ee Te i ee eee er ee ae a tee alae ae sen ee ema, Pils Mg yePrepatts ep; tay ~ 5 ey fan Pu forte) ———————= = S— Ore ee rrr eee = - —_— = eae —— -. ~ ~~ + i 6 OU ie Bik * i we a ‘aaa . i wi ae Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https ://archive.org/details/onehundredchoiceOOhall_ 0 ONE HUNDRED CHOICE SERMONS FOR CHILDREN Rev. G. B. F. HALLOCK, p.p. By Rev. G. B. F. HALLOCK, p.p. Cyclopedia of Commencement Sermons and Baccalaureate Addresses One Hundred Choice Sermons for Children One Hundred Best Sermons for Special Days and Occasions The Evangelistic Cyclopedia Modern Cyclopedia of Illustrations Sermon Seeds Beauty in God’s Word The Teaching of Jesus Concerning the Christian Life The Model Prayer Journeying in the Land Where Jesus Lived The Homiletic Year Christ in the Home ONE HUNDRED CHOICE SERMONS FOR CHILDREN STORY SERMONS, DRAMA SERMONS, OB- JECT SERMONS, SERMONS FOR SPECIAL DAYS AND OCCASIONS AND FOR THE ENTIRE CHURCH YEAR BY OVER THIRTY DIFFERENT MINISTERS MOST GIFTED IN ADDRESSING CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE pee a apy OF RINGED NOs iy a COMPILED me EDITED BY 'N 14 1994 Rev. G. B. F. HALLOCK, pv. \ » a / EDITOR oF The Expositor OT fi OSICAL RT et s Pe a NEW YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY Copyright, 1924, By George H. Doran Company One Hundred Choice Sermons for Children Printed in the United States of America DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF FREDERICK M. BARTON FAITHFUL, DEVOTED, MANY-SIDED CHRISTIAN FRIEND OF MINISTERS, : FOUNDER oF The Expositor Se SABE ANG: ee » 7 Enea Ue ae! 4 vid Avant-Propos It is said that an overwise seminary student at the close of one of the lectures of his professor in Biblical Theology on the Book of Proverbs remarked to his teacher that he did not see anything indicating inspiration in the Hebrew proverbs. The professor returned quick and caustic answer, “You would bet- ter write a few proverbs yourself.” If any reader should be inclined to criticise the Children’s Sermons contained in this volume, we invite him to write better ones. The art of preaching interestingly and profitably to chil- dren is not easy. It is difficult. Yet it is exceedingly impor- tant, and it is one that can be cultivated. The very fact that so many ministers have succeeded in it is proof enough. We commend the more than one hundred sermons in this volume, first, to ministers. They can find in them suggestions for good five-minute sermons for children to precede the longer sermons which they preach to adults. And we commend them to parents. They will find them good reading for their chil- dren on Sunday afternoons. We commend them also for use or suggestiveness to Sunday School and Day School teachers and to leaders in Daily Vacation Bible Schools. We commend them, moreover, to older people who feel young, believing they will find them interesting as stories, profitable as sermons and youth-promoting to their spirits. Cots id ah CONTENTS The First Christmas Tree (Christmas). 19 ALFRED BARRATT The Greatest paaney Ha of All (Christmas) 22 WILLIAM R. TAYLOR Mhree: Camels (Christmas) Gi. y er 8h CLAUDE ALLEN MC KAY Holly and Christmas (Christmas) . . 29 JAMES LEARMOUNT The Mistletoe of Bethlehem (Christmas) . 32 J. RAMSEY SWAIN Cesta eC TTStINOS br Wee ts. ee oe eG JAMES LEARMOUNT When the Days Talked ee (New ear keener. 40 GEORGE N. EDWARDS Making Bold Beginnings (New Year) . 43 W. H. GEISTWEIT . God’s Repair Shop (New Year) ao een oA ALFRED BARRATT . About Good Intentions (New Year) ee 40 G. B. F. HALLOCK PeasNew toad. (New VY ear) oo. ey 0 ALFRED BARRATT . Watch Your Steps (New Year) Sey a ii G. B. F. HALLOCK mNew Years: Day (New: Kear)... 87.0 3.5) 53 BERNARD J. SNELL The Year’s Record (New Year) nap causts JAMES LEARMOUNT ix CONTENTS . Do Not Enter Here (New Year) CLAUDE ALLEN MC KAY Our Truest Riches (New Year) CURRIE MARTIN The Pony Engine . G. B. F. HALLOCK The Conies JOHN KELMAN God’s Garden Ss. EDWARD YOUNG Canned Sunshine EDWIN HALLOCK BYINGTON The Man That Swallowed Himself HENRY SLOANE COFFIN The Swans’ Dinner Bell G. B. F. HALLOCK The Longest Candle G. B. F. HALLOCK The Upholstered Worm G. B. F, HALLOCK . Lincoln Talk to Children PRES Birth- day) DOR nee A Sharp Bargain . Use: What Ailed the Clock? G. B. F. HALLOCK The Pedometer: jase a) sare JOHN A. MC AFEE Stand on My Shoulder . CLAUDE ALLEN MC KAY The Children’s Friend (Children’s Day) . ALFRED BARRATT PAGE 59 62 66 68 70 72 75 77 78 79 81 31. 32. 33. b4, 395. 36. "ff 38. 39. 40. Al. 42. 43. 44, { 45. — 46. CONTENTS The Camel’s Stomach G. B. F. HALLOCK Photographs (Palm Sunday) E. A. Easter Joy and Light (aster) . ALFRED BARRATT Seeds and Stones (Kaster) . CHARLES E, BLANCHARD Easter (aster) JAMES LEARMOUNT Dandelions on the Lawn (Spring-Time) . G. B. F. HALLOCK The Light in the Window JAMES A. BRIMELOW Worth-while Service ALFRED BARRATT Jack and the Colt . W. H. MARBACH Flowers (Children’s Day) E. P. VISARD The Signboard STUART NYE HUTCHISON Why the Crows Say Caw (Children’s Day) G. B. F. HALLOCK The Flowers (Children’s Day) JAMES LEARMOUNT Moths : R . : CLINTON BLATZELL ADAMS A Children’s Sermon with White Mice as a Text J. G. STEVENSON “You’re a Brick” ANONYMOUS PAGH 125 128/ 130 CONTENTS Message from a Postage Stamp . GEORGE HENRY COMAN He Calls Them All by Name CLAUDE ALLEN MC KAY Who Flies the Kite? CLAUDE ALLEN MC KAY Lessons from a Lead Pencil A. M. REACH Lessons from the rovenatatiern G. B. F. HALLOCK A Look at the House You Live In CLAUDE ALLEN MC KAY The Children’s Ten Servants JAMES M. FARRAR Faithfulness : ALFRED BARRATT God Sees : FREDERICK T. BASTEL Lost Children G. B. F. HALLOCK The Man with the Oil Can . WILLIAM HARRISON Quick Obedience 0. WEP: The Best Errand Boy . S. EDWARD YOUNG Working with a Pattern FREDERICK W. RAYMOND The Mysterious Ring T. W. RAINEY “Too Busy” A. J. TRAVER Make-Believe Diamonds JOHN F, TROUPE PAGE 132 139 166 169 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. rd OF: 73. TA. 75. 76. (if 78. 79. 80. CONTENTS Running After the Arrows . FRANK N. MERRIAM The Story of a Jitney Driver GEORGE E, BEVANS Nature Voicing God’s Love G. B. F. HALLOCK How the Cedar Grows (Object Sermon) . J. RAMSEY SWAIN Singing in a Strange Place . JAMES STALKER A Lesson from the Lilies G. B. F. HALLOCK Good Morning JAMES A. BRIMELOW The Two Monks Who Tried to Quarrel . FRANK T. BAYLEY God’s Whispering Gallery JAMES A, BRIMELOW Thy Word Is a Lamp . G. B. F, HALLOCK Painting the Face on the Inside . JAMES M, FARRAR Echo Hollow . EUGENE C, CARDER Forty Martyrs and Forty Crowns W. DOUGLAS SWAFFIELD The Anger Tree G. B. F. HALLOCK Rhoda: The Girl Who Was Called Mad . A. MC AUSLANE An Enemy of the “No Good” Business (Temperance Sermon) EDWIN HAMLIN CARR Christ and the Child ANONYMOUS Xi PAGK 171 173 195 198 200 202 204 206 208 Iv 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. CONTENTS How to Become Great . Lop ao Christ, the Light of the World CHARLES M, SHELDON A Wonderful Gift of God (Armistice Day) JAMES A. BRIMELOW Thanksgiving (Thanksgiving) WALTER DEANE Nine Men Who Forgot (Thanksgiving) CLAUDE ALLEN MC KAY Six Jewels in a Crown (Thanksgiving) GRAHAM C, HUNTER Harvest Thoughts (Thanksgiving) JAMES LEARMOUNT Having the Heart Right with God (Thanksgiving) . CHARLES M. SHELDON The Boy Who Wasn’t a Coward ALFRED BARRATT Capturing Three Robbers CLAUDE ALLEN MC KAY The Most Wonderful Mechanism te Oe Sermon) H. EB, WALHEY The Importance of Little pangs in the Building of Life CHARLES M, SHELDON God’s Parcel Post CLAUDE ALLEN MC KAY The Little Bird JAMES A, BRIMELOW Concentration (Object Sermon) . LESLIE E, DUNKIN Good Courage ALFRED BARRATT PAGH 210 212 213 228 233 236 237 239 241 243 | 97. 98. 99. 100. 101. 102. 1038. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. CONTENTS Habit ae a BERNARD J. SNELL Putting Shoes on a Goose . CLAUDE ALLEN MC KAY The Sea Wall T. E. HOLLING Telling Lies ALFRED BARRATT Living Without Fear ALFRED BARRATT Looking Glasses on Mt. Tom EARL H, THAYER God’s Fire-Engine (Story Sermon) GEORGE W. ALLEN The Basket and the Mind ERNEST V. COLWELL Grindstones tes, ALFRED BARRATT With You Alway . ALFRED BARRATT The Letter of Life WILLARD P. SOPER What’s the Use of Praying? ALFRED BARRATT Faith in Others (Object Sermon) LESLIE F, DUNKIN Three Lessons the Candle auee (Object Sermon) rapes HENRY F. BURDON The Wasp T. E, HOLLING The New Eye-Glasses. . . . JAMES M. FARRAR PAGE ONE HUNDRED CHOICE SERMONS FOR CHILDREN 1 THE FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE (Christmas) Rev. Aurrep Barratr When Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem he did not have a Christmas tree. The children born in those days were not as fortunate as the children of today. The parents of Jesus were very poor, his home was not a palace, but a stable, his bed was not a pretty cot with a silk floss mattress, but a manger filled with hay, and yet in spite of his poverty and humility he was the only begotten Son of God, who left his throne in heaven above and came to earth in human form to live among the sin-bound people of this world to teach them the love of God, and to show them how much love God has for us. On the day of his birth the heavenly choir of angels gave a grand concert in Bethlehem. They sang their sky-born carols away up in the sky over the place where the lowly Child Jesus lay cradled in a humble cattle shed. One of the most beautiful songs the angels sang on that never-to-be-forgotten day was “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” It must have been grand for those shepherds “who were abiding in the fields keeping watch over the flock by night” to hear such beautiful singing. They did not celebrate this wonderful event by gathering around a Christmas tree, but they left their sheep, and went down into Bethlehem to seek the newborn King, and when 19 20 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS they found him they worshipped him. The idea of a Christmas tree was not thought of in those days. The first Christmas tree was originated about 732 years after the birth of Jesus Christ. Perhaps the children who are looking anxiously with joy and great expectation to see the Christmas tree may like to hear the legend of the First Christmas Tree, and yet it may not merely be a legend, but history sending forth its radiant light through the dreary mists of tradition. It is an old German story—that Saint Wilfred transformed the heathen Teuton worship in the forest in the Christmas ceremony. About 732 years after the birth of Jesus Christ he took a band of priests with him and sought to convert the worshippers of Thor. It was on Christmas Eve, while they were fighting their way through the deep snow in the dense forest, that they came upon a savage tribe assembled under a thunder oak tree, symbolic of the god of thunder, Thor. The old, white-haired priest of the tribe was about to offer as a sacrifice to Thor, the god of thunder, the young, beautiful son of the tribe’s chief. When Wilfred saw it he rushed for- ward and warded off the arm that was about to slay the child. The tribesmen were all delighted at the saving of their favor- ite, and because of this act they very soon became converts to Christianity. Saint Wilfred then took his axe and started to cut down the old oak tree. As it was about to fall, lightning struck it and rended it into many pieces, and in its place there sprang up a slender fir tree green and sparkling. They carried this little fir tree to the chief captain’s hall, and set it in the middle of the room, and round it they all made merry. It was about this first Christmas tree that the old story of Jesus and his love was told to the Teuton tribes, and in a short time they all became Christians. Let us not forget that Christmas is the birthday of Jesus, and while we gather around the Christmas tree let us give our little hearts to Jesus as a Christmas present. He says to-day, “Give me thine heart.” If you will do this, he will give you in return a new sense of joy and peace that will not only shine through the Christmas season, but will remain with you throughout your earthly life. This would be a very fitting _ THE FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE 21 time to give your heart to Jesus, while the angels are singing again the Bethlehem anthem, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Will you do this for your own sake, and for Jesus’ sake? 22 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 2 THE GREATEST BIRTHDAY PARTY OF ALL (Christmas) Rev. Wituram R. Taytor, D.D. Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, and the celebration of Christ- mas is his birthday party. And what a big one it is! If you ‘lived in a grand house and had it full of children on your birthday, you would call it a large party, and it would be. But it would be very small beside Jesus’ birthday party. But suppose you could invite all the children in Rochester, and all the men and women, too, and all in the United States and Canada, and all in Europe, and lots and lots of the yellow people in China and Japan, and lots and lots-of the brown people in India, and lots and lots of the black people in Africa, and lots and lots more that we haven’t time to mention—what a party that would be! Well, that’s Jesus’ birthday party! All over the world the children and grown-up people come to it. It is certainly the greatest birthday party in the world. Why do so many, many people come to Jesus’ birthday party? There are so many reasons that it would take too long to tell them all, so we will just pick out one. What is it? It is because he was so kind. He was kind to the poor. Some people shrink away from the poor, especially if their clothes are ragged and dirty. When they see them, even poor little children, they turn their backs and perhaps hurry away and forget all about them. But Jesus was sorry for them, spoke kindly to them and did what he could to help them. He was always kind to the sick, too, and the blind, and the deaf, and the lame, and to people in trouble. He was very kind to children. He was the children’s Friend —he loved them and they loved him. Even when he was being - nailed to the cross he did not cry out in pain and anger against THE GREATEST BIRTHDAY PARTY OF ALL ~ 23 those who were hurting him so, but prayed to his Heavenly Father to forgive them, saying, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.” There is no doubt about it that Jesus was the kindest person that ever lived on this earth. It is right that he should have the greatest birthday party in the world, and have it every year, don’t you think so? When you have a birthday, what do your parents do for your They give you presents, things they know you like and want, and, maybe, they give you a party, inviting your little friends. And then you play games, and last of all you have supper, with good things to eat. And—what is that that makes all the children’s eyes sparkle and makes all the children say, “Oh!” and “Ah!” and excites them so that they almost forget their manners and wriggle around in their chairs? Oh, that is the birthday cake, with little lighted candles stuck all around it, one for every year and an extra one to “grow on.’ And your parents do all this because they want you to be especially happy on your birthday. The person that has the birthday, then, is the person to be made happy, we think. Therefore, Jesus is the person to be made happy on his birthday, which is Christmas. But how can we make him happy? He is not here any more, and, if he were, he is so rich and great and our poor little’ gifts would not do him any good. But, listen! Here’s a great secret. (You can tell it, though.) He has told us how we can make him happy on his birthday, and other days, too. Now for the secret. Here it is. “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” That’s what he said once. That is, “Whatever you do to make other people, even the smallest or the poorest of them, happy, I will count it as if you had done it to me, and I shall be happy too. When you are kind to others, you are kind to me. And I am with you, even though you cannot see me.” So, if we have the right spirit, we shall not be thinking too much about being made happy ourselves by things other people give us and do for us at Christmas, for it is not our 24 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS birthday, but Jesus’ birthday. And he is the One to be made happy by each of us trying to make others happy. A little boy I once knew—he must be a man now, if he is alive—had had a very happy birthday. His parents had done a great deal for him. He had had his little friends, I guess, at a party. And now the day was done. The party was over. The friends had gone home, and he was tired enough, as every little boy and girl is at the close of a birthday. He was in his “nitey,” I suppose, and before getting into bed, he kneeled down to say his prayer. I don’t know all he said. Indeed, I only know one thing. He ended his prayer by saying, “And, dear Lord Jesus, I hope you have had a happy birthday, too.” Let us all plan to make this Christmas a happy birthday for Jesus in the only way we can do it—by making others happy. THREE CAMELS 25 3 THREE CAMELS (Christmas) Rev. Cuaupe AuLeEN McKay When you read Matthew’s story of the first Christmas, I think you will say that the most interesting callers to see the new-born King were the three strangers who came on camels. There are three points in the story of these three strangers which are so interesting that you have to read between the lines to get all the story in. The first is the starting point. Why do you suppose those three men, living in the Far East, ever decided to take a long journey over into Palestine to see a new-born King? I think you will have the answer to that question when you answer another question or two. Tell me, who tells the geese in the North to go South when autumn days come? Who is it whis- pers to the robin, the swallow, the thrush and the lark telling them to spend their winters in the sunny South? Who is it that tells the squirrel he ought to lay away some nuts and acorns for the winter? Who pulls millions of tons of water up on the seashore twice every day at a certain time, what we call ‘“‘the tide’? Perhaps the same wonderful Power whis- pered to the three strangers in the Far East and they decided to follow the new star and find the new-born King? God is here in this world, touching, leading, moving and molding more things, creatures and hearts than you and I have ever dreamed of. The second point in this story where I like to stop and watch the procession is where they reach Jerusalem. Can’t you see those camels winding their way through the narrow streets of old Jerusalem as the three strangers were hunting for the king’s palace? But why did they stop in Jerusalem instead of going straight to Bethlehem? That answer ts easy. 26 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS They naturally expected to find the new-born King in the capital city and Jerusalem was the capital. If three strangers should come across the ocean to see our president, of course they would go straight to Washington, D. C. But notice what those three strangers asked. “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East and have come to worship him. When Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled and all Jerusalem with him.” Isn't that part of the Christmas story a bit strange? Had the strangers knocked at the wrong door? Yes; and the knocking sounded loud because the king had a guilty con- science. If those three strangers had brought a lighted candle into a powder mill it would not have seemed any more fright- ful. The people hated the king and he returned the compli- ment. The king was afraid of the people because of the rights they might claim and the people were afraid of the king because of the wrongs he might commit. It was an extremely dangerous time and place for a baby King to be born. What did Herod do about it? Did he shut those strangers out and go off to bed to forget them? No, indeed! No, Herod may have been a villain, but he was not a fool. He was mean, but he was not ignorant. He knew that the Jews were expecting a Messiah King to be born, but he thought it was all bosh until now. Isn’t it queer how some people pay no attention to the promises and warnings in God’s Word until some day they see them being fulfilled, then they make a scramble to get in before the storm breaks, What did Herod do? He called the teachers of the old Jewish law and prophets and demanded of them where Christ was to be born. Could they tell him? Oh, yes, they knew the prophecy by heart. They told him Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, and they read to Herod the exact words of the prophecy. And don’t you imagine those teachers of Jewish prophecy almost tumbled over each other in their hurry to get to Bethlehem so that they might also worship their Messiah King that they had looked and hoped for so long? Well, if you think that is what they did, you are mistaken. They % THREE CAMELS ) Qn were very ready to teach the prophecy to others, to explain it and to argue about it, but they were not half so ready to turn their words into deeds. Those old Jewish Pharisees are dead and gone and perhaps we ought not to criticize them, but some day you will say, ‘Yes, the old Pharisees who were more ready to talk and argue about Christ than they were to get acquainted with him and worship him are dead, but, we are sorry to say, their places are never empty.” Don’t you find it easier to tell some other boy or girl how to be clean and honest and true than it is to be that way yourself? So the old Pharisees did the thing that was easiest instead of what was best. When you and I do that, we are Pharisees too. Herod sent the three strangers to Bethlehem, saying, “When you have found the young King, bring me word that I may go and worship Him also.” He knew he held the old Jewish teachers in his cruel clutch and he fooled the three strangers for a while with his lies, but there was One he could not fool. God knew his wicked heart as he knows all men’s thoughts and God frustrated Herod’s wicked plans. When- ever we do what is right we can count on God’s help, but when we do, or plan to do, what is wrong, we may ee to have God against us. _ Now, for one closing minute, let us stand by and see those three strangers when they reached the Baby King they had traveled so ser to find. They fell down and worshipped him. They scarcely knew why. Somehow they felt he must be King of kings and Lord of lords, and they were right. Then they opened their traveling bags and presented him with Christmas gifts. They never dreamed that hundreds and hun- dreds of years after that first Christmas we would be follow- ing their example by giving and receiving gifts at Christmas time. But why did the strange visitors give the Baby King such queer gifts? I den’t know. Some men have told us that one of the Wise Men presented gold because gold is always good, whether it is one year or a thousand years old, and it is always precious and is a rich reward to any one who 28 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS finds it. And that is the way with Christ and his Gospel. The second Wise Man presented frankincense. Why? I don’t know. Some men tell us that frankincense was used in the burnt offerings of worship. They say it was presented to the Christ Child because he was to be worshipped by millions of people through ages and ages. The third Wise Man pre- sented myrrh. We are told that myrrh was used as a medi- cine to heal the diseases of the people. Was the stranger’s gift to stand for all those sick and blind people which Christ healed? That seems good enough to believe. Did it also hint that twenty centuries of Christian living would give us Christian-trained physicians and nurses to help sick folks of all kinds? Did his gift also hint that the Christ Child would some day be called “The Great Physician” because he heals sin-sick and broken hearts? I am glad the three strangers followed the star to Bethlehem, aren’t you? Let us make the journey, in our hearts, to Bethlehem to-day. HOLLY AND CHRISTMAS 29 4, HOLLY AND CHRISTMAS (Christmas) Rev. James LEARMOUNT Christmas would seem very strange and poor without the dark green leaves and scarlet berries of the holly. The love of the “Christ-thorn,’ as it used to be called in the Peak district, is common to all sorts and conditions of men. Holly, as the name of a tree, is a corruption of Holy, or “Holy-tree,” a name first given by ancient monks, who made use of its berried branches for church decoration. According to the late Dean Stanley, the decoration of churches with holly is the survival of the old heathen custom of suspending boughs of green in dwelling-huts, in order that fairies, pixies, and spirits of the wood might find shelter in them. There is, however, another explanation which seems equally probable. Tradition says that the first Christian church in Britain was built of boughs, partly to attract and partly in imitation of the temples of Saturn, which were all erected under the oak-tree. The great feast of Saturn was held in December, and as then, of course, the oaks were without leaves, the priests compelled the people to bring in boughs and sprigs of evergreen. For myself, I fancy that mistletoe and holly were the only plants available at that time of the year for decorative pur- poses, and hence they were used as a matter of course. In “The Ballad of Aunt Mary,” written by that eccentric cleric and poet, dear to the hearts of all Cornishmen as the Vicar of Morwenstow, we have another idea. You should know that the term “Aunt” is one of great endearment in Cornwall, and that the ‘Aunt Mary” alluded to is the mother of our Lord. Here is one verse: 30 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS “Now, of all the trees by the king’s highway, Which do you love the best? Oh! the one that is green on Christmas Day— The bush with the bleeding breast! Now the holly with drops of blood for me, For that is our dear Aunt Mary’s tree!” ~ And the thought of the berries as “drops of blood” brings us very near the best reason why we think so much of the holly. It is commonly used as a symbol. The German name for the holly is Christdorn on the supposition that the Crown of Thorns was made from holly. It, at all events, reminds us of that, and of our Saviour who wore that crown for us. Let the thought make your hearts glad this Christmas-time. The holly is an evergreen, and the Scotch people on the borders when they speak of one who is always telling lies say, “He never lies but when the holly is green’—that is always! Think of that saying when you are tempted to say that which is untrue. The most despicable character is the person whose word cannot be depended on. For some time I lived in North London, close to a village called Holly Village. There were only eight or nine houses in the village, and they were surrounded by a thick hedge of holly. I had friends living in the village, and I never paid them a visit without feeling better for looking at that holly wall. It used to suggest two thoughts to me. One bright thought was this: I wish I could” be always fresh like this holly. Year in and year out it was green, fresh and restful. I always came away with new resolves to be one of God’s evergreens, always bright, always restful to those around me. The holy thought was in connection with the holly’s old name —holy. I used to imagine all sorts of beautiful things, and _ holy, pure, sweet people living within those holly walls. I thought of what might be in every house if Jesus, the Tree of Life, was their dear Friend. Once on leaving that village I had such a beautiful vision of the New Jerusalem, the city of God—the holy city—which comes down from heaven, and rejoiced in the fact that it was possible, if we got help from heaven, to make every home holy by being holy ourselves. oy - HOLLY AND CHRISTMAS 31 Think about it, think what kind of boys and girls you would have to be in the holy city, and try to be those boys and girls of the holy city now. You remember how God put a hedge around Job. Not a hedge of holly—but himself. When we are holy, and living as God wants us to live, God becomes a hedge around us. He makes us stronger than temptation, and also strong to bless the world. That, after all, is the best hedge. Not the holly, not merely the symbols of his love, but he gives himself, and himself supplies all our need. 32 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 9) THE MISTLETOE OF BETHLEHEM (Christmas) Rey. J. Ramsey Swain Text: “Kiss the Son.” Psalm 2: 12, I suppose that all our houses are decorated to-day with holly or laurel, with cedar or pine, or with mistletoe. The mistletoe, with its snowy white berries and its waxy green leaves, is the strangest Christmas emblem of them all; se I will explain, this Christmas morning, its Christmas use and its Christmas meaning. Our great-great-great-grandfathers, who lived across the sea in Northern Europe and in the British Isles, particularly in the latter, used to be worshippers of nature. Their gods were the sun and moon, the rivers and trees; and when they saw the mistletoe growing upon the limbs of the apple and hawthorn, and sometimes on the oak, they thought it so mys- terious that it must have some deep religious meaning, and, therefore, used it in their worship. Later, when they became Christians, they brought many of their old customs with them into their worship of Christ: and, like the Wise Men, who brought gold and frankincense and myrrh, they brought their mistletoe as an offering unto the Saviour. Moreover, these great-great-great-grand fathers of ours, par- ticularly those in Northern Europe, used to tell this story: Once, Liki, the God of the Ground, who was the mischief- maker, cut an arrow out of mistletoe, and persuaded blind Hodur, the God of the Night, to shoot Balder, the God of the Day. Thereupon, the mistletoe was taken away from Loki, the God of the Ground, and made to grow on the limbs of the trees, out of his reach. To celebrate this fact, our great-great-great-grandfathers used to gather the mistletoe in THE MISTLETOE OF BETHLEHEM 33 the winter season and hang it from the ceilings of their homes, and whenever they met under it, they “gave each other the kiss of peace and love, in the full assurance that the mistletoe was no longer an instrument of mischief,” I. Now that I have told you these things, let us go together to Bethlehem, “and see this thing which has come to pass,” which interests all the world this Christmas Day. As we draw near the little town, I want you to notice especially the olive tree that is growing just at the entrance to a cave hard by the village inn. Outside the cave is a little donkey, eating straw from the ground; and inside there is a man and his wife from Nazareth, a group of shepherds, and (in a manger) a little baby boy. A‘s we stand outside and look in upon this lovely scene, notice that on the olive-tree bough that over- arches the entrance to the cave is a clump of mistletoe. Its leaves are greener than those of the mistletoe of England and America; and its berries, instead of being white, are reddish; but there can be no doubt that it is mistletoe; for mistletoe grows everywhere in the Holy Land, and particularly around Bethlehem. Now, going nearer to the entrance of the cave, and re- membering our custom of kissing any one beneath the mistle- toe, what shall we do? Shall we kiss the baby child? Yes, that is what we do with every baby; and an old Psalm bids us to kiss this baby, the Christ-child, in particular. I will ask you to find the Psalm for me when you go home. It is the first of the Messianic Psalms of the Bible; that is, it 1s the first Psalm that tells us about the Christ; and the last verse of the Psalm contains these words, which are our text, “Kiss the Son.” II. But do you still hesitate to kiss the Holy Child of Bethlehem, the Son of Heaven? You would not hesitate, if you knew just what the text means. Let me, therefore, explain it: In old Bible times, that is, in days long before those of our great-great-great-grandfathers across the sea, a kiss was a sign of service and worship. Thus we read that when dear old Samuel anointed big young Saul, the first King of Israel, 34 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS “he kissed him,” as a sign of his willingness to obey and serve him. Again, we read that in the days of Elijah, many, many people of Israel became worshippers of Baal; but God told Elijah, his prophet, that there were yet seven thousand who had not bowed their knees to the false god, “nor kissed him” (that is, nor worshipped him). Understanding, then, what kissing the Son means, can we do anything else but obey the words of the old Psalm, and kiss the Christ-child, as he lies beneath the mistletoe-bough in Bethlehem? For unto us, as truly as unto Mary and Joseph, and the shepherds, long ago, “there is born this day a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” III. But here some one.asks me how we are to kiss the Son, when Bethlehem is nineteen hundred years away. I will tell you one way. Last week there was a terrible fire in our city, and several of our brave firemen were killed. One of them was a devoted member of this church, Mr. John Collins. He died in trying to rescue others, and to-day his wife and five children are to hold, instead of a Christmas festival, a Christmas funeral. The youngest child is a baby boy, born on Christmas Eve, one year ago; and this is what I read in the newspaper about him and his father: “The last act of his father before he left home was to kiss his little boy, and say to his wife, ‘We will have a good time when Saturday comes’ (the baby’s birthday); and when yesterday came, the brave father was gone, and to-day the little Christmas-eve baby boy and his mother and sisters are alone without him.” What I now want to propose is, therefore, that we have no Christmas candy on Wednesday afternoon or Friday evening, at our Christmas festivals; but that we ask the Sabbath School to send all the money that would have been spent for this candy to the mother for herself and her children; for, boys and girls, that will be “kissing the Son”; because Jesus says: “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me.” | Will you agree? If you will, come to the Bible School this THE MISTLETOE OF BETHLEHEM 35 afternoon, prepared to say so; and bring the text of our ser- mon on “The Mistletoe of Bethlehem” with you. (The suggestion made was enthusiastically received and acted upon by Mr. Swain’s young hearers. ) 36 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 6 CHRISTMAS (Christmas) Rev. James LEARMOUNT The holidays have come round once more. The sentiment of the day is “Hurrah for Christmas!” It finds, I know, a responsive chord in the hearts of all boys and girls who have been doing their best at school since the summer holidays. The summer holidays are splendid, but Christmas! that is your time in particular. It is the children’s innings. And I am glad for your sake, and wish every hard-working boy and girl a good time. On Christmas eve I know you would like to keep your little eyes upon the fireplace in your bedroom; you would like to catch one glimpse of good Santa Claus with his long white beard, and his dear, kind old face, as he enters through that strange door and leaves behind him so many good things that you will be able to enjoy during all the long winter eve- nings, as the wind whistles outside and the fire roars cheer- fully up your chimney. But see to it that you don’t have a fire in your room on Christmas eve, whatever you do; that would be altogether too warm a reception for good Santa. I wonder what you know about Santa Claus. Your parents —some of them at all events—think that some of their chil- dren know too much. But Santa Claus was one of the oldest ideas of the Celtic West in pagan times, as he was of the pagan East before. In Christian times he was still regarded with religious reverence, sitting—as he had sat for ages in Egypt and elsewhere—in the arms of his mother. Santa Claus was, in fact, the Child Jesus in the Middle Ages; and throughout that period the festive creed of Germany, and all Celtic Europe, was that he visited all family dwellings of good Christians on the eve of his anniversary, and brought ; + 7 uy A “as : . 