r d ear ones again
Then there i s the ower o f recognition W e fear
sometimes we shall not k now o u r d ear ones i n
heaven
B ut J esus k new M ary an d M ary at l ast k ne w
J esus
.

83

WHAT I TELL

MY JUNI OR

CONG RE GATI ON

W e have t h is b le s se d as s urance th at j ust as

M ary k n ew J esus not s o mu c h by h is outward
appearance as his v oi c e and manner s o t h oug h
o u r bodily form shall be c h ange d we shal l k now
each oth er
I have in my han d a l ily b u l b I f I plant it I
shall get someth ing s o beautiful a nd sweet t h at
it h as nothi n g o f the old dirty roug h bulb about
it but I s h all not h e s itate to s ay it is a lily and
I s h all recognize it at on c e S O w h en t h e great
Gardener plants us in t h e C hr istian s grave we s h all
come forth i n suc h manner t h at all th ose w h o h ave
k nown t h e see d will recognize t h e ower

Sixth Th en la s tly I t h i n k we c a n thin k o f

J esus as a ga rd ener because it i s h e alone t h at
plants i n us t h e seed t h at wil l give us eterna l l ife

I n h i m was l ife
says Joh n I t was t h e life
t h at h e received from God h is Father that brought
h im as a ower from t h e grave w h ere they h ad
bu r ied his body By t h at life t h at Go d put i n
h im he came forth f r om t h e grave to be the rst
fruits of t h em t h at sleep
T h at life Jes u s puts in each o f us who accepts
him I t is t h at germ o f eternal life t h at gives
us h ope o f rising
I hol d i n my hand a seed dry and apparently
l ifeless Yet I can pla n t it with t h e a ss u r a n ce
th at i t will send fo r t h its tiny s h oot and n ally
blossom Seeds h ave been found i n m u mmy
ca ses i n E gypt th at were Old in t h e d ays of M oses
,

84

JE S US

TH E GARD E NER

but when plante d have put o u t roots an d grown

g r een An d e v ery l ittle see d h as t h is p ersevering
ge r m o f life O nce t h at mighty o ak tree was a
lit tle speck s o smal l that you coul d not see i t with
N o w i f w e l o v e Jesus h e puts
o u t the microscope
h is life i n u s an d that life th at h e put i n u s can
never b e destroye d He l ike t h e gard ener will
cultivate an d k eep i t alive an d when we are put
into t h e grave that b it of Christ s life will be power
ful enoug h to b rea k the grave an d b ring u s forth
Here is a story to Sh ow you w h at I mean
An indel German countess more than a century
ago w h en dying ordere d that her grave shoul d be
covered with a soli d granite slab ; that around
this s h oul d b e placed soli d rocks an d th at the
whole s h ould be clamped together wit h iron b ands
And sh e h a d this inscription put o n t h e stone

This b uria l place purchase d to al l eternity

must not be Opene d

A little see d however
S prouted i nsi d e t h e tom b pus h e d its tiny s h oots
o u t through a crac k and gradually growin g burst
the iron clamps an d l ifte d the immense block
Such a see d of l ife has the Gardener planted in t h e
hearts o f those who wil l accept him an d love h i m
So for al l t h ese reasons I thin k M ary was rig h t
th at d ay after all and that s he suppose d nothin g
but t h e truth
J esus i s the k eeper of o u r soul gard en an d some
day h e wil l b ri n g us full of blooms an d b eauty into
h i s p a l ace
.

85

G ETTI NG O NT O HIS C U RV ES

Tex t Eph

O bj e c t s A b a s e b a ll

a nd

b at

My Dear B oys :
T h e baseball season i s upon us and the fever is
bur n ing i n t h e brea s ts of every manly boy o f us
I mu s t confess t h at we p r eachers are not proof
against t h is dread infection that comes wit h the
robins and the hand organs And if we made a
frank co n fession to you fellows we woul d tell you
t h at we lo n g sometimes to get away f r om t h e odor
o f o u r libra ry s h elves
and get o u t wit h t h e boys
o n the diamo n d
I presume that every boy has been saving
up for b at and ball a n d studyi n g t h e pedigree
o f every new player o n t h e professional teams
T h e latest news t h at has come to me from the
diamond is t h at some one h as i nve n ted a bra n d new
cu r ve th at is going to puzzle t h e batte r s t h is
year an d w in glo r y for its inventor T h at r e
calls to me t h e days w h en before most o f you
were born we used to s i t by the hour and discu s s
th e weigh ty question w h eth er o r not a baseball
coul d be made to curve while I h ave spent many
hours as a boy t rying to t h row a ball between
two upright poles planted at about twenty yards
apart
.

86

G E TTING ONT O HI S C URVE S

To da y we k now t h at most games o f b ase b a ll
have come to be pitc h ers battles
N o w Satan our g r eat adversary is engage d i n a
mig h ty st r uggle with every man o f you and he
is dependi n g upon th rowing curve d balls over your
home plate Pau l talks to us i n t h is letter to the

E p h esians about the wiles o f t h e Devil B ut

i f Paul k n ew baseball as well as h e did boxing he

would h ave tol d you to bewa r e o f t h e cu r ves

of the Devi l I nstea d o f saying beware o f the

wiles o f t h e Devil h e woul d have sai d get onto

t h e D evil s curves
for his wi l es are his curves
an d his curves are h is wiles There is l ittle t h at is
straight about ou r enemy S atan He never ghts
in the open He uses curv es an d d eceit He ne v er
throws a straight b all
Yes b oys an d girl s too you must become
familiar with the method s o f the evi l o ne l est he
take y ou unawares
First o f al l S atan i s s o k nowing For s i x thou
san d years an d nobody living k nows how many
more h e has b een going u p and down t h is world
practicing every kin d o f curv ed device an d crooked
b usiness t h at he migh t put you o u t o f the game o f
life An d y ou c an b egin your b attle with him c o n
B eware ,
d ent t h at he k nows far more than you
T h en h e can make things appear other than they
are You remember how through the i nuences o f
Satan t h e E gyptian magicians coul d make their
sticks seem like sna kes after M oses had b y God s
-

87

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CONGRE GATION

help made his rod turn into a rea l snake He has

ever gone about bli n ding t h e eyes of t h e men and
women o f t h is world to t h e truth He is called

t h e Father o f L ies that O l d S erpent
The

Deceiver
I n t h e northeast corner o f the great Yellowstone
Park there is a gloomy ravine wh ic h is known as
Death Gulc h At t h e foot Of th e mountain slopes
t h ere is a stream imp r egnated wit h sulp h ate o f
alumina wh ic h is deat h to all a n imal life A recent
vi s itor s aw t h ere a number o f bears lying dead
about t h is stream havi n g been killed by d r inking
th e water S in h as i ts De at h Gulch and how
many men and women and boys and girls too are
rst fasci n ated and t h en killed by its fatal stream
I t seems to invite t h em but it means to blind and
slay
Satan never comes in his true form For t h is
reason we must be doubly wat c h ful He comes
often di s gui s ed as an ange l o f ligh t
An Ol d
Scot c h man gazing once at A r y Sc h aefer s pi c ture
of t h e Temptation of t h e Ma s ter w h ich rep r esents

Satan in a peculia r ly rep u lsive form said

If
Satan had come to me in t h at form I would have

given h im h i s death blow too

B ut th e unfo r tunate
pa r t of it all is th at he does not To Eve h e c ame i n
th e insinuating a n d s n eaki n g meth od of t h e snake
T h ere is a pretty little plant th at grows on th e
moors o f E ngland called th e s u ndew Its leaves
are soft and velvety a n d att r act t h e insects to
.

88

L ESS O N S O F T H E TA RG ET

O bj e ct A t arg e t

s uc

as

is

us

e d for a i r r i es

h ery

o r ar c

My Dear Youn g S o l diers :

You will all recognize this thing which I hol d
i n my hand M any times h ave Bill an d J im tried
for t h e bull s eye in a target like t h is Do not be
satise d till you h it it b oys
O ne o f the presidents o f the L ondon Cham b er o f
Commerce once wrote o u t t h ese two principles o f
s uccess :
H ave a denite aim
1
Go straigh t for it
2
Dr Henry van Dyke has written :
.

L i fe i s a n arro w th erefore y o u mu s t k now

Wh a t m ar k t o a i m a t h o w t o u se th e b o w
T h e n d ra w it t o th e h ea d a n d l e t it g o
,

L et us look a moment at t h ose two p r inciples o f

the target

Firs t H ave a deni te ai m I f I were to select

for you o n e o f t h e migh tiest epoch making events
in history I t h i n k I s h o u ld c h oose t h at moment
when th e great Apostle Paul sai d o n the Damascus

r oad
Wh at wilt th ou have me to d o ?
Or
b etter still a sce n e in the temple at Jerusalem
when the y oung Jesus said to his anxious parents

Wist ye not t h at I mu s t be about my Father s

b usiness ?
O r better still th e moment when that
.

90

LESSON S OF

THE

T ARG ET

same Jesus stoo d before Pilate an d said

For to
th is end came I i nto t h e world
For b oth Jesus
and Paul ha d a denite ai m in their l i ves that
change d the worl d The sad thing about so man y
young l ives i s that the y are going o n without a
denite aim Not s o th e great men You r e
member w el l what Columbus ami d al l the dis
c ou r a g eme nt o f that v oyage o f his to America

wrote in his diary : That day we sailed

west

ward whi ch was ou r cou rs e

Keeping everlastingly
at o u r wor k i s not enough W e must h ave a goa l
toward which w e are going a target toward
which we aim the arrow o f l ife Amos R Wells
tells us that h e once s aw a sign i n E ngl an d that

read
T B a f n dealer in anythin g and eve r y

thing
I fear M r Ba f n never got v ery rich o r
prominent
D o you sturd y young fel l ows k now where y ou
are marching to ? D o you d ear girls know toward
what you are going ? I hope it is toward a co n
secr a te d Christian life

S econ d
Go s trai ght f or i t
Then d raw it to the

head
P ul l your arm way
s ays D r Van Dy k e
b ac k l et that arrow y as if you meant i t to reach
i ts mark Plan your work and then work y our plan

B enj amin Frankli n once said

R esolve to per
form what you ought ; perform without fail what

you reso lve

B e li ke J oh n Hay s J im B l u ds o e

He seen hi s d uty a d ea d sure thin g an wen t

fo r i t thar an d then
,

91

WHAT I TELL MY

C ONGRE GATION

JUNIOR

Don t ever be sati s ed till you h it t h at bull s

eye ; till the bel l r i n gs Now Paul s ma r k was

Jesus
I press towa r d t h e mark for t h e h igh

calling o f Jesus h e tells us T h ere is no high er

and better Aim to be a true C h ristian Don t
be satised wit h anyt h ing less
R emember that to mi s s that mar k is to s i n
Not all s i n is transgres s ion Paul s idea o f s i n

was also expressed in t h e Greek word h a mar ta n o

w h i c h literally means to miss t h e ma r k to come
s h ort To come s h ort o f a C hr i s tian life my dear

young soldiers is to s i n to be found faulty Aim

h igh then to day
Take Jesus an d a C h ristian
life as t h e target toward w h ic h your arrow of life
is directed and then pull pull till you c an pull no
mo r e and let it y And some day wh en you go
to look you will nd t h at arrow life of yours sunk
deep an d rm into t h e life o f C h rist

92

TH R EE F L OWE RS O F F R EE D O M

O bj e ct s A ro se a M a y o w er a nd a li ly
,

M y Dear Young Soldiers of the Cross :

I have broug h t you to day a M emo r ia l Day
b ouquet For to morrow we sh al l observe t h at
b eautiful custom o f placi n g owers on th e graves
o f the soldiers who have died defending t h e ag
The custom w h ich
o r i n the service o f this country
we al l remember from c h ildhood originated i n
the S outh after the war w h en the south ern women
carrie d owers o u t to l ay o n the Confederate
graves An d i t was taken u p soon by all the
states o f the U nion
T h e d ate o f M ay 3 0 was
decided upon because that d ay marked t h e muster
ing o u t o f the last soldier o f the Civil War w h en
Nort h and Sout h were at l ast at peace

