By Not Known Mark’s Gospel ended not just abruptly, but negatively! Why? Its last words in Mark 16:8 is but a depiction of the failure of the woman disciples to obey the angel’s instructions. It seems verses 9 to 20 are later scribal additions to smoothen out this ending with a positive note. These verses…

By Not Known Every time you attend a Christmas or Easter church service, perhaps you have been challenged or encouraged to share the gospel with your loved ones or friends. It could have been in the past or even during a time like this coming weekend, as we spend more time reflecting or focusing on…

By Not Known “Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.” Ps. 55:17 How do we persevere through trials by trusting and drawing close to the Lord? It could be a hard blow to lose a stable job, or to see a child going wayward, or when a long…

By Not Known Nicodemus, in John 3:1, like the rich young ruler who came to Jesus in Mark 10:17, was a ruler of the Jews. Though a Pharisee, trained from young to keep the law, he had the same struggle as the man in Mark 10:17, which caused him to seek out Jesus one night,…

By Not Known There is a saying: To know someone is to love him/her. That is exactly what it takes for mutual love to develop. In the olden days, many marriages were arranged by matchmakers. A grandmother, whose marriage was an arranged one, told me that she had not known her spouse until the day…

By Not Known There was a report six years ago of a centenarian couple who were the longest married couple in the world.  They were married in 1925 and had remained faithful to each other since.  Karam Chand passed on in 2016 at age 110.  Mrs Chand was then 103 and they were married for…

By Not Known James 4:13-15 Happy Lunar New Year! As we begin a new year, I am fully aware that we are embarking upon a period of transition at ORPC—a new faith journey! As the new pastor, I can earnestly say that I have been seeking God’s will for the future direction of the church.…

By Not Known A few weeks ago, I watched a rerun of one of the most expensive foods in the world – truffles.  Last year, the winner of the truffle auction paid a whopping 75,000 euros for an 850 grams of well-rounded truffle.  Reports claimed that few shavings of this fungus can transform any dish.…

By Not Known As the season of Lent approaches (beginning with Ash Wednesday on 14 Feb), it is worth for us to prepare our hearts to reflect on the Lord’s death and resurrection. We have been preaching through the Gospel of Mark, covering events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion — Peter’s confession of the Messiah,…

By Not Known Proverbs 4:20-27 The world wants wisdom. Even the first couple in the Garden of Eden with the wise God as their Master, fell for desiring wisdom.  They disobeyed God’s command and ate the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan tempted them that they will be like God. Henceforth,…