Norwich bulletin., 1913-08-04

T
 on Sunday morning and at which the Rev. Irving H. Berg of the South 1 church, Hartford, preached an excel lent sermon. His text was St. Luke
 1920; For the Son of man is come to l seek and to save that which was lost"
 He said that of any number of texts
 which might be chosen for this ad- dress this one seems to sum up the
 most accurately the meaning of 1 Christs mission. It furnishes the key sion; of the mission of the Christian church, and of a Christians relation
 to the church.
 A Tender and Touching Story. l This story of Zacchaeus Is one of the l most tender and touching ones we | have Here was a noble and generous Iman who was ostracized by his call 1 ing. He was a gatherer of taxes and
 as such was set apart as belonging to Ithe strong arm of the hated Roman 1 power But he was large hearted and l benevolent and his interest in Christ
 had transformed his character as 1t i always does. He had heard Of Jesus l and was anxious to see him. lie goes
 out to see him and, finding the people 1 thronging the highway. he goes aheao l of them and gains a vantage point.
 There is nothing dignif1ed nor marvel
 ous about it-simply an ordinary tale.
 Jesus recognizes this interest and re- I NNNrS 1 chaeus' guest. There are'as always Lin every company-captious critics
 among the crowd who begin to protest
 against going to the house of sucn a
 man. Jesus replies to them Tn the words of our text. He puts his em- | phasis upon his supreme mlsslon lhis | is his only object.
 1 The Object for the Church.
 1 This is the only reason for the
 church. although it is engaged with much else. Some people seem to think
 that the chief object of a church IS
 to have a minister get up and talk to i people who can't talk back. Others
 think that music is the chlef opJecI
 and the extension of sacred music the 1 one aim Still others regard the l church as a social club which insures ones standing in the community. IL | is none of these. The one and only l reason and excuse for church attend l ance is to be the messengers of God 10
 the world What is meant by this con- ception of Jesus2 Who are the lost! i Some would say that they are the out | casts whose names are not mentioned 1 in polite society, the submerged tenth' | the east siders, those who dwell Tn the l dark alleys and the forbidden places of life Scarce a thought is given by other men of their existence, put Fhese are the ones God has always in mlnd. /, These are the ones Jesus treats Wlth l tenderness, graciousness and sympa- 1 thy This wickedly perverse attitude 1 of indifference should be gotten away ] from. for it is far from the Master l heart.
 i The Meaning of "Lost."
 But there are others more lost than
 these. Lost means apart from l God" And there are those lar apart ] from God to be found in automobiles, in palaces, in the midst of wealth, opu- l I, on the church rolls and even in ofnceS of dignity and trust. These may pc Host unless they are in close fellowship i and sympathy with God. Everyone needs to take thought. lest he stray
 The Duty of the Church.
 There are three parables which throw
 a flood of light upon this subject and which show the church's duty. One IS ' the parable of the lost coin. This may represent that class of society when is the least lost, These are the vic 1 tims of heredity and environment. NO i one is foolish enough to say that there was no coin there to lose. There was good gold, though out of it's proper i place, Everyone has some opportunity even the heathen-and if they are | lost through no fault of their own we
 are all the more bound to seek tnell. 1 The second parable of the lost sheep represents probably the largest class
 These are the pathetically lost the self deceived who have wandered away. Often they are brought up m Christian homes. They have had every opportunity but they have thrown 1 these away and Strayed away over the desert and into the mountains ln-
 stead of the comfort and safety pie | tured in the shepherd Psalm they are out in cold and danger and the tender ness and compassion Of the SaVlouf | ilGS- in of these who have Strayed away. The
 parable of the prodigal son portrays a 1 third class of society, those who are i lost through their own wllful, head strong, en-eyed disobedience. These must come to their senses before they
 can be saved. They must see tneir l mistake and return to their father 8 house. All these classes can be saved. It must be done and it is our mission | to do it. Take up the task even II the spirit of the times seems against 1t. The Church is Not Decadent.
 One gets so tired of hearing that the church is decaying from so many discouraged men. It Is not decay1ng- it is simply having the same old heart i aches and making the same old excuses that it was in our Lords day. Like the man who was invited to the wedding 1 feast and could not go because he had bought five yoke of oxen and must needs stay and prove them. so our 2Oth century friend has bought new six cylinder car and must needs stay
 away from church to prove it. There there are those who find fault with the gospels Not the real scholars who dig and delve to discover their real meanings-we take off our hats to 1 these-but these Quibbling minds, who
 are always splitting hairs and so losing the real message and who cannot see that the essential thing is the relation
 of the sheep to the shepherd. Is this i too hard q mission Or are men 100 busy to take it up? If he does the
 same consequences will follow a they did in the case of Zacchaeus. lie who ! wins a soul makes an epoch in human history. This may be accomplished by having Christ's conception that the es-
 sential necessity is to take your part
 and place in the church's mission. 1 Then all doubts will disappear, cour- age will return and you will shout it i even from the housetops that God | reigns on high.
 FORMER PASTOR BREACHES. 1