T radition has it t h at after the last battle fought

in E ngland i n behalf o f t h e S tuarts t h ere spra n g
up on t h e spot o n Culloden M oor a s i n gular blue
ower unknown i n that region before The natives
cal l it t h e ower Of Culloden b ecause it sprang
from the soi l made sacred wit h t h e bloo d o f t h eir
kin They believed that seeds t h at had b een l ong
unfruitful l ying sleepi n g i n t h e ground w h en
watered by th e bloo d o f t h e b r aves sprang su d denly

i nto l ife an d grew an d b loomed

B ut they were
-

93

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CONGRE GATION

co s tly owers were t h ey not ? T hese owers th at

you will lay upon t h e graves o f the soldier d ead o f
our great R epublic will be owers like those o f
Culloden Flowers o f sacrice Flowers that are
due to blood s hed
I h old in my hand t h ree such owers three
owers o f f r eedom t h at h ave always co s t t h e s h ed
di n g o f b lood T h ey a r e t h e owers o f sacrice

First Here is t h e beautiful re d rose

I ts
color speaks o f b lood I t is th e ower o f nationa l
liberty
Such liberty is costly always
I ts
price is a l ways Sa c rice a n d some o ne has had to
pour o u t life s blood a n d some hearts have had to
break before libe r ty ever came to a nation o r to
its people I suppose mo s t o f you boys and gi r ls
have been o u t to Valley Forge a n d seen t h e graves
o f t h e Continental soldiers w h o died of h unger a n d
p r ivation in t h at awful winter a n d h ave been able
to fancy you coul d s ee th e footmarks of blood
near t h e sentry h ouses
T h ose o f you t h at have read your American
hi s tories k now t h at th e r e were th ree h undred a n d
s ixty t h ousand brave men ki lled in t h e Civil War
T h e red rose o f freedom has grown o u t o f b lood
We shoul d v alue it s o high ly t h at never never
s h oul d we carelessly t h row it away

Secon d T h en here is t h e pale blue M ayower

t h e ower o f religious l iberty Was it not singular
t h at those who traveled t h e high seas years ago
to nd i n this l an d o f ours religious freed om s houl d
,

94

TH REE F LOWERS O F FREE D OM

have come i n a s h ip calle d t h e

M ayower
T h at l ittle ower w h ose blue S peaks to us o f c o n
an d truth and sincerity an d whose
s ta nc y
energy i n pushing out o f t h e snow o f winter to give
us its beauty an d fragrance is s o typical o f the
loyalty and courage o f o u r Pilgri m fathers True
blue is this l ittle ower And this ower o f r e
Isn t it strange
l i g i o u s liberty cost something
young people that o n e should ha v e to purch ase
t h e freed om to worship God with one s blood
An d yet it has s o often been true From t h e days
o f t h e Christian
martyrs i n the Colosseum at
R ome to the days o f t h e Scotch men and women
who lost t h eir lives for their faith i n the days of
t h e Covenanters i t has been necessary at times
to buy one s right to worship Go d as they willed
at t h e price o f blood I t is a lesson to us to value
t h e freedom we have o f worship and make use o f
that freedom

Third And l astly here i s the pure w h ite l i l y

This is also a ower o f freedom I t represents to
us to day the freedom from s i n an d all uncleanness
which was purch ased by o u r blessed Saviour when
he shed his l ife s blood o n t h e cross
T h is lily
o f freedom from s i n grew u p pure and spotless and
fragrant at th e foot o f t h e cross of t h e M aster

T h e blood of J es u s C h rist cleanset h from al l s i n

Sin is slavery He that committeth s i n is t h e
slave o f s i n says t h e B ible And we are not too
young to have felt t h at slavery B ut it a l so tells
.

95

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CON GREGATION

us t h at I f t h e S o n s h all make you f r ee ye are

f r ee i n deed
An d he made us free from s i n by
h is blood
M emo r ial Day brings us th e l essons of sac r i

Here are t h e red w h ite and blue t h e

ce
owers o f true l iberty libe r ty o f citizens h i p
libe r ty Of religion freedom f r om sin An d th ey

all c o s t someth i n g called blood and blood is t h e

life So t h en let us treasure t h em as never before
,

96

WH AT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

C ONGREGATION

less mosquito W h en we were b oys we Often heard

it said in reference to anoth er s want o f courage

O h h e s afrai d o f a mosquito
B ut th at is no
longer a S ign Of cowardice but o f common sen s e
for t h e innocent looking mosquito is far more
terrible than t h e roaring tiger And t h e greatest
men o f science to day h ave come to be in con s tant
terror o f the mosquito because h e carries th e
dreaded germ o f yellow fever
I t is a q u eer t h ing is it not th at th e more i n
vi s ible t h ings are t h e more terrible a n d da n gerous
do t h ey come to be A wild tiger is not s o da n gerous
as a common h o u se y becau s e we can s ee t h e
tiger and we cannot always s ee the y and t h e
y can carry typ h oid fever enoug h with h im to
kil l an army
There are some th ings that a r e invisible to
the naked eye like th e ti n y microbes t h at we can
s ee
t h rough t h e microscope a n d s h un th em
B ut th ere are still more terrible t h ings we cannot
s ee even through t h e microscope
And t h e smaller
and more invisible they are t h e more dangerous
do they seem to be
No o n e yet even with t h e most powerful micro
scope has seen t h e microbes o r germs as we best
know t h em o f t h e th ree terrible and fatal di s eases
of h ydrophobia o f yellow fever o r of poliomyelitis
which is a big word for a sort o f s pm al meningitis
O ne noted professor tells us th at he believes th e
eye i s no t construc ted th at will ever s ee t h e m
.

98

I NVI SI B LE E N E MIE S
Yet these th ree things are more fata l an d carry
o ff more lives t h an al l the tigers an d l ions o f I ndia
S o it is t h e little things after al l which we can
not s ee t h at are to be the most feared
Now l et us get o u r l esson Y o u b oys an d girl s
cannot s ee the harm i n staying o u t l ate at nig h t
an d s o you believe there is no such harm B ut
mother an d father have been looking t h rough t h e
microscope calle d their experience an d t h ey have
seen t h e harm
I t is too bad you cannot s ee it
but you wil l some d ay an d you must tak e their
word
You b oys cannot see the harm perhaps that
lurk s i n t h e evil smelling cigarette but it is there
t h e d octors have found it I t is more d angerous th an
wil d beasts You cannot always see w h y you Sh ould
not stay away from church and why mother insists
B ut there is a danger every
o n your coming h ere
time you stay away from God s house Those who
have wandered away from Go d have seen it and
can tel l you S O l et oth ers be your microscopes
an d believe what they say when they tel l you t h at
there are a hun d re d and o ne things t h e harm of
w h ich you cannot see and beware o f them l est
t h ey s p oi l your young lives
,

99

H OW T O T ELL P O IS O N S

Tex tI T h e ss

P o v e a ll thi n g s
O bj e ct sA pi e c e of p o i s o n ivy a nd V i rgi ni a cree p er a
m u s h roo m a n d a t oa d s t oo l
.

21

M y Dear Young Naturalists :

I have wit h me to day some of nature s products
with w h ic h we are all familiar T h is piece of
vine w h ic h I am h olding is t h e Virginia creeper
th at climbs over t h e porc h es a n d fe n ces and sto n e
walls a n d th is oth er piece w h ich you will see I
am h oldi n g wit h a glove covered h and is very
similar a n d yet essentially di ffe r ent An d t h e
fact th at I h old it wit h a gloved h a n d s h ows us
t h at it is a dangerous bit of leaf I t is th e poison
ivy from w h ic h S O many of us h ave suff ered at
o n e time o r anot h er
An d t h is obj ect w h ic h I
now hold u p is a mu s h room o n e o f th e most
delectable a r ticles o f food for t h e epicures T h e
oth er looks j ust like it b u t looks are deceitf u l and
we must not be deceived because h e looks like h is
cousin Thi s oth er fellow is quite a di fferent
c h aracter S h ould we eat him I fear we would
miss c h urc h services for some days to come and
perh aps we s h o u ld miss t h em forever I t is th e
toadstool O nly t h is pa s t summer fteen per s ons
in New York City died from eating toadstools
in mistake for mus h roo m s Now the important

1 00

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CONGREGATION

matter t h at it takes a good clear eye to s ee and

o n e t h at has practiced seeing suc h t h ings to a v oi d
t h em There is someth i n g t h ere t h at ough t not
to be there o r t h ere is somet h ing not t h ere th at
ough t to be t h ere t h at makes t h e di fference and
renders o n e harmful and t h e other helpful
God h as given us an eye to s ee j ust these
di fferences in pleasures and habits a n d ways o f

doing t h ings and t h at eye we call co n s cience

I f you were going o u t h unti n g for mush rooms you

would have your eyes peeled as we s ay ; keen

and watc h ful to s ee the di fference between mus h
room and toadstool A n d if you were getti n g
over a wal l you woul d be watc h fu l to s ee if t h e
pretty vine g r owing upon it had ve ngers or
t h ree S O must t h e eye of our conscience be b r igh t
and consta n tly o n t h e watc h for t h ese di ffere n ces
b etween good and bad

I n c h emi s t r y t h ey u s e a paper calle d litmus

which put i n acid i n sta n tly deter m ines its acidity
T h e j eweler h as his touc h stone for determi n i n g
gold S o conscience determines in the pleasures
an d habits o f o u r lives t h e good an d t h e bad I n
t h e bank o f E ngland the r e is a mach i n e t h at with
uner r ing accuracy weigh s t h e coin t h rowing out
t h ose whic h are under weigh t J u s t s o o u r con
sciences tell us the di fferences however sligh t t h ey
may be between the good and th e bad Some of
th e things we like in life and s h oul d not have
l ook j ust like things w e like an d may have We
,

1 02

WTO TELL POISON S

HO

must follow o u r co n science carefully We must

get to k now t h e di ff erence b etween playing gol f
an d playing golf o n God s h oly day
We must come to k now th e di fference between a
Christmas cantata and a cheap v au d eville S how
i n a t h eater
You must S ee th e diff erence b etween saying

let s pretend when you are playing and let s

pretend when mother h as a s ke d you a point

b lank question that deman d s t h e trut h
Conscience wil l tell you all these di ff erences
i f you w ill fo l low it an d k eep i t without o ffense
For th e aim o f us al l shoul d be with P au l to try

always to have a conscience v oi d o f O ffense before

God and man

Prove all t h ings J uniors for
you have the proof i n your o w n hearts where Go d
has place d i t for your safety
D o not eat anythin g unti l you have prove d it
g oo d for your b ody
A nd do not do anything unti l you have prove d i t
g oo d for your sou l
.

1 03

B U B B LE H O N ORS
Text H o sea 1 0 7 ; PS 9 1 I 4
O bj e ct sA s oa p b u bbl e pip e and s ome wa t er for b l owi ng
b u bb l e s
.

