Our Churches.

Thames Star, Volume XVII, Issue 5281, 21 December 1885, Page 2

Our Churches.

The Wesleyan Church, which has lately been removed from Grahamstown to a more central site in Pollen street, has undergone considerable improvements, which greatly tend to the comfort of the congregation. The old pulpit has been replaced by a rostrum, which is situated at the western end of the building, while the appearance of the ceiling and windows has also been gmtly improved.

The painting has not yet been completed, but so far as the work has progressed, it reflects credit upon Mr McAndrew (the contractor) and all concerned. Services were held yesterday for the first time. In the morning at f o'clock a prayer meeting was held, being conducted by the Rev. E. Best; and at 11 a.m. the Her. E. Bavin officiated, delivering a very appropriate sermon to a large con gregation from the texts —122 nd Psalm, 7th verse, and sth chapter Ephesians, 20 and 27th verses. In the course of his sermon, he said he hop 3d that none of those present had allowed their minds to be upset or influenced by the controversy that had been going on as to the doctrines of one of our moßt highly respected and honored Christian churches. He had no intention, however, of di&cuising the matter, as he considered that doing so would not be productive of any good whatever. At the evening service, the pulpit was again occupied by the Eev. R. B ivin, when the building was crowded. The|rev. gentleman took as his text the 16th chap. St. Luke, 31st verse -" And he said unto) them, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they bs persuaded though one rose from the dead." He said that in this chapter the parable of the rich man and Lazarus was set forth, shewing the con* sequences of following the ways of the world and neglecting God; while in the preceding chapter was the parable of the prodigal son, demonstrating the love and mercy of God towards sinners. The Scriptures were a revelation, and conveyed knowledge to man which could not otherwise have been imparted. The speaker then referred to prophecies, pointing out that the utterances of Moses and the prophets were from God. No coercive measures could be used to reach heaven — moral aims must be attained by moral efforts. In concluding an earnest address, he exhorted those present to lead lives consistent with those of a Christian, and they would be abundantly rewarded. The collections during the day, which were in aid of the building fund, amounted to £20.

At St. George's Church in the forenoon the Bey. F. G. Evans preached from 32nd chap. Deuteronomy, 11th v., illustrating the providence of God by habits the of the eagle, as described in the text. It is a well known fact to naturalists that when the young of the eagle .have come to maturity and are about to leave their nest, the parent birds scatter the nest, so as to show that they had no longer a home. Even so does God deal with us ; He stirs up and scatters our nests by taking away our riches, or our children, or anything of which we may be making idols, and also by sending us sorrows and troubles, to show us that we have no abiding home here, and to draw us closer to Him. Iv the evening the Incumbent preached to a large congregation from Ephesians 4, 19v., on " The love of Christ." In a very earnest address the preacher dwelt upon the great* ness of the love of Christ as manifested in its author, its object, and its sacrifices; and in closing showed that the love of Christ demanded a return from us, that Christ loved us aod desired us to love Him—and exhorted his hearers not to refuse or trample on such Infinite love.

la the Pollen-street Lecture Hall, in the evening, Mr E. H. Taylor lectured on the subject, "Eevivalism v. Slasher, Crasher, and Blowhard on a See-Saw," taking as his text Jeremiah, 23rd chap., 28 rerse. He commenced by deprecating any attack upon the Anglican Church, as had been attributed to him during the last week by some who had been trembling lest offence might be given. It had given true lovers of God much pain to look around 1 and see how nearly the line between the church and the world is being obliterated, and to see such a combination of names as "Slasher, Crasher, and Blowhard " brought together for the purpose of raising money to relieve the debts of a church. The followers of Christ ought to be more self-sacrificing than to require amusement to be held out as an inducement to subscribe to the church, and they should give voluntarily and liberally rather than afford " Mr Blowhard," the scoffer, an opportunity of pointing the finger of soorn at the sight of a laughable farce being got up to raise money for the aid of a church. In order to show that bis object was not an attack on any local church simply, Mr Taylor read extracts from newspapers in the United States and Wales, stating that the principal causes of backslidings were church festivals, where gambling, lotteries, masquerade balls, and theatricals were carried on in the name of religion. It was the same everywhere —people thought they were doing their duty, or at any rate tried to think so, by attending phurch and putting in 3d into the plate, but they thought nothing of spending 2s 6d, or even more, to get a front seat at an entertainment where pleasure was to be found. In the Presbyterian Church yesterday evening the Eov. S. J. Neill delivered a very able lecture on the subject of the missioner's letter, according to advertisenjent. This is deserving of a lengthy notice which we are unable to give in this issue, but to-morrow we shall publish in etrtensQ.