Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-07
REV. ]. W. BRoUGHER DELlV
ERS FIRST SERMON
HUNDREDS TURNED AWAY FROM
GREAT AUDITORIUM
Message of Greeting Received from
Or. Robert J. 5urdette, Pas
tor Emeritus, Now in
Honolulu

ushered in with overflowing congrega-
tions and much interest was manifest
ed at the Auditorium at both services
yesterday.
Long before the hour of both serv
ices people began to congregate and
several hundred were turned away,
every seat in the building being oceu-
pied.
The morning was the Introductory
service of the new pastor. Seated on
the platform were the officials of the
church and the choir. The platform
presented a golden California welcome
to the new pastor, feathery acacia
having been banked in front of the
platform
Dr. Brougher was formally intro
duced to his congregation by G. Z,
Boynton, member of the board of dea-
cons, who spoke of the conditions oc
his call to the pastorate and extended
words of welcome in behalf of the
church.
DR.. Brougher, who is 4 popular
speaker and orator, bids fair to rival
the popularity of his predecessor. DR..
Robert ]. Burdette. In few hearty
words preceding his sermon yesterday
morning DR.. Brougher outlined his in
tentions regarding his local WORK, III
which he said:
Regarding my sermons 1 would not
consult even my wife what L should
preach, nor would 1 consult any one
else. My aim always will DO to
preach against sin through the merits
of Jesus Christ in my own way and
fashion, for there are no two persons
alike, and we must all harmonic the
best we can with these conditions be-
fore u.s.
DR.. Brougher spoke in an affection
ate manner regarding DR.. Burdette,
who is now pastor emeritus. At the
morning service he spoke on Our
Ideals"
At the service last night Dr. Brough-
er preached a forceful sermon on 1.-The
Most Important Question Man Ever
Asked" He said in part:
An Important Question
What must I do to be saved?' is
the most important question a man
ever asked. 1t involves a mans hap
piness in this life and in the life to
come There is really only one source
of unhappiness in the world, and that
is sin. 1t causes all the miseries in
this life and will be the cause of all
the misery for men in the life to come.
1t makes hell here on earth and VIII
make a hell hereafter for che man who
is not saved from it.
"The universal cry of mankind is the
question of the jailer, What must do
to be saved? Sin is the same in all
ages. Its results are the same today
as in the past The consequences of
sin are shame and sorrow. Whatever
may be the special affiction, it can all
be traced to the same source-sin.
Il worked for the Standard Oil COM
pany at one time. The grocerymen fire.
quently desired their own brand of
OIL We fixed up label to go on
five-gallon can marked Sunlight OH
+I,av- fGrh
another would say, Electric Light OIL
Each advertised his own brand us
being the best. Let me tell you Sc
cret. They all came out of the same
tank.
Whatever name we may give to any
special sin, it is still true that all the
vices all the evils, all the sorrows and
troubles of life are due to the presence
of sin in the heart. The secret. there
fore, of happiness is the power to be
delivered from the presence and the
consequences of sin. To know the for
giveness of God, have a clear con-
science and live an unselfish life of
love in helping others is the secret of.
happiness. Jesus Christ came into the
world to make men better. He came to
make them happy. Everything that IS
good for mankind is for our enjoy
ment.
Given Second Chance
at wish you to notice, first, that
Christ alone can deliver us from the
guilt of past sin. His death upon the
cross makes it possible for God to for
give the past and remember it no
more against us. When was leaving
my pastorate in Paterson, N. j.,
friend asked me to speak in his phono-
graph 1 told him to bring it around
and / would try it. I had talked into
great many dumb things, but L had
never tried phonograph At the ap-
pointed time he came, and made my
little speech. When he turned it on
and 1 heard what and how 1 had
spoken 1 asked him to destroy the rec
ord. He said he could peel it, Then l
said, Peel it,. He put it on and with
a sharp knife skinned that speech off
of the record. I then carefully pre-
pared a short speech and delivered it
so that it would sound well.
81 had a second chance. Jesus Christ
came into the world to give men and
women a second chance to blot out the
record of the past, and let them do
their best. To be clear Of a guilty con-
science and feel that you are right with
God and your fellow men is the be-
ginning of happiness.
"In the next place Christ can de-
liver us from the dominion of present
sin. He can give a man the power to
be the master of his own life. A young
lady said to me once, "A preachers life
must be very stupid and monotonous.'
l asked her If she thought was stupid
and monotonouS. She said that was
not what she meant. 1 asked her to
explain. She replied that there were
a great many things that she loved to
do that a preacher could not do, and
she knew that she would not be happy
if she could not do them. L asked her
to mention some of them She de-
cIared that a preacher should not
dance, play cards nor enter into other
certain worldly amusements she men
toned. She declared if she could not
have these things she would be miser-
able.
Living In Prison
"I told her that she lived in the
penitentiary. People in the penitentiary
are only as good as they have to be.
They usually are as bad as they can
be under the circumstances. She said
that she was respectful ble-and that was
true-but society sets the standard of
Responsibility, and the society rule is,
BE only as good as you have to be-
That is a penitentiary plan Of life. The
man who would be supremely happy
must be the master of his own life.
He must be able TO do thing or not
to do II, and still be happy. l assert
without fear Of contradiction that the
man who is a slave Of any habit can
never be supremely happy. l do not
,,oro ryhat the habit NAV be-gOOQ or