Bisbee daily review., 1909-01-07
BAPTIST CHURCH.

.'Thc Medel Church" was the sub ] ject used Sunday by Rev. John F. | Kanaar of tire Baptist church. lie ! said in part: "I nave been looking up l the history of the hest churches in ! England and America to find a model church some of these have had a wonderful growth and have done ex- i icellent work. But to my mind the | best caurch autedates any of them. | it was the first church at Jerusalem. Paul tells Us about t Iu the see oIrd chapter Of Acts t was The Mod | q church.
 "Fr rst: Not only the pastor and @ small portion of the membership. but all with one accord in one place. | No cAurth will have power with God | and men until her members are found ] together in the prayer meeting. Won | derful power of prayer Moses cries ! to God and the sea is divided: Elijah | prays and rain descends; the Church prays and Peter is delivered; Paul and S,las pray aud the doors of the old prison are opened.
 ! Second IL was social and frater- ] nal. The average church Of today is conducted on the refrigerator plan. . 1 be followers of Jesus Christ, until you first kindly greet the strangers and visitors of your congregation and | then speak 10 the members. not sim ply your little crowd but the whole | church, until you have done this you | have not done your duty You can greet two hundred people in fifteen minutes, and that is larger than the r..v.s NfaN. e H..
 church that can't remain for short ! sOc'a al service had better not assemble. l Some time since fifty non caurch going men were written to and asked | their opinion why men do not attend | church. Among the many and varied answers received was this. Lack of ] genuine, out-stretching sympathy and i sCciab'lity on the part of Christians"
 A kind cheerful word has great ! weight and little indifference speaks
 ! volumes to the contrary.
 Third: It was spiritual. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, no dry, lifeless material in that mem Ibersh'p. Students in a medical col | lege when dissecting, can take the leg
 of dead frog and bY the aid of cleo | triCity make it appear alive. 4 pas ! tor may take a dead church and by ! eloduence, personal magnetism, ad 1 yertising and such make it appear to have real life. But how different from a spirit filled church.
 ! Fourth IL was a generous church. 1 The needs of the church came first now they come last or not at all. ] Then Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and | the utteTmost parts were not neg | lectsd-today, we establish our selves | in business, purchase our homes, edu- | cate our children and lay up a gener>
 GUS bank account. Thieves we are, 1 f We haven't given the Church the ! first fruits of our labor, the tenth of cur income belongs to God.
 Fifth: A Soul Saving Church. In one day there were added 10 the Je- rusalem church about three thousand ! souls. After which there were daily additions Singular wasn't it. Today ! some churches have large ingather | ings. but after the revival storm, after the turkey sermons are all preached
 and the evangelist departs. there is a ] prolonged calmness. Additions to the church are the conditions of her life, ] Christianity is a hostile organization, and ke Hannibdrs army in the heart Of Italy. must live by conquest or perish Hetrogressions, back slidings, I apCstacies and deaths will sooner or later defunct any church where there are no additions
 Fifth: It didn't change pastors
 every year or two. Peter, the first pas | tor served the church for twenty years, and 1t kept it's second pastor 1 for the same period of time Some | churches have made a good minister out of poor material but they didn't ! do it by saying mean things about
 him and finally making him the 'seape i goat of the community. I have never
 heard Of a strong church that had
 more pastors than years since her or
 ganization. Notice in closing, that
 ] the Lord did the adding, not Peter
 nor the Evangelist. nor the church, but
 the Lord. And he added only the
 l saved and he added them as soon as
 they were saved. Every church can
 be a model church if each member