Stop Nagging!
By Not Known What is the difference between fervent petitioning and faithless nagging on God? Jesus describes the latter, in the case of the Pharisees, as an endless babbling and an empty showmanship (Matt 6:7). While many of us would also frown upon that, it is worth examining our own intercessory life. Why do parents nag their teenagers? Why does a wife nag her husband?…
Thank God!
By Not Known Many possibilities associate themselves with the exclamation – “Thank God!” From simply a self-congratulatory relief to a heartfelt gratitude to God, this phrase has by and large lost what its words literally mean – Thank You, God! “We always thank God… when we pray for you…” (Col 1:3). The faith of the…
Worship: Daily Appropriating Forgiveness
By Not Known Having been told that his wife will take legal action against his stubborn stance, an unrepentant husband who had strayed said, “Up to you lah… Take legal action lah. Sell it (the flat). Do whatever you like.” This is an example of a person who has allowed his sin to go spiraling down further. Instead of acknowledging his…
Worthy of Worship
By Not Known For the Jews, the temple was everything. It still is. It is for them the symbol of God’s presence in their midst. When the woman of Samaria said to Jesus (John 4:21-23) that she perceived that he was a prophet, she was referring to the destroyed temple at Mount Gerizim just about a hundred years before. This Samaritan temple was…
Christlikeness − not abilities…
By Not Known On 27 September, a good number of churches in our region will be commemorating the 110th anniversary of the birth of the Rev Dr John Sung Shang Chieh (宋尚节 1901-1944). Regarded by some to be the greatest preacher of the 20th century, Dr Sung’s short earthly ministry of 15 years brought about revivals in churches stretching all the way from…
To Teach or Not to Teach?
By Not Known 1 Timothy 2 is a difficult chapter because it raises numerous issues that rouse gender sensitivity. When read plainly, Paul seems to prohibit women from teaching and having authority over men in the church (v12). But before the battle line is drawn for or against Paul’s instructions, let’s keep in view the central focus of the chapter:…
Are you OyK?
By Not Known The first thing I learnt about prayer many years ago was that God does not depend on me to pray. Yet he wants me to keep the lines of communication with him open faithfully and consistently. I used to think that prayers are what I bring to God and depend solely on my initiative. Prayer is not my initiative. It is God’s. …
MVPs
By Not Known For those who follow the NBA or NFL, you would no doubt be familiar with MVP. The one-time great basketball player, “His Airness” Michael Jordan won it numerous times and also three All-Star MVPs in his career. It stands for Most Valuable Player ― one who single-handedly motivated teammates to play cohesively and contributed to the…
A Time for Everything
By Not Known ‘Time, Gentlemen please’ used to be the closing time cry by the landlord in English pubs. Only six months ago I was writing my introductory pastoral message, and I can scarcely believe time has flown so quickly. You may feel differently! Time is a fascinating concept and our perceptions of time differ radically. A short amount of time may seem to…
The Lord’s Prayer Support
By Not Known When it comes to prayer, numerous buzzwords compete for superiority ― power prayer, synchronised prayer, prayer walk, prayer warrior, prayer encounter, etc. On one hand, each of these helpfully elevates the practice of prayer. On the other hand, each unhelpfully associates the efficacy of prayer to how it is done and who does it. We ought to critically…