I wonder h ow many o f you b oys a n d gi r ls before

me to day ever w is h ed t h at you were kings o r
queens o r at least p r i n ces an d p ri n ce s ses ? You
a r e not muc h like t h e general run o f boys a nd girls
if you have n t someti m e or oth er cu r led yourselves
up i n fath e r s big armchair and with your fairy
book on your knees wis h ed that you too might s i t
o n a roya l t h rone a n d dictate orders to men and
women i n waiting a n d never never go to bed until
you wanted to
How we al l are looking for honors , How we
l ove to be even i n t h e compa n y of great men ,
How o u r yo u ng bosoms swell with p r ide if o n ly
we c a n s h ake h ands with some great one , W h y
I remember even to day t h e swellings o f b OYIS h
pride with which I s h ook hands once wit h General

B urnside an d heard h im s ay to fath er

T h at

boy has a good grip

O r h ow gra n d we feel
wh en some noted man or woman answers a little
letter th at we have written h im or h er ,
B ut here is a king to wh om all kinds o f honors
are due and yet Ho s ea th e P r op h et tells h im t h at h is
honors are like a bubble upon t h e waters I want
-

1 04

WHAT I TELL MY

JUNIOR

CONGRE GATION

An d sometimes t h ese honors are b lown u p for us

by o u r friends T h ere was always room i n the
great Greek Pantheon o r temple of all th e gods
for any deity w h o had followers enoug h to erect
h is statue t h ere An d generally you c a n nd some
one wh o will praise you
B ut we n d at last that these b u b ble honors are
eas i l y bu rs t and s h ort lived
Wh at t h en are t h e honors t h at last ? T h ey are

named in t h e ninety r s t Psalm

Because he hat h
s et his love upon me
I will s et h im o n h igh

because h e hat h known my name

I t is t h e Ki n g
o f kings who is speaking of tho s e of you t h at l ove

him
H e wil l s et you o n h igh
and h e will
answer you Ho w nice to get an answer from
a great man

Here is an answer from t h e King of ki n gs :

I

will honor him

He w h om God h onors is hon
ored indee d
The h ono r s t h at God gives a r e permanent

We p r i c k t h e bubble an d t h e bubble honor

an d b ot h return to the air B ut t h e Father says

With long life will I satisfy him

T h e l ittle
kings o f China and Persia will keep their honors
at l ongest but about sixty years an d like most
monarc h s wil l not be satised B ut y ou l ittle
kings w ho are God s c h ildren will have an eternity

of glory
Seeke s t thou great t h ings for t h yself ?

See k them not

.

1 06

TH E TH R EE S I EV E S

T ex t PS 3 9 I
O b j e c t sT h ree s i e v e s wit h t a g s a pp e n d e d rea d i ng re s p ect

IS it ki n d ?
f u lly Is i t t ru e ?
Is it n e c e ss ary ?
.

M y D ear J uniors :
T o day as I came into the ch urch I heard a grou p
o f t h e young l adies o f o u r J unior Congregation
talking together a b out another young l ady o f t h is
same Congreg ation an d from what I coul d gather
t h e rema r ks w ere n o t a l togeth er complimentary
An d I won d ered i f the remark s o f these y ou n g
l adies i n question could b e put through th e t h ree
sieves N ow y ou are alrea d y guessing what those
t h ree s i eves are The y are the sieves through
which al l o u r tales o f others should be made to
pass b efore we repeat th em For j ust as our is
sifte d again an d again before it is t to go out into
our homes an d be made i nto nourishing bread s o
must o u r tales about others b e sifted befo r e t h ey
are t to b e retol d an d made pu b lic property
L earn then my d ear J uniors to put all such tales
about others t h roug h the th r ee sieves whic h I s h all
Sh ow you I f they fail to pass th roug h then never
tell t h em L o c k t h em u p i n t h e secret places o f
your hearts a n d memories an d put a ball an d chain
on t h em lest they s h ould escape a n d d o muc h
h arm The rst sieve i s t h at w h ic h b ears the l abe l

I s i t true ?
-

1 07

WHAT I TELL MY JUNIOR CONGRE GATI ON

Oh

c ried M abel
moth er
I heard such a
tale o f E dith Howa r d I never knew s h e was such

an o l d s n eaki n g

M y dear
replied h er moth er
Go get t h e
sieve number o n e and let u s see if it wil l go

t h ro u g h

Yes said M abel

it will Nellie J ones told

me all about it a n d s h e s aw h er do it

Well said mot h e r t r y t h e next o n e

Hol
d
,
up sieve w h o s e label r eads
Is it
Now J uniors w h at d o you t h ink M abel fou n d ?
Would it pa s s t h at sieve or not ? T h e r e are ti m es
w h en i t is ki n d n e s s to tell people o f t h eir faults
B ut it is scarcely ever kind to tell oth e r s abo u t t h em
B ut if M abel h ad s u cceeded i n getti n g her story
throug h t h e se c o n d sieve would it ever h ave gotten
t h rough t h e t h i r d ? ,Sieve wit h label readin g
Is it
I s it ever necessary to tell tales of oth ers ? Some
times but v ery seldom And never for t h e mere
pleasu r e o f telli n g a tale An d never unle s s t h e
tale will pa s s t h rough t h e t h ree tests w h ic h we h ave
as s igned t h em to day David knew w h at sorrow
comes i n to te n der h earts and h ow m u ch disgrace
is brough t on t h e name o f God by c h ild r en o f his
t h at tell usele s s and u n ki n d tales of oth ers And

s o h e wrote
I will take heed to my ways t h at I
s i n not wit h my to n gue :
I will keep my mouth

with a brid l e w h ile t h e wicked are before me

,

1 08

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CONGREGATION

other members o f t h e pac k fell to eating th e dead

and h e escaped
R ej oicing in his prowe s s in making this double
escape from bear and wolves h e rolled h im s elf
up in his blanket and lay down to S leep w h en a
serpent that ha d coiled itself i n t h e fol d s of his
bla n ket stung him to death
Now t h is is the same kind o f story that Amos
is telli n g us here You may escape two g r eat evils
to be de s troyed by a t h ird t h at you never dream
of or w h ic h you t h i n k too wea k an d innoce n t
to h arm you T h is man by h i s swift running has

escaped t h e lion w h i c h in B ible times was s u p

posed to be exceedi n gly swift and to attac k its prey

only in t h e open and feeling himself safe h as

gone carelessly along h is way B ut t h e bear wh ic h
is supposed to be like o u r fox i n his cunning
l urks be h in d t h e bushes a n d d arts o u t at him as h e
pa s ses by B y ca r eful dodgi n g h e eludes t h e bear
and gains t h e safety o f his o w n home Panti n g
a n d ti r ed
yet feeling perfectly secure h e leans
L

for rest against t h e wall of h is h ome safe safe

at l ast B ut j ust th en a slimy trea c h erous snake
crawls l azily o u t o f the cracks i n t h e wal l an d
stings him and h e dies
Now I am wondering h ow many o f you b oys

and gi r ls have caugh t t h e le s son I t is this th at

not for a mome n t must you believe t h at be c ause
you do not murder o r steal o r lie o r swear th at
y ou are safe T h e l ittle se r pent Of ba d temper o r
,

1 10

THE LI ON THE B E AR AN D THE SERPE NT

,

thoughtlessness may get you yet D on t you r e

member h ow i n the fairy stories t h e Old witch
always k ept changi n g from a horrid beast i nto a
l o v ely maiden and from a l ovely maiden i nto a
horrid beast ?
S O i t i s t h at Satan changes and if you thin k
you have gotten away fro m him b ecause you have
escape d th e o l d l ion o f cruelty beware th at you
do not n d the o l d bear deceit l ying about some
where O r if you have manage d to elu d e h im
d on t think you can always escape the o l d sna ke
o f falsehood

I t is th e l ittle foxes that spoi l th e vines an d

i t is th e l ittl e sins that after all trip us up W atch
o u t boys for l ittle sins
Watc h o u t girls for l ittle
faults Notice t h at it was in t h is man s own h ouse
t h at t h e serpent got him I t is i n your own hearts
t h at these l ittle sins lie And t h ey are all t h e more
dangerous b ecause we d o not at once recognize
them as sins
.

1 11

WE IGHI N G H EA RTS

Tex t J o b 3 1 : 6

s
c
O bje t A p a ir of t o y
.

sc

a les

an d

i f p o ss i b l e a

sc

ara b aeus

M y Dear Young C hr i s tians :

I have befo r e me to day one obj ect that you are
familiar wit h and o n e with w h ich you are not
familiar T h e rs t you wil l q u ickly re c ogn ize as
a pair o f toy scales such as you use i n playi n g

store
T h e other IS a scara b or sacred beetle c u t o u t of
stone an d taken from t h e tomb o f an E gyptian
T h ese scarabs were consi d ered to be emblems o f
immortality and were supposed to grant to the
person holding t h em i n t h eir han d s after d eath a
safe entrance into t h e oth er world
I n t h e B ritis h M useum t h ere are h undreds o f
these scarabs and all o f t h em are e n grav ed with
some emblem t h e translation o f w h i c h is written o n
a tin tablet below O ne o f t h ese i n s criptions reads

thus
A prayer t h at t h e weighing o f t h e h eart
o f the possessor i n t h e Hall o f Doub l e J ustice
b efore the guardian o f the scales may be found

satisfactory
T h is struck me as peculiar and I began to study
the matter I found t h at t h e E gyptians taug h t
that after d eath the person was conducte d i nto
-

1 12

WHAT I TELL MY

JUNI OR

C ONG RE GATION

b eing measured u p wit h trut h but o u r hearts are

constantly in God s scale
T h ere was a man in the olden days named
B elshazzar whose heart was weighed You recall

t h at story h ow in t h e midst of t h e fea s t he s aw

a han d w r iting upon t h e wall

M ene mene

tekel upharsin
th ou art weigh e d i n t h e b alance
and found wanting

Now t h en i f t h is is all true and we want to

have hearts t h at weigh right i n the day o f God s
j udging t h e best t h i n g we can do is to weigh o u r
h earts each day wit h tr u t h i n t h e ot h er side o f
t h e scale L et us c h eck t h em up eve ry h our o f the
day How is it now ? A r e you telli n g t r uth now ?
Are you living truly now ? Have you boys any
secrets under th ose manly breasts of yours t h at you
dare not tell fat h er ? Have you gi r ls a n y treasures
in your hearts t h at you woul d rath er not Sh ow
mother ?
Put your heart into the s c ale with truth to
day
and t h en c h eck u p t h e balan c e daily an d you will
nd t h at if you are honest to
day there will not
be muc h trouble by and by
S h all we not all be willing to pray th e prayer o f

the Psalmist
Searc h me O God and k now my
heart : try me and know my th ough ts : and s ee if
t h ere be a n y wicked way in me an d l ead me in

t h e way everlasting
,

1 14

T H E D A N G E R O U S S HAD OW

T ex t Eph

M y D ear C h i ld ren o f L igh t :

O ne day this summer while we were travel ing
from S iena to R ome i n h ot an d dus ty I taly t h e
train sud d enly put o n brakes an d stopped h u rr iedly
j ust after we h ad passe d an arch o f a bri d ge over
th e railroa d track E veryone eit h er got o u t o r
l ooke d o u t and noticed t h at t h e train crew were

running wildly and gesticulating as they ran

towar d the bridge from under wh ich we ha d j ust
come An d looking back over th e short distance
across t h e tracks vibrati n g with the heat we s aw
a poor fel l ow lying bleeding beside the road b e d
with a party o f dazed and excited I talians gathere d
about h im E veryone was excited and all g es ti c u
late d as t h e I talia n s will B ut o n e poor fellow wit h
blue overalls seeme d to b e more u nnerved than all
the rest H e ran a b out wri nging h is h ands an d

crying in his nati v e tongue

He was in t h e s h ad ow

an d I d id not see him

He was in t h e shadow

an d I di d not s ee him
True enough h e was
for the poor unfortunate ha d been lying in the
shadow o f th e bridge resting from h is morning s
toil i n the heat and t h e engineer because o f t h e
dense s h a d ow o f the archway an d the b linding
sunlight that was a ll a b out d i d not see h i m an d ran
,

1 15

WHAT I TELL MY

JUNIOR

CONG RE GATION

him d own T h ey picked him u p tende r ly a n d lai d

him in t h e coa c h but t h e doctor w h o h appened
to be o n th e t r ai n gave us little h ope t h at h e would
live At eve r y station t h e excited engineer got

He was i n
o u t and cried to all w h o passed by

th e s h adow a n d I did not s ee h im

T h e shadow
w as a comfo r table but a mig h ty dangerous place
to be
B oys and girls it always is
M ost o f
t h e evil t h at is d one i n the world is done in t h e

Fo r every
Sh ado w J esus sai d to Nicodemus

o n e t h at doet h evil hatet h t h e lig h t

an d M en
loved darkness rather t h an l igh t b ecause t h eir

deeds were evil

T h e burglar creeps into one s home u nd er the
s h adow o f early morning j ust before d ay The
d ru n kard staggers h ome in t h e da r k n ess
We are coming to h ate t h e evil s h adow so greatly
in o u r cities t h at each year we are erecting more
ligh t poles T h is last year t h e city: in w h ich we
live set nea rly a t h ousand new l amps blazing along
its main streets believi n g t h at o n e electric ligh t
t h at drives away t h e s h adows is b etter than a
dozen policemen
The s h adow means d angers to y ou boys an d
girls When God s people Israe l wante d to commit
idolatry they sough t out t h e shadows under the
green trees upon t h e hill tops An d when to day
t h e crooked busi n ess man does business i n a way

that you c h ildren would say wasn t fair

we

talk about his shady operations When y o u

.

