The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-03-28
CUMBERLAND PREssYrgRIANs.

What the Lord Thinks OF Frutless
Church or Careless Christian
The meetings at the Cumberland Prcsby-
terrain church yesterday at both afternoon
and evening services were not only pleas
amt, but they were interesting and profit
| able, both in spiritual and social sense
Rev. II. c. Dewitt, State superintendent
of the Cumberland Presbyterian Sunday
school work, who is conducting these ser
vices for the pastor, Rev. Or. j. NJ. Hat
SELL Is winning favor in the sight of his
hearers His plain, unaffected manners,
accompanied by his deep, earnest work, Is
doing good among the people who attend
his services. The interest In the meetings
is Increasing daily and the congregations
are growing mt each service.
At the afternoon service yesterday the
congregation was the largest Of any day
service yet held and the interest was deep
and manifest. These services are really
prayer services and are doing much good
in building up the members aud reviyiug
the work n grace in their hearts. They
are really for the revival in the church
and among the members and from the in
terest shown 1t is evident they are ac-
comprising the object for which they are
held MIR. Dewitt, who Is conducting
these meetings made an excellent and most
interesting talk at the afternoon service
both interesting aud beneficial.
AT the evening service another large and
attentive congregation gathered at
O'Clock. The spirit Of revival was mani
fest In every prayer and song of the SER
vice. The singing was good and 1t seem
ed that the choir and the congregation
obeyed the scripturaI Injunction TO Sing
with the spirit and the understanding.
Rev. Mr. Dewitt preached most excel
lent sermon, and with a warmth and fer
vor which showed an earnestness and IN
terest in his work. He took for his text:
"A certain man had a fig tree planted 10
his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit
thereon and found none. Luke, xiii, q.
The subject of bis discourse was The
purpose of this parable is to show what
our Lord thinks of a fruitless church or
careless Christian. This fig tree belonged
TO the man spoken of in the text; so the
Christian belongs to God. His life should
be devoted to Gods service He Is COD
and should he productive Of rich fruit In
Gods vineyard. He then drew the com
PARSONS between the fig tree and the
church and the members thereof He said
the tree belonged to the man. he had
planted It in his vineyard The world Is
Gods vineyard. and the church is planted
therein as are the members who consu-
tute the church. This church lived In
Gods soil and was warmed by Ills SUI
shine, watered by His showers and project
ed by His hedge. So with the hg tree
As with the fg tree the owner might
reasonably expect fruit from II. so Goa
reasonably expects fruit from His church,
The man was much disappointed In not
finding fruit. So with God; He Is much
disappointed In fruitless church Inc
dresser of the vineyard interCeded for the
fig tree and saved IT, II is only by the
intercession OF our Savior that man Is
saved II was an able and lucid explanation
Of the parable of the fig tree and com
paiison " it with the Christian. He
showed that as he had declared al the out
SET Of his sermon that Christ had spoken
tins parn bile with a view Of showing what
the Lord thinks ~ a fruitless church and
a careless Christian.
Services daily at $3.50 In the afternoon
and az o'clock In the evening