7) . Soo ee eer ve ee” ee — CHRISTMAS 37 with him gifts and presents for the children, The truth of this original belief is seen in that the word “claus” means in the Gothic or ancient German, “Holy Child.” And that is the right idea for us now. We have not only our Christ- mas stockings filled, but we ourselves are filled with good things because Jesus Christ came into this world. I wonder if you grasp the fact; all things and all blessings and all powers are in the hands of Jesus. A’ story is told of the head master of a great public school. The boys knew him to be learned, but they thought him severe and hard-hearted, and much too strict. They deceived him as often as they could, and would use the books called CEIDSy” which saved them study: They disregarded his lectures, and paid no more attention than they were obliged to pay to his orders. But one day a boy in the school was badly hurt in the playgrounds, and some one ran to tell the master. He came instantly, and sent one of the boys to fetch a doctor. While he waited for the doctor to come, he took the injured boy in his arms, tenderly bound up his wound, and comforted and cheered him. The boys looked on in wonder. They had never seen the master in that light before. “Why, he loves us!” one of the boys said in Amazement. From that time there was a different spirit in the school. The boys trusted him, respected him, and followed his instructions. They had come to believe in him. ; And that is what this glad time ought to do to us all with regard to Jesus. It ought to convince us of his love for us. Jesus came into the world, lived, died, and rose again, be- cause he loved us. And if Christmas is bright he made it so. I had a letter from a lady last Christmas, and in it she said: “Santa Claus was very good to Alec, brought him a tot of presents, but one book he particularly wanted Santa could not get, so he wrote such a funny little note, telling him he would send it later on. He has sent it on now. Alec had a new Bible, four story books, two drawing books, two boxes of sweets, a box with four tops, half a crown, the game of ping-pong, and right in the toe of his stocking was a pair of slippers. He has a special stocking, I ought to say; the 38 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS foot is about twelve inches long and very wide, and such a leg—fit for Jack the Giant Killer. His uncle and aunt made it for him years ago, so I always have to wash it up for Christmas.’ There is a fine hint for you in that stocking. Stockings are so much better than pillow cases—they stretch. You, I have no doubt, will have a similar experience to that of my little friend Alec. And you will be just as happy over it. But do not forget that all God’s love to you is sent that you yourself may become like him, and may imitate his works, Sarah Keables Hunt has given us a sweet story-poem wherein she shows how all children may keep Christmas: “Two little stockings hung side by side,— Close to the fireplace broad and wide, ‘Two?’ said Santa Claus, as down he came, Loaded with toys and many a game, ‘Ho! ho!’ said he, with a laugh of fun, ‘T’ll have no cheating, my pretty one! I know who dwells in this house, my dear, There’s only one little girl lives here.’ So he crept up close to the chimney-place, And measured a sock with a sober face. Just then a wee little note fell out, And fluttered low, like a bird about. ‘Ah! what’s this?’ said he in surprise, As he pushed his specs up close to his eyes, And read the address in a child’s rough plan. ‘Dear Santa Claus,’ so it began, ‘The other stocking you see on the wall I have hung for a girl named Clara Hall. She’s a poor little girl, but very good, So I thought perhaps you kindly would Fill up her stocking, too, to-night, And help to make her Christmas bright. If you’ve not enough for both stockings there, Please put all in Clara’s. I shall not care.’ Santa Claus brushed a tear from his eye, And ‘God bless you, darling,’ he said with a sigh. Then softly he blew, through the chimney high, A note like a bird’s as it soars on high, When down came two of the funniest mortals That ever were seen this side of earth’s portals. CHRISTMAS ‘Hurry up!’ said Santa Claus, ‘and nicely prepare All the little girl wants where money is rare.’ Then, oh! what a scene there was in that room, Away went the elves, but down from the gloom Of the sooty old chimney came tumbling low, A child’s wardrobe from head to toe. How Santa Claus laughed as he gathered them in And fastened one to the sock with a pin! Right to the toe he hung a blue dress, ‘She will think it came from the sky, I guess.’ When all the warm clothes were fastened on, And both little socks were filled and done, Then Santa Claus tucked a toy here and there, And hurried away to the frosty air, Saying, ‘God pity the poor and bless the dear child Who pities them, too, on this night so wild!” 39 4.0 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 7 WHEN THE DAYS TALKED TOGETHER (New Year) Rev. Georce N. Epwarps Psalm 19: 2. Did you ever hear of the days talking together? They do. You will find a place in the Bible where it mentions Tt line of the nineteenth Psalm says, “Day unto day uttereth speech.” But you never heard them talk? I don’t wonder for “their voice is not heard.” They use a kind of sign lan- guage. But you can hear murmuring of the seconds, and the whispering of the minutes, and now and then the hours speak real loud. Listen. Tick-tock, tick-tock four times a second. A clock is a kind of animated sign-post to tell us where To-day is. But Yesterday is hard to find though you can see his tracks everywhere. To-morrow is never seen, but is said to live just over the hills to the eastward. People have always been going that way to meet him. T’ll tell you a secret. ‘To-morrow will never be found because he has not been born yet. To-morrow seems to have a queer way of reaching people’s hearts. They are always saving things for him, for they feel sure he will come. They are always plan- ning for To-morrow whom they never see and leaving a great many things for To-morrow which ought to be done To-day. There is one time in the year when Yesterday, To-day and To-morrow all get together for a little talk. It is on New Year’s Eve, just about the time when the clock strikes twelve; and some time when your five senses are all asleep you can — hear and see them with your sixth sense. Did you know that you had a sixth sense? It is with this that you see things invisible, like goodness and love in other people or in God. WHEN THE DAYS TALKED TOGETHER At On New Year’s Eve in the wee small hours Yesterday, To-day and To-morrow met, and when I saw them I dis- covered that Yesterday was an old man with long, grey hair, and he bent over a long roll of paper on which he wrote with ~an iron pen. To-day stood alert with eyes wide open and carried a watch in one hand, and beat time with the other. To-morrow was a little child, and his eyes were closed and in his hand he carried a rosebud. And all the world was asleep. Yesterday said, “I am Lord of the Past. All men that have ever lived have come under my sway. Every deed they have done, every word they have spoken is recorded in my book. Men may forget me, but they cannot escape me, for I know all their secrets. Their best and their worst are all recorded here.” “No,” said To-day: “You do not know what To-day can bring forth. I present a new chance every minute to every- body. With you are the dead, but within me are the living. I am Lord of the Present. Every moment I beat time with the heart beats of all that live. I can see clearly, and where I am it is always light. Men are always glad to see To-day.” “Yes, but gladder still because they hope for me,” cried little LTo-morrow. “What they regret because it was done badly yesterday, what they cannot finish to-day, they still hope to make good to-morrow. It is that, that keeps them alive with hope. I renew the race with my coming. I carry secrets that even Yesterday does not know. To-day is meas- ured by moments. No man can measure me, and yet I am always young. I am the true secret known only to God.” Then Yesterday lifted his eyes, and behold they were sight- less. “I bring man,” said he, “the gift of forgetfulness. He could not enjoy the present if he could not forget much of the past. I give him also a few leaves of memory, that out of my wisdom he may be wise to avoid the pitfalls where he has once fallen.” | “And I,” said To-day, “bring man the gift of opportunity. He lives with me, and all the joy or sorrow that he has, he received of me. In my presence he decides every question, 42 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS and I alone bring him knowledge. Even when he looks for- ward or backward I am the eyes through which he looks. If he can forget thee, old man, he will be at peace.” “And I,” said To-morrow, “bring him hope, so that he can endure you To-day when you are not good to him. Though he cannot see me yet I touch his hands and he knows I am near, and he is willing to wait for me. I do not live with him as you do, but for my sake he lifts up his eyes and looks out of the windows of his life and sees in the sunset a promise of another morning. When his eyes are on the far horizon he sees the boundary of my world. Every bud I send him, every spring that comes, every child that is born speaks for me to him of the life that is to come. I am stainless, there- fore I inspire in him a love of purity.” Then came silence and the vision passed away, but I knew in the night watches that all the days had brought perishable and priceless gifts. Yesterday brings both memory and for- getiulness, To-day brings life and opportunity, To-morrow crowns this day with hope and links my life to eternity. MAKING BOLD BEGINNINGS 43 8 MAKING BOLD BEGINNINGS (New Year) Rev. W. H. Getstweir, D.D. Text: “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4: 12. A good start assures the promise of a good ending. A bad start leads away from a right ending. So the question of beginnings is always vital to young people. Will this road on which I am going lead me to a desired goal? Is there anything worth while at the end of this way? It should not be difficult to forecast the end of the way. There is a way that seemeth right, but the end thereof? True, but we should be able to determine between that which seems right and that which is right. And for this reason, there is scarcely a road which opens over which other feet have not gone. The paths before us are made paths. And the right path is not confus- ing if we are honest with ourselves. Right is right and wrong is wrong—always. The subject is a call to vigor. We shall not enter on the road in a listless spirit. I do not know a more needful thing to talk about. Wickedness is always bold and arrogant. It holds its head high. Virtue is inclined to be retiring, modest, and sometimes very slow. A lie travels a mile while truth is getting its boots on! True, neither should it be afraid to rise up in its conscious strength, and strike boldly for the right. Silence in the presence of wrong is criminal. I put it thus strongly, for too often are young people silent in the presence of evil when they should take a firm stand for God. In his letter to Timothy, Paul indicates some things in which the young man should be strong—an example. The things AA ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS he talks about are not ancient, but distinctly and decidedly modern. These five things should furnish us with much food for thought; speech, behavior, love, faith, purity. There isn’t a soft thing about them; every one of these character- istics will develop a strong, virile life. I. Speech. “Thy speech betrayeth thee.’’ Verily, it al- ways does. It tells the grammarian; it tells the thinker; it tells the “sport,’ and the “flirt.” Paul pleads for sound speech. “By thy words shalt thou be justified, and by thy words shalt thou be condemned.” ‘For every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account thereof in the judgment.’ All this means that we are talking into a dicta- graph, and that some day it will speak back to us. “Set a watch over my lips.” Let us make that prayer often. II. Behavior. Do not for a moment suppose that Paul is asking us to be sedate to the point of flatness. Never! But our behavior should be such as becometh the children of God. There need be no sin in our “good times.’”’ We do not need to do risqué things in order to give snap and piquancy to life. Whenever you hear men say that the times cannot be run on Sunday School lines you may know that they are pleading for lines of action that will not bear daylight. They insult their times and the Sunday School. Morality is moral- ity—everywhere, whether in a Sunday School or a political meeting; and that which is not fit for a Sunday School is not fit for any other place in the face of the-earth. Let your behavior be such as becometh the children of God; and any other behavior is unfit for you and for everybody else. III. Love. It seems to me that what Paul means here is really sacrifice; for love is not the getting of anything, but the surrender of self to the life of the world. It takes us a long while to learn this, but we should begin to learn it now. If one desires to know the genuineness of his love he can discover it by his willingness to sacrifice. It is the greatest thing because it is the sum of all worth-while things. Love is the enduring quality of human character. “Its holy flame forever burneth.” IV. Faith. It is the orthodoxy of life, and not the or- MAKING BOLD BEGINNINGS 45 thodoxy of statements, that Paul has in mind here. Just now the “faith” of the world is widely shaken. It is useless to deny it, or to close one’s eyes to it. We have fought many battles over the orthodoxy of creeds; and we have counted a man “sound” or “unsound,” according to the things he said. Let us learn at the beginning of life that there is an orthodoxy of life that cannot be too much insisted upon. Your conduct makes such a noise that I cannot hear what you say with your lips! What, then, is the faith we need? The faith that makes faithful; the faith that makes us do right as well as think right. Before we consider a man’s intellectual position we may well consider his faith as ex- pressed in his daily life. The faith that does not shrink is only found in the life that does not yield to wrong. V. Purity. Perhaps this sums them all—all the virtues Paul is urging upon Timothy, and through Timothy upon all the world. It is a searching topic, this.’ And the spirit with which these things are entered into will determine the out- goings of life. “Actively good” is the need among God’s people to-day. The examination of the underground founda- tion of our “faith” in these days cannot fail to do us good, if we shall squarely and honestly face the issues that are in- volved. Some of us need to be made over—to be born again, before we shall see what the gospel really means. Then let us submit to the work of the Spirit, to the transformation of the whole of life that shall hasten the completer sway a the kingdom of God. ~ 46 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 9 GOD’S REPAIR SHOP (New Year) Rev. ALFRED Barratr Text: “He repaireth my soul.” Psalm 23:3. Some one has said that New Year’s Day is a good time to make good resolutions; and the other 364 days are good times to keep them. That is very true, but we shall need strength—and courage and grace—and faith in God if we are going to keep those good resolutions, Have you resolved yet what you are going to do in the coming year? There are many things in the past year which you ought to have done, but you did not do them; and you did many things which now you wish you had never done. You made many serious blunders and spent many unhappy days; but now the year has gone, and all those mistakes are still in your memory. Have you ever read that peculiar and yet very interesting story in the “Arabian Nights’? It is a story without an ending. The king demanded a story of this character from his courtiers. The one who succeeded in telling such a story was promised the king’s daughter in marriage; but the un- successful ones were to have their heads cut off. Many of the courtiers brought their interesting stories to the king, but they were stories that could be told to a finish, so that when their tales were ended their heads were cut off. One day a handsome, bright young courtier, eager and anxious to marry the king’s daughter, came into the king’s palace and began to tell a story of a farmer who had a tremendous heap of grain which would take hundreds of years to remove. It was beautiful to look upon. One day a little black locust came there and carried one grain away, then there came an- GOD’S REPAIR SHOP 47 other locust and carried another grain away, and another locust came and carried another grain away, then another locust came and carried another grain away— So he recited this for many days, until the king became weary and tired of listening to the story, and ended the recital by giving this handsome young courtier his daughter in marriage. It was certainly a delightful ending for this clever courtier, and doubtless his joys were unending. | Another year has just gone. Old Father Time has been taking away grain after grain of the year—the months, the weeks, the days, the hours, the minutes, and even the seconds. He has been taking them all. I wonder if this story that your life has told during the past year has deserved the ad- miration and acceptation of King Jesus? I am rather afraid that there are many things that you have said and done that make you feel miserable when you think of them, and you would be happy if you could only forget them—yea, and hap- pier if they had never been done. If you could only tell your story there would be many mistakes and many mis- givings. Many words have escaped your lips that never ought to have been said. Many a stain has come on your character, many a sin has blotted the pages, and many times has your disobedience spoiled your happiness and filled the days with sorrow. What a story it would be—and what a record! Well, what are you going to do with this disfigured and impaired record? A're you going to carry it over into the next year and live another impaired life and tell another wretched story? Let us hope not. Failure in the past does not mean failure in the future. Let us begin over again and make better use of the new opportunities that the New Year is bringing us. ) I know of a place where our impaired lives can be repaired. It is God’s repair shop, where all the broken things of life can be mended, a place where we can go and be made whole again, and then go out into the world ready to toil for the good of our companions. God is the great soul-repairer. David knew this when he said, “He restoreth my soul.” That word restoreth means “‘repaireth.” 48 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS I once saw in a shoemaker’s window these words, “Old shoes made as good as new.’”’ The shoemaker’s shop is a place of repair. I know this is a commonplace illustration, but it serves my purpose. Now, the real repair shop that I want to tell about is in the presence of God, where Jesus himself is the great repairer. When Jesus came into this world of ours he came to show man that God could make us whole. He came to seek and to save the lost and broken lives of boys and girls and of men and women. Some have broken wills, they are like broken propellers, or should I say like broken automobiles? Others have broken hearts, broken hands of faith, broken resolutions, broken prayer power, broken cisterns, and even broken chords. God is in his re- pair shop and is binding up and repairing all these wrecks of time and helping them to produce once more life’s sweetest music. I want all the boys and girls to frequent this place of repair. It is the place of prayer where God is waiting our souls to repair. Just one word more. God loves the children, and he is waiting to help you be better and to do better. He wants you to be like Jesus. Trust in him, love him, live for him, and some day you will live with him. Begin now, just now, and make this year the very best year of all your life. | ABOUT GOOD INTENTIONS 49 10 ABOUT GOOD INTENTIONS (New Year) Rev. G. B. F. Hattocx, D.D. Text: “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6: 2. Little Dot was drawing a picture with pen and ink on a paper. It turned out to be a cat without a tail. ‘““Where’s the tail?’ asked the mother. She looked puzzled for a moment, and then replied: “Why, it is in the ink bottle yet!” Many of our good intentions are like that. They are in the ink bottle yet. They are only in the mind. They are not yet definitely carried out. This may be true in regard to the greatest thing in life. _ We each intend to become a Christian. But, let us not for- get that now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salva- tion. Now is the time to carry out our good intentions. This moment is the time to begin. Young people, we sincerely hope that you have already ac- cepted Christ as your Saviour and Lord. But if any one has been putting it off, only intending to do so, then this little sermon is intended as an earnest appeal to you to carry out your good intentions now. 50 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS ~ 11 A NEW ROAD (New Year) Rev. ALFRED Barratt TEXT: “Ye have not passed this way heretofore.” Joshua 3: 4.. As we enter the new year we are coming into a new road. We are beginning over again. Every new year is a new be- ginning. Every new day is a new beginning. Every new lesson and every new task is a new beginning. When God made the world, he made it this way on purpose, so that we could have new beginnings. The journey of life would become a tedious, tiresome, monotonous round if there were no new beginnings, no new changes—no strange surprises at every corner of the road. So in order to make the journey of life interesting, and also to make life worth living, God has filled the world with new things—new beginnings—and countless surprises to be discovered by us when we go out in search for them. When they are ready to launch a new boat at Noank they have a special man delegated to knock out all the blocks from underneath her, and then “She stirs, she moves, she seems to feel The thrill of life along her keel.” Now this is just what Old Father Time does every New Year’s morning. He removes all the blocks. He clears the way. He removes every hindrance, and gives us the right of way on the new road of the glad new year. So now we have come to a new road, a new beginning, and some of us have made a fresh start from bad to good, and from good to better. But this is not enough. Let us make a fresh start from A NEW ROAD 51 better to best. Let us strive to do something each day, some good deed that we have never done before. If we fill every day of the coming year with good thoughts, good deeds, and good words our life will most assuredly be well pleasing in God’s sight. : An Arabian tradition tells of a prince who after wasting his substance in riotous living was led in a vision to dig up the floor of his room, and on doing so discovered a strange apartment. In this apartment he found an urn, and when he opened the urn he discovered a key. This key gave him a desire to find the lock belonging to this key. After search- ing around the walls for a while he found a secret door in the wall, and with the key he opened the door and was sur- prised to find that it opened into another chamber containing eleven statues of pure gold, and a pedestal for a twelfth, with an inscription bidding him to search for the remaining statue. This is only tradition, but is it not true that there is always a radiant discovery awaiting those who are willing to go and explore for the things that God has hidden from “the wise and the prudent and revealed even unto babes’? Jesus said, “They that seek me early shall find me.” There is a golden opportunity for every boy and girl to go out and seek with the purpose of finding. You remember Jesus sought Zaccheus while Zaccheus was seeking Jesus, and they both found each other. While you are seeking Jesus, Jesus is seeking you. If you have not yet commenced to seek the “Lord while he may be found,” begin the quest to-day, and when you have found him, and made him your choice the new year will be the best and the happiest, and the most fruitful that you have ever known. This is my new year’s wish to all the boys and girls: “May the best of your past Be the worst of your future” as you travel along the new road of the coming new year. 52 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 12 WATCH YOUR STEPS (New Year) Rev. G. B. F. Hattocx, D.D. Text: “Tf thy children take heed to their way.” 1 Kings 224 An interesting speaker related recently, in an effective ad- dress, that at the subway stations in New York a man was placed whose business it was to repeat “Watch your step,” as passengers were coming to and passing from trains, for a misstep might mean a serious accident if not certain death. This man receives a good salary for the performance of the simple but important duty. Many an accident might be prevented by watching one’s step. It is a true saying that it is “the first step that costs.” Why? Because many persons have been started on the road to ruin by carelessness in taking the first step. A'fter the first step downward is taken it is much easier to take the second, third, and so on. The cost of the first step is diffi- cult to estimate, because so many individual interests are - involved. Is not that a good lesson for us all? How important it is that we watch our steps, especially when we are tempted to go to a wrong place or do a wrong thing. Don’t make a misstep. Don’t take a hasty, thoughtless step. Don’t take a wrong step. Watch your steps. NEW YEAR’S DAY 53 13 NEW YEAR’S DAY (New Year) Rev. Bernarp J. Snerzi, M.A. Another year is born to-day. It has come fresh from heaven, from God himself, who gives us life and all that makes life dear to us. It is quite new; no eyes ever saw it before, and it is our own to use and spend. The old year died last night. It lived longer than most years do, for it was 366 days old when it died, and that is a long time to keep constant watch over the world. It saw us all that time. It saw you go to school, it saw you play, it saw you grow, it noticed that all of you wore longer coats and dresses than when it knew you first. Some, who were here when it came, have gone home to the world that is with- out years; and it saw bodies that they left behind buried, some under the snow and some under the grass with daisies in it. And some are in the world to-day who were not here this time last year—your tiny little brother or sister. And when the old year died last night, while you were asleep, its little son was born; and the new year’s name is almost the same as the old year’s name, , 1s not so very different from ,is it? No, for of course they belong to the same family, and, when the family name is written quite in full, there are these two letters at the end, A. D., which mean that it is just so long since the dear Lord Jesus Christ came to earth. His birthday you kept on Christmas Day. So we all have a fresh start to-day. Are you not glad at school when you have a new book instead of the old one? The old book’s pages were smudged, and blotted, and dog- eared, and torn. You felt it was disheartening to write your best in that book, but you mean to take great care of the clean new book. That is just what our Father God, who 54 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS has given us this new year, wants us to do with the 365 clean, white days which the year holds in it. And we.can all of us improve on the past, if we try, can we not? I know a little girl, who came down to breakfast and whis- pered a secret into her mother’s ear: “Mother dear, I'll tell you a secret, I’m not going to be cross once to-day.” That was a very pretty secret. An angry, disagreeable person makes other people unhappy; yes, and makes it very difficult for any one to love him. Make up your mind that you will be sweet-tempered and unselfish and kind, so that it shall be easy for your home-folk to be in love with you, Iam sure that you will try always to speak the truth, for a story-teller is a liar, and a liar is despised by everybody. Never, never be such a coward as not to tell the whole truth. You need never be ashamed of the truth, unless you have done something really wrong, and then it is still best to tell the whole truth, although it is a great pity that you should have done anything that makes you ashamed. So we must try our hardest, our very hardest, to do only good and kind things. In the old times the knight, who was going to fight for truth and the right, passed a whole night kneeling, alone, clad in his armor, asking God to help him. We all need God to help us, and he helps us most when we pray to him. A year looks a long time to young eyes. It looks like a long voyage over leagues of unknown seas. When a ship starts on a journey, she always carries a compass to show the right direction,.and a chart to show where the dangerous rocks lie, and where the safe channels are, and a captain to see that all is right on board. I wonder if you can guess my riddle. God has given to each of us a compass, a chart, and a Captain, so that we may not lose our way as we speed over the seas of life. But we must notice the compass, and use the chart, and obey the Captain. THE YEAR’S RECORD 55 14 THE YEAR’S RECORD (New Year) Rev. James LearmountT Columbus, when he was homeward bound after that won- derful voyage when he discovered the new world, was over- taken by a terrible storm. He suffered indescribable agony, not because he feared to lose his life or the lives of his crew, but he was afraid that his magnificent discovery of a new world would all go down irrecoverably into the abyss, and that, too, not far from land. He therefore hurriedly committed to the deep entries of his discovery, in bottles, in the hope that some day they might reach land. He had made a splendid record, and he didn’t want it to be lost. I have been wondering whether many of us care to have our record of this year preserved. I believe that most of us would be exceedingly glad to lose much of our record. Many things we have said and done that have not been right. A German writer records for us a dream he had. In his dream he saw a long procession of men and women passing by his window, and upon looking more closely he was startled to find that those men and women were companions of his childhood. They appeared all to be respectable, and to have done very well in life. He himself was old, infirm, diseased, and his whole life had been wasted, until now he was a com- plete wreck. In an agony of despair he cried out: ‘“O God, give me back my youth!” and in his terror he awoke—it was but a dream! He was still young, his life was yet before him, and he resolved to live that life better than he had com- menced it. His life might have ended like the great poet’s who wrote on his thirty-sixth birthday: 56 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS “My days are in the yellow leaf, The flowers and fruits of love are gone; The worm, the canker, and the grief Are mine alone.” Thankful I am that you boys and girls are still young, with your life-work all before you. It is not too late to correct your mistakes, and begin your lives on right lines—lines of truth and righteousness. Do not continue sowing seeds that will provide you future misery. Tom Hood in his poem “The Lady’s Dream,”’ tells how this lady saw a long ghostly procession of people that in her life she might have befriended. Her heart was full of sorrow and agony as she saw how much she might have done to help and bless them. Then she is made to say: “And yet it never was on my soul To play so ill a part; But evil is wrought by want of thought, As well as by want of heart.” I daresay many of the undesirable things you have said and done during the year that is almost gone, have been done in the same way. God will forgive you for all your mistakes and sins if you ask him. | But you have many things that you would be glad to have preserved—kindnesses shown, loving words spoken, helpful deeds done—these bring sweet memories to you. When Christian had accomplished his weary journey across the hill Difficulty, and was at length safe inside the gates of the Palace Beautiful, he was asked by Prudence, “Do you not think sometimes of the country from whence you came?” And Christian had indeed such memories. They were his constant sorrow. He had struggled hard to get the better of them. Prudence then said: “But do you not feel sometimes as if those things were vanquished which at other times are your perplexity?” “Yes,” answered Christian, “and they are to me golden hours when such things happen.” What things were a joy to Christian? The good things. These are our joy also. And I want you to think of all the THE YEAR’S RECORD 57 good things you have done, and the days when you have been good during the past year. When you have looked back and made notes of these, ask yourself whether a whole year and a whole life of such deeds would not be worth striving for. When St. Boniface landed in England, he came with the Gospel of Jesus in one hand and a carpenter’s rule in the other, and while he led the people to build up good houses, he also led them to build up glorious lives. Everything done by him was done as to the Lord. What a grand way that is to live—it is the best life possible for any of us. How much better it is to live in that way than to come to say such miserable things as the poet I spoke about a minute ago. Take the golden hours and project them all into next year as a standard for all your hours. Titus, a heathen Roman Emperor, used to examine himself every day as to what he had accomplished. If a day slipped by without his having redressed some wrong, or without doing some good thing, he used to say to his courtiers, “Alas! I have lost a day.’”’ Whatever you see, or hear, see to it that you get all the good out of it that is possible, and when you see opportunities for usefulness, never hesitate to use them. “Something each day—a smile; It is not much to give, And the little gifts of life Make sweet the days we live. The world has weary hearts That we can bless and cheer, And a smile for every day Makes sunshine all the year. ‘ “Something each day—a word; We cannot know its power, It grows in fruitfulness As grows the gentle flower. It brings the sweetest peace Where all is dark and drear! For a kind word every day Makes pleasant all the year. 58 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS “Something each day—a deed Of kindness and of good, To link in closer bonds All human brotherhood. Oh, thus the Heavenly will We all may do while here; For a good deed every day Makes blessed all the year.” DO NOT ENTER HERE 59 15 DO NOT ENTER HERE (New Year) Rev. Craupe ALLEN McKay As I hurried down the subway in the city, I noticed a sign hanging across the stairway, in big letters, DO NOT ENTER HERE. The first thought which came into my mind said something like this, “Well, how foolish! Wasn’t this sub- way made to enter? And what is a stairway good for if you can’t enter it?’ But, tagging along behind the first thought, a second thought came. It is a pretty good thing to wait for the second thought, when you are in doubt about what you ought to do, because our second thoughts are older and wiser than our first thoughts. As soon as I was ready to listen that second thought said something like this to me, “Say, young fellow, if you want to get where you have started to go and keep out of trouble, you had better obey the signs you see. These signs were not put here to hinder you but to help you.” What do you think I did? I did just what you would have done. I backed out of that forbidden stairway, and when I saw another with a sign over it which said, ENTER HERE, I entered. And you are not surprised when I tell you that I arrived where I wanted to go, in good time, with- out trouble to myself or anybody else. Did you know you were on the way to that same city where you will have the same kind of an experience? The name of the city is Nineteen Hundred and and if you will look at the calendar you will see that we are to arrive at that city in a very few days. You will make 365 trips and every day you will face that subway with its two stairways. Over one stairway will be the sign, DO NOT ENTER HERE; and 60 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS over the other will be a sign, saying, ENTER HERE. You will have to decide. The very first Monday morning after New Year, when you come to the school yard, you will be facing those two stairways. You can look down the street which leads to Truantville. It may look very inviting. (A hunter always makes his trap look inviting to the game he wants to catch.) But if you should go down that way, you will soon see a sign which says, DO NOT ENTER HERE. Yes, you will see it written on the faces of men and women, who took that road when they were boys and girls. In language that is very plain, their disappointed faces say, “DO NOT ENTER HERE. I thought it was the easiest way to take but it has proved to be the hardest. I thought it would take me where I wanted to go but I find I have taken the wrong road.” But, 1f you will look toward your school house door, you will see a sign which says, ENTER HERE. If that is not what the school house door says, the men of your city, who have spent so much money to build that school and pay teachers to help you get your education, have made a mistake. Some other day after New Year’s, some boy you know will take you by the arm and start to lead you down the stair- way to Cigaretville, but if you will look all around carefully you will see somewhere that sign, Do NOT ENTER HERE. On one side of the road leading to Cigaretville, Bob Burdette once wrote this sign, “A' boy who smokes cigarettes is like a cipher with the rim knocked off.” And David Starr Jordan, the President of Leland Stanford University, put up this sign on the same road, “Boys who smoke cigarettes are like wormy apples. They drop long before the harvest. The boy who begins smoking cigarettes before he is fifteen will never enter the life of the world as a man. He may enter as a miserable, foolish failure. When other boys are study- ing and taking hold of the world’s work, he will be in the hands of a neice or an undertaker. When you see a boy drawing the poisons of the cigarette down into the 72 5,000,- ooo delicate air cells of his ane you may be sure he is pre- paring the way for all kinds of lung and throat troubles. A DO NOT ENTER HERE 61 lighted cigarette has a fire on one end and a fool on the other.” I could tell you many more of the signs posted on that road but what is the use; you won't take a road that the wisest men tell you leads to failure. One day a business man advertised for a boy. Many boys applied for the position because there were lots of boys in _ that community who needed to work after school hours and on Saturdays to help them through school. Finally the busi- ness man took one of the boys. One of the business man’s friends asked him one day why he selected this boy. And this was his answer: “He wiped his feet on the mat when he came in and closed the door after him. He gave his seat to a lame old man who came into the office. He waited quietly for his turn, instead of pushing and crowding. When I talked with him, he took off his cap and answered my ques- tions promptly and gentlemanly. I noticed that his clothes and shoes were clean, and his hair in order. When he wrote his name I noticed there were no cigarette stains on his fingers and his finger nails were clean.” Just think how many times that boy has come to a stair- way with a sign over it, DO NOT ENTER HERE, and he obeyed the signs. Then, when he came to a stairway where his father or mother or teacher or some other good friend had written, ENTER HERE, he entered; and you are not surprised to know that he arrived where he wanted to go. The part of Nineteen Hundred and which belongs to you is like a long train of 365 cars with you as the engineer. There are open switches and dangerous curves ahead but if you watch closely and obey the signs and sig- nals, you will pull your train into the city which is called, Nineteen Hundred and on time and safe and happy. A' Happy New Year! 62 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 16 OUR TRUEST RICHES (New Year) Rev. Currie Martin, M.A. Text: “Redeeming the time.” Ephesians 5: 16. “Use time wisely.” These words stand high up in a tower above one of the busiest streets of a great northern city. Underneath them is the dial of an uncommon clock. There are two circles alongside one another. In the first of these, in clear figures, is displayed the hour. In the other are the figures that denote each minute. And as one watches it, the one, two, three, four, etc., succeed each other in regular suc- cession. The first time I saw it, the thought occurred to my mind very forcibly, how long a minute is. I was sur- prised to find how far I could walk along the street between the appearance of one of these figures and the next. It was a very noteworthy manner of impressing on one’s mind how frequently we waste our time. Perhaps you have all been impressed with it on certain occasions. You may have stood with a watch in your hand trying to time a race, or to see how long elapsed between a flash of lightning and the subsequent peal of thunder. It may have seemed to you then as if even seconds were long, and when we read in certain sciences about seconds being divided up into millionth parts our brain becomes dizzy at the thought of the enormous length of time. But the more common idea is of time’s shortness. I sup- pose this becomes more and more noticeable the older we get. When we are quite little the hours seem long, and a summer day is like a week. But even children, when they are happy, think that time flies too quickly. There is one phrase people use sometimes which always appears to me one OUR TRUEST RICHES 63 of the worst and, if they really meant it, most sinful phrases one could use. They speak about “killing time’ as if time were some enemy, some evil beast that had to be slain, and these are the people who have least to do, and who make the worst possible use of the time at their disposal. As a matter of fact, time is one of God’s most precious gifts, and, like his other gifts of highest value, it is common to every one. Time is the same everywhere, and we have all the same length of day, hour, and minute; wherever there may be inequality, there is perfect fairness and adequate opportunity here, and it altogether depends upon the way in which we use our time as to how we are going to manage our life. Time is far too precious a gift to abuse it. I daresay you have often heard people say, ‘Time is money,” but have you ever thought what they mean by it? Some one, for instance, has been kept waiting half an hour by an un- punctual friend. To the latter it may not have seemed a matter of importance whether he was there in time or not, but to the former that half-hour may have meant the missing of an important business that would have brought him a large sum of money. Or again, a physician who has been summoned down into the country to attend some serious case of illness charges a large fee for his services. People may think it is very hard that he should do so, but during the ten or twelve hours occupied in the journey he may have missed scores of consultations that might have brought him in a far larger sum. It is this kind of idea that is in Paul’s mind when he uses the words of the text. Ephesus was a great mercantile city, and into this mart poured all the produce of the East and West. Sometimes bales of rich silk or other special fabrics might come on board the ships into the harbor. These would be displayed, and only the merchants who could make up their minds speedily would secure the rich prizes, and be enabled to reap the subsequent profit. Those who dallied with the chance, and delayed their purchase from day to day, would find that when at last they decided to buy, either that ~ 64 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS the goods were gone, or that those that were left were not worth purchasing. “You have seen these men,’ Paul says, “and you under- stand how success and failure attend them. Let it be the same with you in regard to the time. Buy up every possible opportunity, and let none escape.” I know one great castle in the south of England, and on its entrance tower there are two sun dials. The one that faces the approach has upon it the one Latin word, “Praetereunt,” meaning, “They have passed by,” and refers to the hours that the dial has measured. Then, as one comes up to the flight of stairs that leads to the hall, the other dial upon the right hand bears the word “Imputantur,” “They are reckoned up,’ thus reminding every one who enters that the hours one has lived have their chronicle with God. It is a solemn lesson to be taught so forcibly, and impresses at any rate the casual visitor. One wonders whether it becomes so fa- miliar to those who live within the roof of the castle that they do not even notice the words as they go out and in at the door. It is possible to become so familiar with danger that men forget it altogether, and we may become so familiar with truths like this that they do not impress us, I daresay we have all done our best to save our money in order to get something we desired very much. How many times we have counted it, how often we tried to discover by the very process of counting that we had a shilling more than the sum we knew very well was the correct one. Yet time is of infinitely more value than all the money we can ever get. Some men are so rich that we read about their being worth so many pounds a minute; but in reality every one’s minutes are worth far more than can be reckoned in the terms of earthly cur- rency. In reality our time is not ours at all, but God’s. He gives it to us, and it is a trust we hold for him. You re- member the kind of stories Jesus used to tell about the rich men who left their property in the hands of their servants while they went away on a long journey. On their return they were wont to demand an account of the stewardship, OUR TRUEST RICHES 65 and if the reckoning was not satisfactory the careless ones -were punished. There is no talent more precious, as there is none more universal, than this talent of time. If it is true that in order to take care of our money and be able to use it well, we must begin to learn its value, and be trusted with a certain amount of it when we are children, it is even more true of time. I wish you boys and girls to think seri- ously, act wisely, and pray earnestly about this great and wonderful gift of God. 66 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 17 THE PONY ENGINE Rev. G. B. F. Harttock, D.D. Text: “T can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4: 13. Once upon a time a little freight car loaded with coal stood on the track in a coal-yard. The little freight car waited for an engine to pull it up the hill and over the hill and down the hill on the other side. Over the hill in the valley people needed the coal on the little freight car to keep them warm. By and by a great big engine came along, the smokestack puffing smoke and the bell ringing, “Ding! Ding! Ding!” “Qh, stop! Please stop, big engine!” said the little freight car. “Pull me up the hill and over the hill and down the hill, to the people in the valley on the other side.” But the big engine said, “I can’t, I’m too busy.” And away it went—Choo! Choo! Choo! Choo! The little freight car waited again a long time till a smaller engine came puffing by. : 3 “Oh, stop, dear engine, please stop!” said the little freight car. But the engine puffed a big puff and said, “I can’t, you're too heavy.” Then it went, too—Choo! Choo! Choo! “Oh, dear!” said the little freight car, “what shall I do? The people in the valley on the other side will be so cold without any coal.” After a long time a little pony engine came along, puffing just as hard as a little engine could. “Oh, stop! dear engine, please stop and take me up the hill and over the hill and down the hill to the people on the other side,” said the patient little freight car. The pony engine stopped right away and said, ‘You’re ” THE PONY ENGINE 67 very heavy and I’m not very big, but I think I can. I'll try. Hitch on!” | All the way up the hill the pony engine kept saying, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!’ quite fast at first. Then the hill was steeper and the pony engine had to pull harder and go slower, but all the time it kept saying: “I think-I-can! I[-think-I-can!’” till it reached the very top with a long puff—*Sh-s-s-s-s!”” It was easy to go down the hill on the other side. Away went the happy little pony engine, saying very fast, “I thought I could! I thought I could! I thought I could! I thought I could.” Don’t forget the lesson, boys and girls. Think you can. Never think you cannot. In your Christian life, too, you have a right to feel the same assurance, because you have a right to say with the Apostle Paul: “I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me.’’ Depend on God’s strength and think you can. “I can.” “Through Christ.” God will honor that faith and confidence. 68 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 18 THE CONIES Rev. Joun Ketman, D.D. Text: “The rocks for the conies.” Psalm 104: 18. This phrase, with Proverbs 30:26, gives a wonderful account of some very interesting little people. The conies are a race of little beasts, rather like rabbits but quite of dif- ferent order, creatures whom God has set up for themselves, separate from all other kinds of animals. They are said to be distant cousins of the rhinoceros, but as it would take several hundred of conies to make one rhinoceros in size, the relationship does not count for very much. They live in the rocks. They do not burrow like rabbits but make their homes in clefts and split places in the sheer faces of precipices. From these homes they come out to feed on the grass in the neighborhood, and an old man cony is set to stand sentinel at the mouth of the crack. Whenever anybody comes near he gives a whistle and all the conies scamper back and disappear through the crack into their queer home. Suppose you were to catch one of these conies and ask him, ‘What is this rock for?” Do you know what he would answer? He would say, ‘Why, of course, for the conies.” Children, just think of that! God made that rock out of molten lava, and he flung it about with earthquakes and he smote it with lightnings, and for centuries he beat upon it with rain and wind, and froze it with frost, and warmed it with sunshine, and so the crack grew wide enough to let the little beasts in, and the conies think he did all that mighty work for the sake of the conies! Well, he is only saying what the Bible says in our text, “The rocks for the conies,”’ and he is right. God had many uses for the rock and many thoughts in making it, but you may be very sure that he THE CONIES 69 who also made the conies with their little beating hearts thought of them among his other reasons. In the city of Edinburgh there is an ancient castle, and its gray, weather-beaten stones are built into great rigid precipices of sheer rock that rise out of a beautiful valley. Far up on these rocks in places where no foot of man could ever tread, you will see long trails of straw. These are the nests of sparrows who have chosen that wild place for their home, and in the nests are the little children of the sparrows, as cosy and as safe as you are in your bed at night. Supposing you were to ask one of these sparrows, ‘What is all this rock and castle for?’ What do you think he would say? He would say, “Why, of course, for the sparrows!” That rock and castle have been beaten upon not only by the weather of the ages but by cannon-balls in many sieges, and they have seen two thousand years of a nation’s history fought for and won and lost and won again; and yet the sparrow is right when he thinks that they were made for him, for God who guides the mighty ways of nations knows also the heart of the sparrows, and not one of them falleth to the ground without his notice. There is a greater rock than any other in the world, older and mightier by far than the highest precipice or the strongest fortress. It is called the Rock of Ages, and it, too, was cleft like the other rocks. The Rock has many meanings. Jesus has made the world over again in his own likeness and swung to and fro the history of nations and of men. Yet little people when they need a refuge from sin and sor- row, flee into the cleft of that great Rock and are safe forever- more. And if you ask one of Jesus’ children, “What is this Rock for?’ he will tell you, “Why, of course, it is for me!” And he, too, will be right. “Rock of Ages, cleft for me! Let me hide myself in Thee.” And the great Christ who has borne the burdens and stood against the storms of time has a place in his heart for every boy and girl to make their home in. 70 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 19 GOD’S GARDEN Rev. S. Epwarp Youne, D.D. Just weeds! And what are weeds? Nice or bad plants. Nice plants where they do not belong—like ox-eye daisies you pick the petals off, saying, “Poor man, rich man, beggar man, thief,” or buttercups or dandelions in the hayfield or vegetable garden—or bad plants—like the poison ivy or bur- dock or smartweed—ugly and ill everywhere. And the trouble of weeds? This: They choke and kill the good plants. They use the place and the strength of soil which would grow wheat or potatoes or tomatoes or peas or pretty flowers. I. Are weeds much bother? You would not ask that question if you had taken care of a garden. They peep up as soon as the flowers and vegetables and they never give you a day’s rest. You must hoe them out. Some of them you must pull out by hand. Maybe they are so close to the corn or beans or radishes or onions that you can scarcely pull out the weeds without pulling up the good plants. Best way to get weeds out? Jerk them up, roots and all. No, simply cutting or pinching off above the ground will leave the roots to eat what the good plants need, and oh, so fast, the weeds will grow up again. IT. Where in the world do weeds come from? From seeds. Often weed seeds are among good plant seeds and get sown with them. The dandelion weed has a tuft for a para- chute and sails its balloon away over from its corner until it lights in some other corner and puts its hooks into the ground and stays. That burdock burr—well, if it gets into your clothes or your horse’s foretop, you will see how it sticks. After a while the seed will come out of the burr and grow. Ill. Are there any other weeds than these? Yes: Thoughts, evil words, harmful habits, They are weeds. GOD’S GARDEN 71 Sometimes they are so like the good that boys and girls have to look hard to tell them apart. They spring up all the time. Some people have weed thoughts, right in church. Some Sunday School trained boys and girls let the wicked words or habits get in—and how they spread and stick tight. Sure enough, many come with the good seed—just an evil grain here or there in the day school or the college or the book or the movie. God give us teachers, parents as teachers, Sun-_ day School teachers, everybody as teachers, who sow only pure seed! IV. How to get out the weed thoughts or words or hab- its? By clean cultivation, by cutting down the first peeping weed—that is one way. By pulling them up by the roots— getting out of you the evil thing, the wicked wish, the selfish- ness, that causes them. God help uproot all these this minute as we stop right here and ask him to do it! Have plenty of good seed in any growing—truths you have learned about God and duty. “My heart is God’s little garden, And the plants that I grow each day Springing thoughts that I let harden, And the words he hears me say.” 72 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 20 CANNED SUNSHINE Rey. Epwin Hattocx Byincron TExT: “We love him because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19. “Mother is in the kitchen, canning.’ That is what Helen said when I called at the farm. It was a beautiful autumn day, the trees were loaded with fruit, the vines were bending with great clusters of grapes, and the farm looked like Para- dise. Mother was busy canning peaches and pears. Into jars she put them and sealed them safe from air and germs, On a shelf was a long row of cans looking like pictures of dinners in glass frames. “But why trouble about canning a few peaches and pears when you could gather bushels from the trees?’ I asked. Helen smiled and answered, ‘These are for winter dinners.” Then she opened the pantry door and showed me the preserves—quince and apple-butter, pure grape-juice and jams—cans, cans on all the stands. Beau- tiful autumn canned for winter. Helen said they were win- ners. I am going to accept Helen’s invitation to a winter dinner of canned autumn. We derive our heat from a ligneous substance that has lain for ages deep in the earth. We now take it out in black lumps, or cans, that we call “coal.” When we warm up the coal, out comes the sunshine to light and warm our homes. A lump of coal is an old, black can full of sunshine. In the ash-can is what is left when the sunshine is taken out. Thou- sands of years ago God, like a loving mother, canned this sunshine for you and me. Some rich men propose to erect a monument of coal to Philip Ginter. One hundred and nine years ago Ginter lived in a rough cabin in the forests of Mauch Chunk Mountain. While in quest of game for his family, whom he had left at home without food of any kind, his foot struck a black stone. CANNED SUNSHINE 73 By the roadside, not far from the town of Summit Hill, he built a fire of wood and threw pieces of the supposed stone about it, so that the embers might last longer while he was roasting a fowl. He was surprised after a little while to see the stones glow and retain their heat for a long time. He carried a lot of the coal home and burned it there. A monument to the man who discovered canned sunshine. On one side of the monument they should put the name God, who canned the sunshine Ginter discovered. Now, I have a question for you to answer: “Why is love like a lump of coal?’ Because love is canned sunshine. The heart is a vessel that God fills with love. When we “warm up” to any one, the can opens, and love shines out to brighten and warm his life. A’ heart may be black and cold like a lump of coal, but inside there is love. Religion opens the heart and lets the sunshine in. If you want to get light and heat out of a lump of coal you put it into the fire. If you want to get love out of a soul, you must put that soul into the light and heat of friendship and kindness. A little boy declared that he loved his mother “with all his strength,’ and he was asked what he meant by the ex- pression. After some little time spent in reflection, he said: “Well, I’ll tell you. You see, we live up here on the fourth floor of this tenement, and there’s no elevator, and the coal is kept ’way down in the basement. Mother is dreadfully busy all the time, and she isn’t very strong, so I see to it that the coal hod is never empty. I lug all the coal up four flights all by myself, and the hod is pretty big. It takes all my strength to get it up here. Now, isn’t that loving mother with all my strength?’ The boy’s heart was open, and the sunshine of love came out. Once he was a cross and crying baby. His mother took him to the warm heart of her love, loved him and loved him, until she opened his heart. He loved his mother because she first loved him. At the great exposition it was the custom for the people to sign their names in the different state buildings. People who registered were asked to give their occupations, so that the books read like this: “John Smith, carpenter”; “Thomas 74 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS Brown, farmer.” A little golden-haired girl asked if she might register. She was told to write her name and occu- pation. ‘This is what she wrote: “Mary Jones, help mamma.” Christ came into this world with all the love of heaven in his heart for you and me. When we come close to him our hearts open and let love out. Our hearts are opened because his heart was first opened for us. “We love him because he first loved us.’ He died for us, so great was his love. Here is a story: Ina storm off the New England coast a few years ago a vessel was wrecked. It was impossible for the life-saving service to reach the drowning passengers and seamen. At last one of the men began to drift toward the shore. A line of life-savers was immediately formed, stretch- ing out toward him into the sea. The drifting man came nearer and nearer, until the life-saver at the end of the line was able to reach him and pass him back along the line. He reached the shore in safety. The life-saver, in loosing his hand to catch the man who was floating in from the wreck, was dragged off his feet by the undertow, carried out to sea, and drowned. The rescued man was sick for weeks with a raging fever. When he finally recovered a peculiarity was noticed in his talk. No matter to whom he spoke, or what the topic of conversation, he always closed by repeating, “A man died for me once! A man died for me once!’ He never forgot it. He wanted others to know it. Love is canned sunshine. Youth is the time to fill your heart with love. Then when you grow older and sickness and trouble come, you can open a can to brighten your life. THE MAN THAT SWALLOWED HIMSELF 75 21 THE MAN THAT SWALLOWED HIMSELF Rev. Henry Srtoane Corrin, D.D. Text: “The lips of a fool will swallow up himself.” Ecclesiastes 10: 12, Boys and girls, I suppose you have all seen performers of tricks who pretend to swallow an egg, or a baseball, or even a sword; but I don’t believe any of you have ever heard of a man who could begin with his toes and swallow down his entire self. If you will look in your Bibles, when you go home, the Book of Ecclesiastes, and turn to the twelfth verse of the tenth chapter, you will read,, “The lips of a fool will swallow up himself.’ You see, the Bible does not consider this man clever, for it calls him a fool; and surely he is a fool, for who would like to swallow himself, so that all that people saw of him was his mouth? How would you like to be thought of as just a mouth? What sort of a man do you think the Bible is describing? I. We all know boys and girls who brag. Some boy says, “I can jump two feet high’; and Mr. Bragger at once _ remarks, “That’s nothing; I can jump twenty feet high.” A girl happens to mention that her mother has a new dress, and Miss Bragger speaks up, “I don’t think that’s anything; my mother has a new dress every day.’ Now, nobody pays much attention to Mr. and Miss Bragger. People say of them, ‘“They’re just talk.” Their lips have swallowed them up, and people think of them only as mouths. II. Again, we unfortunately all know boys and girls who say unkind things about others. Nobody trusts them, for you may be sure that the person who says mean things of others to you will say mean things of you to somebody else. You do not want such children for your friends; you do not want to walk with them to school or to play with them. 76 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS Their unkind lips have swallowed them up; we think not of them, for they may have some very attractive things about them, but we think of those sharp lips. We lose sight of everything about them and see simply their mean mouths. If. Again, I am afraid we all know boys and girls who say things that are untrue. No one ever feels safe with any one who has once told him a lie. We have heard men and women saying, “Yes, I know that So-and-So has agreeable manners, and is bright at his lessons, and can be very enter- taining and obliging, but he tells stories, and I don’t believe a word he says.” His mouth, his mouth that lets the truth out so crooked that it is all twisted and bent and no one can recognize it as the truth, his mouth has swallowed him up. There is no boy left to trust, no girl left to respect. What a terrible thing it is to have lying lips swallow you up, so that nothing remains of you for people to admire and honor and love. “The lips of a fool will swallow up himself.” ~ THE SWANS’ DINNER BELL 77 22 THE SWANS’ DINNER BELL Rev. G. B. F. Hatzocr, D.D. TExT: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11. There is a pretty story that is often told about the swans in the moat of the palace of the Bishop of Wells, England. The old gatehouse, with its gray, ivygrown walls, still stands, and the swans sail up and down the dark waters of the moat, which centuries ago was a defense of the castle. The peculiar thing about these swans is that they ring a dinner bell whenever they are hungry, and expect to have it answered at once. A’ long string hangs out of the gatehouse window and, as the story is told, when the swans are hungry, the leader swims gravely up to the bell rope, pulls at it, and then waits quietly for the lodge-keeper’s wife to bring out her basket of bread. It is said that fifty years ago the daughter of the bishop who lived there then taught the swans this trick with great patience and care. The swans that have come since then have apparently in turn learned the secret of the bell rope so that one who is able to perceive the connection between the pulling of the string and the appearing of the bread-basket has always been among them. That the swans communicate their demand for bread to their leader, who is always the one to ring the bell, is evident from the fact that after the black swans were introduced into the moat the ringing became so frequent that the housekeeper had to take the string in to secure herself a little peace. Evidently the newcomers were hearty eaters. We all have a right to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” We are taught, “Ask and ye shall receive.’ Let the swans teach us this lesson—the lesson of prayer. 78 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS. 23 THE LONGEST CANDLE Rey. G. B. F. Hattocr, D.D. Text: “O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” Psalm go: 14. An evangelist was talking to a meeting of children. He brought out a row of candles on a board; a very long candle was at one end, a very short one at the other. Between the long one and the short one were candles of various heights. He said that by these candles he wanted to represent the grandiather, father and mother, boys and girls and the baby of a family who never heard of Christ until a missionary came—whom he represented by a lighted candle—and then they all gave their hearts to Jesus, and from that day loved and served him. He then asked which candle they thought represented the grandfather, the mother, and so on. They all thought the tallest candle would be the grandfather, but he told them: “No, that stands for the baby, the youngest member in the family.” Presently one little boy said, “I know why; he has the chance to shine the longest for Jesus.” Yes, children, give your hearts to Jesus now, while you are young. Then you can shine for him as long as you live, and you can also have the joys of his religion as long as you live. Pray, “O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.” THE UPHOLSTERED WORM 79 24. THE UPHOLSTERED WORM Rev. G. B. F. Hautocx, D.D. “Who can describe a caterpillar?’ asked the teacher. “I can, teacher!’ shouted Tommy. “Well, Tommy, what is a caterpillar?’ “An upholstered worm.” I am going to talk to you about a beetle and how he acts while he is an upholstered worm and after he becomes a beetle. This beetle, the Tiger-Beetle, he is called, leads a Jekyll-Hyde life. As a beetle, he’s a lively fun-maker, en- joying life and spending most of it running about over the ground or dancing in the air; but before he reaches the beetle stage of his existence, when still in the larva state, he’s a treacherous cannibal. If he were human, we would call him a Jekyll-Hyde sort of person. Since he’s only a bug we name him the cincindela, or the tiger-beetle. Probably he’s most interesting as a cannibal, so we'll de- scribe his life as Hyde first. He lives in a hole in the ground, made like a tiny well. The caterpillar holds fast to the sides of the well by two hooks at one end of his body, which keep him from slipping and keep his head always at the top of the hole. His head is fitted with a pair of sharp jaws. An innocent insect, taking a promenade, steps too near these jaws and snap! the innocent insect disappears. All day the caterpillar lies in wait and waxes fat off his victims. Finally he becomes a beetle, and puts on a coat of green or gray, sometimes elegantly spotted, and then he’s a dude. He still keeps his jaws, however, and he’s just as hungry as when he was a caterpillar. That’s why they call him a tiger. _ This fable teaches that it is no sin for a caterpillar to be a caterpillar, an upholstered worm, nor for a beetle to be a 80 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS beetle; but it is very wrong for boys and girls to live a double life. Some children when they are good they are very good, but when they are bad they are horrid. Be good. Be steadily good—dependably good. LINCOLN TALK TO CHILDREN 81 25 LINCOLN TALK TO CHILDREN (Lincoln’s Birthday) President Lincoln guided our country through hard, sad days.. Busy as he was, he was never too busy to help any one who was in trouble. He loved his own children dearly, and he had room in his heart for all children, and they loved him in return. “Tad,” was his son, a little fellow devoted to his father. One day President Lincoln was busy in the White House, talking to a soldier, who had brought him im- portant news from the war. There came a tapping on the office door. The President paid no attention, and still the tapping went on. At last the President and the soldier heard a boy’s voice calling, “It’s Tad, Father! Unfasten the door!’’