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'AND YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTHS]
MAKE YOU FREE.”—John viii, 35.
CHARLOTTE, N. C., THURSDAf, APRIL 26, 1928.
THE STRENGTHENING POWER OF PRAYER
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Rev. S. D. Thom, D. D.,
Evangelist for Atlantic Synod
The Prayer Life of Jesus
It is the outgoing of stored
energy .to meet and overcome all
opposition and claim the world.
It is the outgoing not only of
faith in God but also faith in
one's self, having a conscious'
ness of the abiding dynamo of
the Spirit.
The world is not wanting for
convictions, for everybody has
them; but only a few are cour
ageous enough to express them,
especially when they conflict
with present beliefs and prac
tices. Speaking of Him as a
man, a time came in the life of
Jesus when He mustered up
strength and self-r^nce to de
clare Himself to a hostile world
in regard to legal outcasts and
daily religious problems.
Legal Outcasts.
It happened as He was in one
of the cities, behold a man full
of leprosy! A leper was a legal
outcast; the church closed its
door agajinst him; men would
not come near him; his place
was out of the cafhp. Here is a
surprise: this outcast was in the
city and in the path of Jesus.
The meeting was not an acci
dent. It was as far as the leper
was concerned, but Jesus
planned it to give us a lesson
in how to catch men. The great
question today is how to deal
with outcasts? This was the
lowest type; society shut him
out; priests and Levites would
not sympathize with him; the
Aoeople abhorred him. Beholding
liv. , _i j i «t*
us he bowed and begged, “If
fefltthou cgnat roafce me
can.” Here' wflv^ need; here
was a hitter cry Spring out for
help; every ear was oeaf to his
cry; the door of hope was closed
to him. Who would give that
helping hand to restore him to
his place in the camp, to society
and to the church ? And stretch
ing the'hand Jesus touched him,
saying, “I will, be clean." A
radical departure from custom,
society, etc.
We must have hearts over
flowing with love for all men.
The most degraded has the im
age of God stamped upon him.
He may be in the far country
feeding upon the husks of swine
and wallowing in the mire of sin,
yet he is a son of the Great
King and a place is reserved in
the home and at the table for
him.
We must be ready to give
, bodily or soul relief to all types
of outcasts and despair of none.
No one is sunk below the grasp
of Jesus; His love is deeper than
hell, broader than space, and
able to lift the worse of sinners
to His throne. We must be a
friend to the friendless. If the
church and church people would
regain the place of a vitalizing
force in the community and in
the world, the community must
see the Christ life in them. The
world is yearning for the touch
of the Christ-spirit, a touch to
inspire confidence, a touch to
convince the basest that he can
be made to take his place again
in the family circle; a touch to
convince that God loves him
with a love stronger than death
and longs to have him separated
from his sins. We must break
all barriers that stand in the
way of accomplishing the task.
This Is the trial of faith; it may
cause physical sustenance to be
cut onTIIt may lead one to os
tracism but it is the path of un
dying glory.
Jesus’ regard for law. Show
thyself to the priest. Although
the work was done, neverthe
less the outcast must observe the
ordained law to restore him to
society, to the church and to
right relationship with God.
Acknowledgement must be
made; thanksgiving must go up
to God for His new lease on life;
and he must know that God has
the first claim oh his new life.
Social Outcasts
He saw a publican. He not
only saw this social outcast but
also looked upon him with admi
ration.-. That look searched
through Matthew. Jesus jsaw
his yearning of soul for the full
er life; He saw also a fit subject
in whom to deposit His great
trust. Follow me. Now He
called a social outcast to be His
disciple and companion. He was
now able, tip overcome public
opinion; stopped his ears, closed
His eyes tb the jeers and frowns
of his opposers. His method was
to gather into His circle repre
sentatives of all kinds of people
to encourage all to come to Him,
—to form mediums to reach all.
The Great Reception.
Levi made, a reception at his
home. It had»a two-fold mean
ing. It was a fgjrewell to his past,
forsaking his, old master and
marrying the new Master. It
was taking Jesus into his confi
dence and showing his esteem of
Him. ^
The invited guests. A great
multitude of' publicans and oth
ers were reclining. He did not
go out of his class tb get a re
presentative gathering to greet
his,new Lord and Master but
brought his every day friends of
the same social standing, those
in sympathy with his ideals, to
meet Jesus. When a man comes
to Jesus it should be his effort
not to forsake his friends but to
leacTthem to Him. He must
make Ht ftim^thaffrg
has turned his back on the past,
his face is set heavenward and
he is duty bound to invite all
his friends to take the stand
with him and go on to glory.
