The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-21
.STURDNANT TALKS ID THE VETERANS Special Sermon Is Preached In
 EeSSemer
BLAIR GOES T) NASHVILLE
Sheriff From Tennessee Takes Motor man From Jonesboro Line-Per- sonaI and General News of
 Bessemer.

Bessemer. June 200 Special, )-In spite of the indictment weather a large crowd of Confederate veterans came to hear the special sermon preached to them by Dr. J. F. Sturdivant at thc First Methodist church this morning. Dr. sturdivants text was Second Tim othy, iv:7, T Have Fought Good Fight. Dr. Sturdivant spoke in part as follows:
 This is the language of the Apostle Paul, good soldier of Jesus Christ, and at the end of his life he says: I have fought a good fight What joy must have been his in this knowledge that he had fought a good fight in great fight, great in two particulars in that he fought for the uplift- ing of humanity and that he was fight ng against great foes, for the devil is a great foe as no one who has had any experience in combating him will deny.
 The Christian life is a warfare. It is a warfare against the world, the flesh and the devil. In the world the
 
 ruption and idolatry; in the flesh he wars against the lusts, the eXcesses and the demands; in the devil he strives to expel satan from the world which is not his territory, for he has no place in it. The Christian endeayors to put down the falsehood, the chicanery, and the efforts of the devil to capture the ie lad to the business world and you often hear people say: Oh, I cannot take my religion into business and succeed. I have this to say to those If a man cannot do right in his business 1t is high time that he is giving it up and choosing some profession in which he can do rght. We should fight for the right of light and life. By light, mean not to permit any people on the face of the earth to remain In ig- norance of the great truth of Jesus Christ: by life I mean the life of the soul. Christianity strives to give back to man what he lost in the expulsion from the Garden.
 What is accomplished in having 
 tention to these points: 1. Paul was engaged in great cause, that of win ming souls. 2. He had been faithful tu his God and to His teachings. He had been successful. winning many to His cause. And lastly, he had fought even unto the end, till the last moment of his life and had died fighting in fact.
 Next is the greatness of the Chris tian warfare. First the contestants are great men, on one side God and His angels and on the other satan and his host of demons. The interests in volved are great, the immortal soul. The strenuousness of the fight Is great. It must be necessarily with God and the devil fighting and man sometimes helping one and sometimes the other. 1t is long fought battle, being waged for eternity.
 Regard the results of such a war fare for a few moments. The Masters Well done thou good and faithful ser want a good conscience and the joy of Gods success and the Knowledge that you had hand in the triumph. Then at last the exquisite pleasure to hear the bang of the pearly gates after last
 "The lessons for the southern sol- dier in this are: The lesson of having great courage, of great devotion to principle of great heroism and the knowledge that they will evermore be revered and held sacred in this great southland of ours."
 Dr. Sturdivants sermon created great enthusiasm among the veterans present, many declaring that 1t was the best discourse that they had ever heard upon the subject.