Norwich bulletin., 1909-10-16

{, is obedience to God Christianity is | getting obedience to God through love. | The child who is disobedient to par ents will never learn obedience to God l Anarchy bred in the cradle will some | day wreck a nation. The modern child | is the dictator, obedience is dropped out of the creed too much, punishment is obsolete, and the painless system
 is in vogue. The good ,old-fashioned
 mothers children did as she sAid-or
 she did them. Her recipe was prayer and hickory. which is always infallfble when mixed in the right proportion, and a sure preventive of prodigals. Again, Absalom is not safe without the right example. David's life had not always been right, and Absalom had opened the door upon the family
 skeleton.
 Every boys father is his hero; more of one than the president of the Unit ed States to him. He is his ideal and the saddest, most tragical hour in the boys life is when he discovers that
 his father is not so good a. man as he thought him. He aims to do as his father does-not as his father says for him to do.
 There is no safety for Absalom in a home whic his not Christian. Vol taire became an infidel at five years of age, and Bishop McCabe a Chris titan at seven. It was the home in fluences in each case which made all the difference. The holy spirit, Dr. Slough thinks. might be called the mother side of God. This makes the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit a divine family, of which 8 Christian home on earth is a faint reflection a counterpart of God. Every parent should help to make homes what they ought to be and should have a Chris tian home for the children's sake if for no other.
 Atmosphere of Unbelief.
 Evangelist Slough delivered one of the strongest exhortations of his se- ries of addresses Friday afternoon at the Central Baptist church. again at- tacking the unbelief which he declared is the -aralyzing influence upon the local churches. In the course of years, he said there had been an atmosphere of unbelief built up here. You cite the fact that almost all evangelistic efforts had failed here, that ministers who had succeeded in other places had met with scant reward here, that the city had been unable to rise above these evils that are fastened on busi- ness, moral, social and political life, until you have come to believe that what other towns respond to. Norwich won't. You have looked upon the diff ficulty so long that you have taken your eyes off God, who can shake even this old city out of its lethargy. And all this. he said. was not uttered in spirit of criticism, but was what had been told him by the citizens them selves
 His lesson for the afternoon was from the story of the raising of Laz- arus, showing how 1t needed but the sight and touch of Jesus to restore in the sweet and beautiful spirit of Mary the faith that was indispensable and to bring her to renewed insight in- to his power and love. Yet Jesus wept. but not over the dead body of Lag arus. They were tears over the un- belief of the crowd that accompanied her and disbelieved in his power to meet this condition. It is all an illus tration of what is taking place today in many places all over the country, chilling in the pulpit and freezing in the pews, and Jesus can't work until he has first established the little com pany of believers, like Mary and Mar tha. This is the first step in evangel- istic effort. The last steps in a re- vival become the easiest when we take the first and get back to the simplicity of faith in our risen Lord.
 Relating an incident of midnight revival meeting in Oakland, Dr. Slough indicated that he thought it about time something like that was tried here but we were too bound down by the fear of sensational ad- vertising and sensational methods. Let us do anything, anytime, and any where to save the lost, was his final earnest appeal.