Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1915-05-07

Then The evangelist began his open
ing sermon. 1t was brief. pointed.
practical and altogether informal.
Wen just get acquainted tonight.
he declared. with the smile on his face
which soon became familiar to his au-
ditors. Il am here t help you. /
want to do my part In building up
Gods kingdom on earth. and If God
can build his Kingdom better with me
in my coffin | won't kick. Let Gods
kingdom come. no matter what the
consequences may be.
I'VE viii make a good deal of sing
ing in this campaign" he continued.
"There is great virtue in song. Great
revivals never come without song.
Song is the ennobling element that
contributes to successful religious
awakenings. Song and reviyals are
inseparable. | don't mean the kind
that takes the diaphram exercises to
produce here illustrating in a vivid
way the gyrations that singers of elias
steal and high class music usually go
through. There was considerable laugh
Ter among the audience.
That's right commented Mr.. Sun
day. You don't need to be afraid of
laughing in my meetings. There is no
command of God Thou shalt not
laugh but some people think they are
not religious unless their faces are as
long as a horses face
The audience was getting on friend
ly terms with the speaker and he con-
tinued In a more earnest tone:
I'VE need a revival of the old time
religion in Bronson, and | am going to
preach the old gospel. l am an old
fashioned preacher. of the old fash
Toned gospel HAT has warmed this old
world for years, the gospel of Calvary,
of salvation and of atonement-
I'VE need to begin these meetings
right" exclaimed the speaker. If you
want a revival Of religion to come to
Bronson you just take a piece of chalk
and draw a circle around yourself and
ask the Lord to begin inside that cir
cle.''
Here MIR. Sunday showed how to do
1t, using u genuine piece of chalk and
making IL ring with it in the brussels
carpet which covered the platform.
think of the drunkenness, the mis-
cry. the lust. the gambling and the sin
in Bronson he shouted. .'Think of
the vice. the want and the squalor;
think of the mountains of guilt In this
city. They will not 10Y easily. You've
got to pray. This is a cause to de-
mand human laborers, and say 1t
reverently. if God can't get human
agents to do his work it will go I'M
DONE
He also chided inconsistent church
members with their failures to live the
right kind of lives before the world.
..The bad sermons people preach with
their lives he proclaimed, "overrate
the influence of good M from
the pulpit. You pray one day and
cheat somebody in a horse trade the
next day. l can tell more aboHs your
religion by trading horses with you on
Thursday than by hearing you yell
.Ameng in the prayer meeting on We'd
nesday night"
There were a number of the eager
listeners who nodded their heads at
this saying. and Billy noticed it at
once.
"That's right" he declared; you
know | am telling you the truth. l
have come to Bronson to speak the
truth. and l will speak It. You have
a gang here. | know, for there is a
gang in every town, but l am not
afraid of them. ! never back pedaled
for any gang yet. and | WILL"
This emphatic statement was greet
ed with applause, and George Cald-
well Just happened to glance out into
the audience and saw Bud McCrea
sitting near a side door not far from
the front. The dark scowl on Nc
Crea's face as he heard the evangelist
bid defiance to the gang was plainly
visible.
The speaker walked up and down
the platform as he continued:
81 knew a nan down In Illinois who
Used to yell 'Amen!. at the prayer
meetings and paid his washerwoman
so cents for doing the washing One
day he invited her to dinner, and then
the miserable old scalawag docked her
25 cents for the dinner when it came
to pay for the washing. A little later
during a revival meeting the old skin
flint scoundrel had the nerve to go up
to the woman and ask her to be a
Christian.
"sYou go to the devilF was the re-
ply she gave him. and l don't wonder
at It"
Reginald Nelson listened with grow
ing interest to the kind Of gospel
which MI. Sunday had come to pro.
claim in Bronson. and as he heard this
story he said to himself, If he keeps
on in that way Billy will get me into
the ranks before he is through"