LET'S ,TALK Talks About The Bible For Children and Families

"', ·'Earnest Kevin (Edited by Wayne Rogers)

CHAPTER VIII ~~MOVING PICTURES.

HAVE you ever tried making a moving picture for

yourself? It is good fun. Nol' You do not need a t t X ~o special: camera. All you need is to make a little book. Suppose you want to draw a boy kicking a football. We:I I , you first draw'a picture of him standing. Then you draw another pi,cture with his 0 0 0" foot going backwards, then another straight down,' , then another with, the foot forwards, then another touching the ball ,and last of all one with the ball in the air and the boy's leg right forward. If you look at the pictures above you will see' what I mean. '

, .

I have drawn them side by side, but you must draw them on separate "pages," cut them out, put them together, as if they, were a little book. The next thing to'do is to press your thumb agaihst the edge of thes~ pages and flip them quickly - brrr -- while you watch the pictures. You will then see the boy lift his foot and kick the ball. I think I can hear you asking, "Whateve.r has this to d9 with the Bible?" Just this. The Bible is the world's greatest moving-picture book. Of course these are real pictures, things that actually happened. '.

Let' 'me describe some of the pictures to you. I can te'll you about only a few, but I hope.you'will look for many more. I oughf't() tell you just here that in big and learned books these pictures are called "types ,""symbols ," "foreshadows." In all th~se "types" or "symbols" we can see a pictur.e, either of our Lord Jesus Christ, or 'of what He does for us. I am sure that as t go on to tell. you about these pictures you will remembe'r them. ' .

One of th~"earliest pictures .in the Bible is' Noah's Ark. Didyou ever hctvea 'toyohetoplaywith? I did. But the story in tne Bible is a very solemn one~ The world 'of men and women had beto'me so very wicked that God saw that He miJstdestroy it., .But God had mercy on one man dnd hisfahiHy. He told Noah to build this great ship - for that was what the Ark was. It was~'t like a ship you see today but more like a box. And God told. Nqah to go into the ark and tak~ h}s family with him . . When they ~ent into the. ark when the terrible ,flood came they would be sav~d ,trom dro,wning. Outside 'the 'A~k, the Flood raged" and the,unbelieving people were destroyed. This Af.k'is alsp God's picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even though God will not destroy th~earth 'again with a flood, another great and awful Judgment day, is coming, and it will be terrihle .for all who are sinful and' unbelieving. But God has .provided a pfaceof sofety,. and that, ~~f'~ .. place is the Lord Jesus Christ. If we put our trust' in Hi·m.as the Son of God and Savior of sfnners, we shall ~e safe against aH the judgments that ~yill come upon:sinners.

28 ' the C9YN.~ELofCH4LCEDON

Earnest Kevin

Now for our next picture. God had given to His friend Abraham a son whose name was Isaac. One day God told Abraham to go to a distant mountain and there build an altar and offer up his precious son for a sacrifice'. This seemed a terrible thing for Abraham to have to do, but Abraham trusted and obeyed God so completely that he knew that God would never ask him to do anything that was not good. Abraham is a picture of believers in the New Testament. So Abraham did as God told him. But when he had tied Isaac on the altar with ropes, and was just about to kill him with the knife, God called out to Aoraham and stopped him. God told him that was quite enough, for Abraham had proved how entirely he trusted God. So thankful was Abraham that he looked around for another offering that he could make, and there, near by, was a straying ram that God had provided caught in a thorn-bush. Abraham took Isaac off the altar, and offered up the ram as a sacrifice instead of Isaac. Can you imagine how Isaac felt as he watched the ram being offered? I think he must have said to himself: "That is instead of me". When Jesus came, John the Baptist pointed to H,im, and said to the people, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John, chapter i, verse 29). He said this because Jesus had come to die instead of us, just as the ram died instead of Isaac.

