Christian Messenger (Bonham, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 50, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 17, 1879 Page: 2 of 8
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.
CHRISTIAN, MESSENGER.
v)
THE MESSENGER, with complimentary apprecia-
WESfliESDAY, DEC; 17.1*79.
Perils of
tion^dnd coi
fa
J}.ai
jjf
MaowjJ;
4sits oi
itatipa to
■y forget, to
every da^ in An*av-
erage of a nick<4 for each mem-
r, contributed .every Lord’s
■rcrr»iil#tt.ximrkl/>y tWO preadl-
one for tfe
one to ' send
Its : JHI r^mm. i
uicbes, lout'
From fl
You.'
and gj
posing
dooi
photography,
Paul speaks, of
robbers,”>«& of “perils ztmong
false brethren,” (2 Cor. x!:Y6,)
and Malachi shows where the
robbery copies in. He says,:
“Will a man rob God? Yet
ye have robbed me—in tithes
and offerings?’ Mai. iii: 8. So
her
adding
ch the gospel ^in
aa^atis'^uhtsil|fi^st(S^?S^ces, and thus be
the:(dfminishing proportions of “holding forth the word of
his pocket-book, remind him life.” But, not being a work-
sSp- th^t though the gospel is free,
aYtfat your Ilfs family,like the ferryman’s
h'avj^seefl theij cat, can not live on thanks'
ra&id he is driven from the
mg
what is due to his service. And
this withholding is covetous-
ness. Paul calls covetousness,
idolatry. AncLikiaJhe species
of idolatry that Christians are
most liable to fall into.
Out of a catalogue of ugly
sins, on the list of competitors
for premiums, in the race for
first class honors in idolatry,
Paul twice awards the blue
ribbon to |cove tons ness. Eph.
v: 5, and Col. iii. 5. •
The same apostle says that,
in the last days, there should
be “perilous times,” in which
men would be lovers of : their
own Belves, covetous, and truce
breakers. 2 Tim. iii: J-3.
As we are supposed to be
living in the last days, may
not these perilous times be up*
on us, and .the covetous rob-
bers already at our doors, and
in our churches ?
As I have visited many
churches in different states,
and labored in protracted
meetings, and otherwise with
them, 'and learned by observa-
tion and conversation of many
more, may I not present a few
specimen photographs for in-
spection! Possibly we may
recognize in them some of the
family features photographed
by Paul and Malachi in the
abo^e passages.
• ?-it*o ‘I
8PECJMEN PHOTOGRAPHS CJLA8SI-
tjVii .. •
FIED. *
Occasional Churches. A
church meets once a month,
and accepts the ministrations
of a brother who is learning to
preach and needs practice, or
one who is in some.other busi-
*. * j „ , % i 4 / »I
ness and can afford to preach
without compensation. 'They
have a free gospel but forget
that it is their duty to send out
a free gospel to others..,
5. Cautious'- Churches. A
strong church employs a
preacher for one year. The year
expires, and no engagement is
made for another year. The
preacher travels abroad and
loses a few fhoDths’ time. The
church has no preaching for .a
few months, then corresponds
with different preachers, who
successively visit them and
preach a while on trial, gra-
tuitously. After a few more
months wasted in this way, they
•‘call” one of the preachers who
has visited them on trial, or
some one who has not, thus
gaining, or losing several
months, by their cautious fore-
sight, and making the second
year extend about to the middle
of the third year.
6. Lottery Churches. A church st^es
sends for a preacher to come
and hold a protracted meeting.
He labors a few flays or weeks
among them, successfully and
satisfactorily, has., a glorious
meeting, a large ingathering,
and the members warmed up.
