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THE CHRISTIAN NATION.
Vol. JL
Young People's Topic
FOR OCTOBER 11.
By Rev. A. A. Johnston.
Xext Steps for Our Society.—2 Pet.
1:1-8.
Psalms.—44; 1-4, Xo. 119; 17:1-4,
Xo :;2; 37:25-28, Xo. 101; 48:6-10, Xo.
130; 125:1-5, Xo. 354; 133:1-3, No.
369.
Parallels—2 Pet 3:18; Eph. 4:15;
'l..uke 2:52; 1 Sam. 2:2G; Gal. 6:10; 1
Thess. 3:12; John 15:2; Titus 3:14;
1 Thess. 4:10-13; Eph. a:z; Rom. 13:
13-14.
There should be "next steps" for
every society. No matter how efficient
the work may have been, there
should be an ideal, beyond and above
us. There are many ways in which
our work can be improved. The great
danger is that we will allow the work
of our society simply to degenerate.
Interest will lag. Duties will be neglected
until the society will become
a negative force if not a positive injury.
How can we keep the spiritual lite
of our society strong and vigorous
I. By Each :\Iember Making Adequate
Preparation.
The Roll-call meetings are always
good because every member knows
that they will be called upon for
something and they come prepared.
Every meeting could be just as good
as the Roll-call meeting. Those long
silences, which are so embarrassing,
need never occur if sometime during
the week or on Sabbath afternoon,
each one would prepare a suitable
prayer or a brief talk and be
ready when the opportunity comes.
It might be a good plan to have the
secretary keep a record of each mem-
Der's .part in the exercises of the year
and show it to them when the year
was over.
II. By Encouraging Many Prayers.
The meeting is a iprayer-meeting
and prayer is its most important
work. The members shouild be
taught the necessity of intercessory
prayer because only in that way can
the energies of God be unloosed. The
chairman of the prayer-meeting committee
might bring in a subject
around which the prayers of the evening
could center. A whole evening
may be spent in prayer. If standing
becomes fatiguing because the
season of prayer is long, find an attitude
that is comfortable. Long seasons
of .prayer are often very essential
and they should not be neglected
because standing wearies us.
III. By Remembering the "Don'ts."
Don't sing psalms just to flllin
time. Don't announce a psalm because
you have been too indolent to
prepare something original. Don't
announce an inappropriate psalm.
Don't make long speeches. It is a
good rule to treat only one thought.
The ideal meeting is the one occupied
with many short speeches where
the speaker has one important iwlnt
to make. The remarks are better still
if they come from your own experience.
Nothing is so Interesting as
personal experience. Don't be afraid
to narrate your own battles wath sin,
with your victories and defeats. They
may help some one who is passing
through a difficulty, like to yours. A
Covenanter testimony meeting is an
unheard of thing but its lack has been
a great loss to our spirituality. Don't
get into the habit of always reading
something which you have clipped out
of a newspaper. Don't be afraid to
make new plans. Even change the
position of the chairs. Sometimes
have them in a circle. Don't whisper.
It is distracting and irreverent.
Dom't giggle. It will destroy the spirituality
of any meeting. Don't criticise,
no matter how crude an attempt
may have been. Praise is always
better.
IV. By Working For Others.
There is plenty to be done for
Home and Foreign Missions. There
are many evils In your neighborhood
which need to be exposed and destroyed.
There are many "shut-Ins"
who ought to be visited. The Flowe-
Committee ought to see that there
are flowers on the pulpit and in the
homes of the sick. There are many
lost to be saved, many discouraged
to be cheered.
If we look for them, there will be
plenty of "next steps."
(Synod recommends for this meeting
the subject, "The Separated Life."
This subject will be considered Oct.
25th, when we have for our attention,
"The Christian and the Ballot.")
Prayer Meeting
25.
Topic
FOR OCTOBER 14, 1914.
By the Rev. J. M. Johnston.
Fellowship Meetings.—Heb. 10:
1. Their History.
2. Their Obligation.
3. Their Blessing.
Passages: Zech. 8:20, 21. Heb.
10:25. Mal. 3:lti, 17. Matt. 18:19,
20. Pro. 27:17. Acts 1:13, 14. Acts
12:5. 2 Cor. 1:11. Acts. 16:13-16.
