Morning journal and courier., 1882-10-16
Church Notes.

The Rev. MT. Harris, of the St. John street M. E. church, preached twice to large con- { gregations yesterday, especially in the even ing Next Sunday evening there will be the annual harvest festival. exercises at the church, which as usual is an occasion of much interest. On one evening this week a arrange for Q New England tea party to be given, with the young ladies to wait upon the table in appropriate costumes.
 THIRD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
 At the afternoon service Dr. Dennen preached from Isaiah, 31-3, ''The Egyptians are men not God. Their horses flesh | and not spirit.' The Israelites wished to form l an alliance with the Egyptians, and the text l is part Of the prophets condemnation of such | alliance. The subsequent events show that ! the prophet was right and that God and the l supernatural will eventually triumph This proposition Dr. Dennen enforced both with much sound reason and arguments drawn 1 from nature history and human experience | The discourse full of instruction and l flood for thought" delivered with much l earnestness and feeling and in a manner in l which the speaker fully identified with his audience.
 | The hymn ''Abide with mel was rendered l with good taste and execution.
 ] TRINITY M. E. CHURCH.
 1 Rev. Dr. Goodssll's sermon yesterday
 morning was we'll calculated to intensity the interest of the large congregation who lis- 1 tened to it, and the text was one which con- | veyed food for thought from it's announce
 ment till the close of the service. Isaiah's 1 prophecy concerning Christ was one not 1 calculated to inspire the utmost confidence among the people at that time, as the text l read: ''He hath form nor comeliness,
 and when we shall see him there is no beauty | that we should desire him. It was great thing, said the doctor, to be prophet and to ex plain the mysteries of the holy one, and l yet to us to- day there is given more sure 1 word of prophecy. There are two clements ! spoken of in this chapter the e1altation of l Christ and the humiliation of Christ. We l find in the chapter containing the text that 1 Christ was despised and rejected of men. There is that in Christ's life that ought to at- l tract US, and yet the purity of his life con l demns us. It startles sense of impurity. ! The nature of man does not love
 the things of God. The carnal heart is at
 enmity with God. He comes to prove that
 we are very weak and liable to go astray.
 There is lack of adaptation in us for cer-
 tain things and our natures are not in harmo ny with them We ought by our changed
 life to make our religion vital force. Our ! motto should be God first and God always. ! The question comes to us that we hardly find
 one who was ever reasoned into the truth, l but the soul that opens itself to God finds
 acceptance with him. Men have been trying to find out God for ages, but when we come,
 as the little children of whom he spake, with 1 that true simplicity and loving confidence of
 the little ones, we find Christ ready to receive ] us and by faith are led to see how inper- ! feet our lives are without him.
 In closing the clergyman appealed to the |. 1 people to try the riches of the spiritual life
 and show by consecrated devotion how much
 there is to be done to show men the loveli- ness of Christ's life.
 PASTORS RETURN TO HIS LABoRs. A full attendance of the church and society greeted the Rev. Dr. Hawes, the pastors, re- turn to his religious work and place. The
 brightness and beauty of earth and sky &C.,
 corded with the grateful feelings of both pas tor and people. A pressing cordial invita- tion was given to the afternoon Bible service
 ! and Sabbath school, and the sermon !, was prepared with very brief allu-
 sion to the enduring memories of the
 pleasant and profitable vacation to foreign 7 l lands of himself and wife, and the expression 5 of their gratitude to God and the kind friends f I whose gifts and indulgence conferred the favor. The chosen text was the seventh verse of II. Cor, V. chapter, For we walk 5 by faith not by sight, The Christian life : demands the constant exercise of an abiding 7 i faith in God The temporal nature of all we
 l see was strongly contrasted with our thoughts things far outweighing in i'm portance the objects of sight. Althosgt separated from our future life by al II impenetrable veil yet the lessons of expe rience and Gods revealed word make us tt 6 live as seeing the invisible, thus walking "by faith and not by sight," The missionaries O. Is the cross and heathen converts were named <, ! as instances Illustrating this truth. Tn si wonders wrought by faith in earthly object
 are marvels of the great possibilities of ou , e race but the reality of our future immorta life far exceed in glory and happiness tn
 transient things of time and sense. w
 I really live for eternity for which a goal.
 Christian life is the preparation. The sermon
 I received most marked and interested atten V 1 tion.
 ) THE CHRISTIAN PERFECTION DOCTRINE. A At recent prayer meeting at the lectur ,ie room at the Church of the Redesmer, says n correspondent Dr. Todd spoke in defense o
 Rev. Dr. smyths answer to the last question
 put to him at the examination when about t l. become pastor of Center church. Tho qses d tion was, sIs perfection in this life possible? ee e ! To which the answer was Gin substance !. ! That it was good deal of humbug." Dr
 Todd said that this had stirred up som
 of our Methodist brethren, and h h wished to speak word not il IT defense of Dr. S., for he was fully able t. le take care of himself, but, as he understood '' ! the use of the word humbug was not as thu s- dictionary would define the word, as for in Il stance intending to deceive, but in g muc a broader sense, But he Or. Todd) for on 2 ! believed that perfection was not a1ossSbSe il
 this life. Dr. Todd then gave several il lustrations of persons who claimed to be ii that state, but he did not consider them so :, It was possible to strive to be perfect and ~ was our privilege to be more and more ire from the temptations of this life, and som '" 1 have been so upright in life to be worth 'i of our following and doubtless were yer 'e nearly perfect, but even these could be stil s' l perfected. Others followed and said the T. had met with persons that did not make an u ! pretensions to perfection, but seemed t.
 | the outside world very good. Yet they then, 10 selves called themselves poor miserable de y pendent sinners.
 'e Those who do not know much are the mos
 apt to boast of their knowledge. Those wh
 best know themselves make least pretence t ,f perfect state. When anyone assumed to b q l perfect, let him make a comparison wit 1t God himself and see the difference. high D 1 er life is possible and often attained to, an d ! often persons very sick seem to be very fire ye indeed from sin, but let that person get wei 5 I and see the change.
 "When the devil sick the devil monk would bs m When the devil got well, the devil monk was he" le Now it is our Christian duty to strive t zs keep from doing wrong, and if wrong is re IT sisted it will be less and less difficult to kee te from sin, but the struggle goes on until deat IF even if we do our best all the while to resis 8. it.
 le CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH-NEw CHOIR. a Rev. Mir. Samson, pastor of Calvary Bar ,e tist church, yesterday forenoon preache
 from Acts, 1G-3O, on the necessity of fait
 in Christ and repentance as requisite to sal or l vation. The new lecture room, where tn lg preaching services are held until the audi ne ence room is ready, is one of the handsomes ,e and best in the city. The new choir of tn ,e church oficiated at the preaching service a. ! for the first time yesterday consisting a