CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10957, 23 December 1911, Page 3 (Supplement)

CHURCH NEWS AND NOTES.

J DEVOTIONAL. '•'Christ is a path, if any be misled; He is a robe, if any naked be; If any chance to Hunger, He is bread : If anv he a bondman, He is free; If anv be but weak, Jiow strong is He, To'dead! men life He is: to sick men health; To blind men sight, and to the neody wealth; A pleasure without loss; a treasure without stealth." ACEDITATION. . ''The shepherds rejoiced, and well they might. Up above them they saw God reconciled. The child has come to honor His wounded: righteousness, and-'to open a channel for the outflow of His love towards His exiled sons and daughters. The leather and the children, long sundered, are drawn together again. Far behind them they saw faith satisfied/ Holy men arid women of old, century after ceiiturv, were looking and waiting for the Child. He was the centre of their hopes', the desire of their souls. They greeted Him from afar. And' now their trust was rewarded. Deep within them they saw a heart at rest! They carried about a nature diseased, hopeless to recover itself, wearied with going to many physicians. But the child was to be the Lord their Healer. He would forgive their iniquities: He would end their quest. He would redeem their lives from destruction. On before them they saw Heaven filled with guests. The Child was to opeii the gates of pearl. In the New Jeriis'alem they would gather, as at the Passover they gathered in the old Jerusalem ; but how infinitely more countless, and how infinitely more blessed. Do I rejoice with the shepherd's of. th* Judean fields? There were many who did hot. For "Men of grave and moral word, With consciences defiled, Said: 'Let the old' truth still be kesjardi; We-want no child.' " Better will it be for me to rank with the babes than with the wise and prudent." PRAYER, • ' '■

Oar Father, we acknow ledge our transgressions before Thee. Thou art the searcher of all hearts. Everything is naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. We praise Thee for Thy abounding mercy, of which we have been the unworthy recipients. We render thanksgiving unto Thee for the unspeakable gift of Thy love. Help us,' 0 Lord, to open our hearts to the presence of Christ, that He may dwell in us the hope of glory. Teach iis to respond gladly to the wooing of His love that we may be "transformed into His image from glory unto glory. For His Name's sake. Amen.

QUIET THOUGHTS. "Love," "sacrifice," and "devotion" are £ s. d. of religion. Don't build castles in the air; build a monument of goodness" in your own street. ,

Religion is like a square -stone —theright side up, whichever way you put it. If you don't moan to deal of the devil, don't stop to look in his shop windows. Short- prayers often last longest. All men hurt by sin need: the ambulance of Christian sympathy to bring them to the hospital of repentance. Faith must feather the arrow of prayer. If we knew how cheap the seeds of happiness were we should sow them oftener.

It often takes greater faith, to let God" work than to work for Him. When you cannot get what you want, want what you can get. What men weave in time they mustwear in eternity. If we are stayed upon the Eternal God. nothing can disturb us, for nothing can disturb Him on Whom we are reposing. A man of woids audi not of deeds,

Is like a garden full of weeds

CHILDREN AND .CHURCHGOING

An interesting discussion as to the advisability of children of tender years

being compelled' to attend church, services took nlaco at the recent autumnal meetings of the Congregational Union, of Scotland. The Rev. T. Macßobert, of Droghorn,' who introduced the subject, contended that every home should be a church, and every father a minister in his family. The. way to make the masses churchgoers was to make the children churchgoers, and in 15 years they should have no non-clmrcligoing to worry them. Thev wanted households to be in the. church as well as persons. He had not found 1 that the presence ot children detracted from the decorum of the service. On the whole, the children were not more restless than their elders Professor M'Nair. of Kilmarnock, said it did not necessarily follow that because a particular methof had served the purpose well in a particular church or community,. the plan should', therefore, lie generally adopted. He did not think thev could get it- put into operation at all in many of their churches. To make children go to five services was a. piece of cruelty to animals perpetrated in the name of religion, and they could not do it unless they applied some rigor to the seniors. The Rev. John Mackintosh, ot Motherwell, said the children would go to church, if the parents went, and tha problem was how to° get the parents. What they had to face was how to save the children from the parents of this generation. He thought the teachers should see that children were brought to the church.

GLEANINGS. The evangelistic movement in Korea continues with unabated zeal. In the city of Pyang-Gang in connection with one mission there were 2417 baptisms, which is the largest for any one year ever reported'. -Koreans are holding special prayer services every day, beginning at 5 a.m. The Church of England Men's Society opened its annual conference in London on October 25. The Society, which now numbers over 112,000 members, and is still growing, might well be called the Imperial Church Society, says the Chinch Times, for wherever the English Church is planted branches are continually being formed, and it must be gratifying to the leaders of the society that its growth has been so phenomenal'.

Rev. Dr Clifford, ex-president of the Baptist World Alliance, has just celebrated his : 7sth birthday. Three years ago he celebrated his jubilee as a Bap.tist minister. J?or 5 years he has been the minister of the Westbourae Park Church, in London,, which he hasniade the headquarters, as it were, of militant and progressive Nonconformity.' He started . work at the age of 11 as a "jacker-off" in a lace factory, and joined the Baptist Mission at the age of 22, . .

The- student Volunteer movement in the universities and colleges of Australia and New Zealand lias in its membership . 143 . volunteers who _are still undergoing preparation, for missionary work abroad. The denominational distribiitibnof volunteers is as follows: — Anglican 1 56, Baptist 7, Brethren 1,. Church of Christ ,1, Congregational 5, Methodist 23, ' Presbyterian .48. The distribution according, to States is:— New Zealand 50>. New South. Wales 41, Victoria-35,' South Australia 13, and Tasmania 1. ..''■.■ '" /' .',.. "■"

So. far in China only one missionary has suffered harm fronvthe present revohintionary disturbances there. That is the. Rev.' Asher R. 'Kepler, ' a= 191Q recruit/to : the Presbyterian mission :ii Hunaii, whose -misfortune is xlue to his anxiety .to ,see a real .battle; -While watching a recent .'fight in Hankow from the top of a building in the Japanese concession, a stray bullet came Mr Kepler's way aiid dealt him a very severe wound, from which, however, according to a late cable from China to the American Foreign Board, he is already recovering well. An announcement has been made by Commissioner Hay, who controls theSalvation Army throughout Australasia, that General Booth has decided to appoint at an early date a separate territorial commander for the Army in New Zealand from the Australian organisation of the Army. Commissioner Hay states that during recent years the

scope of the Army's operations in New Zealand and the Commonwealth has greatly increased, in. consequence of which both countries require a closer oversight nnd more attention of the territorial commander. It i= expected that Commissioner Howard, the Army's foreign, secretary, will conduct the inauguration meetings of the new territorial commissioner.