FRE1,IOii'I I,;ETliODIST CHURCH Gloversville, New York Fred Clarke, Mi~ister

October 25, 1942

ORDER OF MOID~ING WORSHIP

PRELlJDE "Andante Cantabile" CALL TO WORSHIP HYMN 381 "The Church 1 s one foundo. tio!l11

PRAYER IN U1HSON

Tschaikowsky

Almighty God, from whom every good pra~rer cometh, amd who pourest out on all who desire it, the spi­rit of g,race and supplication; deliver us, when we draw nig.!-1 to Thee, from coldner.s of heart and wan­derings of rilind; that w:i. th steadfast thoughts and kindled affections, we may worship Thee in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

LORD Is P".n.A1ER

* SOLO

* "Jeho ld, Vr..'la t 1Janner of Love" Fichthorn

RESPONSIVE READING GLORIA FATRI APOSTLES• CREED

42nd Sunday - Second Reading

* SCRIPTURE LSSSON Judbes 16:23-31 PAS1,0RAL PRAYER AND CHORAL HESPONSE

OFFERTORY "Our Father, Thou in heaven above" Bach PRESENTA1'IOU OF OFFERiliGS AND PLEDGES CHORAL RESPONSE

ANTHEM "Nature's Anthem of Praise"

HYMN .180 "Breathe on me, Breath of God"

SER1::0N "Only This Once"

HTI/JN 2 78 "Lead on, 0 King Eternal" BENEDICTIOl; .~D DOXOLOGY POSTLUDE "March" * Interval for Ushering

Sullivan

Wagner

TO-DAY IS LOYALTY SlJtJDAY - J is is the day we bring our voluntary pledges to the

church; thus we sl:s.re in ~3 lping our church to minis- I ter through another year.

This is a high privibge as well as u. groat responsi- 1 bilitv. The church cani1ot f 1mction unless we assume !

a per~o~l oblizatio~ in this L~portant ~tter. \

I I I I l

Place ~rour pledge card on t he offering p lato together vrith ;your us1:.a l offcrir..g. , If, you h :;. v~ forgotten your cu.rd, you roo.y secure anot.ner oy speak1.ng to an usher •

i i ~--------··-·---- ---·-----------·---- -

Altar flowers for to-day are given by !~s. John Dutcher and l\lr. a n d Hrs. Russ e ll L.'tn e in loving memory of hus bc.nd a nd fa thor, 1'ir. John Dutcher.

ll: 55 JH7..,TRCE SC:iiOOL~ 5:00 fOU'l'H Cn OL.-1 5:30 Jove rod dish supper. Wende ll Fa llis, Cha irman. 6100 -roUT:;:.I FELLG'JSE I P. Contin u.a.tion of the discussicn

11 Resources from the Christia n F'o. j_th for wartime" .Ruth Fostur, l e~Hlor.

7:30 UNIOH SER"'liCE vlill be held in the North Main St. Methodist Church. Dr. Dutton PetGrson of Odessa, N.Y. will b~ t he speaker.

THROUGH THE WEEK AT FHEMONT

M:ONDAY- 4:00 P.M. 7.:30 P .H.

TL~Slli\Y- 7:00 P.M. at the church.

Girl Scouts. Board of Education meeting.

Wesleyan Service Guild meeting

WEDNESTh\Y-7:30 P.M. The Mid-week Service. The minis­tor wilT preside and members of the Woman's Society of Christian Service will attend in a body in observance of The Yfe ok of Prayer and Sclf-Doniul. THURSDA.Y- 7:30 P.M. Senior Choir rehearsal. F'R:U5.iJ"-·- 8:30P.M. Youth Fe lloY.-s l1ip R:.rmcr's Party.

IT IS NO USE PRAYING "JUST ON' THIS OCCASION LORD, LET THE CONSEQUENCES OF MY SIN BE NULLIFIED. ONLY THIS ONCE, 0 LORD 11

• IF SUC'H ·A PRAYER WERE ANSWER ED IT WOULD MEAN THAT THE MORAL UNIVERSE HAD BEE TuRNED UPSIDE DOWN. IT WOULD MEAN" THAT THE lAW 0 THE HARVEST HAD BEEN ABROGATED - THAT THE IAW OF SOWING AND REAPING HAD BEEN REPEALED. WHAT ABOUT THE GOSPEL? YES, GOD FORGIVES THE SINNER; BUT GOD CANNOT STOP THE TRAIL OF SUFFERING AND SHAME SET IN MOTION BY THE SIN. THE SINS WE DO BY TWO AND TWO, WE PAY FOR ONE BY ONE 11

• SOMEONE PAYS. "THE SINS OF THE FATHERS ARE VISITED UPON CH.~...,.., ........... ,

EVEN UNTO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION. 11

I WANT A GOD OF LOVE. I ALSO WANT A GOD OF I.AW. NOT A C'APRIC'IOUS GOD. NOT A GOD WHO CAN BE WHEEDLED AND COAXED. NOT A GOD WHO IS INDULGENT I WANT A GOD OF MORAL INTEGRITY. -"THE SAME lESTER DAY, TO-DAY AND FOREVERtt. AN "ONLY THIS ONCE'' KIND OF A GOD IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME.