1 16

BAC K I N HA R N ESS

Text J a me s

Be h o ld w e p u t bit s
mo u th s th a t th e y may o b e y u s

O bj e ct A bri dl e or pi e ce of h arne ss
3

in

t h e h orses

M y D ear Young C h ristians :

T h is week will s ee vacation close and th e schoo l
doors o pen and you will be getti n g back to work
I h ave tried to get a topic to d ay that would h elp
you to go back i n good spirits a n d with a willin g
ness to do your best
I have broug h t you to d ay as o u r obj ect t h is

bit and b ridle and our text says

B e h old we

put b its i n t h e horse s mouth s and then tells us

w h y I wonder if i n o u r vacation days i n t h e
country on t h e farm we have seen a ho r se turned
o u t to pasture
How h appy h e is to get t h e harn ess
O ff and h ow h e j umps a n d w h innies and rolls in
th e soft clover B ut t h e day comes w h en he must
get back to wo r k An d h ow h e dislikes t h at
T h e farmer h as to get a measure with some salt
or a wi s p o f h ay and go to t h e fence rai l and coax
and call and t h en quickly slip t h e halter o n o r
t h e br idle I t will be some day s before t h e farmer
can get t h at h o r s e to wo r k well He wil l want
to go into eve r y eld h e sees
So is it wi th you boys a n d girls and with us grown

ups All summer you have been turne d o u t to

.

1 18

B AC , IN HARNES S
9

grass
The schoolroom d oors have b een c l ose d
T h e boo k s al l s e t a s i d e and y ou have b een running
wil d Now t h e sc h oo l b el l wi ll soon sound and
t h e factory whistles wil l bl ow an d we sha ll all
k now t h at i t is time to get b ac k to wor k

We cal l i t getting bac k i nto harness

D uty
becomes o u r master again an d h itches us u p

again i n the harness ties us once more to o u r

regular tasks This wee k t h e teac h er will come to
th e sc h oolroom door with th e harness i n her hand
an d call you back You wil l put o n t h e harness
again an d be tied u p to books and l essons a ll winter
R ather har d isn t i t ? S ome o f us ol d er fo lks
.

nd i t

so

B ut the harness has its b lesse d uses for the horse

an d fo r you also What does the harness d o fo r
th e h orse ?

Firs t It teaches him Obedience W e put

harnesses o n th e horses an d bits i n t h eir mouths

says o u r text
that they may O b ey us
The
greatest lesson o f l ife b oys an d girls i s Ob e
d i e n ce
When you h av e learne d that you can
l earn a l most a nything An d we go to sc h ool to
l earn t h at The horse cannot b e o f use unless he
l earns to follow th e rein Neit h er c a n t h e boy o r
girl S ome time ago i n o n e o f t h e E uropean coun
tries a switch tender o n t h e railroad s aw his l ittle
b oy playing o n the tracks Where a fast train was
coming H e coul d not l eave th e switch to go
after th e chil d an d h e coul d not throw the train
,

1 19

WHAT I TELL MY

JUNIOR

C ONG RE GATI ON

anot h er track with out great lo s s of life S O he

called to the boy lo u dly

L ie dow n , T h e little
fellow had e a r ly learned Obedience an d s o instantly
h e lay down a n d t h e great train passe d over h im
wit h o u t giving him even a sc r atch

Se c on d T h en the h arness gives t h e horse a

c h a n ce to be useful a n d to put his great powers
and
stre n gt h to service Wit h out t h e harness
t h at ties h im to h i s wo r k h e would waste h is
s t r engt h
We do not like to be tied to work but
it i s t h e only way our yout h ful strengt h will be c ome
of use We talk about h ar n es s ing t h e great Falls
of Niaga r a An d men h ave do n e it s o t h at t h e
g r eat body o f water is doing wo r k for t h e world
to day i n r u nni n g great factories a n d maki n g l igh t
for distant cities We h ave h arnessed steam and
n
s
n
s
n
a
electricity
and
ga
oli
e
a
a
d now the
d
g
ai r a n d made t h em u s ef u l You boys and gi r ls
a r e ca r ryi n g abo u t wit h you a pressure o f youth ful

s t r e n gt h
about one h undred and fty pounds to

t h e square inc h I f you get

h itc h ed up
to
some denite duty t h at will count for good

T h i r d T h en t h e h a r n e s s is t h e h or s e s safety
a n d h aving a reg u lar d uty i s your safety also

I n olden days t h e word h arne ss meant t h e armor

w h ic h t h e knig h t put upon h is hor s e an d himself
to protect t h em from t h e arrows and spears o f the
enemy The har n ess to day keeps t h e horse o u t
o f mischief
I t keeps him in t h e roa d an d k eeps
him busy

on

1 20

K EY E D UP
Tex tLu k e 1 2 3 5
O bj e ct sA s a s h or g ird l e a nd s ma l l l a mp
.

M y D ear J u n iors :
I have h ere to day for o u r obj ect le s son a gird l e
such as is worn i n t h e E ast and a small l amp su c h
as used to be carried i n t h e days o f J esus B oth
o f these gure i n t h e picture o f watchmen w h ich
Jesus has drawn i n o u r text Th e lord o f t h e
mansion has g one o u t for t h e evening and h as
left these men to await his coming Possibly h e
h as b een o n a j ourney i nto th e country and is
weary and d u sty a n d desires a feet was h ing o r a
h ot supper a n d moreover a s th e way s were dark
i n t h ose d ark days an d no brilliant street l amps
illumine d the way i t would be ne c essary for th e
servants to have t h e l amp ligh ted to gui d e him in
t h e narrow street along w h ich he came to his home
T h e gi r dle was worn around t h e waist an d w h en
service was required t h e l oose outer garment was
caug h t u p and made fast with i t an d t h e man was
unincumbere d an d b etter t to wait upon h is
lord B eside t h at t h ere woul d be the strengthen
ing o f t h e body making t h e service easier T h e
man with loi n s girt and lamp ligh te d was as we

s ay
keye d u p to t h e mome n t when his master
s h oul d require him W h en Go d prepared hi s
-

1 22

E YE D

UP

peop l e to go o u t o f E gypt h e ordere d that as t h ei r

goi n g was to be su d den their l oins were to b e girt
a b out an d their shoes were to b e upon their feet
an d their staves i n the i r hands T h ere w oul d b e
no time to d o i t after th e su mmons came
J esus wants to teach us that it is necessary for a

Christian to b e alway s k eye d u p and girt

about
E very spring an d fal l y ou notice t h at father has

th e piano tune d u p
W hen a v iolinist b egins

to play h e rst h as to tune u p t h at instrument

an d a most ner v e rac k in g p rocedure it
o f his ;
often i s

Now we n d that th e aviator has to tune up

h is biplane b y tighte n ing every w i re b efore he
dares to attempt a ight
I often wonder how t h e lighthouse keepers stan d
th e strain o f their har d l ife for they are obliged
to k eep their lights an d th e machinery that runs
t h em u p to th e top notch o f perfection o r t h e
lights migh t fai l an d men l ose t h eir l ives a l on g
th e sh ore
This is what J esus meant when h e said that we
were to be like watchmen with their loins tied up

tigh t constantly v igilant and ready

Y o u k now wh at that means you boys know

Di d you ever g o to s ee a series o f professional
baseball games when t h ere were two runs o n eit h er
side i n th e ninth inning and t h ree men o n bases
an d two o u t an d t h e strongest hitter at th e bat ?
,

1 23

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I O R

CONGRE GATION

i n el d er s

Watch t h ose
th ey a r e keyed up t h ey
h ave t h eir loi n s gi r t a n d t h eir lamps ligh ted t h ey

are on t h e j ob
Well t h at is t h e co n di tion in
w h ic h J es u s wa n ts eve r y ch ild of h i s to be E te r nal

vigilance is not o n ly t h e p r ice of libe r ty as we

w r ite i n o u r cop y books but the price of every
th i n g
Now some of us are loosely tied togeth er T h e
oth er day i n Ci n ci n n ati t h ey p u bli s h ed a li s t of
t h i n g s t h at h ad b eco m e loo s e i n t h e mails a n d been
lo s t to t h eir owners A m ong t h e long li s t we r e
watc h c h ain c u ff buttons toot h b r u s h s et o f
teaspoons b r acelet ear r i n gs po c ket k n ife bru s h
bundle o f iron b r ass lock box o f pills s et o f false
teeth bi cy c le sp r ocket w h eel door keys box o f
salve comb a n d no e n d o f small coins o f silver
and copper I suppose t h ei r owners blamed U n cle
Sam for t h eir lo s s T h ey were not tied tigh t
And there are a lot o f t h i n gs about us t h at we allow
to get l oose w h en t h ey ough t to be tied up tigh t
We need to gird up t h e loins o f our c h urc h
going
J u s t you boys a n d girls take u p a few h oles i n t h at
gi r dl ewon t you ? We are rat h er l oose o n t h at
An d w h en o u r habits get a little loose it s h ard to
do righ t W e nee d to pull u p t h at gi r dle o f
prayer W e pray now a n d t h en b ut we do not
pray w ith out cea s ing as Pa u l tells us to do
W e get a l ittle carele s s about telling the
exact truth an d befo r e we can get t h e girdle tied
u p alon g c omes a temptation to l ie an d we l ie
,

1 24

PI CKI NG U P TH E B U OYS

TextHe b

: 1

T h e ir s e n se s exerc i s e d t o di scern

b oth g oo d an d e vil

O b je c t A s earc h l i gh t t orc h or a b u ll s e y e l a nt ern

.

Dear J uniors :
I am wondering if you ha d as goo d a summer
vacation as I had Wh en I am away I am t h ink
in g o f y ou all and trying to get some lessons
for y ou o u t o f God s greatest book g r eatest i n
size I mean t h e book o f nature a n d t h e great
outdoors
Comi n g d own t h e coast from a stay i n M aine
th e steamer had j ust l eft R o ckl a n d harbor and
I was walking t h e u pper dec k enj oyi n g the beau
tiful display o f nort h ern lights that were sweep
ing across t h e heavens when I s aw a b rilliant
broa d ray o f dazzli n g l igh t s h oot o u t from t h e
pilot house o f t h e steamer an d move quickl y and
anxiously back an d forth over the face o f t h e b lac k
water For some seconds i t reste d upon the
water alone b ut sudde n ly t h ere ashe d o u t in
its path a b rig h t stee l s h aft co m ing o u t o f t h e sea
I t was the b u oy t h at marked t h e cha n ne l between
th e man y rocky ledges t h at i n fest t h e coast o f
M aine The captain had foun d w h at h e was
seeking with his great elect r ic searchligh t O ne by

o n e at i nter v als h e
picked up t h e b uoys as they
.

