Life After Easter

[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during March 2026]

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
John 11 v25-26 [ESVUK]

Jesus was speaking to Martha whose brother, Lazarus, had died. His death provided the context for Jesus to make that declaration of the way of salvation. The statement is, at the same time time, both simple and extremely profound. The simplicity can be recognised in the words that Jesus had spoken to Nicodemus on an earlier occasion:
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Contributor: Steve Humphreys

Recognising Jesus

[This reflection by Helen Ruffhead was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 29/Mar/2026]

‘Connect in Faith’ has recently been looking at the names or titles of Jesus and I have been struck by how often these names were given to him by people outside the Jewish faith. It was astrologers from the East who first called him a king (Matthew 2:2) and a Roman centurion who called him Lord (Matthew 8:6).
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Contributor: Helen Ruffhead

But Now I See

[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during March 2026]

And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
John 9 v2 [ESVUK]

The disciples were expressing a sentiment that was common in their society – that prosperity was a sign of God’s blessing and misfortune was in some way connected to disobedience of God’s laws. It is interesting that they did not stop to think about how a man might have sinned before being born.
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Let’s Suppose that Jesus Came in This Century

[This reflection by Michael Goble was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 22/Mar/2026]

There is no doubt that Jesus first came to this world at the best time, as He had decided. The city of Rome and its emperors ruled over a vast empire including Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, and our country too. The Romans had built a massive road network for their army to keep control over the whole area, and as a result there was peace over the whole empire. If God was going to bring the truth of His Kingdom into the world in people’s hearts it was 2000 years ago.
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Contributor: Michael Goble

What’s Troubling You?

[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during March 2026]

The path of trouble is the way home.
CH Spurgeon [1]

Is there a modern relevance to these words, written by a prominent preacher in 1865? Or are they now just an outdated expression of a sentiment that was prevalent in non-conformist denominations at a time very different from our contemporary experience?
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Contributor: Steve Humphreys

Good Friday – Good Holiday?

[This reflection by Martin Shorey was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 15/Mar/2026]

I have to be honest with you: I sometimes find Good Friday a little frustrating.

It’s not the event itself, of course. The day marks one of the pivotal moments in the Christian calendar, when we pause to reflect on the enormity of Jesus’ sacrifice and the gift he gave to us through the cross.
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Contributor: Martin Shorey