Norwich bulletin., 1916-11-27


 ed in several of the Norwich church. churches, Central and First, the, pas, tors delivered strong ssermond ion ap-; propriate topics. The sermon at the First Baptist church was delivered in the morning and at the Central Bap- tist church in the evening. A number or the churches of the city will hold a union service on Thanksgiving night at the Second Congregational church and the sermon will be delivered by Rev. Joel B. Slocum. D. D., pastor of the Central Baptist church.
 tractiveness of the evening service at the Central Baptist church Sunday. At the offertory Miss Maxon of West erly rendered a violin solo and after the sermon and MT. Nye. also of Westerly, rendered duet, the form CT playing the violin and the latter Rev. pr. Slocum took for his text Luke 15:24
 That was a great Thanksgiving din ner, said Rev. Dr. Slocum. .tJoy ran around the table. Joy flashed from from the conferences of the family tWith the possible exception of the older hrother). Even stranger pass ing that way would have known tha. something unusual had happened. Even casual pasSerby would have seen, in a moment, that in the midst or that household there was one who was the cause of the rejoicing It was the one upon whom all eyes were fastened-the yo.lng man of the far country who had returned and who had received the fathers forgiveness and who was now fully restored to the affections of father and mother and relatives and friends
 This was why they made merry It was not the killed calf but the alive son that made the reunion a festival time in that home. .54
 Deep Shadows and High Lights.
 In this old story there Are deep shadows and high lights. It is full of strong contrasts
 Worldly goods, the demand for them the subsequent possession of them and the desire to use them for pleasure and se1 indulgence led to the downfall of the young man. I hen the lack of material things, the absolute want that plnched his body until his soul cried oule-1nls was the occasion of that re- morse and repentance that drove him back to the old home. Then he finds himself not only 1einstated, but the object of great rejoicing and the,oc- caslon for q festival of thanksgiving, As nave said. :he material things of IeAi III W He&n G&-eltii sTIltOz ser Vlce-thls time not to be sold in order to provide money for t1e young man about to leave home but to je brought into feast in recognition of his return and his solemn desire to wander no more into the. far country. You see the difference. ---,-~os
 At the opening of .ais career he in sisted that material things should he used to help forward his sinful pas slons, his selfish ambitions; Now, broken in spirit and spent in body. the old farm With it's wholesome products VIII serve to bring him back tc an of the proper relation ba- tween goods and goodness. sWorldiy hossessions are a?t il. themseft es .sfrfe,l fuI. It is only when theE ai.aFIfleyotaa to the prosecution cf sinful projects i that they are to he condemned
 The Tragedy of a Soul.
 Whatever part fortune, handed over to a reckless, dissipat pation-loving youth by en indulgsat Gather. ;1.,-vs in this story, il is essentially the tragedy of a soul That soul criiId not be nourished on farm nrodr1cts. l put It Insisted OF using those 45roiucts 1 or the equivalent of them forTzits ownf sin1ul lnculgence. And there came a l line when the great paA master came l around to bay off iiis employees. He lad made severa; prior visits and each lme he 1ad left an envelope On one |f the. earlier of these there was writ | en this amount oEly it was in terms 'f words rather than in figures: Loss 1 'L soclaI position. Later there was still another bore t!:is depressing sug- sestlon; Loss 'f self respect" And | % It went on until ne found himself l n rags, in lirest poverty, in famishine lunger-out in .he field,s as a keener | ,L sWine' kird Of service that he vould nave most heartily despised at lome. Then one day ,loe paymaster anne and held out to him ore more as a result of his sinf1iI | 'areer. As the young. man took the i, envelope in his trembling hand he loted one word only inscribed tfere-l ne ne WoTa Death. As the messenger vent away he turned back ard said: ou are not obliged to open that low. If you do. you sha1i die. Ton lave one more chance"
 After all, it vas a logical conclu-1 'ion. There is only one wage paid for m, ana sooner O. later it comes to | nat, namely, death.
 The Gateway to Destruction.
 So the young wreck of fellow be- gan to think, for he could still do | hat. It is often the gateway to de- tructlon, this thing we call lhinIfnp F out In his case it was the door into a lew hfe. No one knows the agony .Ai ouSA "uiCn He passed nor how long he vigils that like avenging angels itood over his soul But by and hv le came to himself. And when he did le began the long journey hack home, Cou know the rest of the story.
 l have taken text at that point in he narrative that may be called the limax of the feast-the time follow ng the f1rsr wild rartures of emotion n the consciousness of foreiveness, he time when wholesome food which Q long had been denied him. and lome6 and loved ones ard friends aII lad their. share in lifting his spirits o great pinnacle of exaltation. Tn he beautiful narrative in Luke where long this story is recorded, the enn 'hasis is placed not upon the feast ut upon the fact that the occasion of | was the recovery of lost boy: For his my son was dead and is alive gam; he was lost and is found, And hey began to be merry"
 AS we gather about our Thankssiv- ag tables this week, let us remember nat there are two classes of things hat should call forth our gratitude. me class connects itself with material nlngs and the other relates to God nd Christ and a!l the provisions of race for the spiritual life. The two cts or things are not mutually exclu-