Junior Chalk Talks

Thereare, doubtless, many ways in which a little "corner" in every sermon can be reserved for the benefit of the children. I have found that a junior chalk talk given immedi­ately preceding the regular sermon is effective. In the giving of these chalk talks, four ma­terials are necessary: (t) an easel or table, (2) a drawing board, (3) drawing paper, and (4) colored chalk. When the time comes to give the talk, the juniors should be invited to occupy the front seats, and these should be reserved for them each week.

The following is a sample talk, using Pro­verbs 20:1 as a text : "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."

Some of the most familiar signs which we see today are warning signs. Flashing red lights and danger signals guard every danger­ous crossing, hill, and curve.

For those juniors who wish to live long and happy lives, God has placed red warning signals in His letter. Here is one of them. Listen: "Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an ad­der." Prov. 23:31, 32. (At this point begin outlining the two glasses with your chalk. Use black chalk if outlining on white paper ; or white chalk if outlining on .a blackboard or black surface. See cut, part 1.)

I am sure you know what I am drawing—what are they? Yes, they are glasses. We shall fill those glasses now (fill in outline with red chalk) with red to represent wine. You haven't noticed it, but there is something be­tween these two glasses. (Outline bottle.) What do you see now? Yes, a bottle in which beer, whisky, or other harmful liquor might be kept. But there is still something behind these glasses and the bottle which you haven't seen. (Tell story.)

II

One dark, rainy night, four young people sat at a table in a roadhouse—two boys and two girls. They had been drinking and not heeding God's danger signal. "Let's have the same, all around," cried the boy in the gray suit, to the waiter. A few minutes later, their drinking ended, they descended the front steps, walked uncertainly across the yard, and clambered into their car.

"We'll have to step on it," said the girl with the blond hair. "I told mother I'd be home early, and here it is 2 A.M." The boy at the wheel raced the engine, grated the gears into first, second, and finally into high. The car sped into the highway, the gas pedal to the floor. A few moments later, as they were racing down a hill, a curved white guardrail suddenly loomed up in the darkness ahead. The intoxicated driver jammed on the brakes. There was a sickening skid on the wet pave­ment, a crash, a scream, the thud-thud-thud of the auto as it rolled over and over and finally came to rest at the edge of a stream, and then there was silence.

An hour later, a truck driver saw the broken fence and noticed the wreck. He telephoned for an ambulance, and soon the four young people were on their way to the hospital. Be­fore they arrived, the girl with the blond hair was dead. The boy in the gray suit .died on the operating table, and the other two lived but a short time. No wonder God says not to look upon beer, wine, and intoxicating drinks. Death is behind those things. (Finish draw­ing.)

But you say, "I don't drink liquor ; so why talk to me about it?" I am telling these things for this reason : Someone, someday, will tempt you to go through God's stop light, and drink. We can make a decision today which will help us at that time. How many with me will say, "I will never touch or taste those things which God has warned me against?" Let me see your hands. Thank you, I know you'll keep your word, and live happy and useful lives. (Offer prayer for help to be true to God.)

III

I have found the following hints helpful in presenting chalk talks.

Look directly at the juniors, not at the older folk at the rear of the room.

Draw while you talk.

Ask questions of juniors in a conversational manner.

Don't stand in front of the sketch as you draw. Stand to one side, so all can see the drawing.

Don't talk more than ten minutes.

Have the juniors take part by reading the texts and offering prayer.

At close of talk, have the juniors return to sit with their parents.

The following statements from the Spirit of prophecy impress upon us the important con­sideration to be given to the lambs of the fold: