Article January 18, 1988 Issue

A spirit of watchfulness and attention is necessary to...

Horace Bushnell

Sermons for New Life

A spirit of watchfulness and attention is necessary to all the solid interests of your church. It is not enough that you attempt to bless it occasionally by some act of generosity or some fit of exertion. Your fellow Christians, suffering from injustice or evil report, must have your faithful sympathy; such as are struggling with adversity must have your aid; when it is possible, the more humble and private exercises of your church must be attended.

The impression cannot be too deeply fixed that a church must grow chiefly by its industry and the personal growth of its members. Some churches seem to feel that if anything is to be done, some great operation must be started. . . . Rightly viewed, there are no small occasions in this world, as in our haste we too often think. Great principles, principles sacred even to God, are at stake in every moment of life. What we want, therefore, is not invention, but industry; not the advantages of new and extraordinary times, but the realizing of our principles by adorning the doctrine of God our Savior in all times.

Horace Bushnell From Sermons for New Life, revised edition (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1901)

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