TRINITY CHURCH.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 24 November 1924, Page 8

TRINITY CHURCH.

RE-OPENING SERVICES

LARGE CONGREGATIONS.

There were large congregations, aoi n.ng and cven.ng at Trinity A resbytori an Church yoneruay, w ;cn ue , sacred edifice was used tor. public wot shin for the first time mace it mas closed tor remodelling -onemonths ago. .nc congregations were so iaige tn every seat in the church was occupied, nti special seating had to bo provided do vn the aiiilbu. Among those present , e'e some wno mid coiim in many miles .rom country districts, and the ornate and chaste appearance ot the altered lumctulf qveiled general expressions of edmiration. . . , , , r.,. • Inc church authorities had been foi- , agate in oeing aDle to secure tot the occasion the presence of the , v ce. -uuior, -uoqeratdr ot the ucnenij Assembly of the Presbyterian . Uimcn f New Zealand, who occupied the pu - pit morning'and evening, and on each occasion delivered an course. Mr T. Vncelor prcs.ded at tho orcran, and a choir ot do voices led the. iming. and gave with very fan® ettec anthems, “The Te Deum,’ and v.immus is Thy Name,” wmle the attractive nature of tho.musical portion jf ihe cervices was fuvthor added t bv solos by Miss Elamank and Mi Batchelor, the former singing H°w Lovely are Thy Dwellings” and the it ter “Jesus Lover of My Soul. At the morning service ‘the preacher spoko from Psalm 127 verse 1: Except the Lord build the house, they labou in vain ihat build it; except tho Lord keep tho citv, the watchman waketn but in vain.” Tho fact was stressed that Christ must bo the foundation ot every good raid useful life. Man? people made tho mistake by building without God, who must bo a partner n the building of any life that was to be worth while. They must seek God s wisdom and rely upon His grace. The man who hoard God’s voice, and was obecVmt to it, had his life founded upon a rock which could not bo moved, lhe folly of measuring human life by material poc.vosaions and living for the world and its pleasures, was pointed out, the point being emphasised, that the patli of true wisdom led to the laying of the treasure in heaven, rathqr than upon earth. All should live so that neither death nor life could separate them from the love of God. Everv thought that they had and everything that thev did should be able to stand the fir ■> which tried every man’s work and showed whether it. was built upon solid, ov upon crumbling rockThe- greatest care should be taken in the choice of-tho material with which llicv built, aiul it must be remembered that it was not the easy life, free from care and suffering, which produced the best results. With Dr. Matheson, the blind preacher of Edinburgh, they should endeavour to realise that it was through tears that the rainbow was best sec.n: and if they did this, and had implicit faith in God all would be well. , Tlie need for a return to tne oldfashioned family worship was stressed, the preacher stating that a good Christian home was our greatest and he reminded his hearers That nwas tho destruction of home life and an inordinate love of pleasure that brought about the fall of the Roman Empire. Good homes were the very heart and life ot the state, and made the church much more, powerful than it otherwise would be in its work for the betterment of mankind, ihe results which came from family worship, raid the influences of a good home were so far-reaching ihat it was tho bounden duty of all to erect a family altar in the'home; the real business of tho 'Christian home was to train citizens for the kingdom of heaven. No man was indispensable, but it was impossible . to do without Christ in theii-lives; He was Die corner stone of the arch, and without Him tlie whole structure would collapse. If they tried to fight the brittle alone they would fail, but if they put their trust in God they would be enabled to live the life-which He intaided them to live, fnlfilliiur His purposes oil earth, and all would he well both in this life and in the life to come.

In a homely little talk to the children the ureachw drew a lesson from the life of one oi*Ncw Zealand’s most remarkable little animals —the tuatara lizzard. He pointed out that there wore some gifts which, if not used, were lost; and the boys and girls were enjoined to take advantage of every opportunity and learn while young that which would fit them to become men and women in the brightest sense of the word. The lives of great men were quoted to show how they had worked to fit themselves for greatness, and the young people were asked to seize everv opportunity of doing good—that which would enrich their lives and the lives of those around them, and thus make the world a better place for their bavin" lived in it. The collections for the day amounted to over £1(35. To-morrow evening there will be a social. Ten will be on tbe tables at fi.lo. and later there will be some speeches and musical items. It is expected that then wi!7 he a very largo attendance at this function.