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Oh, young men and women, make up your minds
that, so far as you are concerned, the generation yet
unborn shall not look back over such a history as
that and name you as the guilty one!
“Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap. ’ ’
Sin and Its Scar.
One more example: I know a bright, sweet, beau
tiful, young woman who was very fond of going to
the german. -She always went with some young
man who did not care a cent for her health. Every
night she had an opportunity she would go. She
danced as long as anybody, and bragged about it.
She would come out of a warm room into the open
air with no sleeves, no neck to her dress, and no
anything practically, except what was on the
ground. With every nerve on fire with excitement,
and every pore of her skin congested with blood,
she would thus return home late at night and re
tire. The next day she would sleep late, violating
every law of nature. Think of a mother and father
with sense enough to keep out of an asylum, al
lowing their daughter to live such a life of dissipa
tion !
What happened? After awhile she began to
cough. The physician found she had a case of ca
tarrhal consumption, of which she died.
Before she died she gave herself to God and was
saved, but her life was not spared. You may get
forgiveness for your sin, but the scar will stay with
you for all time.
I ask you in all candor and solemnity before
God, is it not time we were stopping our sowing of
wild oats? The awful harvest is ahead of us.
You talk about pleasure in your wild oat sowing;
is it a pleasure to reap?
Hugging Weasels.
Dr. Wilberforce was walking on the Alps one day,
and saw a mountain eagle light and take something
in his talons and soar away to the skies. He
watched the eagle to see if he could find out what
it was he had, when suddenly he began to wabble,
and then, as if shot with an arrow, tumbled to
the ground. He went to the place where the eagle
fell, and there in his grasp was an Alpine weasel
which he had taken for his prey, but which had
sucked the eagle’s blood until he was dead.
God help us to rivet this thought! Here are men
and women who are holding within the talons of
their affecifions some weasel. It may be lust or bad
habits or some other sin. Think of the awful con
dition awaiting you when the weasel which you
have to your breast shall turn upon you and take
your physical, moral and spiritual life. God help
us to examine our seed before we sow.
Dr. Broughton at Westminster.
The following is copied from the Christian World
of London, England, and is one of the many com
plimentary notices being given Dr. Broughton and
his work abroad:
Dr. Len. G. Broughton, of Atlanta City, Georgia,
who is preaching at Westminster Chapel during
September, is Dr. Campbell Morgan’s alter ego.
Physically, there is a striking resemblance which
on one occasion is said to have deceived Mrs. Camp
bell Morgan herself. It is not as noticeable as it
was w T hen Dr. Broughton was in England two years
ago. The interval has left its mark on Dr. Morgan,
but when Dr. Broughton came on the platform on
Sunday evening he looked not a day older than when
we met him in 1904 at the first passive resistance
sale in Hampstead, at which he bought a barometer
belonging to a lady resister, to take back home as
a memento.
The likeness, moreover, goes deeper than form
and feature. There is a kinship of soul which doubt
less drew the two men together when they first
met at Northfield. This comes out markedly in
their preaching. Both are Bible men. They know
it as few people know it nowadays and they regard
it as the preacher’s first duty to expound the Word.
Dr. Broughton’s career has been a romantic one.
Originally a physician, his conversion was the turn
ing point in his life. Preach he must, and not
knowing how else to begin, he preached in the
streets. His friends were scandalized, and like
The Golden Age for October 4, 1906.
the friends of another and greater preacher, said
he was beside himself. Afterwards he gave up his
practice and entered the ministry. Today he is one
of the great pulpit forces of the world. His church
at Atlanta is one of the largest in the States, seat
ing some 5,000 people, and is too small for the con
gregation. In civic as well as religious life, he
is a force to be reckoned with. He has taken a
leading part in the crusade for purity in municipal
affairs, and is, in consequence, the center of fierce
hatred as well as of passionate admiration and
affection.
On Sunday evening his subject was “The Friend
ship of Jesus,” and his text—the prettiest text in
the Bible—John 15: 15. Dr. Broughton treats texts
as he used to treat his patients. He diagnoses them.
Hence his divisions are so simple as to seem al
most commonplace, but when he is through with his
text you feel that you know its contents.
Westminster Chapel was a Bible school on Sun
day evening. Almost every one of the rather nu
merous divisions was another verse of Scripture
held up as an electric light to flash its rays on
some new facet of the central jewel text. Jesus
was presented as the sinner’s only friend, because
in him alone are to be found the wisdom to direct
and the strength to support the soul that trusts
in him. He only is able to save to the uttermost,
to succor those that are tempted, to subdue both
the temptation and the tempter, and to supply all
needs according to his riches in glory. And when
this friendship attains its perfect intimacy and com
pleteness, it means a union of the believer with his
Lord, in which even prayer becomes almost super
fluous. Soul speaks to soul without the medium
of speech. Companionship with Christ is prayer,
and his presence is the only answer that we need.
A large congregation at Westminster Chapel lis
tened to Dr. Broughton’s sermon last Sunday night
on “The Place of Amusements in the Christian
Life and in the Christian Church.” Dr. Broughton
is a firm believer in pleasure—of the right sort.
