Pastoral Message (Page 14)

As a school teacher in the past, June and December have always been important to me as times of rest and reflection. They served as fallow periods, as time for me to consider where I’ve been, what I’ve been doing, as well as to pray and consider where God is calling me to grow in next.

Luke 11:5-10 Monday is usually my day off when I try to get away and rest. By “get away,” I mean turning off my phone after answering early morning text messages. This last Monday, however, I received a slightly above average number of messages from members of the congregation. One concerned member mentioned about our church’s need to send out more full-time workers into…

“Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his…

Have you ever taken stock of the blessings you have? Think about everything that God has blessed you with, both material and spiritual. Most of us have far more than we usually acknowledge. Here in Singapore, compared to the rest of the world, we are blessed materially beyond belief. And as Christians, regardless of our present circumstances, we have been given the…

With the COVID pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the troubles we have encountered, we may wonder why God allows suffering in a world He has created in Genesis 1 and pronounced as good. Isn’t God sovereign, wise, and loving enough to stop all the sufferings in our world and to do so now? Perhaps, we will find the answer if we continue reading through the whole Bible. In…

I’ve always wondered what it would be like to observe God’s act of creation in the opening chapters of Genesis. Surely, it must have been an awe-inspiring sight. Imagine watching the stars burst forth in brilliant radiance, the mighty waters stilled and parted, and abundant life spilling across every corner of creation—who wouldn’t want front row tickets to see that! Yet,…

“Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell…

Paul writes, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” I recently read an interesting article entitled, “Can You Question the Resurrection and Still Be a Christian?” Quite a provocative question. In it,…

Genesis addresses the most fundamental issue of life. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” By this, we know that God is the Creator of everything that exists. This also necessarily means that there is no other God, as affirmed in Isaiah 40:25-26a: “‘To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?’ says the Holy One. Lift up your…

This is the last Sunday of our current preaching and Bible study series in the epistle of James. Throughout, we have been reminded and challenged by James that true faith works itself out naturally in our words and actions. If we truly believe that Jesus is the Christ, and are fully convinced that his teachings bring abundant life, then there should not be a gap between…