. When the President opened the door there was little Tad, all ready for bed. The President brought him over to the table, and took Tad’s little hand in his, and began to hit it gently on the table. “You forgot how to signal, didn’t you?” said the Presi- dent. “This is the way to telegraph me when you want to come in—three quick raps, followed by two slower ones.” Soon Tad had the signal right, kissed his father and ran off happily to bed. Never too busy to be kind! That was one of the reasons why people loved President Lincoln, why this country sor- rowed so bitterly when he was shot by a cruel bullet. While he was a poor young lawyer in Springfield, he was going to his office one morning when he saw a little girl cry- ing at the door of one of the houses. Lincoln stopped to see what was the matter. She sobbed out her story. She was going to visit a little friend of hers in another town. It was to be her first ride on the train, and the expressman had not come for the trunk! 82 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS Mr. Lincoln lifted the trunk onto his shoulders and started off, calling to the little girl to “come along.” They just caught the train. No wonder the little girl never forgot him! I hold in my hand a branch of a cedar of Lebanon eb brought it with me to America from my summer camping place in the Holy Land. Near one end of it is a large cone, as fragrant as a flower and something like what you have seen on the branches of our pine trees. Of course, you have all heard of the imaginary witch that rides through the sky onabroom. So I wish each one of you to get on this branch to-day and go back in an imaginary way with me from our church to the most famous woodland-temple in the world, a grove of very ancient cedar trees growing at the foot of Jebel-el-Arz, the Cedar Mountain of Syria. We are now there, and this photograph will acquaint us with our surroundings. We cannot all see every detail of our picture, but we can all see enough for us to recognize, here in the green color, a clump of giant trees, about four hundred in number, and in the purple and white colors above, a high mountain, with here and there great patches of snow upon its sides and summit. The trees, as you have guessed already, are the cedars of Lebanon, probably the most noble trees in all the world—trees which the Bible calls “the trees of the Lord,” a tree which in Jotham’s parable is called “the king of trees.’ : Now there are forty-nine texts in the Bible which speak of the trees of the Lord, but we have time for only one of HOW THE CEDAR GROWS 177 them this morning. Here it is in Psalm 92:12,—“The righteous shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” I like the text for juniors, because it has the word “grow” in it. All of us are growing, both good and bad, and it is because I want you to grow aright that I am to tell you this morning how the cedar grows. I. The cedar tree grows downright. It sends its roots deep into the earth and grips the great rocks, so that you cannot find in the picture a single tree overthrown by the storms. \ Did you know before that the word “tree” comes from a very old root, and is the most typical of all trees in this as in so many other ways, because it is always well “rooted and grounded.” Now that is the way that the Psalmist says the righteous grow. They grow downright. ‘Rooted in Him” is a fine phrase which the Apostle Paul uses. He himself was like a splendid cedar tree, and he would have us rooted in Christ, in his teachings, in his redemptive work, in his life; for, rooted in him, then no storms of temptation, no sudden gusts of trouble can overthrow us, “nothing shall separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.’ Is it not a sad sight to see a great tree torn up by the roots and lying prostrate on the ground? But is it not always a sadder sight to see a man or a woman, a boy or a girl, over- thrown by evil? Why should any of us ever be uprooted if we have been planted where our thoughts and our affections and our wills can lay hold of the Saviour, who gives nourish- ment and life to us all as we “grow up in him.” Il. The cedar trees grow upright. The cedar tree of Syria often reaches a height of eighty feet. That is higher than the ceiling of our church. In India, it often grows to one hundred and fifty feet, higher than the tower of our church. And when it grows up in the midst of a lot of other trees like itself, it not only grows very tall, but also very straight. It was because it is such a tall and straight tree that the ancient merchants of Tyre and Sidon used the cedar for the masts of their ships, just as we use the chestnut tree 178 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS to-day for our telegraph poles. For this reason also, in part, it was used for beams to support the ceiling in Solomon's magnificent temple at Jerusalem. Now there are trees which sometimes do not grow upright, and they are a picture of a wrong life. What do you boys and girls think “wrong” means? Literally, it 1s “wrung,” and is therefore that which is crooked and twisted. It is lying. It is stealing. Surely, if we grow like the cedar, we will not be wrung from the straight and the true. We will be upright in all our ways. ‘““Taking root downward, we shall bear fruit upward.” III. The cedar tree also grows outright. We read of the far-reaching cedars of Lebanon, Their huge trunks, from forty to fifty feet in circumference, send out great branches that cast cool shadows and fill the air with their fragrant and healing balsam. They are the shelter of the birds of the air and of the beasts of the field, and it was when we our- selves were weary after a year’s work, that we went there for rest and invigoration. Truly, a cedar tree is a beautiful type of a righteous life, a life that shelters, a life that blesses. Such a life has been that of Florence Nightingale, a woman who did so much for the poor, suffering soldiers of the Crimean War in particular. Such a life also was that of Mr. George C. Thomas, who died in our city the other day, and one who did so much for every good cause among us while he was alive. This was the life of Christ pre-eminently. He came, not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and so for this reason, as well as others also, he is called fourteen times over in the New Testament, “Jesus Christ, the righteous.” He also grew, as we read in the story of his boyhood, and we know that he grew out-right because of the great blessing which he wrought. Let us grow to heal and not to hurt, to save and to serve, so that even the dumb animals as well as our fathers and mothers, our sisters and brothers—all who come near us— will take delight in us. And then we shall also glorify God. IV. But there is still another way in which the cedar tree grows. It grows on-right. That is, the cedar does not de- HOW THE CEDAR GROWS 179 cay. It is one of the trees of the wood which is almost in- destructible. These trees in the picture are thought by some to be as old as Solomon, and perhaps older. Therefore, you see, you must measure the age of a cedar, not by years, but by centuries. Indeed, I have seen a name cut into the bark of one of these trees wih the date 1769, and yet it looked as though it had been cut there the day before I saw it. And the righteous also grow on-right. They grow on forever and ever. They never die. The wicked die. “They are like the grass,” says the Psalmist, in the seventh verse of this Psalm. “They are destroyed forever.” In conclusion, I would not have you go away from your visit to the cedars thinking it is easy to grow to be as sym- metrical as the trees in Lebanon. It is not, for there are many things which will spoil our growth if we let them. All of you know how that our maple and poplar trees in West Philadelphia have caterpillars for enemies. But what do you think is the worst enemy of the cedar tree? Strange to say, it is the goat, for that animal eats up all the cedar trees that it can find when they are young and tender, and does not allow them to spread over the mountain sides as they would otherwise do. ) But see, in this picture there is a wall. It has been put here to protect the trees, and in particular, to keep away the goats. Is not this an illustration? We have our enemies,— creeping, crawling enemies, not caterpillars, but the brood of “the old serpent’”—a hungry, devouring enemy, not a goat, but Satan, “who goeth about like a lion’—and God, in his mercy, also puts a wall around about us. The church, the Sabbath-school, all the means of grace are given us that our enemies may be kept away and we may grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Climbing back upon our cedar branch, let us now return home again to our own church, and while we sit here to- gether and look around on these walls, let us also look again into our Bibles and read the verse which comes after our text in this Psalm. ‘Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.” Ah, we 180 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS may then be planted here just as the cedar trees are planted upon the sides of Lebanon, and we may grow here like the trees of the Lord and make this a Woodland church indeed, as we all grow right in every way,—down-right, up-right, out-right, and on-right—for have we not learned from the cedar that it is in all of these ways that the righteous grow? oe ee SINGING IN A STRANGE PLACE . 181 68 SINGING IN A STRANGE PLACE Rev. JAMES STALKER Text; “And the prisoners heard them.” Acts 16:25. Some of the best men the world has ever seen have spent their time in prison. There was that friend of all children, the author of “The Pilgrim’s Progress,” who lived for twelve years in a prison. Joseph, you remember, spent long and dreary years in the prison of Egypt. Jeremiah, the prophet, was not only put in prison, but let down into a miry pit, in the center of it, and nearly killed there. Daniel and the three Hebrew children were put in prison. Peter the Apostle was shut up in prison till the angel came and opened the prison gates and let him out. But none of the great heroes of the Bible was more familiar with the inside of prisons than the Apostle Paul; and to-day we have to consider one of the strangest scenes of his prison life. I. The Singers. Here, then, the two servants of God were immured. The heavy doors were shut upon them; the dark- ness surrounded them; the fetid odors of the dungeon rose and caught their breath; their backs leaned against the damp wall; their feet could not be moved; their wounds, in which the clotted blood was hardening, rent them with pain; and in their hearts there was a bitter sense of wrong, for they knew that they had been imprisoned for no crime, but for a deed of kindness. And outside their cell door, in the large outer room, the blackguards and vagabonds of Philippi, who had been im- prisoned for all sorts of crimes, kept up a din, with oaths and coarse laughter and ribald songs. But the hours wore by, and the night fell over the city and over the prison. The darkness in the cell of Paul and Silas could not be deepened; but in the room outside the red glow 182 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS faded from the window, and the noise of the prisoners sank to silence as they flung themselves on their pallets to sleep. The gaoler and his family were asleep; the prisoners in the large room were all asleep; midnight and silence and sleep enveloped the prison building. But what sound is this which steals out in the silent mid- night? It fills the large room where the prisoners are sleep- ing. One after another awakes; he never heard such music before; he sits up on his couch and listens. Is it angels pouring their songs on the midnight, like those who sang on the plains of Bethlehem? Where can it be coming from? Is it possible that it is coming out of the inner prison? Are these two broken, bleeding men, whom they had seen thrust in there, singing? Yes; it was even so! Paul and Silas could not sleep. Their smarting wounds would not allow them. But how did they spend the long and heavy hours? In complaining to each other of their misery? In cursing the injustice of those who had imprisoned them? In weeping and groaning over their pains? No, no; they talked to each other cheerfully and pleasantly, till they forgot their misery and their wounds; they prayed together until they felt as if they were in heaven rather than in a dungeon; and at last their hearts grew so full and so happy that they could no longer restrain themselves, but broke out together into the song which awakened their fellow-pris- oners. But what was it that made them able to be joyful and to sing for joy in such circumstances? It was not that they were brave men, though they were very brave. It was not that their friendship for each other was so strong that they were able to drive care away from each other’s minds, though they were the best of friends. These things would not have been sufficient to make them triumph over pain and gloom and wrong as they did. What was it, then? I think I know. There was a third person in the cell. If the gaoler had opened the door and looked in, he would not have seen him. But Paul and Silas saw him. It was Jesus. He was with them; SINGING IN A STRANGE PLACE 183 and his presence and his love made the midnight bright, and changed the clasp of the stocks into perfect freedom, and made them forget their pains and their wrongs, and changed the dungeon into a temple, and the groans of pain into psalms of praise. It was for his sake they had been beaten and imprisoned, and that was enough. He was with them, and all was well. II. The Listeners. Our text says, “The prisoners heard them”; but it ought to say, “The prisoners listened to them.” They sat up on their pallets, and tried to catch the strange sounds. They rose and crept to the door of the dungeon, and bent their heads toward it, eager to catch every word. There they stood, an awe-stricken group, listening breathlessly in the darkness. The silence and the midnight hour heightened the effect. Have you ever heard a nightingale sing? If you have not, you cannot conceive what a flood of song it is, twittering and shaking, and piping and soaring, running over all the notes of the scale from the lowest to the highest. But much of the extraordinary effect of this bird’s music is due to the cir- cumstances I have just alluded to, that it sings at night, when ‘all the other songsters of the grove are hushed, when the world is wrapped in silence, and the mind, undistracted by sights and sounds of the daytime, can listen with all its fac- ulties. So the Psalms of the Apostles gained much of their effect from the silence and the midnight hour. What chiefly riveted the prison audience was wonder at the joy and cheerfulness of Paul and Silas. This was the miracle. How, after the treatment they had received, and in the circumstances in which they were, could sounds so calm, so cheerful, so joyful, come from them? What was the secret these two men possessed? The prisoners knew they had nothing which could make them glad in such circum- stances. They had sought happiness in revelry and abandon- ment, but they had discovered none like this. Ah, this is always what rivets the attention of sinners, when they see that Christians have a joy that is far better than any other happiness in the world. I wish that Christians would let 184 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS the bird which sings in their breast be heard by others as well as themselves. There is an exquisite sketch written by the hand which penned the immortal story of “Rab and His Friends,” and now, alas! lies still forever in the grave, of a quaint old char- acter of other days, well known to Dr. Brown, because he was his father’s beadle. The sketch was written with the love and humor of which the author’s heart was full; and among other traits of his humble friend he gives this touching one: He had been married in his youth, but after a year his wife and their one child died together; but always afterward he kept up the practice of family worship, though quite alone, giving out the psalm and the chapter, as if his dear wife had been there. He lived in a high story in the Canongate, and his voice, in the notes of Martyrdom or Coleshill, sounded morning and evening through the thickly tenanted land; and many a careless foot was arrested and many a heart touched by that strange sound. I hope there are doors in our large blocks of houses where the passers-by are impressed with the same grave, sweet melody. I wish you to sing. Ah, but I wish most of all that you should have the joy which gives birth to song. It is the heart, and not the throat, in which song has its true habitation. It is in this cage the bird of song resides. When you sing of free grace and dying love, do you feel what you are singing? Do you feel these things so much that you cannot help singing? This is the right kind of song. If you can sing thus, then you will sow the seeds of joy wherever you go, and you will see them springing up in the new and happy lives of those who listen to you. a he a a ee ee i . ie 2 rte is 3 vee ; ae po ae ae oe Re aoe oe ae ee a ae A LESSON FROM THE LILIES 185 69 A LESSON FROM THE LILIES Rev. G. B. F. Hauttock, D.D. Text: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin, yet I say unto you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Matthew 6: 28. Consider the lilies. They can teach us many things. Con- sider their growth. Consider their beauty. Consider their unselfishness. They are clothed with beauty. They grow without anxiety. They never fret because of heat, drouth, rain or cold. God takes care of lilies. They do not grow by chance. These are all lessons from the lilies. But there is a special lesson, sometimes overlooked, we ought to learn. “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.” Yes, that is it, how they grow. A visitor to Morningside Heights, New York City, casts an admiring glance upward to the “Cathedral of St. John the Divine,’ now rising slowly but surely to its magnificent com- pletion. But to simple admiration would surely succeed a wonder beyond power of expression were the beholder as he stands gazing, to see the sublime structure, wall and arch and dome and tower, going higher and higher all of their own undirected and unaided accord—no architect, superintendent or workmen in sight; no scaffolding, and not only no derrick with its long sweeping arm stretched out to lift huge blocks and beams, but no beams or blocks in sight to lift. Yet how, again, must both admiration and wonder mount to almost incredulous amazement were the already rapt be- holder to be assured that all that the architect had done was to bury his plans and specifications at foundation depth, hav- ing first imparted to them the power to do as they would like with the earthly material around them; to change that form- less material into bronze, marble, steel or wood; to give to 186 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS each product thus transformed its own fit and size and shape; to lift each to its own proper place; and, to crown all, power to drop from turret-top and pinnacle fully formed and safely folded plans and specifications for other like and alike self- erecting cathedrals! In such case, supposing it to exist, will not this wondering beholder feel himself constrained to pause a while and very thoughtfully to “consider” this building—“how it grows!” Liles grow. Cathedrals do not. Oaks grow. Church buildings do not. How wonderful the power of God! The lilies grow. “They toil not, neither do they spin.” They just grow. They grow the way in which God intended they should. No wonder when Christ wanted us to think of God’s power and providence he said, ‘Consider the lilies, how they grow.” 8 se Ses oe Fig GOOD MORNING 187 70 GOOD MORNING Rev. James A. BrimeLow The other day I was awakened by what seemed to be a won- derful melody of voices outside my bedroom window. For just a few minutes I hardly knew whether I was dreaming or whether I was in some fairyland listening to music which belonged not to earth. I just listened, and I kept on listening. It was all so wonderful, that I felt that if I moved I would break the charm which seemed to be over everything in the room. So I continued to listen and I was not long in finding out the great secret of the voices. Those voices were not dreamy ones, neither did they belong to heaven, or to some fairyland, but were simply the voices of birds which were uttering their morning’s notes of thankfulness and praise in the ear of heaven and in the ear of their Creator God. Oh, I wish I could just translate that music for you, for it seemed to me the most delightful music that I have ever heard! So I have been thinking about the voices of those birds and this is what voices have seemed to say to me—that those birds were just singing their notes of good morning into the lite of the new day which they felt had dawned for them and for the world. And the notes of their good morning were making a sweeter and lovelier place for many people, for their notes of music never left me through that day, and I hope will never leave me as long as I live. So, children, I want you to learn the way of greeting each new day with a glad and joyous welcome. Never be ashamed to say good morning to mother or father as you greet them each morning. Do not forget others who may be in your homes, and when you go to your school never forget your teacher. And, above all, never forget your Father in heaven, who, to make a joyous good morning for you, sent his Son 188 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS into our world and who in the end died on a cross so that we all might come to know the glad and joyous good morning which he has waiting for us in his larger world of heaven. I want to read you some words which I have come to love because they were written by one who had heard the voices of the birds singing their glad and joyous good morning into the ear of the world. The little birds sang East, The little birds sang West, And I smiled to think God’s greatness Flows round our incompleteness, Round our restlessness his rest. So my text, if I may have one for you, is this: ‘““My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer to thee, and will look up.” THE TWO MONKS WHO TRIED TO QUARREL 189 71 THE TWO MONKS WHO TRIED TO QUARREL Rev. Frank T. Bayxuey, D.D. Text: “Love seeketh not her own.” 1 Corinthians 13:5. Have you, children, heard of the monks who used, many years ago, to live all by themselves, far from towns and cities, in lonely buildings that were called monasteries? They had no wives, and children, and their big houses could hardly be called homes. I think they must have been very lonely! A'nd I am sure they might have been happier and have done more good if they had lived with other people. You know Jesus said his disciples were to be the “salt of the earth.” And the place for the salt is not on the top shelf of the pantry, shut up tight in a box to be safe, but in the midst of the cooking to flavor it. Yet many of these monks were good men, who lived as they really thought was right and best. They used to rise very early in the morning and work in their gardens, after they had prayed; and they made beautiful copies of the Bible, using bright colors that are still beautiful to-day. They were fond of music too, and used to sing and play together a great deal. JI have heard an interesting story of two of these old monks. They had lived together in the same monastery for a good many years, and always lived in love and peace. Indeed, those who live in love always live in peace. One day one of them said to the other, “Let us have a quarrel!” But his friend replied, “A quarrel? I don’t know how to quarrel!” ‘Well,’ said the first, “I will show you.” So it was agreed that they should try it. And the first undertook | to show the other how to begin. “TI will take this brick,” he said, “and put it down on the ground between us. And when I say, ‘This is mine,’ you must say, ‘No, it is mine.” Then 190 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS I will insist that it is mine, and so we will get up a quarrel.” “Very well,” said the other. They were smiling as they looked into each other’s faces and the first laid the brick on the ground. I think we should have laughed had we seen them, don’t you? It seems queer to begin a quarrel in that way! But they had agreed on the plan, and so they began. “This brick is mine!” said he who was to commence. “No,” said the other; “it is mine!’ “But I say it is mine!” the first re- plied. “Well, then,’ said the second, “well, then—take it!” And this is the history of the quarrel; the whole of it, for of course they couldn’t quarrel after that. Really, the first monk didn’t want the brick at all as soon as he found the other didn’t! But I think they might have really quarrelled if the dispute had gone on. I think the story is a good illustration of something which Paul says about love: “Love seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked.” You may find this, with much more that is beau- tiful, in the first letter which Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, Ask your father to read it to you. Perhaps he will tell you, too, of some quarrels over just as silly matters as the question who owned the brick. There have been many such quarrels in families, quarrels among neighbors and even wars between nations, sometimes costing millions of dollars and the loss of many lives. You see, dear children, that when each one is thinking only of what is his, and is determined to have it, it is easy to get up a quarrel over a very small thing. But when each is thinking kindly of his neighbor, too, a little yielding is not hard, and is sure to prevent a quarrel. Three things I ask you children to remember: how many it takes to make a quarrel; how a quarrel may be stopped, and, above all, our beautiful text, “Love seeketh not her own.” GOD’S WHISPERING GALLERY 191 72 GOD’S WHISPERING GALLERY Rev. JAMEs A. BriIMELOw Not so very long ago I was in the great cathedral called St. Paul’s at London. I was greatly interested in many things —in the inscription over its door to its architect and builder, Sir Christopher Wren, which says, “If you seek my monu- ment, look around you’; in the delightful music which I heard; in the beautiful painting of Holman Hunt’s Light of the World; and, above everything else, in the wonderful Whispering Gallery in which the lowest whisper can be heard distinctly. It was all so remarkable that for a long time I was greatly entranced, and even to-day as I think of it I am just as much delighted as I was on the day I was there. But it was that Whispering Gallery which held my attention, and I want it to hold yours to-day. God has made us such wonderful beings, given to us such wonderful bodies and has put us in such a wonderful world that we are and will forever be under obligation to him. But there are so many times when we just think that what we do concerns no one but ourselves, and that no one hears or sees us in the things we do. We forget that the world is just one large whispering gallery in which the faintest and smallest things are seen and heard in their loudest notes, and whether they are good or ill it matters little, and it behooves each of us to be very careful what we say and what we do. And there are just two things which will help us to be and do the things which are right and which tend for the world’s right, if we will only follow them. The first is this: We should never say anything but what we should like our parents to hear. Second: We should never say anything but what we should like God to hear. I was speaking to a boy only the other day about some 192 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS words which he had spoken, and I just said: “What would mother or father say if they knew what you had said ?” SOhgs said my boy friend, “they will never know.” Ah, but in some remarkable way things do get round to father and mother, and, what is more, they reach the ears of God ; and, oh, what must he think at some of the words we speak? It is God’s Great Whispering Gallery in which we all live. Our faintest whispers are heard by him, and those whispers are tending for the gladness or the sorrow of the world, and even his Great Eternal World. | = +x HN x = RES soa a ey eK Soa a = re y/o) oe ot THY WORD IS A LAMP 193 73 THY WORD IS A LAMP Rev. G. B. F. Hautocr, D.D. Text: “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119: 105. When you enter any harbor in the world, where the channel is marked by buoys, you will find that those on your right, as you pass in, are painted red, and those on your left black. If you should see one painted in red and black horizontal bands, the ship should run as close to it as possible, because that indicates the center of a narrow channel. Buoys with red and black vertical stripes always mark the end of spits and the outer and inner ends of extensive reefs, where there is a channel on each side. When red and black checkers are painted on a buoy, it marks either a rock in the Open sea or an obstruction in the harbor of small extent, with channel all around. If there are two such obstructions and a channel between them, the buoy on the right of you will have red and white checkers and the one on the left will have black and white checkers. If a wreck obstructs the channel, a green buoy will be placed on the sea-side of the wreck, with the word “wreck’’ plainly painted on it in white letters, provided there is a clear channel all around it; otherwise, an even number will be painted in white above the word “wreck,” when the buoy is on the right side of the channel, and an odd number if the buoy is on the left. The ocean is charted. Buoys are placed to tell where to avoid rocks and shoals and where the safe channels are. Life is charted. That is, the ocean of life is charted. The Bible is a buoy. Yes, it is a series of buoys or system of buoys, telling where are the rocks on which young people and older 194 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS people too may wreck their souls. But, better, it tells where the safe channels are. The God of grace is the God of the Bible. He is our Father who provides that we shall know the evils to avoid, how to avoid them, and the best ways to sail in the channel of safety. Let us think of God’s goodness in warning us so plainly from the wrong, and so graciously guiding us in the way of right and safety. Some buoys in the ocean are lighted. God’s word is a lighted buoy—it is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path, PAINTING THE FACE ON THE INSIDE 195 74 PAINTING THE FACE ON THE INSIDE Rey. James M. Farrar, D.D. Text: “Saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.” Acts 6:15. Your face has two sides—the outside and the inside. It is like a stained-glass window—needs a light inside to reveal its beauty outside. Education lights your lamps. The school work lights the intellect, the church work lights the soul. These lamps shine through what is called character. If the character is beautiful, the face is beautiful ; 1f the character is not beautiful, the face is ugly. The creation of man was God’s best and greatest work. The face is the most beautiful part of his best and greatest work. In an old legend we read that when Adam was driven out of the Garden of Eden he asked the angel who kept the gate, “What shall I bring back to God when I return?” The angel replied, “Bring him back the face he gave you in the garden, and I will let you in.’ A child’s face is like the face God gave man in Eden. Keep your lamps burning and your face will be your “pass” into God’s garden. | Children of a larger growth sometimes paint their faces on the outside. Their lamps need trimming. Stephen’s face was painted on the inside. His brain lamp and soul lamp were shining through a beautiful character. Those who watched him when he was being stoned “saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.” Before the beautiful face the gates of heaven swung wide open. I found a story for you in ‘‘Zion’s Herald.” Shall I tell it? “Painting, are you?” asked Uncle Jim. “Well, well!” and he studied Patty’s rose and Betty’s morning-glory with the eye of an art student. ‘How would you like to paint bottles as the Chinese paint them?” 196 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS ‘Do tell us about the bottles,’ shouted the twins, for they hoped a story was coming. “Wait till I go up to my trunk,” said Uncle Jim. And they did wait, for so many pretty and interesting things had come out of Uncle Jim’s trunk since he had been visiting them. He soon came down, holding a little bottle not more than three inches long, and its neck so small you could not possibly have thrust even a very slender lead-pencil into it. It was painted beautifully, too, the twins thought. On one side a Chinese lady with flowing robes of pink and blue and green, carrying gorgeous flowers, and with a long-legged bird nestling against her; and on the other side a vase of cherry- blossoms and a whole group of curious pieces of Chinese pottery. Then there were decorations in black all around the edges and side of the bottle, a Chinese lettering that the twins looked at with wonder. “And what a lot of painting to go on such a little bottle!” exclaimed Patty. “In the bottle,” corrected Uncle Jim. ‘That was all painted on the inside of the bottle, and I saw the artist doing it my- seliyy “Oh! Oh!” said the twins together. “There is just one place in the world where they do this,” Uncle Jim went on, “a town in China that I visited to see them work. The artists are in a room that has no side windows at all, but is lighted by glass overhead. They lie on their backs, on a mass of green branches and hold these little bottles up against the light. The glass has been carefully ground inside, and they use very slender-pointed brushes. You can see what a tiny opening the bottle has. Think of putting your brush through that and then managing to paint from the in- side. Yes, the bristles are curved a little, or they could not possibly do it. Pretty neat piece of work, isn’t it?’ “Oh, yes!” Patty drew a long breath, and Betty drew another. It was all so true and exact. Not a slip had the brush made. Patty and Betty are now coaxing Uncle Jim to get them a tiny electric light put inside the bottle—they — 7 PAINTING THE FACE ON THE INSIDE 197 want to see the pictures at night when they wake up after a dream. Character is painted best when you are on your back looking up to God. The best light comes from above. The brush js made from your thoughts, the colors are found in your con- duct, and the pictures are sketched by your imagination. The transparent something upon which the pictures are painted is called character. The lamps back of and shining through char- acter are your intellect and your soul. If the angel looked at your face, would he pass you into the garden? 