Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / Sept. 10, 1925, edition 1 / Page 1
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VOL. XL VII. CHARLOTTE, N. C, .L MAKE YOU FREE.”—John viii, 82. ►AY, SEPT. 10, 1925 NO. 37 SOME SIGNS OF GOD’S PRESENCE WITH HIS PEOPLE Sermon by Rev. W. E. Carr, D. D., of Danville, Va., preached at the Synodical Sunday School Convention and School of Methods, Johnson C. Smith University, Char lotte, N. C., Sunday, August 30th, 8 P. M. Text—“Is the Lord among us or not?” Exodus xvii: 7. The question of the text is one of the most important that could engage our attention just at this time. It comes to us with tremendous import and it should be well weighed and se riously considered. As we look out on the world and catch a vision of its present condition, the question of the text natu rally forces itself upon our minds. There are times when the Ho ly Spirit seems to be pervading a community in an unusual manner. There have been such times in all ages of the Church. It is in reference to such a di vine influence that our inquiry is made. To help us decide we propose to mention some signs of God’s gracious presence among His people. I. When God is among His people they have a deep sense of their sinful condition. This is an invariable effect of the quickening influences of the Spirit of God. Therefore the most consistent Christians, those in whom the work of sanctification has made the greatest progress, always seem to have the deepest sense oU their own sinfulness. The most devout men realize they are im perfect, and as they grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they become more and more sensible of their deprav iiy». ■ Thoy "Wiltgg*’ that heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wick ed, and every new manifesta tion of the character of God gives them a clearer vision of their own sinful condition. Thus they are ready to exclaim in the language of Job, “Behold I am vile; I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes." II. When God is among a people Christians enjoy the spirit of prayer. A spirit of prayer is really a manifesta tion of God’s presence. It is His special gift to man. “I will pour out upon the house of Da vid and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication^’ If you shbuld go through a place where the people had degen erated into a low state of spir ituality and inquire whether or not they enjoy a spirit of pray er, they will answer emphati cally, they do not. They will tell you they do not have that joy or realize that nearness to God, that sense of His presence they once experienced; that sweet communion which once filled and thrilled their hearts. They do not have that cheer ful confidence that their pray ers are heard which they have sometimes found in their expe dience. Now what is the cause of this condition? The reason is the Holy Spirit is not operat ing among them. Christiana sometimes complain of a sep arating wall between God and their souls. What is it? Our iniquities have separated us from our God and our sins nave hidden His face from us that He will not hear. Christians, if duty is neglected, if the heart is cold and stupid, it is a fore gone conclusion that there is no spirit of prayer. If we regard iniquity in our hearts the Lord will not hear us. III. When God is present by His Spirit Christians will be zealous for the Lord’s cause. They will have an ardent desire to see the work of the Church go forward in all its branches and when they look around and see how she is neglected sor row fills their hearts. May our eyes be opened that we may see how important it is that . every one be standing at his post of duty doing some con structive work. There is no time to be standing idle. We should make strenuous efforts that our work may be a success in both church and Sunday school. Many who claim to be follow ers of our Lord have lost their fire and fervor of devotion through spiritual idleness more than in any other way. Now, in view of this condition, we are led to ask the question of the text, “Is the Lord among us or not?” So many, both old and young, are deserting the church es and the Sunday schools to an alarming extent and going from town to town on wheels, and thus desecrating the Lord’s day. Pleasure and a good time as they call it seem to be the uppermost thought of their minds. They are going from early morn until the midnight hour, and many do not return until the chickens are crowing for day. The automobile is one of the most convenient inven tions of modern times. If prop erly used it is a blessing, but if abused, it is a curse. Worldli ness is the greatest danger of the Christian. We must live the Christian life in the midst of the world. If we join hands with the world to do evil we bring reproach upon the Lord’s cause and at the same time shame upon our own lives. Christians, let us get some