communion with God, and the joy and satisfaction we have in our hearts
in knowing that we are the children of God; that Jesus Christ has
redeemed us from sin and death; that we are the heirs of everlasting
life, and of everlasting glory. And the Bible promises us that in the
world to come we shall enjoy everlasting blessedness, and happiness and
joy--that we shall dwell forever with Jesus Christ; that we shall be
made kings and queens unto our God. The Bible tells us, that it has not
entered into the heart of man to think or to conceive of the things
which God has in store for those who love Him. If we were to laden this
tree with all the richest treasures of the world they could not
adequately suggest the great blessings which God has in store for you
and for me.
How fitting, then, that we should be glad and joyous on Christmas
day!--that you and I should receive not simply these material gifts, but
that we should also accept of Jesus Christ in our hearts and receive His
spiritual blessings; and so be adopted into the family of God, and be
permitted to dwell for ever in His presence on high. May God always
bless you in your Christmas joy, and may you be glad not only because
you receive the gifts of your parents and friends, but also because God
gives to us all, His Only Begotten and Well Beloved Son, Jesus Christ,
to be our Redeemer and Friend.
QUESTIONS.--What event does Christmas Day
commemorate? About what time of the year are the
days shortest and the nights longest? What does
the darkness of the long nights represent? Was the
world in moral darkness when Christ came? Is He
the world's Redeemer? What trees are green in the
winter? Whom does the evergreen tree represent?
Why? Where did the custom of having Christmas
trees probably originate? What do the things on
the Christmas tree represent? Did people give
Christmas presents before Christ came? What do our
gifts to one another represent? With His Son, has
God given us other things which we are to enjoy?
Where do people enjoy the greatest material
comforts and blessings, in Christian or heathen
lands? In what lands are the largest spiritual
blessings enjoyed?
EASTER SUNDAY.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY.
SUGGESTION:--Objects: An egg and a little chick in
a cage, or a toy chick, such as are often
available at Easter time may be used.
MY LITTLE FRIENDS: Can you tell me what we commemorate on Easter Sunday?
Yes, we commemorate the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
You remember how some weeks ago I showed you a watch-case.[A] You
thought it was a watch, but when I opened it it had no works in it,
consequently it was only a watch-case. When I placed the works in the
case, then it made a complete watch.
So you have also seen the body of a dead person and you have possibly
thought that that was the individual, the person whom you had known; but
that which you saw was only the body. The soul, the immortal part, had
taken its departure and gone back to God who first placed it in the
body. Now, just the same as the works of a watch can keep good time
without being in the case, so the soul can exist apart from the body. If
you were to take the watch-case and bury it in the ground, that fact
would not affect either the existence or the accuracy of the works of
the watch in measuring time. So when God takes the soul out of the body
we say that it is a dead body, and it becomes necessary for us to bury
it out of our sight.
[Illustration: The Women at the Sepulchre.]
On Good Friday we commemorate the death of Christ upon the cross on
Calvary. You remember how, after the crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea
and Nicodemus came and took the body of Christ down from the cross and
laid it in a new tomb which Joseph had hewn out of rock in his garden.
When this had been done, Pilate remembered how Jesus had said that if He
were put to death, after three days He would rise again. Now, Pilate did
not believe that Jesus would rise again, but was afraid that His
disciples or some friends might come by night and steal away His body
and circulate the report that Jesus had risen from the dead; so he
placed Roman soldiers around the sepulchre to prevent His disciples from
coming near the tomb, or sepulchre where Joseph had laid away the body
of Christ. Pilate purposed to prevent the possibility of Christ's
resurrection, but in the fact that he placed the soldiers there he
secured for all after ages the most positive proof that Jesus did
actually rise from the dead. These soldiers were Roman soldiers, and if
they had slept while they were upon guard duty, the penalty would have
been death. But when the angel came down from heaven and rolled away the
stone, then we are told that these Roman soldiers became as dead men.
