Posts Tagged: ‘Psalms’

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

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

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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Contributor: Steve Humphreys

Aspects of Prayer

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

So their entreaty ascended fervently to heaven.
3 Maccabees 5:9 [NRSVA]

It is perhaps unusual for us to quote from the books of the Apocrypha but those words give us an appropriate context for our thoughts this week as we consider prayers of supplication.
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Contributor: Steve Humphreys

A Slower Kind of Prayer …

A Slower Kind of Prayer

[This reflection by Dazz Jones was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 17/May/2026]

If you know me at all, you’ll know I’m usually on the go. I like moving, doing, fixing, planning – and if I’m honest, slowing down isn’t always my natural setting. Part of that is just personality, and part of it is tied up with my adult ADHD: my brain can feel like it’s running five tabs at once, and silence can feel … loud.
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Contributor: Dazz Jones

Life on the Ocean Wave

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

Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep.
Psalm 107 v23-24 [ESVUK]

Perhaps it seemed like a really cool idea, the reward for a lifetime of work and saving for a great adventure. What better than a cruise to the south Atlantic, to see the marvels of creation in their purest forms? However, the God who generated glaciers and propagated penguins was also responsible for rats.
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Contributor: Steve Humphreys