The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-04-24
TIE PULnIk
a SERMON G|GSM
BY TEE REV. AxW
RAMAENDERSoNW~
subject: Jesus the PREACHER.

irving Square Presbyterian Church.
on the theme Jesus the Preacher"
the Rev. Ira Wemmell Henderson,
pastor, took Mark 2:2, And He
preached the Word unto them,' as
his text. He said:
The sharp line between preaching
and teaching is very. hardly drawn.
The preacher who amounts to any
er, instructor of men. 1t does not
necessarily follow conversely that a
good teacher will be as ready when
preaching is the need. But the preach
er must be a teacher does he wish for
success in the sowing of the Gospel
seed. He who would be an influence
for and toward Cod must be able not
only to declare to men what is the
way we should live that we may at
tain to eternal life, but also he must
be able to unfold to mankind how
we may find the way and keep to its
middle on the march toward heaven.
But lest we drift from the theme
in hand, let US to the point. Jesus
was the greatest preacher the world
has ever seen, and He stands to-day
as the Master and the inspiration OF
all those who would tell His truth.
Glorious as are the messages of the
prophets to their people and their
day, and rich as are the utterances
Of the long line of spi~rit-flled men,
who have since Christ preached the
Gospel of God unto men, Jesus yet
holds the premier place as the might
lest message-giver of them all.
Let us for these minutes, while we
are here together, glance at several
salient qualities in the preaching of
Jesus which commend Him to us. Let
us not waste our time in speculation
over the sort Of gestures Christ may
have used or the %oratorical powers
we may conceive Him to have pos
sessed. Let US rather get down to
the kind Of gospel He preached, and
of reaching-force in it, which have so
captured and held the attention and
the lives of men throughout these
many years.
First and foremost Jesus preached
the Gospel-the good news to men
that men could De saved from sin
through the everlasting love of the
Father. knowing that sin is the
deep and engrossing goddess fact of
life, and knowing also that the one
desire of men when at their best is
to escape from bondage to sin, Jesus
wasted no time I'VE non-essentials,
secondary or inconsequential things;
but came straight to the point. Jesus
took no time to prove the existence OF
God-He took that fact for granted.
Christ spent no moments to make it
clear that sin really does exist-that
too He felt to be the consciousness
Of every normal a Jesus asked
no man whether or no he was hun
gering or thirsting for a sure saliva
ton from sin, but rather gave the
Gospel straight without question. Re-
pent and believe and follow. These
are three of the great words that
Jesus sent to the hearts of men:
Turn away from evil unto God and
humble yourself in His presence, ask
ing pardon for your sins" Mine is
the revelation of the Father in all
His fullness, which is able to lead
you out of death and bondage into
freedom, light and life" Follow
after Me, do as I do, act as I act, walk
as I walk, think as I think, love as I
love-for I walk in the similitude OF
our Father-and then shall We grow
from grace unto grace" These are
three of the mighty words Of Jesus
to SHINING men. And they are the es-
sence of the Gospel. No philosophy
is deeper than the Gospel, n story
is more simple, no truth Tore full OF
power. And it is because the Gospel
meets and administers to the deep
est need of men that it is to-day as
ever the predominant influence in
our world. Because it shows hope of
escape from sin it lifts the criminal
unto Christ. Because it is so simple
and so satisfying it touches the hearts
of little children yet %unlearned in the
mysteries of life. A message OF pro-
found and universal truth it chal-
lenges the thinker and meets his
tests. To all men, and to all condi-
| lions, ranks and abilities among men,
the good news has its application
and it's mission. And it is because
the Gospel is the universal, deeply
simple, inspiring message that it is,
that it has such a hold over the
hearts of men.
In the second place, I would call
yOuI dIlSullOu W llC 1dCI IAoI lhC
Gospel was definitely preached by
Jesus to the desperately poor, to the
do~wntrodden and the weary. In His
day the rich had all they needed and
more besides, and the effort was to
| give them as much more as possible.
For the publican and the sinner, for
the oppressed and sick and the dis
couraged no such car was taken.
They were allowed very largely to
shift for themselves. But Jesus over
turned the system with His Gospel
! and talked first to those whose need
was greatest. And the common peo-
pie heard Him gladly"
In the third place Jesus went out
to the people with the Gospel. He
did not wait for them to come to
Him, but rather sought them out. 1t
made no difference to the Lord
whether men came to Him or He
went to them, whether He had one
man or five thousand to whom He
spake the truth, whether men came
by night or climbed up into the trees
in the broad glare of the hot Eastern
sun to see Him, whether they made
a clamor by the wayside or just ST.
lently and steathily touched the hem
of His garment. When men would
not come to the synagogues to hear
Him preach and teach-that is to say
to church-He went out into the
streets of the city and up on the hill
sides and brought the word Of saliva
ton to them.
Now, to be sure, we have merely
touched upon a very few of the ele-
ments which are characteristic of the
preaching of Jesus. But so far as we