It is on Easter Sunday that we commemorate this rising of Christ from
the grave or sepulchre. Now, can you tell me why it is that on Easter we
have these Easter eggs, such as I hold in my hand? I will tell you why
it is. It is because while the outside of this egg is like the outside
of a vault or grave, yet inside there is a germ of life. If you take a
dozen perfect eggs and place them under a mother hen, and have her set
on them for three weeks, at the end of that time out of these eggs which
seem to have nothing of life in them, there will come forth little
chickens, just such as I hold in my hand, only this one is not alive.
But it is a very accurate representation of a little chicken a day or
two old.
Now, just in this same way if you were to drive through a cemetery and
look at a vault, which is the nearest that we have in this country in
likeness to the sepulchre in which the body of Christ was laid, you
would not suppose for a moment that there would be living people in that
vault. While the bodies that are in the vault are dead bodies, yet they
have the promise of life, God will some day raise them up, unite again
the soul and the body and give them that everlasting life and
resurrection glory which Jesus has promised. And as Jesus rose from the
dead on Easter Sunday morning, so we have the promise that in the final
resurrection the bodies of all who have ever lived upon the earth shall
hear the voice of the Son of God and shall come forth; those who have
lived Christian lives to the resurrection of life, and those who have
done evil to the resurrection of death and eternal punishment.
[Illustration: Little Chickens Just Out of the Shells.]
The egg then is the symbol of life, for out of this seemingly lifeless
object there comes forth the living chick; so out of the graves and
sepulchres there will eventually come forth the bodies of all who have
ever died, and these bodies shall become resurrection bodies. These
mortals shall put on immortality, and these corruptible bodies shall put
on incorruption; and then the souls and the bodies of all shall be
reunited, never again to be separated throughout all eternity.
Perhaps during the past few months or years you may have laid away in
the grave the body of some dear little brother or sister, or perhaps of
a kind father or mother, or some other friend; if so, the spring season
of the year will suggest to you the resurrection. The grass and the
flowers which appeared to be dead last fall, and which during the winter
have been wrapped in a white shroud of snow, now feel the warm breath of
spring, and life and beauty are coming forth out of the sepulchre of the
winter.
Soon all the trees will put forth their leaves and then beauteous
blossoms and sweet fragrance will tell of the spring time as the
resurrection period of the year.
So at Easter time we properly turn to the cemeteries where rest the
bodies of our loved ones and know that the long winter of death and
decay shall eventually give place to the promised resurrection of life
and beauty. On that Easter morn the bodies of our loved ones shall be
raised up, the soul and the body shall be reunited, and we shall see
them and know them as they are.
Now, just how God shall gather again all the scattered parts of these
bodies that were buried in the sea, or have decayed back to earth in the
ground, we do not know. But our ignorance does not change the fact. I do
not understand how at first God created man out of dust of the earth,
nor do I know how the bread and meat and food which I eat each day
nourish my life and become part of my own body. I do not know how, out
of the same handful of earth, either an apple or a flower might grow. I
know that it is so, but the how I do not know; nor does my ignorance
prevent or hinder God from accomplishing it. If each day I eat food
which by some strange power which God has placed within me is changed
into bones in my body, to hair on my head, to nails on the ends of my
fingers, to teeth, and eyes and ears and thus becomes a part of myself,
why should I question, or desire to know how God is able to quicken in
the grave the power to make the body to live again. If in the beginning
God only spoke and worlds came into being, I know that when He shall
command these bodies to rise from death and the grave they also will
hear His voice and obey.
I am sure that no boy nor girl here would want that, on the morning of
the resurrection his or her body should refuse to obey God's voice when
He shall command the dead to come forth from their graves in life and
beauty. You will want to obey Him then, but should you not also desire
to obey Him now? When God tells you in the Bible what He wants you to
do, are you obedient? Do you do as He commands? If you are disobedient
now, then in the morning of the resurrection you might even desire,
rather to remain in your grave, so that you should not have to look into
the face of Him whom you have disobeyed and offended. If you want to
awake on that final Easter morning in the likeness of Jesus and be
forever with Him in glory, remember that you must obey God now as Jesus
did when He was upon the earth. If we would be like Jesus in glory, we
must strive to be like Him in all that we do, and I trust that you may
think of this daily. At all times when you are uncertain what it is your
duty to do, ask yourself this question: "If He were in my place, what
would Jesus do?" And then act and do as nearly as possible as you think
Jesus would do under the same circumstances.
