Bishop’s Message

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9 (ESV) Déjà vu. Same old same old. We have been here before, at the turn of the year. If we are more than a year old, this is […]

The name “Jesus” was confirmed to Mary by the angel who visited her with the news that she would soon be with child.The naming of a child in different cultures may follow various practices, but the significance is never in doubt. Sometimes, the name may reflect the circumstances in which the child has been born. My […]

Finding out the will of God is a matter of trust (Proverbs 3:5-6). Faith does not operate by sight (i.e. the obvious). It requires Spirit-inspired discernment and wisdom, grounded on a familiarity with Scripture. What is obvious is not necessarily God’s way. Paul was a changed man following his Damascus experience during which he encountered […]

The modern obsession with success and the desire to develop it quickly – in fact, instantaneously if possible – has robbed us of developing well-rounded and healthy individuals, families, churches and organisations. As I write this, I am in the midst of the Annual Mission Conference of The Methodist Church in Cambodia (MCC). The MCC […]

“Righteousness exalts a nation”, said the wise man in Proverbs 14:34 (NKJV). The Good News Bible translates the verse simply as: “Righteousness makes a nation great.” What then is “righteousness”? In Hebrew, the language in which the Proverbs were written, it means to adhere to what is required according to a standard. Bearing in mind […]

The term that Brown used to describe this phenomenon is “performancism” – “The worship leader as the performer. The congregation as the audience. The sanctuary as the concert hall.” There is so much to read along the information superhighway that sometimes we miss some good articles. I came across one titled “Are We Headed For […]

Finding solutions and solving a problem searching the best creative answers against a complicated and complex three dimensional maze having a clear shortcut path created by erasing the labyrinth with a pencil eraser. There is a fear, I think, that if we were to find a way that is neither left nor right, it would […]

The big deal about Aldersgate is that it is a journey back to the future. Our tradition stresses a holiness that is both personal and social, but more importantly experiential. For a living faith to be passed on from generation to generation, the fire must be kept burning in our hearts. For us to be […]

Every now and then, I hear the remark that a person has had “an encounter with God”. This is said to account for the noticeable change that has taken place in that person’s life. Often the conversation refers to a person who had been a nominal Christian, a sceptic, or even one who did not […]

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” These were among the last words of Jesus at the cross, just before He gave up His spirit. Much has been taught from this saying about how it fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 53:12), and the loving forgiveness of God for sinners.

Festivals bring families, relatives and friends to reconnect with one another. They draw communities together and serve a unifying purpose. Festivals were integral to the lives of people in the Old Testament. There were daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly festivals. Most of these were religious, as instructed by the Law. Even feasts such as birthdays, […]

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ” (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV)  The love that God has for you this New Year is not last year’s love. It is a 2014 love, not something carried over from the past. […]