Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

Jesus Healing 011 the Sabbatli. Jan. 7, 1923. Luke 13. The Jew8 had an idea which is still very prevalent, that every trouble or affliction that comes upon a man is due to some special sin. Some of the Jews came to Jesus to get Him to express Himself on this subject. They told Him of some of His countrymen, whom Pilate had slain in the Temple precincts. Jesus sees what they were after and wisely throws their question back at them. Then He tells them of some people upon whom a tower fell, and asks if they think these peo ple were worse than other people who did not meet with the same fate. All suffering is the result of sin. But us we know very well many people suf fer because of the sins of others. Why (Sod has permitted sin and suffering in the world, we cannot tell. But Jesus teaches that tne only way to escape from such suffering is to repent of sins. If we want to be free from them, we must go to heaven. But no one can And entrance into the heavenly home with sins unrepented of. We had much better be thinking of our own sins and repenting of them than to be thinking of what sins oth ers are guilty of. What each one ought to do is to repent of sins and live a life that shows that they have been repented of. He tells the Jews that those who do not show repentance in their lives will be, like the barren flg tree, cut down and thrown out. On the Sabbath day Jesus went to the synagogue to join with others in worshipping God. He never said that it was not necessary iu go to church, or that He could worship God alone, as' Well as He could in church. The ruler of the synagogue was the chairman of the board of elders, who directed all of the affairs of the syn agogue. He had the right to ask any one whom he chose to conduct any part of the services. It is probable that Jesus was asked to take some part at this time as He often was. In the synagogue there was a wom an sorely afflicted. Many a woman under the same condition would have said she was not well enough to go to church. Jesus did not wait for her to ask His help, but called her to Him, and healed her. It was done instantly by a word and a touch. The ruler of the synagogue became very Indignant. He was not willing to rebuke Jesus directly, but hit at Him over the shoulde/s of the people. He ,-J^bused them all as though they wete all responsible for the woman's coming to church, and that they had brought her there. for the purpose of being healed. He claimed that Jesus had violated the Sabbath, because He had worked in healing the woman. Jesus reminds him that he would have untied his ox or his ass and led him out to water to prevent his suf fering from thirst. That was work, but it was work done in mercy. Here was a woman who had suffered for eighteen years. If His healing her could be counted work, it was justi fied by her needs. There was a time in recent years when people were guilty of observing the letter of the Sabbath law instead of its spirit. But that day has pretty generally passed. The trouble now is that most people fail to observe either the letter or the spirit of the law of the Sabbath. The teaching of the Word of God Is that no work shall be done by us or caused to be done by othersv except the works of necessity apd mercy. There Is great need to day for a more- careful observance of the Sabbath. Satan tried to destroy the Sabbath in the days of the Saviour by mak ing its observance so burdensome that men would rebel against it. Now he is trying to lead men to observe it as little as possible. Without the Sabbath, there will be no church and no religion. Without religion, the world will be in a state of ruin and chaos. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." L.EXINGTON, VA. On account of the additions that are being made to the Sunday school building, it was impracticable to hola the annual Rally Day exercises on the first Sunday in October, and they were postponed until October 15th. The Program Committee had worked hard to have everything in readiness, and gave a personal invitation to all mem bers of the congregation by means of postal cards. At 9:45 the exercises began with a brief welcome by the superintendent. Elder Frank Moore. All the children were eager and happy to perform the parts assigned to them. Probably the two most interesting fea tures of the exercises were the award ing of Bibles by pastor, Dr. Thomas K. Young, to those who had repeated perfectly the Shorter Catechism and the pageant on the Fourth Command ment. Dr. Young called up eighteen from the Woman's Bible Class to receive their Bibles, at least one of them be ing seventy-five years old. Six had never learned the catechism before, and the others repeated it perfectly after thirty or forty years, and all were given Bibles. After this, some of the young people presented the pageant, emphasizing the need of keeping the Sabbath day holy. It was very impressive and attractive. The attendance on this occasion was 451, and the collection amounted to more than $100, which will go to Sun day School Extension. YOUNG PEOPLE. (Continued from page 11) Wells, who made Daniel, Esther, Da vid, and Mary (whose lives we stud ied) real people who lived again be fore us and whom we saw in an en tirely new light and with a deeper in terest than ever before. The open conference from 8 to 8:30 was conducted by the conference mem bers themselves, presided over by the student president, assisted by Mr. H. H. Wells, when subjects of interest in regard to Church life and work were discussed. At one open conference there was a debate: "Resolved: That our debt to the Home Mission field is greater than the Foreign