QUESTIONS.--What does Easter commemorate? Is a
dead body actually the person you knew? What has
become of the soul? What do we commemorate on Good
Friday? Of what are Easter eggs the symbol? What
does the shell represent? What does the inside
represent? Will the bodies of all who have died be
raised some day? Who tells us this? What will God
do with the risen bodies? What will become of the
good? What of the wicked? Do we know how God will
gather the scattered parts of the body? Does it
make any difference whether we know how or not? Is
anyone likely to refuse God's summons on the
Judgment Day? Do we always obey Him now? When in
doubt what question should we ask ourselves?
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTE:
[A] NOTE--Sermon on Watch and Case, see page 125.
CROWNS.
THE CHILDREN OF THE KING.
SUGGESTION:--Objects: A crown of leaves or paper,
or of both.
BOYS AND GIRLS: I have to-day two or three crowns, and I want to talk to
you about those who are children of the King.
[Illustration: A Crown of Leaves.]
[Illustration: A Jewelled Crown.]
First of all, I have here a crown which is made of leaves. This was the
first kind of crown ever used. Three thousand years ago or more, those
who excelled in strength, or running, or wrestling, or in any of the
games which were common then, received a crown like this, which was
placed upon their heads. This was regarded as a very great honor.
Afterward, the kings of the earth began to use crowns. Their crowns were
made of gold and set with costly jewels. These they wore on state
occasions to indicate their high rank and position. Here is a crown made
of gilt paper and set with a few silver-paper stars, meant to represent
the crowns which kings and queens wear. While this crown is only made of
paper, the crowns of kings and queens are made of gold, set with many
costly stones. Besides the larger jewels in the crown of King George V.
of England, there are also sixteen sapphires, eleven emeralds, nearly
three hundred pearls, and some twenty-eight hundred very costly
diamonds, and it is estimated to be worth many millions of dollars.
[Illustration: The Crowns on a Table.]
Now suppose that we had gathered into this room the children, the boys
and girls, of all the kings and queens of earth. Suppose also that they
could all understand English, and that none of them knew that they were
the sons and daughters of kings and queens, and that it was my
delightful privilege to tell them how great and rich and powerful their
parents are; and then I were also permitted to tell them, for the first
time, what beautiful crowns their parents own. Suppose also that after
exciting their curiosity about these things, I should have the crowns of
all the kings of earth placed on a long table at my side, covered with a
beautiful cloth, and after telling them about the crowns, I should
uncover this table with all these crowns of gold, studded with jewels.
Don't you suppose that the eyes of all those boys and girls would
sparkle with curiosity and delight?
But now, suppose that it were my privilege to do more than to show them
the crowns. Suppose that I were permitted also to tell them that they
were heirs to these crowns, and that after their fathers and mothers,
the present kings and queens, had died, they were to become kings and
queens, and were to receive these crowns as their own. Suppose that,
more than this, it were my privilege to pick up the crown of Denmark,
and then calling some little boy to me I were to hand it to him, and
tell him that he was to keep it, and that some day it would be placed
upon his head, and he would be King of Denmark. And then I should take
the crown of Sweden, and calling another girl, I should give her that
crown, and tell her that she should keep it, until some day it would be
placed upon her head, and she should be Queen of Sweden. Suppose that in
the same way I should take the crowns of Germany and Russia, and
Austria, and Italy, and Spain, and the great crown of England, and all
the crowns of all the nations of the earth; and calling the boys and
girls by name, should have them come forward and receive these crowns,
to be kept until they should be placed upon their heads, when they
should be Kings and Queens, ruling in great pomp, and splendor, and
honor, and power. Do you not think that it would be a very happy hour to
these boys and girls, when all these great thoughts should be disclosed
to them for the first time, and they should look upon such costly
crowns, and receive them into their own hands, as their very own?
