1910
I own that I am disposed to say grace upon 20 other occasions in the course of the day besides my dinner. I want a form for setting out upon a pleasant walk, for a moonlight ramble, for a friendly meeting, or a solved problem. Why have we none for books, those spiritual repasts — a grace before Milton — a grace before Shakespeare — a devotional exercise proper to be said before reading the "Faery Queen?" — Charles Lamb.
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Monday, July 16, 2007
Secondhand Wisdom – Reading Sermons
1905
Sir Roger de Coverley obliged his chaplain to deliver sermons written by famous old divines in lieu of original preachments, and Addison assures us that many clergymen would do well to adopt the plan, but most congregations prefer a minister who speaks his own thoughts, however mediocre they may be.
The New Orleans States says that a bishop, commenting on the aversion of congregations to sermon reading, tells this story:
A sermon-reading clergyman, a friend of mine, called one day on a humble parishioner, a cobbler. He sat mending a pair of boots and reading his Bible at the same time.
"What are you doing, Giles?" asked my friend, with a benevolent smile.
"Prophesyin'," Giles answered.
"Prophesying? Nonsense!"
"Well," said the cobbler, curtly, "if readin' a sermon is preachin', isn't readin' a prophecy prophesyin'?"
Sir Roger de Coverley obliged his chaplain to deliver sermons written by famous old divines in lieu of original preachments, and Addison assures us that many clergymen would do well to adopt the plan, but most congregations prefer a minister who speaks his own thoughts, however mediocre they may be.
The New Orleans States says that a bishop, commenting on the aversion of congregations to sermon reading, tells this story:
A sermon-reading clergyman, a friend of mine, called one day on a humble parishioner, a cobbler. He sat mending a pair of boots and reading his Bible at the same time.
"What are you doing, Giles?" asked my friend, with a benevolent smile.
"Prophesyin'," Giles answered.
"Prophesying? Nonsense!"
"Well," said the cobbler, curtly, "if readin' a sermon is preachin', isn't readin' a prophecy prophesyin'?"
Monday, June 11, 2007
Influenced By His Mother
1915
John Bright's Explanation of His Supreme Mastery of the Art of Public Speaking
The famous English orator, John Bright, was asked how he came to be such a master of the art of public speaking. He answered that the only help he ever had in that direction he got by listening to his mother read the Bible.
She was accustomed to read the Bible aloud to the children, and he was so fascinated, he said, by her way of reading that he had tried ever since to imitate it.
John Bright became a great statesman, who carried out the teachings of the Bible in a noble and helpful life. Such was the power of his eloquence that he brought about great and beneficial changes in the laws of England.
His mother's Bible reading during the years of his impressible childhood influenced his whole life; the careful, unhurried, reverent and expressive way in which she read was the chief influence in producing one of England's greatest and noblest orators.
There are many ways in which a mother may influence legislation, even in communities where she may not yet cast a vote. — Youth's Companion.
John Bright's Explanation of His Supreme Mastery of the Art of Public Speaking
The famous English orator, John Bright, was asked how he came to be such a master of the art of public speaking. He answered that the only help he ever had in that direction he got by listening to his mother read the Bible.
She was accustomed to read the Bible aloud to the children, and he was so fascinated, he said, by her way of reading that he had tried ever since to imitate it.
John Bright became a great statesman, who carried out the teachings of the Bible in a noble and helpful life. Such was the power of his eloquence that he brought about great and beneficial changes in the laws of England.
His mother's Bible reading during the years of his impressible childhood influenced his whole life; the careful, unhurried, reverent and expressive way in which she read was the chief influence in producing one of England's greatest and noblest orators.
There are many ways in which a mother may influence legislation, even in communities where she may not yet cast a vote. — Youth's Companion.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Deserving of Pity
1895
Deserving of Pity
"A home where the Bible is never touched except to be dusted, where no prayer is ever voiced, where no mention is ever made of Him whose words have changed the course of empires — such a home is deserving of pity. It is nerveless and powerless for good." — D. O. Mears, D.D.
Make a Business of It
"Make a business of religion. To this end estimate: What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul or what should a man give in exchange for his soul?" — Philadelphia Methodist.
Laziness
"Laziness grows on people; it begins in cobwebs and ends in iron chains. The more business a man has to do the more he is able to accomplish, for he learns to economize his time." — Sir M. Hale.
All for Our Good
Many things happen that we cannot understand, but if we love God we have a right to believe that He is in all of them, and just as surely as we have that belief, it will give us constant and perfect peace. Not a trouble can come to us in this life while we are trusting in God that we will not thank Him for when we get to heaven.
Deserving of Pity
"A home where the Bible is never touched except to be dusted, where no prayer is ever voiced, where no mention is ever made of Him whose words have changed the course of empires — such a home is deserving of pity. It is nerveless and powerless for good." — D. O. Mears, D.D.
Make a Business of It
"Make a business of religion. To this end estimate: What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul or what should a man give in exchange for his soul?" — Philadelphia Methodist.
Laziness
"Laziness grows on people; it begins in cobwebs and ends in iron chains. The more business a man has to do the more he is able to accomplish, for he learns to economize his time." — Sir M. Hale.
All for Our Good
Many things happen that we cannot understand, but if we love God we have a right to believe that He is in all of them, and just as surely as we have that belief, it will give us constant and perfect peace. Not a trouble can come to us in this life while we are trusting in God that we will not thank Him for when we get to heaven.
Studying the Bible
1895
"Now, wholly apart from its religious or from its ethical value, the Bible is the one book that no intelligent person who wishes to come into contact with the world of thought and to share the ideas of the great minds of the Christian era can afford to be ignorant of. All modern literature and all art are permeated with it. There is scarcely a great work in the language that can be fully understood and enjoyed without this knowledge, so full is it of allusions and illustrations from the Bible. This is true of fiction, of poetry, or economic and of philosophic works, and also of the scientific and even agnostic treatises. It is not at all a question of religion or theology, or of dogma; it is a question of general intelligence." — C. D. Warner.
"Now, wholly apart from its religious or from its ethical value, the Bible is the one book that no intelligent person who wishes to come into contact with the world of thought and to share the ideas of the great minds of the Christian era can afford to be ignorant of. All modern literature and all art are permeated with it. There is scarcely a great work in the language that can be fully understood and enjoyed without this knowledge, so full is it of allusions and illustrations from the Bible. This is true of fiction, of poetry, or economic and of philosophic works, and also of the scientific and even agnostic treatises. It is not at all a question of religion or theology, or of dogma; it is a question of general intelligence." — C. D. Warner.
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