“We are journeying to the
place which the Lord^said, I will
give it thee. Come with us and
we will do thee good for the Lord
has spoken good concerning Is
rael.” See the guests of Jesus;
see the horror it brought to the
religious people of that time
who said, What is the ultimate
purpose in view that ye eat with
publicans and sinners? See also
the mind and yearning Spirit of
Jesus!
Jesus Defending His Program
Those well need no physician
but they that are sick. A doc
tor’s business is among the sick;
his efforts must be to effect
cures. If there were no sick, no
diseased, we would not need doc
tors. Jesus now openly declared
His place in the world and the
place all who follow Him must
occupy. His ministry is a min
istry of healing; the maladies
are spiritual and so also the
treatment. Our job, first and
last, is to call sinners to repen
tance. This was a distinct
break with the ideas of the lead
ers of the Jewish church and
with the ideas of the churchmen
of every age who think that the
church is a club for a certain
type of people. Jesus declares
that the world is a hospital; the
churches are wards therein and
every Christian a healer. As the
doctor rejoices when he brings
health to the sick so must we re
joice when people are turning to
me j-ioru.
Daily Religious Problems
Fasting and prayer. Fasting
is a religious exercise and disci
pline of the body to release
spiritual energy. Prayer is the
discipline of the human spirit
and inasmuch as the body is the
work house, the house must be
in such a condition as not to
hamper the free exercise of the
housekeeper. Public fasts were
prescribed by Moses and kept
yearly at the great day of
atonement. There were also
voluntary fasfsf men who de
sired _ to live holier lives exer
cised themselves in this way.
Jesus Himself fasted and com
mended it. “This kind goeth not
forth but by'prayer tfld fast
ing.” Paul and Barnabas were
chosen By the Spirit when the
disciples had fasted. Says Jesus,
fasting is unnecessary as long
as I am present in the body with
my disciples. I to them am the
all-sufficient Helper, but when I
am taken away from them, they
will feel the necessity of that
discipline which is so necessary
to spiritual growth.
Fasting was abused in Christ’s
day. Some, seeking praise from
men, disfigured their faces to
appear to men to fast to gain
notoriety for holiness. Others
looked upon it as a means to
merit a place in te kingdom. “I
fast twice a week,” etc. Because
of this abuse Jesus laid empha
sis not on physical fasts, but
on spiritual fasts when the soul
is not trammelled but can com
mune with its maker. The old
way must give place to the new;
as no man can put new wine in
to old skin bottles. The new
way is the way of the Spirit.
God is not concerned in physical
exercise such as shouting, amens
and even rituals. These are in
different—neither good nor bad
—but could be made a means
to encourage others in the wor
ship as the Cherubim and Se
raphim cry to one another,
“Holy, holy, holy.” The great
thing to remember is, worship is
the communion of spirits. It is
when our spirits engage the
great Spirit. “God is a Spirit and
they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in
truth.” ’
The Question of the Sabbath.
Two examples are cited—-hun
ger and sickness. It happened
that Asir going threoglr the^eowf^
fields on the Sabbath His disci
ples plucked and ate the ears
of corn, rubbing them with their
hands. The Sabbath defenders
claimed that rubbing the ears
with their hand's was a form of
work and should not be done.
Jesus answered this vexing
question by saying, the saving
of life and relieving human
need—even the needs of the
lower creatures—is permissable.
The principle laid down is that
whatever will save life may be
undertaken on the Sabbath.
With Jesus there is nothing
secular; everything should point
to the glory of God. Whether
we eat or drink or whatsoever
we do must be done to the glory
of God.
The principle covers all work
that is done on the Sabbath day
—running trains, selling gas,
cooking, visiting hospitals, etc.
Jesus looked at the motive of
the doer. If the motive is
worldly gain, to take advantage
of the occasion to forward one’s
selfish aims, or if it is not in
keeping with His spirit then it
is wrong. Just here, if a man
does not know the motive for an
action and does not seek to find
out he is unfit to sit in judg
ment.
Sickness.
A man was there whose right
hand was withered. Here was
sickness that unfitted the man
to support^ himself and family.
