Opinion

Picture by rolffimages/Bigstock.com Conflict gripped Sri Lanka in 1988, with two terrorist groups dominating different regions in the country. I was in Colombo to preach when a curfew was imposed, but my hosts managed to get a curfew pass to Kandy. While driving, we noticed that the roads were deserted with numerous checkpoints along the […]

There are other places with similar spiritual significance. The ancient Celtic Christians called such places “thin places”. Some places are rich with spiritual memory and meaning, and they seem to be conducive for reflection and prayer. For instance, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (marking sites where the Lord Jesus was crucified and […]

Silhouette of businessman standing in air gap Most people have different kinds of ambition, and usually these have to do with the self – “my comfort, my wealth, my status, my power”. “Attempt great things for God.” William Carey’s rallying cry has motivated many Christians who had given themselves in God’s mission. However, it works […]

Julie Kasem at Kerri Kasem’s Birthday party held at the Flying Gaona Brothers Trapeze School, Woodland Hills, CA. 07-11-10 In one of the most unusual contests of all time, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic won the day. And, of course, there were fish for the taking: “We remember the fish we ate in […]

  SINGAPORE HAS about ten resident crocodiles in the north-west, according to recent media reports. There are more in a crocodile farm and the zoo. Crocodiles are cold-blooded reptiles; having a very low metabolism rate, they do not need to maintain a body temperature within a narrow range to survive. They have a small brain – again […]

It’s been written about, preached, and discussed many times over. Yet some of us are still a little uncertain about what it means to be a Methodist. Methodist Message decided to pose candid questions to the Rev Dr Daniel Koh to get a clearer idea in simple language. This is the first of a two-part […]

DURHAM (North Carolina, US) – Health and wellness was an integral part of the ministry of the Rev John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, said the Rev Randy Maddox, a noted Wesley scholar. Indeed, Wesley’s most popular publication in his lifetime was Primitive Physick, a book of medical advice first published in the 1740s. “Wesley […]

JESUS OF NAZARETH was a person of a particular time and place, whose saving deeds were accomplished in time. The Christian reckoning of time therefore focuses on the events of Jesus’ life – His birth, baptism, ministry, arrest and trial, death, resurrection and promise to come again. Our calendar is actually comprised of two overlapping […]

FOUR PRINCIPLES Four principles to guide churches towards a music ministry that glorifies God: § Music supports the Word of God and the sacraments § Music in Christian worship is primarily vocal § Music is for the whole assembly § Music derives from the local culture IN RECENT TIMES, Christians have engaged in spirited disagreements […]

“Worship cannot just be a somewhat-Christian rock concert-cum-comedy routine – expressions of consumerism and our addiction to entertainment …worship cannot ignore culture, since worship must inevitably rely on the words and customs of culture to express the Gospel (contextualisation).” PREVIOUSLY, WE STATED THAT RITUALS convey religious or cultural meaning. Because every culture is different, each will […]

HUMAN LIFE is full of rituals. The national anthem is played on television and radio at 6 am. Students sing the school song at morning assembly. Couples have their ritual goodbye kiss in the morning before departing for work. Protestants have traditionally been wary of rituals that seemed unbiblical or erroneous. Yet rituals have been making […]

  “I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word”. – Psalm 119:16.   SOLOMON TOLD IT RIGHT when he said, “Of making many books there is no end” (Ecclesiastes 12:12). The number of books extant today would dwarf any library Solomon ever saw or imagined. We have old books, new […]