The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-08-17
THE PULPIT.
4 SCHOLARLY SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. HUBERT B.. MUNSON.
Theme: Power of God.

Brooklyn. n. Y.-The hev. Hubert
B. Munson. pastor of the Bushwick
Avenue Central NJ. e. Church, had for
his subject Sunday morning Power
! nf God" The text was from I. Cor
inthians 1924: Christ. the power Of
God" Mr.. Munson said:
wonder, if we could have stood by
Paul's side. as he began writing his
letter to the Corinthian Church. If he
should have asked us for a definition
in two words of the character of
Christ. if we would have had the sa-
gacity or the inspiration which he evil
IDENTIFY possessed when he defined
Christ to be Gods power and Gods
wisdom. IT is comparatively easy
for us, with the record of so many
years of Christian progress behind
lis. to see how Christ embodies both
ity: but it was an Infinitely more
difficult task. standing as close as
Paul stood in time to the NaZarene,
to have seen in that work such mani
fest intelligence. such wide and en-
comprising power. as to lead him to
say concerning that life that it was
the embodiment Of Gods wisdom and
the incarnation of Gods power.
The wisdom of God might we'll give
us pause. as Christ. in Whom we're
hid all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge. declared it: but the
mower of God. reaching out from tie
life of this humble Son of Judea.
touches the lives of twentieth -century
jewellers and thrills and changes their
motives. their characters, their desti-
MES. The power. as Pascal defined it,
is of three kinds: physical power.
mental power. spiritual power; the
power of brute force. of mental acu-
men and soul life. If the early home
of the race was by the seaside per-
chance mans first idea Of the physi-
cal power came as he watched the
waves heating in ceaseless rhythm
against the shifting sand of the beach.
and it spoke to him Of a great.
mighty force. But men did not have
to dwell by the sea long before they
saw the power of the wave, plus the
power of the wind. held in allegiance
as a vessel that both wind and a
would drive resistlessly upon the
sands. held its even course, because
one stood at the helm and steered:
that is. the physical power was owe
come by the power of the will and
the mind of the helmsman. and we do
not have to look very long either at
the life of Jesus or at the lives Of the
followers of the Christ before we be-
come familiar with the great spiritual
dynamic which, moving out from His
person and touching the hearts OF the
men of every age, has given to them
spiritual passion; and when we trace
the uplift of the human spirit back
to the force which started it on this
upward way, it is no surprise to find
it in the power of God, revealed
through the life of the person of His
Son.
There are some aspects Of the life
of Jesus to which Jul attention is
directed. which reveal the way in
which Christ shows Gods power.
First. Christ is the Transforming
power of God. The process OF trans
formation is a familiar one to the
manufacturer, who takes the crude,
raw material of the mine. Of the for
est. of the field. and changes that ma
terial, through the wonderful alchemy
of civilized machinery, into the fin
ished product of commerce. The
pound of iron ore that, in it's crude
state may be purchased for a few
cents, is changed into the skilled in
strument Of the carpenter. into the
sh%arp-cutting tool Of the machinist,
into those delicate and tensile springs
that move the most d~elicately ad-
iusted chronometer. What has been
done in the process of change? That
which was comparatively valueless
and without utility has been changed
into those instruments which give
value 10 human labor and aid to Jul
lives. The added value of the tool
represents, commerce tells us. the
skill of the labor which is put upon
it, plus the capital invested in the
great factory of which it is the out
put.
That which is thus done for COM
merce and for life, in transforming
the raw material into the finished
product, Christ does for humanity.
He takes humanity in its crude state,
nay, in it's worthless forms, and
changes sinnersinto saints; the worth
less into priceless jewels of eternity.
Take your stand, if you are wise,
by the side of some poor fellow who,
by his plea, has elected your sympa-
thy and for whom you wish to secure
employment. He mas told you his
story. Let it be only the average
story of the man whom bad habits
and vicious associates and idleness
has produced. Stand by his side in
the labor market and try to secure
employment for him. The man who
wants a Iaborer turns from him be-
cause he has passed the meridian.
The philanthropist to whom you may
present the man. making an appeal
for him upon humanitarian grounds,
may tell you that all of his energy
and all of his capital he is investing
in young life; he is building a fence
at the top of the precipice rather than
asylum at the foot. Even the poll
tician, eager as he is for help, may
smile sadly and turn away. You may
stand by this mans side until dis
couraged and sick at heart; you be-
come convinced that as part OF life's
fiotsam he is scarcely worth anything.
But listen! This man. who has made
such a sad wreck of life, meets a new
power: Christ meets him on life's
way and changes his heart and his
life. The drunkard no longer drinks:
the gambler no longer plays for
stakes: he has changed; the power
has laid hold of his life which has
transformed that life. Whence came
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