The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1912-12-05
REV. PETER STAIR breaches
Shows Many Reasons Why the People
of the Nation Should Give Thanks
for Blessings Gratitude Must be
Shown by Faith ii Almighty.

The annual union Thanksgiving SER
vice in Kenosha was held at the First
Baptist Church on Wednesday evening
and a large company of people repre-
senting the various churches in the city
gathered to take part in the service
Special music was furnished by the
choir of the church and the annual SER
mon was preached by the Rev. Peter
Stair, Pastor of the Park avenue NJ
e. church
Mr.. Stair s remarks were based upon
the story in the book of Luke Of the
healing of ten lepers by Jesus. Only
one of the ten returned to give glory
to God and fell down before Jesus Civ
ing him thanks. And the Lord said,
"Were there not ten cleansed, but
where are the nine?' And he said unto
the leper, "Arise, and go thy way thy
faith hath made thee whole.
The story reveals the fact that Christ
was sensitive to sense of gratitude in
the recipient of the favor which he
had given. The Bible is q text book on
gratitude. God sought to teach the
Hebrew people from the beginning by
signs, by sacrifices and by memorials
to acknowledge the gracious favors of
-
ian virtue. Not simply a nicely Of So
ciety, not merely mark of refinement,
though that is important. Let us form
the habit of saying "Thank you," at
every opportunity. But gratitude to
God is more than politeness, it is one
of those graces without which one can
not be Christian, it is fundamental.
The principle of gratitude and faith,
which recognized everything as the\gift
of Gods love and goodness is what
gives true value to our temporal bless
ings. This marks the difference be-
tween the Christian and the secular
temper. The secular temper takes
everything as it comes, without any
realization of it's divine source. The
spiritual temper refers everything to
it's heavenly origin and author. There
f;sn t much intellectual skepticism in the
world now but there is too much prac-
tical atheism. Too many people who
sacrifice unto their net and burn in
cense unto their drag, because by them
their portion is fat and their meat plen-
teous.' The ancient parable is repeated
in the business men who sacrifice unto
their business and the farmers who burn
incense unto their cattle and hogs.
1t may be well questioned whether
our prosperity is cause for thanks
giving unto God. The purpose of God s
providences is to bring men to know
ledge of God, "that men should seek
after God if haply 5hey may find Him. =
Prosperity is blessing when it does
this, but when it fails to accomplish
this end temporal prosperity becomes
a curse. A bank account which sets a
man up in his own conceit and gives
him a consciousness of independence OF
God is a blight. An automobile which
takes its owner and others from wor-
ship, away from the holy sabbath and
away from God is not something to be
thankful for. When ''Wealth increases
and men decay then it is time for
men to repent before they praise. The
Samaritan IS blessing brought him to
God, the blessings Of the nine migrate
FIJI lepers took them away from Christ
with no thought except for the good
which had come to them.
The gratitude which amounted to
faith and which made the Samaritan
whole is the gratitude much needed
in our land. That sense of obligation
to Almighty God which will bring rs
to Him to be made "whole'' as a ma
ton a holv and riUhtnouS nno,,1o