Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1886-03-11
THE TWO SANS.
They Open Their Batteries BpSs the
Chicago sinners-s Sam Jones
OpeniRg sermon.
He Has a Big Audience, and Creates an
Excellent Impression Among
His Hearers.

Rev. Sam Jones, assisted by the Rev.
Sem Small, began his revival work in Chi
Gigs on Sunday, the 2sth ult. He spoke to
more than is, 600 peopie; delivering three
discourses during the day. The following
is a report of his afternoon sermon, adj
dressed to an audience of 5000, in the
Casino Skating Rink:
Mr.. Jones steod for moment gancing
6vef the thr6ng before him, and then
launched at once into his discourse. He
said:
Iwant TO get as close 70 YOU all as can. I
am a man Just as you are. have as many in
have. There may be many here who have weak
| conscences, and We want to treat them tender
| ly. am always for the bottom dog in the fight,
and when We find weak brother we want to do
| all we can TO hold him up and support his
hands.
Mr.. Jones then read his text, it being st.
| Paul TO the Galatians, vi, 8: Let us not
be &eary In well doing, for in due season
We shall reap If we faint not" He said the
first duty of every Christian man was to
crticify and igtiore himself, and that II
there was anything that Christianity wotld
not tolerate il was selfshness. al am sorry,"
said Mr.. Jones, "for man whose only
|
trated selfishness. The grandest man in
Chicago to- day is the most unselfsh man,
the one who cares the least for himself and
the most for God and Others"
Mr.. Jones here made depression TO tell
| of "a little old preacher in q little circuit in
Georgia" who, he thought, was the grand
est man he ever saw, because he did not
care for himself any more than he did for
d dog, and his sole object each day was to
try to do something for others. "If you
make it your object TO look after everybody
else to keep them straight you will find that
you are keeping yourself straight" said
Mr.. Jones, and continued:
There isn't much difference in members OF
the church. There is Brother A, who wears
outraged appearance, 80 to speak, regarding
dances. He tells the preacher he must not allow
| them, or he will leave the church, Yet this
sanctmonious old brother is loaning his
money at 80 per cent. Brother b has no
money to loan, but strike in trade and he'll
| clean you up in short order. Now don't offend
| these brothers, for il you do they won't como
! back any more and we'll miss 80 much-in
| horn. There is another brother Of whom may
say you can take q demijohn and tow him to
| hell with il. Take your church members, put
EN- in bag, shake em up, and it is hard to tell
which will come out first AS long as one sins as
| we do we put up with him frst-class but when
| he goes and does something different we want
to jump ON him right away One OF your minis
believe in this, you don't believe in that; now,
Void. tnaii was tho only route knew t" the GOOD
Mr.. Jones thought it was no wonder that
more souls were not converted in Chicago
when the churches did not care for those
they already had.
Don't you know that God could convict every
man in this city at four o'clock this afternoon?
| Why doesn't He do it? Why doesn't He strike ev-
cry sinner stone blind at four o'clock? 1t is Gods
| mercy. Why, there would not be enough men
| hoo nNNaIA 90 InaA Nl,Ara
| preachers who marry the living and bury the
dead and that is about all they do out Of the
pulpit
The evangelist said he never saw church
which had revivals at stated periods but
that it was on the road to the burying-
ground. On any of the railroads an en-
gine, after trip, was taken into the round
house and rubbed and oiled, and the
machinery and bolts tightened up. He had
ridden on an engine in Georgia and had re-
marked to the engineer that it seemed kind
of rickety. The engineer replied that the
| engine would have to be sent into the shop,
and that all engines were sent to the shop
to be overhauled from head to foot when-
ever they could not make schedule time.
That was the way with some church men,
bers. They went to church Sundays and to
prayer meetings week days, but finally they
| got so they could not make schedule time.
foot the devil would overtake them while
they we're putting on their boots. Some Of
the Methodist brethren he knew of could
not make schedule time, but could
only blow q whistle. He told Of little
steamboat he had seen on q Georgia river
which had whistle as big as those on
double deckers; and whenever the whistle
blew the boat stopped, as there was not
enough steam to blow it and propel the
boat "The trouble with the large majority
of Christian people," said MIR. Jones, us
that they not only can't make schedule time,
but that the devil has side tracked them and
torn up the track at both ends" He went
on to say that they turned the new members
over to the pastor, but it was impossible for
one man to take care of 500. IL have often
seen poor, little, old preacher between the
shafts, with his tongue lolling out" said
| Mr.. Jones, "and the whole congregation in
the wagon going to the charity ball, others
to the base ball, but all driving the min
ister." He hoped that the ministers would
get some of their congregations hitched up
some day. The preacher couldn't do the
work; he must have help.
Mr.. Jones told of drunkard who had
been taken into the church, and some of the
members had expressed the fear that he
would disgrace them. Temptation had come
in his way and he had yielded. Two of the
brethren had passed him as he lay in the
street and remarked that they knew that he
would bring reproach on the church. Con-
tinuing, Mr.. Jones said:
That man lying soaked with rum was better
man than those who passed him by aud reviled
| him. What we need in this world is sympathy
| between man and man. May God help us that
| are strong to bear the infrmties OF the weak. I
want gospel full Of the milk Of human kind
| ness and OF brotherly love. Tear down the
| fences between the denominations and let the
| Methodist browse on the tough Presbyterian
| grass, and let the Presbyterian feed on tho
| tender Methodist grass and let all Of the lambs
| get down in the Baptists pool.
Mr.. Jones told the story Of poor
young man in Rome, Ga, who, when dying,
had requested the minister, in preaching
his funeral sermon, TO say TO the members
of the church that in all the time he had
been member they had never said kind
word 10 him, and TO urge them in future
not to treat in that way other poor souls
like him.