The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1894-06-29
AT THE CHURCHES. :.

At the Methodist Church the subjet
of the sermon was 1.-The Value of tn
Church" the pastor taking his text frol
Psalms LXXXIV, /:
"How amiable are thy tabernacles
Lord of hosts"
In his opening remarks brief mentio
was made of David the supposed autho
of this Psalm and of the circumstance
under which it was written, the preache
saying that while a few think it wa
made by some pious Levite in the day
of Hezekiah when kept away from tn
temple by the Assyrian army, it is gener
ally believed to have been written b
David at the time he was driven from Je
rusalem by Absalom's rebellion. The
was taken up the value of the church t
society, the part it has taken in the for
nation of government, what it does TO
communities and individuals, how it in
creases.the value of real estate and how
all within reach are influenced by it. Oul
present condition was compared with tn,
condition of countries where no Christian
church exists, showing how much it has
done for us in the way of enlightmenI
and progress. The speaker saying upoI
this point
1.-THE English say that Americans like
to wave the stars and stripes whenever
opportunity permits, and confess that ]
lean little that way myself but, friends,
all through our remarkable history l
think see the hand of God and the in
fluence of His church"
Church attendance was next mentioned
and statistics quoted showing that one
half of the population of our country
never attend any service Protestant or
Catholic and that only 30 per cent are
regular attendants. The value of the
church as an institution of learning was
taken up and carefully noted after which
the preacher closed as follows.
'.The church is also light house warn
ing us off the rocks and shoals of skepti-
cism and unbelief. The light of gospel
truth is turned on revealing these dan
gerous places to mariners on life's sea.
Every person is pilot of their own ship.
Winds may blow, storms may come, dark
ness may deepen, but the church acts the
part of light house warning us of dam
ger and by needing the warning given we
can safely reach the haven of rest. We
may not find it all smooth sailing, we
may encounter adverse winds and possibly
ing our course, as the church of Christ
directs, venture to say that at the end
If the voyage we shall find safe anchor
lge
Where no storms ever beat on that
beautiful shore,
Where the years of eternity roll
- To the Christian the house
Of God is allowed spot. There the story
Of the cross is told. There God meets
MS people. There the weary pilgrim
refreshed and gathers new
strength. There we feel the presence of
the Redeemer and our entire being re-
spends to the divine touch. May we ever
hold dear the place of worship and say
and feel as did the psalmist How amiable
ire thy tabernacles o Lord of hosts"
AT THE BAPTIST CHURCH.
The text from which Rev. N. A. Wood
spoke last Sabbath was found in the IA,
,hapter of John and the Sth and 9th
verses:
Phillip saith unto him 'Show us the
Father and it sufficieth u.s." Jesus saith
INTO him 'Have been so long time with
you and yet hast thou not known me
Phillip"
These words form part of the con-
,ervation between our Lord and his dis
,iples just prior to his betrayal.
The last supper being ended our Lord
ook occasion to discourse upon profound
relations as that of the Son to the Father
md of both to the Spirit, that of Christ
% the church, that of the church to the
world, etc. Phillip desiring even more
,angible evidence of the Masters words
saith unto him. Show us the Father and
we shall be satisfied. The reply of our
Lord is a fitting one coming as it did in
sone of mild reproof. "Have been SO
ong time with you and hast thou not
known me Phillip" Yet like Phillip this
cry has been but the echo of the human
heart for ages, ever since sin entered in
10 the world and man by his own rebelli-
,us act, alienated himself from God, there
mas been longing and striving after
The love and favor of the Father if per-
,hance He would once more deign to turn
n his mercy and reinstate man to his
former position. The cry has been ans
xered by the advent of Jesus Christ in
he world who became flesh and dwelt
lmong men. He revealed the Father He
showed forth the glory of the Father
md the Fathers will was manifest in
lin. There are reasons why Christ
hould reveal the Father and the first is
Without some visable embodiment we
ould not properly grasp the idea of God.
lis power and glory we could not COM
,rehend, the idea of the Spirit we could
lot comprehend God is spirit and only |
S clothed in flesh and presented to us in |
esus Christ can we conceive of him. By |
'hrist also is that sense of nearer to God |
ealized. The word made flesh and dwell |
ng among men even Jesus Christ himself |
las made it possible for man to grasp the |
neaning of God in all the fullness of his |
lory and holiness. "lIim have we seen |
Doked upon and handled even the word |
f God" His response to man cry ale
hat hath seen me hath 5, en- the Father is
rorthy" of consideration this morning
.et us ask in what sense does Christ re-
cal the Father.
|. In his great love and solicitation for
Il classes and conditions of society.
Christ came to seek and to save those
nat were lost to lift the shining and sor-
l.. = I