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Show inncE UT I. UMCH The First Methodist church was crowded last Sunday morning to enjoy en-joy tho gieat musical sonlco led by tho SL Cecelia chorus undei Miss -Nelson and the Qloo club of the University Uni-versity of Denver and to heai Fied-erick Fied-erick Vlnlng Fishery sermon on The Final Authority jn-Matters of .Morals and Religion' . . The two musical .clubs filled the platfoim. The Glee c'ub aft-i the prayer sang with fjno effect Rhodes' "Remember Now Thy Creator" and at tho close "Remember Me ' The offertory of-fertory was sung by Mrss Nelson, who gave a fine ronderlng of "The Home land." The musical cliinux was reached by the rich voices of the male quartet from Denver, who sang just before tho Bermon Mr. Fisher In Introducing tho sci-mon sci-mon said that the longer we lived the more we felt the need of some authoritative au-thoritative voice to lend us in life and so we must weigh the question what shall that volco be Then speaking from the text. "Ho spoke as one who had authority," Mark1-22, ho spoko in part as follows "Once early man bad no guide in life but hlb primitive Instincts, his whims and Impulses. But man soon found that appetite alone wns not enough gnlde in the deep things of lire and so distrusting himself he turned to the gioup for leadership and felt that the conclusions of good men were the standard for his life Out of that arose the notion of an Infallible church, the highest court of morals ln the world For centuries centu-ries men bowed to the will of a church and even today in America thousands have still a notion that the voice of some church is tho voice at God, evon though there are men at the head in breadth of -IsIon and gieatness of soul not up to the men who submit to their guidance But tho Idea of an infallible church is doomed The modem mnn must have blggor leadership than that In the revolt of northern Europe against the idea of an infallible church, Prostestanllsm put an Infallible Infall-ible creed and dogma beneath the guide of men, but creeds are but the Judgment of the church of yesterday and hardly stated before they are out of date Then came the infallible book as tho authority of life. Wo llko the Idea of an infallible book, some book which was sont down from above or dug up from the earth or written by almighty powor. But more and more wo see that books do not come that way More and more we seo that re ligion did not come out of the Bible, but the Bible out of religion, that what the Bible Bays Is true is not because be-cause it i6 in tho Bible, but it is true because it expresses for us what we feel down In our reason and conscience con-science Is true and It Is in the Bible because it Is true. But to accopt an infallible book means to accept an infallible Paul and David and Moses and they wero but men Driven at - last back to self the modern man sets up as authority himself and ranks of an Infallible conscience, con-science, but too often conscience has led men astray for It was conscience that made Saul a persecutor of Chri-tians. Chri-tians. Where then shall we go for a living voice to guide us in the struggles of life? I have an answer, the answer that made men say: "One who spake as having authority." Back of Instinct to Him who made It, back of conscience con-science to Him who can guide It, buck of the church to Him who Is the rallying ral-lying center of all true churches, back of tho book of Him who Is the heart of It, back to the Christ tho Son of God, God walking the streets of earth, Bharing our life, dying for us, there Is the One with the final word to say to us In the matters of tho life .and tho soul. More and more men will see this, more and more feel that Jesus Christ Is the real leader of men and tho standard of life for the age In which wo live. Aye, He Is far ahead of our age. We are tolerant, of sin and intolerant of men. Ho had no race, class or creed prejudices, but Ho had no patience pa-tience of shams or' sin. We euiphn-slzc euiphn-slzc the mere bodily life. lie said ( "Ye must be born again" and made the life of the soul the great thing. The more we know nnd the older we grow the, more we feel In sympathy with Him. Wo outgrow the forms and creeds of yesterday, we outgrow ourselves, but we never outgrow Jesus 'Christ. Across tho years He calls today as of old, calls to the best manhood and womanhood or America, "Come follow fol-low me." Shall we do it? |