concrete idea as to what life means. , 4t, thing. The only life worth while is the Christian life; the life in imitation of Him who said He was the life. We need to hold on to the world as light ly as possible in order that we might not lose sight of those things which make for our eter nal good. The tendency of many in all our churches and Sunday schools seems to be to wards the world. It behooves us to seriously consider the question, “Is the Lord among us or not?” There is a great work for us to do. The matter is urgent. With great fervency of spirit let us reach out and endeavor to save our young people from the drift of this terrible age. Save the young people and you save the Church and save the world. God has given this work to you and me, not to angels. They can not do it. We must do it or it will not be done. Let us look into our our own hearts that we may be conscious of the fact whether or not God’s pres ence is with us or not. There is a story of a king who married his daughter to a very poor man who loved her but the marriage had a condi tion annexed to it, and that was that whenever the man’s side looked black, or when ever he lost his wedding ring he should not only lose his wife, but his life also. One day while pursuing the chase, he fell into a quarrel when he not only received a bruise on his left side, but lost his ring in the scuffle. The tu mult over he perceived the dan ger into which his own heed lessness had brought him, and in the bitterness of his soul he shed many tears. In his great sorrow he espied a book. Opening this, he found therein his ring and the words he read directed him to herbs of which a plaster applied would not fail to heal him. Thus he was cured and his life saved. Members of the Synodical Sunday School Convention and School of Methods, if any of you have bruised your hearts with envy, hatred, malice, an ger, or any other sin in the midst of the world’s tempta tions, or if you have lost that wedding ring of love which is the pledge of your union with Jesus Christ your Saviour, we know a Book where you may find that precious ring again and the remedy for the cure of your bruised heart. Come back to the Bible, God’s own Word, and to the service of your Lord. So long as you remain away from Him that special presence and the influence of His Holy Spirit will not be present with you. Get in close touch with God and His people. At such a time as this we need church fellowship more than ever. When you had that fellowship God was with you. You en joyed the fervor of love. You lost it when you neglected your duty and disregarded the voice of God. IV. We believe God is pres ent with His Church in the trouble through which she is now passing. Christians are greatly perturbed over the un rest we find in the Church to day. Many are asking, “Is the Lord with us or not?” Confront ed as we are with the greatest crisis in the history of the Church we should be seriously concerned about her welfare. Truly this is a time of trouble in the Church. God has said if we call on Him in the day of trouble He will deliver us. He has promised to be our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. We need that help now, perhaps, as never be fore. /Unless God interposes our efforts will be futile. There are those who repudi ate the idea of God. The evolu tionist in his scientific investi gations is endeavoring to prove man is not the handiwork of God, but that he was evolved from the monkey or ape. utn ers deny the divinity of our latnil Mid "His irifg'fn btttft; not a few are openly declaring His atonement was not vicari ous, and His resurrection a mythological delusion. The second coming of Christ has been declared an impossibility —out of all reason and can never be. We have simply mentioned a few of the things which are dis turbing the minds of Chris tians. It may be God is per mitting these things for our good to drive us to our knees, to humble us in our pride, that we may feel that without God we can do nothing. Because of these pernicious doctrines we must not sink down in hopeless despair. God has not forsaken His Church. Though we are passing through the fires of heresy in its various forms, we shall not be destroyed. These disturbing elements should con strain the people of God to cry mightily to Him for His divine aid. In the controversies of the past the orthodox parties won, and by the grace of God we are go ing to be victorious; for God has said: “Fear not, I am with thee; I will bring thy seed from the East and gather them from the West; I will say to the North, Give up, and to the South, Keep not back; bring my sons from afar and my daugh ters ‘from the ends of the earth, even everyone that is called by my name; for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him, yea, I have made him.” Church of God, this is^to be a hard-fought battle. The whole army of Christians is to be called