00A.03 INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

While I was in a meeting at Bartlett, Texas, in July of 1927, some brethren in Fort Worth called me by long distance telephone and told me that I had been selected to do the preaching in a cooperative effort of the fourteen churches of Christ in Fort Worth. This preaching was to be done in the First Baptist Church auditorium, which, they claim, has a seating capacity of between six and seven thousand. At the time these brethren called me I had no open time. I had a schedule of meetings that ran up to Christmas, but I told the Fort Worth brethren that I would accept their invitation, provided I could get some church to release me from an engagement. This required a rearranging of my program and called for a good deal of writing, telegraphing and telephoning. Even then I was not very agreeably released from any place. But the day came and in the goodness of God I was there, ready to do the preaching. The meeting began on Sunday afternoon, September 18th, and closed Sunday night, October 2nd. We had two services each day, which made thirty sermons in all.

Brother John Dickey was our song leader in this meeting and he did his work well.

Before the meeting began Brother Dickey had asked me to allow the sermons to be taken down as I delivered them in order that they might be put into book form. I agreed to this with the understanding that 1 would have no responsibility in the matter—no burden, financial or other kind—except to preach the sermons.

Brother Dickey assumed full responsibility, therefore, and undertook the task of publishing the book. He employed an expert stenographer, a Mr. Everidge, to take down the night sermons and the two Sunday afternoon speeches, the first of which was the lecture on Evolution. Mr. Everidge failed to get this lecture because I talked too rapidly, but he said he had the other sermons in fairly good order and that with a little correcting and filling in by me they would be ready for the book.

However, he waited forty days after the meeting closed, putting Brother Dickey off with one excuse and another, before he began transcribing his notes. Then late in November he turned three very incomplete transcripts over to Brother Dickey who mailed them to me at Detroit, Michigan. But before I had time to do any work on these transcripts Brother Dickey wired me that Mr. Everidge had died suddenly. As many orders for the book of sermons had already been placed, it seemed necessary that the book be brought out. No one could be found who could read Mr. Ever- idge’s notes, and there was nothing for me to do but write the sermons in long hand—I can not use a typewriter. I got home from Detroit about the middle of December, but as I had been out in the field the entire year, I felt that I owed it to my wife and daughter to spend the holidays with them without working. Hence I did not begin writing these sermons till in January, 1928.

While writing them I have held meetings at Tipton and Frederick, Okla.; at Sinton, Texas, and at Memphis and Martin, Tenn. I have preached twice each day in the week and three times on Sundays, and I have gone out each day for meals and I have done the many other things that go with evangelistic work. In addition to these duties I have, during this time, prepared for and held a debate with Judge Ben B. Lindsey on the “Companionate Marriage” issue.

If, therefore, these sermons do not come up to the reader’s expectation I hope he will let these circumstances plead forbearance and liberality in forming his opinion.

If the original plan had not failed there would be eighteen sermons in the book, and five chapters that are now in it would not be there. These five chapters are:

“Christ, the Man of Sorrows”; “Christ, the Christian’s Creed”; “Christ on Trial” and “Where are the Dead?” These sermons were not preached in the Fort Worth meeting. Then, of course, the chapter on “In Memoriam” was added after our first plan failed. The reasons for this chapter are given in the chapter. The six sermons that I preached in the meeting that are not in this book are: “The New Birth”, “A Heart the Cord Opened’’’, “Pentecost”, “The Advantage of Being in Christ” and two Sunday afternoon addresses on (1) “The Shepherd Psalm" and (2) “All Things Work Together for Good for Those Who Love the Lord”. The reasons for leaving these sermons out of the book and putting the others in are: 1. I wanted to complete the series on “Christ”. 2. Every book of sermons now on the market contains a discourse on “The New Birth”, on “A Heart the Lord Opened”, (the conversion of Lydia), and on “Pentecost”. The other three are hard to write. 3. The chapter on “Christ, the Christian’s Creed” and “In Memoriam”, were already written. This shorter route was made necessary because I was so busy and because people who had ordered the book were impatient and were constantly inquiring about it.

I claim nothing new or original for these sermons. They tell the old, old story in as simple a may as I could put it. “Christ Crucified” is always my theme and I am determined never to preach anything else.

I desire to thank all the brethren of Fort Worth for their splendid fellowship and co-operation during the meeting. I thank, also, every one who has in any way assisted me in bringing out this book. I am indebted to many. May our great Jehovah, whose I am and whom I serve and by whose goodness and mercy I have ever been able to accomplish anything, take this book and sanctify it to the good of all who read it and to the glory of Christ, the crucified, now risen and glorified Lord, is my humble prayer.

G. C. BREWER;

Martin, Tennessee, April 10, 1928.