The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-07
CHURCH AMBITION SENATORS CHOSEN FUR CONGREGAT JUN BY FEW VOTERS
Dr. Hobbs Of First Baptist Urges Unceasing
 Effort

6ubVUS
 Shan 1t be that the greatest city in the south shall not lead with the greatest downtown Baptist church in the south?"
 This was the question put to his congregation Sunday morning by Dr, J. R. Hobbs. pastor of the First Bap- tist church. while urging them to in- stitute now program to cover five or ten years, with the object of mak- ing the First Baptist church of Bir- mingham the outstanding Baptist church in the south.
 Because the city is growing. this church has to grow" declared the pastor. Being a downtown church, greater responsibility rests on 1t than the other Baptist churches of the city. The responsibility of this church is to show forth in Birming- ham what the Baptist denomination gers to the city will get their i'm pression of the Baptists from this church, and if 1t is doing things in big way, they will believe the Bap- lists a great denomination"
 Taking for his morning lesson the Thirteenth chapter of Numbers, and for his text the last part of 4he last verse, And We were in our own sight as grasshoppers. and so were we in their sight" Dr. Hobbs traced the sending of the 12 spies into the Land of Promise by Moses, when they had reached the borderland. and the varying reports brought back by Caleb and Joshua, and by the other 10.
 Pointing out the great controversy that arose because of the reports, with the result that the children of Israel decided not to try to under take the passage into the Promised Land, the speaker drew the conclu- sion that these people failed because they were not willing to attempt to accomplish something for which their own physical strength was not suffi- cient.
 "Why were the spies sent into the land?" asked Dr. Hobbs. He an- swered his question by saying that it was necessary that the Israelites go into the new country having con- fidence in God, and to have confi- dence means to have faith. not blind faith. but to know what one is doing. "A man has faith when he knows clared Dr. Hobbs. land therefore Moses sent spies. Had they gone in then. it would have been through faith"
 Business Viewpoint.
 '"The two sets of spies and their reports are interesting" said Dr. Hobbs. "We should not condemn the set who brought an unfavorable re- port These spies were the pick and cream of the manhood of the Israeli ties. The trouble was not with the men or their righteousness of heart, but with their viewpoint. They saw from the point of view of the busi- ness man, and from that point they judged the land alright, for nothing but certain defeat stared them in the face if they went up to meet those giants in their walled cities.
 Their attitude as compared with that may be applied to many to- day. To succeed. the business man must be conservative and judge ac curately. When such men are se- God. they do so from the point of view of the business man. For this they should not be criticised, for they judge honestly from their point of view and nine times out of 10 they are right.
 The mistake made by the 10 that the two didn't, was this: Caleb and Joshua saw all that the others saw, but they also recognized that to go into this job would be with the strength of the Almighty God, and not on the strength of the Israelites alone"
 There are no victories of faith wrought by men in this world who have the strength to do 1t by them selves, pointed out Dr. Hobbs. It to see except from the conservative standpoint. and so many people have never let God have a chance in their lives, because they never undertake anything too big to be done by them selves.
 Draws Parallel.
 Drawing a parallel between the First Baptist church and the Chil- dren of Israel, Dr. Hobbs showed church had also been moving for ward, and that now, as the Israelites, 1t was standing on the borderland of greater achieyements than 1t had al ready accomplished. He declared that this church should become one of the greatest churches in the coun- try, and that there was nothing to keep it from this but a disposition among the members to be un- willing to undertake something big ger than they can accomplish with their own strength.
 Everything goes to prove that Birmingham Is the greatest city in the south." said pr. Hobbs, land for this reason, 1t should have the greatest Baptist church in the south.
 
 of us. Shall it be that the greatest city in the south shall not lead with the greatest downtown church? That is question for you and me to think about"
 In urging the membership to launch a program to make the First Baptist church of Birmingham the outstanding one of it's denomination in the south. Dr. Hobbs declared a willingness to lay all his physical, mental and spiritual strength to the achievement of that program.
 In conclusion, he said: We are now on the borderland. and can't put this off any longer. We must map out program for bigger things"
 Dr. Hobbs expressed belief that the Baptists would do this. with the result that all the country would say: There is a church that did not fail to seize it's opportunity"
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