The Portland daily press., 1896-01-20
CHRISTIAN UNI0NISTS.
eloquent Sermon by Rev. Harry L
Garfield OF Boston.

10 De inc hGAplu- VI 0oo 10 GuuC6
the World from Sin-The Study of
Creeds Giving Place to Study of the
Life and Teachings of Christ-The Ma
chinery of Organic alton Described.
A large congregation was present at the
Church of the Messiah last evening when
Reg. Harry L. Garfield of bosom, seore-
tary of the National Young Peoples
Cnristian Union, spoke. Mr. Garfield is
"a young man, graceful speaker, and
very much in earnest He said that
youth has always possessed for the world
him who possesses it, youth is a contin-
ual Joy, and he who once possessed 1t,
bus has it no longer must still hold it
a glad memory. 1t is the habit of old
men to talk of the days of their youth,
and it is no wonder if in all the world
could be restored and made perpetual.
The ancient philosopher pondered the
question: I'll man dies, shall he live
again?'' but jesus settled it 10 centuries
ago when He said: ''If man liveth
and belieyeth in Me he shall never die"
1t is true that there is no real death for
the believer. He who grows into the full
ness Of the life of, Christ grows to live
mora anu more abundantly, and it has
been demonstrated that he who accepts
Christ can never grow old, that he is con-
ssantly resurrected to all that is highest,
that he passes from conquest to conquest,
from victory to victory. There is no such
thing as growing old in the service of
the Master.
But this age has seen a revival of this
desire for youth The world seemed to be
growing old. 1t needed the freshness
and Vigor Of the life of Christ, and When
months ago in this city of Portland, and
in this church, band of earnest young
people stood here and consecrated them
selves to the service of the highest and
the best, God helping them, it meant
much. 1t meant that they would do all
they could for the uplifting Of humanity.
and for the glory of God. 1t is through
tais and kindred movements that the
spirit of the world becomes younger and
fresher Nowhere else has the youthful
spirit been felt more powerfully than
in the church.
Young people have ceased to think
much Of creeds, and ceremonies, and have
gone back to tho study of the life of the
plain, humble man Jesus. They have
entered into the spirit of that life. They
have found that after all He taught no
creed hard to understand, but that he
made duty the sum of life They have
come to enter into an understanding how
He went about doing His appointed
work That He came to show how neil
we are to God our Father That He came
to show that the kingdom of God is not
here. or there, but everywhere any child
Of God acknowledges His independence
upon His Fathers will. That He came
not merely place where we go when
We can go nowhere else, but That it is
a state where we grow in grace and into
spiritual communion with God. And it
is largely because Of this revival of the
study of the life of Christ that His church
bnt more and more i'll life and we are
more and more getting a religion that
thrills through life and makes it potent
with righteousness.
And in common with other churches,
the young people of the Universalist
church have felt this movement. We
have not been disposed to critjcise what
others have done, but to thankfully &C.
kowledge our debt to those who have to
someadegree led the way, but we believe
in. the Universaiist church, and we be-
Eeye in the truths God has given into
our keeping. Our young people are
proud of cur church, and they fully be-
lieve that we have entered into wonder
full and divine opportunity. and that it
is lefs for US to go in and to take possess
sion in the name of all that is diyinest
and best.
We believe in our devotional meetings
That We there get that assistance that
helps US to 60 Oh in life We know that
the nature of man is religious. We are
too apt to forget that man is unit, and
not SO many compartments. We speak of
his business nature, or his religious ma
ture, as II he was divided up into many
natures. Man is naturally religious,
given up to service. The powers God
has given him he will devote to some
purpose, right or wrong, and that which
man serves constitutes his religion.
And we believe that man should serve
that which is good, and should have his
aspirations directed only to that which
is highest. We do not believe that we
are good by accident. We have no vic
tories until We have fought for victory.
Victory over sin comes to us only after
we have struggled against sin, and have
been assisted in that struggle by divine
power, and we shall come into possession
of the highest life, and the truest Chris
tian character only when we have tried
80 be all that we feel God would have
us to be.
1t is said of Frederic Douglass, that
while still slave he prayed continually
and with faith, believing that God
would make him free, but he remained
sIava uufIl his desiro for Iihort1 o,ro,x, ca