The semi-weekly messenger., 1903-12-04
Especial 20 The Messenger.)

GoIdsboro. y. g, November 29.-The
! conference Love Feast was held this
| morning beginning at $50 o'clock. Rev.
| W. II. Moore and Rev. ]. f. Underwood
conducted this service which was large
| y attended
At Il o'clock Bishop Gambler preached
= sermon Of power and effect, from the
text Blessed be the God and Father
Of our Lord Jesus Christ. which accord
! ing TO his abundant mercy hath be-
gotten US again unto u lively hope by
the resurrection OF Jesus Christ from
the dead. I Peter 1:3, his theme being
the power Of The resurrection OF Jesus
Christ
ORDINATION SERVICE-DEACONS.
At the close of the sermon on yes
terday morning. Bishop Candler ordain-
ed as deacons J. NJ. CuIbreth, w E
Brown. w p. Constable. and ". Towe,
travelling preachers, and L. VI. Hoyle,
L. Z. Howard w. B. Green, w. r.
Royal, J. w. Bryan and r. 3. Clark,
local preachers
After the sermon by DR.. Watkins at
night. the following travelling preach
ers We're ordained elders; P. D. Wood
all. r. r. Grant J. T Stanford. E. r.
WeIch. H. NJ North }. F. Bivens. ].
L CuninGgim, and J. a. Daley.
MEMORIAL SERVICE.
At $50 o'clock in the afternoon. the
memorial service for the preachers who
have died since the last session of the
conference was held. Four have died:
l.. Johnson, 3. r. Hall, 4. r. Goodchild,
J. W. Wallace and B. 3. Culhreth. Me
mOirs were read of each and many
personal tributes We're paid to them by
different members of the conference.
Rev. K. 4. Willis presided over this
service.
At night. in st. Paurs church Rev
a. f. Watkins, D. D., preached an able
sermon, marked by thought and ear
nestness. his text being the words. BE
ye followers of me. as l follow Christ"
In part he said: NO man ever lived
who could as justly as ST. Paul use
these words. The apostle Paul must
ever remain as the great apostolic
model of a preaching church.
Let a great ritualistic church that
trusts much TO its order of worship
find its model IL St. John the divine.
But every preaching church must
find in Paul its pattern, its ideal.
Greater than Peter, greater than John,
the greatest of the sons of men. The
apostle Paul must ever stand as the
chief apostle of u witnessing church.
one who was a prosecutor of the faith
and transformed by the faith of God.
he became the chief apostle of the
preaching church.
Paul occupies 4 unique position in
the Christian church. He stands the
first full robed Christian the first
grown man in the gospel. What
stephen would have never had he lived
We cannot say. II has become u COM
monplace in religious thought that
PauIs religious experience originated
in the martyrdom. Stephen was the
bud, Paul the full blown flower.
Stephen was the child. Paul the full
grown man. Stephen was the prophecy,
Paul the frution.
1t was the vision OF the Lord that
determined ST. Paul. 1t was a spirit
uaI vision of Jesus Christ such a Wis
ion as IS vOuchsafed to every true child
of God. Paul is the most human of
the apostles. We find a kinship in St.
Peter III his impulsivenesS; and in
st. John in the Iovableness of his ma
ture
But when We look upon Paul. we
find 4 full brother When We study the
transition OF St. Paul from the perse-
cutor to the servant of God. we find the
most satisfactory example of Christian
experience Even the miraculous in
this experience does not trouble US.
We note the miraculous at two
points in his experience. One was en-
countered in his conversion in the mi
racuIouS revelation of Jesus Christ to
ST. Paul on his way TO Damascus and
the other was in the convincing him
OF the divinity of Jesus Christ. This
spiritual vision Of St. Paul which is
the privilege Of every child of God is
the explanation Of his power. Every
child OF God has this vision continual
~ or occasionally.
No man can love anything else as he
can love a living personality. No man
can love dog as he can love a man.
\ man who could love a dog more than
he loves a man IS more of j dog than
a man.
1T is the conviction of the human
heart. confirmed by the word OF God
that they Will live again that enables
US to love the dead as if they were
| living, Paul loved Jesus Christ as a
! living personality. \ man that loves
! 4 child as ne should, loves Christ as q
/ personality. There followed from
Paul's vision OF Jesus. not only his con-
! ceptiOn of His personality, but OF his
recognition OF the saving power, rest