Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1906-12-31

The se-.nse. as TO TIE 81 ritual l9'el-'2ll'-
t5aas We make ct hone for tie recep-
.tjoa OF tie Bread Of Life. This SAD
bah day! in q Christian bone. you
awake II q spiritual atmosphere. You |
id not see any fishing poles. You did
not see the carriages being driven up |
for tie long mountain rides. You dld |
not see the pleasure parties starting out
for a Yachting trip. You arose in the
spirit Of prayer. After breakfast you
gathered the children about the family
altar. Then before you started for
Sunday school you all knelt. 1hen
you uttered a prayer like this: -
God. like eEnoch, may we walk with
thee this day. Be with our Sunday
school. Give the teachers power to
expound thy word. Give the scholars
receptive hearts to listen to thy lessons.
And, O Father, thou great and omnlp-
otent King, be with our pastor. He IS
one of u.s. May we lift up his arms
May he today be man with mighty
power for God. May just the right
word be spoken which will bring down
a shower of blessings to our hearts.
Are not those prayers having any re-
suits? Why, friends, as l speak this
morning I feel a strange influence lift
ing me up. That influence, oh, my
people, comes from the prayers Of the
family affairs of my church. That
power comes from the prayers of my
people here in this church home, pray
ing for me- That power comes from
the fact that when you started for
church you and your households We're
in q praying atmosphere. 1t is hard,
| awfully hard, to make the necessary
spiritual preparations for a Sunday
| service when we are out in the country
in a worldly summer hotel. l con-
| graduate you that you have been able
to start this holy Sabbath in the right
way upon your knees before your fam
| lily affairs.
Vacation From Church.
Then | also congratulate the home
Corners because you have come back
to your opportunities Of religious work
as well as TO your temporal work and
/ to your church worship. A vacation
from the store invariably means va
cation from church labors and church
| work Thomas Guthrie, the great
Scotch preacher, once wrote q book
entitled "Out of Harness" In it be de-
scribed himself as away from his pull
pst amid the Alpine hills seeking health
and relaxation from toll. In one chap
ter he described himself worshiping
with "a couple of prominent English di-
vines in little Swiss village church.
As the service went ON, led by the vii
lagc pastor, he looked across the aisle
at the noble brow of a great London
preacher sitting there. Then he COM
pared this silent preacher to a mighty
engine with its fires drawn. The
screws, the boiler, the mighty driving
wheel, the smokestack were all there.
But there was no water in the boiler
ana no coal in the furnace and 10
steam was being generated. The great
throbbing life of the engine was still
ed. So with you during your past va
cation. You may have attended the
church services, but you went to
church simply as worshipers and moi
Is E'0rkers. And, my friends, true
Christianity is not developed simply
by bending the knee in prayer, but III
laboring in Gods vineyard.
The vineyards of Christ's great city
are now ripe for the plucl1ing. Your
Sunday school class is ready to wei
come YOU back The boys and the girls
l ought all to be brought into the Chris
tan life this winter. The missionary
society needs building up as never be
fore You must go to work there this
winter You only gave half hearted
l service last year You must do better
7 this year. The young peoples meeting
/, need reinforcement as never before
: All these opportunities of gospel worl
0 are opening to you. Oh, | welcome yol
e back not simply to worship but L
I consecrated labor in Gods vineyard
0 and in Gods great harvest fields.
/ Thus, wherever / look, / find the re
Il suits of our vacations are blessed
q Home, store, church, all surround u
L with their mercies. Now, my friends
u with these mighty opportunities O
Christian usefulness and Christian
growth surrounding us. we are stand
e ing upon the threshold of new churcl
IS year. What are we going to do wit
o It? Shall the church year of 1905 AM
e 1906 be mighty year for spiritual re
e suits in our lives? The year is nov
y here; the year will soon be gone. lie
e, US consecrate ourselves and our churcl
d and our Sunday schools and our praye
y meetings and our missionary societie
t. to his dear service as never before
it Let us bow orr heads as we say
Lord, take this pulpit and take thes
a pews and take us all into thy keeping
1T and for the work of thy grace ma
lie this church year be the best year @
20 our lives. When the vacations of mex
n year come around, may we go fort
IT. into the mountains or down by tn
70 seashore, feeling that we have nc
in worked in vain. And If during tn
IN year some of Us will leave. not for til
- vacations of earth, but for the triumph