Posts Tagged: ‘Psalms’

Love Transcends Fear

[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during October 2026]

‘Don’t be afraid,’ David said to him, ‘for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.’
2 Samuel 9 v7 [NIVUK]

It was a common practice in Old Testament times for a new monarch to kill the former ruler’s family, as a means of eliminating potential rivals. Perhaps the most prominent example is that of Jehu who became king of Israel in around 840BC. He ordered the assassination of some 114 relatives of the previous royal family.[1]
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Contributor: Steve Humphreys
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Are You Listening?

[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during October 2026]

He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’
Psalm 46 v10 [NIVUK]

Stillness and its companion, silence, are increasingly rare experiences in our modern world. Even those who do not live close to a major airport or a motorway will always be aware of the persistent intrusion of movement and noise around us.
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Contributor: Steve Humphreys
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News Has Consequences

[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during September 2026]

He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 112 v7 [NKJV]

So much of the content of our daily news bulletins is ‘evil tidings’ or, in contemporary terms, bad news. It is often said that bad news travels faster than good news, an observation that was first expressed in a literary context as long ago as the 16th century.[1] Perhaps the oxymoron of a ‘good gossip’ helps to perpetuate the hypothesis.
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Contributor: Steve Humphreys
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Do You Have Difficulty Hearing?

[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during July 2026]

There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.
Mark 7 v32 [NIVUK]

Being hard of hearing is not a pleasant experience. For those whose affliction is temporary the impediment to social interaction comes as an unexpected challenge. Conversation becomes difficult and we soon begin to feel that we are missing out on what is going on around us. Image, then, how disadvantaged the man brought to Jesus would have felt without the modern aids to hearing.
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Contributor: Steve Humphreys
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A Hot Topic

[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during June 2026]

And when the south wind blows, you say, “It’s going to be hot,” and it is.
Luke 12 v55 [NIVUK]

In the northern hemisphere the longest daily period of daylight hours has passed and, although we may not notice it yet, the evenings are starting their slow transition to winter darkness.
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Contributor: Steve Humphreys
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Speak, Lord, in the Stillness

[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.
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