Category: ‘Tuesday Challenge’

Promises, Promises

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

Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
Psalm 119 v49 [NKJV]

This extract from the psalmist’s prayer encourages us to refer back to God’s promises when we pray; that in turn requires us to know what God has promised. The NIV identifies over 200 references to God’s promises; to individuals in particular circumstances, to the nations of Israel and Judah or to those who follow him in faith. How many can you recall?
(more…)

Contributor: Steve Humphreys

Pause That Prayer!

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

In this manner, therefore, pray: “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name”.
Matthew 6 v9 [NKJV]

This is the opening phrase of the template prayer that Jesus used to demonstrate to his disciples how they should pray. It is a regular component of worship services in more traditional denominations and many of us have learnt the prayer verbatim. But does the familiarity of the words mean that their significance is diminished?
(more…)

Contributor: Steve Humphreys

What A Weekend!

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

Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Saviour,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

From a secular point of view, Easter is over for another year but that is not so for sincere Christians for whom the events at Easter are the primary and constant focus of our faith. The writer to the Hebrews urges us to remember Easter throughout the year:

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12 v2 [NIVUK]

(more…)

Contributor: Steve Humphreys

The Whisperer

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

Speak, Lord, in the stillness whilst I wait on Thee;
hushed my heart to listen in expectancy.
Emily May Crawford, (1920)[1]

How often do we get to experience stillness? In our age of perpetual motion, can our hearts really be hushed? Are stillness, quiet and silence all the same state? More importantly, are those conditions prerequisites for us to hear the Lord speaking?
(more…)

Contributor: Steve Humphreys

Thy Will Be Done

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

Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Luke 11 v2 [NKJV]

This extract from the template prayer that Jesus taught his disciples is ingrained in the minds of many people, not just in what we might call Christendom but also in its Jewish and Islamic equivalents. The prayer itself is often recited verbatim in the churches of many denominations but in essence it is an example of how our prayers should be constructed.
(more…)

Contributor: Steve Humphreys

What Day Is It?

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

Our contemporary practice of referring to the days of the week by unique names is thought to date from the Sumerian period, around the fifth millennium BC. The practice was adopted and refined during the days of the Babylonian empire. Names were often associated with the deities of the times, themselves often associated with astronomical entities (eg Sun-day, the day of the sun god).
(more…)

Contributor: Steve Humphreys