PASTORAL MESSAGES (Page 47)

By Not Known A Christian missiologist, Ed Stetzer, wrote this on Facebook last Wednesday, “In the last 5 days, 700 refugees drowned off Greece, 9000 babies were aborted in U.S., and 68 were shot in Chicago … and a gorilla dominated the news.” Last Saturday, Cincinnati Zoo had to put down 17-year-old Harambe, one of their endangered gorillas, after it was deemed a…

By Not Known Thom Rainer is a realist observer, who analyses churches in the US with great insights.  He wrote recently about churches still living in the 80s which I found to be so true to our situation as well. He said, “Nine out of 10 churches in America are either declining or they are growing so slowly they are not keeping up with the growth rate of the…

By Not Known “Our aunty needs to have the last opportunity to listen to the Gospel,” my friend, Ernest, said to his wife.  They then decided to fly to Perth to visit their aunt at the hospital.  Thank God that they managed to see her and shared the Gospel with her.  Although she was over 90 years of age, she was very open and accepted the saving grace of…

By Not Known What does it mean to have faith in someone? All relationships are built on faith. When we marry someone, we have faith in that someone.  Although we do not know what the future brings, we have faith in our spouse that he or she will be good to us.  At times, however, instead…

By Not Known The age of “You do, because I say so!” is over at home, at work, in school, in the social sphere, and in the political arena as well.  Norms are being questioned and challenged by new waves of assumptions and perspectives. Traditions, both good and bad ones, are continually undergoing shake-ups and reshaping.  While all these may produce some good…

By Not Known The word huddle was coined in the 1890s when Paul Hubbard, the quarterback for Gallaudet, a college for deaf students in Washington, D.C., had his team form a tight circle so they could discuss plays without the other team seeing what they were signing.  As the game evolved, huddling became an integral part of the game plan.  Some of the benefits…

By Not Known As we finish our sermon series on the Book of Ruth today, the story ends with the birth of a son, Obed, to Boaz and Ruth, and the women telling Naomi, “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer.  May He become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age.” (Ruth 4:14-15)  Who…

By Not Known Time passes quickly.  I have been serving in ORPC for three and a half months now.  By God’s grace, I am knowing more members and visiting the sick, as well as managing the challenges of ministry work. One of the challenges is managing regular worshippers with special needs. I got to know one of them quite well and even spoke to his mother and his…

By Not Known Many years ago, I was in my sister’s car when she drove to her campus during her examinations period.  Traffic jams are common occurrence in Jakarta during peak hours.  We had wanted to set out before the peak hours to beat the jam but unfortunately, my sister burnt midnight…

By Not Known On the early morning of March 9, Singapore experienced a partial solar eclipse where 90% of the sun was obscured by the moon at the maximum point of the eclipse.  A solar eclipse happens when the moon moves in between the sun and the earth.  The light and heat of the sun is temporary masked by the moon such that darkness from total to partial comes…