I WANT TO LIVE IN THAT KIND OF A UNIVERSE IN WHICH THERE IS LAW AND PURPOSE - IN WHIOH MEN TO SUFFER IF THEY BREAK UNIVERSAL lAWS. I WANT LIVE IN A UNIVERSE - NOT A MULTIVERSE - Hf WORLD WHERE LIFE WILL ONLY WORK ONE WAY - THE WAY OF J"USTICE, TRUTH, RIGHTEOUSNESS. THAT IS, GOD'S WAY

AND THAT IS THE KIND OF UNIVERSE IN WHICH WE LIVE. THIS IS GOD.'S WORLD. RULED BY HIS LAWS AND WHEW MEN BREAK THOSE rAWS, UNHAPPINESS, FEAR AND SUFFERING RE'SULT. IT IS A WORLD nr WHIC'H "WHATSO-EVER A MAN SOWS THAT SHALL HE ALSO REAP". WORLD IN WHICH"THE MILLS OF GOD GRIND SLOWLY BUT EXCEED ING FINE". IN A WORD, THIS A WORLD IN WHICH LAWS 0 F GOD C'AN BE TRUSTED.

THIS WAR IS A JUDGEMENT OF GOD. WHAT ELSE COULD WE EXPEC:T? FOR YEARS WE HAVE BEEN SOWING WIND AND. WE ARE NOW RI!APlNG THE WHIRLWIND. CANNOT SOW SEEDS OF HATRED, SUSPICION, INJUSTICE, crALLQ NESS AND INJUSTICE WITHOUT REAPING IN LIKE TERMS.

NO, GOD IS NOT AN ttONLY THIS ONCE 11 KIND OF A GOD. NOR MUST WE BE AN "ONLY THIS ONCE 11 KIND OF A PEOPLE. WE MAY LIVE ON TERMS OF INTIMAUY AND DEEP FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM. AND WE MAY DRAW NEAR UNTO HIM IN QUIETNESS AND CONFIDENCE.

3 AN IMMATURE CONCEPT SAMSON'S CONCEPT OF PRAYER

AND OF GOD WAS IMMATURE. "GOD HELP ME JUST THIS ONCE. U>RD

GET ME OUT OF THIS SITUATION AND I'LL NEVER GET IN TO ANOTHER LIKE IT. ONLY THIS ONCE 0 U>RD". WE ON PRAYER AS A KIND OF EMERGENCY CALL. CRISIS C:CME AND THEN WE USE PRAYER AS A LAST RESORT - A FINAL DESPERATE HOPE. PSALMIST SAYS, "AT THEIR WIT'S END, THEY CRY UNTO THE LORD" • SHAKESPEARE WHO KNEW ALL THE FRAILTIES OF HUMAN NATURE .KNEW THIS; IN HIS "TEMPEST" HE MAKES THE SAIU>RS TO CRY OUT "ALL IS LOST! TO PRAYERS, TO PRAYERS. 11

NOT. SAYING THAT GOD DOES NOT ANSWER EMERGENCY CALLS. SOME OF CHURCH FATHERS USED TO HOLD THAT WOULD HEAR A MAN'S PETITION AND SAVE HIS SOUL "BE-TWIXT THE STIRRUP AND THE GROUND". BUT THE" TRO WITH THE EMERGENCY PRAYER IS THE SUPERFICIALITY OF IT. USUALLY DOESN'T GO VERY DEEP. WHEN EMERGENCY IS OVER AND THEY HAVE ESC~PED, MEN RETURN TO THEIR OLD WAYS AND FORGET THE VOWS THEY MADE. ONCE THE DANGER IS OVER THEN GOD IS FORGOTTEN. THEY HAVE MADE PRAYER INTO AN EMERGENCY DEVICE - USED IN THE TIME OF CRISIS AND THEN PUT AWAY UNTIL ANOTHER DE PERATE SITUATION ARISES. .

