Page:Cyclopedia of illustrations for public speakers, containing facts, incidents, stories, experiences, anecdotes, selections, etc., for illustrative purposes, with cross-references; (IA cyclopediaofillu00scotrich).pdf/582



mosques, all over the Mohammedan world, are built accordingly, and not on meridian lines. It is often pathetic to hear a wayfarer or a Moslem who travels on an ocean steamer ask which is the proper direction to turn at the hour of prayer. To pray with one's back to Mecca would be unpardonable. Many Moslems carry a pocket-compass on their journeys to avoid all possible errors of this character. (Text.)—, "The Moslem World."

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PRAYERS

Mr. Keppel in his book "Christmas in Art," tells this story:

I remember a touching little incident which occurred in New York. My dear old mother, who was a Methodist, had died, and our kindly Irish cook prayed twice daily for the repose of the old woman's soul. A Catholic friend of the cook's told her that it was wrong to pray for a deceased heretic, and the cook carried the question to her father-*confessor. The good priest's decision was in this wise: "My daughter, I can not tell you whether such prayers can do good to the soul of a deceased heretic—but your prayers will certainly do good to your own soul."

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Prayers Unanswered—See.

PREACHING

Whitefield was just twenty-one when he received deacon's orders, and he at once leapt into fame as a preacher. "I intended to make 150 sermons," he says, "and thought I would set up with a good stock-in-trade." As a matter of fact, this greatest of English preachers only possest a single sermon when he began his preaching career. In his humility he put his first and solitary discourse into the hands of a friendly clergyman, to show how unprepared for the work of the pulpit he was. The clergyman used one-half of the sermon at his morning service, and the other half at his evening service, and returned it to its astonished author with a guinea by way of payment.—, "Wesley and His Century."

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See ; ;.

Preaching, Call To—See.

PREACHING CHRIST

Some man went to hear Spurgeon preach one day, and when he came back to his friend's house, his friend asked him: "What do you think of Spurgeon?" He replied: "Nothing at all." The friend in amazement repeated his question, and again the answer was: "I do not think anything of him at all," and then he brushed away some moisture in his eyes and added: "But I never can forget his Savior."—

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Preaching, Fearless—See.

PREACHING FROM MANUSCRIPT

One year I invited the pastor of a great church in Cincinnati, and he came, and he spoke on Sunday morning. He pulled out a forty-page manuscript and stood there and read the gospel for a whole hour, and those good country people never saw it done before, and when they adjourned for dinner they got under the trees and talked about the proceedings. They said, "What do you think of that letter from Cincinnati?" And I never see a fellow pull his manuscript now that I don't wonder where that letter is from.—"Popular Lectures of Sam P. Jones."

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PREACHING, GOSPEL

I have seen an advertisement reading thus: "If the druggist says, 'We haven't Brown's soap, but here is something just as good,' don't take it! Go somewhere else." The Church is in business, and Church attendance is controlled by business principles. The man who drops in wants the gospel, nothing else will answer, and he can not be expected to continue dropping in unless he gets it.—

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Preaching Occasions—See.

PREACHING, RESPONSIBILITY IN

Those who have inadequate views of their responsibility in preparing to preach the gospel ought to be impressively reminded of their failure in this respect, as was a moderate minister, who was a keen fisher, when he said to Dr. Andrew Thompson: "I wonder you spend so much time on your sermons, with your ability and ready speech. Many's the time I've written a sermon and killed a salmon before breakfast." To which saying Dr. Thompson replied, "Well, sir, I'd rather have eaten your salmon than listened to your sermon."

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