Pastoral Messages (Page 71)

By Not Known The cry for freedom is universal. It was the cry behind the French and American revolutions. It was the cry of the Chinese revolution under Dr Sun Yat Sen. And since the second world war we have seen how in all continents the cry of freedom has brought ‘winds of change’. In Europe we have seen the fall of both fascist and communist political…

By Not Known In our world today, the big debate continues.  What is more important: faith or works?   There are many in this world who do good works with plenty to show for it. Yet they may not have faith in God.  Still there are also many who claim to have great faith in God but when it comes to good works, we see none. This argument is not new. It took…

By Not Known The time after the departure of a minister, especially one who has served for a long period of time and who has established himself in the life and hearts of the congregation, has been compared to the period of grief following death. Some of you may be going through such or similar feelings at present. The change over of the overall shepherd, who in ORPC is…

By Not Known This is a message I never expected to write. I have been a retired minister for 6 years now and the last place I expected to be, was back at ORPC. When I first received the news of a possible invitation to serve as ISM (Interim Senior Minister) for a few months, I shared it with several people. And I discovered two distinct reactions. There were those who…

By Not Known Back in 1997, Calvin Miller wrote The Book of 7 Truths; an interesting tale within a tale about a mysterious man who forever changes the lives of another.  He spoke of the enduring powers of faith and demonstrated the true meaning of generosity and forgiveness.  One of the 7 truths in the book is: You cannot help people if you are always with…

By Not Known For those of us who celebrate the Lunar New Year, another season of lavish trading of well-wishes has begun. Greetings like “Gong Xi Fa Cai” [blessing of fortune] and “Nian Nian You Yu” [blessing of abundance] are almost customary, although most people know by experience that reality is more often a far cry from what they have…

By Not Known In the recent census here, it was noted that many younger people have professed to have no religion.  They are categorically people who may be atheists.  It may simply mean that they do not believe in any deity; or that moral living is not based on any particular book or system of belief.  However, if we examine the term religion, it is proper…

By Not Known The one-time world champion boxer Muhammad Ali (1942- ) was not the only person in history to declare himself to be “the greatest”.  Neither was he the first nor will he be the last to display such crass human megalomania.  Even drunken with such swell-headedness, many of us would be careful to hide ourselves behind some form of…

By Not Known We do not like to live on ‘Empty’. The feeling of emptiness materially and physically, often leaves us anxious, confused, cynical and insecure. Hence, we do our utmost to live life so that emptiness will not happen to us.  How about our spiritual life? When we are spiritually ‘Empty’ we lack compassion for those who are hurting,…

By Not Known The first week into the New Year saw many of us scrambling with our schedules and workloads.  Already, some are saying, “I am overwhelmed!” Others used the most often-used phrase, “I have no time.” Busy? Definitely. No time? Not really. Yes, we live in a pressure-cooker society, but whose society is…