Now, boys and girls, while you have been listening to me, you have
possibly not thought that what I have told you is really being fulfilled
in your own hearing to-day, for the Bible tells us, "I will be a Father
unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord
Almighty." (2 Cor. vi: 18.) Then, in another place, it also says,
"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we
shall be." (1 John iii: 2.) So you see that it is my privilege to-day to
talk, not to the children of earthly kings, whose glory is only temporal
and whose honor is always uncertain, but I am permitted to talk to the
children of the King of kings. (1 Tim. vi: 15; Rev. xix: 16.) The
Scriptures not only tell us that God "is the only Potentate (the only
powerful one), the King of kings," but it also tells us that He "hath
made us unto our God kings and priests." (Rev. v: 10.) The same great
book also tells us, not only, that we shall be kings and priests unto
our God, but that we "shall reign forever and ever." (Rev. xxii: 5.)
When a king dies he ceases to be king upon earth, but when God shall
make us kings and queens and crown us in Heaven, we shall never die
again, or cease to be kings and queens. The Bible tells us very clearly
that our Father in Heaven is King over all earthly kings; greater than
any of them; greater than all the kings of earth put together; a million
times greater; yes, millions and millions of times greater; so much
greater that the two do not compare in reality, but earthly kings simply
suggest to our minds something of our great Heavenly King. God, this
great King, created us and we were His children. But our first parents
sinned and rebelled against Him, and refused to recognize Him as Father
and to obey what He wanted them to do. But God loved them and us as a
tender Father, and sent His only-begotten and well-beloved Son, Jesus
Christ, to reconcile us; to tell us that God the Father loved us; that
He was willing to forgive us, and that He would still accept us and make
us kings and priests unto Himself, would crown us with glory, would give
us dominion and make us kings and priests forever in Heaven. So you see
that there can be no mistake about our being sons and daughters of the
Lord Almighty. We are not only His children, but He has promised us
crowns of glory and thrones of dominion and power.
If you and I were in England to-day and could walk into the Tower of
London, where they keep the crown and the jewels of the royal family,
and we could learn the value of these costly jewels, and crowns and
scepters, it matters not how rich we might be, I am sure we would have
to despair of ever being able to purchase these costly crown jewels.
They are estimated at many millions of dollars. Now, if an earthly
crown, which can only be retained for a few years, is so valuable, how
much more valuable are the everlasting crowns, such as God gives, and
which are to be ours for all eternity? And if we are not able to buy
such an earthly crown, how much less are we able to purchase or buy a
heavenly crown? The heavenly crowns are so valuable that we could never
hope to buy them, therefore God gives them to us because He loves us.
More than two hundred years ago a man by the name of Colonel Blood
attempted to steal the crowns and the crown jewels of England. He was
not altogether successful, but was arrested before he escaped with them.
But do you know that there are many who would steal your crown, and my
crown of everlasting glory, if they possibly could? Therefore, God tells
us in the Bible, "Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy
crown." (Rev. iii: 11.) So you see it is very important that we should
be constantly on our guard. The King of England has soldiers to watch
day and night, lest any one should steal his crown. And so also you and
I need to be constantly on our guard, lest wicked people and sinful
influences should rob us of our heavenly crown.
Not only are crowns sometimes stolen, but sometimes they are also lost.
About fifty years ago some people were digging in France, and they found
eight costly crowns, all lying close together, having been lost or
hidden away in the earth. Four of them were very costly and very
beautiful, while the others were smaller crowns. The first four were for
the king and the queen, and the prince, and one other of the older
children, and the other four crowns were for the younger children of the
king's household. Yet you see that the father and mother and all the
children lost their crowns. I trust that no parents here, or children
either, would prize their heavenly crowns so lightly as ever to lose
them.
