El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-10-25
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Rev. h. w. Moore breaches n Ser
mon Appropriate To His Second
AnniversarV


Sunday morning a: the Presbyterian
church, Rev. II. W. Moore preached u
sermon appropriate To his st cond ami
vertary rs pastor. He took Tor bic
text sIThe Church of the Living Coo,
the Pillar and Ground OF the Truth "
Ist Tim. 3:l5. The sermon in part Is
given below:
There are some people who profess
to believe that the city and country
wonid he lust as we'll oil without the
church, that family life would be just
as pure, the tone of morality in com
munity lust as high, sad, aching hearts
lust as contented and life just as rlcn
and deem. Some have foolIshly ventnr
ed this assertion: that the churcn u
an ANTIQUE institution aud that IL Is
slowly losi ng its hold and by ana oy IL
will outlast its usefulness. But 10
those who believe the church
divine institution against which, rs
Jesus saws. ''the gates of hell shall not
prevail:".to those who.reslize that the
soul is a part of man that needs splrl-
tuAl culture: to those who need the So
lace of Heaven because OF bereave-
ments and to those who wish TO rear
their children amid Who'll, some In
nuences and who are solicitous OF the
purity OF life of their children, the
church to such is the most precious
and indispensab Die of Institutions.
Skeptlcs and scoffers have attacked 1t
in vain aud long after you and | are
epiu q in the topgueless tomb it Will
still cali men TO worship and to the
higher life. Oh, God, keep the church
pure, simple, brave and Tree from
worldliness and thus will IL overcome
the world.
What are the church's duties to
community? | answer frs nd more i'm
portant, tno' it may sound prosaic aud
common place. duty 10 TO call men
10 repentance. We are all born at the
foot Of toe hill. Whether We are born
sinner or not we need to debate, but
We certainly were not born satots. Men
sAuL the pI,y aud mercy oil God! we
have wandered away from God. Toe
sweetest swords in the holy book are
tbose.w hich speak of Gods mercy. "All
we lite sheep have gooe astrsy." We
may measure ourselves by another |
-eSm preI1y god, but measured
by Gods standard We come
short. To get into Queen Victoria's
guard a man must be six feet tall.
You may say 81 will get In because L
am taller than any of you" but wpen
measured by the queens officer you
are an inch short. Gods standard we
cannot come up to except by the right
oousness OF Christ. / dare say If
church would purposely avoid preach
ing repentance IL would be dead
weight 90 n community and be rob-
bed OF q spiritual power. What men
want TO hear. sad men, doubling men,
worldly men, 10 the wall OF Calvarys
broken heart and that there Is JOY in
heaven over one sinner that repent
eth"
Another duty OF the church is to
build up spiritual life. Oh. how many
cry like David Restore unto me the
10Y of thy sslvatiDp." How many
shink conversation Is all,there Is to the
Christian life. How many expect TO
stay away from Gods house, the pray
ermeetir gs, stop bible study ana by
some miricle grow into healthy spi-
ritual manhood and womauhood. Hear
i'll Work out your own salvation"
Do not blame God or the church or the
pastor IL your Christian life Is barren
of ioy and. hope or peace. You ca1-
not live with the world sounding In
your ears Increasingly and grow spirit
ually. You must come in contact with
he warm heart of Jesus Christ every
day and especially in G.d's house.
Another duty of the church is the
doubling, the discouraged. The world
10 filed with farewells for the dying
aud MORNINGS for the dead. To SUCH
the church comes with the open Bible.
IL says too, to the business man: Bro
ther, in your business remember God.
AS you make money forget not Christ
md personal responsibility, the judge
ment aud heaven. To the pleasure
seeker IL says: Daughter, do not be-
mands" There is something bet
ter TO live for than that. To the dis
dressed and discouraged IL says; BRO
ther drop your pen, your book, your
cares, come, brother, with me to the
mountain top. Yonder, brother Is the
land of promise. Wonder is heaven.
See her golden domes. Hear the bar
pers harpiog on their harps. See the
hands wave. You, brother, shall Joy
that by aud by" And he comes down
70 daily duty refreshed and hopeful.
oh, how Gods children suffer! What q
message the church has for such. do
not cry, "ssid dying girl To her sister.
"Oh hush, ;" she continued, ~ am lis
tening to the breezes that are waving
the branches OF the tree Of life."
What glory breaks on the eyes and
ears OF the dyingl Cheer upl the
last pressure of the hand here is fol-
lowed by the clasp of Jesus hand as he
whispers, Fear not, I will uphold
thee.n
Here 10 another duty of the church
To raise up testimony against
evil. Its duty is to train up the con-
science Of com immunity so that il can
not tolerate gross abuses. ''Abhor
the evil" is from St. Paul. We must
hate vice and wrong wherever vulgar,
insinusting, fashionable wickedne !
all the time trying to gain asceudeucy
in community. How can we keep il |
down but by that hatred OF it an ed
ucated conscience gives? No one be-
longs to the roll of manhood or
womanhcod who has no power of in
diRnation. IL Is the duty of the
church TO educate healthy public |
sentiment against evil. Pity the pull
nit and the pews that will not call
things by their right names and with