The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-06-06
SERMON OF DR.. JONES
INSPIRING ADDRESS TO THE STU
DENTS OF AUBURN.
Immense Congregation Listens to the
EloQBent Divine of LcuisviIle.
Commencement Exercises at
Alabama Polytechnic.

Auburn. June 5.-(SpeciaL)- -Th'
thirty-second commencement of thu
EAlabama Polytechnic Institute began
this morning with the baccalaureat.
sermon preached by the Rev. Cartei
Helm Jones. pastor of the Broadwa,
1 Street Baptist Church, of Louisville
/ Ky. An immense congregation wal
present, every seat in the large hal
being occupied. The order of service
was as follows:
Prelude. Ava Maria. by wurm's or
| chestra.
Doxology.
Invocation by DR.. Jones.
Hymn, Come Thou Almighty King"
| Scripture reading. Matthew XIV.
Solo, The Lord is My Shepherd" by
Miss King, of Lagrange. Ga.
Hymn, stand up. stand up fer Je-
sus."
Sermon.
Prayer.
Hymn. Awake. My Soul"
Benediction.
The preacher took as his text a
part of the 9th verse of the 25th chap
ter of Matthew, Mine own with inter-
est"
In commenting on the parable of the
talents, from which the text was Sc
lected. DIR. Jones said that there is a
common affeetation that Christianity
lies beyond the pale of everyday life;
that 1t Is ideal but not practical. This.
he said, is untrue. Christianity is in
deed ideal. but at the same time 1t
Is intensely practical. 1t Is not too good
''for human natures daily food"
No better lesson for the business
man exists than the parable several
talents. From this parable several
striking truths are to be deduced.
First. God lends US varying abilities.
No two persons are exactly alike. We
differ one from another. This truth ex-
lists throughout nature; for no two
leaves on the same tree are exactly
identical.
Second, having lent us different abil-
tiles, God leaves us absolutely free to
do what we will. No grander proof of
mans free agency exists than this
parable. The master went into far
country and left the servants to do
with the talents as they pleased; but
on, his return he demanded his own
with interest. Therefore God had a
day of reckoning. He gives to each as
In His all-wise power He sees At. and
demands from each according to his
ability. When the master gave into
the keeping of the servant the one tai
ent, he gave that which was equally
his own, the interest. Thus. when this
servant returned the one talent alone.
he failed to give to his master that
which was his. He had sinned not in
misspending or losing the talent, but
in neglecting to observe the simplest
principle of business. The talents with
which God endows us are call loans"
They may be demanded at any moment,
and we must pay them back with In
terest.
DR.. Jones then reached the central
theme of his sermon, which was
'Christ's Call to Culture" BY the word
culture, said he, I do not mean that
ephemeral gift Of the schools; do not
mean veneering. polish, the exact and
proper use of accent, nor even the abil-
ity to catch the delicate shades, to in
terpret the meaning of the best in lit
erature, however desirable all this may
be. use the word culture in its orig
.inal sense. Thus understood, 1t is the
noblest of all words. BY culture I
mean the symmetrical development of
all our powers, physical. mental, moral
and spiritual. This is the culture to
which Christ calls us.
Christ's first call to culture Is a call
to self knowledge, self appreciation.
and self revelation. Find yourself.
Know yourself. What can you do?
What ought you to do? What can you
not do? Determine wherein lies your
strength, and wherein your weakness
Here the speaker beautifully and lu-
cidly illustrated his point by referring
to Kipling's story of the ship who
found herself. No institution. he said
Is worthy of the name that does not
help its students to self knowledge.
Christianity does not limit our life to
narrow spheres. as many people think
but gives US life. and gives US life and
gives It more abundantly. by lifting us
to a higher plane. Life corresponds
with it's environment. AS these be-
come better, purer and nobler our
lives rise nearer the ideal.
Christ calls us to culture for the
sake of others. No man should live
entirely for himself, but for the dear
ones at home. for the lettering and up
building of humanity, for the world
at large.
Christ calls us to culture for the
sake of country. A true patriot is not
the man who merely marches to the
front beneath his country's banner,
but rather he who never loses sight
of the fact that his talents are at the
call of his country. He who secludes
himself from his fellow men is a GRIM
fnaI for hia cottnfrxr