The Newtown bee., 1895-11-22
Around the Preside.
CHILDREN AS oBJECT-LEssoNs


CHILDREN AS OBJECT LESSONS.
"A SERMON PREACHED IN THE NEWTOWN
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH BY THE
PASTOR, REV OTIS w. BARKER.-BE-
FORE CHRIST CAME CHILDREN WERE
LITTLE CARED FOR, BUT THE CHRIS
TIAN WORLD THINKS THE CHILD
WORTH SAVING To-DAY.-oUR LOVE
FOR CHILDREN SHOWS THAT CHRIST is
IN HIS WORLD.-CHILDREN ARE OBJ
JECT-LESSoNs OF HUMILITY AND I'M
QUESTIONING FAITH.-THE GROWTH OF
THE CHILD, PHYSICALLY AND SPIRIT
TALLY, IS NATURAL.-sAvE THE CHILD
TO SAVE THE WORLD.
Text, Matt. 10 IA, "Suffer little children, and
forbid them not, to come unto Me; tor OF
such is the kingdom of Heaven"
Sermons are generally rush of words
from start to finish without any break.
Ii you stop minister in the midst of his
sermon, it is almost considered sacri-
lege, profaning of the house of God.
The minister says what he has to say,
and no one has right to say anything
in reply-until he is through. To inter-
ject irrelevant remarks in the midst of
the sacred discourse is unwarrantable
but Jesus is in the midst of sermon
now. He is discussing one of the 'sburn-
ing questions" Of the day, the question
OF divorce; and right in the midst of the
sermon some mothers bring their chill
dren to Him that He may lay His hands
upon them and bless them. The disci-
pies resent the intrusion they will not
have their Master interrupted: We sell
dom read in the Gospel history that Je-
sus was displeased. The deep love of
His heart shone through His countenance,
the light from within made glorious
light upon His face, and so we think of
His face as wearing smile. But, when
Jesus learned that His disciples had re-
strained these mothers in presenting
their children to Him, we read that He
was much displeased. Jesus loves the
children, welcomes them. They ran to
Him when He was here upon the earth.
nestled in His arms, sang His praises.
shouting "Hosanna to the Son of David -
Jesus took them in His arms, prayed for
them, blessed them, and said most era-
cious things about them. Jesus loved
the children then and He loves them
now.
Did you ever, my friends, take up a
common flower, and, through some
study Of botany that you had gained. by
analysing it and examining it's petals OF
leaf under the microscope, discover in
the flower some new beauty that you
had never seen before? Did you ever
take walk on crisp, October morning
when the fields were bathed in the glory
of bright, October sun, along some &C.
customed way, your familiar haunt per
haps, and, your senses being fully alert
and your mind alive to the charms OF
Nature in the tinting of the leaves, the
dancing of the shadows, the curvings OF
the path, the moss-grown rocks, see new
beauties IOr the eye that
YOU HAD NEVER DISCOVERED
before? 1t is so with the life of Christ
You have often passed over its story,
you have often perused the sacred page
but it was wonderful life, and Jesus
character was marvellous character,
The revelation of that life has not all
come to you, the revelation of it will not
all come to you here. The Sermon on
the Mount revealed Christ as Teacher
the raising of Lazarus revealed Christ as
the Omnipotent One with power over
the grave; the driving of the money
changers from the Temple revealed
Christ as the One who will not have bar
ter mixed with piety, reverence at the
altar confused with trickery at the coun-
ter: Gethsemane revealed the great
depths of Christ's heart, Calvary the
great heights of His love: but this one
touching incident of Christ and the chill
dren revealed to the world what Christ
thought of the child. The world would
be poor indeed without it.
The world was poor indeed without it
before Christ came. Read the HERO
glyphics on the tombs Of the Pharaohs
to-day; dig into the mounds which con-
ceal the long-buried cities of Nineveh
and Babylon, cities strong in the pride
OF their wealth and the glory of their
might long before Homer sang his story
of the Trojan War or Solomon's temple
was reared on lions hill; what do these
unearthed cities reveal? They reveal
the despotism Of kings,zthe tyranny Of
monarchs-that's about all. On those
ancient monuments we read the story Of
man (and do not mean man in the gen.
eric sense); we read the story of what
man did, what man achieved. It is the
story of barbarism and crime, for mar
without the sweet and tender influence
Of woman has ever been little better
than a savage. Woman lived then.
but she was only slave to do mans
bidding. Children lived then, but they
were hidden under the name OF family :
they we're hardly known and little
cared for.
Christ did at least two things: He dis.
covered woman and the child. He gave
them q place and marked out their
sphere. He discovered children nine
teen centuries ago, but His Church is
just beginning to learn Of that discovery
now.
MANY DO NOT BELIEVE
In this statement. Well, come with me.
my disbelieving friend, into some Of our
great cities, walk along the streets and
read the names above the doors Of our
large charitable institutions; Infant
Asylums, Orphans Homes, Sheltering
Arms, Children's Aid Societies, st Johns
Guild. Go, as l went, into the Waif
Mission In Chicago and see hundreds Of
little fellows come in, picked literally
up from the gutter and out Of the COAX