At the close of the meeting, a
brother says to the audience :
Onr brother has been laboring
among us lor some time, and
has done a grand work, and
ought to be compensated, for
church, U^y are doing
nothing of tae kind. Last
year they* had a preacher em-
ployed for half his time* but
this yeaf^titf^ are too poor tg,
employ a preacher even for a
pdrt^f nis time. A bankrupt
treasury and in debt to the
preacher of-last year, they
very prudently thought they
en-
arose jmd responded to a se-
ries of questions in which he
accepted the Bible as the only
^.nle of faith,^nd containing
all truth essential tosalvaUon;
^renounced' the pope and the
whole hierarchy ; promised to
preach Christ as the only way
of life, and to be gentle, sober
and godly, in . the work of the
ministry. Prayer was made
over him ; each of the four
priests in succession laid their
hands on his head the bread
and wine were brought to him
and be renounced the doctrine
of the mass and all transub-
stantiation blasphemy, while
he partook of these elements
of simple bread and wine, em-
against need, andthen, secure,
as we though6,mgainst tempta-
tion, have had^ll the peace
banished by sotne untoward
oceurfQnce' Tajsnter the par-
lof>and find that, Jennie is
playing tea wkhf yotir china
which is your p4dte, or that
Tommy h^banade a horse of
ought not to make another
pfp’ ' Z h f I ; ' < i
gagement till they had pafo up
the old. obligation. - So they
have been about a year with-
out a preacher employed. In
the meantime they very gener-
ously accept the services of a
preacher who is in other em-
ployment for a living, and “can
afford to preach for nothing,”
while the empty treasury, far
from convalescent, presents
the symptoms of having taken
on the type of chronic empti-
ness, which, in a , few more
years, may “strike in” and
prove fatal. They* have not
paid for the support of the
gospel, in the last two years,
an average of one dollar to the
member, or fifty cents a year,
or one cent per member every
Sunday.
Now, don’t ask me to give*
the names of any of these
photographs as I have not told
you what state they are in, aDd
I have traveled in a number of
These photos are only given
as specimens of the above
classes. But should any of
you recognize the pictures,
you can label them for your
own satisfaction as yob place
them in your albums.
-«—** ■ m-
Roman Catholic.
blems of the broken body and
shed blood of the Son of God.
Disclaiming all
over his brethren in the minis-
try, and rejecting the word
bishop in any Roman or Epis-(
copal sense ; but using it only
as overseer of the work, Mr.
McNamara then pronounced
the apostolic benediction.
With only slight interrup-.
tion, the attention was fixed,
the interest deep, and when Ro.r
manism was denounced as a
system to exiort money from
the' poor, they ,gave audible
and unanimous expression of
their conscious experience of
that one fact.
Whereunto this movement
may grow it is impossible of
course to say ; but it is certain
ly intensely interesting, and
deserves the sympathy and at-
tention of all Christ’s people.
As such, we most heartily com-
mend it to the notice of our
readers.—The Covenant.
your frail Japanese chair; to
ho
chi
have a favorite ;/bo$k, which
you leaned io the-goodness of
your heart, coaie*htwne stained
and to»*n ; to ge^fqfche kitchen
and be couAwnrfed by the stu-
pidity or obstinacy of an ig-
norant servant—these are com-
mon experiences, and how of-
ten our self-control flies before
them ! It is as humiliating as
it is common to find that, when
we are on the level of our high-
superiority | eat moods, we are !apt to be
swept down to our lowest.
How can we exercise our-
selves so as to have a quiet
minTi ?
In two or three ways.
We can not invariably con-
trol onr thoughts and impulses,
but our words and our tones are
in our own power. We may
resolve to preserve silence
when we are exasperated, till
we feel calm, and never to el-
evate our tone whe4 annoyed.
A low, clear voice is a great
charm in a woman, and when
it is a mother’s, it has an al-
most magical influence in the
maintaining of harmony in the
household.
A very remarkable move-
ment is now in progress in New
York, among the Irish Roman
Catholic population. It was
“the laborer is worthy of his begun bv Father McNamara, a
. « > m :' • W *•
1. Tired Family. For illus-
tration : A family consisting
of father and mother, and
about a dozen stout boys and
girls, all able- to work, but
constitutionally tired, and de-
pending upon others for sup-
port, and accepting the pro-
visions from time to time be-
stowed upon them. • Some
people think they ouglit^ to
work and support ^fiem-
selves.
2. Tired Churches. A church
of a few hundred onemfiers,
not workers, trying to eke out
a feeble existence, employ-
ing no preacher, contributing
nothing to the support of the
gospel, and starving, spiritual-
ly, upon the occasional gratui-
tous ministration of a few gen-
erous brethren.- * 11
3. Accidental Churches. A
church (non-working) having
no treasury,and no regular con-
tributions, and,^ coarse, no
resources; employing no
preacher, no^ “sounding out
the word * of the * Lord,” but
always glad to have preachers
come that way and give them a
call. And when they do call,
they give them a good hearing,
hire.” We purpose taking up
a collection-for the benefit of
the preacher, and hope you will
throw in very liberally. So the
church having an empty treas-
ury, and the brethren having
forgotten to hand in their con- eranee, its grinding oppression,
tributions quietly to the dea-
cons during the meeting, the
preacher is thrown upon the
community as a pauper, to take
the chances of a promiscuous
collection. And the brethren
throw the responsibility from
their shoulders by casting it
into the lottery mill of a public-
collection, in which dimes slip
from fingers that would have put
down dollars ,on the list of* a
responsible contribution, find
the mill grinds out its grist as
Roman Catholic priest; about
two years ago. * Be renounced
his church and began to expose
its errors to bis Irish friends,
and preach to them a pure gos-
pel. He showed theft) its intol-
A Quiet’Mind.
