The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1912-11-22

REV. j. X. STUART.
Last Sunday was great day at the
First Christian Church. The first serv-
ices were held in the new church build
ing? A great throng Of worshipers filled
every available seat in the large audi
torium at the morning service. A
trained choir under the leadership of
G. Y. Jones furnished the music Mr..
Ownby, the well known organist, pre-
sided at the organ. In every note of
the music there was the voice of praise
to Him who had blessed them in per-
mitting the congregation to have such
a place of worship. 1t was service Of
genuine thanksgiving and praise.
The minister, Rev. J f. Stuart, de-
livered the sermon from the text:
Enlarge the place of thy tent.
Lengthen the cords and strengthen thy
stakes. lisa 54:2 The preacher said
that the words of this text was a call to
bigger things. God has in every age
called his people to a larger service.
The greatest compliment that God ever
paid to our kind was the call to serve
with him in saving the earth
He called attention to the fact that
the text spoken by the Prophet IN a
great crisis in Israel-that while God
thundered his commandments and re-
Dukes at sinful people he always tenn
pered them with sweet and inspiring
promise. So the text became call to
this congregation just as they were going
into a new house. This new house did
not mean the end of service-it was
only the beginning. A larger house
meant to them larger service. The
New Church - then what? was the
question before us to-day
The first and most needful thing
was an enlarged knowledge of Gods |
word and Gods Christ. Just in pro-
portion as a church grew in grace and |
he knowledge of the truth just in that
did they grow. To know the
One Book was better than to know all |
hings and be destitute of the living
yord (" 1t was insisted that the new
house had been built and equipped to
he end that the word of God should
,e taught in all its power.
Then there should be an enlargement
If the evangelistc spirit. This church
las been evangelistic from its beginning.
dany have been saved through its great
evivals. This spirit should be enlarged
ntil every man should be soul saver.
Iot only should we seek to save our
wn home people but our evangelism {
hould be as worldwide as the com
mission of our Lord If we expect to
we we must love and give, for this is
he fundamental law of the kingdom
But with all this we must have an
nlarged spiritual life. You may erect
reat buildings, call together masses of !
loney, and count members in multi 7
ldes, but you can never have a winning
hurch without Christ filled member I
hip. The glory of the church is in her I
onsecrated manhood and womanhood S
t we are to fill our place in this COM !
lunity there must be among us the 7
Dirit of prayer and piety. Emphasis \
as rightly placed on this part of the $
iscourse. I
But to all these must be added an
nlarged hope. There is abroad in the p
lurch of God at this time a vein of I
essimism, which sometimes kills hope ]
I'D paralyzes faith We can do all c
lings through Christ who gives us b
rength. We must open our eyes to S
le unseen forces fighting for US. And V
now that lie that is in sis greater \
ian he that is in the world. This
lterprise now almost completed stag II
sred some of US by its very greatness. -
ut by prayer and faith we have over- q
me every hindranees and achieved tbe \