There are thousands of people who would be willing to put forth any
effort, or to pay any costs, if they could only obtain an earthly crown,
and yet the Bible tells us that these people do it "to obtain a
corruptible crown; but we, an incorruptible." (1 Cor. ix: 25.) Now, by
a corruptible crown is meant one that, like this crown made of leaves,
will fade and fall to pieces, and decay, and thus pass entirely away.
Even a crown of gold, studded with costly jewels, would thus also
eventually perish. The crown which God gives to us is an imperishable
crown, which never fades, and never passes away. And therefore the
Scriptures say, "And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall
receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." (1 Peter v: 4.)
Since the Bible teaches us these truths so plainly, "What manner of
persons ought we to be, in all holy conversation and godliness?" (2
Peter iii: 11.) What more appropriate words could I say to you in
closing, than that which God says to us in the blessed Book in which He
has revealed all these things, "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look
for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace
without spot, and blameless." (2 Peter iii: 14.)
QUESTIONS.--What kind of crown was first worn?
Because crowns of leaves were so perishable, of
what were crowns later made? What can you tell
about the crown of the king of England? If the
crowns of all the kings of earth could be brought
together, would people desire to see them? If the
children of earthly kings were present and we told
them for the first time that they were the
children of kings and gave them the crowns which
they were eventually to own, would they be likely
to be pleased? Are you the child of a King who is
the King above all kings? Has He promised you a
crown? Will your crown be perishable? How long
will it last? Can you quote any of the passages of
Scripture which tell of our being the children of
the King of kings? Could the crown of an earthly
king be bought? Is there money enough in the world
to buy a crown of everlasting life? How then is
this crown to be obtained? Who once stole a crown
and the crown jewels of England? Was he successful
in getting away with them? Who tries to steal our
crown of everlasting glory? Is he ever successful?
Can you tell about the eight crowns which were
found hidden away in the earth in France? In what
book are we told that our crown is to be
imperishable and unfading, and to be ours forever?
What exhortation is contained in the last sentence
of the last sermon in this book?
THE END.
A WORD TO PARENTS
[Illustration]
THE imploring letters which come to me constantly from all parts of the
globe, written by young men and women who are almost hopelessly
struggling to be freed from evils into which they have fallen through
ignorance, prompt me to urge upon parents the great importance of
safe-guarding their children from evils unspeakable by information which
should always reach the child through the parent.
Many parents appreciate their duty to their children in this matter; the
only thing that restrains them is that they do not know what to say and
how to say it. They are in just the situation that I found myself with
my own boy and girl before I had made a special study of this subject.
It was to assist parents in this trying situation that I wrote "What a
Young Boy Ought to Know," and that Dr. Mary Wood-Allen wrote "What a
Young Girl Ought to Know." These two books, together with "What a Young
Man Ought to Know" and "What a Young Woman Ought to Know," have proven a
benediction to thousands of parents, and have saved multitudes of boys
and girls; of young men and young women from evils that come from blind
blundering among dangers that are attended with consequences that often
project themselves throughout the entire life, and frequently involve
even future generations.
These books were written to make men and women--not money. The United
States Government has had the books to men placed in the libraries of
all the battleships, and those addressed to boys and girls and young men
and young women placed in all the schools maintained by the Government
for the education of the North American Indians.
Requests have been made for permission to translate these books into
some forty different languages, and most of these requests have come
from Christian missionaries and church missionary societies, who have
desired the teachings which these books contain for use by their
missionaries.
These books, in English, sell at One Dollar per copy, and a simple post
card request addressed to the writer of the little book you now hold in
your hands, will bring you descriptive printed matter by early post.
SYLVANUS STALL,
206 North Fifteenth Street,
Philadelphia, Pa., U. S. A.
WITH THE CHILDREN ON SUNDAYS
* * * * *
Through Eye-Gate and Ear-Gate Into the City of Child Soul
* * * * *
_By_ SYLVANUS STALL, D. D.
* * * * *
_ENTHUSIASTICALLY COMMENDED BY THE PRESS_
* * * * *
FOR THE FAMILY CIRCLE AND TEACHERS.
"Delightful and instructive reading for the family circle on Sunday
afternoons."--_The Ram's Horn._