[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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[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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[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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[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 Or are they now just an outdated expression of a sentiment that was prevalent in non-conformist denominations at a time very different from our contemporary experience?
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[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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[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during March 2026]
It displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.
Nehemiah 2 v10 [ESVUK]
That observation comes from the account of the restoration of the walls of Jerusalem in 444BC but the same words could easily describe the opinion of many people throughout the centuries since the nation of Israel evolved from the families who sought refuge in Egypt around 1875BC.
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