The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-09-22
HAD A RALLY DAY
DUFFY STREET CHURCH HELD IN
TERESTING SERVICES.
ANNIVERSARY OF Passionate
THE CHURCH PRAISES REV. RoBT.
VAN DEVENTER'S SERVICES.

and the Several Church Societies.
Subject of the Anniversary Ser
mon Was "Getting Rendy"-In the
SpirituaI Life. as in Every form OF
Human Effort, Readiness Alone
Brings ResuIts-Ihe Needs of the
Church - CommendatOry ResOIu-
tions Adopted by the COngregn-
ton
At the Duffy Street Baptist Church
the second anniversary of the pastor
ate OF Rev. Robert VanDeventer was
celebrated yesterday by rally" in
all departments.
The days services began with an
inspiring meeting of the B. Y. p. u,
at 10 in the morning, the meeting room
being crowded and the principal
thought being What the Union Has
Done for Me" At the conclusion of
the meeting the diplomas and seals in
the Christian culture courses We're
given out.
The anniversary sermon was preach
ed at il o'clock. The house was well
filled, and much feeling and interest
was manifested. Mr.. VanDeventer's
sermon was not only deeply interesting,
but one of his best efforts-eloquent
and inspiriting. AS announced, his
subject was Getting Ready" having
for his text Wherefore grid up the
loins of your mind be sober, and hope
to the end for the grace that is to be
brought unto you at the revelation of
-
The Waste In Life.
This the speaker said, was a
familiar figure of speech in Eastern
life, where they were in the habit of
wearing long flowing garments, and
when preparing for a journey they
would grid up these robes around their
waists, so as not to impede them in
their progress, and Peter here uses the
same figure of speech. He wants to
impress upon us the Importance of con-
centration. So much in our life is
wasted; such a waste of passion, and
such waste of effort without the ac-
complishment of much, because the
l0ins of the mind are not girded up
because of no definite purpose: but we
are pretending to undertake so many
things without accomplishing anything
scarcely. So the Apostle says: Grid
up the loins of your minds. See that
you are fitted for something and not
waste your energies and efforts.
That is what we mean by a rally
day. by this occasion which celebrates
the second anniversary of this pastor
ate: not squirt, not a spasm which
would be the worst thing in the world
for us, but to array ourselves in line
and get ready for service, for the work
that may come to us through the
months come and aim n do the
very best possible.
Readiness Wins Success.
II notice as pick up the papers day
by day that this getting ready is all
around us; in commercial life the mer-
chants are advertising for their antic-
ipated trade, telling the public what
they have, or will have, in their stores
for buyers Organizations for intel
lectual and social pleasure, music
clubs, literary clubs are all making
their arrangements; the schools are
getting ready for vigorous campaigns,
and even the playhouses of the city
are telling us of the good things. from
their standpoint, they will have. And
when reading of these things, and
thinking along this line. l asked my
self, What is the church going to do?
What are Gods people going to do?
Men of business, pleasure and profit
are planning for better things, what is
the church going to do? Have we
nothing to present to the public? Shall
we go along the same beaten track.
Travelled for years, or shall we resolve
to rise above all this?''
"Let Us Get Ready"
Mr.. VanDeventer continued: 1T is
my purpose to speak this morning
along this line, and say Let us get
this first because it is the most i'm
portant; because it is the most need
ed. This carefully done, and the rest
will follow. The Bible carefully stud
led will produce in us such an equip
ment in activity and service end spir-
itual life as has never yet been at
tanned to. When / see the weak PEI =
formances under the name of Bible
study, such evidence of folly and ig-
norance under the pretense of Bible
teaching, l am more and more i'm
pressed that the great need in Chris
tian life is culture, with Gods book
as the text book. Let us then get
ready for Bible study, in the Sunday
school, in our Young Peoples Union.
Get ready for Bible study this year, be-
cause the Bible contains the word of
the Spirit. The word of God is the
sword of the Spirit.
There are battles to be foughr
against the world, flesh and the devil.
and there is no weapon but the word
of God that will successfully give us
the victory. And then the word is
bread, the bread of life. Let us feed
on it, We live on fiction, sensation,
trash and slush, and the result, there
fore, is that many are sick in mind
In this mornings paper / note that a
young man committed suicide after
having read one of Corelli's books OF
fiction. That is the kind of food young
men and women are feeding on; their
minds are weakened and being de-
stroyed, because they are not giving
themselves anything that will strength
en- them on lines of manhood. We feel
run down and call in a physician and
he gives us tonic, to build us uI
again, and for our minds the best
tonic that can be administered is the
word of God; it drives away the shad-
ows and clouds and gives us hope and
strength, and produces in us the tenn
per of the Lord. Let us think God s
thoughts for a little while, and, oh,
how they will push out the darkness
and Worries
The Need for Teachers.
II want here to call your attention
to our normal teachers class, the Sun
day -school and the sacred literature
class. Take the Christian culture
courses this year; study the word sys-
tematically, and avail yourselves of
this privilege. Make the sacrifice and
for little cost of self-indulgence, you
will get an inestimable value to you"
The speaker went on TO say that we
must get ready by bringing our lives
into harmony with Gods word To do