The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1882-05-02
HOT SHOT FROM ZION.
Sermon Of the Rev. j. NJ. Van
Wagner at the Congregational
Church Last Night.

The Congregational church was filled
with An old-time crowd last night. and the,
were repaid for their attendance by hear.
ing an excellent, very powerful and sup
gestIve sermon.
The reverend gentleman said that he had
been unable to make up his mind which
Of the several sermons he had been thinking
Ui he had better let fly. The sermon which
! gave you this morning, he said, was com
Fosed while l was coming here ON the cars
and you get it fresh and warm. Tonight
l have been thinking of several sermons,
and fragments OF sermons. ] have decided
10 say something uuder the following text :
Romans, first chapter, sixteenth verse:
"FOr l am not ashamed OF the gospel of
sation to every one that believeth to the
Jew first, and also to the Greek"
What can | do better. Grander words
Sere never spoken by mortal man. / am
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ In
order to understand the iull purport OF
hese words, We must GO back to the his
tory OF the past. The Jews had put the
Founder of the christian religion to death.
The Jewish church and state were both
leagued with one another against christian
pei of Christ, and against everything good
and holy. 1t was a thing to be disputed. con
tended with and put out of the world. Vet
Paul was not ashamed of it, He gloried
in it. He said 81 have often wanted Ia 90
TO Rome and preach this gospel oi Christ
before the magnates and dignitarics of the
empire. | want to preach ii right i'm Rome
herself, where the emperor lives, and
IN no of IA .lar
poets. And he went there and preached
this gospel of Christ. Paul said, For |
ann not ashamed OF the gospel of Christ.
You could put Paul in prison; you could
drive him from pillar 10 post and from
post to pillar, but you conldnf bring
blush TO his cheek. He was not ashamed
al the gospel of Christ. He stood before
Felix without shame and without fear.
When Agrippa sat sternly upon his throne,
and Paul was taken and led out, still he
was not ashamed. He did not feel like
c"lprit, but was infused with the fullness
al God i'm his heart and this nerved him
To- preach fearlessly the gospel of Jesus.
lie felt that he had been belied and SANDER
I'd by the Jews, but he also felt the gospel
of Christ in his soul
Paul had been great sinner. When
near and had held the garments of the
martyr and cried, Kill him, kill him ="
Yet, for all this, when the Lord said to
him, 'Saul, Saul why persecutest thou Me-"
he felt the glory and power of the gospel
enter into his heart. Then he said, "I.ord,
what wilt Thou have me do will go
and live new life and preach the gospel. {;
oh, Lord, what hast Thou not done for |
A,,a no \
Rome TO preach this gospel | want all
the powers OF the Roman empire there. | !
want Nero, and all the rest of them | /
have never been ashamed of the gospel OF !
Christ. Paul was acquainted with the !
Jewish system. He was acquainted with
all the theories and doctrines of the differ
III, theologies He knew what his danger
was In Rome. Yet he said, "Fd like to |
bring this gospel up before all its most pow
.rful opponents, even i'm the holy of holes. |
and show them what it is.' So it is with
nany of us preachers nowadays We live !
in other times, in more enlightened times.
and vet We often almost feel hesitancv
an presenting the religion of Christ to
mankind, because the world has not as
vet felt its full effects and its full power
and glory. We have been sinners our
\
God has put us i'm the ministry i'm order
that We might speak to men of the same
passions and weaknesses and imperfec-
lions. Yet we sometimes hesitate to
preach it as boldly as we should do We
would feel holder If we could feel that the
gospel had had its full effect in the world.
hut We feel what it will be in time, as the
world grows older. We are not ashamed
az q hn 81 of 1 .
Where does He stand to day? He is never
single instant. We may forget the day of
TO celebrate the birthday of Washington.
1t will not be; long before We forget the day
when Garfield was struck down. Yet here
is name which We are always remember
ing. And where is there such music as 4,
the music of the soul which we hear in the
church of the living God. Some great
the ear for q few moments; but here are
the songs of Zion, which have been sung S
in the ages of the past and will be sung {
for ages to come Congregations all over
the land are wOrshiping this Christ to- $
night Where do you find such
stiffness, serious atten- +,
ton, good order and decency as in the
church of Christ? And it all springs from
this gospel of Jesus. When He came upon
earth, heaven broke loose and the glory of 5
God in the highest irradiated the world.
Then was the song heard, Peace on EARTH
good will to men. Think of His life, and
how He died on the cross, saying: Moth
r, behold thy son." and the reply came $
Son, behold thy motherw Jesus lived h
We have every proof of his exis,ance here
IN earth. Profane, as we'll as sacred, his 3
DRY records the fact No pen of the /
Roman empire has denied the fact, but i
many have confirmed il. We have the
o how snares were set for Christ
row He Was questioned in the synagogues
md traps laid for him. But he was not TO r
be caught in that way. What life that |,
was! Byron said that nature formed but
'ne such man, and broke the dye on Sheri-