[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during November 2025]
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark
John 20 v1 [NIVUK]
Have you ever noticed how often God works in the dark? We live in a non-stop world with cities that never sleep, with systems operational 24-7 and with people constantly on the move. Yet it all began in the dark.
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[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during November 2025]
And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction. And they burned the city with fire, and everything in it.
Joshua 6 v17, 24 [ESVUK]
The verses above were taken from the Biblical account of the conquest of Jericho in around 1406BC. The account tells us how the Israelite army surrounded the city and most of the city wall collapsed, allowing the army to systematically destroy the city.
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[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during September 2025]
It happened in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and laid siege to it.
Jeremiah 52 v4 [NIVUK]
Have you ever wondered why our tenth month is called October when ‘octo’ is a prefix that is usually associated with the number eight? A similar question could be asked about Septem(7)ber, Novem(9)ber and Decem(10)ber.
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[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during February 2025]
Last week saw the start of the lunar new year, an event commonly known as the Chinese New Year. According to the Chinese calendar, the New Year is triggered by the closest new moon to the beginning of Spring. This year the corresponding date on the Gregorian calendar is 29th January; the next New Year will be 17th February 2026.
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[A ‘Tuesday Challenge’ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during October 2024]
As often happens when preparing these reflections, it starts with a question: “Where do I begin …” Fortunately, the actress Julie Andrews is able to offer some advice:
Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start [1]
For us as Christians (and for everybody else but few admit it) that takes us to the earliest verses of the Bible. (more…)
[A devotional reflection originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during August 2024]
With so many of our consumer products originating in the Far East we are becoming increasingly familiar with ‘Chinglish’, that sometimes-amusing form of English intended to provide instructions for the use of the product. The information may or may not be useful but at least we know how to read it, even if the message isn’t always clear. (more…)