1 26

PIC, ING

THE B UOYS

UP

cal l i t N o w i t was a great tripo d o f w oo d that

loome d o u t o f t h e d arkness now i t was a spar
I n the distance we would hear a bell slowly clanging
an d suddenly t h e great l ig h t w oul d move o u t i n
t h e direction o f th e sound a n
d we cou ld s ee the
lonely b el l b uoy tossing o n th e waves H e was
picking u p t h e buoys gettin g h is eye on th e points
B ut t h e captain k new they were there
o f d anger
N ot once d i d h e come too near them even
t h ou gh h e h a d not seen them
H e k new t h ey
were near an d h e w ante d to b e doubly sure j u st
An d t h is is t h e sermon from th e sea
wher e
E very bo y an d girl moves o u t o f th e h arbor o f
b oy h oo d o r gi r l h oo d k nowing i n a v ague way that
t h ere are da n gers a h ead I f father h as not tol d
you s o mot h er has and i f b oth h ave neglecte d t h e
warni n g some tireless preacher o r teacher has
tol d y ou perhaps L ike t h e captain you k now

the y are there somew h ere littl e sins waiting to

tri p y ou b ig rocks an d l edges o f s i n to wrec k
y our s h ip You ha v e to steer your course care
fu lly i f you woul d avoi d them and i t is a mighty
goo d thing to k no w j ust where they l ie I t is not
enough for t h e reman to k now the house i s a r e
h e must k now j ust w her e th e re is S o h e d o es a
l ot o f cho p ping I t is not enough for t h e captain
to k now t h ere are roc ks there b ut h e must
k now j ust where they are
No w Go d has b uoye d th e dan gerous p l aces i n

l ife b ut we d o not always pic k u p th e b uo y s

.

1 27

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I O R

CONG RE GATION

Years ago t h e captains could not do t h at at nigh t

B ut since electricity came into u s e t h ey c a n
Now Go d has put with in t h e pilot hou s e o f o u r

being a powerful sea r c h ligh t

We call i t t h e

moral sense
I t tells us at once w h ere t h e buoys
are I t says this t h ing is a goo d thing an d that
t h ing is a b a d t h ing

You h ear people talk about th e evils o f a ppe

tite and you get to believe t h at t h ere is evi l in

appetite B ut j ust w h ere t h at evil is you do not
k n ow until you get your s eachl i g h t worki n g Pretty

soon it s h ines upon a cigarette and it says Steer

away d anger he r e
By and by it gets to shining upon a glass o f wine

and i t s ays to you

Danger righ t h ere steer

away

You hear people s ay T h ere is danger in bad

reading and o n e day your sea r c h lig h t gets its

rays o n a dime novel wit h a red cover a n d i t says

R ight here is bad reading steer away

T h e r e is da n ger i n b a d
Y o u hear people s ay

companions an d o n e day t h e light falls on Tom

J o n es o r B ill S mit h a n d i t cries

Steer away

t h is is a b a d ro c k for you to be near

So if we let it t h e great searc h ligh t o f o u r mora l
sense wil l show j u s t at w h at spot t h ese dangers
we have heard o f lie
W e must k eep t h at searc h ligh t i n o r der I n o u r
text this morni n g we read of t h ose w h o had t h eir

s enses exercise d to d iscern b oth g oo d a n d eV i l

.

1 28

AR E Y O U A H O B A B ?
T ext N um
O bj e c t A l arg e pi c t ure o f th e h u ma n e y e
.

Dear J uniors :

A r e you a Hobab ?
Wh o was h e ? you as k me
Well your q uestion is excusable w h en I t h ink o f
th e number o f people t h is week w h o have been
looking at th e li ttle cards I gave you l ast Sunday
and know no more about hi m than you do Yes
and I have had at least t h ree ministers s ay to me

Well w h o was he anyway ?

B ut I won t give

those ministers away

To b egin wit h h e was
M oses broth e r i n law an d M oses met hi m in t h e
wilderness w h en h e was leading th at g r eat army o f
slaves o u t o f E gypt w h ic h h e made into a great
nation You per h aps remember t h at M oses h ad
married when h e kept sheep i n M idian an d w h en
t h e family whom h e had left be h i n d i n t h e desert
w h en h e went back into E gypt h eard that h e was
coming as gene r al o f t h is great army o f men
women and c h ildren t h ey came o u t to meet
him
T h e time now ha d come to part an d M oses
k nowing t h at God was with t h e c h ildren o f I s rae l
an d t h at blessings awaite d them i n t h e l an d o f
Canaan i nvite d Hobab to go along and share in

these b lessin gs
Come with us and w e wil l d o
.

1 30

ARE YOU A HOBAB ?

t h ee goo d
I t woul d h a v e b een a great thin g
for Hobab and his fami ly to get o u t o f t h e b arren
dese r t into fertile l an d B ut that didn t attract
Hobab T h e A rab loves the d esert an d his home
ties were v ery strong and h e refuse d to g o
S o M oses trie d another k in d o f b ait to catch
h im H e k new that t h e d esert b efore them was
ful l o f dangers and pitfalls an d t h at th e springs
were few and t h e path d i fcult None k new
w h ere t h e water and t h e paths were as did Hobab
th e s o n o f t h e desert H e coul d be o f use to

M oses an d s o M oses plea d ed : C ome an d d o

u s good
Come be eyes for u s i n the d esert
B e our scout be our gui d e L ead us i n th e di fcult

path
An d Hobab wh o couldn t b e in d uce d to
l eave h is own home for gain to himself went along
wit h M oses because h e s aw th at h e coul d be
useful H e b ecame eyes for them Now I like
t h at kin d o f fellow do n t you ? He refuse d to go
for h is o w n good but when i t came to doing some
thing for ot h ers h e went along
Are you a Hobab ? Th e c h urch an d th e S und ay
schoo l are calling to you b oys an d girls o n this

R ally D ay
Come w ith u s an d we wil l d o thee

good
An d I want to tel l y o u that nowhere
outside o f h ome an d heaven w ill you ever get so
much goo d as i n t h e ch urch an d S unday school
B ut there is a better cal l that t h e y make to you

to day
Come an d d o u s goo d
Come an d

be eyes for us
Come an d b e useful
T hat s
.

1 31

WHAT I TE LL MY

JUNIO R C ON GREG ATI ON

a better call
B e eyes for us
B e t h e scouts

o f t h e ki n gdom o f J esus
W e want you all to be H o b ab s to d ay I have
s et your trade mark and his on t h e pulpit h e r e
t h is great eye
You boys and girls never k now how you can

lead oth ers T h e B ible says

and a little c h ild

s h all lead t h em
J es us t h ough t s o w h en h e p u t
t h e little child i n t h e midst O f t h e disciples as an
example H e also sai d once t h at God h ad h idden
t h e sweetest t h ings of all from t h e wise and t h e
prude n t a n d revealed t h em to b abes
I suppose you have often been eyes for o l d
people O ne day gra n d m ot h er lost her specta c les

and Sh e said
Come dea r ie be eyes for grand

mot h er a n d n d my spectacle s
O ne day moth er

said
I ve lo s t my needle d own o n t h e oor ; your

eyes are better t h an mi n e my boy ; nd i t for me

B ut t h ere a r e better ways o f being eyes O nce
t h e r e was a l ittle boy w h ose name was William
w h ose pa r ents were not Chri s tians and di d not go
to c h urc h and t h ey did not pray but they wanted
William to s a y his praye r s at nig h t After saying
t h em o ne eve n ing h e looked u p to h is mot h e r s

fa c e and asked
M other don t you ever pray ?

Well no dearie I am af r aid I d on t

Well

does papa pray ?

N O I d on t t h i n k h e does
said h is mot h er T h e little fellow was sile n t fo r
a moment and t h en h e said
M oth er I t h ink God
will hear a little boy like me w h en h e prays b ut
.

1 32

WHAT I T ELL

MY

JUNI OR

CONGREGATION

When h e Opene d t h e box h e found a letter

written i n a scrawly han d w h ich said :

Dear post m a s ter :

We di d it but we didn t go to do i t
Yours truly
H E N RY

B E AN E Y

S C O TTY
L E WIS

GE O RGE
That l eader was a Hobab and h e was only ten
years o l d
Wil l you b e H o b ab s w h o would rath er ser v e
than be served ?
Wil l you keep your eyes on good a n d pure and
holy t h ings s o t h at you c a n be eyes for us al l in
t h e sandy deserts of life ?
.

1 34

N AT U R E S W R EATH R E MAI N S

T ext Pro v 1 0 : 7
T h e me mory of t h e j us t
Ob jec t A wrea t h of p a p er ro se s
.

is

b l e sse d

,
.

I n o n e o f t h e d aily papers s ome d ays ago there

appeare d t h is notice : Twini n g abo u t t h e picture

a rosebush i s stil l green an d
o f a departe d o n e
bearing ro s ebuds although t h e rest o f th e v ine i s
d ea d an d with ere d at t h e h ome o f J ulius Greene
I n Greene s p arlor h angs the picture o f a l ittle
gir l h is n iece wh o d ie d some years ago T his
summer a rosebush i n some w a y traile d i nside
t h e w indow b etween th e tw o sashes an d a l thou g h
this k in d o f rosebush never does trail b u t g rows
straight u p i n th e air th e tendrils have r eache d
fastenin g o n th e pi c ture h ave taken
o u t an d
their place about i t as completely as i f a g reen
wreath ha d b een p lace d t h ere W hi l e th e w hole
b ush outsi d e h as w it h ere d th e sprout which hangs
about th e picture i s stil l g reen an d delicately
colore d b u d s s h ad e the picture
M any ha v e

vi site d th e h ome to s ee this phenomenon

N o w b oys an d g i r l s I h ave tol d myself a story
about t h at l ittle girl S h e was a sweet l ovin g
chil d b u t was not notice d nor pra i sed S h e w ent
o u t o f her w ay d aily to d o l ovin g things b ut g ot
n o thanks
I t h urt h er sensitive l ittle heart
an d i n her ts o f sa d ne s s s h e use d to g o o u t and
,

1 35

WHAT I TELL MY JUNIOR CONGREGATION

tel l t h e owers about i t An d o n e day s h e s at
d own beside t h e rosebush b y t h e win d ow a n d i n to
t h e ear o f t h e l ovely ower s h e po u r ed all t h e story
o f her c h ildi s h s o r row
S h e had daily watered
a n d tende d t h at lovely rose a n d t h at day as t h e
tea r s fell down o n th e l eaves o f t h e b u s h like s o

much h eave n ly dew the rosebu s h said to itself

o f cour s e
Flowe r s a r e not u n g r ateful as people

Often are ; s h e S hall have h er reward

T h en I s aw t h at t h e little gi r l ha d become ill
and t h e doctor came a n d went i n to her little room
An d t h en t h e r e was a day w h en s h e was no longer
t h e r e an d t h e white b ed was made a n d empty
B ut t h ey took h er pict u re a n d hu n g i t o n t h e wall
a n d t h e rosebus h s a w it a n d pu s h ed between t h e
wi n dow fra m es a n d climb ed u n til i t to u c h ed her
face an d made a fra m e o f g r ee n An d t h en I
s aw i t blossom
I t was a glo r ious sigh t a n d t h e
room beca m e full Of people w h o ca m e to s ee t h e
curious t h i n g a n d t h ey wonde r e d a n d were m y s ti
ed
B ut I did not What I wo n de r e d at was
t h at t h ey i n t h e h ome ha d not do n e i t t h e m selves
long ago but waited for the owers An d t h en
I t h o u gh t t h at t h e good Go d w h o k nows al l we
do and s ay ha d taken every kindly patie n t deed
o f t h at l ittle gi rl an d t u r n ed i t into a rose a n d sent
t h e roses i n t h roug h t h e window to ado r n her fa c e
An d I won d ered h o w ma n y o f o u r boys a n d gi r ls
are makin g ro s es w h ich Go d coul d weave into
garl an d s for them
.

