[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during November 2026]
Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.
Luke 22 v46 [NIVUK]
The change of the clocks at the end of last month gave many people in the northern hemisphere an extra hour overnight. Anecdotally, it seems that this is often used as an excuse for an additional hour’s sleep, but that may not be the best use of the time.
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[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during October 2026]
For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.
Malachi 2 v7 [NIVUK]
In some Christian churches the weekly sermons are called ‘Messages’. The understanding is that the words of the preacher have been inspired by the Holy Spirit, albeit that they are being delivered by a fallible human.
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[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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[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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[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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[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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