Church News (Page 74)

By Not Known In our time-starved lives we want to squeeze the most from every moment. The Apostle Paul says … make the most of every opportunity (Col 4:5b). We may rejoice at this apparently shrewd advice in time management. This is all the more so when we hear that the word he uses for opportunity is the Greek word for special or opportune time. Seen this way,…

By Not Known Wikipedia defines it well: Repentance is choosing to turn to God and it usually refers to confession to God, ceasing sin against God, and resolving to live according to religious law. It typically includes an admission of guilt, a promise or resolve not to repeat the offence; an attempt to make restitution for the wrong, or in some way to reverse the harmful…

By Not Known Routine can be nerve-numbing. After some repetitions, mechanisation sets in. One can just go on doing it without much thinking and reflection. It becomes just a job to be done. No wonder, many are employed in jobs but few are finding meaning in what they do. This can happen to religious practices too. Rituals, they call it. When…

By Not Known In 2002, Fritz Ridenour wrote a book entitled, “How to be a Christian without Being Religious.” It was a book that questioned religiosity. He asks: Do you sometimes feel you have been trapped into playing a game called “Church”?  The book goes on to show why religion has failed and points readers to the way of being Christians…

By Not Known The Bible in several places reads, I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. (Ex 20:5; 34:7; Nu 14:18; Deut 5:9) So the mention of “generational curses” strikes fear in many but also fury in others. Am I being punished for the sins of my…

By Not Known It is most encouraging thing to know that God not only works all things according to his big and good plans in Jesus (Eph 1:11) but he also works them for the individual good of his beloved people (Rom 8:28). This gives consolation that the worst of times are also the best of times. When life seems overwhelming and the valley of despair just gets deeper and…

By Not Known Have you tracked your family tree? It can be interesting to see where our ancestors came from and to have a sense of where we fit it. Many in our congregation are of immigrant stock – with ancestors who came from the southern Chinese provinces or via a time as Straits Chinese. My ancestors are also immigrants: from Celtic stock in Ireland and Cornwall.…

By Not Known Many find that people bring us our greatest pain and pleasure. Both pain and pleasure increase as the distance between people diminishes in our families. Why is this so? The answer is simple. God made us for relationships (Gen 2:18). This is no surprise, since the ‘us’ of the triune God is essentially relational (Gen 1:26). It is his gift to place…

By Not Known There”s something about a prize that makes us want it. Whether it”s the door prize at a social function, an academic award or a sporting trophy – we want to win. Our desire for the prize can push us to amazing acts of focus, self-discipline and self-sacrifice. But what of we can”t see the prize? What if all we can see are the…

By Not Known When life seems tough it is easy to go into a downward spiral. We may look at our problems (and only our problems), complain that no one has it as tough as us and whine that we are all alone. All these take an added dimension when our complaint is about the toughness of following Jesus. It is no wonder that others abandon us when we wallow in such…