The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-04-14
THE SABBATH.
What it is and How We Should Spend it.
Opening Address

opening Address.
A packed house greeted Rev H. l. Ste
phens, pastor ot..St. James NJ. Z. Church,
in association hall last Sunday afternoon
at 4 o'clock. This is the fifth consecutive
series of addresses ty the pastors of the
city, and promises to be one of the most
interesting and instructive yet given
After several choice selections by the
male quartette and the singing of "Amer-
lea" by choir and audience, prayer was
offered by Rev. G. ID. Bulla. Rev. Ira
w. Kimmel lead Exodus XXX; 1:20. Sec
rotary Meacham read Isaiah IS; 1914
and few verses from Matthew V, bring
ing out the thought that Christ came to
fulfil the law and not to do away with it
as one would sur pose. Mr.. Stephens then
addressed the audience as follows: In Ex-
odus goth chapter, verse we read: Ere
member the Sabbath day to keep it
Holy"
The Christian Sabbath is a subject that
is being studied by the world and the
church of to day, rs never before in their
history. The world is investigating the
authority for the obligations which the
Sabbath imposes. The church is waking
up to the fact that the Sabbath has been
slowly but surely drifting away from it's
old time sanctity.
Some persons have gone so far as to
doubt it's divine Obligations altogether.
Others have said that It was only binding
upon the Jews under an inferior dispen-
sation and that under the present dispen-
sation there WAS no command for it's Oh
servance at all.
Now the family, the church and the
Sabbath are three divine institutions.
They were instituted of God in the time of
mans innocency, in the infancy OF time,
when young world, fresh from the
hands of its creator, swung down in vhe
warm breath of heaven and sparkled in
the early dews of eternity. 1t was then
and under such circumstances that God
gave us these institutions which he in
tended should be perpetuated as bless
ing to humanity throughout all time.
The nation draws its life from the fam.
lily. The family derives it's life and hap
piness from the church. The church de-
rives much of it's power from the Sab
bath. Destroy the Sabbath and you crush
the church. Crush the church and YOU
kill the family. Kill the family and you
annihilate every principle of true govern
mcnt
Without the Sabbath there is no orship,
without worship no religion, without re
ligion there is no permanent freedom.
The destruction of the Sabbath IS moth.
tercsts of humanity. 1t is the sheet an
Choir that fastens redemption to this earth,
the dertruction of which strikes at the
dearest interests Of society, and will sink
the peace, prosperity and happiness oil
any people.
l. To settle the fact that the Sabbath is
Il divine institution let us look NJ the his
tory of its origin. son the sixth day God
ended the work which he had created ard
made and rested on the seventh day. And
|. God blessed the seventh day and sanc;i
fled it, because that in it he had rested
from all his work which he had created
and made In this scripture we have the
first account of it's institution. God
blessed the Sabbath and set it apart from
all other days, that it might stand out in
the calendars of years that should follow
as n perpetual memorial of the work o.
creation
In these days men constantly need to he
reminded of the fact that God made this
world and that it belongs to him by right
of creation; that behind the things thai
are seen there stands the great unseen
God, who is the creator Of all things visi
bic and invisible, who has set apart ont
day i'll seven to remind us of the fact
that this world with all of its fulness be
longs to him. ''lt stands as il memorial
| OF redemption also"
p The sanctity of the Sabbath WA.
afterwards marked by withholding the
mamma on that day and the providing Of
double supply on the day before. Thi.
incident shows that God regarded the
Sabbath of rest rs sacred unto his people
in that lie provided nation of peopl,
with their Sunday dinner the day before
to keep them from gathering it upon the
sabbath lyon shall kindlc no fir,
throughout your habitation on the Sab
pain day" The Sabbath should not BIZ
nude n dry of feasting instead Of y day OF