Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-06-17


Of large common sense and earnest look.
The education Of their minds, the piety
Of their hearts, the holiness Of their
lives qualify them for their work. Then
you will find in every church court Of
every denomination q group Of men
who utterly amaze you with the fact
that such semi. imbecility can get any
pulpits to preach in. Those are the men
who give forlorn statistics about church
decadence Frogs never crOak in run
ming water, always in stagnant But |
say to all Christian workers, TO all Sun
day school teachers, to all evangelists,
to all ministers Of the gospel, if we
want our Sunday schools, and our
prayer meetings, and our churches to
gather the people we must freshen up.
The simple fact is the people are tired
of the humdrum Of religiOnists. Reli-
gious humdrum is the worst Of all hum
drum. You say over and over again,
Come TO Jesus" until the phrase
means absolutely nothing. Why do you
not tell them a story which will make
them come TO Jesus in five minutes?
You say that all Sunday school teachers
and all evangelists and all ministers
must bring their illustrations from the
Bible. Christ did not when nc preach
ed. The most of the Bible was written
before Christ's time. but where did he
get his illustrations? He drew them
from the lilies, from the ravens, from
salt, from candle. from bushel, from
long faced hypocrites, from gnats from
moths, from large gates and small gates,
from camel, from the needles eye,
from yeast in the dough Of bread, from
a mustard seed from fishing net, from
debtors and creditors. That is the rea-
son multitudes followed Christ. His IL
lustrations were SO easy and so under
standable. Therefore, my brother Chris
tian worker, if you and find two illus
trations for religious subject, and the
one is a Bible illustration and the other
is outside the Bible, will take the lat
ter because want to be like my mas
ter. Looking across to mill, Christ
saw the city Of Jerusalem.
Talking to the people about the con.
spicuity of Christian example, be said:
1.-The world is looking at you. Be care
full. y city that is set on hill cannot
be hid" While he was speaking Of the
divine care of Gods children bird few
past. He said, Behold the ravens. "
Then looking down into the valley. all
covered at that season with flowers, he
said, Consider the lilies. " Oh, my
brother Christian workers, what is the
use Of our going away off in some OBJ
scure part Of history or on the other
side Of the earth to get an illustration
when the earth and the heavens are full
of illustrations? Why should we go
away off to get an illustration Of the
yicarious suffering Of Jesus Christ
when as near us as Bloomfield. n. j..
two little children were walking on the
rail track, and a train was coming, but
they were ON bridge Of trestlework,
and the little girl took her brother and
let him down through the trestlework
as gently as she could toward the wa
ter, very carefully and lovingly and
cautiously, so that be might not be hurt
in the fall and might be picked up by
these who were standing near byl While
doing that the train struck her, and
hardly enough of her body was left to
gather into a funeral casket What was
that? Vicarious suffering Like Christ.
Pang for others. Woe for others Suf-
fering for others Death for others.
Help In Prayer.
What is the use Of our going away OF
to find an illustration in past age when
during the great forest fires in Michigan
a mail carrier ON horseback, riding on,
pursued by those flames which had
swept over 100 miles, saw an old man
by the roadside, dismounted, helped the
old man ON the horse, saying, NOW
whip up and get away?" The old man
got away, but the mail carrier perished
Just like Christ dismounting from the
glories of heaven TO put US on the way
of deliverance, then falling back into
the flames Of sacrifice for others Pang
for others. Woe for Others. Death for
others Vicarious suffering.
Again, | remark that sanctuary help
ought to come through the prayers OF
all the people The door Of the eternal
storehouse is hung on one hinge, gold
hinge, the hinge Of prayer, and when
the whole audience lay hold OF that
door it must come open. There are
many people spending their first Sab
bath after some great bereavement
What will your prayer do for them!
How will it help the tomb in that mans
heart? Here are people who have not
been in church before for ten years
What will your prayer do for them by
rolling over their soul holy memories
Here are people in crises Of awful temp
tation. They are on the verge OF despair
or wild blundering or theft or suicide
What will your prayer do for them in
the way of giving them strength to re-
sist? Will you be chiefly anxious about
the fit of the glove that you put 70
lour forehead while you prayedl VIII
you be chiefly critical Of the rhetoric OF
the pastors petition? No, no. A thou
sand people will feel. THAT prayer Is
for me, >" and at every step Of the prayer
chains ought TO drop off, and temples OF
sin ought 70 crash into dust, and 1ubilees
of deliverance ought TO brandish their
trumpets. In most of our churches we
have three prayers-the opening pray,
er. what is called the "long prayer
and the closing prayer. There are many
people who spend their first prayer IN
arranging their apparel after entrance
and spend the second prayer, the long
prayer" in wishing it were through
and spend the last prayer in preparing
to start for home. The most insignin-
cant part of every religious service Is
Tie sermon. The moro important parts
IRE the Scripture lesson and the prayer
The sermon is only man talking to
man. The Scripture lesson is God tax
ing to man. Prayer is man talking 70
God. Oh, If we understood the grandeur
and the pathos of this exercise OF pray
er instead of being dull exercise we
would imagine that the room was fuil