Fifty-Two Story Talks to Boys and GirlsChidley, Howard J. (Howard James)
Religion
Fifty-Two Story Talks to Boys and Girls
Chidley, Howard J. (Howard James)
Children's sermons
Of course you know what that sort of deception means: it is telling a
lie without speaking it.
So you see these lies went with the suit-cases. And wherever those
girls carried their bags, the lies walked along with them, and said to
everyone who looked at them, "Our owners have been to Europe."
Of course, no self-respecting boy or girl would do such a thing. But you
must also be careful not to act falsehoods by pretending things in
school, or acting at home as if you don't know about things when you do.
Don't try to fool _yourselves_, then you will not try to fool other
people.
WELLINGTON AND THE SOLDIER
No boy likes to be called a coward, and some boys do things that are
dangerous for fear that their friends will think they have no courage.
Sometimes it is more cowardly to do a dangerous thing like that than not
to do it.
Do not think that you are a coward because you are afraid of dangerous
things. Some of the bravest men the world ever saw have been afraid, but
in spite of their fear they went firmly on.
A story is told of Lord Wellington, a great English general, who saw a
young man in his army who was white with fear just before a battle, and
yet did not run away. Lord Wellington said: "There is a brave man. He
knows the danger, and yet he faces it." Another story is told of a
soldier who was making fun of a second who was badly frightened just
before battle. The frightened soldier said to the other one: "Yes, I am
afraid. And if you were half as much afraid as I am, you would run
away."
The lesson I want to draw is this, that it is not cowardly to be afraid
of things which have danger in them. It is cowardly to run away if you
ought to face them. And if you ought not to face them it is cowardly to
go headlong into them, just because of some other boy's foolish dare.
I remember a playmate who used to bite the heads off the fish he caught,
just because another boy dared him to. It used to make him terribly
sick, but he was too much of a coward not to do it. Some boys take up
smoking and drinking and swearing for the same reason. Any boy who does
that sort of thing is a coward.
ABRAHAM'S GUEST
You have all heard of Abraham, who went out from his home in Ur of the
Chaldees to find God. And you remember how he dwelt in tents, and had
hundreds of cattle. And you know how good he was to his nephew, Lot.
There is a story told about Abraham which you will not find in the
Bible. Abraham received into his tent one day an aged traveler. After he
had invited the traveler to dine with him at his sunset meal, Abraham
went out to offer up his evening sacrifice to God. But the traveler
would not join him in prayer and thanksgiving. Abraham was angry because
of the old man's lack of religion, and drove him from his tent.
Later in the evening the angel of the Lord appeared to Abraham and asked
him why he had driven out the old man. Abraham replied:
"Lord, he refused to acknowledge Thee!"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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