A long while after this story about Abraham and Isaac, the Israelites were living in their big camp when one day thousands and thousands of poisonous serpents suddenly appeared all around, and even inside their tents. The people had been so unthankful that God ~ad to punish them, and He allowed these fiery serpents to invade the camp. They were called fiery because they had such a stinging bite which seemed to leave a kind of fire behind it and a terrible burning feeling. Many people died. When the Israelites were sorry that they had done wrong, God told Moses to make a serpent out of a piece of ,fiery-looking metal and fasten it on a high pole. He then promised that if anyone who had been bitten by a serpent would look up to this "serpent of brass" he would be ~ealed and would not die. I can just imagine all' those poor people with their terrible bites, turning their heads and looking towards God's way of salvation. Jesus said, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever belicveth in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John, chapter 3, verses 14 and 15), '

I'think it is time we had a picture or two from the New Testament. "What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And When he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was ,lost." These are words in which the Lord (­Jesus gave us a picture of Himself. He said, "I am the Good Shepherd", and we can easily imagine how a good shepherd would go out into the cold mountains, to look for a lost lamb. OccaSionally a shepher,d has to fight a wolf or a bear, and then it sometimes happens that "the good shepherd gives hiS life for ,the sheep" ( John, chapter 10, verse 11). I wonder, are you in the Good Shepherd's care? '

I want to s'peak to you now about a special picture which the Lord Jesus gave to us. It is called the Lord's Supper. Sometimes people speak of it as the Communion Service, or the Breaking of Br'ead. Jesus and His disciples were seated at a meal together, ~'and as they were eating, Jesus took ,bread, and bles'sed it, and broke it, and gave itto the disciples, and said, Take eat; this is my body. Artdhe tookdie cup, and gave thanks, and gave itto them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this IS',my plood of the n~w testament I which is shed for many for the remission of sins" '(Matthew~ chapter 26, verses 26 to 28). The Roman Catholic religion has given a wrong meaning to this service, and I want to warn you against that false teaching. While eating the bread and drinking

the COUNSEL' of CHALCEDON 29

Let's Talk

the wine is a' blessing, it does not automatically bless those who eat and drink. What was Jesus doing in this service? He was giving us another pi~ture or "symbol" of what He gives to believers. There was a lot of meanihg in what He did, but we will learn just one thing. Jesus was telling us that without Him we can never be strong Christians, just as we have to eat and drink to keep our bodies strong, so we m,ust continually trust Je'susand depend upon Him if we want to keep strong against temptation and all sinful things. ,Jesus strengthens us in our faith and love, just as our food strengthens our bodies. Has that been'too hard for you to understand? I hope not. You can understand more later. Good-bye~

Should Christians. be wealthy, or is it godlier to be poor? What does the Bible really say about wealth?

In Glorifying God With Your Wealth, pastor John M. Otis sets forth eleven biblical principles that should regulate a Christian's view of wealth. Foremost, God is the. source of all wealth accumulation. The Christian is simply a steward of God's wealth that is given to the believer for his enjoyment and for the believer's ministry to the needy of society and for the extension of God's kingdom in this world.

The Bible does teach that wisdom is greater than riches, but it also teaches that wisdom combin~d with riches is even more powerful. Together they can change the world. Are there dangers associated with wealth? Absolutely. In this

helpful book, pastor Otis enables us to navigate through those dangerous areas, leading us to a more productive Christian life.

I Timothy 6: 17-19 contains a special exhortation to the rich of this world. They can use their material wealth through their generosity to lay up lasting treasures in Heaven.

Cost: $6.00 (D. S. orders, includes shipping and handling) $8.00 (Ca;nadian orders, includes shipping and handling)

Danger in the Camp: An Analysis and Refutation of the Heresies of the Federal . Vision

This.540-page book is one of the most comprehensive studies yet c()mpiled . on this threat to, the Reformed Faith. John Otis extensively documents from the writings and. lectures of the proponents' of the Federal Vision, exposing all the areas where. it departs from orthodox Christianity and the historic Reformed Faith by using the Scripture, and the'Reformed Standards (The Westminster Confession Of Faith

. with its Larger and Shorter Catechisms, the Belgic Confession with the Heidelberg Catechism; and the Canons·ofDordt).

Cost: $25.00 (U. S. orders, includes shipping and handling) $30.00 (Canadian orders, includes shipping and handling)

How To Order:

Contact John Otis at cjotis2@yahoo.com or go to: www.westminsterrpcus.orgwebsite.Click on Triumphant Publications/Shop Now for more information.

30 the COUNSEL of CHALCEDON '