Opinion

Good News for Bruised Reeds Volume II: Mental Health & the Gospel Community Mental Health & the Gospel Community, the second in the Good News for Bruised Reeds series, continues Graceworks’ effort to “[open] up conversations among those who are struggling, those who care for them, and those in the gospel community who want to […]

For some time now I have been receiving emails in which the senders use the word “Blessings” as the valediction. These emails are mostly from Christians, although some of my Muslim friends also sign off their messages in this way. Indeed, words like “blessing”, “bless” or “blessed” are constantly found on the lips of Christians […]

There are at least three ways in which we can be blessed. First, a blessing might be a windfall, or unexpected financial gain—especially in a time of need. A young, struggling family might receive a gift of money that helps alleviate some of their economic burden. Second, a blessing could come as a “salvation” experience, […]

In this delightful collection of poems, Leong Kwok Thye employs the basic devices of this literary genre—meter, rhyme scheme and imagery—to give eloquent voice to his deepest thoughts about God and the Christian life. The first impression that one gets from perusing the 22 poems in this collection is their simplicity. Their vocabulary is penny-plain […]

This book draws its title from the twenty-third Psalm: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”. It is no surprise then that this readable volume is about journeying through the valley to age well and die well. Dr William Wan is eminently qualified to write on […]

The point of the well-known African proverb, “it takes a village to raise a child”, is that to raise a child well, many more people than a child’s parents play a part. Perhaps the same is true for a disciple. It takes a church to raise a disciple, and a church comprises many more people […]

Many of us grandparents provide informal childcare for the offspring of our working and single-parent children, giving them peace of mind to pursue their careers. Our availability is often a lifeline to our children who are pressurised by long working hours, rising childcare costs and limited income. We take delight in playing this important role. […]

“In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:33)   February 2019 marks the fourth anniversary of the brutal murder of 21 Coptic Orthodox Christians by Daesh or ISIS in Libya. It is difficult to forget the video of ISIS fighters marching these Egyptian Christians along the beach […]

As missiologist Paul Hiebert says, for a long time, life was fragmented into different spheres, e.g. public and private; economic, social and political, and religious; rich and poor. In the same vein, missions was separated from evangelism, and proclamation separated from acts of justice and mercy. Today we are trying to pull these threads together […]

In arguably one of their most iconic songs, the folk rock group of the 1970s, Crosby, Stills and Nash, offers this perennially sound advice: “Teach your children well, / Their father’s hell did slowly go by.” From an infinitely more authoritative source, we find these words: “Train up a child in the way he should […]

When my elder daughter hit primary school-going age, my husband and I reviewed our options. We could send her to my alma mater, Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (PLMGS), or another one of my alma maters, a SAP school. Admittedly, the first things that come to mind when I think about my own formative years […]

Witnessing about Jesus to non-believers can be daunting. After all, one must be prepared to handle the barrage of questions that are sure to follow such an attempt. Even though Jesus Himself commanded us to spread the Gospel across the nations, there still exist ethnic, cultural and social boundaries that may appear to be immovable […]