Newspaper Page Text
Women's
Societies
SUGGESTIONS.
By Miss C. L. Campbell.
"If any two . . . agree ... it
shall be done." ? Jesus.
That all minds may be turned to
prayer before entering on the year's
work, so far beyond our power of ac
complishing without "divine co-opera
tion," it may be well to use these
thoughts in your devotional exercises
at your first meeting in 1017.
After these are read, ask as many
as ten or twelve of your members to
make sentence prayers, oven if you
have to write them out beforehand.
In the morning, rising up a great
while before day, he went out ? and
prayed. Mark 1:35.
And he withdrew himself into tho
wilderness and prayed. Luke 5:16.
He went into a mountain apart to
pray. Matt. 14:23.
And as he prayed, the fashion of his
countenance was altered. Luke 9:29.
He went out into a mountain to
pray and continued all night in pray
er to God. Luke 6:12.
Pray without ceasing. Paul.
If ye abide in me . . ask ? it shall
be done. John 15:7. .
Ask and it shall be given. Matt.
7:7.
You can do more than pray after
you have prayed, but you cannot do
more than pray until you have
prayed. ? S. D. Gordon.
We must not conceive of prayer as
an overcoming of God's reluctance,
but as a laying hold of H1b highest
willingness. ? Archbishop Trench.
Prayer is simply giving the wise
and good God an opportunity to do
what His wisdom and love want done.
I ? Fosdick.
The experience of the race is clear
that some things God never can do un
til He finds a man who prays. ? Fos
dick.
Prayer is and remains the native
and deepest impulse of the soul of
man. ? Carlyle.
Prayer is my chief work, and it is
by means of It that I carry on the rest.
. ? Thomas Hooker.
True prayer la, deliberately putting
f ourselves at God's disposal. ? Fos
dick.
The co-operation of a man's prayer
backed by his life, opened a way for
the divine purpose ? there was an in
vasion of the world by God through
Livingstone. ? Fosdick.
Prayer digs out those treasures
which the gospel of the Lord discov
i ers to our faith. ? Calvin.
I We can do nothing of real power
A until we have done the prayer thing.
? ? S. D. Gordon.
? It is the doing that grows out of
^kraying that is mightiest in touching
Biuman hearts. ? S. D. Gordon.
B "For many years it has been my
?ractice In traveling among the na
tions to make a study of the sources
the spiritual movements which are
^??lng most to vitalize and transform
^wlividuals and communities. At
Bnes it has been difficult to discover
Hb hidden spring, but invariably
Bere I have had the time and pa
Hnce to do so, I have found it fn an
^Bercessory prayer life of great real
" ? John R. Mott.
TO THE VIRGINIA 8YNOD1CAL.
If obligations come, those who are
working for the "doubling" of gifts
in Virginia, may find the words given
below very helpful. The gentleness
in this answer will do away with need
of irritating argument. ,
Carrie Lee Campbell,
Syn, Sec, For, Missions.
How Long Shall I Give?
"Go break to the needy sweet char
ity's bread;
For, giving is living," the angel said.
"And must I be giving again and
again?"
My peevish and pitiless answer ran.
"Oh, no!" said the angel, piercing mo
through,
"Just give till the Master stops giving
to you."
Missionary Review of the World.
HOME RELIGION.
The great need of the Church today
is a revival of home religion. This
is fundamental. As is the home, so
the community and the church. This
is conceded by all those who are in
the forefront as leaders in Christian
endeavor. Prominent ministers and
laymen all over our country are ready
to co-operate in some plan that will
bring about a change of conditions in
the home life of the church. The
conviction of this need became so pro
nounced a few years ago in the hearts
of a few men keenly interested in the
welfare of the church that the Family
Altar League was organized. The
growth of the movement since has
been nothing less than wonderful. God
has set His seal of approval upon the
league. During the past seven years
300,000 Covenant Cards have been
distributed, over 60,000 homes have
affiliated with the movement, and it is
estimated that more than 250,000 lives
have been influenced for good. A
monthly magazine has been published
containing daily readings with com
ments and helpful suggestions for the
home life. Cards and literature may
be obtained without cost. Dr. Bieder
wolf, the founder, is raising an en
dowment fund of $100,000.00, of
which $36,000.00 has been subscribed.
The league has grown so rapidly
that the directors decided recently to
open larger headquarters and engage
a general secretary. Since he look
charge of the work plans have been
adopted for a country-wide campaign.
The most important work of the secre
tary is addressing churches and con
ventions and conducting conferences.
He will be glad to assist pastors in in
troducing the movement into their
churches. The following well-known
men are among the directors: Dr.
John Timothy Stone, Dr. Francis E.
Clark, Bishop Edwin H. Hughes, Rev.
W. E. Biederwolf, Bishop Charles B.
Mitchell, Marlon Lawrance, J. Camp
bell White, Henry P. Crowell, Dr.
James M. Grey, Judge McKenzie Cle
land and E. O. Excell.
For information and literature ad
dress the General Secretary, Family
Altar League, 508 Lakeside Building,
Chicago, 111.
Fred Paton, son of the noted mission
ary, John G. Paton, writes that one
can always tell a Christian from a
heathen by hs personal appearance.
"Even the countenances of the chil
dren show a change when the gospel
has been at work. In the heathen
villages the children are always in a
state of fear and terror. But it is de
lightful to notice the fun and frolic
of the children in the Christian vil
lages."
We fain would speak; God says "Be
still";
We'd run; but he says, "Stay."
The bitter cup our lips refuse,
His voice says, "Drink, to-day."
Oh, heart of mine, in questioning,
Leave all things in his hands,
Who, though he never tells us why,
Yet always understands.
