[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during May 2026]
Sages, leave your contemplations [1]
During the current sermon series on Sunday mornings the congregation at HBC has been considering various types of prayer, including prayers of adoration, petition, intercession and, more recently, contemplation. The latter may be the remit of sages and hermits but, for us, pausing for contemplation brings its own challenges.
(more…)
[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during May 2026]
So their entreaty ascended fervently to heaven.
3 Maccabees 5:9 [NRSVA]
It is perhaps unusual for us to quote from the books of the Apocrypha but those words give us an appropriate context for our thoughts this week as we consider prayers of supplication.
(more…)
[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during May 2026]
Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.
Psalm 107 v23-24 [ESVUK]
Perhaps it seemed like a really cool idea, the reward for a lifetime of work and saving for a great adventure. What better than a cruise to the south Atlantic, to see the marvels of creation in their purest forms? However, the God who generated glaciers and propagated penguins was also responsible for rats.
(more…)
[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during May 2026]
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
Nicene Creed[1]
Do you ever thank God just for being God?
It is relatively easy to pray for certain blessings that we think we need, or even to give thanks for what we have received so far, but prayers of adoration seem to require a special effort. Our minds wander and our thoughts digress as we try to find words that describe a God who is beyond description.
(more…)
[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during April 2026]
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
1 John 4 v18 [ESVUK]
During a recent conversation around the parable of the prodigal son,[1] the focus turned to the feelings of the younger son after he recognised his plight. He had lost everything – his wealth, his friends, his self-respect, even the very means of providing for himself.
(more…)
[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during April 2026]
Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Isaiah 55 v1 [ESVUK]
In the UK the 21st April has been designated as National Tea Day. Whether your preference is the scent of Earl Grey or the real taste of Yorkshire, this date gives us an excuse for an extra ‘cuppa’. A cup of tea is an excellent aid when reading the Scriptures so it is particularly disappointing that there is no mention of tea, as we know it, in the Bible.
(more…)