The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-01-22
SERMON
BY REV. Mr., MOONEY
Preached Yesterday at Second
Presbyterian Church
DUTY TO ENTER CHURCH
Urges a Greater Concern for Things
plritual-our uneoneern Lies
Not in Expression But
In Practice.

The Rev. L. D. Mooney. pastor of the
Second. Presbyterian church. preached
there yesterday on the subject Of our con-
Germ for God and religion. His text was:
And when he came, 10, Ell sat upon
a seat, for his heart trembled for the
ark OF God."-I Samuel. Ala
There are two classes of people In the
world today. The first is composed of those
who believe concern for the highest things
of religion and morality Is on the want:
the other class is composed of those who
believe that in spite OF all the surface
indications, concern for these things is
on the increase
But be that as It may 1t is certainly
true that there should be born in your life
and mine greater concern for Gods
honor, and Gods glory. for His righteous
ness and His presence in human life; be-
| cause this concern is a healthy thing, and
indicates healthy man, and the lack of
1t Is an evidence Of siclkly and fiabby
moral condition.
God is living, and God is working in
the world today. There never has been a
time when He wasn't there can be no
doubt OF this by a man who looks beneath
the surface to the great currents of life.
| This being true, it ought to concern your
life and mine, whether His work includes
our lives, and whether His presence
| dwells amid us and others.
| This was the concern of the blind man
who was healed by Jesus. He had heard
| that Jesus was working In the world
that He was unstopping ears, that He
was losening fastened tongues, that He
was telling the soul shine through eyes
| that for many, many years had remained
| dim; but the thing that concerned this
wise man was that this work of Jesus
might center itself upon his life and in
clude him In its blessing.
| This old man Eli, of whom we read
this morning, was a judge of Israel forty
years. This is a long time to rule among
a people. In that time he had a wide
| experience and he had learned many
things.
Israel's Chief Treasure.
| One Of the things he learned was that
Israels chiefest treasure was not its
armies and its captured cities, not its
| fertile valleys and strong mountains. not
! Its cattle and its gold, but the ark
| of the Lord. The ark stood for Gods name
| and Gods honor and Gods righteousness,
| and Gods presence among the people,
| 1t stood for the guidance which was
| pillar of fire by night and pillar OF
| cloud by day.
| For this then this old prophet of God
was concerned because its presence
meant life and its absence meant death
and the return to a heather life. The
| concern of the old watchmen on the tow
| fat nd bat ~
their fellow-citizens.
| We all stand today in this position, for
ourselves and our fellows. and IL we
realize anything at ALL we shall have
a concern for the predominence of the
spiritual and of God. This is the secret
of the results and the power of the life
of Jesus. He had an intence concern for
| the salvation and the happiness and the
| freedom of the world. and this concern
=, for the presence of Gods ark in the world
today abiding with us and overshadowing
us must be basis of every man who does
| his work we'll.
Gods Concern for the World.
| There is no being in the universe who is
| more concerned in His ark than God, and
| He is concerned because He is concerned
! about the fate of the world. He has made
| the nature of his concern plain to the
| world in the life and teachings of Jesus.
| So that until we see with God we never
see enough to be concerned In the deepest
| sense, and to see with God we must iden-
| tify our life with Him In Jesus Christ;
after this we see differently-that which
| we thought our deepest concern does not
| concern us at all. and that which con-
| cerned us little becomes the largest thing
! In life.
| 1t is your duty and mine to put our
| selves into relation with those spiritual
| forces which God has placed in the world,
and which are centralized In the organized
| church. believe In organized Christianity
| In the divine origin and standing of the
! church today. 1t is the center If instruc-
! ton, Of appeal, of fellowship, of healthy
| religious propaganda and every earnest
| man who is concerned with the spiritual
| welfare of the world owes 1t to himself.
| to the world and to the God of all to put
| himself into intimate relation with this
| great organized spiritual force. 1t is not
a question of fitness but of willingness.
| After all the chief element of our re-
| ligious unconcern lies not In the ex-
preston of it. but in the practice of it.
Back of this expressed concern there must
| be sacrifice and work and earnest de-
| sire.