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WANGALOA.

i V OPENING OF NEW CHUECH,

' The new Presbyterian church at Wangaloa l ' was opened last Sabbath, when there was a •■ very large congregation, the building being . quite full. Among those present were several . from Kaitangata. The opening services were conducted by the Rev. J. M, Allan (Stirling). , Throughout the services a spirit of deep earnestness prevailed. The service opened r with earnest invocation of the Divine bless--8 ing on the house thus erected and set apart f for divine purposes, and the singing of the t church dedication hymn 516. Very approprit ate lessons were read from a portion of Psalm 119, and Luke's gospel XIV, 14th f verse to end. The children's portion was from Psalm 1 119, 11th verse — " Thy word have I hid in ¥ my heart that I might not sin against Thee." B In simple, clear words the children were told i the proper place to store up the word of life, thus making it the controlling power in the

keart,'the regulative power of the life. Thus it became a safeguard from every form of sin, because it meant that God dwelt in the . heart and spoke through the voice of consci- { ence. • \ , The /.children's hymn 449, was sung, after ! which the, Rev. R. Fairmaid, in giving out ' the intimations, took occasion to refer to the ' event of the clay. Now they, worshipped in i the place they had been so unitedly and so \ busily engaged in having erected, he was sure. that the one feeling above. all others' .was "; that of thankfulness to GoJ for His goodness. His blessing had attended them in this effort, and now they had a place of worship erected . to the glory of His name arid set apart for , religious purposes. He trusted that many i would. be born into the kingdom. of God there, | that believers would be aided in ''the life of j gi'ace, and that in their lives w"6uld r be manifested the rich. fruits of the Christian life. For after all the human body was the true earthly dwelling-place of the M6st High. Some of their number who took a deep interest in the new church were absent because of ; severe illness; some because in the provid- I ence of God they had been removed to another sphere of duty. Yet these were with , them in spirit, and they, he felt .sure, would | commend the absent ones to God and to His grace. ' Mr Allan then : preached a direct and very impressive sermqn from the text " Save now,. I beseech thee O Lord ! J) Lord send now prosperity." (Psalm 118, 25). He said the psalm was strongly misaionic. It anticipated the humiliation arid exaltation of Christ. The leading points . enlarged upon by the speaker were : — (1.) The preparation for man's salvation completed. — This was \ indicated in the word "now,", which 1 was the ' emphatic word in the text.' The work of atonement was complete. All. had been done by Christ in His suffering death and resurection. All things were npw ready. All were bidden to come as so clearly set forth in the j parable of the great supper. The atoning work is complete, Christ has ascended to tlie right hand of God, a prince and a saviour to give repentance unto Israel and remission of sin. '•' Save now." (2) The blessings to be obtained. — These were salvation and prosper, ity. Pardon of sin was now possible, , the | gates of x-ighteousness were now open and all , could enter in. True prosperity did not consist in lutving so much as in being. Genuine ! prosperity was soul-prosperity, holy character f and enrichment of the heart through fellowship with God iv Christ Jesus. This gave abiding peace, joy, and satisfaction. (3) How those blessings were obtained by us ; . — They came to hearts through the channel of penitence and prayer, and appropriating the finished work of Christ as a work done for us individually. God hears the cry, the way is open. He pardons and blesses for Christ's sake. These works, at first appropriate on the lips of Christ, through His grace became appropriate on ours, and we may pray " save now I beseech thee O Lord ! O Lord I beseech thee, send now prosperity." Let us make them the expression of our hearts desire, and the fulness of the blessing assured in them will be ours. Mr Allan then made special reference to the occasion expressing his joy that now they had a place dedicated to God. He. rejoiced with them in this advance in religious life. Such a place had a beneficial effect upon a district. It was an objective Avitness to their faith in God. God loved to have a house erected to His name. The next thing / was they should take care to make good use of it by being there at the hour of worship as regularly as they possibly could. For only then could the place become a blessing to them. Let them pray for a blessing upon the house and upon the minister who breaks the Bread of Life from time to time and they might be sure of receiving blessings upon their own hearts. Let them come to the house of God in the worshipping spirit and they would be refreshed and fitted for the demands made upon them in discharging life's duties and bearing its trials. His prayer was that the blessing of God might always attend them in their worship together. Mr Fairmaid then led in prayer. • Hymn 304 (part l)and the benediction brought the very impressing opening services to a close.

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Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CL18940330.2.21

Bibliographic details

Clutha Leader, Volume XX, Issue 1027, 30 March 1894, Page 5

Word Count
934

WANGALOA. Clutha Leader, Volume XX, Issue 1027, 30 March 1894, Page 5

WANGALOA. Clutha Leader, Volume XX, Issue 1027, 30 March 1894, Page 5