1 36

CANN E D G OO D ,S,

Ob j e t T w o l arg e fru i t ca ns
c s

T h is boys and girls is an age of canning Every

thi n g eatable t h at c a n be preserved by being
protected f r om th e action o f t h e air is put u p i n
ca n s for f u t u r e u s e E veryt h ing from tomatoes to

plum pudding and I p u t t h at la s t o f course as

best E veryth i n g from oysters to add hot water

and serve
w h i c h we don t like unless t h ere is
someth i n g el s e better comi n g
Canning began i n th is country during the great
Civil War w h en men fou n d it neces s ary to put foo d
away from t h e de s troyi n g germs by seali n g i t u p
i n cans s o t h at t h e soldiers mig h t carry it o n lon g
marc h es
To day t h ere are eight hundred millions o f cans
of food matter put u p i n th e U nited States i n a
single year Think o f th e pile it w ould make if
piled u p i n your front yard I t woul d take s ixty
thousan d freigh t cars to pull i t all away Di d
you ever t h in k that i f it had not been for these
innocent looking and often desp i se d cans t h e
North Pole would still ha v e been standing lone
some and undiscovered ? For had not t h e explorers
been able to carry canne d foo d t h ey never could
have made that bold dash
Al l t h is s uggested the t h ought that I thin k
,

1 38

C AN NE D

GOO D ,S,

I h ave once hea r d before from some wise old man

w h o is now probably dead t h at there is somet h ing
far better an d more to be desire d t h an food that
also comes p ut u p i n cans an d without which life
would be poor i n d eed

T h is something is success
Success is a very
necessary commodity and if we did not get a little
bit o f i t now an d then I t h in k we s h ould go un d er
S O i t is needful to preserve i t by p utting i t u p i n
cans I n fact if we d i d not have success i n cans
we shou ld ne v er have i t otherwise L et me s h ow
you th ese cans i n which i t comes for I have brough t
them h ere for you to s e e ,Turn th e cans roun d
to t h e side o n which you have written o n t h e one

I can
an d o n th e other Y o u
Here

they are I can an d Y o u can

Now al l success
is put u p i n these specia l cans I d o not thin k
you can get i t i n any oth er form

Fi rst th ere is th is I c a n
I t i s b eing a bl e to

s ay
I ca n
that b r ings success
Th e ki ng is

th e man wh o ca n sai d the philosopher T h e b oy

wh o belie ves i n h i mse l f is t h e boy w h o wins When
Ad miral Farragut was rebu ki n g D u Pont for not

ente r ing C h arleston Harbor h e said

Yo u d i d

no t believe that you coul d

P o ss u n t q uia posse v i d entu r

th ey are a bl e

b ecause t h ey think they can

T h e mind is
master o f t h e man an d s o they c an who thin k

the y c an
I thin k some o f you k now that li ttl e poem a b out
,

1 39

WHAT I TELL

JUN I OR

a nd

CONGRE GATI ON

Could and how t h e

a n d t h e ot h er did not

Could n t

c eed ed

MY

o ne

su c

th a t w as th e di ffere nc e twixt Co u ld n t a nd Co u ld
E a c h fo ll o w e d h i s o w n c h o s e n pl a n
And w h ere Co u ld n t j u s t w o u ld n t Co u ld earne stl y
w o u ld
And Wh ere o ne of th e m w ea k e ne d th e o th er ma d e g oo d
An d w o n with hi s w a t c hw o r d I C a n
And

No fellow ever succeeded who didn t t h ink h e

co u ld
N o w w h en we come to t h e matter o f being
C h ristians and confes s i n g Jesus we a r e apt to feel
t h at if we s ta r t we s h all never succeed B ut let
me as k you to take t h ese two cans wit h you a n d
sta r t o u t o n your C hr i s tian j ou r ney An d remember

t h at i n th is case to t h i n k of t h e Yo u can as t r u e
o f o u r heave n ly Fat h er a n d as we go look to h im

in prayer a n d s ay
Fat h er I c a n because you

R emember th e words o f t h e great Apostle

c an

Pa u l
I c a n d o all t h ings t h rough C h r i s t whi c h

L et us all s ay Wh at I ough t
s tre n g the n e th me

to d o I m u s t do and what I must d o I can d o

a n d then add al s o
wh at I can do by God s h elp I

will do
T h is boys and girls is the only roa d to success

1 40

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CONGREGATION

t h is uprigh t plane o n to t h e grade d scale o n the

disk and pointed o u t t h e hours Then some o ne
i n vented t h e hou r glass wit h its tw o glass cones
and t h e little hole between for t h e san d to run
t h rough a n d o u r fat h e r s and gra n dfath ers k now
how as boys t h ey used to watc h t h e h ourglass o n
t h e pulpit o f t h e o l d c h urc h a nd wish t h at san d

would get a h ustle o n

as you boys s ay
B ut
that was unsatisfactory for some o n e ha d to come
u p every h our and turn t h e glass over o r else t h ere
ha d to b e a l ot o f di fferent glasses for di fferent
l engt h s o f time
King Alf r ed thought he ha d sol ved t h e d i fcu l ty
with a dozen candles o f di ff e r ent length s but t h e
trouble was that some times t h e wi n d would b low
o u t t h e candle an d t h e time wo u ld be lost
In
China i n t h e i mperia l city o f Pekin there i s a
water clock composed o f severa l tubs each o f
w h ich are lle d from o n e above and as each is
lle d i t ma rk s a new h our an d wh en t h e l ast i s
lled t h e day is complete
B ut somebody has to ll t h e tubs every d ay
and has done s o for over two t h ousan d years
At l ast men b egan to try w h eels to move the
ha n ds o n t h e dial in s tead o f trusting to th e s h adow
made b y t h e su n and at length we came to have
t h e great tower cloc k o f E u r ope and at la s t t h e
clocks with s pri n gs an d nally t h e l ittle l ady
watches t h at t h e gi r ls wear o n t h eir b racelets
Now i f y ou were to c h oose which o f these y ou w oul d
,

1 42

THE LESSON OF THE

S UNDIAL

prefer to measure the h ours o f y our l ife which

woul d you take ?

I suppose every o ne o f you wou ld s ay

Why

I l l take t h e watch o f course

An d i n these
h urryin g b ustlin g day s when we must b e o n time
to t h e second an d when men are counti n g the
o n e h undredt h part Of a secon d an d w or r yin g b e
cause t h ere i s a variation o f time b etween the
observ atory at Greenwic h E nglan d an d P aris
France o f four twenty fth s o f a secon d we shoul d
naturally prefer the accurate watch to the C lums y
o l d sundial
B ut d o you k now after all I thin k that I sh ou ld
prefer to have the hours o f my l ife measure d b y
t h e goo d o l d clumsy sundial Why ? B ecause the
sundia l o n ly reco r ds t h e sunshi n y d ays
T h e fas h ion o f writing mottoes o n sundials i s
quite a n o l d an d p opular fas h ion an d o n some o f

them you may rea d mottoes l ike t h ese : Ami d the

owers I tell t h e h ours t h at s for a ga r den s u n

dial ; T h e hours o f j ustice d o not strike o n the

dials o f t h is world
N ear Venice t h ere is a dial o n which i n L atin

are the suggestive words :

I mea su re onl y the
,

s eren e

hou rs

T h at i s why I sh oul d c h oose the sundia l I t

measures only s u nny hou r s Al l t h e dar k d ays
go b y unmeasure d T h e sundial takes n o account
o f them
Wh at a nice t h ing to measure o u r life
l i ke th e d ia l ; to remember only t h e happ y d ays
.

1 43

WHAT I TELL MY JUN IOR C ONGRE GATI ON

t h e br igh t days and fo r get to remember t h e dark
and gloomy o n es You s ee i f t h is we r e t r u e we
would not remember t h e days we h ad t h e measles
but only t h e day we went to t h e circus
We s h ould fo r get t h e day we had to stay at
home and hel p mother an d remember t h e day

s h e put her han d o n o u r s h oulder a n d said

My

dear little gi r l is such a help to moth e r

Now I t h i n k t h at Paul mea n t u s to be sundials
when h e said to u s i n h is let ter to t h e P h ilippians

Wh atsoever t h i n gs are lovely

t h ink on t h ese

t h i n gs
I want to be a sundial Don t you ?
,

1 44

WHAT I TELL MY

JUNI OR

CONGREGATION

c h ildren w h o nd it di fcult to utter words with

t h eir lips are they w h o never heard words clearly
wit h t h eir ears S o th at i n this case at least two
ears a r e better t h an a dozen mouths
O ne day a teacher i n o n e o f t h e public schools
in P h iladelphia heard a noi s e outside h er sch ool
room window t h at sounded like some o n e pounding
on iron wit h a h am m er and looking out s h e s aw
a small boy pounding o n a trolley pole with a bit
of iron She called to him to stop as h e was dis
tu r b i ng her boys i n their study but h e did not
stop For severa l days he kept u p t h e ra c ket
a n d s h e got interested and went down to speak to
him S h e found he was almost deaf a n d nea r ly
dumb a n d couldn t h ear al l t h e noi s e h e was maki n g
S h e fou n d also th at t h is was h is o n ly a m u s e m ent
So vi s iting t h e pare n ts a n d getting pe r m i ss ion to
h ave h is ears ope r ated upon by a s u r geo n s he was
at last able to k n ow that h e could h ear a n d it was
not long after h e became able to hear t h at h e began
to speak and to l earn So here at least two ears
a r e better t h an many mout h s B ut i t is always

better to h ear than to S peak twice as i mportant

for we have two ears a n d o n e mouth T h e Bible

says t h at a fool is full o f wo r d s but w h at are

s enseless words ?
Some boys a n d gi r ls t h at c h atter
C h atter wit h out saying anyt h ing beca u s e t h ey h ave
not listened to t h i n gs th at we r e wo r t h w h ile a r e

like water bei n g poured f r om j u gs th e le s s t h ere

i s in the j u g t h e more noise i t ma kes comin g o u t
.

1 46

WO TO ON E

Keep your ears open and listen s o that you wil l

h ave someth i n g to s ay for i t will take two
good ears to get e n ough into one s hea d wo r t h
w h ile to keep t h at o ne tongue o f ours talking sense
and not nonsense
T h en we must not tel l more than half of what
we hear For if I am not mi s taken o n e mouth is
half of two ears T h e great trouble i s we usually
tell twice as much as we hear B ut o n ly about
half of what we hear is true This i s a safe rule
for you b oys an d girls to follow i n t h e matter o f
those t hi ngs you s ay about others Wh en we hear
something about a little friend we shoul d d o as

the hou s ewife does with sou r pie apples peel them
an d then take o u t th e co r e an d t h en c u t them i n
quarters a n d after all t h at ad d plenty o f sugar
A missiona r y i n C h ina says s h e s aw a coo k in a
Chinese kitc h en smearing the mouth o f th e kitchen
go d with molasses i n order to make hi m tell only
sweet things about t h e people i n t h e house
O ut West on t h e big prairie farms t h e y use a
reaping machine that cuts an d b inds th e sheaves
t h en t h res h es o u t t h e wheat an d nall y separates
th e cha ff an d scatters i t about o n th e grou n d for
fertilizing B ut t h e trouble is that among t h e
c h a ff are th e seeds o f weeds an d when these are
scattere d about they s o w themse l ves and make
n o en d o f trouble
S o t h e farmer has ha d to give
u p t h at machine an d burn th e c h a ff We hear a
lot of u n kin d an d untrue t h ings that ought n e ver
,

1 47

WH AT I TELL MY

JUN I O R

CONGREGATION

to be s c attered about by t h at tongue o f ours We

mu s t burn t h em
So t h es e a r e t h e lessons th at I learned from Jame s
about my two ears and single mout h : to listen
twice before we speak o n ce ; and to speak o u t to
t h e world especially about ot h ers only half o f
w h at we hear
.

