Bogalusa enterprise and American. (Bogalusa, La.) 1918-19??, 1921-01-06
Large Audience
Hears Fine Sermon

H1OAS ever QeuVereQ IN b0galuSa was
at the First Baptist Church on Sun
day when Rev. T. w. darlington de.
! livered a sermon on 'The Old Year
and the New" and, despite the incle.
ment weather, he was created by a
congregation which taxed the ca
pacity of the church. Following is q
| synopsis of the sermon.
''The Old Year and the New"
Text-Philippians 3:13: Forget.
ting those things which are behind
| and reaching forth unto those things
which are before"
The River of Forgetfulness
Forgetting those things which are
behind"
In Greek mythology the souls of
the guiltless abode in the Elysian
fields-the land Of sunlight and
song. Hard by these fields flowed
the River of Lethe, or River of For
getfulness. From this the souls that
were to return to earth in other
bodies could drink and forget their
former lives.
In the spiritual life a certain
amount and kind of forgetfulness is
necessary to secure the greatest prog
ress. In beginning the New Year let
US drink deep of this river and re-
peat the process each new day.
The Book of Yesterday held four
chapters which it were best for Paul
to forget:
First Chapter-His Sins
If God is good enough to forgive,
we should forget our sins. If We
repent He says, II will cast them be-
hind my back" and 81 will separate
them from you as far as the East is
from the West" Paul had been a
great sinner, even a murderer, in
the name of conscience, yet he re-
fuses to let even this cause him to
give up in despair.
Second Chapter-His Failures
We can all now recall many mis-
takes and failures we have made
during the past year, but we cannot
afford to brood over these, lest we
hinder our progress for the future.
We will think of these only long
enough to insure that we do not
make the same mistakes again. AS
we look back, our hearts cry out as
did the heart of the old painter of
Sienna, when he had just finished
his masterpiece, "God forgive me
that l did not do it better"
Third ChaPter-His Joys and Sor-
rows
AS to the joys, there are greater
joys before US than we ever yet
hoped for, if we only take advan-
tage of the greater and brighter OPP
portunitiese for service that the fu-
ture holds in stores for US; as to the
sorrows, we are assured grace suffi-
cient for every such experience, be-
sides, it is grievous sin to brood
over our past sorrows and nurse our
griefs.
Fourth Chapter-His Success and At
tainments
Paul had great distinctions as
Hebrew scholar. In his missionary la
bors and achievements he is still
without a peer. Yet, unlike a miser,
he is not content to sit down and
count his store of wealth day by day.
He resolves to forget the good he has
achieved.
There is always a mighty tempta-
ton to make the past standard,
and so cut down the possibilities of
the present and the future. Salts
faction with the past is always fatal
to future progress. cit is the look
ing back that endangers the climber"
You have wrought well during the |
past year. The great feat that you
have performed in attaining to the |
of having six Al depart
ments in your church gives you a /
record that can hardly be matched by
any other church in the Southern |
Baptist Convention; yet you will not
imperial your future by becoming
with last years achieve
nent. You have reached the goal
Jet for the church for 1920, yet you
will set our 1921 goal far in adj
rance. Not a single department or
Individual has attained around 100
yer cent of efficiency. Paul said,
l have not yet attained" And so,
urely if Paul was not satisfied with
rs great record, you should not be
With yours.
II-Reaching Forward
Reaching forth unto the things
hitch are before"
Paul was old; was in prison; it was
inter; the executioner's AK was be-
lg whetted for his own neck; yet
acre were still greater achievements
nd victories ahead of him than he
ad ever yet attained. He has his
We now on the great and final goal,
nd he is still reaching forth"
Past victoriese should be the ends
battles and the beginning Of real
onquests. each year should make
S mark on Christians as it does on
'ees, by an added circle of growth"
When Thorwalsen, the greatest {
.ulptor of modern times, was asked,
Which is YOUR greatest statue?" He
,plied, "My next one"
Throughout the new year let US
aintain the spirit of Militiades, the
reat Grecian warrior, who hurls his r
slmet into the thick of the enemy
Id fights his way forward until he /
'covers it again and again.
AS we ''forget the things that are
shind, and reach forth unto the
ings that are before" let us try !
remember the wonderful words Of
'hn G. Holland when he said:
We rise by things that are under
our feet;
By what we have mastered of good