out. This is the psycho logical moment in the history of the Church. Let us line up into one solid phalanx and take to ourselves the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Hold up the Cross of Christ, march boldly on, and as you go, exclaim, “By this sign we conquer.” Let us rise up in the strength which is ours through Christ. We may ask what we will and it shall be done unto us. “He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.” IE STORY OF THE “GLOI^Y SONG.” Homer Rodeheaver It Jias been said that no gos pel song in history ever at tained the international popu larity of “Glory Song” in so saprt a time. It was writ ten §h 1900, and in less than five Clears it was sung around the i|prld. The wonder of this, however, is not due to the song alone- but to circumstances and conditions that took control of Mt&y interesting incidents connected with it have been sent Jna from many countries, besides scores that have ap peared in print, but to me the most remarkable fact concern ing the song is that it stands today note for note and word for word as Charles H. Gabriel sent |t to the printer twenty five years ago. Itjiias been translated into more~than twenty different lan guages and dialects, and over twenty millions of copies have been sprinted. I have heard it played by brass bands, German bands, hand organs, street pi anos, tmd phonographs. I have heard it numerous times sung by o>gsr ten thousand people, and again by the usual congre gation; but the most impressive rendering I ever heard given was lay a certain congregation of over one thousand men; these4men were all dressed in steel gray suits, and sat with folded arms: the man who playecf the organ and the man who Held the baton and led the it. song were dressed in exactly the same way. Down the right side, .across the rear and up the left si4e of the audience room, on higii stools, sat a row of men T hBfiwnif'rn-. W{rr ftpnrr canes across their knees; these men seemed never for an in stant to take their eyes from certain spots in front of them. Not a man whispered during the service—for it was a state’s prison. Among that congrega gation of 1,077 men, 256 were there for life—there to live and die, and on each of their cell doors, where they would read it every time they left and re entered, was the startling word “life.” How strangely their voices impressed me— these men without a country, without a home, without a name, deprived of every pri lege accorded to all men by y Almighty, and known only hr number. As I sat before t/ the prison pallor of their J against its background of within that frame or made a picture, never tor gotten, witn lew er every man sang; her/ with downcast eyes-f other with mute lips der near the cen strong fellow was a little child—but^ told me he had ve a short time, a^th he had heard/ under differ/^ele_ and where, f^s face. /ersity, Softly stanza: lOui y X JtUiVf TV y Will through the ages be glo ry for me.” The song ended, the chap lain said a brief prayer, and that great crowd of men, at signals from the guards in blue, marched out squad by squad, keeping to the music of the organ played by the men in gray. “There is an old saying about a thing being funny enough to make a horse laugh. The power of laughter is reserved to the human race, and is one—if not the principal one—of the marks of man’s superiority over the beasts of the field.”—Bruce Bar ton. FAIRFIELD CHRISTIAN EN DEAVOR CONVENTION, The Y. P. S. C. E. Conven tion of Fairfield Presbytery met at Westminster church, July 29th, at 9:30 o’clock. The Convention was called to order by the President, Mr. J. A. Frierson, and opened with sing ing, “Come ye that Love the Lord.” The President then made a few remarks concerning the misunderstanding in regard to the meeting of the Conven tion. He then introduced the Rev. R. E. L. Smith, who preached a very touching ser mon from the words, “Who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope that is set before us,” Hebrews 6th chapter, and the latter clause of the 18th verse. The delegates that were pres ent were then enrolled as fol lows : Mr. Henry Shaw, Goodwill; Miss Rosa Boulware, Ridge way; Miss Ethel Brown, Colum bia; Miss Eunice Smith, Lan caster. The President then appoint ed Mr. Harry Shaw, of Good will, and Miss Rosa Boulware, of Ridgeway, to lead prayer and praise service Thursday morning. The offering was then taken, which amounted $1.40. Bene diction was pronounced by Rev. R. E. L. Smith. Thursday Morning, July 30th. The Convention was called to order by the President. Prayer and praise service was conduct ed by Mr. Shaw and Miss Boul ware. The President then delivered his address. His subject was, “The Object of the Christian Endeavor Society.” He brought out some very helpful thoughts on the upbuilding of the Chris The minutes 01 the previous evening were read and aproved and the new delegates and min isters were