The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-12-15
AS THE CITIZENS,
SO1S THE CITY
Rev. Bryan breaches on the
Conditions in the City
LIV E CHRISTIANITY
Preacher Says Sympathy Is One of
Greatest Needs of Citizenship.
Prayer and Self-Improvement
Important Factors
LIY E CHRISTIANITY

Third Presbyterian church where DR.
J. A. Bryan delivered an able sermon
on the city of Birmingham, it's condi-
ton and methods of lettering dt
Birmingham" declared the pastor
"is subject to Just those influences
which beset every southern city It's
condition is made and fostered by the
lives of it's citizenship. And as no city
can be progressive except that its citi-
zenship is progressive, so can no city
be moral unless the lives of its citizens
are clean and pure. city is made by
its citizens and not the citizens by the
city,"
DR.. Bryans message was "How I Can
Help the City of Birmingham, and he
took as his text the eleventh chapter
of Matthew and the twenty third verse
"And thou Capernaum, thou art eX~
halted unto heaven Capernaum, de-
clared the minister. was prosperous
city of it's time, just as is Birmingham
today. 1t had its prosperity but it also
had its halt and lame, its fallen and
outcasts, just as the modern city.
Jesus in Capernaum
"Jesus," said DR.. Bryan, spent three
quarters of Ills public ministry in Cap
ernaum. There he worked miracles,
cast out devils, healed lepers and for
gave the sins of many. Capernaum
had great privileges and opportunities
under the ministry of Christ. This
city Christ called his own city. He
loved 1t like He loved and does love
every city. Capernaum was better be-
cause of the teachings of Christ and
the ministry of Christ.
The question arises in the thought
of every man. how can l make the city
in which 1 live a better. a more God
fearing and more man-loving city?
The first thing, according to my mind,
most needed to attain this end, is SYM
pathy L must sympathize. When
Christ lived and journeyed in the coun-
try and saw great multitudes, He was
in the language of the inspired critic,
moved with compassion when he saw
the multitudes who were as sheep with
out a shepherd
Think for a moment of the poor
the rich. the sick. the vile, the friend :
less, pennyless, selfish men who &C
to make up the citizenship of a city
| today. When we walk its streets, visit
| Its tenement houses and see the poor
| the lame, the halt. the blind and the
tempted, we, too, must be moved with
compassion and give him the helping
hand. Christ visited Capernaum, city
of great advantages. The people turned
their backs, scoffed Him, rejected Hirr.
But the Savior of men turned not
against the people who scorned Him.
He stood and wept over the city How
many of us do that? How many weep
over the fallen, the drunkard, the
gambler, the outcast, the homeless?
Prayer Needed
"The second thing needed for the up
lift of ths city is prayer. Me must
go down upon our knees before God
and ask his aid in lettering conditions
about us. We daily read many criti-
eisms on the morals of. the city, on pro-
family used.N on drunk in tho
Streets and on robberies and murder S
committed. How many spend hours in
prayer for the salvation of these peo-
pie Christ prayed for Capernaum. He
spent .the night upon His knees by tho
side of a rock praying for fallen women.
the poor and sick and devil possessed
men.
'In the third place the betterment OF
our city can be best obtained by bet
tering ourselves. Let us dead pure lives
ourselves, and the city must necessarily
be pure.
we set the standard. Am L pure
Is my life clean? Is my life white
Am I straight? The sinful man reads
our lives-tlie only Bible he has. The
life of the Christian is his greatest SER
mon. Young men look at old men. Ii
the old man makes a short cut in busi-
ness, the young man thinks he can.
Men should take knowledge that we
have been with Christ. David would
not have cried oh, Absolum, Absolum.
would l had died for theen if his early
| life had been clean.
THE worldly mans life, the Cody
mans life, the life of city, the po-
| litca1 life, the church and the home lille
and the business life, mans clean living
all these must combine to make our
city what we hope and pray for ii to
be. Not a clean life on Sunday and a
black life on Monday. The city ism {
! better than the people in 1t. We must
| he out and out for God, for morality
and truth We must stand up for
Christ, for purity in public life. and
cleanliness in private and business life.
Be Positive
| "And in addition to this, which brings
/ me to the fourth and last thought of
my text, we must lead positive dives.
Christ said he that Is not for Me is
against Me- We cannot serve God anil
| the world. Drunkards and harlots need
| our sympathy. If We as men would
! live right and be out and out against
sin against the devil and hell, we could
influence others. A thing is right or It
is wrong. The world watches us as
| Christians as the eagle watches It's
prey. DO I try to rescue the fallen
| Do / put my arms about the would-be
fsuicide and beg him to refrain2 Do
tell him of Jesus? Or do l give my in
| huence to encourage the liquor traffic
and then refuse to hire the man who
drinks? DO / live in the theatre during
the week and try to lead man 10
Christ on Sunday? Do L skin him in
business deal on Monday and lend
him song book in my pew on Sun
day? Where is my light as a Chris
tan? Is 1T under a bushel?
"Am / living for others, or am /
living for myself? Am I living to glo-
rify God or for big salary?"
DR.. Bryan. in the course of his ser
mon took occasion to mention the pres
| ent internal civil strife in Birmingham
and pointed out that here the Chris
| tian influence of those who have the
control of the city in hand might be
of great value in reaching a peaceful
| solution. He illustrated his message
with striking examples of everyday
life and urged the individual in daily
| life to add mite toward betterins
the city's condition. -