PULPIT VOICES.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 11, 14 January 1929, Page 8

PULPIT VOICES.

NORTHCOTE ANGLICANS. REV. T. SOUTHWORTH RETIRES FAREWELL SERMON. The Rev. Thos. Southworth, who has rilled the office of vicar of St. John the Baptist Church, Northcote, for the past twelve months, evening addressed his farewell discourse to a large congregation. For his text he chose verse 2i of the Epistle of Jude: "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his God." The vicar reviewed the lessons that he had striven to inculcate during the year he had been privileged to minister among them, and said he had been cheered by assurances from some parishioners of the spiritual benefit received. Kind reference had been made by one lady to the type of discourse which dealt with the divisions of life applying to man's body, soul, and spirit. These sections were represented by the national, social, religious and spiritual life, and every quesiton entered one's life from one of those streams.

It was impossible to know of these great divisions that exist, and to teach people about them, without causing division; such had been the experience of Christ, the scripture recorded: "For there was a division among the people because of Him."

If man were only body, it would only be necessary to bother 'with bread and butter. Man, however, was composed of body, soul and spirit. In the light of these three, considered in relation to the four streams constituting our real environment, what was the chief business of life? This had been revealed by Christ, who was the true life. The chief business of life was to grow up into Christ, the spiritual stream of life. The one great object and purpose of life was to be drawn up into that spiritual stream. The others were temporary and impermanent. Life became a spiritual contest from the moment one entered the spiritual stream. All the evil tendencies of man, including envy, jealousy, strife, boastfulness, revelry, murder, sprang from the world, or the national, social, and religious life. These were the three enemies of the spiritual life. There was a radical difference between the spiritual and religious streams of life. The contest they had to wage against the devil was in the religious sphere. A person might be very , religious, and yet entertain murder; others might be boastful, proud, jealous independent and unforgiving None of those characteristics were found in the spiritual stream. There humility, dependance, toleration, forgiveness, 'peace long-suffering, and goodness were the traits seen.

"My work is finished here and I cannot do better than commend' you unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and present vou faultless " concluded the vicar. " '