The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-09-27
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. ALBERT JONES LORD.
Subject Sacrament Of Service.


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Subject: Sacrament of Service.
: Brooklyn, n. I.-The Rev. Albert
Jones Lord, pastor of the First ConSre-
gational Church, Meriden, Conn.
preached in Plymouth Church Sunday
morning in exchange with the assistant
pastor, the Rev. Willard ?. Harmon
Mr.. Lord had n good audience, and
preached an excellent sermon. HIS
subject was The Sacrament Of Ser
vice" The text was from Isaiah xli:6:
They helped every cne his neighbor,
and every one said to his brother. BE
of good courage" Mr.. Lord said:
We have been passing rapidly in the
last half century from an individual
istic to a social type of civilization.
Paul's words were never more true
than to-day. when he said, None OF US
liveth to himself, and no man dieth TO
himself.'' All the forces and factors
pertaining to human life-mechanlcal,
social and religious-have been moving
to such a degree toward each other
that the twentieth century can say that
the one word which will serve her hest
for a watchword is Together; togeth-
er."
In the industrial world the concen-
tration of forces is most manifest. DR..
Josiah Strong calls to mind how that
fifty years ago it was the age Of home
spun. Families could meet all the
needs Of their households. spinning.
weaving and the making Of garments.
The fields about the home supplied the
inmates with the necessities of life.
Then it was that the main force was
the brawny arm. But to-day manufac-
ture has forsaken the home for the
mill and the factory, and steam and
electricity are the regnant forces. d.
vision of labor has taken the place OF
the single hand. Then one man made
many things; now many men make one
thing.
But as industrially. so socially are
we becoming more intimately related.
A half century ago there we're COM
munities, many but small in numbec
and limited in advantages, yet complete
in themselves. Citizens seldom went
beyond the borders of their respective
towns. But gradually those communi-
ties have been grouped into towns. and
the towns developed into cities and the
cities into greater cities. Whereas our
fathers were Independent Of all the
world, we are more or less dependent
on the whole world. This made Robert
Louis Stevenson exclaim, ut is really
dishearteninS how we depend on other
people in this life"
This complex life has given rise to
great many social and fraternal or
CARNATIONS. Men have banded them
selves together for mutual helpfulness.
Fathers, working by the week and
for small. wages, having little cnes de-
pending upon them, have serious
thoughts when they realize that sick
ness may be lying in wait for them
and short hours may be their lot.
When the head of the family is sick
and unable to work, the income ceases,
but expenses increase. To meet all
these possibilities the various benevo-
lent societies and fraternal orgariza-
tions have come into existence.
1t is every mans duty to consider not
only the present demands Of the fam
lily, but it's future welfare. 1t is
crime for father to spend his money
freehanded at tic bar, or in hospitality
at the club, or squander it in sports,
when he has not, either in the savings
bank or in insurance, made secure the
future welfare of his family. 1t is
every mans duty to endow the future
with as good q livelihood for his fam
lily as lies in his power.
We heartily sympathize with frater-
mites and societies in their sick bene-
fits and care of widows and fatherless
children. They have a mission in socl-
ETY.. But, however commendable they
may be, they must not take the place
of the two divine inStitutons-the
home and the church. There is but one
place where God has set up the altar
of domestic affection, where conf gal
relations are sanctified by the presence
of children, and that is the home; and
there is but one institution which the
Son of God ordained while upon earth,
and that is the Christian church. Fra
ternal organizations should be supple
ments, but never attempt to be subst-
tutes for the home or the church.
But we cannot say that because life
is becoming more highly organized it
can be lived more easily. On the other
hand. we are inclined to say that the
closer mems relations are the greater
the friction and the more difficult to
have every event work good to every
person. This kind of life, 1 repeat, is
far better but more difficult to live IN
all it's relations. The tone Of a three
or five bank organ is much better,
richer, more sympathetic and harmonl-
GUS than the tone of cabinet organ.
In the one there are few combinations,
while in the other there are hundreds.
An amateur can play the one, but only
the master organist can play the other
satisfactorily. So in these times OF
highly developed social and religious
life it is difficult to live q full, rounded
Christian life. A company OF people
spread over q large area can get along
comfortably well. but crowded into a
small Enclosure they will suffer en-
barra ssment. They all have elbows,
and where it is ideal to march through
life. touching elbow to elbow, 1t is not
so comfortable when men are cramped
and their elbows touch one another
under the arms. Our whole social life
is, therefore, a question of elbows.
This leads us naturally to the ques-
tion, How can life be lived so as to full
fill all these manifold relations the
answer is found in the words of the
text, They helped every one his nelsH-
Dor and every one said to bis brother,
BE of good courage" I wish these
words might be placed over the doors
of every church, inscribed upon the