The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-07-06
REV, WEST BREACHES COMMUNION SERMON Necessity For Taking Commun-
 ion "WOrthiIy" WHAT SACRAMENT MEANS 1t Is the savior's Dying Love Gift to the World-"Do This in
 Remembrance
 of Me-"

the North Avondale Methodist church the pastor, the Rev. S. P. West, deliv- cred a sermon from the text: For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup ye do show the Lords death till He comes." I Cor. xi:26.
 The preacher spoke as follows:
 There are those who will not par take of the emblems that represent the broken body and shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ for fear they may eat and drink unworthily, remembering the apostle has said, "Whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord" And again, "He that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh dam nation to himself" These are strong statements and sh ould arrest our at tention and cause an investigation upon our part, that we may not be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord" and bring condemnation upon our selves"
 We should consider the conditions that existed among the Corinthian Christians to whom the apostle wrote They were recent converts from heathenism. They had their festival of Bacchus and other profligate gods that were drunken carousals, and the sacrament of the Lords supper was as- sociated with these occasions in ther minds. They prostituted the bread and wine to purposes of sensual gratifica- tion. They did not discern the Lords body" It was an awful perversion of holy things. They made merry under the very shadow of the cross, and in sight of the mang1ed remains of the Son of God they trihed with the awful mystery of the divine agony"
 We are in no danger of bringing upon ourselves the condemnation pronounced upon the Corinthians if we discern the Lords body" take it to commem- crate His death, with penitence for our sins and with the purpose "to lead a new life, following the command ments of God.'' However unworthy we may be. we may worthily partake of this sacrament and Christians should do so when they have the op-
 
 portunity.
 The sacrament of the Lords supper is a monument to the death of Jesus Christ. A monument may exist in q custom as well as in bronze or mar ble. Other men have had monuments built to heir memory, but it was for what they achieved in life. Jesus Christ was an obscure man in His birth and social conditions. Men usual- ly get their hold upon their fellow men and are remembered and honored for what they accomplished as statesmen and in war. In these directions Christ did noth ing. The fact exceptional and solitary in all history is a monument to His death. In the death of no other man was there ever such force And today, after the lapse of the centuries, millions of men and women are in tears in the presence of this monument Any monument, and every monument erected by man will yield to the op- posing forces and finally crumble back to dust. The pyramids of Egypt show signs of decay This monument shows no signs of decay. It is strengthened by every soul that acknowledges it's Lord. Its base is constantly widening, while the sun never sets upon it's summit Would it have been possible to have built such a monument to the death of mere man? Is it not proof that He was the Goldman, that He was God-incarnate?
 By this sacrament the text says, "Ye do show the Lords death till he come" It brings to our minds both His suf- fering and death and His second com ing in glorious majesty to judge the world. It is retrospective and pros- pective, 1t has a backward and a for ward view. It brings before us the agony of the garden of Gethsemane immediately following the institution of this sacrament. No man ever suf- fered as Christ suffered. We are ca pablo of mental anguish according to sympathy; the three disciples nearest Him asleep, His soul was "exceeding sorrowful, even unto death," His soul agony so great that it produced "great drops of blood" He was bearing our griefs and carrying our sorrows. Re- turning from the garden He is met by the mob with "staves and lanterns" led by one whom He had honored and trusted, who saluted Him as Master" and with a kiss, token of the most sacred of friendship, betrays Him into the hands of His enemies Blind folded, He is cruelty abused in wicke ed sport by the brutal servants of the high priest. Upon His sacred face He receives blow on blow from hard, heavy fists. If you could have seen Him next morning, bruised and swollen you would have understood the prophecy, His face was so marred. more than any man, and His coun- tenance more than the sons of men,"
 The next day passing through the mockery of a trial. He is suspended upon the cross, the full weight of His body resting upon the nails that had been driven through His hands and feet The sun refuses to shine. The earth itself quakes and trembles. The | graves burst and the dead come forth. | The temple Is rent in twain from top | to bottom. The disciples have fled, and | the mob mock Him in His helpless | agony, and when He cries. q thirst" they give Him vinegar mingled with | gall.
 He could bear all this. But, sympa-