198 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 79 ECHO HOLLOW Rev. Evcene C. Carper On a recent Saturday morning the Scout Master of the Boy Scout troop of our town accompanied about twelve or thirteen of the boys on a “chestnut hike.” Each boy took his own lunch along, not forgetting to provide steak, chops, or sausages that could be eee over the camp fire that was built at noon. But it is not the camp Ae or the lunch that we are inter- ested in at this time. While the boys were “beating up” the woods, being spread out in a long line to make sure that no chestnut tree should escape making tribute to the common store, two of the boys became so far separated from the others that they could not be located for a time and the boys began systematically calling their names as they tramped along. Finally the main group came out into a piece of land that was shaped very much like a saucer, the rim of the hollow, or basin, being thickly wooded for half of the circumference and the remaining portion being free from trees and brush. As the boys mounted the bare side of the hill and continued to call for their companions they suddenly became aware that their calls were being echoed back to them from some point apparently in the heart of the woods and off to the north of the place where they had come out into the open. At some points the echo was very distinct, while at others it was not so clear, though easily distinguished. It was observed also that the voices of some of the boys were thrown back in much more distinct tones than was the case with others. This led the lads to attempt to discover the point on the hill at which the best echo could be obtained, and also to discover which boy’s voice was most nearly in tune with the echo. All this was accomplished by spreading out in fan shape around the ECHO HOLLOW 199 hill and calling in turn until the best focus was revealed, and then, in turn, having each boy stand at that vantage point and try his own voice out. One boy in particular got far better results than any of the others. It seemed that another boy with the same pitched voice and using the same volume was speaking back his words to him from somewhere in the woods. He had found just the place where his voice was in tune with his surroundings. It was his focus-point in Echo Hollow, for that is what the boys named the place they had discovered. As the experience was talked over on the hike back to town the Scout Master pointed out to the boys how much like “Echo Hollow” life itself is. There is a focus-point in life, a place where we get the best possible response from the world around us, a place in which we really fit. We have not found it yet, but we will if we persevere. The boy whose father owned the farm over which the scouts had been hiking that autumn day had never discovered “Echo Hollow,” and though he had lived on that farm all of his life he never had heard the voice of the boy who had been always ready to speak to him out of the woods if he would only call to him from the hillside. We all get a sym- pathetic response from the world around us when we stand in the right place, speak the right word, and use the right tone. Somewhere there is such a place for each of us, and it is not very far from home. 200 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 76 FORTY MARTYRS AND FORTY CROWNS Rev. W. Dovewias SwWAFFIELD Many years ago it was harder to be a Christian than it is to-day. People were killed by cruel tortures for being Chris- tians. Once in the days of Rome forty Christians were taken prisoners and because they would not go back on Jesus were sentenced to stand naked upon the icy river till they should die. A’ Roman soldier was placed on guard and told that if any one would forsake Christ he would be spared. Soon the wintry cold began to do its work and at last one brave soul sank upon the ice in death. But when he fell it seemed as if every one heard strange music singing, “Forty martyrs and forty crowns, be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life.” Again a Christian fell, and again the same song. One by one through the night they died till alt but one had gone. This one, brave till now, looked about — him, saw his thirty-nine brave companions lying still in death, the wintry wind pierced his heart, he thought of the freedom that might be his, and cowardly decided to forsake his Lord. He rushed from the ice, threw out his hands to the Roman guard, and claimed the promise of pardon. But the soldier had heard that chant all through the night, “Forty martyrs and forty crowns, be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life.’ The faith of the brave had won him. “Here is my robe, take it, and I will take your place upon the ice.” And the brave Roman ere long heard that song as the angels sang it for the fortieth time when he paid the price of his love for Christ. There are many things to tempt us to deny our Lord. But the crown of life is only for those who are faithful until death. One of the most interesting buildings in beautiful Washing- ton is the Patent Office. Here you might see the models of FORTY MARTYRS AND FORTY CROWNS 201 all the famous inventions which have been patented in the United States. It is an even better place to visit than a great museum because it tells the stories of how the dreams of many men and women have come true. One day not long ago a letter was found in the office of this building which bore the date 1833. The letter read something like this: “Dear Sir: Because everything that can be invented has al- ready been invented, it is inevitable that this office shall soon go out of business. Inasmuch as I will soon lose my position, I hereby resign to look for work elsewhere. “Yours truly, “SO0-AND. ‘S07’ What a fool that young man was! There is always some- thing new to be discovered, something great to be done, some good to be achieved. He lacked imagination. Jesus knew that there had been great prophets, great preach- ers and teachers, but he was the greatest prophet and preacher and teacher because he always aimed for the highest. We boys and girls can be great and good if we look to Jesus and try to live as he did. The greatest dream we can have is that we may do something great for Christ. 202 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 7 THE ANGER TREE Rev. G. B. F. Hatuocx, D.D. TExtT: “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger ... be put away from you.” Ephesians 4:31. In our church family there are many children. This is not Children’s Day, for that comes the second Sabbath in June. But every day is Children’s Day in the church family. Some- times big people enjoy children’s sermons, or sermons for children, too. This sermon is suggested by a very peculiar sort of a tree I have read about. In Idaho, we are told, there exists a species of the acacia tree which is entitled to be classed as one of the wonders of plant life. This tree attains a height of about eight feet. When full grown it closes its leaves together in coils each day at sunset, and curls its twigs to the shape of pigtails. When the tree has thus settled itself for its night’s sleep, it is said that, if touched, it will flutter as if agitated or impatient at the disturbance. It is averred that the oftener the foliage is molested the more violent will become the shaking of the branches. Finally, it is further alleged, if the shaking is continued, the tree will at length emit a nauseating odor quite sufficient to induce a headache in the case of the person disturbing the tree. In Idaho, it is called the ‘anger tree,’ and it is said that it was discovered by men who, on making camp for the night, placed one end of a canvas covering over one of the sensitive bushes, using it for a support. Immediately the tree began to jerk its branches sharply. The motion continued, with in- creasing “nervousness,” until at last came a sickening odor that drove the tired campers to a more friendly location. Curiosity prompted an investigation. One of the “anger trees’ was dug up and thrown to one side. It is said that THE ANGER TREE 203 immediately upon being removed from the ground the tree opened its leaves, its twigs lost their pigtails, and for some- thing over a couple of hours the outraged branches showed their indignation by a series of quakings, which grew weaker and weaker, and ceased only when the foliage had withered. It is evident that anger is not a very wholesome thing either for children or for a tree. The agitation of the little tree is not a moral fault but when a big person or a little one gets so angry that he “shakes himself to pieces” it is a great evil. One of the things the Bible tells us to do is to “put away anger.” “But now ye also put off all those; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.” I think that both children and older people can learn a good lesson from the little ‘anger tree.” 204 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 78 RHODA: THE GIRL WHO WAS CALLED MAD Rev. A. McAvustang, D.D. Text: “And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda,” etc. Acts 12:,13-15. I. This girl had a beautiful name, “Rhoda.” Many Jew- ish and other parents gave to their children the names of certain plants, trees, and flowers. Hadassa, a myrtle; Su- sanna, a lily; Tamar,-a palm-tree. The name of this girl means a rose. That is beautiful, because it leads us to think of the garden in summer time, and one of the prettiest flowers there. Have you such a name? Be content. It was given to you by others. They, not you, are responsible. Besides, to grumble about it is to do no good. The time may come when it will be your duty to give names to children. Select those only that are associated with lovely things. Let all the words which you employ in writing and speaking be of the same description. II. This girl was a domestic servant. The dwelling in which she lived was called the house of Mary. She is brought before us as the person who should open the door when any one knocked. This fact leads us to believe that she is a servant in this house. In this respect she has four advan- tages which are superior to those who have other situations. (1) She is more free from care. (2) She is more free from danger. (3) She is more free from temptations. (4) She is more secure in her situation. Masters and mistresses value a good servant, and will keep her as long as she does her duty. To serve in a good family is exceedingly honorable. To show this the Bible has recorded some of the names and doings of servants. III. This girl was a Christian, She may not have said a i as RHODA: THE GIRL WHO WAS CALLED MAD 205 that she was; no one may have said it either; yet we think she was a Christian from her actions. (1) She was serving in a Christian home. (2) There was a prayer meeting in that home, and she loved to be there. (3) She was quite familiar with the voice of one of the Apostles. This proves that she had often listened to him. All these, more than any words she could utter, show that she was a Christian. Your parents, teachers, and above all Jesus, wish you to be Chris- tians. These are his own words: “Suffer the little children to come unto me.” It is much easier to come unto him now than it will be at any future period. IV. This girl was very cautious. It was night. All around lonely and still. Some one knocking at the door. Did she go and open it at once? Instead of that she went to the door and said: ‘“‘Who is there?’ This teaches us that she was cautious. Be like her. Never open the door at night until you know who is outside. Be cautious in all other things —in writing to others, speaking about others, and acting in the presence of others. V. This girl was accused of madness. The Apostle Peter had been in prison because he was good, and Herod the King was bad. Mark the way he was delivered by the angel. He was knocking at the door. When this girl heard his voice, she was so glad that she could not open the door. Just like a good young person. The same thing has often happened. She ran to tell those in the house who had been praying for the Apostle that he was at the door. Instead of believing her they said she was mad. This did not make her angry, for she knew that she was right. By and by the door was opened, and the Apostle entered. If you know you are right, and others say you are wrong, be not angry, but calm. The truth sooner or later will appear to others as it does to you. 206 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 79 AN ENEMY OF THE “NO GOOD” BUSINESS - (Temperance Sermon) Rev. Epwin Hamuin Carr “Fire! Fire!’ screamed nine-year-old Jimmie Roberts, as he dashed in at the front door of his home—nearly knocking the door from its hinges, astounding his Grandmother, with whom he lived, and arousing the neighbors. “Where is the fire, Jimmie?’ said Grandma, as Jimmie danced up and down like a wild Indian. “Oh, it is Mr. Ball’s furniture store!’ shouted Jimmie, tugging at his Grandmother and begging her to hurry. “And all the nice things are burning up! Hurry, Grandma! Isn’t it too bad. All those nice tables, and chairs, and couches, and fine furniture burning up.” ! “Yes, it is too bad, Jimmie,”’ said Grandma, as she hurried along, ‘“‘too bad to have such fine things destroyed.” And Jimmie heard all the neighbors who gathered about the fire say, “It is too bad. It is too bad. Such a great loss.” One week after the burning of the furniture store, Jimmie again rushed into the house shouting, “Fire! Fire! Grand- ma!” ‘This time it was the saloon that was on fire. ‘Hurry! Hurry! Grandma hurry, I want to go down and see it.” To Jimmie’s great surprise Grandma said, “You shall not go near it, I am glad it is burning.” Jimmie fretted, and cried, and pleaded, but it was of no use, for Grandma was determined. However, she was a nice old Grandma, and every one loved her; and she knew how to care for boys. So she took Jimmie gently by the hand, and said as she drew him lovingly to her, “Now, Jimmie, my lad, I'll tell you something, listen. You and I were sorry a week ago when the furniture store burned, but, Jimmie, I’m not sorry that this saloon is burning, and I’ll tell you why.” — ee AN ENEMY OF THE “NO GOOD” BUSINESS 207 Then she patted him lovingly and continued, ‘““When the fur- niture store burned something good was burned, and it was a great loss, but this is a ‘no-good’ business, and it does lots of harm, Jimmie.” Then Grandma wiped the corner of her eyes with the corner of her apron at the memory of the damage this saloon had done to Jimmie’s father, for he had died a drunkard. “Now, Jimmie,” continued Grandma, “just think what a terrible loss it would be if all the grocery stores, and all the shoe stores, and all the furniture stores, and all the good stores, not only in our town but in our county, and all in our state, and all in our whole Nation, should be destroyed. What an awful loss it would be. Everybody would be so sorry. But, Jimmie, if all the saloons, and all the distilleries, not only in our county, and state, and Nation, were destroyed, almost everybody would be glad. Jimmie, the saloon busi- ness is a ‘no-good’ business. I wonder why it is that the Nation permits a business which if it were destroyed almost everybody would be happy.” That evening Grandma sent Jimmie down to the grocery for some tea, and when he saw the ashes of the saloon, a great feeling came into his heart and he said to himself, “Grandma is right, and I am going to be a mighty enemy of the ‘no-good’ business.” Every boy and girl should resolve right now to be a mighty enemy of the “no-good”’ business. 208 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 80 CHRIST AND THE CHILD TEXT: “Jesus called a little child unto Him.” Matthew 18:2. I. The wonder of it! There was no place for children in the philosophy of Plato and other sages. Infinitely greater and wiser than all of them, Jesus espouses the cause of the little ones. I]. The beauty of it! What a subject for a canvas! Picture the dear Son of God calling the child with softest voice and sweetest smile. Even mother had not called more tenderly. Note the response. No hesitation, no fear. “Would you go to Jesus if he were here, and I told you to?” said a fond mother to her child. “Yes, mother, I’d go without telling,” was the beautiful reply. Ill. The lessons of it. Jesus still calls the children. He invites them to a knowledge of his saving grace. He has been pleased to save many in early youth. Samuel, Timothy, Zinzendorf. Rowland Hill was 18, Geo. Muller 20, Getie Spurgeon quite a boy when they were converted. IV. Let this embolden seekers. Jesus does not despise your youth, your ignorance, your weakness. I noticed once that some bold birds had built their nest in the royal crown surmounting the great iron gates at Sandringham. Do you think the King would have them turned away? I don't. And I am even more sure that the gentle Jesus will not cast you out if you come to him with your trust and love. V. Let this decide hesitaters. Some one says, “Repent- ance can hardly be too soon.” Conversion after forty is comparatively rare. “Tell them it is never too soon to love Jesus,” said a good woman to a preacher, as he went off to a children’s service. Rey. Chas. Brown says, in his “Talks to Children” on the o> he B ” ‘> by 4 oh! fe 2 CHRIST AND THE CHILD 209 second part of “Pilgrim’s Progress”: “It is a pity everybody does not start early.” Should not Jesus have the best? The fruit with the bloom on it, the flowers with the dew on them, the coins bright from the mint—such are glad, young lives. Tons of flowers are landed in Cornwall from the Scilly Isles in earliest spring—the fairest flowers of all! “The first, the first, oh, nought like it, Our after years can bring; For summer hath no flowers so sweet As those of early spring.” 210 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 81 HOW TO BECOME GREAT nes TEXT: 2 Kings 3:11. Three kings went out to battle against another. The dis- pute lay between the first and the fourth; the second and third were “drawn into it.” That sort of thing often hap- pens in schools and families too, but it is always unwise to get mixed up in other people’s quarrels. These kings went out with a great army of men and horses, as well as other animals necessary for food and burden; but instead of taking a direct journey, they occupied a week in going a long way round, until at last they found themselves in a place where there was no water, and all the supply they had brought with them was gone; so they were in a dread- ful fix. Then one of the kings thought of God, for he was a good man, though he had done a wrong thing in joining this ex- pedition at all. Even boys and girls think of God when they are in any danger. But is it not a pity they do not more frequently ask God first to guide them. Then it would not so often be necessary to ask him afterwards to deliver. This applies especially to our young days when everything, like the springtime, looks bright and gay. Do you ever feel as if you did not want God then? But you will want him when the days grow dark and dull with trouble or with pain; and if you will want him then, you must “acquaint yourselves with him” in your strong and happy days. That is why Solomon says, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not; nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt say I have no pleasure in them.” Therefore let the Lord who “giveth us richly all things to ee ee ee ee eee HOW TO BECOME GREAT 211 enjoy’ be your Friend and Guide even from your earliest days. But what about these three kings? If you will read the whole chapter you will find more about the incident I have referred to. Jehoshaphat, who was a good king (though he often made mistakes), asked in his difficulty: “Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may inquire of him?” And he received this reply, “Here is Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.’ Not, “Elisha who had seen his Master ascend up to heaven,” or who had done many wonderful works; but Elisha who had performed a very simple act at his master’s bidding. It was that humble service which made him great, and reminds us of how Jesus washed his disciples’ feet to teach them thus to serve one another. So the man who had not been too proud to pour out water for his master to wash with was used by God to supply water for kings and their great armies. Dear young people, there is no knowing what great service God may some day call you to do if he finds you have been faithful in little things; but until he has proved you with these, he cannot trust you with greater. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faith- ful also in much.” “‘His lord said unto him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.’ ” By all means have your ambitions to do great things by and by; but to fit you for these, you must be faithful first in your daily duties, your lessons, in obedience at home and at school, in conquering your temper, envy, jealousy, and any other evil habits with which Satan tempts you. Then, if you are spared, you will, like Elisha, win the respect of those around you, be of great use in the world, and, above all, be well pleasing in the sight of God. 212 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 82 CHRIST, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD Rev. Cuarutes M. Suexipon, D.D. Text: “I am the light of the world.” John 8: 12. The minister may possibly interest the electrician in the town, or the electric company, as I have had the good fortune to do, who would furnish, perhaps for nothing, the text of the morning in electric lights, “I am the Light of the world,” which can be turned on at the proper time. Then the use of some professor of natural science or some one accustomed to the use of the lantern, is in order at this point and can be used in many parishes. The lantern will throw the spectrum on the wall to illustrate the beauty and variety of light in Christ, and by reason of recent discoveries the dark end can be illu- minated to illustrate the power and beauty of the unseen and invisible spirit life. There are many substances which will illustrate also the value of phosphorescent or reflected light, notedly the opal and pieces of labradorite. The value of the soul being lighted can be illustrated by the use of the candles of different colors to show how Christ in the life is the same, whether it be of one race or another. Also the way in which light is handed on from one life to another may be illustrated by lighting one little candle and then lighting other rows of candles. Emphasis is laid upon the fact that light is the cleanest of all known things. An illustration which the chil- dren will understand perfectly can be made by starting a few weeks beforehand by planting some seeds in the same kind of dish, letting one dish grow in the sunlight and covering the other up after a certain stage, showing what the children are familiar with, the sickly, pale growth of anything which has had to grow in the dark. A board placed over a piece of sod in two or three days will turn it yellow. A WONDERFUL GIFT OF GOD 213 83 A WONDERFUL GIFT OF GOD (Armistice Day) Rev. James A. BrimeLow On Armistice Day there took place one of the most won- derful things of which I have read for a long time. Our Nation brought from the fields of France the body of an Unknown Soldier, who was buried with all the honor and glory we possessed as a people and great men from nearly every country in the world gathered around his tomb with their garlands of love and devotion not only for his great sacrifice, but also for the sacrifices of all those who had died for the victory of right in the world. It was estimated that there were about one hundred thou- sand people gathered together in the National Cemetery in Arlington, where the Unknown Soldier was buried, and one of that great number was our late President, Mr. Harding, who made a speech which I hope some day you will read. But one of the remarkable things about that speech was this: it was heard as distinctly in the distant cities of New York and San Francisco as it was in the place where it was delivered. For days there had been certain workmen busy with an invention which was known as the telephone amplifier, which when completed was able to carry every sound that was made in that vast audience to those distant cities in our land. Thus, in so doing, uniting the three distinct groups of people in one great hour and in one great service. A most wonderful thing in every way. But I want to tell you of a still more wonderful thing which God has put within each of our lives, which can hear the faintest whisper of his Voice. For conscience is God’s great telephone amplifier in our own souls, which brings his voice down from heaven to our own distant world of earthly life. 214 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS I like to read that story of the boy Samuel. One night he was awakened out of his sleep by the voice of God speak- ing. Samuel thought that it was his master, Eli, who was calling him. So he ran to his master’s room and said: “Here I am for thou didst call me.” But his master said: “TI called not, my son, go and lie down again.” He did, and three times the voice called, and then his master knew that it was God calling him and told him to say, if it called again: “Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.” And the voice came, and Samuel just listened and God opened out to him the wondrous words of his life. And God is seeking to speak unto us in the same way. Our little consciences carry his message unto us, and I think that one of the most wonderful days in our lives will be, when we come to know that if only we will listen God will make known unto us the wonderful words of his life, and the wondrous things of his wonderful world. THANKSGIVING 215 84. THANKSGIVING Rev. WaLteR DEANE A mother found under her plate one morning at breakfast a bill made out by her small son, Bradley, aged eight. Mother owes Bradley: for running errands, 25 cents; for being good, Io cents; for taking music lessons, 15 cents; for extras, 5 cents. Total, 55 cents. Mother smiled but made no comment. At lunch Bradley found the bill under his plate with 55 cents and another piece of paper neatly folded like the first. Opening it he read: Bradley owes Mother: for nursing him through scarlet fever, nothing; for being good to him, nothing; for clothes, shoes and playthings, nothing; for his playroom, nothing; for his meals, nothing. Total, nothing. This is the way I fear that we as children often treat our Heavenly Father. Like little Bradley, in taking everything we get for granted without considering what we owe to God for all the good things he has given tous. As this is Thanks- eiving Sunday, shall we not call to mind some of the blessings we enjoy? Shall we not stop to think of the wonderful body we call our own? Our limbs, our hands, our fingers, our very nails, what a loss we would suffer without any of them. We run around and throw our arms about and handle balls and bats and with our fingers write, draw, sew and feed our- selves. How wonderfully all these are fastened together with- out nails or thread, like dolly’s limbs. Then think of the sense of hearing. How sad it is when a child or even an old person is so deaf that he cannot hear. No song of bird, no music, no sound of human voice ever is heard. Then our sense of sight, how marvellous it is! No camera for taking pictures is more wonderfully made. We are taking moving pictures with our eyes every moment of the day. The films 216 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS are back of our eyes all ready, and we do not have to go to the photographer’s to get them developed. Our sense of smell, too, is very necessary and helpful to us. Without it we are told we would scarcely be able to taste our food. Funny, isn’t it? If we could not smell the appetizing odors of our food we could not enjoy as we do what we eat nor tell by taste a turnip from an apple. Then our sense of smell warns us of dangerous gases and unsanitary conditions that would be dangerous to our health and life. And certainly our sense of taste is a great blessing to us. We all love to be able to taste the delicious vegetables and fruits God has bountifully provided. And our sense of touch is also of great value to us in our daily life. And what of our health and vigor and freedom from pain? As we eat and play, and study and sleep, we may scarcely realize what wonderful processes are going on in our muscles and nerve centres and blood vessels. And these are all working with little or no thought or atten- tion on our part, except that we sit down three or four times a day to good meals. And one more thought—our very life, our parents, our homes—what blessings! Shall we not then thank God this day for this whole wide world of beauty and light, fruit and flowers, of homes and loved ones? NINE MEN WHO FORGOT 217 85 NINE MEN WHO FORGOT (Thanksgiving ) Rev. Cuauvpe ALLEN McKay There were ten men. One man remembered; nine men forgot. I will tell you how it happened. The Master was coming one day with his disciples near to a village when they noticed ten men coming toward them and calling out that word of warning which everybody in the Eastern countries dreads to hear, “Unclean! Unclean!” You know what that meant. It meant those ten men were all lepers. And to be lepers meant they could not live in their homes with their families and visit with their friends, but they lived out by the roadside where they begged their bread. When Jesus saw these ten lepers his heart ached for them. Back of each man he saw a broken-hearted wife or mother and sorrowing friends. That man on the right had been a big, strong workman, a carpenter perhaps, but now the ends of his fingers are dropping off with this awful disease. Off yonder in the village in a little cottage is a sad, brave, little mother fighting hard to keep the wolf from the door. Oh, what it would mean to that home to have father back well and strong! The next leper is scarcely more than a boy. Perhaps he is sixteen. What dreams his father and mother had for him! But one day a tiny blue sore appeared on their boy’s arm and the priest said it was leprosy. The boy had to go away. There were no hospitals, as we have to-day, so he joined this miserable company. His father and mother have no one to support them in old age, so they are tottering to their graves in sorrow. The next man is old, with long grey hair and beard. He 218 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS is somebody’s grandfather. How he would like to put on clean clothes and his soft slippers and sit by the fire through the long evenings while the children climbed over his knee and played. But he is a leper and dares not come near his loved ones. And so we might go on peering into the background of each one of the entire group. That must have been something like the picture Jesus saw. It was enough to move him to pity. He told them to go and report to the priest at the Jewish tabernacle. All those who had been shut out of their homes by disease had to go to the priest for what we would call “a health certificate” before they could go back to their homes to live. The ten men started, as Jésus told them, but joy of all joy! as they went they were healed. It was what the Master had intended. He knew it was the burning desire of every one of their aching hearts. One man, as soon as he saw he was healed of his leprosy, turned back to say “Thank you” to the Man who had healed him, and he was what we sometimes call a “foreigner.”” Then Jesus said something which I think came from a deep sense of disappointment. There were tears in his voice, I think. He said, “Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine ?” Let us not throw stones at those nine men who forgot to be thankful enough to say so, until you and I look into our own hearts to see if we ever forgot that same thing. “Oh, if we had been cleansed of such a terrible disease, we would be very thankful, for it would mean our life happiness.” That is what we think, but I wonder? How much would you take for your two eyes? Did you ever think of them on Thanksgiving Day? If you were a cripple and could never run and play—but you are not. Are you thankful? Look at those rosy apples on the table. Where did they come from? Yes, from the farmer’s or- chard; but who made each one of those apples grow on a tiny twig, and flavored and colored it so perfectly? Do you say “Thank you” on Thanksgiving Day? NINE MEN WHO FORGOT 219 There are too many folks in the world who are like those nine men who forgot. They make the heart of God sad. There aren’t enough people like the man who was so thank- ful that he took the trouble to say so. Which crowd shall we be in? 220 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 86 SIX JEWELS IN A CROWN (Thanksgiving) Rev. Grauam C. Hunter Text: “He crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.” Psalm 103: 4. A king’s son is called a prince and princes often own crowns which they wear on gredt occasions. In London, over the sea, in a big stone tower, there is a beautiful crown which belongs to the Prince of Wales. It is made of gold and has many beautiful stones in it. He never wears it, but leaves it in a glass case for people to look at. You may never have thought of it, but you are a King’s son and you have the right to wear a crown. You belong to your own father and mother, of course, but you also belong to the Heavenly Father and he is a king. An old song begins: “My father is rich in houses and lands; He holdeth the wealth of the world in his hands; Of rubies and diamonds, of silver and gold, His coffers are full; he has riches untold. I’m the child of a King, the child of a King. Through Jesus, my Saviour, I’m the child of a King.” Since you are the child of a king you have the right to wear a crown. : Let us play a game for Thanksgiving Day and pretend that you have a crown to wear. A crown is made of gold with jewels in it. Love is better than gold and we can pre- tend that the love of the Heavenly Father for you is the gold of your crown. Even when you are asleep the Heavenly Father is loving you all the time. When you get up in the morning and play or go to school, he is loving you, although SIX JEWELS IN A CROWN 221 you cannot see him. The Bible gives us a Thanksgiving Day verse to remember, “He crowneth thee with lovingkind- ness and tender mercies.” That means that when the Heavenly Father loves you, it is like putting a crown on your head. A crown has precious stones in it and so has yours. ' One precious stone in your crown is an emerald. With its rich, dark green it is one of the most costly stones, and this year hundreds of emeralds are being sold at high prices. Emeralds are the color of the grass when the life came back to it last spring. The Heavenly Father has given you something more precious than an emerald, and that is your life. He has given you your body and your mind. He has sent you to earth, you may be sure, for a purpose, to obey him and do his will. Let us thank him for our bodies, that we are alive. The second stone is a pearl. The pearl is creamy, white and lovely. It stands for innocence. The Lord God when he made you, made you pure and innocent. When the Lord Jesus was here among men he took a little child in his arms, so pure and innocent, and said that he wanted every one on earth to be like that. That is the pearl of your crown. There are things that pry pearls out of crowns—bad temper, lies, bad words, cross thoughts. Keep your pearl clean and bright and shining. The third stone is a blue stone, a sapphire. The sapphire comes from the mines of Ceylon and it’s dark blue like the sky at night, sometimes flashes as if a star were shut up inside it. Blue makes one think of loyalty. We call a loyal person “true blue.’ You can think of the loyalty of the people of America as a beautiful blue sapphire in your crown. It is a wonderful thing to live in a loyal land where people obey ‘the laws. I heard a man in Turkey tell how the government cheated the people and how everybody hated it. The Lord put you in this rich country for a purpose, to keep it free from ignorance and badness and to help all the world to be happy. , The fourth stone, the topaz, is yellow like the sunshine and stands for one’s friends. We can all be thankful for our 222 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS friends. To have them is better than any topaz that ever was found in a mine. A ruby is the fifth. It flashes like a drop of blood with a sunbeam inside it and it suggests sacrifice. Some people like rubies best of all. When King Solomon wanted to say that wisdom was one of the best things in the world, he said, “It is more precious than rubies.” Since it is the color of blood, it makes us think of the sacrifices which the soldiers made in the war. They gave their lives—their bodies, that is—that the world might be free. Other people gave their time, others, at home, gave away great parts of their money to help the suffering people of other parts of the world. Sometimes people nowadays forget that much of the rest of the world is starving, cold and poor. If any one has forgotten, he had better be careful, or he will lose the ruby from his crown. The most precious gift of all is a clear conscience, and to have that is to possess a diamond. A good man who lived years ago was called John Newton. He said that he felt like a prince because God had given him a clear conscience. These were his words, “The Lord supplies all my wants, and I live under his protection. My enemies see his royal arms over the door, and do not enter.’ He meant that temptation no longer troubled him because he obeyed God. If we obey God we will keep our consciences clear. When a soldier has his uniform on he is likely to walk more erectly. Since you are a prince and own a crown, you must act like the son or the daughter of the Great King. (Objects to be shown are an emerald, a pearl, a sapphire, a topaz, a ruby and a diamond, which a jeweler may be will- ing to lend. Or, have a crown drawn on a blackboard and jewels put in with colored chalk as the talk progresses. ) HARVEST THOUGHTS 223 87 HARVEST THOUGHTS Rev. JAMES LEARMOUNT I wonder how many of you have read Tennyson’s beauti- ful poem, “Dora.” It tells a story about how old Farmer Allan had made up his mind that his son William should marry Dora; how he refused, and was turned out of the house, and afterwards married Mary Morrison. Then the old man forbade Dora to speak to William. Then a sweet little boy was born, but William, the boy’s father, died. Dora, who was a true, loving woman, at once ran off to Mary Morrison’s to give her all the comfort she could and to see the fatherless baby boy. Then Dora said: “You know there has not been for these five years So full a harvest; let me take the boy, And I will set him in my uncle’s eye Among the wheat; that when his heart is glad Of the full harvest, he may see the boy, And bless him for the sake of him that’s gone.” The first time the father saw not the boy, and Dora’s heart failed her, and “The reapers reaped, And the sun fell and all the land was dark.” Dora, however, took the child once more and sat him on the mound, and made him more conspicuous by twining a wreath of flowers round the boy’s hat. Then the farmer saw him and Dora, his heart melted, and he took the boy to his home, and sent Dora away from him. Mary says: “And, now I think, he shall not have the boy, For he will teach him hardness, and to slight His mother.” 224 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS The two women kiss each other, and journeying to the farm find “The boy set up betwixt his grandsire’s knees, Who thrust him in the hollow of his arm.” The mother then pleads for her boy’s return, and Farmer Allan, being in his harvest mood, repents of all his rashness, and forgives all. And Tennyson finds the secret of the happy ending in the pleasant, thankful frame of mind produced in the farmer by the fat harvest. Now another harvest is being gathered in, and the thought of this story of Tennyson has come to me. Arnd surely it is right that God’s mercies should make us thankful and tender and forgiving. The more I think about the world and its ever new mercies, the more love I feel towards God who gives them all: “Long ago the lilies faded, Which to Jesus seemed so fair, But the love that bade them blossom Still is working everywhere.” Through the busy thoroughfares of a large city a gentle- man threaded his homeward way. It was quite dusk, and he, buried in thought, never noticed that a little figure hurried after and caught him up, until he felt a soft hand steal into his, and, looking down, saw the bright face of a child he knew. “Good evening, sir,’ five-year-old Jeanie. “Why, child!” he exclaimed, surprised to see her in the streets so late in the evening, and alone, “how came you here by yourself? Is not your father with you?” “No,” she answered. “But are you not afraid, my dear?” “Afraid! No. Don’t you know that God is everywhere ?” ‘was her quick reply. How that child’s answer comes to us at this time. Surely, , said a sweet little voice, belonging to HARVEST THOUGHTS 225 God is everywhere. We have felt that amid all the summer _ sunshine and beauty; we have seen him in the beauty of the fields that have waved with golden corn, and the trees that have been laden with fruit. God has been working all around. Perhaps you do not feel so sure about that as I do. Per- haps you have got no further than the thought of the farmer who prepared the earth and sowed the seed. If so, look at it this way: It is very easy for a chemist to tell what a seed is made of. Indeed, he could make a seed, and put into it exactly what there is in the seed of nature, but would it grow if it were put into the ground? Never! There is something in nature’s seed that man cannot put in. There is life; and no one but God can produce life. If you think back far enough about anything, you always come out to the Creator of all—God. I have read that when the missionaries first introduced wheat into New Zealand, telling the Maories that bread was made from it, the natives were glad in their hearts. They waited, full of expectancy, until the corn was grown up tall and ripe; then they dug up the stalks, expecting to find crusted loaves growing at the roots like so many potatoes. Their disappointment was great when they found nothing there but little hair-like fibers, and they turned angrily upon the mis- sionaries and charged them with deception. A great many others, who are not heathen, are just as dis- satished with God’s bounty. But God knows best, and the work by which we get our bread, all sensible people know to be one of God’s greatest blessings to the race. Let us do our duty and look for blessings still. “Every good and per- fect gift cometh from above.” 226 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 88 HAVING THE HEART RIGHT WITH GOD Rev. CuHarutes M. SuHextpon, D.D. Text: “My son, give me thine heart.” Proverbs 23: 26. Emphasis laid oma few words: First, give God the heart now. Illustrate, by means of several things which cannot be done at all unless they are done now. For example, two hearts cut out of white paper, one of them marked with the word Sin in ink the week before, and the other marked dur- ing the sermon with the same lettering in ink. Then imme- diately remove the last lettering with an ink eradicator, which can be bought in any stationery store, which will act almost instantly. Then try to do the same with the heart which has been marked the week before, and emphasize the difficulty of removing an old stain. The heart should be given to God not only now but the whole of it should be given. Nothing kept back. This can be illustrated by tearing a dollar bill in two and even in its torn condition it is good if pasted together and handed in to the bank, where they will give a new one for it, but it is not worth anything if you take half of it to the bank. So God wants the whole heart or none. The heart should be the best heart we can possibly give to God, which can be illustrated by a variety of ways. For instance, we have in Kansas a woman who has discovered a process for imitating fruit, exactly reproducing in a physical form the color, shape, and characteristics of any kind of an apple or peach, and she has made such an exhibit, comparing the per- fect Alberta peach, for example, with the same kind of fruit which has begun to show disease, rot, scab. Often we try to — give God the cheapest or the worst. Reference can also be made to the old Hebrew law which demanded of the Jew the best of the flock for sacrifice to Jehovah. Also the heart should be kept full all the time of the grace of God. This HAVING THE HEART RIGHT WITH GOD 227 can be illustrated by putting a cup of water, which has been colored, into a plate. Light a candle and put it in the middle of this water on the plate. After the candle is burning well, cover with a long-necked glass, a very large test tube is the best. The air will be exhausted by the flame and the equi- librium destroyed so that the pressure of the colored water outside, which represents the pressure of the world, will enter into the vacuum caused by the burning of the candle and the water will rise in the tube, showing that when the heart is empty of the grace of God the world will enter in. Lastly, some young man who is an artist in the Endeavor Society can be drafted to draw on two hearts which are alike, first the face of a child representing innocence, and the days of youth, and on the other a broken-down, wretched old man, and the appeal made as to which of these two should be given to God. 228 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 89 THE BOY WHO WASN’T A COWARD Rev. ALFRED BarratTr Text: “My Son, when sinners entice thee consent thou not.” Prov- erbs 1:10. A’ foolish young man once vainly expressed himself in these words, “What a wonderful thing life would be if there were no temptations! As it is,’ he said, “each day brings with it so many temptations to evil that I am in hot water every hour. Oh, for one day of freedom.” A longing to be free from temptation is cowardly. All boys and girls are tempted. Temptation comes to test our strength, our faith, our love and our loyalty to Jesus Christ. But when we are tempted God knows all about our tempta- tions, and he also knows just how hard it is for a boy or girl to face these temptations because “Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin.” But as Jesus did not yield to temptation and thus won the victory over sin and Satan, “He is able to succor all that are tempted.” So here is a word of comfort and cheer; that no boy or girl is ex- pected to fight temptation single handed, for he who has never been defeated is ever ready and willing to help us to win the victory. Satan knows this and it always makes his knees weak when he meets a boy or girl who says with confidence and courage, “I am not alone, for Jesus is with me.” Perhaps you have read in the Old Testament how Satan tried to tempt Job, and when he discovered that Job had the presence of God with him he said to God, “Hast thou not made a hedge about him on every side?’ Satan declared the truth, and with a disheartened spirit he turned away from dear old Job. ! Listen to this thrilling story about a boy who was tempted and because he would not yield to temptation his companions THE BOY WHO WASN’T A COWARD 229 called him a coward. It was a very warm afternoon in the month of August. Not a breeze was stirring, and the birds were too lazy to sing. It was dark, dull, and gloomy, and it looked as if it would turn to rain at any moment. Every- body seemed as though they just wanted to imitate the birds and keep quiet. But Fred Hatborn and his two companions, Dick and Will Haines, thought it was just a dandy time to go fishing. So all three boys went fishing. It was remark- able that they were able to catch so many trout and perch because it was not long before each boy had a good long string of fish, and Dick declared it was time to quit. “Let’s go swimming,” he suggested, “that will cool us off after our long walk.” “All right,’ responded Will, but Fred to their astonishment, said he “couldn’t do it.” “Can’t do it?” “Why not? A're you sick?” “What's the matter, old fellow? You never refused before?’ “I know it,” he replied, “but mother has been telling me of some boys who were drowned lately, and she made me promise not to go in swimming any more without her permission.” “Stuff and nonsense,” said Dick, “just as though it were any more dangerous now than it ever was! Women do have such silly notions these days, don’t they, Will?” questioned Dick. “Indeed they have!’ he re- plied. “T’d like to see myself tied to my mother’s apron strings! She knows better than to make me promise things that I can’t do. Why, a boy can’t help swimming in hot weather. It’s just as natural for him as it is for the fish themselves. Come on, Fred, I'll help you off with your coat.” Will meant just what he said, and because he was larger and stronger than Fred he had the boy’s jacket off in a “jiffy.” “Now, no more of that!” exclaimed Fred, drawing himself up with courage and dignity. “You and Dick may swim as long as you please and I will wait for you, but I mean to keep my promise to my mother.” When Will and Dick saw the set determination on Fred’s face they knew they could not make him change his mind, so they called him a coward’ and told him with sarcasm they were mighty glad that they were made of better stuff. What foolish boys they were to imagine that they were 230 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS manly when they were tempting another boy to do wrong? They must have forgotten that a boy shows himself to be noble and manly when he is brave enough to stand for the right, and to obey his mother. Fred was contented to lie on the bank and was amused to see the grasshoppers jumping around about him. In a little while he heard a scream, a cry for help. Something had happened. Dick had taken suddenly ill, and had flung his arms around Will’s neck to save himself. Will was a selfish boy and tried to loosen himself from his brother’s grasp. He was afraid, he afterwards said, that if he had tried to help Dick he might be drowned too. Fred knew that something was wrong, and, springing to his feet, made one leap into the water, and in an instant was boldly making his way to his sinking companion. He was just in time. Dick was saved. Now, then, which of the two boys proved to be the coward, Will or Fred? No boy is a coward when he obeys his mother. Other boys may laugh at you, and ridicule you when you take your stand for right, but a really manly boy can stand ridicule just as a soldier stands fire. Let every boy who hears this story learn the lesson that no boy can ever become a manly man if he disobeys his mother. Take the advice of the wise man: “My son, when sinners entice thee, consent thou not.” If you heed this counsel you will surely make a big success in life. Remember it is always the best policy to obey your mother every time and all the time. Will you do this? CAPTURING THREE ROBBERS 231 90 CAPTURING THREE ROBBERS Rev. Cuavpe ALttEN McKay Tommy Jones was not afraid of anything, he said, and so it is no wonder he found these three robbers and captured them. The first one he found hiding inside the door of his own heart. The robber had a very foreign name, although he acted as if he felt perfectly at home there in Tommy Jones’s heart. His name you will want to know. It was Sel Fish Ness, and Tommy found that this little thief had been robbing him of bushels of happiness and scores of friends by making Tommy think all the time of what other people could do for him instead of thinking what he could do to help make other people happy. When Tommy found out what this little thief had been doing, he captured him and tried to put him out of his heart. But that was a hard thing to do. When he thought he had this little thief put out to stay, he found he had crept back in. If you think that isn’t a hard battle, you just try it and see. The second robber that Tommy Jones captured, he found hiding in another corner of his heart. He also had a very foreign name, although this thief claims citizenship under every flag in the world. His name is Dis O’Bey. Tommy found that this little thief had been robbing him of great quantities of peace. And when this intruder got into Tommy’s conscience he felt just like a cinder did when it got into his eye. So out the door he went. He was not so hard to put out, but oh! he was hard to keep out because he changed his coat and appeared as a friend. He would whisper to Tommy, “Why don’t you do as you please and pay no attention to what your mother says?” Tommy opened the door a wee bit and back he came. Then Tommy’s conscience felt like his stomach did when he ate 232 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS the green apples his mother told him not to eat, so Tommy took that thief, Dis O’Bey, and threw him out and told him to stay out. The third robber was a sly little Miss with a very American name, although I am told she lives in the Old World too. She was just plain Miss Treat. But Tommy found that when she got control of his temper he brought tears to his mother’s eyes, and made his playmates very unhappy, and made Spot, his dog, wish he had a new master. And sometimes Miss Treat persuaded Tommy to eat too much candy or too much cake and then his stomach wished he would be more careful what he sent down for boy-building material. And so that wicked little Miss robbed Tommy of joy, of friends, of love and of sleep. But Tommy captured her and put her out and locked the door, but when he looked in her place, what do you think he saw? A’ fine jolly fellow had come to take the place of the three robbers. When Tommy asked him his name, he said, “I am Master Happ I Ness,’ and then he added with great glee, “And, Tommy, I have come to stay.” THE MOST WONDERFUL MECHANISM 233 91 THE MOST WONDERFUL MECHANISM (Object Sermon) Rev. H. E. WaLHEy Objects: A clock face (something that has hands but no works), an alarm clock, an Ingersoll watch, a medium-sized gold watch, a small gold watch, a large screw and a thimble. Put these on a small table so that the audience can see them. Begin by referring to the clock face. This is not a real clock. It only looks like one. (Turn it around so that every one can see the back.) I read of a German who had a clock that wouldn’t run. The hands got twisted. The poor foolish man took the hands to a clock mender to have them fixed. ‘Go home and get the clock,” said the man, “the trouble is in the works, not in the hands.” Please remember the words of the clockmaker. Have you ever thought much about the inside of a watch? (Pick up the alarm clock.) There is nothing very wonderful or intricate about this homely time-piece. It didn’t take ex- ceptional skill to make it and it didn’t cost very much. But even so, I doubt if any one of you can make one like it. It was not made in a boiler works, or in a great factory where only ponderous machines are made, but in a factory by skilled mechanics with special tools and appliances. This Ingersoll (hold it up) cost one-fifty when it was bought, and truth to say it kept good time for a long time. Just now it is much worn and virtually no good. For, re- member, when a watch does not keep step with the sun it is good for nothing. When it pushes ahead of the sun or lags behind, it must either be corrected or thrown away. Ii one of these things is not done it will get you into trouble as sure as you are born. 234 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS Tam amazed when I look into the finer type of watch (here show gold watch), and am quite speechless when I think of this tiny one (show lady’s small watch). An experienced watch man tells us there are 211 parts in the ordinary watch. There are tiny jewels, that must be magnified to be seen, and screws not like this (show large wood screw), but so small that if you were to put a number of them on a piece of white paper they would look like grains of pepper. You can put 20,000 of them in a thimble (show thimble). Tiny as they are, each screw has a perfect spiral around it and a slot on the top. The mainspring is well named, for it is the heart of the watch. It is made of the finest possible steel and with the utmost care. When uncoiled it is about 23 inches long. When it breaks, as it sometimes does, the watch stops. The driv- ing power is gone and the wheels do not move. The hair- spring is the head of the watch. It keeps the wheels in tune. It is so thin and delicate that when a pound of steel is made into hair-spring wire it is eight miles long. As steel it costs $6; when hair-spring wire it costs $65,000. Is it surprising that some one has referred to the watch as “That wonder-box in your pocket’’? Of course you must not let it fall upon the pavement, nor expose the wheels to the dust-laden air, nor breathe into it, nor get into a magnetic field while wearing it, nor take it in bathing with you, and other things too numerous to men- tion, if you want it to keep time for you. Now as you have seen, the watch is indeed a wonder-box, but I know of another which is really matchless in form and organization. Hear what the Psalmist said (139:14): “For I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Just so. The hu- man body is wonderfully put together. The eye, for instance. There is nothing to equal or excel it in delicacy of parts or beauty of operation. Talk of wonder-boxes, here is a real one for you. The skillful surgeon can remove a sightless eye and put one in its place so like the real one that it seems real, but he can’t make sight. Yes, a man may make a watch, or an eye, but only God can make a man or a tree or a flower— —e se, lr eee eC THE MOST WONDERFUL MECHANISM 235 or sight. Nothing that man has devised is comparable with the lowest order of life that God has made. If the watch must not be abused because of its fine and delicate nature, how much more should the most wonderful mechanism in the world be guarded and revered. The watch is lacking in recreative and recuperative power. The body recovers in large measure from excessive strain wickedly or thoughtlessly imposed upon it by its owner, but there comes a time when it refuses to make good the wanton waste and abuse of its owner. The creator of the body wants to be a guest in it. It must be kept clean and pure. If the body is foul and its beauty marred by sin, the master builder will not come into it. The body is spoken of as the Temple of the Holy Ghost; there- fore, let no evil thing come into it. Perhaps you have seen lives that are out of tune and out of time with their Creator and their fellow men. Their hearts incline to do evil continually. Everything in and about them is in disorder and ruin. I am sure the human ‘“‘wonder-box” is God’s finest handiwork. One writer calls the body, “The epitome of all mechanics, of all hydraulics, of all machinery. It has all the bars, levers, pulleys, wheels, axles and buffers known to science.” Yes, there is no question about it. “I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and that my heart knoweth right well.” 236 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 92 THE IMPORTANCE OF LITTLE THINGS IN THE BUILDING OF LIFE Rev. Cuarites M. SHextpon, D.D. TEXTss Grow in grace. “2 Peters: 13: A large variety of chemicals will show the importance of little things. or instance, poison like cyanide of potassium. A’ piece as large as a head of a pin will killa man. A little pinch of methyl violet, so small that the children cannot see it, dropped into a tumbler of water will discolor it imme- diately. The same thing can be done with a little grain of permanganate of potassium. From one of the companies manufacturing pens, a card showing the way in which pens are made illustrates the sixteen different processes through which pens have to go before they are finished. Each process must be followed or the pen is not perfect. The lead casing which surrounds the telephone wires in the cities will illus- trate the value of little things, for if through an accident this lead casing is punctured in any way and one drop of water enters the bunch of wires, it will put them out of service and cause the telephone company great trouble and expense. An- other illustration of the importance of little things is a col- lection of photographs from Mr. Burbank’s experimental farm showing how selections are made by noticing the minute difference between fruits or leaves of plants, and a seedless apple, showing the patience required in little things in select- ing the fruit or trees which have finally produced the fruit covering a period of several years. Upon the blackboard can be drawn the timbers which must go into the house of life mentioned in Peter—Faith, Virtue, Knowledge, Self-Control, Patience, Godliness, Brotherly Kindness, Love. Each one of these timbers is made up of minute fibers, yet put together they make strength. We cannot grow in grace without pay- ing great attention to the little things that make growth. GOD’S PARCEL POST 237 93 GOD’S PARCEL POST Rev. CuaupeE ALLEN McKay A long time before Uncle Sam thought of establishing his nation-wide Parcel Post system, somebody else had estab- lished a world-wide Parcel Post system for sending seeds. Wise men tell us now that if it hadn’t been for this wonder- ful world-wide Parcel Post system, many of our most valu- able trees and flowers and fruits would have perished and ceased to live on earth. 7 Two of the most interesting things in God’s Parcel Post system are the postmen and postage stamps. I need not tell you that the most familiar postman in his system is the Wind. But sometimes we find a dog serving as a postman, and some- times it is a horse or a cow. Once in a while a man becomes a postman on God’s Parcel Post routes and very, very often a bird carries the seed packages and delivers them. But what of the postage stamps? Look at the seed pods that drop from the maple tree. Each package has a wing, spread out like a fan, on one side. You know a postman will not carry a package unless it has a stamp on it. That is the reason we call the wing on the maple seed a postage stamp. Mr. Wind, the postman, would not carry and de- liver it where it is needed without that wing postage stamp affixed to it. And what we have just said about the wing postage on the maple seed is true also of many others. The beautiful brown “cat-tails’” you see growing in the swamp are really clusters of seed packages getting ready to be sent out om Mr. Wind’s route. Each one of them is equipped with a tiny umbrella which serves as its postage stamp. Without it Mr. Wind would not carry the seed and deliver it postpaid. The milk-weed has the same kind of a stamp which assures its 238 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS delivery. Why don’t you watch one some day and look at it closely? If you want to know when the dog and the horse and the cow become postmen, look at the long switch of their tails when they come from the pasture. There you will find seeds of different kinds wrapped up in a burr that catches in the tail to be carried to some new place to grow. If you want to know when people and birds become post- men in God’s Parcel Post system, think of the cherries and mulberries and blackberries, which both man and the birds carry and deliver in a new soil. In the case of fruits and nuts, the postmen are paid well for delivering the seed. The blue jay carries a cherry farther than it could ever get by itself. Sometimes he carries the cherry a half mile or more. Then he stops on a fence post and collects the postage, which is the ripe, red fruit, and drops the seed just where a new cherry tree can best grow. If it is a blackberry or a mul- berry, it is just the same. Squirrels like to be God’s postmen when they can carry acorns and nuts. We have a great many things to thank our Heavenly Father for, but let us not fail to mention the Parcel Post system he has provided, with its many postmen and queer and wonder- ful postage. THE LITTLE BIRD 239 94 THE LITTLE BIRD Rey. James A. BrimeELow The other morning after it had been raining heavily I went out to the post office. I was feeling just like the weather, miserable and gloomy. Rainy days have a way with them of making people feel that way. There are some people who say that rainy days are testing days and they reveal the brightness, or the gloominess of these little hearts of ours. And that morning my heart was just a little gloomy, for I was wondering when the sun would shine and when I could live out-of-doors. But as I was going along the road I was suddenly startled by hearing the voice of a little bird sitting upon a telephone pole, just singing for all it was worth. I looked at it, and for a minute listened to its glad song of rejoicing, and then made my way to the post office. But the voice of that little bird thrilled my heart with a new note. It made me forget the rain and the cold and think of the ‘sun and beauty. It taught me the lesson of watching for the bright and pleasant things and not living upon the dark and dismal things. Dark and dismal days come. Life can- not be all sunshine. But if we see the sun behind the clouds, if we can at the very first moment utter our song of rejoicing, how different the world would soon become! For what is keeping the world out of its rich things is the spirit of silent grumbling; always remembering the things which are not pleasant and not the things which are beautiful. So, children, let us not be like weather people. If the sun shines, our friends are kind and true, if we are continually receiving nice and good things from those who love us, then we are happy. We sing and play, we work and sleep, feel- ing that the world is just made for us. But when the rain comes and the air begins to feel cold, and we are all alone, 240 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS then we become sad and gloomy and we have no song of rejoicing for the world in which we live. But God wants us to have a song for every hour of life. A song for the day of rain as well as the day of sun. For every day and everything which comes in the day has its little message if we only knew. Let us all try to be dis- coverers of the bright and beautiful things, the sun is still in God’s heaven, and no matter how dark and stormy the days may be, there will come the hour when it will come back and gladden the heart of the world in which we live. God lives always in the bright things of life and he wants us to live as he lives. Avnd it was the little bird on the telephone pole which taught me that lesson after that rainy morning. : : ,. CONCENTRATION 241 95 CONCENTRATION (Object Sermon) Rev. Lesuize E. DunKIN Equipment. A strong magnifying glass, a piece of paper and strong sunshine. Preparations. Have some boy to bring the magnifying glass and a girl to bring the piece of paper. The leader will have to depend upon the weather for the sunshine. Assistant. A’ girl to hold the paper. Presentation. (The leader speaking.) I am going to ask Louise to come up here and hold this paper for me, while I hold the magnifying glass. All the rest of you watch that piece of paper. See that smoke rising from the paper. Now watch the smoke carefully. What is it doing now? Yes, there is a little fame there now. There, the whole paper is burning. Will one of you explain how I was able to do that. Yes, the magnifying glass did it. All of the rays of the sun are scattered over many millions of miles. We only get a very few of them here. What this magnifying glass did was to take a number of the sun’s rays and concentrate all of them on the one spot on the paper. It was so hot that it set the paper on fire. Did you ever see a large group of boys and girls, where each one was trying to do something different from all the rest? Then all of a sudden, all the boys and girls concen- trated themselves or centered all their energies upon one thing. Didn’t that one thing become accomplished in a hurry? That was just like this magnifying glass with the rays of the sun. It did something when all those few rays were centered on the one spot. Did you ever know a boy or girl who was always trying 242 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS to do a little of everything imaginable? They never got very much done. Then there was another boy or girl who centered all his or her interests and strength upon the one task and it was accomplished in a hurry. The one used a magnifying glass on his task while the other did not. God is all-powerful. Since he is all-powerful, have you ever wondered why it is necessary for us to pray to him for certain things? If he already knows about it, what is the use of our asking him in prayer? God is like the sun. His strength, his power, goes everywhere. It is within easy reach of each one of us here this morning. Before we can make use of it, though, we must go to him in prayer and by the use of our magnifying glass center several rays of his power and strength on the one thing that we desire. Prayer is the mag- nifying glass that centers his strength upon the one thing we desire. If we do not pray, his rays will have no effect upon our paper or our lives. Boys and girls, never forget to pray, for that is your glass with which you can make use of God’s power. GOOD COURAGE 243 96 GOOD COURAGE Rev. ALFRED BARRATT Text: “Be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart.” Psalm 27: 14. There are many times when boys and girls lack good cour- age; they falter and fail in the things they attempt, they falter and lose heart, that means to say the attempt to do things half-heartedly. Nothing can be done successfully in a half- hearted fashion. To be whole-hearted in the things we do implies that we must have concentration as well as consecra- tion—devotion as well as emotion—chivalry as well as con- fidence—courage as well as strength. The battle against sin and Satan demands courage. It is not an easy thing for boys and girls to turn away from the allurements of sin. One of the very hardest things that you have to face and endure in life is the ridicule of your friends and companions when you leave them because your conscience tells you what they are doing is wrong. It is hard but it is pleasant. If Jesus is in your heart, you can depend upon it that he will be on your side, and whatever happens he will give you strength and courage to win the victory. Do you remember the old Norse king’s advice, “If your sword is not long enough go in closer.’ But going in closer means keeping cool and having good courage. Success in life depends largely upon how you train yourselves in youth. If you strive to have confidence, self-reliance, determination and courage, you will surely win many a victory. When you have built for your- _ self a fine, strong, beautiful, noble character—believe in your- self—stand upon your own resources—and in the strength of God and your own experience do something noble for God and your fellow companions. There is a good story told by a war correspondent about 244 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS the courage and bravery of a Japanese soldier about the time when the Christians were besieged in Pekin. When the re- enforcements sent to relieve the Christians had arrived, it fell to the lot of a Japanese regiment to blow up a certain gate. The artillery had done a lot of damage, but the breach was not sufficient to cause a charge upon the enemy. These strong, heavy wooden gates are sunk in the thick twelve-foot walls and are approached by means of a little foot-bridge across the moat that encircles the city. The Japanese general de- cided that a breach must be effected, but this could only be done by the dangerous means of dynamite. For this dan- gerous attack he called for volunteers. He wanted a man of courage to accomplish his purpose. A little corporal about four feet six inches in height was chosen for this mission. He was to blow the big gates to pieces. With coolness and courage he marched briskly, unconcerned over the bridge while the enemy shot at him from the top of the wall until he was out of sight in the recess occupied in the gate. There he worked fearlessly and courageously, planting the dynamite and attaching the fuse to the explosive. When everything was ready he lit the fuse and quickly made his way back to his own lines without receiving a single injury. No sooner had he got out of the way than a Chinaman opened a little door cautiously and rushed out to the lighted fuse and ex- tinguished it with his feet. Then he went back and closed the door. Taking his own life in his hands, and defying de- feat and death, the brave corporal set out again, and once more lighted the fuse. On his way back he was shot in the shoulder, and stumbled to the ground. He rose up with the blood running from the wound, and staggered his way to safety. Once more, however, the daring Chinaman was too quick for the slow fuse, and he stamped it out again. Then the brave corporal, in spite of his wounded condition, deter- mined not to be defeated, made his way back to the half demolished gate, lighted the fuse, and, with his bayonet sword, stood by the little door and waited for the Chinaman. There was a moment of breathless suspense, and then with an awful roar the old wooden gate was blown to pieces, and with it GOOD COURAGE Q45 went the brave little corporal. Every boy and girl admires the courage of this brave soldier, and you may have the same courage. Put your trust in Jesus, be faithful in all things, seek the help of God—pray for strength in the trying hour. It is courage that counts in these days, and it will also count in the life to come. “Be of good courage and he will strengthen your heart.” 246 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 97 HABIT Rev. Bernarp J. Snewy, M.A. Most of you children have seen a phonograph—a wonder- ful instrument into which some one speaks, and then it gives back the same words with the same accent, as many times as the wheel is turned. But within each one of us, in the brain, there is a more wonderful recorder than the phonograph. A recording angel lives in the brain; its name is “Memory”; it holds everything, and there is no such thing as forgetting. In a hotel one day a boy who had (as ill-luck would have it) a diamond pin, was scratching on the window. A man said to him, “Boy! stop that.” “Why?” “Because you can’t rub it out.” That is what happens inside in the brain. Noth- ing 1s rubbed out nor can be. You know how your little baby at home imitates you in the signs you make and in the things you do, But do you know that you imitate yourself? We all are always doing that—imitating ourselves, until at last we find that we are in a groove and cannot get out of it. That is the way in which habits grow. An old favorite of mine, and indeed of most of us, as we go on through life—Dr. Johnson—said, “The chains of habit are generally too small to be felt, until they have grown too strong to be broken.” Did you notice, when you were at the Zoological Gardens, the colors of some of the animals? The leopard was spotted; the lion tawny; the tiger striped; do you know why? The leopard, for I do not know how many scores and scores of generations has lived in the forest. Its coat is spotted like the leaves and shadows of the leaves; so that when a hunter passes by he may scarcely see the leopard. And the lion’s skin is tawny because the lions have lived in the sandy desert; and the tiger’s skin is striped like the great grass of the HABIT 24:7 jungle. So that in their dwelling places, these animals, un- consciously, of course, have imitated what was outside of them. Indeed, if they had not done so, they would not have been able to live through to this day, as they have done through their powers of concealment. Much in the same way we al- most as unconsciously imitate what is going on outside. It is not our coats that acquire marks, but our very selves, and there is no rubbing out. You know that a lady gets into a riding habit when she is going to ride; it is very easy for her to throw off that habit. But it is not easy to throw off the habits of which I now speak—these habits are parts of ourselves, and we cannot take them off. They grow in us. Now, you children are sent to school to learn good habits. We grown-up people are bundles of habits and little else, and you will be the same by and by. Those who love and serve God best become bundles of good habits. ‘Sometimes at school it is terribly dull, keeping on and keeping on! Ah! you have probably heard of the railway engine which grew sulky and discontented with its lot; how it said to itself, “Here am I day after day running along these straight, level lines, and there is not a horse in all the kingdom that is not free to scamper over the fields and meadows!” And that engine became quite unmanageable, until one day it bounded clean off the line, and what happened! Well, it ploughed up the ground for a few yards and then stopped altogether, a wreck. And you and I, as we go through life, unless we are careful to go along the line which God meant us to travel, shall work mischief for ourselves and for those around us. Whether we like it or not, we are creatures of habit; and however hard your duties, the most difficult things become simple if you keep on, on! I have heard, but I do not know whether it is true, that one of our bishops was one day on a railway platiorm, and a young man, wishing to take a rise out of him, said to the bishop, “Before the train comes, in two minutes, can you tell me the simplest way to heaven?’ And the bishop said, “Nothing is simpler; take the first turning to the right and 248 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS keep straight on.” There is nothing easier in the world if you keep straight on. Now remember that all bad habits are related to one another, and if you take one of the family in, you do not know how many you have to lodge. What do I mean? Here is the simplest example I can think of. Suppose you are lazy. To-morrow you will not be punctual at your post of duty, wherever it may be, and then you will have to apologize and make excuses and perhaps “draw the long bow,’ and perhaps, perhaps, to lie. One fault leads to another. That I suppose to be the reason why wise Plato had written up over his school door, ‘‘Let no one enter here who is ignorant of geometry.” He thought that without accuracy there would be no chance of any of the virtues which he tried to implant. : Good habits are the court dress of heaven. We have been reading in the papers lately about the lovely dresses worn before the queen. When we stand before God, we have to wear a court dress. What is it? Why, a robe of righteous- ness. What is that? Habits of goodness. Virtue is just the habit of doing good; and into that habit Jesus helps us to grow. PUTTING SHOES ON A GOOSE 249 98 PUTTING SHOES ON A GOOSE Rev. CuaupE ALLEN McKay I wonder if you ever saw a goose with shoes on? That’s a sight you could have enjoyed if you had been living in a village in Illinois one summer evening when Mr. Flick drove a flock of geese from his farm into town. Each goose wore two pairs of shoes; a pair of water shoes which God had provided and a pair of road shoes which the farmer provided. There is a story which goes with each pair of shoes. Let me tell you the stories. When Mr. Flick’s big flock of geese was ready for market, he knew that if he drove them over the hard road of sharp stones and gravel, they would go limping into town with sore and bleeding feet. So he first put the geese into a pen where he had spread some melted tar and then he turned them into a pen where the ground was covered with fine sand. You know what happened. That provided each goose with a shoe made of sand and fastened on with tar. And that was the pair of road shoes which each goose wore to town. Now for the story which goes with the pair of “water shoes,” which each goose wore to town. You will know what I mean by the “water shoes” when you look closely at a goose’s foot. You will notice a three-cornered strip of skin, perfectly fitted and fastened between the toes, making what we some- times call a “web-foot.” Immediately you will say, “A foot like that was never intended to walk to town over a hard road, but that foot is the very best kind of a water paddle.’ And you would be exactly right. The goose’s foot would become more worn and crippled in walking two miles over a hard road than in paddling twenty miles on a river or lake. Why? We are always saying “why,” as we go about in this wonderful world God has given us to live in. Why does 250 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS a goose have just that kind of foot? Is this the answer? Doesn't the goose have a foot like a water-paddle because the goose does its most important traveling on the water instead of on the land? And if we should visit all the many creatures which God has in this world, we should find that each one of them has just the kind of a foot for the way it lives and for the kind of work it is expected to do. Let us go to the barnyard and see if that is true. Look at the different styles of shoes. The cow, the sheep, and the pig wear about the same style of shoes, but not so with the horse. He wears a very different style. J. wonder why? Look at the hen. Her shoe is not exactly like that of the~ goose. And up there in a tree clinging to a tiny twig is a bird. If its shoe was as clumsy as that of the goose or the pig it would tumble out of bed at night when it goes to sleep on a limb. There comes the dog and the cat. Their shoes seem somewhat alike, but how very different they are! Puss can climb a tree like a flash, but not so with Towser. But suppose we visit the city park and take a look at the animals in the Zoo. Remember we are out studying shoes to see why there are so many different styles worn by God’s creatures. Look at the elephant’s big, broad, tough leather shoe. And let’s look very closely at the camel’s funny shoe. If the camel had to wear the same style shoe as the cow, it could never travel all day on the burning desert sand as it can do with its own queer shoe. And if Mr. Squirrel should by chance some morning put on Mr. Rabbit’s shoes, it would be his last day, for he couldn’t climb a tree to save his life. Now for one closing minute, will you notice your own foot and see how perfectly it is suited to what you want it to do. And now look at your “front foot.” I mean, of course, your hand. Just think what the hand can do! It wields a shovel, an ax, a broom, a needle and it takes a pen and writes the world’s books and papers. With a brush it paints the world’s pictures and with a chisel it carves the world’s statuary. It binds up the wound and clasps the hand of a friend, or gently pats the cheek of a baby. This hand of ours has a story which it tells in every wonderful movement it makes. PUTTING SHOES ON A GOOSE 251 It tells us of the wisdom and love of our Father Creator. Isn’t this the answer to your “why’? And every time you see one of God’s animal creatures, you will look at its foot, won't you, and you will whisper to yourself: ‘What a won- derful Divine Creator we have.” And some day when you are reading your Bible, you will come upon this line, “O Lord, thou art our Father... and we all are the work of thy hand.” And you will whisper to yourself again, “Isn’t that wonderfully true!’ 252 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS Jo THE SEA WALL Rev. T. E. Howie In the beautiful city of Victoria, British Columbia, where I lived a few years ago, the greater part of the coast line is rugged and rock-bound; but there is a small strip of soft soil which was being gradually washed away by the sea. To make matters worse, the cemetery was located on that part of the coast and some of ae graves were in danger of being washed out. To protect the coast a the ravages of the sea a concrete wall was built, against which the waves dashed in vain. Many young people’s lives are something like that coast line. For the most part, they are well fortified by what nature has done for them, but often there is some weak place where they are exposed to the onrush of strong temptation. What is the weak spot in your life? Perhaps an ungovern- able temper, a jealous spirit, an envious disposition, a feeble will, not exactly truthful, a trifle dishonest, a fatal fault of procrastination, or one of a score of other defects. Get busy and build a wall of defense along the weak places of your life. In Asia Minor, long ago, stood the strong city and castle of Sardis. It was the city of Croesus, the richest of men. Round it flowed the River Pactolus, whose sands were gold. Only on one side might it be attacked, and there a strong guard was set. On the others sheer precipices guarded it, hundreds of feet from plain to castle wall. Croesus went to war with Cyrus, King of Persia, and was badly beaten. But he retired to Sardis. No one, he felt, could capture Sardis. No one ever had. So he went to sleep with an easy mind. In the morning he wakened to find the soldiers of Cyrus by his bedside and his strong city taken. What had happened ? EE THE SEA WALL 258 Sardis stands on a mighty rock, but it is a soft rock, and the wind and weather eat into it constantly. On its steepest side cracks had weathered in the rocks and the watchful moun- taineers of Cyrus marked the cracks, climbed them by night, clambered on the unguarded walls, came on the garrison from a quarter they did not expect and at an hour they knew not. The early Christians living in Sardis had some weak places in their characters, and lest they should fall a prey to their enemies Christ sent them a message by his servant, John, which you will find in the third chapter of Revelation, “Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain. ... If therefore thou shalt not watch I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.” Let the coast at Victoria, the castle of Sardis, illustrate and enforce this message of Christ. “Leave no unguarded place, No weakness of the soul; Take every virtue, every grace, And fortify the whole.” 254 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 100 TELLING LIES Rev. ALFRED BARRATT There is an old English proverb that says “a lie has no legs.” This simply means that a lie cannot be of any use to any one along the journey of life. Telling lies is an instrument which Satan gives to boys and girls to use in the advancement of the kingdom of night. It is an instrument to tear down the walls of justice, righteousness and truth. But all good boys and girls never use this destructive instrument because they know that it will bring them sorrow—failure—and utter de- feat in the end. We read in the Book of Proverbs in the twelfth chapter of the 22nd verse, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord but they that deal truly are his delight.” I do not know of anybody who has any faith in, or any respect for, a person who tells lies. Even the very people who tell lies themselves seem to despise others who are not truthful. It is a fact beyond contradiction that all through the ages there is nothing mentioned in the pages of history about any person or persons who did not respect a truthful man. But we do read over and over again instances of great men who were false being brought low and disgraced. Telling lies undermines character. It is a dangerous prac- tice, and has ruined many a boy and many a man. Telling the truth every time and all the time lays the foundation of a good character; it is the only sure way to the hall of fame, and the palace of prosperity. It is always best to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. I know it is always hard for a boy to tell the truth the first time, but when you have told it you have won the victory and that will end it. Then, again, there is something else; it will be easier for you to tell the truth the second and the TELLING LIES 255 third time, and every other time. A boy is never lashed by his conscience when he speaks the truth. I remember several years ago having a ride on a “bob sleigh,” and when we had reached the bottom of the hill I was standing talking with the other boys when another “bob sleigh” came down with great speed and struck me right on the shin bone and made a big black bruise. My word, it did sting! Well, a lie is just like that—it stings you and makes a big black bruise on your soul. It not only stings, but it stuns you, and you are less noble and have less respect for yourself—then you feel ashamed and wish you had told the truth. The soul is very sensitive and refined, but when it has been bruised by sin it becomes hardened and loses its fine feeling. When I lived in England there was an iron foundry in the town where I lived, and flakes of soot would fall from the tall chimneys and light on my collar and cuffs, and even on my face, and when I tried to wipe them off there would come a long black smear. Lies make black smears on your soul just like that. Let me tell you a story about Abraham Lin- coln. One day when Abraham Lincoln was a boy he was out in the lane, carrying an axe, when his step-sister ran behind him playfully and leaped upon his shoulders and began to dig her knees into his back. This brought Abraham to the ground and caused him to drop the axe he was carrying right on her ankle and made a big cut there. While he was carefully bandaging up the wound he asked her what she should tell her mother when she reached home. “That I cut it with the axe,” said his sister. “Yes, that’s the truth, but it is not all the truth; you tell the whole truth.” She promised him she would and when she told her mother all about it she cheer- fully forgave her. Lincoln was a great man—he was honest and truthful, and after he was killed some one said: “Abe was the best boy I ever saw or expect to see.’’ People could always rely upon his word whenever he said “Yes” or “No” just once. That kind of respect does not come from telling the truth now and then, or telling a lie occasionally—that kind of respect 256 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS and confidence comes from telling the truth every time and all the time. Remember God is watching and listening to everything we do or say, and he is always proud of an honest and truthful boy. Speak the truth, boys; speak the truth, And let your hearts be true to God. Stand for the right, boys, in your youth, A coward lies and fears the rod. Speak the truth, boys; dare to be true, And life will bring success to you. LIVING WITHOUT FEAR 257 101 LIVING WITHOUT FEAR Rev. AuFrrep Barratr Text: “T will fear no evil, for thou art with me.” Psalm 23: 4. If every boy and girl could really and truly feel the pres- ence of their loving Saviour with them every moment of the day and every step of the way, then under all circumstances they would fear no evil. It is in times of sorrow and pain that boys and girls often get afraid. A little boy who was only seven years old fell into one of the deep excavations for the New York subway one day, and was taken bruised and suffering to the nearest hospital. When the doctor began to examine his injuries little James took a deep breath. “I wish I could sing,” he said, looking up at the big doctor. “TI think I’d feel weller then.” “All right, you may sing,” said the doctor, and James began. So brave and sweet was the childish voice that after the first verse there was a round of applause from the listeners. As the doctor went on with the examination the boy winced a little, but struck up his singing again. The nurses and attendants hear- ing the sweet clear voice gathered from all parts of the build- ing until James had an audience of nearly one hundred. Through all the pain of the examination the child never lost the tune, and everybody was glad when the doctor announced, “Well, I guess you're all right, little man, I can’t find any broken bones.” “I guess it was the singing that fixed me,” said James. “I always sing when I feel bad,” he added simply. It is a wonderful thing to be able to sing when we are feeling discouraged and blue. But we cannot sing with a light heart unless we have confidence in our Heavenly Father. Confidence in God is the secret of a real happy life, and it helps us to live without fear. 258 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS Two boys were once talking together about Elijah’s ascent into heaven in a chariot of fire. One boy said, “Wouldn't you be afraid to ride in such a chariot?’ “No,” said the other, ‘not if God drove.” There is nothing to fear when Jesus is near. God is driving the chariot of our human life. He is directing our path, and the reins are in his hand. Let us not be afraid when the path is dark and sometimes dreary. Let us believe in ‘his leading, and hope and trust in his love and power. Then no evil can befall us. ‘i Several years ago a sea captain who was commanding a sailing ship between Liverpool and New York on one of the voyages had all his family on board with him. One night when all the passengers were fast asleep there arose a sudden storm which came sweeping over the waters until it struck the ship and threw her almost on her side, tumbling and crashing everything that was movable, and awaking the pas- sengers, filling them with fear lest they were in danger of losing their lives. Everybody on board was afraid and many of them jumped out of their berths and began to dress. The captain had a little daughter on board. She was just eight years old, and the storm awoke her with the rest. ‘What's the matter?’ cried the frightened child. They told her a storm had struck the ship and they were all in danger of being drowned. “Is father on deck?” she asked. “Yes, father is on deck,’ they replied. The little girl dropped herself on her pillow again without a fear, and in a few moments was fast asleep, in spite of the howling storm. She had con- fidence in her father because she loved him. Isn’t it wonderful to have such confidence in our parents ? Boys and girls, remember this, will you, the very next time a storm comes across your pathway, that there is no need for doubts or fears, because your loving Heavenly Father is on deck. Just when you need him the most he is always very near to you. Let me close with these beautiful lines by Oliver Wendell Holmes: LIVING WITHOUT FEAR 259 “O love Divine that stooped to share Our deepest pang, our bitterest tear, On Thee we cast each earth-born care: We smile at pain while Thou art near. “Though long the weary way we tread And sorrows crown each lingering year, No path we shun, no darkness dread, Our heart still whispering ‘Thou art near.’ ” 260 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 102 LOOKING GLASSES ON MT. TOM Rev. Eart H. THayer One day last summer we went up Mt. Tom to get a better view of God’s country. We looked out of the windows of the house there and saw the plains and streams and hills. The land before us was made more pleasing to look at by forests and the homes of people. We could not see as clearly as we would like, but we found some things that God and man had made, and looking through them we could see things that could not be seen before. A’fter a time we looked about the room and discovered some looking-glasses. I stepped up to one and I saw a funny little fellow that looked like Van Loon and he looked like me and it made us laugh. Then I walked in front of another and I saw a fellow that looked like Mutt and he looked like me and we laughed again. I went around to another and there was a fellow that looked like Everett True and he looked like me. All these glasses made me look different, but I was no different. It was the same me all the time. The trouble was with the looking- glasses. They were curved. One was bent in such a way as to make me look short and fat, another so as to make me look tall and thin and the other big and stout. The looking- glasses were bent and so in them I looked different. There are looking-glasses everywhere. Did you ever look straight into the eyes of your friend and see yourself there? You seem to look all right there, but sometimes to others you look different than you are. If he is jealous of you he tries to make you feel small and funny by calling you a shrimp or something worse. You are no different; his mind is bent. He calls you names to make you think you are different. Sometimes when one hates you he calls you a Mutt to make you feel thin and silly, but if he hates you his mind is bent LOOKING GLASSES ON MT. TOM 261 and he cannot see true. You are no different. Sometimes mother calls you her big boy or her big girl when her mind is bent with pride, but you are no different, How people see you and what they call you does not change you. There is only one who sees you just as you are, and he is God. You ought to try to please him. It is nice to please your friends, it is better to please mother, but it is best to please God. Jesus said, “I always do the things that are pleasing to him!” 262 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 103 GOD’S FIRE-ENGINE (Story Sermon) Rev. Grorce W. ALLEN Now, children, listen hard, because I am going to tell you a dandy story; and best of all it is actually true. Many years ago when I was a little boy, my father and mother and I were greatly excited one night to hear the fire- bell clanging. We quickly hitched our horse to a wagon and started off to see the fire, which proved to be at the foot of a long, steep hill. Now the town had a fine, big fire-engine, but it was too heavy for the horses to pull rapidly up-hill. On this eventful night, the horses were quickly hitched to it and away they went, clattering down the streets, the bell on the engine ring- ing for right-of-way, and the sparks shooting out of the smoke-stack like a thousand little sky-rockets, In a very few minutes the old engine stood by the fire, puffing and wheezing as hard as the horses were ; and then, after all that excitement and racing, there was no water for the firemen to use! The nearest they could find was a deep well on top of a desperately steep grade about two hundred and fifty feet long. The driver immediately turned the horses up the hill, but, alas, it was too much. They were just “all in,” They were willing enough, but were “winded” and couldn’t pull the engine up the grade. Then the fire chief ordered the horses removed, and called for volunteers among the men to drag the engine up to the well. Everybody was willing; and in almost no time that old machine was just surrounded with men. Some lifted on the wheels. Some got behind and pushed. Some took hold of the whipple-trees, and some grabbed the tongue. Every GOD’S FIRE-ENGINE 263 man got hold where he could do the most; and at a given signal from the chief, each man just buckled down to his own task and that fire-engine went rumbling up the hill until it stood by the open well. The hose was quickly stretched down to the fire, and the pump began to spit water at that building just like a cornered cat does at a bull-terrier. The situation was saved. Not one of the other buildings caught fire. Now that little incident taught me that co-operation and teamwork is stronger than brute force. Do you know there are many evils in the world that are destroying humanity just as that fire was burning that build- ing? Cigarettes, dance halls, gambling machines, “home- brew,’ Sunday amusement parks, and cheap moving pictures, and many other sly and tricky evils are rapidly wiping out all traces of manhood and womanhood in people. But there is one great force that is fighting these evils; and that is the church. The church is God’s fire-engine, if you please, but the church is useless without Christ, as the engine was without water. You'll be a volunteer, won’t you? Sure you will! Just as those men crowded around that engine at the fire, so you, too, will rally around Christ’s church and work with all your might to fight the evils of our day. 264 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 104 THE BASKET AND THE MIND Rev. Ernest V. Cowen Probably you cannot see much resemblance between this basket, which I hold in my hand, and your mind, but I am going to try and show you the ways in which they are alike. But [ think that I will begin by calling your attention to the great difference between them. The basket you can see, but your mind you cannot. The mind is the invisible thinking part of aman. It works out our problems for us. It is the directing, the deciding part of one’s self. It tells us where to go and what to do. The mind is like this basket in that it all depends upon what you put into it. A very fine box may hold very coarse things. There is a story told about a certain Eastern king, who had a very faithful servant whom he had raised from a lowly position to be the chief man in his kingdom. Some of the people got jealous of this man’s prosperity and of his favor with the king, so they tried to do him harm by carrying tales to the king of a wonderfully beautiful chest which this man owned and which he used to open secretly at night; and they assured the king that he was putting money and treasure stolen from the king in that box. The king believed them and went instantly to this man’s house and commanded him to open the box in his presence. At first the man objected, but finally at the royal command he obeyed, and the box was found to contain just the suit of old clothes which this man wore when the king first found him. He had kept them to remind him of the lowly estate from which he had risen; and used to look at them often to keep himself humble. On the other hand a very coarse box may hold very precious things. It is said that a certain man was suspected of smug- gling jewels into the United States without paying the duty THE BASKET AND THE MIND 265 on them, but the officials could never find them, though they searched him thoroughly. At last some one suggested that they should search the crutch he carried—for he was a lame man—and they found it to be hollow and full of jewels. So, you see, it all depends upon what you put into your mind. You can put into it, if you want to, old, coarse, dirty things; like that man’s old clothes, or you can put into it beautiful, precious, priceless things, like the jewels the man had in his crutch. But remember, you cannot more than fill it. This basket will not hold more than just so much, neither will your mind. I have somewhere heard of a boy who got to reading those flashy stories of detectives and adventure which are so com- mon. Then one day he came home from school with very low marks in all his studies and the worst of it was that he could not imagine why it was so. His father, who had been watching him, told him to go and get a basket, carry it to the wood-pile, fill it with chips and bring it to him. So the boy did as he was told and brought the filled basket to his father, who now told him to take it down into the cellar and fill it with apples. “But,” said the boy, “how can I? It is full already.” “Well,” said his father, “that is what you are trying to do with your mind. You have filled it full of these trashy tales, and then you try to fill it over again with your lessons. One or the other must go, for there is not room in your mind for both.” Girls and boys, it must be chips, apples, silly stories or something better; which shall it be? It follows then that there are some things that we ought not to put into our minds. And one of the things that we ought to keep out is silly little vanities. Sometimes older people fill their minds with them, as well as younger ones. It always grieves me to see older people, who ought to know better, teaching girls and boys to be vain. Girls, beware of vanity in dress. Don’t go to extremes. When I see a girl whose whole mind is taken up with her clothes, I think that she is just about as wise as I would be if I sat down to dinner, threw away the meat and made my meal off the sauce. Look at something more 266 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS than the outside. Think of the mind, the character and the soul as well as of the face. A’ girl who was dressed in the height of fashion and was shivering in the east wind said to an old Quaker friend of hers, “Oh, what shall I do to get warm?” The Quaker replied, “I cannot tell thee, unless that shouldst put on another ring.” Despite the proverb, fine feathers do not make fine birds, or if it is true of the birds it most certainly is not true of girls and boys. Again, don’t put in bad or silly books. Nothing has more influence over us than our reading, our book friends. Parents, I may say in passing that it is a most serious thing for you to neglect your children’s reading. You ought to select their reading till they have formed a wise taste. I am afraid of many of the books I see in-your hands, girls and boys. Some of them are positively bad and will do you real harm; others of them are silly and will do you harm too. Don’t forget that bad books will make you bad and silly. There is not room in your head for both good and bad books and the danger is that the bad books will crowd out the good ones. Remember that we must become like the things that we are constantly putting into our minds. Nothing can prevent it. I went into a store the other day and I saw a great, big, staring, green bottle, and when I turned around here was another one, only this was blue, and there were others, some of them red, some of them yellow and other colors too. I said to the proprietor, ‘How do they make the glass of those bottles different colors?’ He looked at me in a pitying sort of way, and said, “It isn’t the bottles, it’s the liquid we put in them which gives the color.” So, you see, it makes all the difference what you put into your mind. When I was in London, England, I went into St. Paul’s Cathedral and the guide told us to listen to the wonderful echo there; but I noticed that it didn’t say anything that we didn’t say first. So our life will echo our mind, and what our mind will be in the future depends upon what we put into it now. GRINDSTONES 267 105 GRINDSTONES Rev. AtFrep Barratt Text: “God is my strength and power.” 