GORE METHODIST CHURCH

Mataura Ensign, Issue 1544, 26 September 1905, Page 5

GORE METHODIST CHURCH

ANNIVERSARY S ERVICES. On Sunday the Wusleyau Church celebrated its anniversary services. The Town Hall was taken and large congregations assembled in the morning and evening, and there w;as also a good number of children and parents present in the afternoon. Ihe Rev. JU- Hosking preached in the. morning and evening, and the Rev. Mr Hervey in the afternoon. The Rev. J. A. Hosking selected as his texts Acts xix., 2, and Revelations ii., 5, and proceeded to describe the progress which had been made by the Ephcsian Church;, from... the time of its formation. Thfijfc had given evidence of their faith and good works, and were commended for it. It was not. however, until Paul's visit to them, described in the passage from the . Acts selected as a text, that the church ut Ephesus rose to its highest usefulness. The conferring of the gift of the Holy Spirit at that limeled them to a fuller consecration and Higher usefulness. Reference was then made to the remarkable movement at Waihi, which was directly attributable to the working of the Holy Spirit. The question put to the Ephesian Church. "Did ye receive the Holy Spirit when ye believed." might well be put to all churches in the Christian world, including those of Gore. It was only as the members of the Church realised the necessity for a baptism of power from on High that they could hope to accomplish successfully and to the full the work the Church was appointed to do. There were social evils in existence in the world which required strenuous opposition. These would succumb to the attacks of spirit-filled men. The . work of the Holy Spirit was well known, and no one could plead ignor- j anee of the subject. The preacher urged on his hearers to claim the gift ; of the Spirit, if that had not been re- ! ceived by them when-they believed.. | In the afternoon,-at a musical scr- j vice, the hall was well filled. The j Rev. Mr Hervey conducted the sen-ice, ; basing his remarks on 11. Chron. ; xxxix.. 27 and 28. He said that the movement towards the union of Unchurches had been going on for a long time, but the goal was still a long • way off. The churches, had, however. , common ground, and that was in their service of praise. They could join in singing together the words of any composer, be he Catholic. Anglican. Congregational, Presbyterian or Methodist. The words touched the heart and expressed the gratitude of men to the Most High. There were hymns which were used by all denominations, because in respecting tinwords their hearts were lifted towards Heaven, and good was <hmf to those who joined in that ael of worship. The power of song over all manner of people and in all ages was then referred to. The creation of the world was consummated amidst the ringing of the morning stars and the shouting of the sous of men for joy. In the pages of the I'.ible were written the songs of the patriarchs and of the psalmists of old. The chosen people of Cod had found in song the best expression of iiuii thankfulness for deliverance from captivity in Egypt, and from the dangers of the wilderness. Through' the power of song there had come both to the individual ami (he nation comfort in trouble. In modern iimes music and singing had been -of the same benefit. One wellknown hymn. "Glory to Thee my God this night," had been composed in thaukfulness by a survivor of ilie London plague. The power of sacred song should be cultivated. It had an \ elevating, inspiring Influence. and brought them more in touch with Heaven than any other thing lie could mention. During the service solos were rendered bv Miss Archibald ("The Chorister"), Miss R. Lakeman ("The Belter Land"), and Miss Landels ("The Gates of the West"), and three anthems were rendered by the choir.

For his evening address Mr Hosting chose as his te\t, 2nd Samuel, 30th chapter and 12th verse : "Let us play the men /or our people, and for the cities of our God ; and the Lord do that which scemeth Dim good." When Joab. King David's general, ■who was fighting against the Assyrians, had made use of -the words of the text to his fellow general Abishai, lie was undertaking what to all appearances was a forlorn hope. TTe. however, counselled that they should behave as men and place their trust in tire Lord of Hosts. They were indebted to the past, either collectively or separately, for experience as to the best course to pursue in almost every difficulty they might encounter. They could reason from past occurrences as to whether proposals were likely to be good or bad. History w&s constantly repeating itself, and the lessons of the past were their guides for the present. Events were ronsfnnily recurring when men of nerve were required to meet them, just a? was the case with -Toab in the text. They owed a great debt of gratitude to the men of the past, who had shown by their precept and example how to face great difficulties. There was always a great demand for people who were prepared to play the manly pari. At present he was sorry to say there were those who looked askance at Christian Churches, because they considered the Church Was jireaching an emasculated Christianity—that'the members were, trusting to their psalm-singing rather than to that whole-souled religion which tool, in every interest. Christians collectively could wield a great inlluence in the. country if they nn-i' prepared to act like men and put their soul into their work. The call was for men rather than for creeds. New Zealand was their country, and thev should do their almost for i(. It was most important to New Zealand at present that she should have earnest, straightforward, thorough-going men. This was of the greatest importance to her. They should form a high conception of what a man should be. There wits only one character which lowered over others, and that was Christ's. Thai should be their model. There was only one system of religion to be followed, and • that was Christianity. Many men had not a lofty ideal of life, but were .satisfied wilh a low grade of life and action?. This prevented the work of Christ going on as it otherwise would do. Me called upon his hearers to do what they were able to forward the noble work of Christianity. The situation in the colony was critical, and they wanted men and women to fill the gaps and do their best for the welfare of their .country. Each one should act as if the country's welfare depended upon him. Special music was given by the choir, under Mr Mayo, and Miss Dew ar presided at the piano.