Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / May 22, 1930, edition 1 / Page 1
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YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH. AMO THE MAKE YOU FREE.”—John viii. 82. LAY, MAY, 22, 1930. THE MEANING OF PENTECOST (This message was delivered by Rev. 0. M. McAdams, pastor of .Trinity Presbyterian Church of Saint Petersburg, Fla., May 6, 1930, to the Interdenomina tional Ministerial Alliance. The Alliance requested that this message be published as widely as possible). Text,—“And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, say ing one to another, What mean cth this?”—Acts 2:12. Nineteen hundred years ago on June the 8th of this very year <1930) a great experience came to pass in the Apostolic Church at Jerusalem._This great experience occurred on the day of Pentecost> fifty days after the Jewish Passover. The name Pentecost is a col orless name and unlike Passov er or Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles or Booths, it re veals nothing as to the nature of .the festival itself. In motive jand purpose Pentecost corres ponds to our Thanksgiving Day, The name Pentecost does not occur in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament Pentecost is called the Feast of Weeks. Passover marked the beginning of harvest; Tabernacles, cele brated the very crown and con eumation of the year, when all fruits of the earth had at length been gathered inbut Pentecost was a brief period pause of joy fmk thankfulness for the close of harvest proper and the gath ered store of bread that strengthened man’s* heart. In course of time Pentecost - was supplied with one-notable historical association namely, it became the festival at which the giving of the law on Mt. Sinai was commemorated. The special lessons of the synagogue for Pentecost are all designed to glorify the law. Once the con nection was made Talmudic methods of calculation, had no difficulty in proving that this Indeed was the very time that the august event took place, Ex. 19:20. The sound and fire from heav en on the day of Pentecost sug gest the thunder and lighten ing that accompanied the giv ing of the law on Mt. Sinai. On the day of Pentecost the members of the Apostolic Church are said to have spoken with other tongues, and the mixed national multitudes each is said to have heard in his own language. Here we are remind ed of the Midrash, a Hebrew Scriptual exegesis made during a period of about fifteen hun dred year? after Exile, largely based upon tradition. The Mid rash represents the voice that sp6ke on Mt. Sinai when the law was given to Moses as be ing heard in the language of all men. In all reference to Pente cost, stress was laid on its be ing a time when crowds were gathered together at Jerusalem. They were there to celebrate the first ingathering of the har vest, at which time two loaves from the first fruits of the har vest were laid upon the altar of God. It is common to speak of ren tecost as the birthday of the Christian Church. But the facts cf Church History will not sus tain such an interpretation of Pentecost Birthday is an awk ward term to use in such a con nection and can only toe accept ed as a rough mode of indicat ing the beginning of the Christ ian community. But there was a church of a sort already exist ing. (Acts 1). In fact the move ment or beginning of the first Christian Church did not lend itself easily to dates, and refus ed to be subjected to the preci siofi and exactitude which marked the inauguration of merely human societies and in stitutions. This holy gift was bestowed on a church already in existence. | And tnen, too, Pentecost does not mirk the first appearance or beginning of the work of the |lfoly Spiriton this earth. The ■ Holy Spirit broodedupon the primetfl Chaos. WhMi the earth was without form and void, when afi was waste and desola tion, tht Holy Spirit, which is the Spifit of God, moved upon the .facer 0 the water!. The Ho ly Spir^L spoke to. the world through the prophet! of God. Our Holy Bible was written by holy mem taught by the Holy Spirit The \tyrgin Birth is ascribed to the ffoly Spirit. It was the Holy Spmit that sanctified the flesh wnkb is united with the word. It is a mistake to think that the Holy Spirit left the sa cred ^humanity which it had sanctified in the moment of conception; the childhood of Jesus wps filled with strength and wisdom which were the marks of a special grace. But in about Jesus’ thirtieth year a stage was reached When a new ilhipse of the Spirit on the second Adam became nec essary. The first illapse of the Spirit had. sanctified his human ity the second illapse of the Spirit waa to consecrate his of ficial life. V At His baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon him in the form ed a dove and his of ficial life was consecrated. In connection with our study of the meaning of Pentecost we may note the progressive