Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1909-12-22
CHRISTIAN ENDEAvoR.
Prayer Meeting Topic For the Week
BEGINNING Dec. &c, 1909.


foreign missions. Matt xviii. 1870. Com
ment By Rev. sherman II. Doyle. d. y.
The great interest manifested by
practically all Christians in the sub
ject of missions today is a strong init
nation that the Christians response
bility toward the I'M Christianized parts
of the werld Is fully realized. There
was time when such responsibility
or obligation to missions greatly need
ed to be emphasized, but today this
need Is not so great. Yet there are still
sponsibllity and need to have it pressed
home to their hearts. Nor Is 1t impos-
sible for those who are already inter
ested In the worlds salvation to BE-
come more interested by considering
their responsibility to home and for
eign missions. May this study, there
fore, arouse interest where there is
none and increase the interest to the
highest possible extent where 1t al
ready exists. The salvation of the
world is the supreme work Of the
Christian church, : and therefore no
Christian can become too much inter
ested in the subject of missions.
1. Christ's command places respon-
sibility upon US in relation to home
and foreign missions. We have given
ourselves to Christ We have placed
our lives under His control. As His
disciples we have promised to obey
His commands. One Of these, and His
dying command at that is that we
shall ego, therefore, and teach all ma
tons. baptizing them In the name Of
the Father and of the Son and Of the
Holy Ghost or, as Mark records it,
Go We into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature" Upon
every Christian rests the obligation of
obeying Christ's commands. and He
will hold us responsible for any fail
ure to do so. This applies to missions
as well as to any other Christian duty.
We may not be able to so personally
and thus literally obey this command,
as the first disciples did. but we can
obey it In spirit and thus fulfill the
responsibility that it places upon us
by giving Of our money to send others.
If we do this freely and cheerfully and
to the extent of our ability we will
discharge our responsibility to mis-
sions. both home and foreign.
2. The opportunity to do something
for home and foreign missions places
responsibility upon us to do so. We
all have some opportunities to engage
in the work, and opportunity always
brings responsibility The world to-
day is open to missions. Were the
doors of heathendom closed to mission
aries we should have no responsibility
except TO try to open them. But today
they are all wide open. Moreover. we
have the gospel and the opportunity to
take it or send it. The church Is call
ing for missionaries. 1t is constantly
appealing for offerings for the support
of missions. No one can say, Il had
no chance, no opportunity to be sent
or to assist in sending others to mis-
sion fields" The opposite is the truth.
There are constant opportunities, and
every one of them places moral OBJ
legation upon us. These facts led Paul
to say. II am debtor both to the Greeks
and to the barbarians, both to the wise
and to the unwise. SO as much as in
me is am willing to preach the gos-
pei" The same debt for the same rea-
son rests upon us.
8. The promise Of Christ emphasizes
our missionary responsibility. 40.
am with You Away. even unto the end
Of the world" This promise accom-.
> panies His great missionary command
Having 1t, we cannot shirk our duty
on the ground that we may not sue.
coed. His presence assures success
and should greatly encourage us to
meet our every obligation to home and
foreign missions.
BIBLE READINGS.
lisa. Il, II; Nah. l. Is; Ps. xxi; Marx
xvi 10; Acts l, Is; xiii, 1-3; Rom. /
1417; <, 12-15; Jon. l, 1-3; iii, IA; Rom
II, is.