Here Comes the Sun

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

And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years’. God made two great lights – the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.
Genesis 1 v14,16 [NIVUK]

One day last week a large proportion of the population of western Europe spent the evening staring at the sun. They were expecting to see the sun disappear, hopefully only temporarily. Such was the anticipation of this event that some hotels in Spain and Iceland were booked as long as four years ago.
(more…)

: 13
Contributor: Steve Humphreys
Read full article ~ 1 Comment

Click on a category or tag to view corresponding reflections ...
Categories: Tuesday Challenge ~ Tags: , ,

A Thorny Subject

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

Surely wickedness burns like a fire; it consumes briers and thorns, it sets the forest thickets ablaze, so that it rolls upwards in a column of smoke.
Isaiah 9 v18 [NIVUK]

Throughout the past few weeks our tv screens have shown images of the extensive wildfires that are raging in southern Europe and parts of north America. At the same time, devastating floods and earthquakes have hit other parts of the world. Floods and droughts do not make comfortable companions.
(more…)

: 15
Contributor: Steve Humphreys
Read full article ~ Leave a comment

Click on a category or tag to view corresponding reflections ...
Categories: Tuesday Challenge ~ Tags: , , ,

#dadlife

[This reflection by Dazz Jones was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 09/Aug/2026]

One of the unexpected gifts of becoming a parent has been how much it has taught me about God.

Before becoming a parent, I could understand, at a simple level, the idea that God loves us. I had heard it many times. I believed it. But loving my own daughter has helped me begin to grasp something of what that love might actually feel like. I by no means mean to compare myself to God here! Simply reflecting on how it has caused my understanding to develop.
(more…)

: 10
Contributor: Dazz Jones
Read full article ~ Leave a comment

Click on a category or tag to view corresponding reflections ...
Categories: Yours on Sunday ~ Tags: No tags

D, N, A or P?

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

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12 v2 [NIVUK]

Last week we briefly considered the challenges of maintaining our walk of faith in a society which has largely discarded its Christian heritage. Can we find a balance which preserves our spiritual integrity without alienating those who currently have no interest in our faith?
(more…)

: 54
Contributor: Steve Humphreys
Read full article ~ 1 Comment

Click on a category or tag to view corresponding reflections ...
Categories: Tuesday Challenge ~ Tags: , , ,

And The Rest

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

All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest.
Ecclesiastes 2 v23 [NIVUK]

We have all, at some time or another, had the experience of lying awake when we want to be in the land of Nod. Sleep eludes us, to be replaced by persistent worries or mental gymnastics beyond our daytime capabilities; our only consolation is that we are not sharing the experiences described by the Lord Chancellor in ‘Iolanthe’.[1] Even Job started to lose his patience:

I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.
Job 3 v26 [NIVUK]

(more…)

: 39
Contributor: Steve Humphreys
Read full article ~ Leave a comment

Click on a category or tag to view corresponding reflections ...
Categories: Tuesday Challenge ~ Tags: , , , ,

Judging by Appearances

[This reflection by Helen Ruffhead was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 26/Jul/2026]

For the last 3 months I have been trying to sell my house, having found a retirement flat that was just right for me. Naively I thought it would sell easily, being a relatively cheap 3-bedroom house, with a garage, great location and in a good state of repair. Instead nearly twenty viewers have rejected it, some for valid reasons like the size of the rooms, but others because they disliked the old-fashioned décor. The estate agent even suggested that I should change the Thomas the Tank Engine lampshade in Michael’s room.
(more…)

: 17
Contributor: Helen Ruffhead
Read full article ~ Leave a comment

Click on a category or tag to view corresponding reflections ...
Categories: Yours on Sunday ~ Tags: ,
« Earlier Reflections