The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1892-09-19
HARVEST FESTIVAL.
The Annual Thanksgiving of the
English Lutheran Church.
INTERESTING EXERCISES HELD
BY the Congregation and the Sabbath
School interchangeable Church Pro-
fusely and Beautifully Decorated.
Eloquent Sermon Appropriate to
tho Anniversary Preached by the
Pastor last Night.

I
yesterday at the exercises of the Har-
vest Homo festival at the First Engligh
Evangelical Lutheran church, on Six
teenth street. A large number OF invi-
tations was issued to the public as we'll
as all the members of the congregation,
and to these there was a generous re-
spouse, which completely filed the
ediiice at all the services.
The main auditorium on the second
floor was beautifully decorated, the
pulpit being literally buried amid a
mass OF flowers, fruits and vegetables,
tastefully arranged, while all around the
room we're arranged individual designs
in flowers and fruits. Extending from
the pulpit midway down the. church
were festooned in graceful manner
big punches OF golden rod, the whole
effect giving strikingly beautiful APP
pearance to the interior. 1t all de-
lighted all who were fortunate enough
to be present, with the sweet fragrance
and beauty that pervaded the room.
No sermon was delivered at the
morning service, but it was devoted to
the administration OF the sacrament
and to the admission OF seven new
members to the church, the preparato-
ry sermon having been delivered on
Friday evening by Rev. A. Ii. Barthol-
omew. Special exercises were held
during the afternoon in the Sunday
school rooms, addresses being made by
Rev. @. NJ. Afford, Hon. G. w. Akin
son and Mr.. TimotEeus Taminosian, in
commemoration OF harvest day. All.
were Of an appropriate character. In
the evening there was large congrega-
ton present TO hear Rev. Il. II. Dorm
blaser deliver the harvest home ser
mon. He selected for his text John
6:5l: ~ am the living bread which
came down from heaven; if any man
eat OF this bread, he shall live forever.
And the bread that / will give is my
flesh, which will give for the life OF
the world"
He preached from the reading desk,
and stated at the beginning OF his SER
mon that he cheertully resigned the
pulpit to the bountiful provisions OF
nature that enianated from God Jesus
Christ, the worlds great teacher, as
Lord OF the Universe, held at his COM
mand all nature, from which to draw
aids to illustrate the true idea OF his
mission. Objects in the material world
bearing an intimate relatian to our sem
suous being we're skillfullyused by Him
to explain the relation between our
higher nature and the divine truths OF
immortal interest. And in the use OF
smiles and metaphors and other fig
ures OF speech he has very forcibly
made known to us certain great
spiritual realities, spiritual facts which
we should necessarily understand, in
order 70 avail ourselves Of the benefits
OF his merciful redemption. The vine,
water and light are each used to make
us cognizant OF the relation OF His Per-
son to our moral and spiritual nature.
And among the remarkable figures re-
vealing his own character as our Saw
Jour is the metaphor contained in the
text and in this verse, together with
the context. He speaks OF Himself as
the Bread of Life.
His doctrines and his mediatorial
work are the real support OF spiritual
life, the food of the soul. What natur-
al bread or natural food is to the body,
even that same relation exists between
Christ and the soul. In the natural
body there is q constant demand for
food, daily need OF nourishment.
Even so is there need of nourishment
for the soul. There is hunger OF the
soul which needs to be satisfied. Care
full observers OF the actions Of men
find these manifestations on all sides.
Heillustrated this by describing how
man, surrounded by all the rich excel
lence of Gods handiwork in nature,
still reached out after something not
bounded,b by material confines; his heart
intensely yearns after immortality;
that is an expression of the hunger Of
the soul. Even the qualification OF ex-
cessive indulgence OF bodily appetite by
all the delicacies of the table and the
flowing bowl, is only an erroneous,
method adopted by some to supply the
want, and only serves to bring them
into greater reproach and sorrow. The
Unsuitable desire for temporal posses.
sions, gratilied, fails to satisfy the
wants OF the soul. Worldly wealth will
not nourish the soul. Honor will not
satisfy 1t. When the Jews would have
made Christ a temporal king, after he
had miraculously fed 5000 OF them, He
told them that the want within them
could not be satisfied, by gratifying
their sensuous desire. They sought
him not because they saw his miracles,
but because they ate and were filled.
And he now labors to have us under
stand the difference between the two
breads, the natural food and the food
OF the soul, the perishing bread and the
living bread.
Christ, our bread, then is valuable to
US; valuable because OF his true di-
vinity. This bread came down from
heaven; Christ came down with di-
vine commission, and he is the divine
original OF all that good which flows to
us through him. Heaven is the firma-
ment OF his power. This bread is un-
speakabiy desirable, and it is attain
able. Christ is himself living bread
and nourishes by his own power,
yet this living bread must be
eaten in order to be OF any
avail in saving the soul. Then seek the
bread Of life, the living bread which
came down from heaven. II has power
to satisfy, it has power to sanctify, it
has power to save. 1t has power to
strengthen the soul and make it grow
up into youthful stateliness and beauty.
And whenever the coils OF the souls
outer enclosure fall off and resolve
again to earth, dust and ashes, it rises
higher and higher and takes its place
in the mansion of the Great King and
stands within the halo OF glory which
surrounds the throne OF God,