The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1897-11-25

~N liberal view OF
NN the subject. His
text Is Luke *,
y 60. Go. thou. and
preach the kingdom Of Cod" i
The gospel is to be regnant over all
hearts, all circles, all governments and
all lands. The kingdom OF God spoken
Of In the text 10 to be universal king
dom, and Just a. wide as that Will be
the realm sermonic. GO, thou. and
preach the kingdom Of God" We hear
a great deal in these days about the
coming man. and the coming woman,
and the coming time. Some one ought
to tell us of the coming sermon. II Is
simple fact that everybody knows
that most OF the sermons OF to-day do
not reach the world. The vast maJori-
ty of the people Of our great cities new
er enter church.
The sermon Of to-day carries along
with it the deadwood Of all ages. Hun
dreds of years ago 1t was decided what
a sermon ought to be, and it is the at
tempt Of many theological seminaries
and doctors of divinity to hew the mod
ern pulpit utterances into the same
old style proportions. booksellers Will
tell you they dispose Of hundred his
tories, a hundred novels, hundred
poems to one book Of sermons. what
is the matter? Some say the age Is the
worst of all ages. 1t is better. Some
say religion Is wearing out, when II Is
wearing in. Some say there are so
many who despise the Christian relig-
ion. ! answer there never was an age
when there were so many Christians or
so many friends Of Christianity as this
age has-our age, as to Others hun
dred to one. What is the matter then?
1t Is simply because our sermon or TO-
day Is not suited to the age. 1t Is the
canalboat in an age Of locomotive and
electric telegraph. The sermon Will
will have to be shaken out Of the old
grooves or it will not be heard and 1t
will not be read.
Before the world Is converted the
sermon will have to be converted. You
might as we'll 60 into modern Sedan
or Gettysburg with bows and arrows
instead Of rifles and bombshells and
parks OF artillery as to expect to con-
Quer this world for God by the old
styles Of sermonology. Jonathan Ed
wards preached the sermons best
adapted to the age In which he lived.
But II those sermons were preached
now they would divide an audience In
to two classes those sound asleep and
those wanting to 90 home.
But there Is coming sermon
who will preach It have no idea. In
what part OF the earth it will be born
I have no idea. In which denomina-
ton of Christians 1t will be delivered
I cannot guess. That coming sermon
may be born in the country meeting
house on the banks OF the st. Lawrence
or the Oregon or the Ohio, or the Tom
bigbee, or the Alabama. The person
who shall deliver 1t may this moment
lie in a cradle under the shadow Of
the Sierra Nevadas, or in a New Eng
land farmhouse, or amid the ricefelds
of southern savannas; or this mo-
ment there may be some young man in
some OF our theological seminaries In
the Junior or middle or senior class
shaping that weapon OF power; or
there may be coming some new bap-
tlsm OF the Holy Ghost on the church
es, so that some Of us who now stand
in the watch towers Of Zion, waking to
the realization Of our present ineincien-
cy, may preach 1t ourselves. That
coming sermon may not be 20 years
off, And let us pray God that its ar
rival may be hastened, while l an
nounce to you what l think will be
the chief characteristics Of that SER
mon when 1t does arrive, and l want to
make the remarks appropriate and sug-
gestive to all classes of Christian
workers.
First OF all, remark that that COM
ing sermon will be full Of living
Christ, in contradistinction to didactic
technicalities. A sermon may be full
OF Christ, though hardly mentioning
his name. and a sermon may be empty
mans Christ. An invalids Christ. A
of Christ, while every sentence is rep
etitious of his titles. The world wants
living Christ, not Christ standing
at the head Of a formal system of the
ology, but Christ who means pardon
and sympathy and coincidence and
brotherhood and life and heaven. A
poor mans Christ. An overworked
mans Christ. An invalid's Christ. A
farmers Christ. A merchants Chrust.
An artisans Christ. An every mans
Christ.
A symmetrical and finely worded
system Of the theology is we'll enough
for theological classes, but 1t has no
more business in pulpit than have
the technical phrases OF an anatomist
or a physician in the sickroom Of pa
tient. The world wants help. immedi-
ate and world uplifting, and It will
come through a sermon in which Christ
shall walk right down into the i'm
mortal soul and take everlasting nos