THE PRAYER MEETING
CONGREGATIONAL HOMK MIS
SIONS.
"Beginning ot Jerusalem."
January 10, 1917.
Read Luke 24:45-53; 1 TbeBS. 1
1:10.
By Rev. Russell Cecil, D. D.
Every true church should be a mis
sionary society. It should not be a
close corporation, a mutual benefit or
ganization, nor a social club; but it
should be a missionary society pure
and simple, charged with the work of
propagating the gospel. It 's by this
method that our Lord chose to ex
tend the church, and give all people
the benefit of the gospel. He said to
the early disciples, "Ye are my wit
nesses;" and his purpose concerning
them was that each one should be
come a missionary In the place where
he lived. So every congregation of
Christ's witnesses gathered together
and organized into a church should be
a missionary society. The tendency
among churches is to live too much
for themselves and their own improve
ment and happiness. Some churches
seem to have little interest in any
thing beyond their own membership.
They want the finest church, the finest
choir, and the finest preacher they
can possibly secure; and then in a
spirit of self-satisfaction and mutual
admiration they sit down on cush
ioned Beats to enjoy themselves. It
is often hard to break into such a
church and secure recognition in it.
It goes without saying that our Lord
Jesus Christ had no such notion in
mind when he sent forth his disciples
as his witnesses, to organize churches
for the extension of the gOBpel among
men. He had a much broader, inore
sympathetic and humane view than
this. The church which he proposed
was to be a democratic organization,
in which the members were to enjoy
equal rights and privileges, and share
equal burdens; and they were to be
Interested alike in the salvation of the
people about them.
The normal condition of every indi
vidual church organization is to he
actively engaged In mission work in
the locality In which it is situated.
Every pastor and church session
should be constantly on the lookout
for the organization of Sunday-schools
and the establishment of new church
es. The church which is doing the
work which the Master intended it
to do is not simply engaged in build
ing up itself and securing a large and
powerful organization, but it should
be continually preparing and sending
out consecrated men and women In
the regions round about, who shall en
gage In active missionary enterprises
among the poor and needy. Some
times a pastor may remain in charge
of one church for a score of years and
do nothing except perhaps build up
a single organization in numbers and
power. Whereas another will take
the same organization, and in the
same length of time establish a half
dozen mission all around it, which will
develop into independent churches. I
know of a minister who went to a
town of five or six thousand people a
few years ago, which had in it only
one strong Presbyterian church, and
no missions, or at least none worth
mentioning. He had only been there
two or three years until he had started
four or five Sunday-schools, most of
which have already developed into
Independent organizations. This is
the true work of the local church.
The church does not in this way
weaken itself. On the contrary, It
becomes stronger as It sends out its
members Into mission work, and as
it is willing to impoverish itself of
members and means to build up other
churches. It is the very best way to
develop Christian character. No
Christian can be constantly taking in
? feeding himself upon good preach
ing and edifying spiritual services ?
and yet give out nothing to others,
and still remain in a healthy spiritual
condition. "There is that scattereth,
and yet increaseth; and there is that
withholdeth more than is meet, but It
tendeth to poverty." This is just as
true in Christian service as in Chris
tian benevolence. The Christian spirit
grows strong by active exercise, just
a3 the muscles of the body increase in
strength and power by use. The two
key words of the gospel are "Come"
and "Go." The first is, Come to the
Saviour and receive life at his hands,
and the Becond is, Go and tell others
what you have found in Jesus. Every
church, therefore, should be filled
with people who are continually com
ing and going, and no church which
can be characterized in this way can
fail to grow strong.
When our Lord departed from the
world and left the work of preaching
the gospel and establishing the king
dom in the hands of the disciples, he
was careful to tell them to begin at
Jerusalem. It was not necessary for
them to leave the place where he had
been arrested, tried and executed, and
where it might have been supposed that
they would meet with great animosity
and opposition. But they were to
begin right there in the heart of
things, in the midst of his enemies,
and bearing all the reproach that at
tached to his crucifixion, and there
they were to make known to the peo
ple about them the meaning of his
coming into the world, his life, his
death, his resurrection, and his as
cension to heaven. If the church
could not have started in Jerusalem
we may reasonably suppose It could
not have started anywhere. But Inas
much as it ?oon secured a firm foot
ing in the very center of the Jewish
nation its existence was Insured, and
the work which it was organized to do
had a good beginning. It is not right
for any church to imagine that it can
not grow and do good work in any
place if it is surrounded by human be
ings who are "without God and with
out hope In the world." Where the
people are, and where they need the
gospel, that is where the church ought
to be, and where It ought to do its
work. If every single church, large and
small, in our Southern 'Presbyterian
organization, should become an active
missionary center, the influence of
such a general movement would be
powerfully felt, and the growth of the
church in members and in Influence
within the next few years would be be
yond a reasonable calculation. We
could hardly imagine what an impetus
it would give to the work if many of
our small churches, which ar^ now,
and have been for many years, strug
gling for . existence, sh,ould become
active and aggressive, and liberal of
their members and of their means,
and should practice for awhile giving
out rather than gathering in. It
would produce a marvelous transfor
mation. We have so many little
churches, which have lived on the
Home Missionary Committe for years
and years, which ought long ago to
have been independent and sources of
light and help to others. Be sure that
the church you belong to Is a mission
ary church.
THE MID-WEEK PRAYER SERVICE.
How ran we best develop a deeper
interest in the prayer meeting? This
question has long been a problem with
many pastors and in many churches.
It is an almost unanimous potnlon
that this "spiritual thermometer" of
church life certainly needs some in