The Penn's Grove record., 1909-09-24
THE PULPIT.
AN ELOQUENT SUNDAY SERMON BY
DR.. FRANCIS B. UPHAM.
Theme: Children and Church.

- c1kAo DOoA AC OPAa1lg
preached Sunday morning a Chill
dren's Day sermon on Children and
the Christian Church." The text was
from Matthew 18, 2 and 8: 'And
Jesus called little children unto Him
and set Him in the midst of them,
and said, Verify 1 say unto you, ex-
cept ye be converted and become as
little children, We shall not enter into
the kingdom of heaven" DIR. Upham
said in the curse of his sermon:
The theme selected for the morn
ing has been given me by the general
custom of the church; for, as you
know, this is Children's Day, hon
ored and observed everywhere. 1t is
expected that we turn our thoughts
to-day away from the study of the
battle and the bruise of life, away
from the study Of the shadow and
the smoke, for the study of the faces
of little children; that we come to-
day from the counting house, and
from the shop, and from the store, as
it were, to the nursery; that We suf-
fer the little children to come unto
US, take them up in our arms and get
from them instruction and blessing;
1t constitutes a most peculiar and
most interesting service.
AS a rule, little children are pre-
sented to-day for the sacrament of
baptism. Not to make them fit for
heaven, for they are already; but to
signify deliberately, and with the dig
nifty, the authority, and the worth OF
the church behind the form, our be-
lief that they already belong to God.
The lepers, you know, came to the
priest, not to get cleansed by him,
but to tell him that they were al
ready cleansed; and our children
are brought to God, not to have them
received, but for US to show, when
we bring them, that we believe they
already have been received. 1t is
the outward mark of what we believe
to be the inward work of grace, part
ly, then, because of tho custom of the
day, and partly because, I trust, of
the direct suggestion of Gods Holy
Spirit, the theme of the day concerns
children and the Christian church.
Our Lord said three things con-
corning the children, by word and by
deed. First Of all, with this old
story of our Lords teaching through
the little ones in mind, consider with
me the call of little children. IT
comes from God Himself. And
Jesus called a little child unto Him
and set him in the midst of them"
1t Is not Peter; it is not James: it is
not John; it is not some loving
mother or some equally loving ia
Their; but it is the Master Himself
who calls the little child; it is the
call of God.
Professor Starbuck in a book res
Gently published, entitled, 1.-THE Psy-
chology of Religion" says that con-
version belongs almost exclusively
to the years between ten and TWEEN
ty> Eve; that some come at the age of
seven; that others come, larger num-
bers, at the age of ten; that the cli-
max is reached at the age of sixteen;i
but that between the ages of ten
and twenty-five conversion almost ex-
elusively is known. Take any group
of Christian people together, any
body of Christian ministers, as Bishop
Goodsell, for example, is wont to
do, and ask them to express by ris-
Ing the year of their conversion and
you will see that the great body of a
large congregation will say that they
were converted between the ages of
thirteen and twenty. There is a
time when it seems as if God through
His blessed Son, under the inspira-
ton of His Holy Spirit, is doing what
was done 1900 years ago, calling lit
tie children; and I meet a
group of little people, lads and las
sizes that play upon the street or wor-
ship here in the house Of God, with
out feeling that l am face to face
with those to whom God gives a pc
culiar call.
Years ago lit I may be pardoned a
personal ~reference), when I was a
lad of sixteen, one summer evening
two of us were walking along the
shore-a lad of my own age and /,
each the son of a Methodist preacher.
Our fathers were friends and each of
us members of the Christian church.
We were talking seriously, as at
times boys are wont TO dc; and little
by little, without any cant in our
words, there was the echo of what
we had been hearing, and we came
to ask one another serious questions.
1 never can forget that evening: ! do
not think that ever in my life | was
so stirred as that night. l hurried
home, asked my mother a few search
ing questions, and then turned to my
God and Father in prayer. Why2
God was calling a little child as He
called children nineteen hundred
years ago.
A few weeks ago-let us say one
Sunday afternoon 1.-THE illustration
may be true; it is like a composite
photograph, true to so many cases)
your boy came to you. We will
say you were idly reading a book or
,1-r1oaD1r nv nr<finn n hif 0f nhuci-
cal or mental rest; and your boy
came to you with q question or two,
and in a moment you saw that he
was thinking of deeper things than
YOU were thinking of-for a boys
thoughts are deer thoughts at times.
Why? Because God speaks to the
children, and God calls them as He
called them nineteen hundred years
ago.
You and I must remember that God
is our Father. You and l must re
member that what seem to US little
things may be large things in Hi:
sight.
You and 1 must remember thai
even though the little things be lit
tie, they may be the things that at
tract and hold His tender love be
cause they are little and simple and
need a Fathers care.
Many a man knows tnat 1t is tbs
little things that make him tendel
toward those whom he loves; and oul
God, who is our Father in heaven
you and I believe to be tender to
ward the little children. Christ callet
a little child to Him. The call come
now as it came then; the call come
from God.
In the second place, a word or tw'
concerning the place of little chill
dren: Jesus called a little child, ant
set him in the midst of them. The,
t belong in the church. They wer
, placed nineteen hundred years ag
among the disciples. He called
child, and set hil in the midst O
them. DIR. Henry van Dyke has
book entitled "God and Little Chi
dren." He raises and nswer tn
question, in the book, Of the relatio