[This reflection by Dazz Jones was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 29/Jun/2025]
In church, people sometimes talk to me as if I have mystical powers – or as though I’m God’s favourite, just because I’m one of the pastors. Other times, they take on a different tone or demeanour when they speak to me, compared to how they talk with others. They might try to sound more profound or, for lack of a better word, more spiritual.
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[This reflection by Helen Ruffhead was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 22/Jun/2025]
When studying the book of Daniel at Connect in Faith recently, I was struck by the number of references to Jesus in it.
In chapter 2, Jesus is the rock which shatters the statue in King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. As Daniel explained to the king, the statue represented 4 great kingdoms and in the time of the 4th kingdom (Rome), God would establish a kingdom which would destroy all the earthly kingdoms but his kingdom would last forever.
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[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during April 2025]
In this manner, therefore, pray: “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name”.
Matthew 6 v9 [NKJV]
This is the opening phrase of the template prayer that Jesus used to demonstrate to his disciples how they should pray. It is a regular component of worship services in more traditional denominations and many of us have learnt the prayer verbatim. But does the familiarity of the words mean that their significance is diminished?
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[A ‘Tuesday Challenge‘ originally prepared for the congregation of Horley Baptist Church during April 2025]
Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Saviour,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
From a secular point of view, Easter is over for another year but that is not so for sincere Christians for whom the events at Easter are the primary and constant focus of our faith. The writer to the Hebrews urges us to remember Easter throughout the year:
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12 v2 [NIVUK]
[This reflection by Martin Shorey was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 13/Apr/2025]
The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.
Matthew 9 v37-38 [NLT]
I was encouraged to read a recent study commissioned by the Bible Society showing that church attendance in England and Wales has increased by 50% over the past five years![1] One of the standout findings is a significant rise in the number of young adults – especially young men – attending church. While it’s true that the UK Church isn’t out of the woods just yet, and some mainstream denominations remain on life support, this is a powerful glimmer of hope for the Christian faith in our nation.
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