Los Angeles herald., 1907-01-07
FOUR CANDIDATES
RECEIVE BAPTISM
Nineteen MEMBERS TAKEN
INTO CHURCH
Rev. Robert Burdette breaches COM
munion Sermon, Saying All Are
Invited to Partake of
Bread and Wine

AT the Temple Baptist church yes
terday morning four candidates re-
ceived baptism at the hands of the
pastor, Robert j. Burdette, and at the
communion service following nineteen
new members received the right hand
of fellowship. The pastor, who was as
sisted in the service by Rev. w. G.
Clatworthy preached on the topic, "A
Personal Message" taking for his
text Mark, XVIII, go, tell his dis
ciples and Peter"
I'VE sit here this morning waiting to
assemble at this table of blessing and
love, and some heart here is shrink
ing away from it, saying, L have no
right to come; 1 have Sinned grievous-
ly; my heart is hard toward some of
my neighbors; 1 hold bitter feelings
against some one; I have transgressed; /;
1 have been wicked; 1 have not lived
according to my covenant obligations;
1 have forgotten the gospel Of Christ
and have pushed away from my side
the sweetness of his love; / have no
right to sit here with his disciples and
join in this memorial of himself as he
gave it to us; I cannot go to his table.
"And to your distressed and griev-
ing heart comes the message through
bis angels, Go, tell my disciples-and
sou, lSll liilo OilC SSPSClilly ,
be careful to carry my message to this
one who grieves; take my word of low
ing invitation to the heart that doubts;
to the man who has sinned and is sor-
rowful; to the man who has trans
gressed and is penitent; to the woman
who longs to come but feels her un-
worthiness; take my message to all
my disciples, and specially to the one
who needs some particular help from
fA1I As,NlA to-, DAfo
"Oh, disciple of Christ, with this
this blessed invitation from his own
lips with your name on his lips, your
name in his message, how can you keep
away from his table of love? Gods
most special messages have always
been to those who most needed them.
To his most trusted disciples he said,
Bye and bye, but not now WHITTIER
l go thou canst not follow me now, but
thou shalt follow me afterward.' But
to the penitent hanging on the cross,
Jesus said, This day thou shalt be with
me in paradise He was at the ex-
tremity OF life, his sins hanging heavi-
ly upon him and he would have no
time to learn and to understand.
How we'll these men learned the les
son of love. With the special message
Peter was restored to his old place in
the hearts and lives of these men
never again do you hear of his sin be-
ing referred to; never word to
weaken his influence and standing in
the little church of Christ. Paul alone
tells us once how he 'withstood Peter
to his. face Had Paul been one of the
faithful eleven he had perhaps been
gentler in his 'withstanding.' While
Peter was preaching the gospel of love
and telling the tidings of the risen
Christ, and with such boldness as
never even Paul exceeded, Paul was
breathing out threatenings and slaugh-
ter against Peter and all the disciples
And 1t is characteristic of this for
given disciple, that in the scant records
we have of this dispute with Paul there
flames out none of the fiery temper of
the old Peter, for he has learned great
lessons; he has learned the gentleness
the tenderness, the love of his Mas
ter"