Dear BPCWA worshipper, Earlier this week, West Australians were stunned at the sudden resignation of the WA Premier. After nearly 30 years in public life, serving as the WA Leader of his political party for more than 11 years and Premier of WA for more than 6 years, it was a shock announcement. It is not my intent to comment on politics, but there are lessons from this incident that Christians should take note of. None are spared. Possibly the most popular Premier in WA ever, he was described by the Prime Minister as “a great Premier of his proud state” who “always held to his convictions and always sought to do the right thing by his state”. Being at
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, As a pastor, God has given me the privilege of ministering to several people in various stages of life. Every man must pass through life’s stages, with 2 key ones – birth and death. Birth is a joyful occasion wherein a new life enters into the world, a soul birthed into a never-ending existence. Then, inevitably, there is death which everyone faces. This is a certainty for every reader. Yet, we often give even less consideration to this than we do our next meal. A life on earth. Man treasures health, because health is what will keep them alive and on this side of eternity. Yet, no matter how long one’s physical life is, life on earth
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, The previously church-organised City Evangelism has since been replaced by personal evangelism that spreads over a weekend. This weekend is evangelism weekend, and we have had many such evangelism weekends over the past months since we moved away from a church organised evangelism activity. As such, it is crucial for us to examine and reconsider our attitude towards reaching out to others, whether regarding evangelism to unbelievers or inviting friends to church. I love to tell the story; ’Tis pleasant to repeatWhat seems each time I tell it, More wonderfully sweet.I love to tell the story; For some have never heardThe message of salvation, From God’s own holy Word. A story for all to tell. Though we no longer
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, Many of us may have viewed or seen photographs of the coronation of Charles III as the king of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms last weekend. This was touted as a historic event because, for many viewers, this would have been the first coronation that we have witnessed. Even though attempts to reduce some of the traditional customs were made, it was still a grand affair. At the centre of the event was of course the crown that he would wear, adorned with precious materials and jewels. The kingly garments were put upon him, and the regalia was prominently displayed. Even where he would sit during the crowning was carefully chosen. A banner with
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, News channels and tabloids ran articles last week featuring Met Gala in New York, attended by what are known as A-list guests from the who’s who of the celebrity world for “fashion’s most extravagant night”. Vogue magazine, globally renowned for its coverage of style, fashion, celebrities, and culture, calls this event the “Superbowl of fashion”. A CNN online feature was entitled “Met Gala 2023 fashion: The best looks from the red carpet”. Other news stations ran similar articles, talking about “Met Gala Moments”, and fashion magazines were present to get the scoop firsthand. But you don’t need to look at hardcopy magazines to be exposed to the trends because they are also pushed to you via electronic
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, Although you may not see or have heard much about the church extension project recently, it does not mean that nothing has been happening. In fact, for more than a quarter of the year, demanding and detailed work in the background has been keeping the church extension committee members intensely busy. During this time, the committee has looked into and commented on literally a few hundred details while poring over the architectural drawings assigned to them. And we have had to go through all of them to decide what are critical to highlight to the architect for changes. I thank God for their commitment in doing due diligence for the church. In this pastoral, I feel it
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, This past week, many tourists flocked to Exmouth to catch the total solar eclipse which was visible there. This happened at about 11:30 am on Thursday, when the daylight was plunged into darkness as if it were night. A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes between the sun and the earth. When this happens, the rays of the sun are blocked from the earth and the sky turns into darkness with only the outermost circular light from the sun left viewable. In the recent eclipse in Exmouth, it was like a night sky lightened by a full moon – just before noon! On the other hand for us in Perth, we witnessed only a partial solar
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, We thank God for a blessed weekend of remembering Good Friday and celebrating Easter last week. Though our church began in February, we customarily time our church anniversary celebration together with the Easter weekend so that we can close off the blessed weekend with our covenantal church family. Before the dinner, I exhorted our worshippers from Psalms 78:5-7 “For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: 6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: 7 That they might set their hope
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, We thank God that we could once again remember and celebrate Good Friday. In last week’s pastoral, we saw how we should take this special week to rekindle our love for Christ as we meditate on His death and resurrection. I hope that that has indeed been your experience over the past week. If so, it would have been a blessed week of renewal. Indeed, it is a Good Friday because our Lord, Saviour, and Master Jesus Christ completed His work of salvation for His people. Today is Easter Sunday. How should we focus our thoughts today and in the week ahead? Christ’s life on earth was short physically but it shone more brightly than any other
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, This week marks an important week in the Christian church calendar where we revisit and commemorate the death and eventual resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. For those who are saved, this must be an important time in your calendar as well. It is a good time for us to rekindle our devotion to our Saviour, who lived and died on our behalf. Salvation is the free grace of God – a gift that we can never earn nor repay. Love for Christ is the only acceptable response to this gracious gift. Is it any wonder that the Apostle Paul would passionately state, “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be
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