Morning journal and courier., 1886-08-09
DAVENPORT CHURCH.

Sermon by Rev. 8. ID. Paine of jack
sonv1Ile, FlOrida-The Truths of
Christianity.
At Davenport church yesterday morning
Rev S. D. Paine of Jacksonville, Florida,
preached to large congregation from the
text Acts l., s, ''But ye shall receive power
after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you,
and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem and in all Judea and in Samaria
and unto the uttermost parts of the earth"
The following is brief synopsis of the SER
MON Christ during his earthly ministry sell
dom gave a direct reply to religious cues
ton that was merely speculative or OF no
practical value. On one occasion an individ-
ual came to Christ and asked: "Lord, are
there few that be savedq' Christ replied:
''Strive to enter into the straight gate" At
another time Christ had predicted the man
ner of Peters death. Peter, turning to John,
who was present, said: "Lord, and what
shall this man dos" referring to the manner
of Johns death Christ's answer was:
''What is that to thee? Follow thou me-"
After the resurrection some of the disciples
said to Christ: "Lord, wilt thou at this time
restore the kingdom to Israel?' And he said:
cit is not for you to know the times or the
seasons which the Father hath put in his
own power; but ye shall receive power"
etc. One of the strong arguments for
the truth of Christianity is that Its
starting point was Jerusalem and not in
remote part of the Roman empire, nor
at Rome, or Corinth, or Phillippi, where the
facts of Christianity could not be readily in
vestigated, but at the very place where these
events TRANSFERRED and within few weeks of
the time they occurred. Another strong
argument for the truth of Christ's religion is
that the apostles were in every case eye wit
nesses of the events of his life and death, SO
that they could give the most convincing
testimony The most convincing argument
for the power of Christianity to-day is,
''defnite testimony in the church to the
power of religion to transform &c. character !,
backed by consistent Christian life"
St. Paul on all occasions emphasized his
religious experience. Mr.. Paine dwelt upon
the necessity of the pulpit emphasizing the
teachings of Christ rather than the doctrines
of men. People everywhere are needing the
'old, old story of Jesus and his love" An.
other thought developed was "the need of
divine power in the church, the baptism of
the Holy Ghost" He gave a glowing de-
scription of the past triumphs of the church
and the present grand opportunities for
Christian work, the many opened avenues In
all parts of the world, referring to India,
China, Africa, Europe and our own land,
which he described as the great missionary
country of the world, all nations and peo-
pies coming here to find a refuge and ahome.
He referred to the urgent needs of the south
ern people, both white and colored, of edu-
cation and Contamination, and the appeal
of the colored people, especially for books
and good literature.
Mr.. Paine is Christian optimist, believ-
ing that the world is growing better, that
Christians of all denominations are becom-
ing more united and fraternal, and illustrat-
ed it by an incident in his own experience in
1862 at the battle of Cedar Mountain, Va,
where the different corps and divisions of
the Union army, having each their own
corps pride and little jealousies before the
engagement, yet in the hour of supreme
need rallied nobly to the defense of their
comrades and the flag. He called on the
church of Christ to rally for the common
cause and show a common front to the
enemy.