way back. The shepherd must look for them, and bring the There are many passages in th that speak about this.

One more thing that make want looking after is that they easily worried and killed by an animal that gets among them. country where our Lord Jes there were wolves; and if a s boy was put to mind the sh might happen some day to se trying to steal into the fold Lord says that if this were to the boy would be afraid of t and, instead of saving the she him, he would run away to sa self.

The boy would do this beca sheep did not belong to him; only paid for looking after them. man to whom the sheep belong the wolf coming, he would i away, but would stay and try the wolf out of the fold.

Now do any of you know who in the Bible to be like a roaring (The devil.)

Yes. And our Lord says tha is like a wolf trying to catch she

Now, if we are like poor silly, 1 sheep, and Satan is like a strong wolf, how can we be kept saf him? We must have a sheph take care of us, and our shepher be- ? (Jesus Christ.)

The Lord Jesus is far, far st than the devil; and as long as w to His voice, and follow Him, cannot hurt us.

Well now we have talked of t part of the text. Tell me the part of it.-("The Good Shephe eth His life for the sheep.")

Jesus is not only a shepherd, Good Shepherd. He is not a sh that would leave his sheep when

came. He loves His sheep. They are His own.

If a shepherd were to let the wolf kill him rather than let it hurt the sheep, shouldn't you say he was a very good, kind shepherd, and loved his sheep?— (Yes.)

Well, the Lord Jesus gave His life for His sheep. Think how kind this was! In order that the devil might not have your souls, and make them miserable for ever in hell, Jesus Christ suffered Himself to be nailed to the cross, and put to death. He would not stay up in heaven with God His Father and all the holy angels; but He came and lived in this world with sinful men, and after a life full of hardships and sorrows He suffered a cruel death. And all this was because He was the Good Shepherd; and so He gave His life for the sheep.

Now, dear children, I want you all to love this good, kind Jesus. If you ask Him, He will make you be like obedient sheep; He will make you good and happy. It grieves Him when little children leave His fold and wander away; I mean when they will be naughty, and say and do things which they know are bad. But, even if you have been bad, Jesus is like a good shepherd that goes to look after the sheep that have strayed. He is calling you now to come back to Him. Listen to His gentle voice when you hear it in your heart.

Think how dreadful it would be to grow up to be bad men and women, and when you die to be miserable for ever. And think how happy you may be, if you have Jesus Christ for your Shepherd, and are His good little lambs now, and follow Him like His sheep when you grow up. Then you will not be afraid to die, for you will know that you are going to the fold above, where all who love Jesus Christ will be safe and happy for ever. The blessed Saviour will be always with you, and no wicked spirit can ever come near that fold to harm you any more.

S. B.

THE VALUE OF SPARROWS.

"Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows." "-Matt. x. 31.

IT is the Lord Jesus Christ who said these words to His disciples. He says them to you and to me in the Bible. They are very kind words. Say the first three words of the text again.("Fear ye not.")

Yes, that means, Don't be afraid. I dare say you all know very well what it is to feel afraid. Some little children feel afraid if they are in the dark; some feel afraid if they have to go an errand quite alone.

Now Jesus Christ knows that it is very uncomfortable and disagreeable to feel afraid; so He says very kindly, Don't be afraid: "Fear ye not." Next time you are inclined to be frightened, remember these words, and try and think you hear Jesus saying to you, "Fear not."

But what is the reason that children feel afraid in the dark, or when alone? It is because they feel as if there was nobody to take care of them. Now Jesus knows all our feelings, and He knows that children, and grown-up people too, if they are in any real danger, want to feel that some one is taking care of them. So He does not only say, "Fear ye not," but He gives a reason why we need not fear. The reason is, that we are of more value? (than many sparrows.")

Now I must tell you what Jesus Christ said about the little sparrows just before this. He said that a sparrow was such a common little bird that nobody thought much of it, and that you might buy a couple of sparrows for almost nothing. You all know that, don't you? But Jesus Christ also says that one of them does not fall to the ground without our heavenly Father.

If you look at a little bird's wings, you will see how beautifully every feather is made. No man can make anything so beautiful, so strong, and yet so light. I hope you will all be kind to the little birds. If God notices when a sparrow falls to the ground, you may be sure His eye is upon any child

Son Jesus Christ to save sinn every one that goes to Jesu and asks to be washed in H and to be made good by His H coming into the heart, may and happy here, and yet mo ever hereafter.

Now if God loved you so m give His Son to die for you, h more will He take care of yo therefore, dear children, and you feel frightened, think ab and remember that He is near that He is taking care of you remember the words, "Fear ye are of more value than ma rows."

LOVE OF GOD. "I know you, that ye have not God in you."-John v. 42. THIS is a very sad text; but pe I explain it to you, you may a useful text to think about. over after me, all of you.

Now tell me the first thre again.-("I know you.")

Who do you think said, " you"?-(Jesus Christ.)

Yes, and He says it now to you little ones. He knows you and where you live, and all ab Your teachers know your nan something about you; they whether you come regularly to and whether you are well behav and whether you are quiet or church, and whether you are or not when they are teachi And if I were to go and a people who live next door to y sort of a child any one of you is say they could tell me a gre about you, and whether you ar whole good or naughty.

But there is something whi teachers cannot know, and whi neighbours cannot know, but Jesus Christ knows.

Tell me again the three first the text.-("I know you.")

Yes; now Jesus means, I kn heart; I know all you think ab know all your feelings; I know

wishes.

Is there anybody in the world who can look into your heart, and can tell all your thoughts?-(No.)

