Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1901-10-03

| Christ for the street, a Christ for the
| store Christ for the banking house.
| Christ for the factory. Christ for the
| Congressional assembly. a Christ for the
court room. a Christ for every trial and
every emergency and everv perturbation.
Oh, my brethren in the Christian minis
| try. we must somehow get our shoulder
under the burden of the people on the
Lords day and give them a good stout
| lift. and we can do it. We have it all our
own way. 1t is great pity If, with the
| floor clear and no interruption. we can
not during the course of an hour get our
| hymn and our PRAYER or our sermon un
| der such momentum as we can. by the
helm of God. lift the p"onle. body. mind
| and soul. clear ont of their sins, tempta.
tions and troubles.
I think that ministerial laziness often
emptes the church of auditors. Hearers
| who are intelligent through reading news
| papers and by active association in busi-
ness circles will not on the Sabbath sit
and listen to platitudes. Hearers will not
| come to sermons which have in them no
| important facts, no information. no stir
| ring power. adaptation. M fire. The
new will rot listen 70 the pr'nit unless at
least on the subject that day under dis
cussior. the pnlnit knows morr tha" the
| pew. Ministerial laziness has cleared out
many churches. Such ministers sarnter
around from par.or 10 Darlor under the
name of pastoral visitation and 90 CAD
ding about through the VILLAGE or the city
| on errands of complete nothIngness and
wrap their brains around a cigar and
| smoke them I'm and then on Saturday af-
ternoon nut a few crude thoughts together
| and on SUNDAY morrinr wonder that the
theme of Christ and Him crucfied does
rot bring large audience. and on Mon
dav sit down and write ieremiadS for the
| religious newspapers about the decadence
of church attendance
| PeOple will not 90 tn church merely as
n matter of duty. There will not next
Sabbath be a Thousand people in any city
who will get up in the morning and sav:
'The Bible says | must go to church. 1t
| is my duty to 90 to church; therefore !
will 30 to church." The vast multitude of
people who 90 to church 90 to church be
cause thev like it. and the multitude of
people who stav away from church stay
away because they do not like il. ] am
not speaking about the way the world
ought TO he: 7 am spealSinp about the way
the world is. Taking things are they are.
we must make the centrpetal force of the
church mightier than the centrifugal. We
| must make our churches magnets to draw
the people thereunto, so that man will
feel uneasy if he does not go to church.
saying: ~ wish J had gone this morning.
| wonder if | can't dress vet and get thc-s
| in time 1t is ii O'Clock: now they are
singing. 1t is haf-past Il; now they are
preaching. | wonder when the folks will
| be nome TO tel US Wnat was SAID. Wnat mas
| been going on.
When the impression is confirmed that
our churches. by architecture, by music.
| by sociality and by sermon, shall be made
the most attractive places on earth: then
we will want twice as many churches as
we have now, twice as large, and then
they will not half accommodate the peo-
pie.
Therefore, nv brother Christian worker,
if YOU and / find two illustrations for a
religious subject and the one is Bible
illustration and the other is outside the
Bible, l will take the latter because l
want to be like my Master, Looking
across to a hill, Christ saw the city of
Jerusalem.
Talking to the people about the con-
spicuty of Christian example, He said
'.The world is looking at you; be careful:
A city that is set on hill cannot be hid.
| While He was speaking of the divine care
said, Behold the ravens" Then, look
ing down into the valley, all covered at
that season with flowers, He said, Con
slider the lilies
Oh. my brother Christian workers,
what is the use of our going away off in
some obscure part of history or on the
| other side of the earth to get an iIlustra-
ton when the earth and the heavens are
full of illustrations?
Oh, Christian workers, we have got to
freshen up. What is the use OF our going
| back in the Christian classics to find an
illustration of the victorious Christian
deathbed when my personal friend, Al
| fred Goodman. few years ago went away
in as imperial grandeur did Edward
Payson?
Is it any less an illustration to me and
to you because / met him a few weeks be-
| fore in front of Trinity Church. Broad
way, and | said Goodman, You look as
if you were working too hard" Where
| in all the classics is there such a story as
| that of Goodman, when in his last moment
| he cried: Il am sweeping through the
| gates washed in the blood of the Lamb:"
| On, fellow Christian workers, what is
| the of our being stale and obsolete
and ancient when all around us are these
| evidences of Gods grace, Gods deliver
| ance, Gods mercy and Gods wisdom?
We have got to freshen up in our sermons,
| freshen up in our songs freshen up in our
| zeal, freshen up in our conservation, and
| if we do it. my brethren and sisters. we
| will no more have to coax people to
| come to church than if You throw
| corn on the ground you have to coax
| pigeons to come and eat it, no more than
you would have to coax a tired horse to
| eat the oats you throw in his manger.
| Yes, we must freshen up in our Sunday
| schools and in our prayer meetings and in
| our pu pits.
| 1t Is high time that the church OF God
stopped writing apologies for the church.
| Let the men who are on the outside, who
| despise religion, write the apologies. If
any people do not want the church, they
need not have it. 1t is a free country If
any man does not want the gospel he
need not have it. 1t is free country
But You go out oh, people of God and
| give the gospel to the millions of America
| who do want it.
| 1t is high time we stop skirmishing and
bring on general engagement. l want
| to live to the Armageddon, all the ar
mics of heaven and hell in battle array,
| for | know our Conqueror on the white
horse will gain the day. Let the church of
| God be devoted to nothing else, but go
| right on to this conquest.
When Moses with his army was trying
| to conquer the Ethiopians profane history
| says it was expected that he would go in
| a roundabout way and come by the banks
| of the river, other armies had done.
| because the straight route was infested
| with snakes, and no army and no man
| had dared to go across this serpent infest-
| ed region. But Moses surprised them.
| He sent his men ont n GA her I'm ihises