"ONLY THIS ONCE 11 - "IF ONLY GOD WILL HELP ME

THIS TIME; THEN I'LL BE A BETTER MAN; I'LL GO TO CHURCH; I'LL DO ANYTHING IF ONLY GOD WILL HELP ME IN THIS SITUATION". HOW OFTEN WE MINISTERS HEAR IT. OF COUBSE IT'S ALL PART OF A GENERAL SITUATION WE ARE FilLED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS. "TO-DAY WE 1LL HAVE A FINE TIME SPENDING; TO-MORROW WE'LL OVERHA o·tJR ACCOUNTS. TO-DAY WE'LL HAVE OUR FLING. "ONLY THIS ONCE" - TO-MORROW WE'LL GET DOWN TO BUSINESS" AND SOMETIMES TO-MORROW DOESN'T COME.

AN ORDERLY UNIVERSE USUALLY WHEN WE MAKE THIS KIND OF A PRAYER, WE ARE ASK ING GOD TO DO THE IMPOSSIBLE

THERE ARE SOME THINGS GOD crANNOT DO. FOR EXAMPLE, GOD CANNOT REPUDIATE HIMSELF. CANNOT DO ANYTHING NOT IN CONFORMITY WITH ·HIS OWN NATURE. GOD IS GOOD NEITHER CAN HE BREAK THE LAWS OF HIS OWN UNIVERSE. GOD HAS TO BE CONSISTENT. UNIVERSE BASED ON LAW.

Pl\1~ ~ ~lfE ~ P.A¥ FOR LIVING ON THIS UNI­VERSE IS THAT WE HAVE TO .. GONFORM TO LAWS OF UNI-

. :VcERSE. FIRE BURNS. THAT'S A LAW. NO USE PRAYING -"U>RD, DON'T LET IT BURN ONLY THIS ONUE". LIKEWISE

2 WE HAVE A GLIMPSE INTO THE INNER LIFE OF SAMSON. A REVELATION OF HIS LIFE PHILOSOPHY. WHEN A PERSO REALLY PRAYS THERE IS ALWAYS A REVELATION. WHEN A PERSON IS DEEPLY MOVED AND SEEKS TO RELATE THE ORS OF HIS HEART TO GOD, HE REVEALS WHERE HE NOT VERY DIFFICULT TO UTTER BEAUTIFUL AND TRUSTING PRAYERS WHEN THE SUN SHINES - BUT WHEN' THE HEART FEARFUL AND AGITATEE, THEN PRAYER IS ANOTHER MAT THEN THE WORDS WHICH ESCAPE FROM OUR VERY HEARTS, REVEAL WHERE AND WHAT WE ARE.

SAMSON MEANT THIS PRAYER. ALL THE. ENERGY WHICH A MOMENT LATER WENT INTO Tim PULLING DOWN OF THE PILLARS IN DAGON'S TEMPLE, WAS BEHIND THE PRAY ER. "ONLY THIS ONCE" - WHAT A REVEALING PHRASE IT IS. THIS WAS THE SORT OF THING SAMSON HAD BEEN SAY ING ALL HIS LIFE. IT WAS THIS ATTITUDE THAT HAD C'AUSED HIS UNDOING AND CAPTURE. TAKE FOR EXAMPLE HIS RELATIONSHIP TO DELILAH - HE KNEW SHE WAS MOST DANGEROUS WOMAN; YET HE WENT TO HER TIME AND TIME AGAIN. "ONLY THIS ONCE"; "ONLY THIS ONCE" - WHAT REFRAIN. AND SO IT WENT, UNTIL DELILAH HAD LEARNED T1iE SECRET OF HIS STRENGTH AND BROUGHT HIM TO:'Of\P:.O TIVITY AND DISGRACE. JUST AS HE HAD INDULGED HIM­SELF- TIME AND AGAIN WITH THE PHRASE "ONLY THIS 0 NCE 11

, NOW HE ASKS GOD TO DO SOMETHING FOR HIM ON THE SAME BASIS - "ONLY THIS ONCE 11

•

THIS PHRASE HAS A FAMILIAR RING. WE HAVE GUILTY OF THE SAME FAULTY APPROACH TO LIFE. HERE IS CLUE TO MANY A MANts FAILURE. THERE IS A MAN PRISON FOR EMBEZZLEMENT. STARTED OUT BY TAKING A SMALL SUM TO PUT ON A HORSE. KEPT REPEATING TO SELF • "ONLY THIS ONCE 11

