Are We On Mission?

[This reflection by Martin Shorey was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 06/Oct/2024]

This week I attended a get together of church leaders who are part of the Further Faster Network. Not only was it great to catch up with old friends and make new ones, but it was also a time of challenge and inspiration.

One particular speaker, Dr Gavin Adams, who spoke to us from Atlanta via zoom, shared a time when he was a church leader and everything seemed to be flourishing. The building was full on a Sunday morning, and the bank balance was healthy, and yet it became apparent that these easily celebrated wins hid the truth that as a church they weren’t really accomplishing their mission. (more…)

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Contributor: Martin Shorey
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Words Are All I Have

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

Last week we thought about the type of image that might come to mind when we hear mention of ‘God’. Starting in the 12th century, religious art shows a tendency to picture God in a dominant, authoritarian way and this often influences modern thought, but the apostle Paul saw things differently:

He is the exact living image [the essential manifestation] of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible], the firstborn [the preeminent one, the sovereign, and the originator] of all creation.
Colossians 1 v15 [AMP]

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Contributor: Steve Humphreys
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Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

[This reflection by Dennis Ginter was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 29/Sep/2024]

Two weeks ago, Helen explained how the words we speak flow from our ‘hearts’. I’d like us to consider that a little more deeply.

In his ‘Renovation of the Heart’, Dallas Willard uses the words heart, spirit, soul, and subconscious interchangeably. The point he’s making is that in each of us there is a hidden, inner life which is fully accessible only to our Creator. It is out of that Dennis that my words and actions really come. (more…)

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Contributor: Dennis Ginter
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An Image of God

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

You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
Deuteronomy 5 v11 [NLT]

How do you react when someone mentions God in your presence? Do you ignore it, dismissing it as blasphemy or ignorance, or does some sort of image come to mind? Perhaps you recall that mankind was made in the image of God but, as we look around at the various shapes and sizes of people, we feel inclined to be somewhat selective in trying to reimagine God. (more…)

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Contributor: Steve Humphreys
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Why Do Penguins Huddle?

[This reflection by Brian Alton was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 22/Sep/2024]

A Chicago citizen once told evangelist D.L. Moody that he (the citizen) could be just as good a Christian outside a church community as inside it. In response, Moody pointed to a fireplace where coals were blazing fiercely. He removed one coal from the fire, which gradually lost its glow, until it was completely cold. The analogy drawn from this is that it is important to be together in a church community as Jesus followers, so that we don’t lose our ‘glow’. It is inevitable that one’s faith will grow cold without being among other ‘Followers of the Way’. (more…)

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Contributor: Brian Alton
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A Wanderful Time

[A devotional reflection originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during September 2024]

Prayer presents us with a wonderful opportunity, to acknowledge the magnitude of God, to glorify his name, to praise him for salvation, to thank him for all his blessings and to invite him to continue to help us.

Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
Psalm 141 v2 [ESVUK]

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Contributor: Steve Humphreys
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