1 48

WHAT I TELL MY

JUNI OR

CONGREGATION

like g r eat swollen toads an d w h o made no en d o f

motio n s and went t h rough endles s gy m na s ti c s b e
fore they began to g r ip o n e anoth er for t h e t h row
T h e thing t h at intere s ted me most was t h at
attached to t h e p ost Of t h e canopy w h ere each
stood was a little basket o f salt an d before t h ey
began t h eir struggle each took a handfu l o f th is
salt and S pri n kled it before him and between h im
a n d t h e ot h er fellow
T h is t h e interpreter told
us was to Sh ow t h at t h ere was no hard feeli n g

T h e A r abs to day i n t h e desert s ay

T h ere i s

salt between us mea n i n g t h at t h ere i s between

t h em an eve r lasting cove n ant o f peace
God s cove n ant wit h Israe l was calle d by t h em

The cove n ant o f salt an d we may remember

t h at Ki n g Abij am said wh en men feare d t h at t h e
k ingdom o f his father R e h oboam would b e taken

from h im
Don t you k now t h at J e h ovah gave

th e kingdom to D avi d by a covenant o f salt ?

meaning t h at God s wor d was s u re
Jesus says to us you n g people that we are
always to have salt about u s s o t h at we may be able
to t h row i t down w h en there is danger o f a quarrel
a n d always b e at peace o n e with anot h er
We
know how the quarrels come don t we ? First o ne
says some nasty thing a n d t h en the other replies
James tells us that t h e tongue is t h e trouble Hear

wh at Paul says L et your speech be always with

grace seasoned with sal t t h at ye may k now h o w y e

o ugh t to answer o n e anot h er

,Col 4
,

150

S ALT

I a m afrai d we d o no t carry enough of that sa l t

arou n d with us a n d t h row it down like the wrestlers
an d t h e Arabs d o
Next time that B i ll comes aroun d to pic k a quarre l
with y ou you put some salt o n your tongue and
throw down some o f t h is salt J esus speaks of and

tell him T h ere s salt between us B ill ; y ou an d I

can t scrap
.

151

TH E C HANG E D C U P S
O bject sT w o o ld ti m e c o mmu ni o n g o bl et s
-

M y Dear L ittle C h urchgoers :

I a m s o glad that you have come to the L ord s
S u pper to day an d hope t h at many o f you will
stay t h rough t h e service There is someth i n g
beneath t h at w h ite clot h upon t h e communion
table that you all ough t to s ee and w h en y o u have
seen go h ome and t h ink about it For we are
coming to day to celebrate t h e L o r d s Supper
Now you know t h at o n Communion Sunday I
always tel l you someth i n g of i n terest about J esu s
deat h for you s o t h at some day not too far
away you will want to co m e as t h e re s t o f t h es e
older c h ildren d o a n d s i t at that table to celebrate
his d ying love
I have he r e two communion goblets D o you
recollect h ow o n t h e nigh t i n w h i c h he was betrayed

Jesus took t h e cup a n d lli n g it gave i t to h is

di s ciples as h e said
T h is c u p i s my c u p but I
am going to give it to you to drink ; drink ye all

Of

i tX

You will remember how t h at w h en h e went o u t

into t h e dismal garden o f Geth semane h e t h ere i n
t h e sha d ows took anot h er c u p a n d drank t h e con
tents Y o u couldn t have seen t h at cup b ut i t was
,

1 52

WHAT I TELL MY

JUNIO R

CONGREGATION

al l here a n d dri n k the symbol o f his blood

B ut to day you c a n take the c u p o f b lessing he
gi ves you an d if you trust him h e wil l take al l
th e bitterness o u t o f your young lives an d leav e
only t h e s weet
Won t y ou l ove him ? O f course you will I
knew i t
us

1 54

C H R I ST S S E NTI N E L

T ext Ma tt 2 6 40

O bj ec t Any p i ct u re or i ma g e of a s o l di er
.

at

ttent i on

M y Dear S oldiers o f J esus :

I am wondering to day h o w man y o f y ou hav e
e ver b een v ery l onesome P er h aps some o f y ou
were sent o u t to u ncle s l ast summer o n the farm
o r ha d to sta y at h ome w h ile mother an d fat h er
were away i n E urope How solemn i t got about
evening when the s u n went d own an d th e crickets
chirped an d th e k atydids sa n g i n the tree j ust
outside y our bedroom an d y o u wante d mother to
come i n an d k iss you good night an d a g reat b ig
l ump came u p i n y our t h roat an d wouldn t g o
d own unti l you ha d l et some tears come out o f your
eyes an d you felt that you had not a frien d l eft i n
the whole great roun d worl d I t is a mean feeling
isn t i t ?
Now o u r master J esus was a l onesome man
H e ha d only a v ery few fait h fu l friends an d t h ese
nally left hi m o n that awfu l ni gh t w h en h e was
strugglin g with t h e t h ought o f d eath i n Geth
semane For y ou remember h o w h e too k Peter
an d J ames an d J oh n an d went d eep into the shad ows
o f t h e garden an d aske d t h em to watch an d wait
for him while h e went ahea d 3 l ittle farth er an d

p raye d for strength P eter an d J ames an d John

-

155

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I O R

CONGRE GAT I ON

th e faith fu l t h ree t h at he thought h e coul d tru s t

above all t h e rest B u t when h e came back fro m
h is lo n ely vigil h e fo u n d t h em fast asleep And
you will re m ember h ow h e looked at t h em sadly
a n d wit h t h at lo n esome feeli n g i n his great lovi n g

h ea r t said
C ou l d y e n ot w a tch w i th me o n e hou r ?
T h i n k of it yo u ng soldie r s o f t h e King T h ey
co u ld not keep se n try for him even o n e short
h our
T h at is t h e t r ouble that th e M aster nds with
us you n g soldie r s we ca n not keep watch with
him o n e hour We a r e s o impatient an d we get
s o ti r ed wa tc h ing wit h Jesus
Wh at does watch i n g with him mean to d ay ?
H e does not as k us to go and s i t i n a ga r den

a n d wait for h im
I think it means t h is playing
senti n el over t h e duties h e gives us

Fi r s t Atte n ding t h e c h u r c h service each S un

day morni n g i s wat c h i n g wit h h im j ust o n e hour
for t h at is t h e lengt h of t h e service I know how
ha r d it is to s i t still for an hour no matter how
inte r esti n g t h e perfor m ance o r t h e se rvi c e I
re m e m ber how th ey u s ed to O ffer me ten cents i f I
would s i t s till ve minutes w h en I was a boy
An d I am goi n g to let you into my secret an d tell
you t h at I did n t get that ten cents
B ut wh en you k n ow t h at i t pleases the Maste r
to have you h e r e i n h is h ouse keepin g watc h with
him t h at makes it ea s ier

S ittin g for another hour o n S unday

S econ d
.

1 56

WH AT I TELL MY JUNIOR CONGREGATION

an d d evotion to watch faith fully An d because
J e s us knew t h at h e a s ke d o nl y t h o s e w h o m he
th ough t loved h im to d o t h is
Wh en I was i n E dinbu r gh i n S cotland this
summer I s aw t h e statue o f a little terrier dog on
t h e top o f a d r i n ki n g fou n tain for a n imals He

was calle d G r eyfriars B obby

an d h e was a
sentinel worth w h ile W h en he was a young dog
h e used to come to town with h is ma s ter a farmer
w h o sold h is prod u c e i n t h e G r a ss m ar k et near t h e
old Greyfria r s C h u r c h and w h en his m aster went
to dinner B obby wo u l d go along a n d get his s h are
at t h e l ittle tavern near by B ut o n e s a d d ay t h at
ma s ter died a n d was bu r ie d i n t h e cemetery o f t h e
G r eyf r ia r s C h urch Poor B obby was inconsolable
He followed t h e co fn of his master to t h e cemete r y
a n d w h en t h ey l aid it away i n t h e grave
B obby
lay d own o n top of t h at g r ave a n d refu s ed to move
W h en it came dinner ti m e a n d t h e great factory
wh istles told i t was noon B obby got u p as u s ual
a n d went for his dinner
w h ic h t h ey gladly gave
h im and t h en went back and lay down to watc h
o n his master s grave
He never left it exc ept
du r ing t h e n oon hour
For twelve y ears poor
B obby kept h is watc h over his master and when he
die d t h ey buried him i n t h at master s grave
B oys an d girl s if a little ter r ier dog co u l d b e s o
fait h ful to his dead ma s ter h ow faithf u l d o you
t h i n k we oug h t to be to o u r livi n g a n d risen M aster
wh en he asks us to watc h with h im o ne hour ?
.

158

W HAT J ES U S S EES

T ext Ma tt

6:

O b je ctS o me

o w er

2 8, 29

IN Us

pre sse d o w ers fro m P a l e st i ne ;

or a ny

eld

M y D ear J uniors :
I have in m y han d this morning as o u r obj ect
l esson o n e o f the many beautifu l varieties o f
owers t h at grow i n the land o f Palestine which
in t h e early spring when its h ills an d plains are
co vere d with a carpet o f beautifu l co l ors l oo ks
like a great Persian rug an d causes the travel ers
to go i nto ecstacies o f delig h t
P erhaps no land i n t h e worl d has a g reater
variety o f owers than t h e lan d w h ere J esus
lived and this little ower is but o n e o f th e three
t h ousand v arieties o f g orgeously colore d b eauties
t h at J e s us s aw each mornin g as h e wandered
about i n t h e s pring time i n his native l and Per

h aps this l ittle ower calle d t h e anemone grew

o n th e very spot w h ere J esus feet h a d t r od o r per
h aps blossomed o n t h at hillside where he made t h e
ve t h ou s and s i t down when h e fe d them w ith
l oaves an d s h es
,

W gre w p o n th v e y hi l l
Wh ere J e
e d t o ta d
W b l o ome d th e l o e l y p t h
e

sus u s

ss

on

O f G o d s o nc e h o ly l a n d

159

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

CONGREGATION

Not h ing is more beautiful to t h e eye t h an th e

great carpets o f anemo n es all sca r let i n color like
th e o n e we h ave to day o r t h e great elds o f
poppies an d clover s a n d yellow c r o c use s and
blue i r ises a n d red and yellow t u lips
J esus loved t h e owers as h e love d all t h at
God had made and i n o u r text h e uses t h em as a n
O bj e c t le s son to h is disciples o n t h e neces s ity o f
si m ply doing o u r part a n d glorifying Go d by g r ow
i n g but t h e t h i n g abo u t t h em t h at r s t attracted

h im was t h eir beauty

th ey toil not neith er do
t h ey spi n : a n d yet I s ay unto you T h at even
Solo m on i n all his glory was not arrayed like o ne

o f th ese
Now owers are mentioned ma n y times In the
Bible b ut t h e si n gular t h i n g is th at t h ey a r e always
spoken o f as a symbol o f t h e frailty and brief
mea s u r e o f t h e life o f men
Davi d loved owers b u t t h e t h i n g th at imp r essed
him was t h e t h in g h e wrote abo u t t h em i n t h e

Psalm s
For t h e win d pas s et h over it a n d i t is

gone ; and t h e place t h ereof s h all know it no mo r e

J ob s aw o n t h e owers a pi c ture of h is o w n s h ort
life w h en he sai d : M an th at is born o f wo m an is
of few days and ful l o f trouble H e co m et h forth

like a ower and is c u t down

Isaia h said
T h e grass with ereth t h e ower

fadet h and when we come to t h e New Testament

we n d t h at t h ey di d not treat t h e owers a n y
b etter J ames tells us t h at t h e ric h es o f th e rich
-

1 60

WH AT I TELL MY

JUN IOR

CONGREGATION

midst to day an d l oo k about among you b oys

and gi r ls he woul d s ay not what men migh t s ay

What frai l t h ings c h ildren are

but
W h at
beautifu l t h ings c h ildren are an d what wonderfu l

po s sibilities t h ey have
And if we shoul d ask
h i m for a picture o f true beauty h e woul d pick
u p o n e o f these little ones in h is tender arms as of

T h is is your picture
o l d and s ay
S ometimes I fear mother o r fath er wi ll get angry

with you an d cal l you had

an d good for

nothing o r men may push you carel essly aside

because you seem s o h elpless and frail B ut J esus
always thinks you beautiful an d besides h e sees
that you have a wonderful C hance for t h e future
H e k nows you can grow like t h e lilies As t h e
acorn contains the mig h ty o ak tree s o Jesus knows
you boys and girls each hol d wit h in you a great
and noble life
Now i f J esus i s l oo ki ng at us for b eauty let us
never disappoint him And if he is expecting that
we s h al l grow gradually and naturally like the
l ily into great beauty let us not fai l him
our

1 62

T H E E M PTY S EATS

T ext1 S am 2 0 1 8

O bject s S o me s ma ll d o ll ch a irs
.

