The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1897-11-26
IOO MUCH THEOLOGY.
uhIlh % Not satisfy the General Public
In ne Future . Man WI Arise aud
Cast Aside the I.us for the Liv-
Ing Gospel.

AuN 0utIrl.
Dr. Talmage's text sunday was Luke
*. 90: 60 thou and preach the King
dom Of God.
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 Is 10 be universal king
dom. and just as wide as that viii be
realm seruonic. Go ;hcu and preach
the Kingdom Of God Wehear a great
deal In these days about the coming
man, and the coming woman. and the
coming time. Some one ought 10 tell
rs Of the coming sermon. 1t is a sim
pie fact that everybody knows that
most Of the sermons Of to-day do not
-eeach the world. The vast majority Of
the people Of our great cities never en-
ter church.
The sermon Of to-day carries along
with Il the deadwood Of all ages Hun
dreds Of years ago it 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
modern pulpit utterances into the same
old style proportions booksellers
will tell You they dispose of hundred
histories, 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 bet
ter. Some say religion is wearing
out. when it is wearing in. Some say
there are so many wso despise the
Christian religion. answer, there
never was an age when there was so
many Christians ~of so many friends
OF Christianity as this age has-our
nge-as to others hundred to one.
What is the matter, then? 1t is simply
because our sermon of to-day is not
suited 20 the age. II is the canal boat
in an age OF locomotive and electric
telegraph. The sermon viii have TO
be shaken out Of the old grooves, or it
win not be heard and it viii not be
read
Before the world is converted. the
sermon will have to be converted You
might as wen go into modern Sedan
OF Gettysburg with bows and arrows
Instead Of rifles and bombshells and
parks of artillery as TO expect to con-
uuer this world for God by the old
styles Of sermonology. Jonathan Ed
wards preached the sermons best
sdapted to the age in which he lived,
put II those sermons were preached
now they would divide an audience in
1.-TWO classes: those sound asleep and
those wanting 70 go home.
But there is a coming sermon
who win preach it l have no
idea; in what part of the earth
II will be born l have no idea; in
which denomination of Christians it
viii be delivered, I can not guess That
coming sermon may be born
In the country meeting house on the
banks Of the St Lawrence, or the Ore
fon, or the Ohio, or the Tombigbee,
or the Alabama The person who shall
deliver it may this moment lie in q
cradle under the shadow of the Sierra
Eadas, or in New England farm
Z. or amid the rice fields of south
savannas Or this moment
may be some young man
- he 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-
tism Of the Holy Ghost on the churches,
so that some Of us who now stand in
the watch towers of Zion. waking to
the realization of our present inefi-
cheney, may preach it ourselves That
coming sermon may not be 20 years OF.
And let us pray God that its arrival
may be FASTENED. while l announce to
yon what / think will be the chief
characteristics of that sermon when it
does arrive; and want TO make the re-
marks appropriate and suggestive to
all classes Of Christian workers.
First gf all. remark that that com
ing sermon viii be full of a living
Christ, in contradistinction TO didactic
fechnicalifies. A sermon may be full
Of Christ though hardly mentioning
His name, and a sermon may be empty
Of Christ while every sentence srepe-
fitions Of His titles The world wants
living Christ, not Christ standing
n the head Of formal system of the
oloEy, hut n Christ who means pardon
and sympathy and coincidence and
brotherhood and life and Heaven. A
ooor mans Christ An overworl1ed
Rp's Christ An invaIid's Christ A
Emtfs Christ A merchants Christ
d artisans Christ An every mans
: christ
...s.i - e,..a......r,...,.a
system Of theology is wei enough for
theological classes. but il has no more
business in a pulpit than have the
technical phrases of an anatomist. or .
physician. in the sick room of pa
tent The world wants help, imme-
diate and world-uplifting, aud it viii
come through sermon in which
chrizt shall walk right down into the
Immortal soul and take everlasting pos
Ion Of il filing il as fuil Of light
5 the MONDAY armament That
bon Of the future viii not deal with
in the threadbear illustrations Of
Jesus Christ---- In that coming ser
mo1 there vii be Instances of vicari-
Gus sacrifice taken right out Of every
lay life. for there IS not a day sesSe-
Jody is not dying for others As the
physician, saving his diphtherie pa
ticnt By sacrificing his own life; as the
ship captain going down with his YES
sci. while be is getting his passengers
into the lifeboat; as the fireman,
consuming in the burning build
ing while he is taking a child
~. Of fonrth-ssory window; as last
Iper the strong swimmer at Long
"a, or Cape May, or Lake George
~ persisted in trying to rescue
drowning; as the newspaper boy
Wong ago. supporting his mother
be years. who was an invalid.
fered by a gentleman so cents
ome especial paper, and he got
nshed up in his anxiety TO de-
and was crushed under the
pf the train. and laid on the
tn only strength enough TO say:
Rat will become Of my poor,
lher nowa"
- iIering? The world is
engineer said to me on
, Dakota; 1--WE men seem
to better appreciation
u 10 Did you see that &C.