The Glenwood post., 1912-06-22
Saturday, June %, 1912.
EXCERPT OF SERMON AT
NE. CHURCH LAST SUNDAY
Unbelief. It's Difficulties

6-6S.
Jesus had come to a crisis in His
ministry. In the early part of that
ministry in Judea He was seemingly
very successful. Multitudes followed
Him with great enthusiasm. He at
tained a high degree of popularity.
But it soon became evident that the
people had entirely mistaken His char
acter and the purpose of His coming.
He was regarded as a master of magic,
legerdemaip, as some great physician,
or some promising political leader. And
so He left Judea for Galilee. But He
is not long in this latter country until
the same misapprehension prevails as
had prevailed in Judea And in order
to disabuse the minds of the people
He spoke to them very plainly con-
cerning Himself and His mission. |
came to establish not a temporal but
a spiritual kingdom in the hearts of
men and women. But on hearing this
truth there is a great detection in His
following. Many go back and viii
walk with Him no more. And to the
twelve He says, "Will you also 90
away?' And Simon Peter, answering,
says. Lord, to whom shall We go,
Thou hast the words of eternal life?'
And in this answer of Peter we are
presented the problem that confronts
every soul that is tempted to unbelief;
the problem that is presented to every
soul that is tempted to abandon Christ
and his religion.
Now as a matter of fact we are all
at times tempted to unbelief. Has the
question, ''After all, is there anything
in the Christian religion?'' never sug-
gested itself to your mind? If not.
you have been exceedingly fortunate,
and God protect you in the future
against the temptation to question the
truth of His religion. Most of us have
not been SO fortunate. AS rule even
in early youth, Immediately after
passing out of childhood's s innocence,
that period in which we We're impree-
mated with very sumple faith at our
mother s knee or at the feet of some
consecrated Sunday school teacher, we
begin to doubt, we see things in diff
ferent light. The fundamentals of
learning and science seemingly conflict
with our child notions of the divine
and the hereafter. Against our will
we are inclined to scepticism. And
right here l would remind you of the
words of Jesus, spoken at time when
His disciples had gotten into con
troVersy as to who should be the great
est in the kingdom of heaven. Calling
a child unto Him, He said, Except
you be converted and become as little
child you shall not enter into the king
dom of heaven Unless you become
as a child that never doubts the words
OF papa and mamma; the child that
never presumes to look on this Bible
as II it We're collection of myths
the child that never fiaunts its own
ie"soh III lhe race OF man or God.
Unless you become as this child you
cannot enter into the kingdom of
heaven When will we men and
women realize that we can never solve
the riddle of God, of our own existence,
that there are problems in this world
that our philosophers never dreamed
OF. When we come to the problem Of
God and the eternal future the past
it is well for us to be like little chill
dren.
Now we are at times tempted to give
up our idea of God. After all, is there
such a thing as a God? We are told
that His power is very patent in the
universe. 1t is said that it is seen in
the material world. The wisdom and
the power of the Infinite rippes in the
brooklet, whispers in the zephyrs,
smiles in the sunbeam, twinkles in the
stars and CLEANS in the moonlight. 1t
is evident in the flora and the fauna.
in the stratas beneath us. And again
we are told that it is human history;
that God hand guides the destinies
of men and of nations But is God, in
suffering innocence and dethroned
righteousness? Is He in the slums Of
our cities where thousands of children
aer born to live in the midst of want
and sgualor and vice and sin, born in
the midst of circumstances that seem
ingly predestine them to life of
damnation? Is He in the drunkard IS
home, where innocent children and the
helpless wife are made to suffer and
sometimes to perish because of the
wrong of others? Is He in this world
Of oppression and inequality, plenty,