South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1921-03-09
M'QUARY RELATES
REASONS FOR HIS
RELIGIOUS BELIEF
Large Audience Hears Sermon
at Union Evangelistic
Meeting.

The Union Evangehstic meetings
now being conducted by the First
Baptist church and the First Christ
ian church continue to grow in in
terest In spite Of uufavorable
weather last evening a large crowd
was present 10 hear the gospel mes
sage and take part in the congrega-
tional singing led by A D. George.
Rev. r. l.. McQuary preached on
the subject. why 1 Believe in the
Church" He said, Some will say
because l am a minister and that is
my business But l want 10 say
that I would not be a minister If
did not believe in the church first.
The church has a glorious past.
For 1000 years she has been the
hope and inspiration Of millions.
She has nurtured saints. established
schools and hospitals and orphan
ages, extended civilization, cham
pioned and secured reforms. But
the church does not rest on her
laurels. She has a greater claim
upon us than the claims Of history.
The church stands today as a funda-
mental necessity for the present and
the future.
Il believe in the church because
She exalts the spiritual aims of life
amid the crushing pressure Of ma
terial pursuits. We are living in an
age when man has augmented his
4 l.
he controls the energies of the uni
verse. His hand he has extended
into the club, the ak, the tools Of
industry. the machinery Of the fac
tory. He has added the speed Of
his legs. He has sent his voice and
hearing over the earth by means OF
the telephone and telegraph. This
big body Of man must have a CORE
spending acknowledgements. The
church tells man that he has a soul,
that he is a soul, and endeavOrs TO
care for his soul growth. The task
OF keeping alive the consciousness
of God by means OF worship and
work the church takes up. The
church supplies worthy causes with
in aspiration and moral energy. Many
worthy social causes would perish
from the earth were it not for the
inspirational dynamic furnished to
them by the churches. The church
saves the world from moral sag.
"I believe in the church because
il has been the church that taught
men the ideal Of service. This was
the ideal OF the life OF Jesus and
the church is the projection Of his
multiplied life into history. The
church has made her mistakes. but
there has always been a saving rem
nant who have held 10 the Ideals of
the unselfish Master. The ideals OF
modern bushes. governments, and
other institutions are rapidly COM
ing TO approximate the ideal Of
service. The preservation CT this
ideal we owe 20 the church.
II believe in the church because
she is the Guardian OF a message
which has permanent value, the
message that God and man are in
the same image. which message be-
came flesh in the life Of Jesus the
Christ. No other institution has
such principle for its foundation.
Others are based upon the idea that
men are brothers and bound up to-
gether. but only Christianity holds
out the hope for broken humanity
contained In the message Of the Cos
pei The gospel appears, not as a
beautiful theory OF lire-it is life.
Il IS power unto salvation 10 them
that believe.
IF the church is necessary 10 our
individual and social well being no
right thinking individual will with
hold himself from Il. We are the
church Its weaknesses are the
weaknesses OF human nature. The