The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-10-18
Dr. Edmond's Sermon Yesterday

Dr. Henry NJ. Edmonds pastor of the South Highlands Presbyterian church. in his sermon yesterday morning, took for his text part of the 18th and all of the 18th verse of the Second Epstle of Paul to the Philippians. reading. So. then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed. not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence. work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it Is God who worketh In you both to will and to work for his good pleas ure."
 We have fear and confidence together in one Christian character, said Dr. Ed monds. beginning his sermon. Tn every Christian character there always is 4 nice balance. You never find a man and say there is one who is one thing. We See man sometimes in battle and he Is like Hon, and We soc him at home and and he is gentle, like lamb, and we think we have misjudged him
 Jesus Christ was one of the most in consistent Christian characters of whom we know. Sometime, take pencil and write down the contradictions in the char acter of Christ, seeing Him absolutely dignified, and seeing Him again altogether approachable. even the outcasts coming to Him with a strange lack of fear. Write down gentleness, for no man was so gentle as He. Write down on the OtucI Sioc, Soufdbt. ioi h0 iioh oFNA was courageous as He. Write down activity. for we see Him every day, go- ing about. doing good. Write down medi- tation. worship. for we find Him every where with place to cover Ills head and lie down with his Father, and write down lowliness of mind. and write down exaltation of mind. Here is the servant on the one side and the king on the other.
 See, there are strange and unaccount- able contradictions in the character of Christ Work out your own, salvation with fear and trembling, for 1t Is God who worketh within you both to will and to do for His good pleasufe' The apostle here, when he urges the members of the Phiippi church. to work out their own salvation. bids them beware of them selves.
 Sin Like a Serpent
 "Oh sin is SO crooked. like serpent It steals in the house like serpents, I remember when I was a boy and lived in the country we used to find serpents in the house. but l never saw Une in the act of coming in. They always sneaked in: crept in, unseen. unheard. Sin now Is pushing just that way; just a little bit of an opening in the door. and a small .part of the wedge Is forced in, and presently here is sin preying on the vitals of you, beginning then the work which shall finally result in the crumplng of the splendid column.
 q remember an incident that occurred in a mountain church, when a pastor was trying to convey to the minds of his hearers the awfulness of letting sin creep ln As he began his illustration. column in the center of the church. ciumbled at it's base broke at the middle. and fell with a crash in the aisle of the church. Women screamed. and many sprane to their feet. The pastor calmed them There is my illustration. he said. Worms had eaten st the head Of the column until it could no longer stand. That's the way sin eats at the vitals.
 We are 90 vain; we love the praise of men SO: oh, don't we dike and primp ourselves in order that someone may look on with approval? Don't that sometimes get to the pale of sin?
 We are selfish It Is so easy for us to state the proposition so that it will be favorable to ourselves. It ia SO easy for us to forget our brother in making plans and remember only ourselves. We use sophistry in explanation Of our faults. We are but children grown-up, and our is oftentimes no better than a child's prattle."
 Tells Children About Oyster
 pr. Edmonds' junior sermon to the chill l lren was description of the oyster. He l told the children how the oyster In the l eginning of It's growth was no larger | han thumb-nail; of how 1t grew; of l now 1t fed. and he told them how a grain of sand lodged in one particular oyster | rnc caused 1t no end of trouble The