God Can Use Your Skills

[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during January 2025]

2025 logoAs 2024 disappears into the dusty archives of time and last week’s resolutions are rapidly following the same fate, what can we do to usefully fill the next 11 months before Christmas comes around again? It is said that idle hands do the devil’s work so how can we work for God instead? The apostle Paul shared some ideas:

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers
Ephesians 4 v11 [NKJV]

As a young Christian, I found these words written by the apostle Paul to be somewhat unsettling. I wanted to serve God but none of these callings matched my personal ambitions or what I considered to be my skill-set. (more…)

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Contributor: Steve Humphreys
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Would you live your life differently?

[This reflection by Martin Shorey was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 05/Jan/2025]

Would you live your life differently if you knew what the future held? Would you take more risks? Act more boldly? Would your priorities shift? If I knew the outcome of my actions in advance, perhaps I’d be more willing to try new things, to step out of my comfort zone. I’d feel secure knowing that I wouldn’t fail – that the next step is the right one. And if it wasn’t, I could simply choose a different path. (more…)

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Contributor: Martin Shorey
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The Last Post

[A ‘Tuesday Challenge’ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during December 2024]

The Last Post – what do those words conjure up in your mind?

The Last Post: I suppose that if you were a fencing contractor then this might mean that your day’s work was complete or that you had reached the end of the line. Fences need to be firmly grounded and regularly maintained, otherwise they soon become useless.
Do you ever feel like a broken fence? You try to hold a line but people can trample all over you. The Psalmist identified with that feeling:

I feel like a shaky fence or a sagging wall. How long will all of you attack and assault me?
Psalm 62 v3 [CEV]

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Contributor: Steve Humphreys
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The Night Before Christmas

[A ‘Tuesday Challenge’ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during December 2024]

“Twas the night before Christmas” is the opening line of a popular poem first published in 1823 and commonly ascribed to Clement Moore, an American professor and author. It relates a vision of Christmas Eve with snow, reindeer and a jovial Santa dispensing gifts whilst children are asleep. Although the poem predates the accession of Queen Victoria, the sentiments it expresses, along with the writings of Charles Dickens, have helped to form our perceptions of a Victorian Christmas. (more…)

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Contributor: Steve Humphreys
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Let the Foolish Things of the World Confound the Wise

[This reflection by Chris Ginter was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 22/Dec/2024]

I often think I fit into that category!

When I was a child my mum would pray this prayer over me as I went to sleep at night:
“Gentle Jesus meek and mild look upon this little child, pity my simplicity, suffer me to come to thee.”
(more…)

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Contributor: Chris Ginter
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Love came down at Christmas

[A ‘Tuesday Challenge’ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during December 2024]

Where do I begin to tell the story of how great a love can be
The sweet love story that is older than the sea?

These words, composed by lyricist Carl Sigman, were written to give a vocal counterpart to the theme from the 1970 film, ‘Love Story’. Various artists have made both the tune and the lyrics very popular. But can there really be a ‘love that is older than the sea’? (more…)

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Contributor: Steve Humphreys
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