But Jesus can; and when He said to the Jews "I know you," He meant that He knew their thoughts and feelings.

Will you try and remember this? Remember that when you feel naughty tempers and thoughts in you, Jesus knows they are there. Remember

also that when you try to think about Jesus, and when you feel you wish very much to be good and holy, that Jesus knows those thoughts too. It is His Holy Spirit that gives you such thoughts; and He loves to see them in your heart.

But now we must talk about the other part of our verse. Let us say the whole of it once more.-("I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.")

You see, when Jesus Christ looked into the hearts of the Jews, there was something He did not find there. What was it? He says, "Ye have not-? (the love of God in you.")

How sad! there was no love of God in their hearts. God had shown great love to them. They were Jews, that is, Israelites; and you know the Israelites were God's chosen people. God had very often spoken to them, and He had sent them many kind messages about His love. And now His own dear Son was come to tell them, more than ever, that God loved them; but they would not believe His kind words, and they did not love Him at all in return.

Why do you think they did not love God, who is so kind and good and loving? You do not know? It was because they loved sin. Nobody can really love God unless they hate sin, because God hates it.

Now, dear children, I want you each one to put this question to yourself, "Is there any love of God in my heart?" I can't see whether there is; but Jesus can.

Perhaps some of you think, I'm afraid I don't love God; I wish I did. Well then I will tell you what to do. Every day make this little prayer to God, "O God, teach me to love Thee, for Jesus Christ's sake."

The Lord Jesus Christ will hear your prayer; for you know He says, Suffer

-?("Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not.") And another text says, "Those that seek Me early shall find Me;" which means that little children may learn to know and to love God.

Who is it that gives you everything you have?-(God.)

Yes; if God did not make the corn grow, you would have no bread. If God had not made the coals and the wood, you could have no warm fires. If God did not take care of you every day, you could not live at all. God made the bright sun in the sky for us; God made the pretty flowers for us; God made the nuts, and the blackberries, and all the wild things that little children like to gather and eat; God is doing you good all day long, and every day. And because God knew you could never get to heaven without Jesus Christ, He sent His dear Son down from heaven to? (die on the cross for you).

And now Jesus Christ is living again in heaven, and getting a place ready for all the little children that love God. You would not like to think that when Jesus looks into your heart, He says, I know you, that you have not(the love of God in you.")

"I see you

No, you want Him to say, are trying to love and to please God," don't you?-(Yes.)

Well then, dear children, do ask the good God to help you to love Him; and He will. And if you love God you are sure to be good and happy in this world, and to be happy for ever and ever hereafter.

S. B.

TRUE CHRISTIAN GLADNESS. "Then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord."-John xx. 20.

Ir is very pleasant when something happens to us that makes us glad, isn't it? With those who love God, it is only good or innocent things happening that makes them feel glad. It

end of the feast the queen asked him to come again with the king the next day. Haman was very proud of being the only man in the kingdom who had such honour done to him, and he went home to boast of it to his wife and friends, and "his heart was glad." Haman did not love the God of Israel: therefore his gladness did not last long, for his wickedness was found out that very night, and he was put to death.

And now we will talk of some other wicked men who were once made 'glad."

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Which of the apostles was a bad man? -(Judas Iscariot.)

What did he do that was wicked?(He betrayed Jesus Christ.)

Yes. The chief priests wanted to get hold of our Lord when He was alone; and Judas said that if they would give him some money he would come and lead them to where Jesus was. And the Bible says that when they heard Judas say this, they were "glad." They had long hated the Lord Jesus, and wanted to kill Him; but they never had been able to take Him, because the people crowded round Him to be healed and taught, and they were afraid of the people. But now, when one of Jesus' own apostles came and promised to show them where they could find Him, and take Him prisoner, without the people being near, their wicked hearts were "glad."

Now, dear children, let us talk about the people who were glad in our text. Say it again.-(" Then were," etc.)

Who were glad ?-(The disciples.) When were they glad?-(When they saw the Lord.)

Do any of you know when the dis

ciples had last seen the Lord before this time? (They had last seen Him hanging dead upon the cross; and some of them had seen His dead body laid in a tomb.)

This had happened on the Friday; and now, on the Sunday evening, they were talking together about it. Some

of them said they thought, from all they heard, that Jesus was alive again; and some of them could not believe that it could be so. Suddenly the Lord Jesus Christ Himself stood in the midst of them. He spoke kind words to them: "Peace be unto you." Then He showed them His hands.

What would they see on His hands? -(The mark of the nails.)

Then He showed them His side. What would they see on His side?— (The mark of the spear.)

Yes. So when they saw these marks, they would feel quite sure that this was Jesus Christ Himself, their Master, who had been put to death, but who was now alive again.

How do people feel when any one dies whom they love?-(Sorry, unhappy.)

Well, the disciples felt very sorry and very unhappy when they saw their kind, good Master suffer such a cruel death. Jesus had told them that He should rise again on the third day, but they had not understood or believed it. But now when they saw His kind face again, and heard His kind words once more, and felt sure He really was alive again, they felt very glad.

"Then were the disciples glad when

? ("they saw the Lord.")

Yes, it was seeing the Lord Jesus Christ that made them glad. Do you think it would make you glad to see Him? (Yes, teacher.)

[The teacher may here enlarge on matters that are apt to make a child glad.]

Now Jesus Christ is gone away for a time. But if you ask Him He will come and be in your hearts and teach you to know and to love Him, and this will make you happy; and some day, we don't know when (perhaps it may be very soon), He will come down from

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