[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during January 2025]
The prize-winning 1930s musical ‘Of Thee I Sing’ is a political satire focussing on the election and inauguration of a somewhat unconventional president of the United States. The storyline includes promises made and broken, threats of impeachment, international tension and thwarted ambitions. Of course, being fiction, it concludes with them all living happily ever-after.
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[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during January 2025]
As 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…)
[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]
[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…)
[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…)
[A ‘Tuesday Challenge’ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during December 2024]
Each morning I tune in to the daily reflection from All Saints’ Cathedral, Nairobi (an Anglican church that I used to attend in the early 1960s). This week the theme is an introduction to Advent,[1] using the lighting of candles as a visual aid to the explanation of the four personal characteristics that that particular denomination emphasises during this season. The four candles represent hope, peace, joy and love – sentiments that we promote at Christmas but which should be part of our life year-round. (more…)