field." At the first inspirational meeting? we were, indeed, fortunate in having with us Mrs. J. W. Hassell, of Maru game, Japan. Mrs. Hassell was a for mer Petersburger and member of our church, but for the past seven years she and her husband have been doing a wonderful work as missionaries to Japan. She gave us a glowing account of her work among the Japanese young people and at the close made a stirring appeal for workers, which sank deep into the hearts of all her hearers. Mr. William Cllft, who had charge of the second inspirational meeting, talked on "Stewardship." He said there is much said about tithing, but that Ood wanted not only our money but our service. The beautiful pageant, "The Mes sage," showing how to observe the Sabbath, which was presented at Mas sanetta last summer, was given at the second devotional meeting. Completing the four-fold plan there was, of course, the social hour, when everybody got together for a jolly good time. Under the supervision of Mrs. H. R. Smith and Mrs. J. N. Harrison, the social hours were all that could be desired ? games, songs, refresh ments and everything. Miss Mary Gray Harrison and Mr. H. H. Wells had charge of the music. And stunt night! This took the place of the last inspirational service and was more fun. Each clan had a stunt, including the Methuselahs, as our faculty called themselves. Mr. Claude H. Prichard, of the Union Theological Seminary, Rich mond, Va., conducted one of the in spirational services. His subject was "Shadows." Each of us casts a shadow over the lives of others. May each of Us from now on cast a better shadow, one that will help, not hinder, those with whom we come in contact. As on a hot sunny day the big oak tree reaching out its giant branches to the sky affords shade and rest to tired travelers, so may our shadows bring inspiration and cheer to world travelers along the highway of life. When at the close of his talk, Mr. Prichard asked for Student Volunteers to stand, eight stood signifying their intention of making the work of our Master their life's work. "O Saviour, we would give to Thee all that we are and all that we have, our lives, our money, our service, and we pray that Thou wilt take them and use them for Thy honor and glory." WOMAN'S WORK. (Continued from page 7) do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter." "Have faith in God." He knows best how "the dross to consume and the gold to refine." He has lessons to teach them, and to teach us, who helplessly watch and wait. To them and to us may not dependence on our Father be deep ened, faith strengthened, as He makes very real to us the words, "Who shall separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus? Shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecu tion, or peril, or nakedness, or fam ine, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us, for I am persuaded that neither life, nor death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall separate us from the love of God which Is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Bristol, Tenn. TO KILL YOUR AUXILIARY. Miss as many meetings as you can. If you do attend, come late. If the weather is not good, don*, think of going. Be sure to find fault with the work of the officers. Decline to serve in any office. Get sore if you are not put on a committee. If the chair asks your opinion, say you have none, but later criticize everything that was done at the meet ing. Do nothing yourself, and when others work hard, talk about the "clique that runs things." Never answer a note or letter. Give the least you can. ? Adapted. WK8T VIRGINIA 8 Y NODICAL AUX ILIARY OFFICERS. President? Mrs. R. F. Dunlap, Hin ton. Corresponding Secretary ? Miss Lil lian Daugherty, Hinton. Secretary, Foreign Missions ? Mrs. Robert Gray, Union. Secretary, Christian Education and Ministerial Relief ? Mrs. S. J. South worth, 908 9th Ave., Huntington. Secretary, Assembly's Home Mis sions ? 'Mrs. A. C. Herold, Sutton. Secretary Sunday-school and Young People's Work ? Miss Teresa King. Secretary. Development of Spirit ual Life ? Mrs. Gordon Woody, Charleston. Secretary, Literature ? Miss Isabel Arnold, Elkins. Historian ? Mrs. Lewis Stuart, Rich lands. Presbyterial Presidents. Greenbrier ? Mrs. Wm. P. Echols, Alderson. Kanawha ? Mrs. W. E. Pepper, 1136 3rd Ave., Huntington. Tygarts Valley ? Mrs. L. D. Zlnn, Glenville "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips." (Ps. 141:3.) O Saviour, as Thou didst teach Thy disciples to pray, so teach ub that we may always speak rightly. A CALL TO AN UNUSUAL SERVICE. The Assembly's Stewardship Com mittee, at a recent meeting, passed a resolution asking every Executive Secretary, Associate Secretary, Evan gelist, Home Mission Superintendent (or Assembly, Synod or Presbytery), Sunday School Field Worker, School, College, Seminary and Orphanage President in the entire Church to set apart March 4th, 11th and 18th next to help in the Progressive Program. We are asking that no engagements be made for these three Sundays, and Book of Chnrch Order With 1922 Amendments. The new edition is now ready. Or der your copy at once. Should be in the hands of every Pastor and Church Officer. Price, Cloth, 35c, Postpaid. CONFESSION OF FAITH. New edition contains revised Book of Church Order, with 1922 Amend ments. Price, Cloth, 75c, Postpaid. PRESBYTERIAN COMMITTEE OF PUBLICATION. Richmond, Ya.? Texarkana, Ark. -Tex. The Best <&tft The Presbyterian of die Sooth Price $2.50 and BEST Have You Ordered ??!?.? The LARGEST TEACHERS GUIDE At AN Po?kiill>n I1JO (Postpaid *2.00) FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY in bin An., onr you 17 i. waiasr m., cukam