• BUT UNABLE TO STOP. SAME IS TRUE' OF DRUG ADDIC'T AND DRUNKARD. NO MAN DELIBERATELY STARTS OUT TO BE A DRUNKARD. HAS THE IDEA HE CAN TAKE IT OR LEAVE· IT. SOON IT TAKES REMEMBER OLD CHINESE PROVERB - . "MAN TAKES A DRINK; DRINK TAKES ANOTHER DRINK; THEN DRINK TAKES MAN! 11

ONLY THIS ONCE - THAT WAS RIP VAN ·UiNKLE 'S PHILO OPHY - 11 I WON'T COONT THIS ONE 11

• BUT DEEP DOWN IN HIS BODY IT WAS BEING COUNTED AND AN UNBREAKABLE HASIT WAS BEING FORMED - HIS MOTTO "ONLY THIS ONcE". MORAL FAILURE IS THE SUM TOTAL AND THE! AC CUMULATION OF SMALL SURRENDERS.

SAMSON'S PRAYER WAS A PART OF HIS WHOLE LIFE AND A REVELATION OF HIS LIFE PHILOSPHY. THIS LIT­TLE PHRASE IS AN EPITOME OF HIS TOTAL LIFE. "ONLY THIS ONCE. II

"SAMSON CALLED UNTO THE LORD AND SAID, 0 LORD, RE­MEMBER ME I PRAY THEE AND STR"ENGTHEN ME, I PRAY THEE, ONLY THIS ONCE, 0 GOD." JUDGES 16: 28

"ONLY THIS ONCE"

SAMSON NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION THIS MORNING. TO ALL OF US HE IS KNOWN AS THE STRONG MAN OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. REMARKABLE' PHYSICAL POWERS. AS CHILDREN

. WE DELIGHTED TO READ OF HIS FEATS OF V:ALOR. ONCE HE SLEW A LION ftY TEARING ITS JAWS APART. ONE DAY HE WALKED OFF WITH THE HEAVY GATES OF ENEMY CITY UPON BRAWNY SHOULDERS. THEN WE REMEMBER HIS FAMOUS EXPLOIT WITH THE JAWBONE OF AN ASS - SLEW 1000 MEN

CHARACTER SOMETHING OF A RIDDLE. BORN OF THE STRICT· SECT OF THE NAZARITES; YET HE SHOWED MORAL WEAKNESS. SOMETHING OF A BUFFOON YET A NATIONAL HERO. CALLED OF GOD TO BE A JUDGE OF THE NATION, YET HE SEEMED TO ACaOMPLISH NO ABIDING GOOD. MIX­TORE OF STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS. PERHAPS THE ONLY THING THAT REDEEMED HIS LIFE WAS HIS FAITH IN GOD, IN A PERIOD OF DOUBT AND· APOSTASY.

AT LAST CAPTURED BY THE ENEMY, THE PHILISTIN­ES. EYES ARE PUT OUT TO REDUCE HIM TO HELPLESSNESS AND HE IS THEN YOKED TO GRINDING- MILL TO DO WORK OF OXEN. DAY BY DAY HE PLODS AT HEAVY TOIL; ROUND AND ROUND HE GOES. EYELESS IN GAZA.

TO CELEBRATE HIS C'Al?TURE THE PHILISTINES PLAN A GALA DAY. BETWEEN THREE AND FOUR THOUSAND COME TOGETHER IN TEMPLE OF DAGON TO MAKE MERRY. SAMSON' IS BROUGHT IN TO SUPPLY THE CROWNING DRAMATIC OLI MAX. SEE THE BLINDED GIANT; HEAR THE MOCKING LA TER OF PHILISTINES. SAMSON ASKS HIS KEEPERS IF HE MIGHT BE ALLOWEill TO REST. FINDS lUJIISELF AGAINST T'WO OF MAIN PILLARS SUPPORTING TEMPLE. HAB MADE HIS MIND TO DIE AND TO TAKE WITH HIM AS MANY PH !STINES AS HE CAN. WITH TREMENDOUS STRENGTH ~.~~11~ BRINGS PILLARS TOGETHER; ROOF CRASHEB AND WALLS BUCKLE. THE ACUOUNT SAYS BRIEFLY "SO THE DEAD WHICH HE SLEW IN HIS DEATH WERE MORE THAN THEY HE SLEW IN HIS LIFE". SUC'H IS THE STORY.

A REWALING PRAYER BUT IT IS SAMSON'S LAST PRA ER I WISH TO BRING BEFORE YO JUST BEFORE HE BROUGHT

O'RASHING DOWN, THESE ARE THE WORDS HE PRAYED. HE MEANT THIS PRAYER. DEEP SINCERITY HERE. HE FAC:ING DEATH. HE REALLY PRAYE])'. AND nr THE PRAYER