Bishop’s Message

The word “blessing” is a very rich word. Everyone hopes to be blessed, but everyone may have a different idea as to what counts as blessings. Most people will feel blessed if they have wealth, health, education, a successful career, a loving marriage, a harmonious family and so on. Of course, this is blessedness that […]

An old African proverb says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” The clear implication of this saying is that bringing up children well involves more than just the parents. From the moment we are born, we interact with those around us, which include our parents, siblings and other members of the extended family. […]

What is courage? Simply put, it means “having guts”. A courageous person is not afraid. A brave person is without fear. In the New Testament, “courage” and “boldness” are from the Greek word tharreo. Courage in Christ, however, is not impulsive, rash or impetuous. The boldness Peter showed as a disciple of Jesus was impulsive […]

Education has always been a vital core ministry of the Methodist Church. Its missionary work in Singapore began in 1885 and the Anglo-Chinese School (ACS), a primary school for boys, was established the following year. Two primary schools for girls, Methodist Girls’ School (MGS) and Fairfield Methodist Girls’ School (FMGS), were subsequently set up in […]

Replica of an empty tomb in Israel. “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” (Jn 11:25) Death comes to everyone. Regardless of the differing views of death owing to race, culture and religion, it is the same for all—a cessation of all the body’s vital functions. […]

In Luke 10:27, it is recorded that an expert in the law asked Jesus how one might attain eternal life. Drawing on the Torah books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus, the expert in the law was able to find an answer for himself: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your […]

“Tradition” is a word that is often disparaged as representing what is passé, old-fashioned, impractical, intransigent or rigid. To some, it even connotes superstition, and handing down a tradition is often deemed regressive and propounding of obsoletes. Some even consider all traditional beliefs to be bad and at odds with Christianity and the gospel. God […]

The dawning of a new year brings hope of a new beginning, a fresh start. A Chinese expression provides a timely reminder: The whole year’s work depends on a good start in spring, and the whole day’s work on a good start in the morning. Time flashes by and unless it is managed and planned, […]

The Christmas story (recounted in the second chapter of Luke) has a very important but often overlooked theme: “receiving”. God gave His precious only Son to the world with all His love. But the world did not receive the Lord, the Word Incarnate. “Receiving” is also an important theme of many Bible stories. Abraham received […]

Every November, the three Annual Conferences of The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS)—the Chinese AC (CAC), the Emmanuel Tamil AC (ETAC) and the Trinity AC (TRAC)—hold their separate conferences, which the respective Presidents chair. The Bishop, as the head of MCS, chairs the General Conference. He, together with the three Presidents, also attends each conference. […]

For any collective body, rituals embody its memories and fulfill certain conditions. For instance, there is no society whose rituals are open to outsiders. Likewise for the Church, rituals have specific purposes: to serve as a unifying experience for all who identify as Christians; to differentiate between insiders and outsiders; and to remind us of […]

Developing successors not only takes time—good role models are also needed. The book of Acts (13:1) presents the five leaders of the early church at Antioch: Barnabas; Simeon; Lucius; Manaen; and Saul. Barnabas is familiar to us, as is Saul. The former was first among the five to follow Jesus; he sold his land and […]