Pastoral Message
Each week one of the pastoral staff prepare a message for the congregation.
Living Rightly by Knowing and Drawing Near to God
James saw himself as the servant of God. His letter is addressed to the new Israelof God, the twelve tribes scattered abroad, the church of Jesus Christ. Insteadof being ensnared by the world, James 4:8 calls the church to draw near to God.Who then is this God? He is revealed in James’ words. James 1 depicts Him as the generous source of true wisdom for those who trustHim in their sufferings. He will finally reward their love for Him. He…
The Work of the Word
The past few weeks have been deeply challenging for me. The more time I spend reflecting on James, the more acutely I’m aware of how far I fall short of God’s standards. I struggle to find joy in my trials. I’m slow to hear, quick to speak, quick to anger. I know what God’s word demands of me, but I’m reluctant to do it. The list goes on and on, and that’s only the first chapter of James! And yet,…
Living Rightly Through Practicing God’s Word
When I was in Junior High, my school had an annual school cleaning campaign day. Instead of school bags, we were asked to bring cleaning cloths. Our teacher explained the task of the day—every class is responsible for cleaning their own classrooms and we need to complete the task before the end of the day. Chairs needed to be moved to the side, floors swept and mopped, walls cleaned, fans wiped, windows washed, cupboards sorted. It felt like a daunting…
A Change of Plans
We all have our plans in life. Some of us may have plans to further our studies abroad, to get married, to buy a house, or to travel to this or that country. Likewise, although the Bible does not mention Mary and Joseph’s plans, I believe they had theirs as well. Being human and betrothed to each other, they must have made plans for their future together as husband and wife. Their plans were abruptly interrupted and changed when an…
Finding Peace in A Broken World
I had always felt that peace was such a fleeting sensation. Perhaps my time in the hospital best exemplified this: I could be looking out of the window at lunchtime, briefly losing myself in the peaceful serenity of the autumn landscape, marvelling at the beauty of God’s creation; in the next minute I find myself frantically dashing to the wards to resuscitate a collapsed patient, anxiously hoping that everything will be okay. Peace, I have found, is always rudely interrupted…
The Importance of Christian Community
Have you ever noticed that whenever the Bible talks about believers, it uses metaphors that talk about Christians as a whole community, rather than as individuals? We need to be connected to the true Vine (John 15:1-8) We are one Body (Rom 12:4-5, 1 Cor 1:12-27, Eph 5:23) We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession (1 Pet 2:9-10) We are a family, a household (1 Tim 3:5, 15) This tells us something very…
Relections on Advent
Recently, someone handed me a copy of our Advent worship bulletin from 1965. That is almost 60 years of Advent celebrations here at ORPC, and maybe more if it started even further back. But what makes celebrating Advent so special that it has become an integral part of our tradition? Robert Webber, in his book Ancient-Future Time, said that “the life of worship is not in the ritual itself but in the lives of the people shaped by the message of…
Virtual Is Not Real
In recent weeks, Singapore has continued to reopen travel with the rest of the world with successive launches of vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs). Pent-up demand for overseas travel is expected, as many in Singapore look forward to being reunited with family members abroad, or simply to go travelling again. This is despite the significant additional costs and discomfort the mandated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests will bring. Be it the warm hugs, the hearty laughter, the sweet aroma of shared…
Going beyond the surface
It’s been about 18 years since I first stepped into this church. And it occursto me that the reason why I was initially comfortable in this church is thesame as one of the reasons why I left for a season. We don’t look out fornewcomers and jump on him/her trying to be welcoming. We don’t keeptrack of members’ attendance and go after them when they’re absent. Wegive people space. We treat our people like responsible adults, and assumethat there’s some…
A Royal Priesthood
During my time as a doctor, I quickly learnt that there’s no such thing as taking a break from my profession. I got used to the idea that, even on a day off, I could be asked to give medical advice when meeting friends, be expected to help if someone faints in a mall, and even called to respond if there’s a medical emergency on the plane. Thankfully, I’ve since handed over these responsibilities to my brother. But you are…
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