M y Dear Young Church goers :

I ha v e brought with me to d ay the pastor s
b ugb ears N 0 they are not b ehin d t h e pulpit
t h ey are before you here An d though t h ey do
not grow l a n d loo k furry they d o go o n al l fours
T h ey d o not b ite b ut they have the power o f i n
B ut I must not k eep y o u
i c ti ng a sor r y woun d
youngsters guessing l onger
A b ugbear is a
terrible bear for t h e old E nglish wo r d bug means
fear an d a bugb ear is a t h ing that i n th e ba d o l d
days they use d to scare little toddlers with when
they woul d not go to bed A bugbear means a
monstrous dread An d do you k now t h at i t is
n o t only little b oys and gi r ls t h at have such bug
b ears t h at creep o u t o f t h e s h adows at b edtime
an d meet o n e o n t h e d ar k stai r way when t h e la m p
is turne d down dim but that pastors o f c h urc h es
h ave b ugb ears ? T h ese are some o f them w h ic h I

have b efore me yes these l ittle chairs For t h ey

often w oun d me to t h e heart An d the thing t h at
makes them a specia l terror to pastors is t h at
they are empty

N ow l oo k at the text a moment

Thou s h alt

b e missed b ecause th y seat wil l b e empty

Davi d w as a b sent from the ki n g s tabl e an d J ona

1 63

WH AT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

C ONGRE GATI ON

tol d h im t h at h e would be mi s s ed becau s e his

seat at t h e king s table would be e m pty B oy s
and girls w h en you a r e abse n t f r o m t h e servi c e
o f God s house you will always be missed because
yo u r seat wil l be empty

Now you s ay
I f t h at is al l for which I am
mi s sed simply to l l a seat t h en I ha d better stay

away
B ut t h ere a r e other t h ings for w h ich we
mi s s you w h en that c h air of yours is empty We
miss t h e brigh t face t h at adds s o much to t h e j oy
W e miss t h e sweet young voice
o f God s h ouse
t h at adds s o much to t h e prai s es o f t h e sanctuary
B ut you are c h iey conspicuous be c ause t h at seat
where you belo n g is lo n esome a n d s ad and makes
us all fee l l onesome and s ad
R emember t h at a sea t belongs to each member
o f t h is J unior Congregation and if you are not
there to l l it y ou r seat at l east will be empty
D o you realize w h at a sadness is i n t h e h ome life
w h erever t h ere is a vaca n t chair ?
I t may be
g r andfath e r s c h air at the h ead of th e table t h at i s
va c ant or i t may be t h e baby s little h igh C h a i r at
t h e other e n d but t h e vacant chair makes a heart
woun d i n mother s o r fat h er s heart An d j ust s o
t h e vacant c h air i n God s h ouse wounds not only
t h e heart o f t h e pastor but t h e great lovi n g heart
o f Go d wh o seeks t h ose w h o will wo r s h ip him
Can t you realize how grieved our Savio u r would
be s h ould he come into t h is room and nd y ou r seat
empty ?

than

1 64

W H O S A F RAI D ?

Text PS 2 7 : 1
T h e L ord i s my ligh t
t i o n ; w h om S h a ll I fear ?

O bject A h ea th e n c h arm or fe t i sh

my

a nd

sa

lva

I wonder if there is a member o f t h is J unior

Congregation here wh o ever heard th is little poem :

O nc e th ere w a s a littl e b o y
Who wo u ld n t say h i s pra yers
And o ne n ight w h e n h e w e nt t o b e d
Awa y u p st a irs
Hi s p a p a h eard hi m h o ll er
And hi s ma ma h eard hi m b awl
And wh e n th e y t u rne d th e c ov ers d own
He wa s n t th ere a t a ll

d a l l th e y e ver fo

d of hi m
Was hi s littl e ro u nda b o u t ;
And th e g ob er l i ns l l git y er

If y er d o n t wa t c h o u t
n

un

When y ou were l ittle tots an d ha d to b e put

to bed by you r nurse did s h e ever scare t h e life o u t
o f you by telli n g you a lot o f ho rr id lies about some

sort o f B ugaboo t h at was hiding i n the closet

o r b e h ind t h e s h adow o f t h e wardro b e
o r under

t h e b ed that would get you if you di d not mind

and go to sleep rig h t away And you didn t believe
it at all thoug h someh ow you were j u s t as glad Sh e
left the l ight burni n g w h en s he went downstairs
B u t s u pp os e y ou ha d bel i eved i t, S uppose you

r
li
n
s
e
r ea lly and trul y i magi n ed t h at the
o
b
g
,

1 66

WHO S AFRAID ?

get you if you di d not l oo k o u t an d that

t h ere was a rea l B ugaboo i n t h e closet t h at

woul d d o terrible things to l ittle boys an d girls ,
L ife w oul d not be worth l iving to b e i n such
constant fear A n d y et boys an d girls there are
millions o f poor l ittle tots al l over this g reat b i g
w orl d t h at d o b elieve i t
S uppose whene ver you wante d to go in swimming
ha
d
o
tie
a
wisp
o
f
grass
about
y
our
wrist
o
t
u
y
S O that the r i ver spirits woul d not catch you an d
duc k y ou u nder for s o l on g that y ou never coul d
g et your b reath again
S uppose y ou couldn t go o u t after sunset for fear
th e evi l s p irits o f the w oo d s that only come o u t
at night wou ld ru n o ff with y ou an d k ee p y o u
p risoner fo r l ife i n th e forests
S uppose fat h er ha d to have the troub l e an d
ex pense o f mo v ing your house every little while
b ecause th e evi l S pirits came aroun d an d claime d
th e l an d an d made s uch a fuss that y ou ha d to
mo v e o n
S uppose some b righ t morning y o u shou ld start
o u t for schoo l with your b oo k s an d your l uncheon
an d an evi l S pirit shoul d g et rig h t i n t h e way and
o
o
ha
d
at
once
turn about an d retrace y our
u
t
y
steps towar d h ome Possibl y y o u migh t l i k e
that as i t w oul d seem like a holi d ay B ut you
wou ld hav e to go to be d at once o n reach i n g home
s tay there fo r s e v era l hours an d then s tar t o u t all
o v er aga i n
wou l d

1 67

WHAT I T ELL MY

JUN IO R

CONGRE GATION

S uppose you were sick an d getting better and

some o ne came into t h e home an d said

How i s

Willie to day ?
M oth er migh t be glad her b oy
was recovering but sh e must be careful not to s ay
s o ; because if s h e did t h e spirits migh t t h in k s h e
was rej oicing over th em ; for you mu s t know it is
t h e spirits t h at make people sick i n heat h en lands

So s h e would s ay to t h e neigh bor

T h ank you

v e ry muc h for askin g but Willie is more s o and

,

so

Suppose y our mother covere d your face with

mud g irls s o t h at the evi l spi r it woul d not want
such a dirty homely gir l as you would seem w it h
th e mu d upon you a n d so would l eave y ou to y our
mother i n stead of stealing you
T h is is the conditio n of millions of little b oys
an d girls i n th e h eath en lands

I have h ere t h is morning a fetis h as it is called

u s e d i n Ko r ea to drive away evil spirits M iss
Doriss o u r missiona r y at Fusan found it h angin g
I t is j ust a piece of
o n a tree a n d sent i t to me
colo r ed rag t h at mea n s little to u s but to t h em
it means p r otection from t h e evil spirits w h om
t h ey fear s o greatly
I f you s h ould hang this on your front gate so
t h ey tell us you woul d b e s afe ; for spi r its in
Korea at lea s t cannot cli m b a fence
N ow i f all t h is were t r ue of you an d you believed
that t h e g oblins and all ki n ds o f evi l spirits migh t
make y ou much trouble and keep you i n constant
,

1 68

WHAT I TELL MY JUN IOR CONGRE GATION

m i s s IO nary put h i s ha n d

t h e b oy s hea d an d

said to h is moth er
Won t you give me Coley

for t h e South Seas ?

And Coley never forgot
and went to t h e S out h Seas
S O my Juniors it may be th at even to d ay some
o ne of you will make up your minds to go o u t some
day and tell those ot h er J uniors across t h e seas

t h at as The L ord is t h eir ligh t and salvation

the y nee d not b e afrai d Will you ?
on

1 70

U N AP P R E C I AT E D CH R I STMAS GI FT S
Text Lu ke 6 : 3 5
ag a i n
O bje ctAn u mb re ll a
-

Do

g oo d

h o p i ng for

o t hi ng

M y Dear Christmas S ho p pers :

D o you t h in k that a queer title b y which to
call you ? B ut you are I h ave seen many o f you
shopping w i th mot h er i n the city this wee k getting
ready for that happ y moment when you coul d
play S anta to fat h er o r mot h er o r b rother an d
sister No I a m not going o u t i n the rain an d
I real l y d o not nee d this umbrella in the pulpit for
they say that i t is always dry i n a pul p it B ut
th at is not true is it ?
I b rought t h is um b rel l a to suggest to y ou a
story An uncl e o f mine w h en h e was a little
fellow like you was given an umbrella for Christmas
and in the early dawn by the dim light of a winter s
morning he was seen coming d ow n the stairs to
h is mother s room ru b bing his eyes w i th o ne tiny
hand an d lugging the umbrella with the other and

saying with great disgust as h e came

Who g a

me this amb erel l ar ?

T h ere is a thought comes to me j ust no w that
there may be many o f t h e gifts of C h ristmas that
like this amb erel l ar will go unapprec i ate d S ome
.

1 71

WHAT I TELL MY

JUN I OR

C ONGREGATION

them wil l not b e care d for b ecause o f some fault

in t h e spi r it o f th e giver
First because t h ey will b e given with out love
T h ere are sure to be mi s ts w h en we leave out love
in the ma king o f the gift Wh en you go to t h e
post o fce to mai l your gift at C hr i s tmas time
you carefully weigh t h e package to nd the cost
I wonder if you wei gh t h e package to s ee h ow much
real love is i n it Some time ago i n a Sunday
sc h oo l convention a l ittle German got u p and said

Vat v e vant i n dis g o nv en ti o n is more o f dat

l eetle v o r d o f tree l etters l u v

And if that
doesn t spell love w h at does ? Y es we nee d love to
make t h e gift appreciated Cyrus the Great gave
to his courtier Ar tab az u s a g olden c u p but to his
favorite C h ry s a n thi s a k iss and Artab az u s c o m
plaine d that t h e ki s s was worth more than the c u p

of

No t wh a t w e giv e b u t wh a t w e sh are
For th e gi ft w ith o u t th e giver i s b are
,

Again t h ese gifts are s o often given i n the

spi r it of exc h ange How many times do you s ay

S h e gave me only a box o f candy last year a n d

I m not going to spen d much o n her t h is year

Some o n e says we c u t u p o u r Christmas trees an d
make bargain counters o f them

Do g ood
says J esus
hopi n g for nothin g

again
T h ese C hr istmas gifts are not val ued sometimes
b eca u se t h ere is a wrong spirit i n the heart of the
,

1 72