Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1912-03-15

VALUE OF MAKING RIGHT CHOICE.
Evaneellstic Service in Centre Church
Attended by a71-Many Signed Cards
Declaring for Christian Life.

A congregation of 81 persons listened
to Rev. Roy NJ. Houghton's evangelistic
sermon in the Congregational church
Sunday evening, which was about so
more than were present the previous
Sunday night. The sermon was addressed
especially TO boys, and a good number of
boys were in the audience and several
sang with the chorus. The choir number
ed, with instrumental players, 46 persons.
The choir hymn was Geibels new ar
rangement of Stand up, stand up for
Jesus" For an offertory F. C. Adams
sang Dudley Bucks solo arrangement of
Remember now thy Creator" and just
before the sermon c. NJ Dugan rendered
a violin solo.
The two ways, or how to achieve
success was the theme of the sermon
and the text l Kings g. 8: Give there
fore thy servant an understanding heart
to judge thy people, that ] may discern
between good and bad" Mr. Houghton
said he wanted to talk of some of the deep
things of life that are Of fundamental
importance to the tree of character,
things that are of more value than ed
ucation, steadfastness, fidelity and other
virtues, things that make character. If
the right kind of seed is sOwn there is
no need to worry about the fruit The
root of the whole matter Is the choice
you make Solomon chose an understand
ing heart and all the other virtues were
added to him. One wiser than Solomon
said: Seek We first the kingdom Of God
and his righteousness; and all these things
shall be added unto you"
Riches, Mr.. Houghton said, are one Of
the greatest temptations. II ask you as
a brother, what do you want to make
money for What fools are men who
sacrifice every good virture in order to
get a Lille OF gold Riches are a splen-
did thing if mans heart is right, 9TH
erwise they are an unspeakable curse.
What we want TO do is to look after the
soul All these other things are fine If
grown or the right kind of a tree"
The story was told of man who said
that during five years as a judge in city
no boy who was regular attendant in
Sunday school ever came before him for
sentence. 1t is when we leave Sunday
school and begin to drift that there is
danger ahead. The church and Sunday
school are of infinite value in forming
character
While Mrs. w. II. Bond was singing
Where is my wandering boy tonight?"
cards were distributed, for the first time
in the series of meetings, upon which
were printed: II want my life to count
for others, for myself, for this COM
munity, for the church and for God Be-
lieving that this is possible only by living
Christian life, j take this opportunity
of declaring myself on the side of Jesus
Christ and the church" The cards were
| provided with blanks for the name, ad-
dress and church preference, and Mr..
Houghton said they were for both old
! and young and that ii would please him
| Just as well II the preference was for
| some other church, as he was trying Ia
make Christians, not Congregationalists
The cards were signed by III persons,
| of whom II were men and boys. Out OF
the total As were members of the Con-
gregational church here or of Congre-
| gational churches elsewhere although
| living here. OF the remaining ~ the
church preferences given were as fol-
| lows; Congregational 2S, Baptist 10
Swedish Congregational s, Episcopal g.
Unversalst g. Methodist 8, Christian
Science 4. Unitarian 2, Presbyterian J.
no preference stated D.