The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-28
GLORIOUS FINISH
 HSERM0N THEME
 BY DR. DILLARD
Pastor Relates Achieve ments Of SOuthside
 Baptist Church
Dr. James E. billiard, pastor of the Southside Baptist church, tells why he chose "A Glorious Finish" for his Sunday mornings sermon SnhiAcf

q chose "A Glorious Finish as the subject of my Sunday morning ser mon," said Dr. billiard, because of its fitness to the season and because of the closing of the great 75 Million Cam paign on December 31. And for the further reason that we want our church to finish up in a great way the old program before entering upon the new program which begins January l. -&hink failure to finish this old pro- gram would greatly delay if not render impossible the new program we are contemplating.
 'The Southside church has made a great record the last five years. When the 75 Million Campaign was launched we were asked to contribute $1O0, ,OOO of this amount. We subscribed $225,- GOO. We have already sent in, in cash to this fund more than 100000 and several thousand more to the ob- iects included have been sent direct, for which we claim credit. In addition the church has contributed another $1OO,OO0 to inter-denominational and non-denominational missions and benev- olences, for which no credit is asked And during the same five year period we have built one new church house. helped build several others and spent $165, ,O00 on current expenses, including the purchase and remOdeling of the new Sunday school annex. In other words the church during this period has raised and expended a total of about half a million dollars. Not so bad is it?
 "Now you can see why 1 am anxious over finishing this thing up. We have reputation to sustain. We are in the habit of doing what we say we are go ing to do. I would rather fail myself than to have my church fail.
 "We are going to pay every dollar of our pledge. l am asking all my mem bers to help me right now. I want ev' cry dollar in hand by five o'clock De. cember 31. And I want enough more to pay the deficit on current expenses and finish paying for our new property Then we can proceed with our new building. We hope to break dirt this coming spring.
 "Of course we have been blessed 1T many ways, but l have been speaking especially of finances, for after all tho test of a man as a church, is how fl nancial obligations are met. God keeps books. No man or church can cheat God and prosper long."-
 Choice Of Tests
 Dr. billiard said that he would ust as his subject AIoffatt's translation oi Second Corinthians 8:11, which is as follows: Now carry it through, SC that your readiness to take it up may be equalled by the way you carry il | though--so far as your means allow. Speaking of the texts of scripture! used by him, when preaching on th' importance of the success of the $75,000 900 campaign of the Baptists, for thu | past four years Dr. billiard said: ''The first year, I used the text fount in Second Corinthians S-7 according t' Moffatt's translation: Now then, yol are to the front in everything-in utter ance-in knowledge-in zeal-in love do come to the front in this gracious enterprise as well. And my congre gation did come to the front for tn, | $75,000,00O.
 'The second year, l used Second Co rinthians SIS Moffatt's translation a. follows: I am not issuing any orders only using the zeal of others to prov, how sterling your own love is' And the result was we paid ever. dollar due up to that time.
 ''The third year I used Second Co rinthians Sl0, Moffatt's translation. I is to your interest to go on with thi enterprise, for you started it.
 And we got across that time," adde' the minister.
 'The fourth year. again l turned t | Second Corinthians 9-2. I am prOu' of it; I have boasted of you and you zeal has been a stimulus to others An, we went over the top the fourth year,