The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-01-10
DIR. TALMACE'S SERMON.
sy THE REV. FRANK DE WITT rALMAoE. D. D.


 get my Sunday school class together; then what shall teach? l am only an humble follower of Christ. know prac- tically nothing about the bible Well, my christian friend. If you gather your children in Chrlst's name have no fear about the spiritual results. The older grow the more I believe that the most important requisite for effective work as a Sunday school teacher is a loving. con- secrated heart Intellectual ability is valuable in its place, and the better the teacher is equipped the better 1t is for the children. But the essential quality is love for Christ and for souls. Without that quality the most highly educated teacher is a cold, unimpressive person ality. Iceburgs may be very beautiful to look at, especially when refiecting the rays of the rising sum- but icebergs are cold shrines before which to bow and forbidding hearthstones near which to build a family altar. Many intellectual brains are merely overawing icebergs. They repel rather than attract; they frighten rather than soothe. The Sun day school teacher needs warm, loving heart far more than he needs an intel lectual brain. If as a consecrated gospel teacher you will week by week come to your classes glowing with Christian en- thusiasm; if you with that Christian en- thusiasm study we'll over your Bible and your Sunday School Lesson Helps," there will be no need of fearing about you will say. You will not only lead your scholars to Christ, but In teaching them you will yourself come nearer and nearer ,, to your Savior.
 A Field For Gospel Labor. Sunday school work is of the most vital importance. Among all the fields open for gospel labor have purposely placed it first because believe it to be the most important of all. No one can fully estimate the future influence of the chil- dren who are now playing about our doors. Themistoces, the great statesman. once placed his hand upon his sons head and said, This child is greater than any one in Greece. for the Athenians com mand the Greeks, 1 command the Athe- nians, his mother commands me, and he commands his mother We, in Christ's name, can place our hands upon the children. In Sunday school work we can say, '"The children will be greater than all, because the children of today will be the men and the women of tomorrow If you can save the cradles and the nur- series for Christ, you can save the world for Christ. I plead and beg of you, Christian disciples to expend great part of your gospel energies in working among the children.
 Another gate stands wide open for practical gospel usefulness. This gate leads into a field aglow with ripened hu- man grain, ready to be garnered. It is crowded with young people But. though crowded with the young men and maid ems, yet each passenger train coming into our large cities is emptying part of it's load into this field as the freight trains daily disgorge their cattle and horses and sheep into the Chicago stock yards, and yet there is always room for more. Young men and maidens, like children, seem to be everywhere. We crowd against them in the electric. cars, we bump up against them on street corr ners, we see them through the swinging doors of saloon and billiard halls. Who will help save them? Church member, is not Christ calling you to go and labor among the stalwart pines of youth as well as to use the gospel ax among the gnarled and worm eaten branches of sinful old age?
 The Christians Duty.
 How is the Christian to go after the young people? Simply enough. He is to go after them with the same vigor as the agents of evil go after their prey. Here for instance, is young man who comes into a large city. He has no friends. Through an old acquaintance of his father he gets a position in your store. He has a small bedroom in a city boarding house. How is the Chris tian desciple to greet him? Is he to merely pass a Good morning. or is he to go to that young man and open a con versation something like this: Good morning. Are you stranger in the city? Are you from a Christian home? Of course you have no church connections as yet. Will you not come down to our church next Sunday morning? We have Christian Endeavor social next Thursday night I wish that I could in- troduce you to some of our people. It is very easy to drift among bad associates in a large town like this. l want you to get among the good people. We have some fine young folks up at our church. l know that you will get warm welcome. Perhaps you do not know the city well enough to find your way. Come with me to supper, and we will go together or I will call at your room for you" How many young men, strangers in large city, are there who would refuse an n vtation to come among Christian people if thus accosted? How many rooms dedi- cated by the church for the services of the Christian Endeavor society. Epworth league or Brotherhood of Andrew and Philip would be empty, or pTacucally empty if the Christian members of the church would go out in a plain, practical way, and give such warm hearted lov- ing saiutation to the young folks as have indicated? The reason the young people do not come into church fellowship is because they are not personally invited to come. This invitation duty rests with the new convert as well as with the old.
 But" some aged church member says, this invitation duty to the young folks may apply to others. but not to me am