The Mena weekly star., 1912-05-16


are your
You are upon the threshold Of
manhood and womanhood. Life's
responsibilities viii soon devolve
upon you. Let Jesus lead and guide
your young lives. Be followers OF
the Lord Jesus Christ from the
teenage "even down to old age"
Parents Of Mena, fathers and
mothers OF these bright boys and
girls. under whose leadership are
you? After all, the grayest respon-
sibility is that Of parentage.
Citizens Of Mena, irrespective OF
class distinctions or denominations
al preferences, welcome you 10
this great service this morning,
Under whose leadership are you2
There is no neutral ground. He
that is mol for inc is against me,
saith the Christ.
You are under the leadership Of
one of these great forces.
Graduates Of the Mena High
School, | congratulate you ca your
attachments. You have made an
enviable record. We all rejoice
with you.
II Is an inspiration to me to look
into your bright faces. This is a
great age in which you live.
You are upon the threshold Of
the greatest age the world has ever
known.
Your possibilities are indeed mar
velous.
Let me look into your bright
manly and womanly faces this
morning, and ask you this question
Under whose leadership are you?
Let Jesus lead you.
Get under the leadership Of the
Divine.
Get under the leadership of the
Son of God.
Let Jesus lead you up.
The leadership of Jesus is an up
ward leadership.
am aware of the fact that the
little monosylabic word up" as il
occurs here, refers to the physical
ascent of Mt. Hermon.
But it strikingly illustrates tho
spiritual and moral leadership OF
Jesus Christ.
His leadership is an upward lead
ership.
1t is one of cxaItation.
1t is one Of ennoblement.
III * one of ascension
Under the leadership of Jesu:
Christ, one continues to rise higher
and higher in the scale of moral
spiritual, intellectual and physica
well-being until God says 1T j,
enough; come UP higher" and thl
laws of garvitation, as it were, arr
reversed, and the individual il
ushered into the presence Of Je-
hovah, to continue to ascend higher
and higher throughout the endless
cycles Of eternity, and we call tina
Heaven.
The leadership of Satan is
downward leadership-one of deg
lredation, one Of shame, one of ruin
one of descension.
Under the leadership of thi
force Of evil one continues to sinl
lower and lower, until the brittl
thread of life is clipped, and the in.
dividual is ushered into eternity L
continue to sink lower and lower
throughout all eternity, and thil
we call hell.
As Whittier has expressed it:
I'VE weave with colors all oul
own,
And in the field of destiny
We will reap as we have sown.n
How very important, then, is tn,
question, Under whose leadership
are you?
Apart by Themselves.
The follower of Jesus, the author
Of all good, will sometimes be aparf
from the crowd.
Young men and young women q
the graduating class, be men anC
wemen Of Titanic courage.
Assert yourselves.
Have the courage to stand aIon,
if you are right, rather than follow
the crowd to do evil.
This will require sterling man
hood and beautiful, courageous wo-
manhood.
You can't do this without Divine
help.
The arm Of flesh will fail you
you dare not trust your own"
Under the leadership 81 Jesul
Christ you can be true, brave mel
and women.
Let Jesus lead you Up even
apart by yourselves
For, after all, he or she who +
under the leadership Of Jesu
Christ is never alone.
Under the leadership Of Jesu
Christ you have the eompanionshil
of a conscience void Of offense to
ward God and man.
Aou have the companionship 0
your own self-respect, and bette
still. you have the companionshiI
of the Holy One Of God, that jus
one, made perfect, the King 0
King and Lord Of Lords"
After having thus led them apar
by themselves, He was transfigurel
before them.
What transeendently great am
ineaably glorious privilege Peter
James and John enjoyed. all be
cause they were prepared for it.
What blessing the others miss
cd. because Of their lack of prep
afafion.