The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1899-03-17
RELIGIOUS NEWS.

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First Methodist Church.
The revival meeting at the South
Columbia Methodist church was
brought to close last Sunday night.
The South Columbia Epworth
League will have a meeting next
Tuesday night for the purpose 81 re-
organizing and electing new officers.
The Kings Daughters will meet
with Miss Henrietta Lazarus next
Thursday. Subject, Unity" TAX
en- from LIST Peter, Bird chapter, Sth
verse.
The young ladies of the First
Presbyterian church have organized
Bible class, with Miss Ethel Hend-
ley as President. The class meets
with different members every Fri
day afternoon.
There were no services at the
FIRST Presbyterian church last Sun
day, as the pastor, Rev. f. B. Webb,
had been called to Birmingham, his
old home, by the death OF a friend.
He will return in time to hold SER
vices next sunday.
Presiding Elder w. r. PEBBLES
will hold quarterly conference in the
South Columbia Methodist church
next Friday night, and in the First
Methodist church next Monday. He
will preach at the First Church
Sunday morning and at the South
Columbia church Sunday night.
Rev. P. A. Sowell faced house
full of people at the First Methodist
Church last Sunday morning, and
treated them to most entertaining
and forceful sermon. He chose for
his text, a part of the 9th verse of
the 9th chapter of second CORN
thians; "but first they gave their
ourselves to the Lord" His argu-
ment was that the first duty of a
christian, and the essential duty to
christian life, was the committal
of oneself to the Lord. A man might
give literally of his means, and yet
withhold his talent; or vice versa,
he might be most valuable talker
while he yet chung tenaciously to
the dollar; for, he said, the Bible
saying that 1.-The poor ye will always
have with you," ia no truer than
one of his own coinage; "the stingy
will never cease in the church"
For one, he was sorry when one of
these old stingy souls were made to
give grudingly to the support of the
ministry, for he was positive that
the giving left them were callous
than before. The way to do the IN
good and convert them from the sin
of stinginess, was to induce them to
give themselves to the Lord, and
then all would be we'll with them.
It were better, he thought, for Il
man to refuse to accept an Office in
tue church, than to accept such d
BILE duties thereof. When a man ac
cepted stewardship, he made him
self doubly responsible for the duties
of the office; first, because he prom
ised to perform them; second, be-
cause, by his acceptance, he barred
the way to others. A mistake fatal
/ to many churches, and to which this
church was inclIning, was tat the
church was doing well enough; he
wished to say to all his members,
and to give it especial emphasis to
his board of stewards, that the
church was not getting on we'll
enough. They were doing fairly
well in numbers, but not in spiri
tual life, and their lack of hospi-
tality at the church was a most pro-
nounced and glaring fault. Strang-
ers and visitors were permitted to
come and go without being given
any sort of welcome or reception by
anybody. Another fault of this par
ticular church, as the history of the
church showed, was spiritual
dyspepsia" calling for a change of
pastors. In 70 years only four pas
tors had been allowed to remain the
full term of four years. Why his
was, he did not know; but it was a
habit with Methodists generally,
when everything did not go just
right, to change preachers; tnev
would send for new pulpit doctor
with a stronger battery, to try and
resuscitate the half dead body, but
his efforts would move leg or an
arm, and leave the whole worse
than before. The only safety for
the individual was not to make his
service one of convenience or pleas
ure, but of conscience; to give not
merely little of his time and tai
ent and some of his means, but to
consecrate them all ana his ownself
to the Lord; and therein rested the
hope of the church.