Planning for what and when?
By Not Known At this time of year many of us are planning. Corporate bodies and public organisations look into the new year with a clear sense of what they want to achieve. We, like other churches, seek to be responsible stewards of the gospel by having a ministy plan to help achieve God’s kingdom goals The Bible tells us that it is good to plan (Luk 14:28-31) but…
The ‘What If ..’ Christmas
By Not Known Ever since the Roman Emperor Constantine decided that Christmas should be celebrated on December 25th, the festival has grown in its trimmings. Special church services were organised and magnificent Christian music written to celebrate the coming of the Christ. Over the years we have added Christmas presents, cards, trees, holidays, parties, the turkey and…
Lessons and Carols
By Not Known Today’s service of lessons and carols brings the whole sweep of the Christian faith before us. This is a good reminder Of how the birth of Jesus fits into the biggest story of them all – the stoy of a sovereignly gracious God reaching down to restore his creation to himself. The Bible tells a stoy of a kingdom made, lost and regained. The creation…
The Preacher
By Not Known John the Baptist was a preacher and Luke’s story of his ministry teaches us much about the preacher’s person and work. After his birth, John spent many years in the wilderness (Luke 1:80). Apart from wearing unusual cloths and eating unusual food (Mat 3:4), we can safely expect that these were years of his own maturity and preparation for his…
Why Christmas?
By Not Known The Christmas carols of the Bible give important clues about what happened at Christmas and what its purpose is. Today we look at a ‘carol’ from Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist (Lk 1:67-8O). Zechariah writes about John’s birth and ministy, but makes it clear that John is understood in the light of his relative, Jesus (v76). As an…
A Tithe of Time
By Not Known For many of us, our most precious and most pressured resource is time. We shorten sleep, multi-task, double book and cut corners to try and squeeze more and more into the day. The Bible says a lot about time. It is ultimately in God’s hands and there is a natural cycle for ïts use (Acts 17:26; Ecc 3:1-8). There is a time to work. The Ten Commandment…
The Language of Prayer
By Not Known Words are powerful things and we should always take care in their use. This is especially so with the language of prayer. We need care in our approach to God, how we express our heard and the framing of our desires. Firstly, the Psalms are careful in how they address God. They use Biblical names for God and often draw attention to those aspects of his…
The Worship of Work
By Not Known What do we think of when we read the words “The Worship of Work“? Perhaps we think of work becoming an act of idolatry that replaces God. Work can be an idol and an act of false worship. Our longest and best hours are often spent at work, to the neglect of God, family and our need for rest. Success or failure at work can drive our deepest feelings…
I Choose Jesus
By Not Known Have you ever made an enormous mistake and then realise it afterwards? As is often said, what matters is not the mistake we make but what we do with them. In Acts 2: 36-37 we read of people in this situation. They had shared in killing Jesus. At the time, they thought it was an expedient execution of a blasphemer and troublemaker. Now they knew better. They…
Keep Running
By Not Known As we sit in church this morning, a ladies’ 10Km run race will be held elsewhere in Singapore. 10km is not a long race by the standards of some, but it is long enough to need careful preparation and a disciplined approach. Several Bible passages compare the Christina life to a running race. We are to run to get the prize (1 Cor 9:24). We do this by…