IN THE CHURCHES

Waikato Independent, Volume XXXI, Issue 2776, 17 November 1931, Page 5

IN THE CHURCHES

SUNDAY’S SERVICES. GOOD CONGREGATIONS. ! There were very good attendances at the local Church services on Sunday last, the weather being fine. Ordinary services were held at the Parish Church, while at the Methodist Church there was special singing by the ■children, Rev. J. W. Parker preaching nt both morning and evening services. The rally month was continued at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Rov. Hay preaching at both services. At the Baptist Church Rev. G. N. Garlick preached at the evening service. Trinity Presbyterian. At Trinity Presbyterian Church in the morning Rev. Hay’s subject was -"The Great Apostolic Communion” nnd in the evening the theme of his sermon was “The Challenge of the Kingdom of God.” The preacher took liis texts from Mark 1, 14-15, and Matthew 9,9: “Jesus came into Galileo preaching the gospel of the Kingdom .of God. . • .The preacher said: “There are a ""multitude of different ways by which the mission of Jesus Christ can be interpreted, each one of them being but .a broken light of that great personality so unique that no single interpretation can do justice to all the elements in a mission at once so many sided and so matchless. “You can explain the mission of Jesus Christ to men by saying that He came to reveal God to a weary, liungij snd sadly disillusioned world. You can ;show that He cainc to redeem mankind from the curse and blight of sin or you can show how He sought to unfold alike in His character and in His teaching a new and nobler ethical ideal for f v c individual and for society, aiffl to j introduce a higher standard of moral Tallies. All these things are true and it is equally true to say that Jesus Christ came into this world of ours to establish .the Kingdom of God amid the ruins of the vanished hopes and the .dreams of men, to challenge them to •give their lives to the realisation of that great ideal and that He lives ami foils to-day by the side of men and wo men who are striving to build His Kingdom amid tire crumbling ci\ ilisa\\on of a distracted and perplexed world. The building of the kingdom o': God presents a challenge great, enough tf> test courage and faith to the utmost. Jt offers a life of such fulness and waricty of interest as will satisfy evOij legitimate ambition, while it provides ■scope for the exercise of every grace find gift and the investment of every talent known to men. “I have chosen the incident of Matthew’s call this evening,” said Rev. JJay, “that we may disabuse our minds for ever of the idea that there must be .something sensational or dramatic about religious experience if it is to be -truly vital. To very few is it given as it was to Saul of Tarsus to see a vision and to hear a voice from heaven; but to many does the call of Jesus come today as it did to Matthew that qftcrnoon in the midst of life’s busy everdays. Doubless Matthew had heard of Jesus before, and in all probability had listened to His great message, the truth of which had searched Ms heart. He had been thinking deeply—thinking of the man he was and of the man he had it in him to become. Thus it was that when Jesus spoke the simple word, Follow Me,’ Matthew was ready and .rose up and followed Him. ‘ ‘ The practical application of this -for our day is that Christ is calling for men to-day who will give Him not only their admiration, which is an easy thing to do, but who will give Him the Jevotion of their hearts and the ser\wice of their lives, which is a hard thing to do, -in order that He may use them in the mighty work of building His Kingdom and thus establishing -righteousness throughout the world.” In concluding his address the preacher asked: “What better investment can a young man or young woman make of life than just to lay it'down at the -feet of Christ as Matthew 7 did in a solemn vow of delication.” Just as I am, young, strong and free, To be the best that I can be, For Truth and Righteousness and Thee, Lord of my life I come. St. Paul’s Methodist. Special services were held through■out the day at St. Paul’s Methodist Church yesterday in celebration of the .Sunday School anniversary. The church had been attractively decorated for the occasion and there wore splendid congregations at all three services, the Rev. J. W. Parker being the preacher morning and evening, and the Rev. W. N. Hocking, of Hamilton, at 2-30 p.ni. The children sang under the baton of Mr E. J. Easter, superintendent and choirmaster and the music was led by Mrs Skellcrn at the piano and Miss Zckla Easter at the organ. A very fine selection of anniversary hymns and choruses had been chosen and the child- ‘\ ren aided by the choir gave three excellent performances, showing careful

training. The addresses in the morning and afternoon were specially for the children, and in the evening Rev. Parker gave a most stirring address to young people on the subject of ‘ 1 Temptation.” He showed how temptation comes into the life of every poison, and that there is no escaping it, although he pointed out that often the best way of fighting temptation is to run away, to turn the back on the thing that would hurt and destroy. But many times there are when the tempter has to be faced and vanquished if there is going to be any victory in the life, any power or progress. The preacher then pointed out that only by having Christ in the heart and by giving Him control of the life can this victory be gained and the heart be kept clean and pure. The Parish Church. The Rev. C. W. Clark officiated at the Parish Church and in an address took his text from Romans xii, 2: “Be not conformed to this world,” or in modern language, “Do not follow the customs of the present age.” He said that among the various questions that often perplex those really desirous to lead a life in harmony witlq the teaching of Jesus, perhaps the most perplexing is to what extent may one conform to the world and not deviate from the path of righteousness. Rev. Clark said: “All baptised persons are bound by their baptismal vows and therefore on their honour to forsake worldliness. There can be no truce between the Church and the world. The world must see by our conduct that we have been with Jesus. Jesus was not a recluse. He mixed freely with those about Him and was even reproached for His sociability. We cannot make a set of rules sufficient for all' the circumstances of life. Home ties, business relations and daily work bring us into contact with worldly people. In our intercourse with them the Jesus Who went to a wedding feast, Who accepted invitations to dine with a Pharisee, Who, Self-invited, became the Guest of a despised tax-gatherer, must be our pattern.”

“There has always been considerable worldliness in amusement, but that does not make all amusement wrong,” said the preacher. “We cannot, imagine that our Lord always wore a sad and solemn countenance. It must have been a kindly smiling face that attracted the little ones whom He took into His arms. “Our amusements should make us better Christians. If they do not do that they are harmful, however innocent they may be in themselves. They may be pleasing and gratifying but if they are not means of grace they are hindrances to the spiritual life. We need to watch lest they become an end instead of a means to an end. Jesus did not violate nor ignore the customs of His day and country. Instead, He reproved Simon tho Pharisee, who invited Him to dinner and failed to offer the usual courtesies of an invited guest.” The pulpit was occupied at the second morning service by the vicar, the Venble. G. G. Bell, who took as Ins text, “If I may but touch the hem of His garment, I shall be whole.” After picturing the circumstances surrounding the touching of the hem of the robe of Jesus by the aged invalid woman, as He was on His way to the house of Jairus, and making mention or the way in which Jesus had commended the old woman’s faith, the Archdeacon said that it was true to say both that we had not enough simple faith in Jesus in these days and that, in quite surprising ways, faith in Jesus continued to be shown in circumstances and by people where it was least expected. For everyone, all that was needed in life, was something similar to that ‘ 1 touching of the border of tho garment of Jesus” which made all the difference to the old woman. To many people in that crowd there would seem to lie nothing particularly wonderful, or life-giving, in the touch of that dust-marked, mud-stained robe. To many to-day thoughts of the sacrament were thoughts in terms of mere bread and wine. But to that old woman, whose faith Jesus so warmly commended, the touch with Jesus which His robe gave her was all that she wanted. It was enough for her full health. And to some, to-day, that close touch with Jesus which the sacrament provides filled exactly the same place. It, too, gave just that touch with Jesus which fills all human needs. The Lord Bishop of the Diocese will administer the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Parish Church during the last week of the present month. Among those to receive the sacrament arc candidates not only from Cambridge but from Ohaupo, Tamahore, and other parts of the parish.