Of all blessings to be de-
sired, a quiet mind seems most
worthy the Christian’s seeking.
“Calm me, my God, and keep
me calm,” must often be our
prayer, as we encounter the
changes of life.
Most of us have found out
how much easier it is to bear
up under a great misfortune
than to act with patience, goodr are full of help, of instruction,
If we would h^ve a quiet
mind, we must give fair play
to this house in whioh our mind
dwells. Often the temper is
uncertain and fortitude breaks
down because the body is worn
out by illness or sleeplessness.
Let us resolve to secure some
,0m • * "Si
needed repose, and some place
of solitude every day. There
8bo‘uld be one room to which
morning or afternoon we may
retire and be safe from intru-
sion, while we read, meditate,
rest or piay.
Let us make daily and prac^
tical use of our Bibles. They
insatiable ambition, and utter-
ly despotic rule, as well over
the souls, as over the minds
and persons of its votaries;
and brought home to them, es-
pecially as Irishmen,what their
own country had suffered from
papal power and aggression.
Other priests sqpnjoined him,
and the movement spread,until
now no hall can be found large
enough to contain the Irish
congregations that assemble
every Sunday tq hear the gos*
may happen. Then they hand pep Qri the third Sunday of
the preacher a few dollars and [last month the movement had
temper and courage when little
things go wrong. How many
times a day are we tried and
harrassed in the family ! One
person is apt to be irritated *at
trifles, and to speak petulant-
ly and hastily when provoked.
Nothing spreads more quickly
than such an infirmity. It is
as subtle as malaria, and as
hard to overcome. If father or
mother have the Jiabit of
speaking in a harsh, rasping
voice, or of magnifying-little
faults into great crimes, the
children will soon learn the
trick of scowling brows and
cross words. We never hear a
little girl scolding her doll iD
uplifted tones, nor see her
striking and shaking it, with-
out suspicion that in that way
she sees the home government
administered. And when we
observe gentleness, sweetness
it was deemed advisable to
cents, the amount of the col-
lection, and are uvery sorry it
did not amount to more, for lie! e]ect Father McNanpmi a bisli-
had earned mofe, aifd ought to;0p, so that the new reforma-
have had ni^re ; and it he ever | tion might be conducted with
comes and-holds another meet-
ing with them, they will try*
and do better.’’
7. Laodicean Churches, Of
Ihis class, I know a church of
over three hundred and sixty
members, or more than one for
attained such proportions that|iU1<^ unselfishness predomina-
systeih and order. The ser
vices were held in the presence
of an immense assembly, and
were very simple and thoiough-
ly scriptural and evangelical.
After a very able sermon by
Mr. O’Connor, Mr. McNamara
ting in the conduct of children,
the inference is natural that
they live in a sunny atmos-
phere, and have beautiful ex-
amples set before them daily.
How often we mothers have
crone from our rooms, where
O ♦ f f | •
we have had a tender season of
communion with God, have
t i V * * f -4 * T#i - t*\ m m
read precious promises in his
book, and been strengthened
and of comfort. We can open
them nowhere withoht finding
some thought of God, ont-shin-
ing like a star, and dispensing
its brilliant light for our cheer
and guidance. The way of
perfect trust is the only peace-
ful way in this world, and they
have most ol its joy who dwell
nearest the heavenly Father.—
Christian at Work.
Wanted—A Minister.—“My
Dear -: * * Oh !—by the
way, if you learn of any one
with energy, tearful interest in
the conversion of souls, at-
tractive in preaching, great-
hearted, unselfish, merry, in
fact, holy—let me know. Paul
was much the kind of a man
we need. We want a man who
knows all about tfye enemy,
has some capacity for working
miracles, is ready to be stoned,
can teach the women, interest
the children, make princes
tremble, confound the Jews,
convert kings,* pick up sticks,
earn -his own living, go through
lire and water for the good of
others with no expectation that
they will interest themselves
in him—and, in general, lead a
forlorn hope of despondent fol-
lowers.”—Scribner's Bric-a-
Brae.
A
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Burnett, Thomas R. Christian Messenger (Bonham, Tex.), Vol. 5, No. 50, Ed. 1 Wednesday, December 17, 1879, newspaper, December 17, 1879; Bonham, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth914192/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bonham Public Library.