Posts by Ps. Tan Hui Ru

Ps Tan Hui Ru

Interdependence

Christians are part of the Body of Christ, interdependent on each other (1 Cor 12:12-31) – many of us know this and understand this, at least in theory. We know that we need different gifts in the church, we know that no one gift is more exalted than another, and we know that we should…

Ps Tan Hui Ru

Time for Disciple-making

Singapore is a very busy place to live in. It feels like everyone, even children, have their calendars chock-full of events – things to do, places to be. And it just seems that if there isn’t a “serious” item on the agenda for that time slot, it’s up for grabs for something else. There’s a…

Ps Tan Hui Ru

A Resolution for Growth

Today is the very last day of 2023. And while there’s nothing really but a societally imposed difference between today, the last day of 2023, and tomorrow, the first day of 2024, it’s still a useful marker for us. It’s a time when people reflect about the year that has passed and start thinking about…

Ps Tan Hui Ru

As Iron Sharpens Iron

Humans are hard. That’s not a typo or a grammatical error, by the way. Being human is hard, being around humans is also hard, relating to humans is hard. This is true everywhere. But when faith and discipleship come into this equation, many times it means humans are harder. There’s just more at stake when…

Ps Tan Hui Ru

Unity from the Inside Out

Which is more important: the self, the immediate community, or the wider community? I suspect when it comes down to it, all of us would have the self as our primary motivation. Each of us is the centre of our own universes, and the immediate and wider communities are only important insofar as they impact…

Ps Tan Hui Ru

A Burden Or A Joy?

           Discipleship is often expressed in two very contrasting ways – as a burden that is difficult to carry and costs us everything (Luke 9:57-62), and as a joy that makes work light (Ps 100:1-2, Matt 11:28-30). It’s often hard for us to hold these two in balance with each other. Equally often we emphasise…

Ps Tan Hui Ru

Covenant with God

Last Sunday I preached in Gereja Kristus Yesus Journey on Nehemiah 9:1-38. And if you look at Nehemiah 9, much of it recounts what God has done in the world as well as in Israel’s history, with the conclusion that God truly is faithful beyond human reasonableness, so Israel re-commits herself to God as His…

Ps Tan Hui Ru

White-washed Sin

In conversation with some long-time friends over dinner recently, I noticed one word which kept popping up – “feedback”. This was a word that kept occurring whenever they were talking about things which they didn’t like or didn’t go their way, and so they wanted to give “feedback” to the relevant authorities. Thinking about it,…

Ps Tan Hui Ru

Fed or Not

“I don’t feel that I’m being fed spiritually.”  I’ve heard this several times from friends on why they are changing church. Maybe they don’t understand the preaching or the teaching in church doesn’t address their real needs and struggles. Maybe the music or the preaching, though spiritually nourishing, is not to their taste and style.…

Ps Tan Hui Ru

God’s Grace is Enough

One of the images that has stayed with me in these past 3 years (nearly) of ministry in church is that of mountain climbing. Serving God through working in church has always reminded me of climbing up a steep, rocky mountain. And you know what? I’ve tried mountain climbing, albeit only on Kota Kinabalu, and…