The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-03-19

impressive ana IrdCllCdl oCIll1Oils
The services of the day We're con-
Guided with a sermon at night by the
Rev. John e. Edwards. DID,. of the
| Virginia Conference: a former pastor
| of Edenton Street Church. 1t was
wonderful sermon in many respects
and the large crowd was perfectly de-
| lighted"
Rev N. H. ID. Wilson was the Pre-
siding Elder and Rev. w. G. Norman
was the pastor of the Edenton Street
lChurch. I.ut. they with many others
/ who were there both preachers and
people, have gone to that bourne
whence no traveller returns. Not less
than dozen of the preachers VINO,
| 10 years ago were here. and witnessed
the dedication services. are gone. soon
| the others will go. and soon all or US
will CO. Are we getting ready?
Talking about getting ready to die
raises the question, how long Will IL
take us to get ready the way we are
preparing? 1t is no trouble at all 10
slip into some church; and 1T MOI
much of a cross to US men to go TO
church on Sunday. if the weather is
fair: and it's still less a cross TO the
dear women, provided their hats are
| i'm the style and their dresses are up
to-date, both in material and make
| up; but, a very serious question con-
! fronts US all: What good does our
church going do US, while we are
| thinking so little of religion and are
Idoing next to nothin~~ to extend the
Redeemer's Kingdom? 2"
IRIS Lent now and society folks
/ who have been engaging IN great
many things they didn't engage in be-
fore they got to be "society folks, are
| seemingly mighty penitent, ana are
praying. "tIave mercy on us miserable
/
sa-, Amenl But. I can't help THINK
I ing of a story told By DIR. Cuyler.
! Young lady forgetful of her solemn
! covenant with Christ, and, disregard
| ing the fact that the church, of when
! she was a member, forbade dancing
| card playing and other worldly amuse-
ments, and who had spent Hldly
months in q. round Of frivolities, was
! asked one Sabbath morning by one OF
! her CAV companions to accompany MN
| to a certain place. She declined on
/ the ground that it was the communion
| Sabbath in her church.
Are you a communicate" was the
| cutting reply. ,+ cha
! felt that she had denied the noIo ., anu
| mt him to an open shame. Ana lnen
| To be thus rebuked by one who MADE
| no profession of religion.
| DIR. Munhall says. "Some Christians
] are like ground hogs-they only come
| ont of their holes in the warm weather
| of reviyals." If we could only close
nm the holes and keep them out, WhaI
| a blessing it would be; but, grouIla
| hog like. when they see their shadows
the frightful shadows made by tneil
| Christian deformities-they hasteh
back to their hiding places
| 1t is always a terrible condemnation
! of q church member, that no one
| should suspect him of being one. II
| is equally as great a condemnation
when one processes to be a Christian
TO have the world say of him, ne
maybe a professor, but from the way
he acts he is not q possessor
| In the old time days when preach-
| ers used to be welcome guests at all
| the inns, a certain preacher rode up
/ TO a country tavern and asked FOR
| lodging, announcing, at the same time
! that was a minister of the gospel me
| landlord was but too glad TO enter
| tain him, because of his holy Gaining.
He soon was shown the best room, and
| the landlord attended to all his wants,
gave him the best supper he could
provide, lighted him to his room at
| bed time and saw him safely and COM
/ fortably in bed; in the morning he
carried in fresh water and clean tow
els and personally attended him to
! the breakfast table.
| Soon the preacher was about leav-
| ing with his thanks but to his aston
| ishment the landlord confronted him
with a bill.
''Why, how is this?" asked the
preacher. II thought it was not GUS
tomary to charge ministers for lodg-
ings and refreshments.
'sHow do / know that you are a
preacher" returned the landlord.
| 'tYou ate your supper and breakfast
| without saying grace, you went to bed
without saying your prayers, and, since
you came, you have not said a word
about religion, nor given us any sign
/ that you had any. You came like
sinner, you've acted like q sinner, and
you must pay like a sinner"
Yes, / like hustler hustler VINO
! hustles all the time; but | maintain
that the hustling mostly needed just
now, is that kind that will bring the
world back to the belief that religion
is something more than a theory
something better than meat and drink.
! card playing and dancing, serving the
world six days and God only one.
I'm not going to wind up this letter
with a sermon, but, do want to ask
a question-an old question-one
asked long ago, but never answered.
to-wit: what is man? ?"
I'll let the reader wrestle with that
question while / go on to tell an anec-
dote that will, hope, bring out an
idea.
A minister was once travelling in a
mining country and coming to a mine,
he saw a bald-headed Irishman, with
no hat to shield his pate from the
rays of a scorching sun, turning a
MINDLESS which hauled up ore out of
the shaft. The sun was pouring his
hottest rays down on his unprotected
head.
Don't you know that the sun will
injure your brain if you expose it in
that manner" said the minister.
The Irishman wiped the sweat off
his forehead and looking at the
preacher said:
do you think I'd be doing this, all
the day, if I had any brains?" and he
went on turning the crank.
I'll let my worldly minded Chris
tan readers, as well as the bald-head-
ed hatless sinners, who spend most of
their time turning Satan's crank, and
toiling in Satan's interest while the
hot rays of Gods wrath are almost
ready to scorch them, make the appli-
cation. as they work out the answer
to the question: What is man p"