A Picnic in Palestine (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1892 Excerpt: ...I suppose all of us have had experiences with small audiences. I remember on one occasion to have preached to a congregation of three; and when the sermon was ended, I dismissed them with the request that those who were interested would please remain. Two went away and one stayed. I took him, sat beside him, read and prayed with him, and had the joy of hearing the confession of his faith before we parted. It turned out that he was utterly worthless, and though he joined the church he had to be dismissed from the membership in a very short while. It is said of Elder Dodson, a well-known minister in North Carolina, that he had an appointment on one occasion to preach in a country church. The arrangement was either forgotten or neglected, and when the kind old preacher arrived no one was on the ground. He succeeded in getting into the house through the window, opened the doors, and took his seat in the pulpit and commenced to sing. A traveler passing along the highway hearing the singing concluded that, as it was about noon, he would stop and feed his horse and attend the service. Entering the church he was surprised to find only the preacher, but took his seat, thinking of course that the rest of the congregation would be in pretty soon. To his surprise Mr. Dodson arose and went on with the service, preaching a very pointed sermon and intensely personal, as there was no one else to hear it; in fact, the old man was so direct in his appeals that the traveler went out and took his seat in his buggy. But the preacher continued his sermon: "I can see you, and God sees you; you are not too far away to be reached by His mercy and grace." Years after that man united with the church and gave it as his experience that this sermon led to his conversion. An am...