de velopment of religion among men. 5 There are those who would divide the plan of redeption in to thm v<tspn—tioiWM'nth^ flis pensation of the Father, the dis pensation of the Son and the dispensation of the Holy Spirit. Tn speaking of dispensations the Theologian has in mind the dis tribution of good and evil by God to man, as the divine order ing of the affairs of creation, Dispensations represent God as giving out the plans of salva tion in portions. With such an idea in mind theologians have given us seven dispensations as follows: the first is Innoeency, Gen. 1:28-3; second, Conscience, Gen. 3:22-7:23; third, human government, Gen. 8:20-10; 4th, Promise, from the call of Abraham to the giving of the Law; fifth, the jaw which ex tends to the cross; sixth, the Gospel; seventh, the Holy Spir it. These divisions represent the -i[aj jo piauidopAop OAissaaSoxI gion among men. While Pente cost ia net to fee interpreted as the birthday of the Christian Church nor to mark the begiri ning of the work of the Holy Spirit on this earth. Pentecost does mark a new experience in 4 he history of the Apostolic Church. The dispensation of the Spirit which began at Pen tecost after the Crucifixion was «c great an advance on all earli er manifestations that St. John does not hesitate to deny that there had been any gift of the Spirit before Pentecost. (John 7:30). rentecoat must be ever thought -of as a Day of Power, a day on winch the Spirit of God manfested him se1 f. through the disciples as a pow er for converting others. On that day the Apostolic Church received the promised power which enabled it to bear witness for Christ and win others for his kingdom. At the baptism of Christ and the consecration of the Apos tles the descent of the Spirit was accompanied by external signs. The Dove did not reap pear. nor was the breath of Christ felt. But the sound of a great gale fell upon the ear, and tongues of flame darting hith er and thither and finally resting on the heads of all ap pealed to the eye. The symbol ism of the wind had been ex plained by our .Lord. (John 3; 126). ; j The fire would remind the apostles of the prediction of the Baptist* Matt* 3:11, etc. Every detail had Its meaning. The sound of the rushing wind seemed to fill the hours for the new life is to permeate the whole world; The tongues of fire ere self-distributing and none was left without his pottkftu For the Spirit divideth to every man as it wills, I Cor* 12: 1*1. 4hd all believers are made to drink of the same fountain. To understand Pentecoet our njinds must go back to that eventful time and begin with Penteeost fifty days after Jesus of Savior had conquered deato and the grave, and move among the diaeiples who had been wait ing* around Jerusalem in obedi ence to the command of our Saviour who had charged them td tarry until they should receive Pjwer from on high, until they should be movedwitk toe pow er of the Holy Spirit, ! For fifty days 130 members of the Apostolic Church had tarried at Jerusalem, Ten day* before Penteeost 120 Christians began to assemble themselves and pray for the promised pow er. They tarried in an upper room and while they tarried they prayed, prayed for the promise oftoe Father prayed that they should rec§ieye spirit ual power. When toe day of Pentecost had fully come, during tot course of toe day, toe HO Christians were all together when suddenly there easne a sound from heaven like a violent blast of winp which filled the ^mieiwhere Jtofjgge die mting- op the^ad^eadi and they were #11 filled wito toe Holy Spirit, ; They began to speak in foreign tongups.as.the spirit enable them to express themselves. A great crowd had gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. Devout Jews were there from every na tion under heaven, staying in Jerusalem, All were amased and astonished at the way toe 120 Christians acted when they receieved the power of the Ho ly Spirit. “What can it mean?” they said one to another. Final ly a sneering fellow said, “They are brim full of new wine," Peter could no longer hold his peace. Ho stood up along wito the Eleven and. began to speak: “Men of Judea and residents of Jerusalem let every one of you understand this, attend to what I say These men are hot drunk as you imagine, why it is only nine o'clock in the morning; [this is what was predicted by the prophet Joel, In the last days, says- God, then will I pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, vour sons and daughters shall prophecy. Your young men shall see visions, your bid men shall dream dreams. On my very slaves and slave girls will I pour out my. Spirit and they shall prophesy. And every one who en vokes the name of the Lord shall be saved. Thus starting at this prophe cy of Joel, Peter preached Christ to the multitude. The Jews re jected Jesus as the Christ and Savior ot the world. They had consented to the crucifixion of their Lord and Savior. They had gotten