The Washington herald., 1917-09-02
The Herald's Sunday Sermon

III 49, eeSS SSes -
The Herald's Sunday sermon was
! written by the Rev. William A. Wade.
J pastor Of st. Marks Lutheran Church
Of this city.
Grace, mercy and peace be unto you
from God the Father and Our Loro
Jesus Christ. Amen.
THE GLORY OF THE CHURCH.
Text, Jeremiah 33:s-"And 1t shall be
to me q name of JOY, a praise and an
honor before all the nations of tho
EARTH
Is il not comforting to turn away
from the dreadful things which We
are hearing and seeing and reading
about, and listen to the message OF
the church which brings comfort,
sympathy, love. mercy. peace. joy ana
! salvation? The Christian ministry has
been ordained for the preaching OF
! the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that
alone, and the divine purpose OF the
church in the world is to save sinfui
! man.
Our text is a striking one. Israei
| "a in bondage. The prophet Jeremiah
rs in prison because of his prophesying
against Israel. God is speaking
J through His prophet to the people.
! and His message is beautiful and COM
forting. What He here promises the
Jews finds its fulfilment, not in the
Jews alone nor at all, till they submit
to the Christian influence.
Sees Israel Restored.
Looking down through the ages, die
sees Israel restored, the Temple re-
builded and worship resumed. and he
speaks through His servant in the
words of the text. Yes, He sees more
than that. In His great vision He
sees the coming Of Jesus Christ. HIS
only begotten Son, the true Branch OF
| Righteousness, and He then says in
the words of the prophet, land 1t,
! Israel, yes, the church Of the Living
Christ, shall be to me a name OF JOY,
a praise and an honor before all the
nations of the earth"
The text suggests the theme of the
glory Of the church, and may we add,
that this is the greatest thought in
the mind and heart of Almighty God.
We can conceive of nothing higher
and more noble than the glory of the
church. The church Is to God a name
of JOY, and 1t is a praise and an
honor of God, before all the nations
of the earth. We admire a beautiful
picture for its real value. and at the
same time 1t reflects the skill and
power of the artist. So the church in
the world must reflect the honor Of
| God.
| Origin of the Church.
| Let us in the first place. therefore,
| notice the origin of the church. We
do not find the Christian Church in
| the Old Testament God was specif1c
in telling Moses how he should
build the tabernacle and arrange
all parts and places. and out OF this
grew the Temple with its splendid
and glorious appearance. Later we
| have the synagogue. and God met
with and blessed His people here.
! But still we have no church. Finally
in the fullness of time Christ came
| in all the glory of God to bring
! light and life and joy. For some
years He walked among men and
| taught them and healed them and
blessed them, and declared Himself
/ to be the Savior of the world. He
/ called unto Him twelve apostles and
taught them, but still there was no
! church. He later sent the disciples
| out to preach and teach, but there
was no church. He went to Jeru-
salem and was cruelty treated, be-
| trayed and denied. At last He suf-
! fered death upon the cross at the
! hands of those whom He loved and
| for whom He came. He WAS buried,
and after three days He arose. He
ascended to His Father, and still
there was no church.
Time Was Unique.
The time came unique in the his
| tory of the race. On the day OF
Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon
those believing disciples, and Peter
preached that memorable sermon.
and three thousand souls were bap-
tized and received the gift of the
Holy Ghost. On that day the church
was organized and born. 1t was
not planned by men, but it was the
divine plan of God Himself. 1t is
not strange that 1t endures always.
| And what shall we say. in the
second place. about the membership
of the church? There are those who
| would have us believe that only
! those who subscribe to the doctrines
and traditions OF one particular
] church are members of the Church
, of Christ. There have been those
so narrow as to say that we must
| belong to one certain denomination
! in order to be enrolled in the
| church. But this is narrow and
false. We learn from the Word OF
i God that the church Is the whole
body of Christian believers, regard
|