The Penn's Grove record., 1921-02-11
A CHURCH WITH A HISTORY
Historic Sermon of Emmanuel NJ. Z.
Church, Penns Grove
By Rev. Ralph S. Carlisle, Pastor.
Emmanuel Anniversary

Emmanuel Anniversary
The service last Sunday night, Feb
ruary 6, 1921, was attended by a large
audience to hear the singing and the
sermon by the pastor, Rev. Ralph S.
Carlisle.
He took his text from Numbers
1928.
According it shall be said of Jacob
and of Israel. What hath God
wrought" He said, in part:
The Israelites were on their way to
the conquest of Canaan. Balak, King
of Moab, seeing their great number
and their success against other tribes
became concerned and afraid of them.
Balak sent for Balaam, a diviner, and
hired him to pronounce a curse on Is
rael, but every time BALKAN opened
his mouth he pronounced a blessing in
stead of a curse. The words of the
text occurs in one of these utterances.
1t is a prophecy, according to this
time. 1t shall be said: "What hath
God wrought" is an exclamation and
not a question.
We may apply them to present oc-
casion of the 18th anniversary as they
have previously been applied by the
historian of the Church and former
pastors.
They imply that God had blessed
Israel. From the time that Jehovah
had blessed Jacob and changed his
name to Israel because of his faith
which was counted to him righteous
ness, to this day God has blessed his
people so that their enemies are con-
founded like Balak, and exclaimed like
Balaam, "What hath God wrought"
We read sacred history and we learn
that Gods children have been blessed
and delivered from civic bondage and
from the bondage of sin. He guided
Isaac and Jacob, the patriarchs;
Moses, the deliverer and law-giver;
David, the great King and Psalm
writer; Solomon, the wise King, who
made the glories of Israel a wonder
to all pagan nations. Isaiah, jeremiah,
Amos, Ezekiel, Daniel and other great
prophets and leaders are the out
standing symbols of what God wrought
among and with his chosen people.
So God builded a Church here
seventy-fye years Ago., thru the in
~strumentality of faithful men and
women Of Israel in this region. Men
and women who were inspired by the
spiritual blessing of Jehovah, and who
prayed for the blessing on their
neighbors. They gave their thought
time and money to build a spiritual
home for their social religion of faith
full folks who have been foremost now
nearing a century whose Cody lives
have raised and set the highest moral
standard of living in this region.
A long list of Gods ministers are
recorded as having been the honored
preachers, who labored to save the
souls from sin who become honored
heads of families and leaders in the
community in Church and State. ]
am glad to have my name in that list
of having been a pastor of Emmanuel
Church, a Church which has a history,
The fathers and mothers, grand
fathers and grandmothers who were
leaders of history now lie in the
churchyard. Their holy lives make
it hallowed ground to the children and
great grandchildren, who have rever-
ence for old Emmanuel, the spiritual
home of their ancestors. Shall we love
it less than they did for their friends,
neighbors and the righteous good OF
the community? They were faithful
into death. Why should not we be
who follow aftea them?
Their fervent prayers went up be-
tween these walls and were answered.
Their songs of joy made people happy.
They are now in the spirit world
around us. When called home they
may ask the question: "My son, my
daughter, were you faithful to old
Emmanuel" What will be the an
swer?
| sing a song to the faithful ones
dead and living, to the Pastors, Trus-
tees, Stewards, Glass Leaders, Sunday
School Superintendent, Teachers and
all faithful ones for the building up
of Gods Kingdom in Penns Grove.
The list of faithful one make a glorl-
GUS record to pass down thru the ages
| of this region as much as the leaders
of Israel in their day.
God wrought great things thru
Israel. Jehovah told Abraham, In
thy seed shall all nations be blessed"
Israel gave monotheism, the doctrine
of one God, Jehovah, to the world.
We received the moral law thru
Moses, their leader, but the greatest
of all descendants of Israel, is Jesus
of Nazareth, the Christ, whose sacr,
flee on the cross made a full blood
atonement for the Jews and Gentlles.
And we all have the benefit thru that
faith which was Abraham's, which ne
received when he wrestled with God
and was revealed to Moses in the fam
ing bushes.
What hath God wrought thru En-.
manuel Church for Penns Grove!
The word Emmanuel means, God
with us" Surely He has been with
us for seventy-fve years or there
would never be a Church with such a
history.
Emmanuel Church was born in al
revival. She began with a class OF
nine members with John Boqua leader.
A woods meeting was held in Septem-
Der, 1886, which started the enthusi-
L - I--s-- III x1nfar |