wicked men to nail Him to the cross. But God raised Him UP hv checking the pangs of death. Death could not hold Him, He died upon the cross and was laid, in a borrowed tomb. On the third day He rose with a mighty triumph over death and the grave. When they heard this it went straight to their hearts. They were convicted of sin and cried out to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what Shall we do? Repent, said Peter. Let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins; then you will re the gift of the Holy Spir People were called upon t, to change their minds ssps, You once thought as a criminal, cursed I fou must now think of, the exalted Lord and j rfhe Saviur of the worid. hf your sins and surren wills to Jesus, the Mas Mankind. Jne second thing +r.ose who igj^iinder conviction were in stmcted to do was to be bap tizing There was to be an out wsgLwater baptism, Bui to be NgSpS iy. the name of Jesus Chnst means more than having some water sprinkled upon you ojyi|»f immersed in sorae wa soul that sutnhits to oaplfeni confesses bv this very *ctmt hf is sinful and needs jgjppnfc With grief aim ha tred pf his sins he turns from <hem| Unto God with full pur PdejNw and endeavor after new To be truly baptised me^|c renunciation bf> sin. Wh$i} there Is real repentance an«2%l baptism thero will be remf&san of sins ant there will ttreethwvafcd souls were saved as wuisu’t of this message. No ^udt fnet followed the preach ing of |e*us Christ Himself ise ^literally fuHi',.cii vvh<-o the church was the cUittax of a ten days’ prayer meeting, Ohe hundred and twenty assembled in prayer for ten days set Je rusalem and the surrounding cities on spiritual fire. The ef fectual, fervent prayer of the righteous have a powerful ef fect There is power in the pray er of the righteous. ;* The new experience that oc curred on the Day of Pentecost brought new life to the church. The people made an open con fession of Jesus Christ and stood by their confession. There were four things to which they devoted themselves: the apos tles’ instruction; fellowship; prayer, and the unity of the Spirit based on Christian love. They came together to wor ship and at their meetings the npostles told them about Jesus Christ. They showed the mem bers of the Church how Jesus had fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament. The con verts had to be taught the meaning of the death of Christ. So the apostles continued to u« fold the mysteries of the gospel of the Son of God and the peo ple continued to sit at their feet and learn of them. Tltf5*pel message by the A postman the day ofFeoteeost had a tremendous effect, for The people not only devoted themselves to the instructions of the apostles; they also devot ed themselves to the fellowship of the apostles. A secluded Christian or a Christian that is separated from the society of others cannot grow. These ear ly Christians came together for mutual help. They were faith ful to one another. There was the best of feeling among them. Every member of the Chris tian Church should feel the cares cf the other uvn.bers. In the siolic Cburen when one angered ihey all suffered. They suffered together and shared everything they had in the way of earthly possessions with one another. And then there was no friction among them. They worked together without any desire except to help one anoth er and to do the work of their Master. The apostles were the deader* and examples in this jgood fellowship. (Continued on page 4) WORK K FARMING AND RURAL LIFE TO BP INCLUDED IN HAR MON AWARD PROGRAMS FOR 1930 Exceptional developments in farming and ^paiUfaane to.-be given recognition during 1930 through the William E. Harmon Awards for Distinguished. Achievement Among Negroes.. These awards, which are now in their fifth year are granted by the Harmon Foundation and ad. ministered through-the Com mission on Race Relations . of the Federal Council of Church es ? A* in previous years, the se ries covers the accomplishments of colored people in Art, Litera ture, Education, Religious Ser vice. Music, Business, Science and Race Relations, and this new field offers opportunity for recognition in another line of endeavor in which the Negro is generally represented. Its scope includes work in farm owner ship, productivity, improvement of home life" as well as in the adidmoetnentof agricultural sei enc%"and methods, and leader ship in the cultivation and en richment at rural life. There has been a change in the number of awards for 1930. There is to be a gold medal, ac companied by five hundred dol lars m each pf the eight fields, instead of the previous program consisting of a gold medal and four ; haired dollars and a bronze nj^dal and one hundred dollars hi each field.- Since the ^ it firas not inc* * The administering (mgaifiza tiort states .that "information is now, being received from , all parts of the country regarding the creative work of colored men and, women, and .. .invites nominations from the' general public, as awards arg made only on the basis of materials sub mitted, These may, be made un til September. 