The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1909-01-19

at the Y. NJ. c. A. on Sunday after
noon, Just before the time for the
service in the neighborhOOd of so men
off the German school ship Freya ar
rived at the rooms, having been given
shore leave,
Only one man could speak English
and of the association men, Messrs.
Hopper, Won Danenberg, Tumler and
Bradford speak Indifferent German,
but it was up to the association to
take advantage Of the opportunity.
The plan of the Sunday afternoon
meetings was explained to the men
and they intimated that the service
would be of interest to them Rev
J. S. Sibley was the speaker of the
afternoon, and after arranging for the
translation of his address to be made,
as he went along, and with the sailor
who spoke Eng1isA being seated be-
side him, the meeting began Hymns
by Mendelssohn, Wagner and other
German. composers were selected and
Mr.. Hopper smilingly remarked that
the men could read the notes and hum
the air and thus take part or, where
they knew the hymn. they might sing
in German. one of the men answering
That would be all right, as the piano
spoke German"
After one or two hymns had been
sung, Mr.. Bert Coleman played a vio-
lin solo which happened to be familiar
to the men
With one Of their own number at
the piano the men then sang the Ger
man Christmas song with great eX-
preston and demonstrated that they
knew how to sing and were familiar
with the best music of the father
land.
After a short prayer Mr.. Sibley,
with an earnestness and enthusiasm
which was felt by all of his auditors,
spoke In part as follows:
The Address in Part
we are so busy living that we take
no time to live well. Each man passes
! through the different stages of life
rapidly and but once. Childhood
passes into boyhood, young manhood
comes and quickly fades into old age
| before men have begun to prepare for
that higher life into which death is
the door of entrance and not the wall
| of separation. if this present life has
been spent in service.
I'VE are now in the stage of young
manhood with its VigOr of body and
mind and its surge of emotions that
cry for expression and qualification in
work Young men are creative, their
nature impels them to activity, their
hearts prompt them 10 service. It is
! important to each of US that these de-
sires and emotions be properly d.
rected and our lives are properly di-
rected only when they are placed at
] the Masters service
| MT. Sibley then read the passage
in the Gospel where Jesus, finding
Peter meuding his nets and his boat
on the beach, requests the loan Of the
boat as a pulpit and receives a ready
response from Peter. He then con-
tinued as follows:
Peter readily yielded up to the
Master the best that he had, the
means of his livelihood and not only
that, but in pushing the boat off from
the shore exerted his own personal
strength to place that boat at the
service of the Mast =
Now, what a lesson TO US.
1.-THE Master comes to each Of US
asking for our time, our talents. our
possessions in his service.
"One man says. I am too busy,
iLOrd-Wait a while and maybe then
when 1 get time viii, but my bust
ness takes up all my time just now,
or, Lord, haven't got time to attend
to this You may have the boat a
little while, but ] an so busy you will
have to get someone else to launch it,
Peter did not do that
Another man says: I am such a
poor. insignificant nan that you can
not use me; I am. only a clerk in
some store, or Onl! a mechanic and
L do not come in contact with men,
or perhaps only al Office boy or an
iemploye of someoIe and Christ can
not use me. I have no influence and
no power You do not hear Peter
saying, This is a pOOr old boat. Do
not you see that tie Daint is all of,
the sails are all tori, the deck splin-
tered? 1 have had Et for a long time
and I am only a sherman"
And another nan says, Lord,
know that I oughtito give my heart
and my life to you, but just wait until
am good enough wait until / stop
swearing, wait until ! stop drinking
as much as I drink wait until l have
made up my mind to be more moral
in my life than ] am Christ came
not 10 call the righteous but the sin
neTs. and you do mt hear Peter say
ing We have beer taking in the net
and the boat is toO dirty; wait until
I can get time to wash her OUT
When the MaseT said to Peter
lend me your boat Peter said, Just
take it and use 1t Tor your honor and
glory And that IS Just the spirit
that Christ wants men today to act
I hear another nan saying, 7 know
that | ought TO SIZE you my life and
use 1t for some gold purpose as mix
and mingle with men. but IL is not
! convenient now. DO not YOU see that
/ work six days aweek and 20 down
on Sunday to the Office and arrange
everything for 9bnday? II is not
convenient for me right now. I can
=. not go TO the mens Bible class in the
morning at the various churches. be-
cause l nave not time and l cannot