The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-04-19
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON EY
THE REV. ST. CLAIR HESTER.
Subject: "Church and Family"

Hester. rector of the Church of tie
Messiah. preached the fourth sermon
in the special series under the aus
| pices of the Mems Guild Sunday.
His subject was The Church and the
Family The text was from Ephe-
slams v:25: Christ loved the church
and gave Himself for it," Mr.. Hester
said:
1t is evident to any one reading the
accounts of the life and words Of Jesus
Christ while on this earth that it was
His desire and purpose to found q So
ciety to represent Him, to preserve His
memory, to make known and carry out
His will. His mission was not intend
ed to be meteoric in character-hash
across the horizon of mans ~vision-as-
tonish and puzzle by means Of miracles
and wonders. and then disappear.
leaving the darkness as it was before
He came. His coming and being in
! this world was intended to make and
actually did make a difference, a great
difference. in the views and hopes and
motives and lives Of those who came
under His influence. And He planned
that the moment He inaugurated the
work He started, should not come to
end when He withdrew from the
world, and was no longer present in
the flesh to direct and superintend its
extension. Furthermore, it was III His
mind that His society was not only to
continue, but also to grow, to enlarge.
until it should be worldwide, until all
men should have opportunity to enter
Its ranks. Therefore it is that we find
Him solemnly addressing His disciples
and declaring that upon their con-
fessed faith in Him as the Son of God,
having power to plan and execute as
| God, He would build His church and
that the gates of hell, the combined
powers of evil, should not prevail
against it. They have combined
| against it and attacked it again and
again, they are still in bitter opposi-
ton to it, but there is no sign of yield
ing.
st. Paul says: Christ loved the
church, What is the proof, the evil
dence. that this assertion is true? He
founded and established it-a man does
not build a house unless he thinks that
it will be worth something. He Sc
lected and trained and appointed Off
GERS to be His successors and as His
parting instructions babe them go into
all the world and preach His gospel to
every creature. He instituted and or
dained sacraments as pledges of His
love, as continual reminders, as means
by which the souls Of the faithful
might be fed and refreshed. Finally.
as st. Paul says, He gave Himself for
it; as st. Luke says, He purchased it
with His own blood. This is an abso-
lutte, conclusive demonstration. Great
er love hath no man than this that he
lay down his life for his friends, and
this is what He did for His church.
Oh. yes, He loved it; of this there are
many and infallible proofs. But how
about ourselves-orr love, yours and
mine? 1t suffers by comparison? Can
your feeling for the church Of God be
described by any such words as love?
Is it not the truth that there is indifer-
ence, cold, callous Indifference, on the
part of many and positive disbelief and
opposition On the part of many others
in their attitude toward the church?
Any one of us could name a dozen il
Illustrations of it. We must admit it.
Thousands never enter q sacred edifce.
! Other thousands only occasionally as
curiosity or whim moves them. There
are some here tonight who, so far as
any church connection is concerned.
may be described as irregulars and
leutrals, onlookers and outsiders.
Let me ask you in all seriousness,
| can you imagine that this venerable
| society, established at such a great
cost, even the life blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ, has no claim on your al
legiance? The church is the institu-
ton, the organization of Jesus Christ
IS it putting it too strong to say that
to reject it is to reject Him? People
who think or act in this way do not re-
6ect or they do not realize the benefit
and blessing Christianity is to a coun-
try, or the church to the family. No
nation or society of people have ever
existed on the face Of the earth with
out some form OF religion. Statesmen,
sovereigns, empire builders. economists
have admitted and recognized its pow
er, its value, have promoted it by
every means at their command even
when, in some instances, they did not
believe in it because they saw the ne
cesity Of it as a civilizing, refining and
improving conservating element in hui
man society. Now, religion could not
live and do its needed work among men
without an organization to keep 1t
alive and carry on the activities. You
will understand and grant the impor-
lance of honesty and honor in our
business and industrial life. Dishon-
esty, if the general rule, would mean
the wreck of our whole financial sys-
tenn. the failure Of banks, the breach
of trusts. the refusals of credit, defal-
cation and distress. You understand
and will grant the d~esirableness Of
high character, of personal and social
purity, the great benefit of goodness
on the heart of citizens Of any country
or community. We know what it
means to have desperadoes, c%utthroats,
adulterers and thieves the controlling
element in a town or city. You under
stand and grant that it is vital to a
people of a state to be able to get JUS
tice in the courts, to be protected in
their property rights, and vital to the
existence of a state that there should
be patriotism, industry and fidelity on
the part Of those who constitute its
citizenship. All these things, all these
fundamental virtues we need and
must have in order to live together in
peace and prosperity, the church of
God is designed and persistently en-
deavors to produce. The church is the
factory if l may put it that way,
whose output is virtue, honesty, purity.
kindness. fidelity. principle, impressed
and built into the characters of her
members, producing these things as
we'll and aS ahundantlu 90 a11r com