Psalms: 85:3-8. 121:1-4. 119:1-
5. 122:1-6. 133:1-3.
1. Their history. In Scripture
we beHeve that the social fellowship
meetings are as old as the human
race. When true religion
was set up in the world, after the
fall, it assumed the form of private
and social fellowship. In the
days of Enoch, when the people of
God made a distinct separation
from the apostate descendants of
Cain, it is said, "then began men
to call upon the name of the
Lord." This shows that professors
of true religion, at that very early
period united for prayer and
spiritual fellowship. It is impossible
to give anything at all like
a satisfactory account of the history
of the Fellowship meeting
even in the Bible in so short a
time. But we will mention a few
things in history regarding the
prayer meeting as it stands related
to the life and existence of
our own church. In the early period
of the Church of Scotland,
when Prelactic domination was
upheld and supported by the ruling
powers of the State many true,
pious, religious men and women
withdrew from the Church in
which they had been worshiping
because of the corrupt ministry
that had been forced upon them
by prelacy. They received no
spiritual good whatever but the
very opposite. They resorted to
private meetings so called in
which they read the Scriptures
and prayed exhorting one another
in things spiritual. These meetings
were continued through what
was known as the "killing times"
of the persecution period. Under
the supervision of Renwick these
Societies for worship and religious
instruction became fully organized
in various parts of the
Kingdom. For sixteen years, when
God's people were deprived of the
ministrations of a single ordained
minister these fellowship meetings
proved to be a great blessing
to the people in maintaining the
principles for which they were
contending and a godly practice.
All through history in the life of
the church the prayer meeting has
had a very important place.
2. Their Obligation.
The very fact the prayer meeting
can plead Divine warrant sets
forth the obligation of Christian
people to observe it. When we
unite with the Church we pledge
ourselves to attend the ordinances
of the house of God. The weekly
prayer meeting is an ordinance of
Divine authority. 1. It is sanctioned
by the law of nature. The
social principle is an essential
part of our constitution. Men naturally
associate together for mutual
support and comfort. This is
true in all Hues of profession and
business. 2. The prayer meeting
is of Divine approval. This is
true from the very fact that the
Lord has greatly blessed prayer
meetings. They have been the
beginning of great revivals in the
church. Our own Synod and
Church in the last two years has
been greatly blessed by such meetings.
Matters of the greatest importance
that apparently could
not be settled by courts, have been
settled in the prayer meeting. If
we desire to see our Congregations
prosper and flourish and
our spiritual life deepen let us
keep up a good lively prayer meeting.
3. Their Blessing.
The Prayer meeting is a blessing
to the Church first of all in
that it tends to preserve and
strengthen the life of the Church.
In the second place the spiritual
gifts of the members of the
Church are combined for mutual
edification. We are commended
to exhort one another daily,
(Continued on last page.)
SICK DOCTOR
Proper Food Set Him Right.
The food experience of a physician
in his own case when worn
and weak from sickness and -when
needing nourishment the worst
way, is valuable:
"An attack of grip, so severe it
came near making an end of me,
left my stomach in such condition
that I could not retain any ordinary
food. I knew of course, that I
must have food nourishment or 1
could never recover.
"I began to take four teaspoonfuls
of Grape-Nuts and cream
three times a day and for 2 weeks
this was almost my only food. It
tasted so delicious that 1 enjoyed
it immensely and my stomach
handled it perfectly from the first
mouthful. It was so nourishing I
was quickly built back to normal
health and strength.
"Grape-Nuts is of great value
as food to sustain life during serious
attacks in which the stomach
is so deranged it cannot digest and
assimilate other foods.
"I am convinced that -were
Grape-Nuts more widely used by
physicians, it would save many
Hves that are otherwise lost from
lack of nourishment." Name given
by Postum Co., Battle Creek,
Mich.
The most perfect food in the
worid. Trial of Grape-Nuts and
cream 10 days proves. "There s a
Reason."
Look in pkgs. for the Httle
book, "The Road to Wellville."
Ever read the above letter A
new one appears from time to
time. They are genuine, true, and
full of human Interest.