His creed is that it is absolutely essential to the
life of old and young. His story of the child who
was converted at a meeting, and who went to tell
her stern grandfather, who had long been praying
for the little girl’s conversion, and how in exuber
ance of spirits she had a romp with the cat, only to
be severely reprimanded by the austere old man,
who thought religion was to be disassociated from
joy, provoked smiles that almost verged into tears
at the conclusion of the story. Dr. Broughton
will speak next Sunday more particularly to young
men; his subject will be, “The Ideal Young Man,”
and on the following Sunday he will speak on
“The Ideal Young Woman.”
(From the Christian Commonweath, London, Eng
land.)
Presentation of Keys at Ponce de Leon
Avenue Baptist Church.
By GEO. M. BROWN.
Dr. Millard, and Brothers and Sisters of The Ponce
de Leon Avenue Baptist Church:
As chairman of youi’ Building Committee, it is my
privilege to hold in my hand today the keys to
the fifth Meeting House which is also the first
home of this Church.
The first place where the meetings of the Church
were held, was at the residence of one of its mem
bers where the Ponce de Leon Avenue Baptist
Church was organized Thursday, October 6, 1904,
after several preliminary meetings had been held;
the next place was in the building of the First Bap
tist Church where, on Sunday, October 9, 1904, our
Church was formally recognized by a council con
sisting of messengers from the First, Second and
Jackson Hill Baptist Churches of Atlanta. Begin
ning with Oct. 16, 1904, and continuing until April
1905, our congregation met regularly each Sunday
afternoon and Thursday night in the North Avenue
Presbyterian Church building through the courtesy
of our brethren of that Church.
While worshipping there during the month of
October, 1904, our Church by a unanimous vote se-
lected Mr. Haralson Bleckley as architect, and in
structed Brother Wm. J. Northen, the chairman of
the Church, to appoint a Building Committee to con'
fer with Mr. Bleckley and select plans for a perma
nent meeting house to be erected on our lot situated
at the corner of Ponce de Leon and Piedmont Ave
nues.
After the Church had secured Dr. Millard as
pastor and while plans for this building were being
drawn, the Church decided to erect a temporary
tabernacle and use same until its permanent home
was built. Mr. Edward C. Peters a member of the
All Saints’ Episcopal Church, tendered us the free
use for that purpose of a lot on Piedmont Avenue,
just across the street from our own lot. This offer
was accepted and the Tabernacle erected thereon,
and our meetings were held in it from April, 1905,
until May, 1906, at which time we moved into the
Sunday school room of our own church building.
The plans for this temporary tabernacle, a pic
ture of which appears on the back page of our pro
gramme of today, required more than ordinary skill
and judgment, but we found among our membership
brothers E. M. Durant, Fred B. Law and P. D.
Baker, and to these three men the drawing of the
plans and the erection of the building was confided.
They were confronted with the problem of erecting
a house small enough to come within the appropria
tion set aside for the purpose and at the same time
large enough to accommodate the congregation and
also to plan so that the acoustics would be good.
They made a wonderful success of the enterprise.
The acoustics were perfect, and through hearing
Dr. Millard deliver God’s message to His children
in this world, many souls accepted Christ as their
Saviour at this little meeting house, and the Church
prospered and grew in membership; but when we
had worshipped here for one summer we had no
fear that the building would ever fail in furnish
ing seating capacity for our membership, and it was
so hot that each Sunday we were reminded of the
terrible punishment in store in the future for the
unconverted.
However, in the winter time it was so cold that
we had to crowd together around the stoves in order
to keep warm, and in this way we seemed to become
welded together as one big family circle. We got
to know each other better, and the stranger who
came to worship with us was treated as one of the
family and made to feel at home. We became
thoroughly united and harmonious and were very
happy together and we felt sure that God was with
us at our meetings. Our motto became, “Love one
another.” As a consequence of this condition our
decisions on any question brought before 'us were
generally unanimous.
When your building committee held its first meet
ing, it was determined that no decision should
be made unless three-fourths of the entire mem
bership voted in the affirmative, and I do not
remember that we ever reached a final decision
on any question that came before us until the vote
of all present was unanimous. We have had many
meetings of the committee and in May, 1905, we
placed before the Church the plan suggested by
Mr. Bleckley and agreed upon by the committee, for
the beautiful new building equipped with all the
modern conveniences in which we are gathered
today.
In June, 1905, the plans were adopted by a unan
imous vote of the Church and the committee was
instructed to sign a contract with Mr. George A.
Clayton for the erection of the building. We feel
that the entire membership of the church is respon
sible for this new church building, and that your
building committee was merely the agency through
which your decision was executed and the house
erected in accordance with the plans selected.
Our work is finished and as chairman of tiie
Building Committee it gives me great pleasure in
behalf of the committee to deliver to you, Brother
Millard, the keys to this building.
(Mr. Geo. M. Brown’s address, in delivering the
keys of the church.)
About 35,000 tons of paper are annually turned
out at Skien, Norway. The laborers, 1,000 in num
ber, receive only 40 cents to sl.lO per day.
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