[This reflection by Helen Ruffhead was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 28/Jul/2024]
I think one thing Christians find hard to acknowledge is a feeling of disappointment with God. When we first become Christians life often seems wonderful and we believe everything is going to be different, but then our old troubles come back and we can struggle with feelings of disappointment. (more…)
[A devotional reflection originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during July 2024]
Those of us who follow the international news regularly will have noticed that the story of Ahab and Naboth recurs with almost daily frequency.[1]
The characters are different but the scenario is basically the same. A person in a position of power sees an adjacent piece of real-estate and decides that it would fit well within his own portfolio. He – or indeed, she – makes what they consider to be a reasonable offer for it and, if that is declined, then resorts to the use of deception, guile or blatant force. (more…)
[A devotional reflection originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during July 2024]
When Satan tempts me to despair or tells me of the guilt within …
As you look around on a Sunday morning and see all those super-saints worshipping God so confidently are you ever tempted to echo the words of a song rooted in a certain period in American history?
Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen
[This reflection by Michael Goble was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 21/Jul/2024]
In the arid centre of Australia there is a river called Todd River which flows through Alice Springs. It is quite wide and there are big stone bridges for the traffic to drive across the river. Each year in the town they hold the Henley-on-Todd Regatta and about 20,000 people come to watch the boating races. There is only one problem. (more…)
[A devotional reflection originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during July 2024]
Have there been times when you decide to hold your tongue rather than provoke a pointless argument over some minor matter? Or perhaps you prefer to be pedantic, setting the record straight at the risk of upsetting someone who has a different recollection of events. (more…)
[This reflection by Martin Shorey was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 14/Jul/2024]
This August I will have been at Horley for 7 years! How that time has flown, marked by how tall my son is getting (who was only a bump when we first moved). It will also be 13 years for me as a Baptist minister. I love my job, with it’s ups and downs, and joys and frustrations. I was unsure at first whether this was what God as calling me to, but I can look back and see how God has guided and blessed me since I made that step 16 years ago to pack my bags and head to Bible College. (more…)