Jesus healed the man and set
down another principle, viz.,
whatever will develop life is al
lowed. This covers Sunday re
creations. The one test he in
sists uponjls the motive of the
doer. What about Sunday base
ball playing for shut-ins, factory
hands and all underpaid per
sons? Is it right for the man
who is able to own an automobile
to take his family miles to the
mountains or water front to
catch fresh breeze on Sunday?
What about the man who can
not afford one, and all he can
afford is a ball and bat and this
he does solely unto the Lord for
recreation iff some old field or
park on the Sabbath.,
The religion which makes
men quarrelsome will never
bring heaven down to earth.
Dr. J;
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the Gem
Rev. M.
was el<
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ed prim
the A
Bostic,
K. Eayswood, of
was elected princi
1 commissioner to
1 Assembly, and the
mch, of Goldsboro,
Item ate. Dr. E.
ford, was elect
commissioner to
and Mr. E. R.
iro, was elected
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Presbytery ordered the disso
lution of the pastoral relations
existing between the Rev. T. T.
Branch and Haymount church
at Fayetteville. These orders
are to go into effect on or before
the first of July. Rev. Branch
will serve the Faison Memorial
church at Clinton and the Pil
grim’s Chapel at Burgaw.
Miss Theodora Percival,
Young People’s Worker, was
accorded the courtesies of Pres
bytery. She gave an inspiring
and informing address on Chris
tian Education and outlined
some objectives for Cape Fear.
On Thursday night the ladies
rendered a popular program.
Miss Barr, of the Board of Na
tional Missions, was one of the
principal speakers.
The work of the Women’s
Presbyterial Societies was at
tended‘with good success during
the past year. The reports were
inspiring and uplifting. More
finances were raised than ever
before. More effective work
was done in the local societies
than ever before.
The work among the young
people in the Presbytery is very
encouraging. This is noted in
the increasing numbers of young
people attending the sessions of
the Presbyterial.
It was voted to have the next
meeting of Presbytery a week
later in order to give the men
a chance to attend some of the
other Presbyteries. This is only
an experiment; if it does not suit
fif is understood that the old or
der will stand.
Presbytery adjourned to meet
in the Second Presbyterian
church, Whiteville, the third
Wednesday in April, 1929.
“SCRIBE.”
CEDAR GROVE COMMUNITY
NOTES.
By Mrs. Hattie A. Russell
Sunday, April 15th, was a
very rainy day, but our Sunday
school was largely attended and
the lesson for the day was beau
tifully discussed. The offering
was very good.
Sunday, April 22nd, our pas
tor, Dr. L. J. Melton, came to us
with a powerful sermon. We
had a well filled house and every
one seemed to. be touched by the
Spirit. Sunday school was held
at the regular hour with 107 pu
pils and 11 teachers.
April 6th, the Household of
Ruth held a District meeting
with the Landis Lodge. Those
attending from this community
were Mrs. Dora Davidson, Mrs.
Bettie Phifer, Mrs. Carrie Lytle,
Mrs. Katie O; and Mrs. M. J.
Alexander and Mrs. Hattie Rus
sell.
A number of people from Ca
barrus County attended the
Mecklenburg County commence
ment on Friday, April 13th.
Mrs. M. J. Alexander, leader
of District No. 2, of Catawba
Presbyterial, held a very inter
esting meeting on April 14th at
Siloam church. A large attend
ance from the surrounding
churches of this district was
present, and all report having
had one of the best meetings of
its kind ever held.
We were delighted to have
with us on Easter Sunday Mr.
M. L. Black, who is a teacher at
New London. This is Mr. Black’s
second year to teach in this
school and he has done some very
creditable work in that commun
ity.
On last Friday Rev. L. J.
Melton and Mrs. Carrie Harris
motored to New London to at
tend the closing exercise of Mr.
Black’s school. Dr. Melton was
the chief speaker of the evening.
The Cedar Grove school will
close Friday, April 27th, with a
program on Friday night.'
CALVARY PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH, WILSON, N. C.
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" The Triendly'CEurcK on“fHe
Corner continues to plod on in
tier efforts to meet the religious
needs of the community. Her
growth has not by any means
been phenomenal. She strives
to move along conservative lines.
Whenever any new ground has
been gained she is careful to
make sure of it, and then move
forward.
Calvary maintains three out
posts :
A Sunday school recently or
ganized in the Bynum school lo
cated about six miles from Wil
son. This school was organized
by Mr. Vick. It has an enroll
ment of over 25.
