Revisiting Old Altars
Revisiting old altars can help us reconnect with our faith and recall lost experiences.
John Henry Jowett emphasizes the importance of revisiting our early altars and sacred places that hold special significance in our spiritual journey. He highlights how certain scents, locations, or memories can serve as reminders of God's presence and lead us back to moments of divine encounter. Jowett encourages the congregation to create meaningful altars of communion and engage in acts of service that will continue to inspire and uplift them throughout their lives.
Text
"_I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me
in the day of my distress._"
--GENESIS xxxv. 1-7.
It is a blessed thing to revisit our early altars. It is good to return
to the haunts of early vision. Places and things have their sanctifying
influences, and can recall us to lost experiences. I know a man to whom
the scent of a white, wild rose is always a call to prayer. I know another
to whom Grasmere is always the window of holy vision. Sometimes a
particular pew in a particular church can throw the heavens open, and we
see the Son of God. The old Sunday-school has sometimes taken an old man
back to his childhood and back to his God. So I do not wonder that God led
Jacob back to Bethel, and that in the old place of blessing he
reconsecrated himself to the Lord.
It is a revelation of the loving-kindness of God that we have all these
helps to the recovery of past experiences. Let us use them with reverence.
And in our early days let us make them. Let us build altars of communion
which in later life we shall love to revisit. Let us make our early home
"the house of God and the gate of heaven." Let us multiply deeds of
service which will make countless places fragrant for all our after
years.
Sermon Outline
- Revisiting Old Altars
- The Significance of Early Altars
- Places and Things as Sanctifying Influences
- The Loving-Kindness of God in Recovery of Past Experiences
Key Quotes
“It is a blessed thing to revisit our early altars.” — John Henry Jowett
“Let us make our early home 'the house of God and the gate of heaven.'” — John Henry Jowett
Application Points
- Make time to revisit the places and things that helped you connect with God in the past.
- Build altars of communion in your early days to make them meaningful in later life.
- Multiply deeds of service to make countless places fragrant for all your after years.