The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1900-03-03
THE COMING SERMON.
Dr.. Talmage on Future Modes Of
Preaching the Gospel.
How He ThInks Religious Truths
should he Presented--says Min
isters should Preach the
Living Christ.
Copyright. 1899. by Louis Kiopseh)
Washington. 49, n

In this discourse Dr. Ialmage au-
dresses all Christian workers and de-
s.-ibes what he thinks will be the modes
az preaching the Gospel In the future;
text. Romans 1877; "Or ministry, let
ms wai, on opr minlsterinR.-
While l was seated on the piazza OF a
hotel at Lexington, Ky, one summer
evening. n gentleman asked me: what
Az Won think Of the coming sermon? |
supposed he was asking me in regard to
some new discourse Of DIR. Cumming, OF
Lopdon. who sometimes prenchedHtAr.
tIlng sermons. and repIied: II have
rot seenit" But found out afterward
tha, n. meant 10 ask what | thought
would h. the eharacteristics of the com
,rr ..rmon NJ IN. world. the sermons of /
the fu,ure IN. word "Cumming" as a
noun pronounced the same as the word /
"coming AZ an adjective. But my mis- (
take suerested to me a very important 1
and practical theme, "The Coming Ser
mon"
R.for. IN. world Ia converted the
s,vle ~ reljg;ous discourse will have
10 h, converted You might as well go
into the modern sedan or Gettysburg
with bows and arrows. instead Of rifles
and bombshells and parks of artillery,
as ,o .xpect IN conouer this world for
God by the old style of exhortion and
ssrmonoloey. Jonathan Edwards
preached the sermons most adapted to
IN. age in which he lived. but II those
sermons were preached low they would
divide an audience into two classes--
those sound asleep and those wanting
10 90 home.
Rpt there ia. discourse Of the future.
Who viii nre,cb 1, I have no idea. In
what mart ~ the earth II will he horn
bays M idea In which denomination of
Chr;stians II will he delivered cannot
oness That discourse Of exhortation
NAV he horn in the country meeting
bonss on tbe ban,s Of the 81 Lawrence
or The Oregon or the Ohio or the Tom
b;,hss or The Alabama The person
wbo shall deliver II NAV this moment
be in a cradle under the shadow Of the
Sierra Neyadas or in a New England
farmhouse or amid the ricefelds of
southern sayannas, or this moment
there NAV be some young man in one of
our tbeological seminaries. In the
Junior or middle or senior class, shaping
that weapon Of power, or there may be
coming some new baptism Of the Holy
Ghost on the churches, so that some of
us who now stand in the watchtowers
of Zion. waking to a realization Of our
present inefiiciency, may preach II our
selves. That coming discourse may not
be so years of. And let us pray God
that its arrival may be FASTENED while
| announce 20 you what think will be
the chief characteristics Of that dis
course or exhortation when 1t does ar
rive, and l want to make my remarks
appropriate and suggestive TO all classes
of Christian workers.
First of all, l remark that that flu
ture religious discourse will be full of
n living Christ In contradlstinctlon to
didactic teohnlcallties. A discourse
NAV be full of Christ though hardly
mentioning His name, and a sermon
NAV be empty Of Christ while every
: sentence Is repetition of His titles. The
! world wants a living Christ, not Christ
, standing At the head of formal sys.
fem Of theology, but a Christ who
E means pardon and sympathy and con
/. dolence and brotherhood and life and
Heaven. A moor mans Christ, an over
/. worked Christ. an inyalid's Christ, G
/. farmers Christ. a merchants Christ, ar
artisans Christ. an every mans Christ
A symme,rical and fine worded sys
tom NJ theology is well enough for theo
logical classes but II has no more bust
:. ness In n nnlnit than have the techn lea
!, nhrnses OF an analomist or a psych olo
y eist or a physieian In the sickroom of
e nat,ent. The world wants helm, imme
di.t. and world upliftine, and IL will
com, through a discourse in whicl
Christ shall walk right down into tn
immortal soul and take everlasting pos
session OF II, filing II as full Of light a
!, ,h;s noonday armament.
Tbs. ..rmon or exhortatiop OF the FL
,,r. v,,l no, deal with men in tn
,h,..sh.r. uIu,trstIon, OF Jesu
chrs., In that Gaming address ther
. ,v,l \. ir.,snc,, a, yicsrious suffe rim
,.Lsn rigbt ont OF everyday life, fo
. ,h.r. 4, "a, , dsv when somebody
~o, Sv,,r ,or othsr,-a. the pbysicia
ssr,.Sh,. d,nNth,r;tie patient by sacr
. sc,nr NJ. ow, i,,.. az the ship captai
; 80 Sowr With bis yes,el while he
" ss,,ino nj, passengers into the lif
. 49,. .. IN. Trem,n consuming in th
y Svr.,rr huildirg while he is taking
shnS 90, A , fonrth..,ory window; ,
~ .nr,n.r IN. s,rong swimmer at Ea,
T.mn,or or Long branch or Cape Ma
= a. Isk. Csorre himself perIshed tr,
,nr 20 r,scna m. drowning; as ii
: navsn. mar hov ON. summer. supportin