The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-01
BISHOP MORRISON
 OCCUPIES PULPIT Preached at Fountain Heights Methodist Church Yesterday "FROM DEATH TO LIFE" "lt Doth Not Vet Appear What We Shall Be. but We Shall Be
 Like Hlm, for We Shall
 See Him as He ls."

| Notwithstanding the steady rain that | was falling at the hour of service, large crowd assembled at the Fountain Heights Methodist church at Il o'clock yesterday to hear Bishop Morrison preach. l The Bishop seemed to be at his best. His face was aglow with the truth of the great theme to. be discussed. And as he
 developed the inspiring message out of Gods word his own heart was warmed and the congregation was moved to tears. | Crowds gathered around him after the | benedlction and with tearstained eyes thanked him for his gospel message. Many
 were heard to say that the sermon was
 the most inspiring they had ever heard | and all felt that their souls had been
 fed with the bread of life. At the close
 of the sermon the bishop stated that the
 official board had requested him to ask
 the congregation for thousand dollars,
 needed right away in the liquidation of
 obligations made by the church; and that l Rev. Frank w Brandon, the pastor, who l is closing his fourth and last year with
 this congregation was exceedingly an-
 xlous to clear the decks for the new pas
 tor who will succeed him at the session | of the approaching annual conference.
 In a few minutes the congregation re- 1 spond with s114 more than was asked for.
 Mir. Brandon will be enabled to leave the
 church in a good condition. for the in
 coming administration.
 From Death to Life.
 Bishop Morrison announced his theme
 es From Death to Life' He read his
 text from the twenty-fourth verse or the
 twelfth chapter of St. John: "Verily,
 yerily I say untol you, except corn Of
 wheat fall into the ground and die 1t abideth alone; but if 1t die, it bringeth ! forth much fruit" He said: "As l have
 looked through tiny glass and had vast mountain ranges and forests and fields and
 skies brought within my vision, so want
 you through this little grain Of corn to
 view the manifold possibilities of lie and i death.' He then enunciated that great
 nrincinle. 'All life comes forth out of
 death."
 In illustration of this law he mar 1 shalled facts from every kingdom of na- | tnre. Showing how vegetable life feeds
 on dead life he drew a vivid picture of
 the farmer nourishing the roots Of the
 corn with the bones of animals that have
 been ground up And he grew eloquent as he spoke of all beautiful, fruitful and
 noble character being fed by the dust of l cur dead ambitions and our disappolnt- = nents. .'The corn of wheat itself dies,
 and the principle of life feeds upon the
 husk; so the natural man must die that
 the higher. spiritual life may come forth
 ont of the modification of the deeds of
 the body
 The Cross the Wisdom of God. "Everv individual who becomes strong,
 virile and fruitful like the little grain Of | corn must go down through the valley of the shadow of death. And If wonder | ful is the manifold life that comes out of
 tho death of the little nut brown grain of wheat, much more wonderul is the re-
 newed, transformed, regenerate lie that
 comes forth out of the death of the carnal l nature" The speaker strikingly present.
 cd Lhe unmeasured life that has come to | the world thr ough the death Of the Lord | Jesus Christ, 'The cross of Christ Is the wisdom of God and the power or God. l Jesus Christ has more power in the
 world today since he suffered, and died and was buried than ever He had be- | fore He died To put it more strongly | Jesus had more followers within an hour after He died than He had while He | lived. The moclSing multitudes were wont to believe Him, love Him, and worship | Him. And out of the planting in the l rock hewn tomb of Joseph of Arimae- thea has grown the hope of humanity. | Here he showed how the church with all | of her strong arms with all of her agen- | cies and instrumentalities for the eXhalta- | ton of the hopes of men, with all of | her mercies and ministries her doors of hope, her asylums, her hospitals, her mis- | sionary operations, was product Of the | sacrifice of Jesus. The bishop was quite original in introducing the enemies of Jesus as Herod, and Pilate, and Judas, | and the thief, as bearing witness to His innocence, and even to His divinity. Resurrection of the Dead.
 Possibly the most inspiring part of the sermon is found in the reference to the resurrection or the ueau. IisioP MUTT
 son made 1t very clear that he believes
 that every soul is immortal; that even the l sinner shall be called forth. from the grave; that it is this body that shall be 1 raised; 'this mortal must put on immor-
 tality; this corruptible must put on incor- ruption" He said that mans little knowl- edge of science counted for nothing when | God was the question. There was rapt at- | tention as he gave almost life like pie | ture of the man with the dead withered | arm. made whole and sound at the word | of the Master. of the healing of the ear | of Malthus which Peter had cut off; of the | son of the widow of Nain who had been 1 dead for an hour and of Lazarus, who had been dead for four days, both raised at the word of Jesus.
 hall