Pastoral Message (Page 92)

By Not Known Henry Martyn was the best maths undergraduate at Cambridge University in his day. After graduation, he seems destined for a stellar career in his chosen occupation of law. Instead, Henry Martyn went to India in 1806 as a Christian missionary. In the next six years, Henry Martyn translated the New Testament into Hindi and Persian, and revised the Arabic New…

By Not Known The UN Secretary General recently said that things have become worse in the international arena over the last 10 years. That should make us think. Big increases in knowledge, education, technology, communications, wealth and such like have not become keys to an improvement in the human condition. Corruption, injustice and restrictions on personal freedom…

By Not Known Many think that the deepest human problem is that we are deprived. On this understanding, what we need is more of the things that we are deprived of in order to be happy. Some think that we are deprived of knowledge. Modern societies often see this as ignorance of scientific knowledge. If ignorance is the problem, education is the answer. But, does more…

By Not Known Our sense of location is important. Do we define our space in terms of immediate neighbourhood, country or region? Or do we have a global sense of living in a complex set of relationships with every other human being and with the rest of creation? Alternatively, do we reach even higher and define our sense of location in relationship with God? We have seen…

By Not Known An important goal for the Christian is that the whole of life becomes a living act of worship (Rom 12: 1). This means that every thought, word and deed reflects our deepest admiration of God, our dependence on him and our love for him. God created us for this. God calls us to this (Dt 6: 5) Our sinful nature leads us to worship the creation instead of its…

By Not Known Confusion often abounds when we talk about ‘life in the Spirit’. Some link this with the more spectacular signs and foresee a life of speaking in tongues, miracles and prophecy. Others have a noble vision of an ascending scale of holiness and intimacy with God, in which it is ‘ever upwards and onwards’ Galatians mentions the Spirit 18…

By Not Known Freedom has been a powerful cry fro the last few decades. It has been applied to causes including racial discrimination, women’s liberation, democratic rights, anti-colonialism, religious freedom, sexual preference and such like. The range of these causes should make us stop and think. ‘Freedom‘ is a word that need definition and boundaries.…

By Not Known It’s almost a national hobby to want a full-on life. this is the person who works an 80+ hour working week; takes a laptop home on weekends and public holidays, cuts sleep to a minimum and crams every moment with some activity. Their favourite text is Eccles 9:10a and their hero is the evangelist Dwight L. Moody. Moody had a heart attack and was advised…

By Not Known People differ in things like race, gender, ability, socio-economic standing. We often have trouble dealing with human differences Many respond to differences with a sense of hierarchy. They ask how others differ from them and then ask who is better or more important. This leads to racism where one race is judged better than another. Or sexism where one gender…

By Not Known Water is vital for life! Much of our physical environment and much of our human bodies consist of water. Without it, plants and people die. With it, life thrives, We are very conscious of that in Singapore. The popeline from Malaysia is crucial to national survival and we are concerned to supplement it through local catchments, NEWwater and even desalination.…