The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-04-04

tho oAys
Relnf9gcsments creme, 70 nov, now appearing.
DR.. Talmage expOunded appropriate
verses Of scripture, and announced re-
ligiOus services for every night for the
following two weeks.
SUBJECT: LIVE CHURCHES"
TEXT-ReVelatiOn II, 8: Unto the
angel of the Church in Smyrna write:
These things saith the first and the
last
Smyrna was a great city of the an
clients, bonded on three sides by noun
tains. It was the central emporium of
the Levantine trade. In that prosper
GUS and brilliant city there was Chris
ttan church established. After 1t had
existed for awhile it was knocked down
by an earthquake. 1t was rebuilt. Then
it was consumed by cOnfagTatiOn that
swept over the entire city. That church
went through fire and trouble and dis
aster, but kept on to great spiritual
prosperity. The fact was, that church
had the peace of God, an ever active
principle. Had 1t been otherwise all the
grandeur of architecture and all the
pOmp Of surroundings would only have
been the ornament of death, the gar
lands of coffin, the plumes of hearse.
To-day, preaching my fourteenth an
niversary sermon as your pastor, 1t nay
10 W Wudb hAo bu6
elements of live church. / remark in
the first place that one characteristic of
such church is punctuality in meet
ing It's financial engagements. All
ecclesiastical institutions have financial
relations, and they ought to meet their
obligations just as certainly as men
meet their obligations at the bank.
When a church Of God is not as faithful
In its promises as the Bank Of England
1t ceases to be church of God. 1t
ought to be understood that prayers can
not paint a church, and prayers cannot
pay the winters coal bill, and prayers
cannot meet the insurance, and that
while prayers can do thousand things
there are thousand things that prayers
cannot do. Prayer for any particular
church will never reach heaven high
unless it goes down pOcket-deep. In my
church at the West there was a man of
comfortable means who used to pray for
his pastor in such elongated style he
became q nuisance to the prayer meet
ing, asking God in prayer that was
almost without ceasing that the pastor
might be blessed in his basket aud in
his store, while the fact was he never
paid anything. If we pray for the ad-
Yancement Of the church and do not out
of our means contribute for its advance
ment, our prayer is only m0ckery. Let
the church Of God then meet its obliga-
tiOns on the outside, and let the MEM
bers of the congregation meet the 0bli-
cations inside, and the church will be
financially prOspered. Let me say, also,
that there must be punctuality In the
attendance OH the house Of the Lord. If
the services begin at half-past ten ia
the morning, the regular congregation
of q live church will not come at
quarter to eleven. If the services is to
begin at half-past seven in the evening,
the regular congregation of a live
church will not come at quarter to
eight. In some churches have noticed
the people are always tardy. There are
some people who are always late. They
were born too late, and the probability
is they will die too late. The rustling
Of dresses on the aisle, and the Slamming
of doors, and the treading Of heavy feet
are poor inspiration for minister. 1t
requires great abstraction In pastors
mind to proceed with the preliminary
exercises of the church when one half
of the audience seated is looking around
to see the other half come in. Such a
difference Of attendance upon the house
of God may be difference of time pieces,
but the live church of which I am
speaking ought to 60 by railroad time,
and that Is pretty we'll understood In
all our communities. There Is one
hymn that ought to be sung in great
morning:
Early, my God without delay.
hastet to seek thy place.
Another characteristic of live church
is the fact that all the people participate
in the exercises. A stranger can tell
by the way the first tune starts whether
there is any life there. A church that
does not sing is dead church. 1t Is
awful to hear q cold drizzle of music
coming down from the organ loft, while
all the people beneath sit in silence.
When tune Wanders around lonely and
unbefriended, and Is finally lost amid
the arches because the people do not
Join in 1t, there is not much melody
made unto the Lord. In heaven they
all Hsing, though some there can not
sing half as we'll as 50thers. The Meth
Odist IChurch has sung all around the
world, aud gone from conquest to con-
quest-amOng other things, because 1t is
q singing Church; and any Christian
church organization that with enthu-
siasm performs this part Of its duty will
of God that can sing can do any thing
that ought to be done. We go forth into
this holy war with the Bible In one hand
and hymn-bOOk in the other. Oh We who
used to sing the praises of the Lord and
have got out of the habit, take your
harps down from the willows. l am
glad to know that as a church we are
making mighty Advancement. and
IL there Is any church on earth that
more spiritedly and grandly and un.
animOusly discharges this duty do moi
know where 1t Is. We have four male
voices to render three chants at each
service, but when the regular hymns are
given out there are 5000 people who feel
they belong to the choir. and led by
eornet, precentor and organ the song
comes up like the voice of many waters
and like the voice Of mighty thunder
ings:
LET those refuse 20 sing
Who never heard our God,
But children Of the Heavenly King
shoulc speak their Joys abroad"
On the way to triumph that nevel
ends and pleasure that never die-sing
Another characteristic Of a live churci