, 1900-07-03
A SUNDAY SERMON
DELIVERED BY REV. II. WARREN
NICE OF THE BAPTIST
CHURCH.
Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God
and His Righteousness and All
These Things Will be Added Unto
Yuu"-Gud Claims Our First Love
and Allegiance.

and Allegiance.
Rev. II. Warren Nice of the Baptist
.church delivered the first sermon at the
series Of union services at the Metho-
dist church on Sunday. He said in part:
The sermon on the mount is sup
posed to be idoalistic and impractical
in this age Of ours, and yet | am con
WINGED that the text | have chosen from
that sermon is the crying need Of the
world, now. and ever will be.
seek ya first the kingdom Of God and
his Righteousness and all these things
will be added unto you"
The very first words we read in the
bible are: In the beginning God and
Throughout the entire book God claims
uur first love and allegiance. Make
G.I first in your Thoughts and life and
tan things will be yours! For all things
are yours and ye are Christ's and Christ
S God.
1t is net my purpose to enter into a
Theological discussion of what the
kingdom of God is; | would refer you
I,J Brucc's book upon hat subject,
(which will answer all your questions;
but | am going to assume that we all
have some idea Of what it means to be
la member Of the kingdom and further
discuss the subject by asking if we
know what it is to make that kingdom
first and foremost ia our lives.
Every living being needs a worship
of some kind; within the human heart
is the continual cry for something to
fix its affections upon. One will wor-
ship money, another power, another
self, and 50 on we might eHumerate,
but when a man wOrships God in sin
~ccrity and in truth then he reaches the
"summum bonum" Of life. and If h"
places God first, all things will surely
bee added unto him.
In the olden times the people wOr-
shipped Moloch. Baal and Mammon,
and we are not free from that same idea
of worship now.
men VIII SdllthN' Ah'AA ~
, ings upon the altar of greed and pow
er without any compuuctious of con-
I~science if they are making a good thing
out of it; men will follow the Baal
=, worship IN selfish lusts and animal
greed. If We are better than the heath
: en- and do not worship Baal in reality,
what means the 100, 900 fallen women
. on the streets of London this very
- night. and other cities in the same pro-
- portion in the world? This is Baal
worship in its worst form and shows
how men will fall down at the feet of a
fallen Venus.
The greatest curse of the world now
= is the thirst for gold and its power
. Mammou still rules the lives of men
I when trusts, corporations and othel
combinations are reaching out for 81
per cent profit upon their investments
land grinding the laboring man down tC
Ia mere pittance for his share.
In this materialistic age God is plac'
t ed last in the thoughts of men and We
need brave men and women who viii
give God his just due.
4 boy was asked where his bread
" came from. He said, the baker. Where
did the baker get it? From the mil
Ter: and the miller from the farmer
:, and then the farmer from God, but II
= his mind God was the last thought of
People will look upon their business
home, family, and give all credit tc
themselves. but never think of saying
God gave them what they possess in
:, this world.
- What a mean and cowardly thing II
is for men and women to deal with the
living God as a last sourc and Their
when done with this world try to SNEAK
into Gods heaven because they know
II this world has passed from them.
Some people try to worship God
through nature, some by ritual and
Others by the most pronounced formal
ism. but God is a spirit and they that
u worship him must worship him in spir,
- it and in truth.
Seek God AMI learn to know Him as
:. you ought and the right type of living
which is found in His kingdom will be
- yours in this world and the world tc
conc, and further all things will be
. more likely to be yours now and for
: evermore. But | must hasten and
, bring this thought down to our own
practical life and see how we neglect
:, to put God first in our lives.
l am going to speak plainly, because
= my heart yearns to do good and save
the people of Laramie from the sin Of
false worship towards the living God.
You say We are Christians and support
Ichurch, and yet if you give a small 81
bill when God has prospered you with
hundreds of dollars what a sacrifice
THAT is for you! What would you think
of me, if | told you how much l loved
my wife, and go into ecstacies over
her virtues and goodness and then the
Inext day buy myself a $50 suit OF
lclothes and at the same time give her
so cents to buy herself a dress? You
would say my profession of love for
her was all a sham of the worst kind.
Yet how often we hear Christian men
men and women singing Il have thy