The End Throwing what? Food. What are you doing? I'm fixing breakfast like you told me to. Stupid. Mom! I want to tell you the story of my friend Benny. We went to school today on time for a change. I guess he's a kid, just like you and I. But there's one problem which, well, I guess has to do with school. and the kinds of friends he chooses to hang out with. There was this kid, Spike, who could do all kinds of cool things. Well, at first it was a lot of fun, but soon Benny's life changed. He was unhappy, his grades were bad, and he started to hate school. Benny's reading a comic book again, Mrs. Franklin. I started to feel pretty bad for Benny. You'll stay after school again tonight, Benny. I wondered what I could do to help him. Hey, Benny! Look, I've had enough trouble. Trouble? Who's looking for trouble? Something's happening, man. Oh, come on, Benny. Remember, I keep his attention and you walk the candy. Somebody want something? Hey, mister, this milk's sour. How's that? My mom sent me to get some milk, but this stuff's sour. I got no milk that's sour. This is sour. It's not even opened. It's so sour you can smell it without even opening it. How are things, Mr. Nyquist? Do you know that boy? Never saw him before. My dad told me once, there are consequences to your choices, even with friends. Well, I guess Benny was no exception. Wait! What you got in your pocket? Come here. Well, where'd you get all this cane? Uh, kid gave it to me. Tell the truth! He stole it, probably. You've been with that spike boy again, haven't you? Well, wherever you got this, you're taking it back. The store would be closed now, Mom. Well, after school, tomorrow. Then you take it back. Right now you're going to your room. Doing wrong things may be fun for a while, but sooner or later it will catch up with you. Hey, Betty! Look what I got All you do is get me in trouble Trouble I came here to help you Help me You helped like a bellyache Watch this boy I'm taking the Zapper to school tomorrow. It'll zap the words right off every book in the whole place. The Zapper will zap anything, even people. Watch it, Ding Dong. This is how I'll zap you. I told you I'll zap people. Look what you did, Spike. It just seems there was no let up. First, there was Spike, and then there were these crazy dreams and all these other problems. Things just weren't getting any better. I'm sorry. I won't do it again. Returning the candy felt almost good to Benny. He wanted a change, but how? Then, well, then there was this policeman. Did he see him? Was he going to get caught? Well, that day, he was going to hear something that came from a book that had no words in it. and I knew that this would give him a lot to think about. But remember what the Wordless book tells us first? The way of the wicked is like deep darkness. They don't know what makes them stumble. It's sin that makes us do bad things. Sin makes people tell lies. Sin makes them steal other people's things. But God has a wonderful plan and message for us in the Wordless book. The red page shows us the way that God has made for us to have our sins forgiven. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Let's look at this page in the Wordless book. Who can tell me what this page means? Shelley? Jesus can wash away our sins and make our hearts clean. That's right. The Bible tells us the wages of sin is death But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord All who received him, the Lord Jesus He gave the right to become children of God Okay, Russell, why don't you give thanks for the meal this evening Amy, just sure to close your eyes Hey Lord, thank you for this food and thank you for this day. Help Benny and help me to help Benny. In his name, amen. My family and I started praying for Benny. I know God could help him with his problems and could even change his life, just like he had changed mine. You catch anything, Russ? Nope, not yet. Man, my mom, she sure did like the way you came over to our house and helped me with my homework like you did. How come, Russ? Well, I saw what a tough time you were having. My math's learned the things I'm a little bit better at. You're good at lots of stuff. I bet you get all A's and B's. Sometimes I get a C. Ever go to Sunday school, Benny? Nope. Like to go with me sometime? I might What's it like? Hey Ben! Go away Spike Mom says I gotta never mess with you again Come here to the window I gonna show you something Look out, Spike. You wanna go to jail? Look, man. Hey, you shoot her. Come on. Shoot ya, Ding Dong. Good shot, you got her, Barry. No, Spike, don't shoot my mom. Mom! Mom! Mom! You shot my mom! Get out of here, Spike! I told you to get out of here! I ain't playing with you no more! Mom! Mom! Where'd you go to, Mom? Mom! I'm right here, Benny. That's all for today, kids. But remember, if you want to learn more about how to receive the Lord Jesus, I'm always anxious to help you. Did it go well? Yes, it did. You did a real good day. Oh, thanks, Missy. Goodbye, Mrs. Watson. Have a good evening. You have a good day, okay? There was that lady again, with that little book without words. What Benny didn't know was that the story in that book was just for him. Oh, no. Hey, man, we got us a big deal. Go do your own big deal, Spike. This time, Benny wanted nothing to do with Spike. What was it about this little book? Would its message help him to become a better person? But then, didn't he steal it? What if that policeman would find him? Even arrest him? He suffers on the table. Laura! Now come on, girls. Share. Is something bothering you, honey? No. You were under arrest, son. Mom? Mom? Just picked it up. I didn't steal it. What didn't you steal? Are you in trouble, Benny? Did you let that spike boy get you into something again? Did you ever see a book with... aren't any words in it? So that's what you've been dreaming about. You'd like that kind of a book, wouldn't you? Especially a school book. I saw what you did And what did I do You know I saw you steal the wordless book and I going to tell Okay I'll be there. Oh, my God. Who can tell me the capital of Hungary? Benny? Oh, well. If you read your assignment, you'll know the answer. Um, is it Budapest? Yes, it is, Benny. Very good. Yes, it is, Benny. You thought I'd forget. I got a neat deal for us. I don't want no more neat deals. It's a hardware store. It's got toys and footballs and all sorts of stuff we're stealing. You ran it on me. No, I didn't. Yes, you did. Hey, Betty. Come with me. You can stay at my house. Come on, Benny I'll fry if you don't Your mom and the cops will never find you in my house Don't fry, you creep He should be home from school soon I'm afraid when he sees the police car I give up You're not under arrest We're just here to visit you. I stole that book. You picked it up. If I had known you were so interested in the wordless book, I would have given it to you. When we heard you picked up the book, Missy told us, we right away found out where you lived. To see if we could help you. Come in, Benny. What do you want with my son? We want him to learn the wonderful meaning of the wordless book. God loves you, Benny. God loves your mother too. When I came into Mr. Nyquist's store, when I found out what had happened, I knew God had sent me to that store. Not to get you into more trouble, but to help you. You see, one of the reasons my husband became a policeman was so that he could help people. How wonderful. You may keep the book you found in the park, Benny. I brought another one to show both you and your mother. I don't know how much you heard in the park. The Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That means boys and girls, men and women, everyone. But God sent his son, the Lord Jesus, into the world. Christ died for our sins, the Bible tells us, and he rose again from the dead as proof our sins are forgiven. Anyone in Christ, the Bible tells us, becomes a new person. As new persons, we not only can have a wonderful life here on earth, But when we die, we can know we will go to heaven to be with the Lord Jesus forever. That's what we want, isn't it, Benny? What should we do? Just tell Jesus you want him to come into your heart. We learned many lessons back then. I know what Benny would tell you. First, be careful the friends you choose. And then, do what I did. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins Ask him to come into your heart and your life Jesus will not only change you But he also wants to become your very best friend That sure was something The way your family's been praying for me and stuff I never thought it'd be so neat Being a Christian It's the neatest thing in the whole world, Betty Thank you.
0