Cañon City record., 1905-04-06

of our modern church membership.
The delinquencies and shortcomings of
church members were brought out
with vivid and forcefu effect, and
when the evangelist had finished every
professed christian in the audience was
enabled to tell with very little intro
spection to what group he belonged.
Mr.. Sunday said that the truth was
not always pleasant, but that it was
profitable to those who were seeking
to reform themselves and for that rea-
son it was necessary for them to hear
it. All decent people will admire you
for preaching the truth at them, al
though you may shoot them full of
holes in doing so. II men and women
were to labor zealously upon a COM
mon basis for Christ it would not take
long to convert this old, sin-cursed
world
The trouble with too many people is
that they want to evangelize the world
in their own way-leaving Christ out
of the account. They remind one of
Alexander the Great, who was invited
to take part in the Olympian games,
but he declined unless kings were to
be his competitors. The work of the
church is crucified by lack of loyalty
and devotion to it's teachings. If
Christians were as steadfast to the
commands of Christ as Prince William
of Orange was to the Netherlands at
the time of the Spanish invasion, the
precepts of the Nazarene would, in
few years, dominate the hearts and
minds of men in all lands and in all
climes. Failing to conquer him by
force of arms the Spanish attempted
to bribe William of Orange by Offering
him fabulous sums of money, but he
spurned them all, saying that there
was not drop of traitorous blood in
his veins and that he would not sur
render his country for ali the wealth
of Europe.
The nearer you get to Christ the
more elbow room you have. Too many
church members have a sort of an in
tellectual respect for anything relig-
ious, but are not willing to take any
active part in its dissemination. There
are 26 600 900 church members in the
United States, about equally divided
between Protestants and Catholics,
but fve-sixths of them are inane and
inefficient. Christianity does not con-
sist in church certificates.
How many are wholly unequipped
to render the servics that should be
God s share2 You want to teach II
school class-get right with
God before you try it, don't you gad of
to card parties and then try to be an
instructor in Christianity. You want
to sing in the choir-but your lives Gre
ate such discord in Gods universe
that the world even knows your un-
worthiness.
Christ pinned His faith to three OF
H disciples-Peter, James and John.
Others might fail him, but these-ney-
er! He enjoined them to watch and
pray" but, returning, found them
snoring, Can you imagine his feelings
IDtUE his woe anu his HuUtf1DRG
The betrayal of Judas was bad enough,
but these trusted ones had failed him.
The height of the dramatic. was
reached at several points during the
evenings discourse. His graphic de-
scription of the crucifixion was very
telling, while story vividly told and
realistically pictured was the narrative
of little boys death in the jaws of an
alligator, in view of the child's an
guished and helpless father-a picture
Of the pleading, drowning boy calling
upon lis father for help while he was
being held in the jaws of the monster
until his cries were choked in gurgle
Of water, is one that will not soon be
forgotten by those who heard it.
Yet he said he would rather see his
own children, whom he loved better
than his own life, go down to- such "A
death than become the victims of some
of the human vultures that are preying
,OSOOOROOOOOOO