The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1921-12-05
STORY OFF TRANSPORTATION
is SUBJECT OF DIR. KELLY

! The story of the TRANSPORTATION. as
told in the seventeenth chapter of the
gospel. according to Matthew. formed
the basis of the sermon preached by
Dr. Robert i. Kelly. president OF
Earlham college, and executive sec
rotary of the American Associatiox
the First Methodist church Sunday
morning in the absence of DR.. George
! r. Stuart. the pastor.
Il come into your presence this
morning and into this holy place as
stranger in the flesh to almost all
| of you. but have been here long
| enough already to see with my
! spiritual vision and hear with my
| spiritual ears my kinship with you"
| said DIR. Kelly in opening his sermon.
II extend to you the invitation this
morning to go with me up to the top
| of the mountain of Heron, the noun
tain of TRANSPORTATION. I do not ex-
/ tend this invitation to the Mount of
! TRANSPORTATION In my own name, but
in the name of our elder brother. And
yet with the blessings which sur
round you In this wonderful city, 1
feel that Jesus, II He were here. would
feel prompted to invite all of you to
come to the top of the mountain of
! transformation.
7 am not competent now to tell
you what that scene of transfigJfra-
ton all meant for the Apostles and
the church, but as the years have gone
on, I have caught glimpses of what
1t meant. OF course. there are some
who declare that 1t was merely in full
! fillment Of certain prophecies regard
ing the prophet Elias and other
4 r1ranh0riad ht,f -
more than that. Jesus interests did
not center in self His thoughts were
| OF others. He looked down the ages
and saw you and me and millions of
others. He saw there was one thing.
| those three beloved disciples needed
more than anything. and that was a
! glimpse of His face, a real vision of
| the nature of His kingdom. These
men had dark days ahead of them.
| There was coming a day when the
| Pharisees, scribes and priests would
Hdenounce Jesus to His face, when the
people would forsake Him when the
machinery of hell would center. upon
Him and He would be dragged
through the streets and crucified.
Needed Experiences
He knew the time would come
when Peter and James and John
would need the reinsurance OF such
an experience as this one on Mount
TRANSPORTATION. Jesus was willing
to implant that message into their
hearts and then risk the conse-
quences,"
DR.. Kelly, In the course of his SER
mon, told of some of his early uni
fversity experiences when his instruc-
tors in philosophy and psychology
were not Christians and would quote
from philosophers directly opposed to
the teaching and principles of Christ,
and he declared that IL he had not
had hts own Christian experience ne
would have been swept off his feet
spiritually.
That illustrates one of the reasons
why Jesus wanted these men to have
one experience, which would be theirs
throughout their lives" said DR..
Kelly.
at was a distinguished company
which gathered on the Mountain of
Transfiguration. There was Moses
and Elijah, representing the church
triumphant. Who was Moses? He
was the great lawyer and law giver.
whose laws have been embodied into
those of every civilized nation. Elijah
was the representative OF the educa-
tional institutions of his days, a rep
resentative ofNthe prophets, the great
est prophet of them all. And there
was Jesus and Peter and James and