what the Lord commanded him to do. His prophecies enraged the people around him and they put him in a dungeon. It was an unpleasant place. The bottom of the pit was filled with mire and mud. Jeremiah sank down in it. All this did not make him bitter. Instead he trusted in the Lord and knew that his God would make even that circumstance a blessing. Soon the Lord sent men to pull him out. They brought rags to put under his arm-pits so the rope wouldn’t cut him. Jeremiah was a blessing and was re freshing to those about him. He did not let circumstances sour his Christian life. He doubted not and practiced our mem ory verse for today, “ Be strong and of a good courage . . . for the Lord thy God is with thee” (Josh. 1 :9 ). Objects: Four alarm clocks of differ ent sizes, and one small wrist watch. (Arrange the alarm clocks according to size, and stop the largest one from run ning. Partly unscrew the legs on the third one, but have it also running. Set the fourth one for the wrong time. Place them in order on a table, leaving the \vrist watch last in line.) Lesson: I brought the Clock Family with me this morning, boys and girls, and I’d like to have you meet them. This is Mr. Clock and his wife Mrs. Clock, next is Grandma Clock and Claire Clock. Last of all I want you to meet Clarence Clock. He is, only five years old and still small, but he hopes some day to grow into a big clock like his father. Can anyone tell me what is wrong with Mr. Clock? Bill you come up close and look at him. Yes, that is right Bill. He isn’t run ning at all. Something has happened to make him stop ticking. Perhaps the works got dirty, or he wasn’t wound. Mr. Clock reminds me of many Chris tians who let some sin come into their lives so they lose their testimony, or they forget to read their Bible, and so find it hard to go through the whole day living for the Lord. Should anyone look at Mr. Clock they wouldn’t know the right time at all. What is wrong with Mrs. Clock? Why she doesn’t have any hands does she? She is still running. She is like a lot of Christians who know about the Lord Page Twenty-nine November 20, 1949 T he C lock C lan
Illustrated by Gladys Bowman
Rev. Elmer L. Wilder
November 6, 1949 A M ystery and a M irror
with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God.” Just as easily as the mirror took all the mystery out of this writing, so the Lord takes the mystery out of our lives, when we look into the Bible, God’s Word.
Objects: A mirror and a piece of paper on which you have printed back wards the following sentences: “God is love.” “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” “The trying of your faith worketh patience.” “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God.” (The writing can be done easily by using a carbon paper, the carbon side up, under the paper on which the writ ing is desired. Write with a sharpened stick, rather than with a pencil, as you do not want the writing to show on both sides.)
November 13, 1949 S weet or S our
Objects: Two glasses of milk; one sweet milk, and the other sour, but not yet thickened. (Keep the good milk out of sight.) Lesson: How many of you like milk? I thought quite a lot of you would vote for it. Doctors say milk is the most nearly perfect food known to man. Most of us drank quarts of it before we tasted anything else in this world. I remember as a boy how my brothers and I used to reach eagerly for the glasses of cold milk which our mother would pour for us after we had been out working hard all morning. Is there someone here this morning who is hungry and would like a glass of cold milk? Alright, here is a glass for you, Stan ley. (Give him the glass with the sour ing milk in it.) But why do you make such a face? Isn’t it good milk? It is cold. You say it is sour. Yes it is. How very disappointing! You would hate to have to drink the whole glass wouldn’t you, and it would certainly leave a bad taste in your mouth. It re minds me of a lot of Christians who have had some disappointment or sor row come into their lives and have be come soured or bitter. They don’t believe that all things work together for good. You dislike to be around them, don’t you. You go away from them dis appointed instead of being refreshed. Instead of this milk being kept in a nice cool place, the temperature was too warm for it and it became sour. Here, Stanley, is a good glass of milk which you may drink. See how different it is. In our lesson today Jeremiah did
Lesson: How many of you like a mystery? I know that there are many mystery programs over the radio, and mystery stories in books, but did you know that there are many mysteries in our own lives? A mystery is anything we cannot understand. Have you ever had something happen and you just couldn’t understand why God let it happen? That’s a mystery. Perhaps it was some sorrow that came into your life, or a big disappointment. Many people do not know why they are sick, or why they are not permitted to go on a certain trip. This piece of paper has mysterious writing on it. It looks like a foreign language. The letters are backwards and running the wrong way. In solving the mysteries of life we do not have Christ present in person to explain them, but we do have the Bible, which makes all things clear. The Word of God is often spoken of as a mirror. As I hold this paper before the mirror, it becomes easy to read what is written. “God is love.” “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” “The trying of your faith worketh patience.” “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” “Fear thou not; for I am O C T O B E R , 1 9 4 9
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