Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1899-11-29


rear a man say, Nov to recapitulate,
md "a few words by way OF application
tad "Once more" and "Finally." aud
Now to conclude"
Paul preached until midnight, and Euty-
.hus got sound asleep and fell out OF a
win ow and broke his neck. Some would
Jay, "Good for him." would rather be
sympathetic, like Paul, and resuscitate
lim. That accident is often quoted now in
:eligious circles as "a warning against SOM
1oience in church. 1t is just as much
warming to ministers against prolixfty.
3utychus was wrong in his somnoieuce,
)ur Paul made Il mistake when he kept on
Until midnight. He ought to have stopped
It IL O'Clock, and there would have been
10 accident. II Paul might have gone on
20 too great length, let all those OF us who
are now preaching the gospel remember
hat there is a limit to religious discourse,
)r ought to be, and that in our time we
lave no apostolic power OF miracles. Ma
,o,,on g.. an address OF seven minutes
:triiled his army and thrilled Europe.
Christ's sermon on the mount, the model
sermon was less than eighteen minutes long
1t ordinary mode OF delivery. 1t is not
electricity scattered all over the sky that
strikes, but electricity gathered into
:hunderbolt and hurled, and 1t is not relig-
GUS truth scattered over and spread out
over q vast reach OF time, but religious
ruth projected In compact form that
1ashes light upon the soul and rives its
Indifference.
When the religious discourse of the
future arrives in this land and in the
Christian church, the discourse which Is to
arouse the world and startle the nations
and usher in the kingdom. 1t will be brief
discourse.
Hear 1t, all theological students, all ye
lust entering upon religious work, all ye
men and women who In Sabbath schools
and other departments are toiling for
Christ and the salvation OF immortals-
brevity, brevityl
But remark also that the religious
discourse OF the future OF which l speak
will be q popular discourse. There are
those in these times who speak ola popular
sermon rs though there must be something
wrong about 1t. As these critics are duh
them selves, the world gets the impression
that n sermon is good in proportion rs 1t is
stupid. Christ was the most popular
preacher the world ever saw and, con-
sidering the small number OF the
dience ever gathered. He never preached
anywhere without making great
sensation. People rushed out In the Wild
srness to hear Him reckless OF their phys
Ical necessities. So great waa their ankle
ty to hear Christ that, taking no food with
! them, they would have tainted and starved
had not Christ performed miracle and
fed them. Why did so many people take
the truth at Christ's hands? Because they
all understood 1t. He Illustrated His sub.
measure, by u handful of salt, by birds
fight and by a lily's aroma. All the people
knew what He meant, and they Hooked te
Him. And when the religious discourse Of
the future appears 1t will not be Prince
| tonian, not Rochesteran, not Andovcrinn
not Middletonian, but Olivetic--plain )
practical, unique, earnest, comprehensive
| OF all the woes, wants, sins and sorrows o.
an auditory.
{ But when that exhortation or discour.
4 81 ha . hnn md fyla
| ing scimiters to charge on it. There are IL
| so plany theological seminaries professors
| telling young men how to preach, lhem.
selves not knowing how, and am told that
| II IA young man In some of our theological
| seminares says enything quaint or thrt'
/ ing or unique faculty and studer.
him and set him right and g.
| out and smooth him dowr
| off until he says everyth.
body else says it. Oh, 4
H~ious discor~
ol,ls. v;iI i b. go. ms s,,.,., 2ss
| spiritual help. All who have buried
dead want comfort. All know themselve
| to be mortal and to be immortal, and the
| want to hear about the great future. Ite
| you, my friends, II the people OF cur gre
| Cities who have had trouble only thoug
/ they could get practical and sympathe'
| help In the Christian church, there wou
! not be a street in Washington or New Yo
or any other city which would be passab
! on the Sabbath day IL there were IA church
| on it, for all the people would press &c
! that asylum OF mercy, that great house oil
! comfort and consolation.
| mother with dead babe in her arms
| came to the god silva and asked to have
her child restored to life. The god silva
said to her, "You so and get handful OF
| mustard seed from q house In which there
| has been no sorrow and in which there has
been no death, and I will restore your
child to life." So the mother went out,
and she went from house to house and
from home to home looking for place
where there had been no sorrow and where
there had been no death, but she found
none. She went back to the god silva and
said: "My mission is failure. You see,
haven't brought the mustard seed. l can't
| find a place where there has been no sor
! row and no death" "Oh." says the god
silva. Understand, your sorrows are nc
worse than the SORROWS OF others. We all
have our griefs, and all have our heart.
breaks"
"Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone;
For the sad old earth must borrow its
mirth,
But has trouble enough Of its own"
We hear a great deal OF discussion now
all over the land about why people do not
go to church. Some say 1t is because
Christianity is dying out and because peo-
pie do not believe in the truth of Gods
word, aud nli that They are false reasons.
The reason IL because our sermons and ex-
hortations are not interesting and practt-
cal and helpful.
Some one might rs well tell the whole
truth on this subject, and so I will tell it.
The religious discourse OF the future, the
gospel sermon to come forth and shake the
nations and lift people out of darkness
will be popular sermon, just for the sim.
pie reason that 1t will meet the woes and
the wants and the anxieties OF tho people
There are in alt our denominations &C.
clesiastical mummies sitting around to
frown upon the fresh young pulpits OF
America to try to awe them down, to cry
out: "Tut, tut, tuti SENSATIONAL They
stand to-day preaching I'm churches that
hold a thousand people, and there are a
hundred per ons present, and II they can
not have the world saved in their way II
seems as II they do not want 1t saved at
all.
1 do not know but the old way OF making
ministers Of the gospel is better-a col
legiate education aud an apprenticeship
under the care and home attention of some
earnest, aged Christian minister, the young
man getting the patriarrh's spirit aud as
sisting him in his religious service.
The printing press is to be the great
agency OF gospel proclamation. 1t is high
time that good men, instead of denouncinp
the press, employ it TO scatter forth the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
| The vast majority Of people in our elite.
do not come to church and nothing but tn,
printed sermon can reach them and cal
them to pardon and life and peace and
heaven.
The tire will come when all the village
town and city newspapers will reproduce
the gospel of Jesus Christ, and sermons
preached on the Sabbath will reverberate
i. all around the world, and, some by type and
some by voice, all nations will be evange
lized.
Reading is seeing by proxy.
There are two things that a ma
can't lose, and can't bequeath-a vir
tuous heart and a good education.
Any one NAV do a casual act of goo
| hut inn nf