2 Samuel 22: 33. I wonder if you know anything about grindstones, and where the finest in the world are found? Nearly every boy is interested in grindstones. We see them in the blacksmith’s shop, the carpenter’s shop, in mills and factories, on the farm, in the modern shoe-repairing shop, and even on the jeweler’s bench you will find a grindstone. But we never stop to think and ask the question, “Where do they come from?” Well has some one said that the best grindstones in the world are found in the Bay of Fundy. They are not easily got because they are down deep at the very bottom of the sea, and I know you can never guess how those men whose occupation it is to provide the world with grindstones ever succeed in getting them. It is very interesting to know, and if you will just listen I will tell you how they do it. Grindstone rock is very hard and solid, and has to be blasted with dynamite before it can be. brought to the surface and made into grindstones. The workmen are governed by the tide. They can only work when the tide is out, which, as you all know, happens twice every day. But. they cannot do all the work themselves, they have to depend upon the tide or upon the power of God to help them because the tide is their best helper and does the hardest and most important part of the work. When the tide is out these men walk out to the place where the grindstone rock is, and they quarry the stones from the solid rock in very large pieces. In fact, they are so large that they cannot be moved by human strength, so they must have another source of strength. When they are ready to remove these huge pieces of rock to the place 268 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS where they are made into grindstones they fasten strong, heavy chains around them and attach them to a big flat-boat. When this is done the men get into the boat and wait for the tide to help them to complete the work that they have begun. Then comes the great mighty rolling, roaring, rushing tide— rushing like a mad Niagara with a set determination to reach its destination. It is certainly a very beautiful sight to see the great white-crested billows rolling like great moun- tains rising sometimes higher than a house. And now the workmen have done their part there is nothing more for them to do. They have taken hold with the tide, or should I rather say, they have taken hold with God? and it is his mighty power that works with them and for them, because the lifting power of the sea is surely a part of God’s strength and omnipotence? The rising tide lifts the boat, and the huge rock that has been fastened to it comes up with it. That is just how God helps these men. God loves to help people. He delights to help boys and girls, and men and women. Those who take hold of his strength and power can never, never fail. When the farmer plants the seed he takes hold of God’s strength. When the sailor spreads his sail in the wind he takes hold of God’s strength. When the wireless operator sends out his message on the air he takes hold of God’s strength. For the beautiful sunshine that makes the seed grow, the wind that drives the boat and the secret energy that carries the message to the ends of the earth, all these are from God. They are God’s strength and power. But listen again. There are a great many harder things than raising grindstones out of the sea. It is not always an easy thing to speak the truth, to be kind and good, and to do that which is right. It is not always easy to keep one’s temper, to be unselfish and true, to say “No” to the tempter and to live honorably in the presence of your companions. These are the times when you need help, when human strength is of no avail, and that is just when God comes around and offers his help and strength. Every boy and girl can claim the strength and power of God like David did, and if you GRINDSTONES 269 will do this he will make you strong and courageous in every conflict, and victor at last over every foe. Will you try this strength and power in the future? Now don’t forget the text, and say with David “God is my strength and power.” 270 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 106 WITH YOU ALWAY Rev. Aurrep Barratt Text: “Lo, I am with you alway.” Matthew 28:20. This beautiful promise made by Jesus Christ should prove to be a great source of strength and courage and inspiration to boys and girls as they start out in the world on their God- given tasks. The reason why so many boys and girls fail and never accomplish anything in life is because they never seek the help, nor desire the presence of Jesus Christ. They prefer to go on in their own way, and they do not like to be told what is right and what is wrong. This is a mistaken course to take, because it leads into the paths of unrighteousness, and ends in the valley of destruction. The boys and girls whose young hearts are just bubbling over with happiness and glee are those who constantly feel the presence of Jesus Christ with them in everything they do and everywhere they go. It always makes you feel good to know that you have a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. No one can ever go astray, or ever fail in this life if conscious of the presence of him who says, “Lo, I am with you alway.” But how different it is when you go alone. There is no joy in life, and no peace of mind. You can always tell the boys and girls who are going through life alone, because they are unkind, dishonorable, cowardly, untruthful, thoughtless, and cruel. They are mean and selfish, and their language is not always good to listen to, and their company is not worth seek- ing after. They are not happy and cheerful, but rather gloomy and sad, and even jealous of those who have the sweet and cheering presence of Jesus with them. Then there is another thought. It is this, when Jesus is with you there is nothing to fear. Perhaps you have heard about the incident that happened WITH YOU ALWAY 271 in the days when there was a war between France and Spain. The Spaniards were driving the French before them and slay- ing them in large numbers. During this slaughter the Span- lards sent an insulting note to the French Commander, Gen- eral Coligny, with the words, ““We are more numerous than you, surrender.” When General Coligny received the note he wrote his reply on a piece of paper and fastened it to an arrow, and shot it back into the Spanish camp. The note read, “Surrender? Never, we have a King with us.” If Jesus is with you there will never be a time when you will have to surrender to the attacks of the enemy. Let Jesus come into your life and he will be a true and loving friend to you. To those who are weary and heavy laden this loving — friend is near, ready and willing to help with his measureless resources. He will strengthen the weak shoulder for the load. He will give you his joy to cheer your heart. He will give you his peace to calm your fears, and, best of all, he gives you his promise, “Let not your heart be troubled. . . . Lo, I am with you alway.” Perhaps you have heard the story about the courage of General Gordon. If you have, it is worth listening to again. During the Crimean war the Russian army, forcing its way with severe fighting and heavy losses, landed into the English trenches. While they were fighting for dear life General Gordon stood on the sidewalk in very great danger of his life, with nothing but a stick in his hand encouraging the brave English soldiers to drive out the Russians. When the men saw him risking his life they shouted, “Gordon, come down, come down, you'll be killed.” But he paid no attention, and a soldier who was near cried out, “It’s all right, ’e don’t mind being killed; ’e’s one o’ those blessed Christians.” Gen- eral Gordon had faith in the promises of God, and if you are trusting in Jesus as your strength and stay you will surely come off “more than conquerors through him that loved us.” He says, “When thou passeth through the waters I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.” “Neither shall the flames kindle upon thee for I am Jehovah thy God.” 272 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS “Give to the wind thy fears, Hope and be undismayed: God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears; God shall lift up thy head, Through wave and cloud and storm He gently clears the way. Wait then his time; the darkest night Shall end in brightest day.” a ae THE LETTER OF LIFE 273 107 THE LETTER OF LIFE Rev. Wiiuarp P. Sorrer “Ye are an epistle of Christ, . . . written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in tables that are hearts of flesh.” 2 Corinthians, 3: 3. From your instruction in school and from your experience in life you have learned how to write a good letter. You know the requisites of an ideal personal letter. They are at least four. The writing must be legible. The letter must be neat. The letter must contain thoughts that are of interest or of help, either giving information or encouragement. The letter must have these thoughts expressed pleasingly and in good lan- guage. Such are elements in an ideal letter. And these are figura- tive for elements in an ideal life. Each one of our lives is, figuratively speaking, a letter—an epistle to be read and known of men. Each one of us is constantly writing the letter of life. There are some who are just writing the introductory words. To them the letter seems a big undertaking. They know not what to write. There are some who are in the midst of the letter of life trying to pen word after word steadily and thoughtfully, doing the duties of active life that lie nearest to them. Then there are those who have nearly finished the allotted letter of life and are about to have the envelope closed and sealed and addressed. Throughout this letter of life, each day a line is written. How are you writing and how will you write each line? Will you try to have it in accord with the ideal letter? I, Legibility. As it is not of great importance whether the letters are large or small, so the main concern is not whether we hold a great or small position in the world but 274 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS how we live whatever our position or province may be. If one is square, honest, upright then he can truly easily be read. If he has not these qualities he endeavors to keep his life writing blurred and indistinct because he is ashamed to be read and known of men. Sin can’t stand the light. Legible life writing is not that which is guided by impulse and is erratic and one moment far above the line doing things excellent and the next moment far below the line doing things evil. It does not go by fits and jerks. It has steadiness and regularity throughout to the very end. It is kept steady and straight by a purpose and the highest purpose. Ii. Will your letter of life possess neatness? Think of its order and arrangement. There is the paragraphing—the proper dividing up of one’s interest and one’s time. Life’s interests should take their places like soldiers falling into line, from broken ranks—the general, the colonels, the captains, the privates each in his place. But to hold to our main figure, give a big paragraph to your education, Give a big paragraph to your home, another to your community life, another to the church. In the midst of your daily work whatever it may be and in the midst of your pleasure, do not omit these other paragraphs. Aside from proper paragraphing, there is needed for neat- ness, a lack of erasures. Our letter of life ought not to be filled with a lot of little evil deeds which though they may be erased, nevertheless leave a bad mark. Unkind words spoken in a moment of vexation, thoughtless deeds working harm, evil thoughts tempting character—such things though sometimes small tend to take the beauty of neatness from the letter of life. Then there are the blots so large that they cannot be erased. They may be erased in the sight of God, but they leave such mark upon life that it is almost spoiled. The body may be broken; the intellect may be warped; the moral reason, that most godlike faculty, may be injured and conscience no longer able to do the thing it was intended to do, A'nd along with these things there passes the reputation. “A good name is THE LETTER OF LIFE 275 rather to be chosen than great riches.” One single blot, one single great mistake is ofttimes remembered longer than all the good things of life. III. Our letter of life must have that which is helpful to others. We must live not for ourselves primarily, but for other selves. We do not own our lives, we owe them. The greatest good to the greatest number is a splendid aim. That means to serve rather than to be served. Be not guilty of making the chief aim of your life pleasure or wealth or fame or knowledge, but service, which of course must include char- acter. It is our duty to work hard to make our lives in every way as strong as we can make them. But the main reason for a person’s laboring with all his might to become a power physically, intellectually, socially, financially, spiritually or any other way is that with that power he may become of greater service to mankind. IV. Again, will you in a kindly and tactful and straight- forward way express those helpful things? There is an old saying, “It isn’t so much what you say as how you say it.” At any rate the way words are spoken and deeds are done counts for much. “Christian courtesy,” says Robert Speer, “is just the width of the margin between common decency and our social ways.” Strive to have a big width of that margin. Put yourself in the place of the other person before you say the word that hurts. Aim for a background of Christian culture that out of that background may proceed your words and deeds. When we have mailed a letter, it has gone from our control. Doubtless you have experienced the feeling of regret for words written that you wish could be recalled but cannot be, before they have reached the appointed eyes and have done their work. You have known the feeling of regret for words spoken and deeds done in life’s letter. Apologies may be given and accepted, but the wrong still may exist. Sometimes nothing can blot it out. Let us have a care for each line of our letter of life. Each line should be just as perfect as we can make it. It can never 276 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS be torn up or erased and rewritten though God can forgive. With Shakespeare, “What’s done is done and ’tis well ’twere well done.” “Life is a sheet of paper white, Whereon each one of us may write His word or two, and then comes night; Though thou hast time But for a line—be that sublime, Not failure but low aim is crime.” Se ee ond ) WHAT’S THE USE OF PRAYING? 277 108 WHAT’S THE USE OF PRAYING? Rev. AuFrep Barratr Text: “I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray.” 1 Samuel Ter t Iam wondering if the boys and girls who are hearing these story sermons are boys and girls who say their prayers. You cannot be Christians without prayer. Some people try to be, but they are miserable failures, They think they can be godly without God, Christlike without Christ, good people without reading their Bible and saying their prayers. But this cannot be. Did you ever see a tree without roots, or an eagle with- out wings? Well, then, you never saw a Christian who could not and would not pray. We need to pray. We could not live the Christian life unless we did pray. Montgomery wrote the truth when he wrote those beautiful words: “Prayer is the Christian’s vital breath, The Christian’s native air.” And yet in spite of this great truth some boys and girls ask this foolish question, ‘“What’s the use of praying?’ It is an old question. Did you ever hear a boy or girl ask the question, “‘What’s the use of breathing?’ We all know that our bodies would die if we did not breathe. Breathing is the only true sign of life. It is good to breathe because while we are breathing we are living, and we all like to live. So how what breathing is to the body praying is to the soul. It is good to pray because while we are praying it is a true sign that our soul is still living. Jesus tells us to pray because he wants us to live. So you see it is very clear that a boy or girl who is a Christian cannot afford to quit praying, be- cause the very moment you stop praying you cease to live the De ad 278 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS life of a Christian. It pays to pray, for when you pray God listens. He loves to hear the children pray. There is a story told about a little shepherd boy who was obliged to keep watch over the sheep, and so could not go to church. But in his heart there grew a longing to pray to God as they were doing in the church. He had never. been taught to pray and did not know what to say, but he wanted to pray, and so, kneeling down, he began with closed eyes and folded hands saying the alphabet, ““A, B, C, D,” and on to the end. ‘What are you doing, my little man?” said a gentleman who was passing by. ‘Please, sir, I was praying,” replied the boy. “But why are you saying your letters?’ “Why,” said the little fellow, “I didn’t know any prayer, only I felt I wanted God to take care of me and help me to take care of the sheep, so I thought if I said all I knew he would put it together and spell all I wanted.” “Bless your heart, my little man, he will! When the heart speaks right, the lips can’t say wrong,” said the gentleman. We are not all gifted to use nice language, but when we kneel in prayer God does not listen to the eloquence of the tongue. He listens to the desire of the heart. It is not always what you say, but just what you mean, that God listens to. Have you heard about that old man’s prayer in one of our city hospitals? The doctors were getting ready an old man upon whom they were going to perform an operation. He was stretched out on the operating table, and when at length everything was in readiness one of the doctors brought the chloroform. The old man raised his head and said, “Wait a moment’; then folding his hands and closing his eyes he began to repeat the little prayer which he used to say at his mother’s knee: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to keep; If I should die before I wake, I pray Thee, Lord, my soul to take, And this I ask for Jesus’ sake. Amen.” The doctors bowed their heads reverently and waited, and when he had finished he looked up calmly and said, “I am Se WHAT’S THE USE OF PRAYING? 279 ready.” Do you still say, ‘““What’s the use of praying?” I have learned to believe that it is always best to spend a little time in prayer. If we only knew it would cheer our hearts in the days of sorrow or trouble to be conscious of the fact that our Heavenly Father looks down upon us with a smile upon his face when we take time to pray. There is a sweet story told by Robert Louis Stevenson. of a storm that once caught a vessel off a rocky coast and threat- ened to drive it and its passengers to destruction. In the midst of the terror one daring man, contrary to orders, went to the deck, made a very dangerous passage to the pilot house, saw the steersman lashed fast at his post, holding the wheel unwaveringly and inch by inch turning the ship once more out to sea. The pilot saw the watcher and smiled. Then the daring passenger went back to the other passengers in the lower part of the vessel and gave out a note of cheer. “T have seen the face of the pilot and he smiled. All is well.” Let us imitate the example of the shepherd boy and also that of the old man, and at all times and under all circumstances by prayer seek the face of our Heavenly Father, and then whatever happens we can say with the same confidence of that daring passenger on the vessel in the storm, “I have seen the face of my Pilot and He smiles, and all is well.” Will you do this? Begin in the days of your youth to pray with- out ceasing, and your life will be filled with happiness the rest of your days. 280 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 109 FAITH IN OTHERS (Object Sermon) Rey. Lesure F. Dunxin Equipment. A roasted peanut in the hull. Preparation. Since this is to be a surprise for the boys and girls bring the peanut to the pulpit without their knowl- edge. Announce about three weeks ahead of time that on a certain date there will be brought to the meeting something that nobody has ever seen. This will be shown to the boys and girls and then will be placed where nobody will ever see it again. Announce this as often as possible previous to the time for it, as curiosity forms a strong drawing-card for this talk. Assistant. A boy or girl to eat the peanut. Presentation. (The Leader Speaking.) Will some boy or girl tell us what I promised to show you this morning? James, you tell us. Yes, I said that I was going to show you some- thing that nobody had ever seen before and then I was going to put it where nobody would ever see it again. Now I will need some help to do all of this, so I am going to ask Florence to stand with me here to see that I do what I have promised and to help me. Let’s think for a moment about what I am going to do. I have promised to show you something that nobody has ever seen. It has been necessary for me to get this and bring it here without seeing it and without anybody else seeing it. Can you imagine how that can be done? No, the person who gave it to me had never seen it, nor has anybody else. Then, too, I promised to take this unseen thing and show it to you so that everybody here can see it. We will be the first ones who have ever seen it. After looking at it closely and examining it, I will then place it away where nobody will ever FAITH IN OTHERS 281 see it again. No, we ourselves will never see it again, nor will anybody else. We will be the only ones to see it. I am going to put my hand in my pocket and take that thing in my hand. There, I have it all closed up tight in my hand. Now how many of you believe that I have such a thing and can do as I said? Raise your hands. Now be honest. How many think I can’t? Raise your hands. Let’s look at it. Yes, it is a peanut and somebody has seen this before. I will take the hull off. There is the kernel. Nobody has ever seen that before, has he? Look at it sharp. Now how many believe that I have showed you something nobody has seen before? Raise your hands. Yes, all of you can believe it now. Now let’s finish our promise. Florence, you open your mouth. There, I have put it in her mouth and she has eaten it. Will anybody ever see that peanut kernel again? No, nobedy ever will. How many believe that I can do as I promised at first? Raise your hands. Yes, all of you believe it now, because I have done it. There is a little word called “Faith.” Those of you who were sure I could do as I had promised before I did it had faith in me and my word. Those who were sure I could not did not have faith in me and my word. After I did it, then you had faith in me. Now if I were to say I could do some- thing else that might seem impossible how many would have faith enough in me to believe that I could do it? Raise your hands. Yes, all of you have faith in me now. 282 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS 110 THREE LESSONS THE CANDLE TAUGHT (Object Sermon) Rev. Henry F. Burpon Preached the Sunday following a tremendous storm that put the lighting system out of commission. The object was a half- burned candle in a candlestick. I was passing through an upstairs room in the parsonage the other day when my eye fell on this candle. The moment he caught my eye I seemed to hear him say—“Preach about me.7 Now he is not a very attractive object, is he? A brand- new candle would look lots better, wouldn’t it? But do you know I admire this old fellow very much. I will tell you why. Do you remember what happened last Monday? We had a terrific storm—yes. And what did the storm do? It broke the wires and blew down the poles and left us without electric lights. I suppose you did the same at your house as we did at ours—you got out all the lamps and candles and lighted them. Well, this candle was one of them. He had been laid away in an obscure corner somewhere and forgotten. No one knew or cared where he was until there was no electricity. But when we pressed the button and there was no light forthcom- ing then we remembered the candle. He was brought out from his hiding place and put to work. Now I said I would tell you why I admire this old candle. Ist—Because he did not sulk when he was taken out of the box and say, “Well, you didn’t have any use for me when you had electric lights and I just won’t help you now.” Haven't you seen folks like that? If they can’t be first, they won't help at all. If somebody is asked to take part and they are not, they sulk about it. If they are asked to do THREE LESSONS THE CANDLE TAUGHT 283 something that some other person has been asked to do and refused, they say—‘‘Play second fiddle—I guess not.” The New Testament tells of a man named Diotrephes who “loved to have the preeminence among them.” Now that is not the best spirit. Jesus said, “If any would be great among you let him be your servant.” And I admire this candle— 2nd—Because it did not try to be an electric light or do the work of electricity, but was content to be a candle and do the work of a candle. The electric lights give ten and fifteen and forty candle- power light. The electric power turns washing machines, runs vacuum cleaners, heats flatirons and all sorts of things. All the candle could do was to give just one small candle power light. But how cheerful that little light was in the midst of darkness! He knew he could not do any of the tasks electricity does and he did not try. And just here is the lesson we need to learn. If we can’t do great things, let us be content to do and be just what we can. If we have only one candle power let us make that one candle power count mightily. God will honor the effort. Have you heard the story of the king who built a great temple to God and had his name inscribed in a conspicuous place? In a dream he saw his name removed and another name in its place and the voice of God told him the other name was more deserving of the place of honor. The king was very angry and his agents sought out the owner of the name. They found her, an old widow who could not do much to honor God, but every day she would give water to the tired, thirsty horses that hauled the great stones for the temple. She had but one candle power, but God honored her for using it. And I admire this candle— 3rd—Because it was willing to give itself to help us. To give light the candle had to give itself. Just as soon as the match lit the wick the candle began to disappear. Every ray of good cheer it gave to us meant the sacrifice of itself. That is true of all service. No service worth the name is 284 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS ever done without we spend ourselves in the doing. And in self-spending for others we honor God. You remember that Lowell says— “Who giveth himself with his gift feeds three, Himself, his hungering neighbor, and me” —that is Christ. This is why the half-burned candle seems so much more attractive than the new one, THE WASP 285 111 THE WASP Rev. T. E. Horie Is there any insect prettier to look upon than a beautiful wasp? The busy bee that gives us honey is not nearly so handsome in appearance. The wonderful head, the gauzy gossamer wings, the exquisitely striped body of the wasp arrest our attention and excite our admiration. But beautiful as it appears to the naked eye, it reveals its grace of form and glory of color to a great degree when put under a microscope. And yet nobody likes the wasp; of all insects this is perhaps the most unpopular. Everybody tries to get out of the way of the wasp and few people feel any compunction of con- science if they kill it. One of the first things I discovered about the parsonage where I have lived for nearly a year was a hornets’ nest near one of the windows of the sun parlor. The painter came a few days after I arrived to paint the outside of the house. His first business was to try to get the hornets to depart so that he might paint in peace. But they were loth to leave. He tried to drive them out, to drown them out, and to smoke them out, but they showed a determination to stay. It was only after a protracted fight that they were driven away in defeat. Why all this hostility to the beautiful wasp? It is because of the sting. And what causes the wasp to sting? Why, when it is irritated and made angry. It is a bad temper that spoils the wasp’s beauty. There are young people who have attractive beauty, but, alas! it is spoiled by the sting of a sharp temper. Their beauty attracts, but their temper repels. Is there anything that will take the sting out of an otherwise beautiful life? Much may be accomplished by one’s own watchful effort, but to get the 286 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS poison of evil out of one’s nature there is the promise and power of divine grace. Let Jesus come into your heart, bring- ing the sweetness of his saving grace, taking away unlovely tempers, and in their place causing his own spirit to dwell. THE NEW EYE-GLASSES 287 112 THE NEW EYE-GLASSES Rey. James M. Farrar, D.D. Text: “Bear ye one another’s burdens.” Galatians 6: 2. Did you see that very large man who walked past your house yesterday? What a splendid fellow he would be to carry our burdens! We could pile a number of them on one of his shoulders and then some more of them on his other shoulder, and he could carry them right along for us. Then did you notice his big arms? He could just take his arms full of our burdens and carry them for us. Did you see his hands? Why, we could hang a burden on each of his ten fingers and they would not seem heavier than your little ring. The Bible says, “Bear ye one another’s burdens.” If we had more big, strong men we could have all our burdens carried for us. By the way, did you see that little girl who passed the house yesterday? What a pretty little girl she was. But she did not have big, strong shoulders and her arms did not seem able to carry any heavy burdens. Her tiny little fingers are so small that even a little burden might break one of them. She seems to need that tiny ring to hold the finger on her hand. It is not about this big man that I want to talk to you, for he may not be carrying any burdens except his own. But I want to tell you about that little girl. She is the greatest burden-bearer in this community. If you had a pair of those new eye-glasses and could look through them at that little girl you would be astonished at what she is carrying. You have not heard of these new eye-glasses? You have heard of the X-ray, that strange light that enables us to see a fat man’s bones and to look clear through some people who think they know how to keep a secret. The new eye-glasses enable us to see what people are carrying. 288 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS The old eye-glasses were, “Set a thief to catch a thief.” If any one is a thief he is the one who can see a thief and know all the mean things he is doing. But there are so few mean people that it does not pay to make these old eye-glasses. A’ new eye-glass firm has been organized, and is called “The Junior Congregation Eye-Glass Company, Unlimited.” The new eye-glasses are, “Set a burden-bearer to catch a burden- bearer.” If a boy or girl has learned to bear the burden of others, that is the boy or girl who can see all who are burden- bearers and to know all the good things they are doing. Now, if you had a pair of these glasses you would be able to see that little girl with burdens on both shoulders, burdens on top of her head, burdens in both arms. Each finger carry- ing a burden as large as that big man would feel able to carry on his shoulders. This little girl had read her Bible and had read your text, “Bear ye one another’s burdens.” Then she began to ask, “Can I bear any one’s burdens?” At first she thought that she could only carry some tiny burden, but - she was willing to carry a tiny burden for mother. She found she could carry this burden, then she added to it some other person’s burden, then some other person’s burden, then some other one’s heavier burden. She soon found that she was able to carry every one of them. Now, something even stranger than that. When she took those burdens she found that she could run faster, skip the rope oftener, sing better, and that her school work seemed to be lighter. All her other burdens seemed to grow lighter whenever she took a burden of some other person upon herself. I am going to tell you a story, and if you do not learn all about this little girl in the story, go to mamma and ask her to tell you the rest. The story was written by some one who wore the new eye-glasses. Here URI Re “Bear ye one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” These words came in Lena Graves’ morning Bible reading, and they impressed her deeply. She realized that there was a lack in their home life, although the Graves family was affectionate and, in the main, thoughtful of each other. Yet there was a flaw. She determined for this one day to THE NEW EYE-GLASSES 289 try to treat every one she met just as she would like to be treated under the same circumstances. It was an experiment, of course, but would it not be following out the Scripture message she had just received? Before going downstairs she resolved that through the day she would say every kind word she could honestly utter. She began at the breakfast table. “How light these muffins are!” she exclaimed, as she broke open the one on her plate. Mrs. Graves looked relieved. The family was apt to be critical, and she was dreading remarks upon the coffee, which was not quite so clear as usual. Her next opportunity came as she started for school. Bridget was scrubbing the front steps, and the young girl paused to say, “You did up my lace collar beautifully, Bridget. I really believe it looks better than when it went to the laundry.”’ “That’s a good thing, sure,’’ answered Bridget, with an unwonted smile. And as Lena vanished, for some reason she went back and scrubbed a corner of the upper step which she had passed over slightingly. After the algebra class Lena lingered for a moment at the teacher’s desk to say, “That explanation of yours helped me to see into this seventh example perfectly. Thank you.” The pale, discouraged teacher looked up, surprised. She had a sudden, refreshed feeling, such as always comes when a bunch of violets was dropped on her desk. Not many words of appreciation came her way, and the joy went through the rest of the school’s routine. And so it went on all through the hours of that eventful day. At its close, Lena felt a rare happiness she had never known. The next morning mamma was delighted to find that Lena had made her own bed and tidied up the room. Then when mamma went to her room she found the bed made to a perfect spread and the dusting all done—mamma fainted. But she “came to,” feeling better and has not had a sick headache for three months. Then came a new world into Lena’s vision. She saw boys and girls, men and women, as she had never seen them be- 290 ONE HUNDRED CHILDREN’S SERMONS fore. So many of them were carrying burdens for other people. The old world seems new. The old, sad world was glad. She never again called her old father “Dad.” He seemed like a young big brother, helping to carry her burdens. She became a member of “The Junior Congregation Eye- Glass Company, Unlimited.” You could often hear her say, “New eye-glasses for sale. Price, the life, suffering and death of Christ.” THE END Ps f 1 ’ ws. 4 D4 ; ‘ ) od whe ; tat Mees ne His aie A Ae ¥h LAY } 5 ty Pill ¢ yy Be ee ue Nat bie ee! i A) rae Mal we anf te a Ohi ENT AICteN iM