The Portland daily press., 1876-01-05
Week of Prayer.

The second sermon of the week was preached
py hev. 5. f. Jones, pastor of the Chestnut
street Methodist church, yesterday, from the
text In Philippians 2:5, "Let this mind be in
you which was also in Christ Jesus" Madame
DE Stael says that certain ancient sculptors
completed but one statue in a life time. 1t is
nooie thought; for when art was the hand
maid OF religion, it was protest of the artist
against annihilation, plea for Immortality
ana every day in his work the artist cried out,
Let me live forever!' See with what care he
selects the material for his life-work, and the
model, and tolls on from day to day. He wears
MS life out, but he creates another life,-rest-
ing not, lest death may ovsrtake him before it
is finished
Sculptors of life are we; we too have a
statue to complete in lifetime The material
TO work upon is our life, our character; the
Bible gives the model-God in Jesus Christ is
unveiled before us-the glorious mind after
which we are to shape and model our souls
The best teaching is by example, and for this
to be successful certain conditions are necessa-
ry. 1st Sympathy of nature. We, as mortals,
could not sympathize with angels. I'd. SINH
larity OF circumstances. A visitor at water
ing-place could not, by looking at the ocean,
realize the perils of the sea; nor can one, by
looking at the picture of BATTLE become
successful general. We shrink from perfect
model, because we must try SO hard to reach
it; yet we should aim for the highest. God
has made provision for us by giving to us His
Son, possessing nature in sympathy with
ours, and environed by all human circum-
stances. No believer in the Bible will deny
the claims of Jesus to our imitation. Some are
honestly and earnestly striving to become like
him. Others praise the beauty of his character
and there stop Yet others make his character
their ideal. but despair of deing any thing to
reach It, There was nothing in the outward
circumstances of Jesus to demand reverence !;
yet men lnvoluntarily bowed before him. Con-
slider the characteristics of the mind that was
in Jesus: 1st Consider Its expression of ym.
pathy with the distressed. How unspeaka bly,
lovely was the outflow of tenderness and pity
sick and the dying. I'd. Look at its meekness
and humility; tho calm, gentle, loving inter-
course with all, so that little children loved
him. Sd. Look at its resistance of evil. How
repugnant to him must have been moral evils;
and yet Satan, with all his internal cunning,
sought to lead him astray, and wicked and ma
hgnant men dogged his steps and lacerated his
soul. 4th. Look at the mind of Jesus in its
SUBMISSION to the Fathers will. He was poor,
despised, maligned, prosecuted. betrayed, for
saken, scoffed at by the brutal mob, and on the
cross drank to its dregs the cup Of suffering;
and yet under all this his words were Father,
not my will, but thine be done.' Let us, in
all our life work, place this blessed model be-
fore us.
The attendance upon the union preaching
services is SO large that the meeting to-day will
be held in the audience room of the First Bap.
tist church. Rev. Mr. McWhinue will preach
this afternoon at o'clock.
The Second Parish church, by unanimous
request, desiring to share the privilege of re-
ceiving these union services, their neghbors
cordially consent to the holding of these meet
ings Thursday, Friday and Saturday, in the
audience room of the Second Parish church.
After to-day the services will, therefore, be
continued in the Payson Memorial Church,
daily, at 3 o'clock.