enrolled. The min utes of the last meeting were then read and adopted. The Secretary having died during the past year a tempor ary secretary was elected in the person of Miss Susie E. Coop er. Next was a round table talk rered by Prof. A. A. Adier. isked all of the delegates ive a few minutes talk on lystem oi raising money in D. E. Society. These were d and very helpful. He gave some very interest suggestions on the Tenth ue and how to have C. E. Is. e subject, “How the C. E. Help to Foster the Inter of the Church,” was dis $d by delegates from Lad Cheraw Second, Sumter id, Hermon and Melina, e next subject was, “What Can the C. E. Play in the igelistic Work of the ch?” Discussion of this ;ion was opened by Dr. J. ister, who was followed by delegates from Ebenezer, ruity and New Haven; af vhich there was a general ssion by the Convention, ter having a short song ce, conducted by Dr. M. J son, we adjourned for re Thursday Afternoon. e Convention was called tc • at 2:30 by the President meeting was opened witft song service conducted by Dr. M. J. Jackson. This was fol lowed by a 15 minutes’ memo rial service in honor of the de ceased Secretary, Miss S. B. White. The report of the C. E. del egates was as follows: Ladson, Mrs. Belle Vincent, $2:00; Lebanon, Miss Rosa Boulware, $1.00; Sumter 'Sec ond, Miss Viola Johnson, $1.75; Bethlehem Second, Prof. A. A Adair, $.75; Goodwill, Mr. Har ry Shaw, $.50; total sent to tht Convention, $6.00. A model C. E. was conducted by Mrs. Belle Vincent of Lad son church. The program was as follows: Scripture reading by Mrs.. C. E. Rutherford, oi Columbia; Comment, Miss Belle McCoy, of Sumter; solo, “Mother,” little Miss Pearl Nelson Davis, of Columbia; paper, Miss Fannie Jackson, of Columbia; pantomime, “My Faith Looks Up to Thee,” by three little girls of Columbia; solo, “Teach Me to Pray,” Mrs. Alice Johnson; recitation, “God Cares,” Little Miss Ethel John son. A few minutes were given for general discussion on the sub ject, “God’s Friendliness as Ex pressed in Nature.” The following persons were elected officers for the ensuing year: President, Mr. J. A. Frierson; Vice-President, Miss C. E. Ma noney; Treasurer, Mrs. Belle Vincent; Recording Secretary, Miss Susie E. Cooper; Corre sponding Secretary, Mrs. C. E. Rutherford. These officers were installed by Dr. J. P. Fos ter. The report of the treasurer was then read and received. It was decided that the C. E. Con vention would send one delegate to the Synodical Convention. Miss Sarah E. Jacson, of Eben ezer church, was elected, and a collection of $2.50 was taken to help bear the expenses of the delegate. We were then dismissed with prayer oy Rev. T. H. Toatley. SUSIE E. COOPER, Secretary. THE D. V. (B. S. AT MT. TABOR. On Monday, July 3rd, the D. V. B. 3. of Mt. Tabor church opened for a session of two weeks. The enrollment in creased from 37 to 147. Mrs. Alma J. Harris, the special D. V. B. S. organizer of Yadkin sisted by the Supt., Mr. W. M. Cowan. The teachers were Mr. C. A. Rankin, Mr. S. L. Ran kin, Mr. C. H. Cowan, Mrs. Mag gie Cowan, Miss Ethel L. Good man and Mr. W. M. Cowan. Our assistant teachers were Mrs. Anna White, Mrs. Jennie Cowan, Miss Mildred Goodman, Mrs. Alice Bradshaw, Mr. Mon roe Cowan. The teachers, under the lead ership o| Mrs. Harris, deserve much credit for the splendid manner in which they carried on the work of the school. The interest manifested on the part of the children was keen. The boys and girls learned the Beatitudes, the 100th Psalm, the first seven verses of the 12th chapter of Ecclesiastes, the books of the Old Testament, the 23rd and the 67th Psalms. Mrs. Harris taught the chil dren 14 new songs during the music period. Besides directing the calesthenics exercises, she taught them many games dur ing the recreational period. Much interest was manifested in the team work. Quite a number of the par ents and friends showed their interest in the work by their presence each day. Other vis itors present were Rev. J. G. Murray and Miss Geneva Burke of Mooresville; Mrs. Naomi Jackson and little daughter, of Philadelphia, Pa.; and Dr. I. H. Russell. Dr. Russell gave encouraging remarks. In clos ing he urged the children to read the Bible each day, if only one verse. At the close of the term a sa cred program was rendered by the children, after which re freshments were served by the Sunday school. This was our first time to have a Daily Vacation Bible School and we are sure the children were greatly benefitted. We are looking forward for a longe* school term next year and wn_ hope to have Mrs. Harris w;‘* !• us. was Mr. W. M. Cowan was our *'ews> gate to the School of Meth«e last i Johnson C. Smith JJnivalk by Charlotte. ier Wil A MEM* a twen
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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Sept. 10, 1925, edition 1
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