OUR KUMARA LETTER.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 22 April 1901, Page 4

OUR KUMARA LETTER.

(CUE OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

His Lordship Bishop Julius arrived in town on -n'lKd ' ’■ t'e 'hrist’lvi «

.... . .1.- usual episcopal nm. i have been kindly supplied with the account of the services in Holy Trinity Church yesterday. The morning service saw the church well filled. At 8 a.in. Holy Communion was administered. At II a.m. His Lordship preached an eloquent sermon, taking for his subject the text from St Luke’s Epistle at.i Chapter: “No man putteth a piece from a new garment upon an old garment.” He points out that religion in old times was a patching up of religions until Christ came and taught people as he taught Nicodcmus that they must bo born again. Eeal religion was turning people’s lives from the wrong path to the path of virtue which they must follow in their every day life. At the evening services the church was crowded to excess. His Lordship administered the rite of confirmation to 40 candidates and delivered to them a short but powerful address. Ho also preached a most eloquent sermon from St Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians, HI Chapter; the word •• therefore.” The word “ Therefore” connected the two halves of the Epistle, The part dealt with the doctrine and the second part with the practice part of the epistle. Ho ventured to say that there were some present who believed only in doctrine and some who believed in the second part only and cared nothing for doctrine. Either St Paul is Tight or wo are right. Those who believed only in one halt did not believe in the preaching of the New Testament in Christ. Every century witnessed some great religious or evanfelical revival, and where were they toay ? Gone; and what better was the world for having had them ? None. Why? Because they were not by an ethical or moral revival. The preacher related having witnessed the launching of the Great Eastern, and how all modem appliances failed to move her. Eventually she was moved an inch. Having got her to move so much she was kept agoing. The same was the case with Christianity. The prophets and evangelist* failed to move it, till at length Christ came and set it moving and it lias kept it moving ever since. In Now Zealand we look to the Government to im{irove the morals of the people. Legisation was powerless to raise a nation unless the people had got something more than doctrine in their religion.