The Cairo bulletin., 1907-06-17
FIRST SERMON
BY REV. DR.. BASS
NEW PASTOR OF CALVARY BAP.
list CHURCH BEGINS WORK
UNDER FAVORABLE
AUSPICES.
HIS SUBJECT WAS LIFE
An Eloquent and Forcih!e Presenta-
ton From Various Points of
vieW---PartiaI Report of Ser
mon--consregation Well
Pleased.

The people of Calvary Baptist
church gave their new pastor, Rev. l..
.. Bass DID. a very cordial reception
yesterday and enjoyed two very able
sermons. For his first sermon as pas
ltor OF the church Or. Bass took for
his subject Life. as presented in
John HES. Il am the resurrection
and the Life and he spoke In part
| as follows:
This is not the first time that | have
received the greetings of an Illinois
audience and been the recipint of her
hospitality. / know tn warmth of the
one and the unbounded generosity of
the other. and | voice the sentiment
of my family when | say that each
appreciates the splendid welcome you
have given to us, and rejoice in the
privilege of becoming one among you.
II knew that chivalry and knightly
courtesy existed in Cairo; that warm
hearts would welcome us, and open
hands be extended fraternal greet
ing. My anticipations have been
realized. and shall sit among you not
as a stranger, but a welcome friend
and pastor.
Shall | not In this first service d.
rect your thought TO the great author
of life? The blood in the life. Christ
is the life of the Christian, and to be
truly alive we must have this inward
spiritualife. Life is the worlds great
Organizer. In the seed is the embryo
plant, and when the life begins to
work il begins to. organize, to build
up that plant life. Organization
never produces life; life produces or
ganization. Many churches organize
hoping that this mechanical arrange
ment will produce life. While at the
jamestown exposition few days ago,
saw an engine of Corliss power NOV
ing the machinery of Machinery Hall.
We NAV have much machinery with
toe little engine power. would
rather have much power with little
machinery. All life begins small and
develops gradually. That embryo
tree in the seed grows so little each
day that you can hardly perceive IL;
hut after a time il becomes the sturdy
oak 70 defy the storms of the winter.
Such is the law of nature and of
grace. Christianity itself. began
small and gradually permeated so
cieiy and the world.
One kind of life never develops
into another kind. We hear much
of lower animal life developing into
higher life II Is a myth improved.
The lower in plant and animal re-
main the lower and most especially
is that true Of spiritual life. You
need NOT expect that this sinful ma /
ture. earthly and corrupt will be by
process Of training developed into
higher spiritual being. "Ye must be
born again" This life must come di-
rectly from Christ; the spirit OF God
must apply his blood and by the touch
q blood through fare there is new
life created. new hopes and aspira-
tons implanted and new strength I'M
parted. As we look into the world /
We see the mineral. the vegetable and
he animal The mineral does not de
geIop into the vegetable or the vege-
able into the animal The one lives
D. grows from the oiher-there has
been o new birth. SO the spiritual
nan lives or grows upon the physical.
ION must have a physical in order to
nave a spiritual But there has been
/ new birth. When this new spiritual
,ifth takes place the life begins to