[This reflection by David Makanjuola was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 25/Jan/2026]
I received a lovely Christmas present – a journal. It looks really upmarket; the sort of journal you want to make sure you don’t make any spelling mistakes in as you write. Each blank page invitingly encourages you to fill it in with … Yes, that’s the problem. Fill it in with what?
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[This reflection by Dennis Ginter was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 18/Jan/2026]
Martin hit a raw nerve during his teaching last Sunday. As he explored how we all tend to do what Jesus called ‘drawing attention to the speck in someone else’s eye while ignoring the plank in our own’, I found myself feeling very uncomfortable!
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[This reflection by Dazz Jones was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 11/Jan/2026]
I’ve been thinking a lot this week about how quickly my brain makes judgements. It happens almost without my express permission or even acknowledgement. A look, a tone of voice, a comment taken the wrong way – and suddenly I’ve formed a neat little story about someone else. My brain seems to like things tidy, categorised, black and white. “They’re like this.” “People like that always do this.” It feels efficient. It feels safe. But Jesus helps me see it’s also quite flawed!
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[This reflection by Helen Ruffhead was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 04/Jan/2026]
The month January is named after the Roman God Janus who had two faces, symbolising the ability to look both forward and backward. It is often a time for reflecting on the past and contemplating the future, but therein lies the danger. All too often the biggest disturbers of my peace are regret for past mistakes and fears for the future.
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[This reflection by Michael Goble was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 21/Dec/2025]
I was interested to see during recent services that each Advent candle was given a name when it was lit. We’ve also received a Christmas card this year with four named candles on the front – peace, hope, love, joy.
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[This reflection by Martin Shorey was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 14/Dec/2025]
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1 v14 (NIV)
At the Thursday Group carol service last week, I tested the group on their knowledge of Christmas carol lyrics — and it turned out to be more difficult than we expected. These hymns and songs are so familiar to us, yet the words can easily wash over us. In doing so, we miss their meaning, their truth, and their honesty.
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