2, 1930. Full par ticulars, may be obtained by writing to the, Assistant for I Harmon Awards, Commission on Race Relations, 105 East 22nd Street,.New York, N. Y," v Five years ago the late Wil liam E. Harmon, who became interested in the economic djffi culties with which the. average colored worker was faced, or ganised the Awards in the hope that accomplishments which were worth while, yet probably 'lttie known, might be brought to light and given their place among other important develop ments the time. > ( The public has already learned 'through this means something, of the work, of 54 Negroes. Among these recipients: have been: Archibald J. Motley, Jr., Ar tist, Chicago' John Hope, President of At lanta University, Atlanta. Eric Walrond, Writer, now abroad. N&tbanie] R. Dett, Composer and Director of Music, Hamp ton. Claude McKay, Novelist and poet, now: abroad. ! John Charles Clftybrook, Lum berman. Arkansas. . t i.. i Virginia E. Randolph, District (Supervisor Jeannes Fund, Vir ginia. 1 C. C. Spaulding, President North Carolina Mutual Life In surance Compnay, of Durham. Arthur A. Sehomhurg, Col lector of Negro Historical Doc uments, Brooklyn. A A. Alexander, Contractor, Iowa City. h Max Yergan, Missionary in Africa. - Countee Cullen, Poet, Paris. Bishop John Hurst; Religious Service, Baltimore. CATAWBA LEAGUE, IU SPRING SESSION _ *4 •> .y«M4> By James C. Williams, Secretary The Young People’s League met at Brandon church in Charlotte, Saturday, May 10th. ©legation was not as large as some we have had, but a larger number of churches was represented than ever before, inhere grere delegates from 18 churchy. We hope ne*t time to reach the 25 mark in the num ber of . churches represented, i Those , present entered eagerly into air parts pf the program and! contributed to a successful meeting. We were able to have our getr together and recreation hour in the open air on the spacious lots in the rear of Brandon Church, a very good place for such ac itvity., Here.-we played many games, saggjsep songs, and tried ourselves at yelling the League yells. • From, the recreation grounds i we went into, the church to take up the topic for discussion which was “Vocations From a Christian Viewpoint.” Preced ing the discussion we had two helpful papers that threw light upon the topic. One was by Miss Viola Graham, of Caldwell ihurCh, and the other was by Mr. Murray Kerns, of Mt. Olive. The discussion proved very ben eficial to us as it was on a topic ir which we all were interested. Dinner Was served in the spa vi ms dining room of the church of God about a block and a half from Brandon. Everything had been rilegly arranged, fables ■epared and plates set on heav Bp ast and eat. The fellowship agt this hour was most enjoyable, every body was happy and entered right into the spirit of the oc casion. When we finished din ner we sang again a number of our I.eague songs, gave cheers for Mr. Torrence, Rev. Sanders, the ladies of the church and the Young People’s Forum. This was followed by a few after din ner speeches, i*. We returned to the church, finished up our discussion and business and entered into the dosing worship service. During the business session Rev. Prince oresented the second issue of The Voice of Catawba Youth, the League Bulletin. The League voted to put the Bulletin on a subscription basis, so hereafter ■;t will be 25 cents a year1 or 10 cents a copy. >*3 The League received with joy the news of the appointment of our President, Mr. W. S. Brink ley, to attend the Youth Coun cil in Toronto, Canada. The League voted to hold its next meeting at Cedar Grove church. The worship service was very * impressive The message was delivered by Dr. C. N. Jenkins, a former pastor of Brandon, and [several members of the League assisted in the service with the | President presiding. The music 'at the worship service was the | best we have ever had; not only was it suitable for the occasion but it was sung in a very im |pressive way. | The Young People’s Forum of I Brandon church, under the lead ership of Mr. E. M. Torrence, j certainly deserves our highest I praise for the fine way in which i it cared for us. We knew we jwere welcome long before we ! reached the church, because as | we entered the community we J saw placards posted on many [homes with the words, “Wel come, Young People’s League.” No stone pas left unturppd to carry out the sentiment ex pressed on the posters. So we say, hats off to- Mr. Torrence jand the Young People's Forum j of Brandon church! You cer j tainly showed us how it ought (Continued on page 4)
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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May 22, 1930, edition 1
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