The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-09-18
THE SERVICES ON SUNDAY
The Dedicatory Sermon Preached by
Rev. DR.. Moore.
AN ABLE AND ELOQUENT DISCOURSE
The Sermon at Night Preached by Rev. Dr..
Watkins, Former Pastor Of the Church.
Collection Amounted to Nearly
$500 at Morning Service.


events in Raleigh in many years was
celebrated Sunday.
1t was the dedication, by the congrega-
tion of the First Presbyterian church, of
, FIVE years ago anu recently completed at
a cost of over $4,000.
The day was most suspicious one for
the glad occasion The weather was
perfect and the people by hundreds went
up to this initial service in the new
church. Every congregation of every de-
nomination in the city was represented
and the building was filled to overflow
ing.
Pastors from the various city churches
were present by invitation and most of
the churches were also represented by
official committees. These spoke for their
people, congratulating the congregation
on the completion of the building and
wishing them God speed in every good
word and work
Special music was rendered by choir
COMPOSED of the best voices in the various
city choirs.
The dedicatory prayer was offered by
Rev. DR.. William McPheeters, of the
Theological Seminary at Columbia. He
was selected for this because he is
grandson of the man who was pastor of
the church when it's first house of wor-
ship was dedicated eighty years ago.
Rev. DR.. Walter w. Moore, of Union
Theological Seminary, Richmond, Va,
preached the dedicatory sermon, and an
ADLER and more eloquent discourse has
seldom been heard in Raleigh.
After the sermon, thank offering to
pay off the debt of $4,000 on the new
church was taken, and over $1,000 OF it
was raised
Thus amid anthems of joy and hymns
of praise, with fervent prayers and Of
ferings of thanks, with reading of scrip
ture and the preaching of Gods word, this
new temple of worship was dedicated to
the service of the Most High.
It. was a beautiful service, and an inn
portant event in the history and Christian
life of the whole city.
DIR. MooRE's FINE sERMoN4
The text chosen for the occasion was
Rev. 1:5: 1.-The Prince of the Kings Of
the Earth"
The speaker said:
Every new church that is built for
the progress of the Kingdom of God. The
dedication of such a building as this,
therefore, is not only an event of local
interest and Importance, as affording
this community an attractive and COM
modious sanctuary, BIT it is an event OF
wide significance as we'll, and one which
is calculated to bring before our minds
once more that most momentous inquiry
-, &c hat
gion continues to hold it's place in the
forefront of the foremost civilizations Of
mankind, never antiquated, never out
grown, and why it is that churches for
the administration of it's ordinances con-
tinue to be erected in every part of the
world. The true answer to this question
must be sought in the life and character
of the founder of the Christian system,
and to this subject l wish to direct your
attention for short while this after
noon"
The speaker here reviewed rapidly, in
short, terse sentences-every one a pic
ture in itself-the career of Christ on
earth. Most eloquently he told of His
birth. service as carpenter at the
bench, His preaching. arrest, trial. con-
domination and crucifxion and added:
"All this occurred in a remote and
petty province of Palestine 1t attract
ed no attention at the time, and only
one historian of the day-Tactitus-re-
fers to it, and he dismisses it in three
lines. This man preached only three
years. He had but few followers and
they were plain, poor men in an out-of-
the-way province. There was no print
ing press to diffuse knowledge. He has
left no scraps of writing. Surely no
man ever lived who seemed more doomed
to oblivion than this young carpenter,
who eighteen centuries ago, was execu-
ted at Jerusalem as a criminal. Yet the
fact is notorious that the greatest men
who have ever lived, such as Constan-
tine the Great, and Charles the Grest,
and Napoleon, after reaching the highest
pinnacle Of human power and glory have
sought to enhance their greatness by
profession of profound reverence for the
Gallilean teacher, and along with the
ablest and purest and most enlightened
portion of the human race, have worship
ned him as God over all, blessed for
ever more Why is this so? Why is it
that His name alone endureth forever,
the most potent name today in human
affairs? Why is it that He continues to
be loved and worshipped as Lord and
Savior: that churches for this heavenly
cult continue to be built in every age
the wide world over?
The preacher then turned his attention
to an inquiry as ito why this was so,
and in doing this he traced the strange
history of the Christian religion from
the cross down through the centuries;
dwelling particularly on the Councll at
Nice. three hundred years after the cru
cifixion, when 31S of the greatest MINIS
ters then in the world were brought to-
gether by Constantine the Great, to
teach him and his people how best to
worship the Christ.
''Three hundred years before this, the
Jewish mob that had done Him to death
at Jerusalem had yelled: We have no
king but Caesar Now Caesar answers
back through his successor, Constantine,
i have no king but Jesus