Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1915-08-23
WARNING NATIONS SHOULD
LAY DOWN ARMS
Rev. Irving n. Berg of Hartford at
Broadway Union Service Sunday.

The fifth of the union services was
held Sunday morning at the Broad
way congregational church. An eX-
| cellent sermon was given by Rev. Irv-
ing H. Berg. pastor of the South Con-
| gregational church in Hartford. His
address was taken from Acts 21:13:
Then Paul answered, What mean We
! to weep and to break mine heart Z?
For am ready not to be bound only
but also to die at Jerusalem for the
name of the Lord Jesus This was
no idle boast, as was afterwards
| proved. 1t is IN effective scene which
| is portrayed here by Luke Paul and
| his company gather the people togeth-
err in each place they visit to give
instruction to the elders and for a
farewell. And as the little group
passes through each town the people
| try to urge him not to go up to Jeru-
salem and follow him even to the
! seashore as he departs.
The Courage of the Commonplace.
The sixth verse gives us a flash of
| illumination upon all life and history
when it tells of their going back home
| again. The people went home to the
| every day and commonplace. There
is a world Of comfort in the Bibles
i understanding of human nature and
the sympathy shown for those who
| must return to the everyday instead
of going on to be the valiant hero like
\ II
| who said as he lay dying a year ago:
Let France live, 1 die that my coun-
try may live!" will find a response in
| the hearts of French boys hereafter
equally as does Nathan Hale in the
American boys heart, because he re-
| GREETED that he had only one life to
/ give for his country.
| The Greatest of LoyaIties.
| Yet here in Paul is a champion of
| the faith greater than these-greater
| than any excepting those who have
| also died for the same faith. For
loyalty to God is greater than patriot
ism to country. As another book
prompted Prof. Royce to write his
Philosophy of Loyalty, so this in turn
prompts Rev. Mr.. Berg to other things
which Prof. Royce neglected to say.
He stopped short of a climax in his
arguments do all those who do not
bring the personality of Christ into
| it. Without this there is no ade-
quate solution to the problems of to-
| day.
What the World Needs Most.
| What the world needs most today is
| loyalty and devotion to the cause of
Jesus Christ. We are told that 10y
atty to family and friends is universal.
But is it so easy? History is full of
examples of parents and children, hus-
bands and wives who have betrayed
| each other. Too often a mans enc
mics have been those of his own
household and loyalty a rare gift. Yet
| even animals have shown Us what it
| may be like. The mother instinct
| is a part of loyalty-but it is not big
| enough. Then there is loyalty to
country. Whatever we may say, we
| are really neutral in our hearts We
| see the love of country shown by
| every nation now at war and have
most respect for that of Belgium. We
are showing our own patriotism now
| at Plattsburg and in our feeling that
if trouble came to US, all hyphens must
disappear over night-or the typhen-
ates themselves disappear But there
is something greater than this. st.
Paul was greater than kaiser, king
or potentate.
Mans Greatest Accomplishment.
| Loyalty to God is the greatest ac-
| complishment of which man is capable.
The Bible says SO and the proof is
readable in all history. We are told
to desert family or lands for Christ.
Lands! Property! Here is the rea-
son for much disloyaltyl Righteous
ness is the cause of humanity and f1u-
mainly is more important than patri-
| jtism. Some Of the warning nations
| ought to lay down their arms today
! for the sake of humanity. Christian
/ ity Is the only common sense cause to-
| day. The way to get this loyalty is to
| have fellowship with Christ. Il is also
] necessary to believe in the ultimate