The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1899-1900, 1899-11-22

nNluB AluolEdllOnS tAhCh Oub AAOm
everyday life of vicarious suffering-il-
lustrations that will bring to mind the
ghastlier sacrifice of Him who in the
high places of the field, on the cross,
fought our battles and endured our
struggle and died our death.
A German sculptor made an image of
Christ, and he asked his little child, two
years old, who it was, and she said:
THAT must be some very great man."
The sculptor was displeased with the
criticism. so he got another block of
marble and chiseled away on it two or
three years, and then he brought in his
little child, four or FIVE years of age,
and said to her: ''Who do you think
tnat ISL" She said: THAT must be the
One who took little children in His arms
and blessed them" Then the sculptor
was satisfied. Oh, my friends, what the
world wants is not cold Christ, not an
intellectual Christ, not severely mag
isterial Christ, but loving Christ,
spreading out His arms of sympathy to
press the whole world to His loving
hearti
But I remark also that the religious
discourse of the future of which speak
will be popular discourse. There are
those in these times who speak of pop
ular sermon as though there must be
something wrong about it. AS these
critics are dull themselves, the world
gets the impression that sermon is
good in proportion as it is stupid. Christ
was the most popular preacher the
world ever saw and, considering the
small number of the worlds popula-
ton, had the largest audiences ever
gathered. He never preached anywhere
without making great sensation. Peo-
pie rushed out in the wilderness to hear
him reckless of their physical necessi-
ties. So great was their anxiety to
hear Christ that, taking no food with
them, they would have tainted and
starved had not Christ performed a
miracle and fed them. Why did so
many people take the truth at Christ's
hands? Because they all understood
it. He illustrated his subject by hen
and her chickens, by bushel measure,
by handful of salt, by birds fight
and by lily's aroma. All the people
knew what he meant, and they flocked
to Him. And when the religious dis
course Of the future appears it will not
be Princetonian, not Rochesterian, not
Andoverian, not Middletonian, but Oil
vetic-plain, practical, unique, earnest,
comprehensive of all the woes, wants,
sins and sorrows of an auditory.
But when the exhortation or dis
course does come there will be thou
sand cleaning scimeters to charge on
it. There are in so many theological
seminaries professors telling young
men how to preach, themselves not
knowing how, and am told that if a
young man in some Of our theological
seminaries says anything quaint OF
thrilling or unique faculty and students
fly at him and set him right and
straighten him out and smooth him
down and chop him off until he says ev
erything just as everybody else says it
Oh, when the future religious discourse
OF the Christian church arrives all the
churches Of Christ in our great cite!
will be thronged! The world wants
spiritual help. All who have buried
their dead want comfort. All know
themselves to be mortal and to be i'm
mortal, and they want to hear abou
the great future. tell you, my friends
if the people of our great cities who
have had trouble only thought they
could get practical and sympathetic
help in the Christian church, there
would not be street in Washington oil
New York or any other city which
would be passable on the Sabbath day
: IL there were a church on 1t, for all thu
people would press to that asylum O.
: mercy, that great house of comfort ant
consolation.
: A mother with dead babe in he
arms came to the god silva and asked
! TO have her child restored TO life. TIL,
god silva said to her: "You go and ge
: a handful OF mustard seed from hous,
: in which there has been no sorrow
: and in which there has been no death
and will restore your child to life.
So the mother went out, aDfshe wen
! from house to house and from home Il
: home looking for place where ther
had been no sorrow and where ther
, had been no death, but she found none
: She went back to the god silva ant
said: "My mission is failure. Yo,
S see, haven't brought the mustart
seed. I.can't find place where ther
= has been no sorrow and no death.
e "Ohl" said the god silva. understand
5 your sorrows are no worse than tn
e sorrows of others. We all have ou
2 griefs, and all have our heartbreaks.
r Laugh. and the world laughs with you;
3 Weep, and you weep alone;
For the sad old earth mus. borrow II
mirth,
But has trouble enough Of its own.
D We hear a great deal of discussion
S now all over the land about why peopl
: do not go TO church. Some say il is be
e cause Christianity is dying out and be
n cause people do not believe in the trutl
S of Gods Word, and oil that. The rea
I son is because cur sermons and eS
hortations are not interesting an
: practical and helpful. Some one nigh
e US we'll tell the whole truth on this SUI
3 ject, and so will tell it. The religion
d discourse Of the future, the Gospel sci
D mon to come forth and shake the ma
d tions and lift people out of darkness
y will be popular sermon, Just for tn