PASTORAL MESSAGES (Page 83)

By Not Known Singapore has a strong charitable sector. A growing body of charitable groups cares for more groups of needy. This is goad, for our society relies heavily on family and community to care for the vulnerable. Christians are prominent in this chantable sector. God’s people often…

By Not Known It’s sometimes said that one of life’s great cruelties is to be born short. There are greater numbers of tall people in the higher ranks of political and corporate life. And in an added cruelty, those few extra kilos look worse on a less-tall person. Israel’s first king was the tallest man of his day. That earned him the label ‘an…

By Not Known It’s a natural tendency to boost ourselves. We want to shine. We want to be noticed. We want to be listened to. We want to be influential. Jesus once attended a dinner where he watched big egos tripping over themselves. It was free seating and everyone rushed for the best seat. And thus he told the parable of the great reversal (Lke 14:7-14). We laugh…

By Not Known The Ark of the Covenant has had a great run in the popular imagination thanks to an apparently endless series of movies. The reality is rather more plain. The Ark was a wooden box with corner rings to insert carrying poles. It was only 1.2 metres by O.762 by O.762 – smaller than our communion table. It’s only distinguishing features were a gold…

By Not Known The auspicious date is upon us and the Beijing Olympics will soon begin. We can only imagine the flurry of last-minute preparations as organisers, venue staff, coaches, athletes and a myriad of associated workers rushing to have everything ready. An Olympic medal is quite a prize. But for every winner there will be many more that miss out. Again, we can…

By Not Known Some have no life focus and drift without aim. Others have poor focus and are easily distracted. Some have a well-defined focus, but it is in the wrong place. Luke 9 shows a clear sense of focus. This starts with Jesus. He had twice spoken of the divine necessity of his death (vs22&44). Moses and Elijah bore testimony to the new ‘exodus‘ which…

By Not Known Last week, we examined the question, “Who do you say that I am?” This week, we have the account of the demonstration of Jesus’ identity. Adding on to the three disciples (witnesses) were three “heavenly witnesses”, Moses, Elijah and the voice of God from heaven authenticating Jesus’ heavenly identity. Again, the disciples…

By Not Known When Alan Nelson was a boy, his dad taught him an important lesson one day as they stood in a soybean field. “What’s that?” his dad asked, pointing to a tall green plant. Alan looked at him sheepishly and responded, “You know what that is. It’s a cornstalk.“ “No, it’s a weed,” his dad said. “Dad,…

By Not Known The kingdom of God was central to the words and deeds of Jesus. The kingdom of God relates to God’s saving rule through his appointed king, Jesus. Through Jesus, God defeats our enemy of sin and death and brings us under his lordship or rule. Jesus’ preaching announced the coming of God’s kingdom and summons people to enter it. His teaching…

By Not Known Parents of adult children can easily identify with Jesus’ parable of the father and his two sons (Luke 15:11-32). We may know, or can imagine, the pain of the father. The family business was threatened as the son wanted to cash up and ship out. The filial bonds were torn as he went far off and lived the life of a wastrel. These are the times when…