The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-09-22
INITIAL SERMONb
 DR. |. |. SINGLETON
Pastor of Ensley Baptist Church Addresses Large
 Congregation on Home"

A congregation that filled the Ensley Baptist church to overflowing was pres ent at the service yesterday morning, when the Rev. T. C. Singleton, the new pastor preached his initial sermon.
 pr. Singleton, who is a forcefu speaker, made a deep impression on his hearers and preached a deep and elo- auent sermon, taking for his theme. "The Conservation of the Home.' and said in part:
 If we can utilize the home for God, His kingdom will come in a short time. The home controls the destiny of the na- tions. Here issues flow that will curse and blight humanity, or will delight and bless the families of the nations.
 God has made parents responsible for the home The home life is like the foundation of great structures; it's i'm portance cannot be overestimated. l be- lieve home life is not sufficiently empha- sized. Child life is often overlooked. Children should be trained in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Heredity has much to do with the outcome of the child. l have been interested in two homes and their hstory-1200 descendants from each. From the first one, where ungodly parents ruled, came long line of unuseful men and women; only 2J
 
 theirs in the state pententiary. The home where Godly parents ruled, there came a long line of useful men and women, some 250 college graduates, and scores of college professors, and several college presidents. These are not isolated cases but represent what is continually repeated in history. pr. Broadus mas said: The study of man is child. 1m- pressions made early in life cannot be erased.
 THE POWER OF TRAINING
 q saw recently in a home, picture of an angel bending over a little child in a cradle, as if it would teach the child. God would be glad to do this, but he has left it for parents to do. To teach them the little prayer. and to rev. erence God at the table in asking His blessings upon the food We partake, and then to consecrate the family altar to God. Burns in his "Cotters Saturday Night gives us a picture of humble de- votion to the family altar, where he reads from the old Book, the family Bible, and then on pended knee invokes Gods blessings regardless of circum- stances
 .The attitude of the children toward the churches and the kingdoms work is determined largely by the training of the children in the homes Is there willing ness to sacrifice for God. We might as we'll place the responsibility where it be- longs. Whatsoever man soweth, that shall he also reap.
 '"The tissue of life to be,
 We weave in colors all our own, And in the field of destiny
 We'll reap as we have sown.'
 What are the children reading? This has and will shape many lives. Tenny
 Ii. I by reading the Arabian Knights and so with many of us, we can testify that some good book we have read has influ- enced our lives and made it's impression for all time. Have we made the boy s room comfortable. Perhaps the best of any in the home. This will be much easier than to look out across the dark to, witness the return of a wandering boy.
 How far that little candle throws it's beams of light. so shines a good deed in a naughty world