Second Calvary, located at
Bailey in Nhsh County, is in its
second year. The school has an
average attendance of over 30.
Preaching is conducted there
once a month. During the past
year ten infants were baptized
there and 14 were added to the
mission.
Fremont has a church build
ing. The congregation is well
organized. It bids fair to make
rapid progress in the very near
future. There were six addi
tions during the year. The mis
sionary and the Tuxis Girls met
their obligations along with the
other departments of the
church.
These outposts are so conven
iently arranged that they do not
interfere with the regular work
of the mother church. It is
noted that there was a total of
35 additions to the Presbyterian
Church for which Calvary may
claim the responsibility. They
are*_Bailey, 14; Fremont, 6; and
Calvary, 15.
The Ladies’ Missionary Soci
ety recently held their Better
Wilson Banquet in the auditori
um of the high school. Short
speeches were made on Better
Churches, Better Schools, Better
Lodges, Better Homes, etc. The
affair was a brilliant success.
The annual reports of the ac
tivities of the church reveal the
following organizations: A Mis
sionary Society with 32 mem
bers ; a Mother’s Club, organized
with 19jpembers; la Tuxis Girls’
Club with 25 members; a Pion
eer Boys’ Club with over 40
members; a Light Bearers’
Club with over 30 members; a
Cradle Roll Department with
45 members.
The Wilson unit of the Scotia
Alumnae Chapter raised $200.00
for the Scotia Building Fund.
Their quota was $100.
Plans are being furmulated
for the celebration of Vocation
Day the first Sunday in May.
Some of the Tuxis Girls and Pis
oneer Boys are trying their hand
at writing a pageant to be pre
sented on that day.
Calvary has begun the new
year under favorable conditions.
She is looking forward to in
creased activities along all lines.
She is going to attempt great
things for God this year. The
church has had three additions
during the new year.
THE SCRIBE.
DISTRICT PRESBYTERIAL
MEETING.
District No. 2, ' of Catawba,
Presbyterial, held* its Spring
meeting with the local society
of Siloam church Saturday,
April 14. The program was as
follows: v
Singing, “Just as I am without
one plea.”
Scripture lesson, 100th Psalm,
read toy Mrs. M. J. Phifer, of
Huntersville.
We were favored with prayer
by Rev. N. Bell, of Huntersville. .
Singing, “I Love to Tell the
Story.”
The financial report for the
year 1927-1928 was read by the
leader, Mrs. M. J. Alexander, of
Cedar Grove.
The apportionments for the
year 1928-'29 were given to idle
local societies by Mrs. Alexan
der.
The Mission study book, .“See
¥01 —
Concord, as instructor.
In the study of this book we
have been able to see some of
the outstanding features of the
work done by the Board of Na
tional Missions.
In view of this fact we re
joice to know that we have a
part in this great work. Are we
playing our part to the fullest
extent ?
Among the many very helpful
things our instructor brought
to our attention were that our
success in this great work de
pends largely upon coordination,
cooperation and consecration.
The hymn, “Work for the
Night is Coming,” was sung.
The following persons were
then called upon by the leader.
Each one responded to her name
with greetings from her local so.
ciety.
Miss Carrie Harris, Cedar
Grove.
Mrs. M. J. Phifer, Hunters
ville.
Mrs. Matilda Harrison, Belle
Fonte.
Miss Lawson, New Hope.
Miss Hester Roscoe, Westmin.
3ter.
Mrs. Ada Briley, Bethpage.
Mrs. Katie O. Alexander, who
is Secretary of Literature, of
Catawba PresbyterialTpresented
her work and distributed quite
a bit of literature.
The following named elders
from the various churches were
then called on: Elders Wm. Phi
fer, Sam Harrison and J. W.
Brown. Each of these gave some
very inspiring remarks.
The hymn, “Blest be the Tie
that Binds,” was sungi after
which Rev. L. J. Melton, D. D.,
pronounced the benediction.
• The ladies of Siloam church
and friends invited us to a nicely
prepared and well spread dinner.
Of this we aU pftrtook'and were
filled.
Thus ended one of the most
successful meetings we have
Kad in District No. 2.
MRS. MARY J. ALEXANDER,
Leader. *
MRS. MARY H. GREENE,
;. Secretary.
The religion which makes men
satisfied with evil will never
save the world.