Dear BPCWA worshipper, As we close off the year, it is important to reconsider our 2025 Church theme, Thirsting after God, from Psalm 63:1 “A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is”. This must be something which every Christian is interested in, because it is about our God, the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth, who is our Heavenly Father. Christianity isn’t about outward rituals and forms, but about the reconciliation of sinners to God for a very personal relationship. We must care about building
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, We are approaching Christmas, a day Christians around the world set aside to commemorate the incarnation of our Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible doesn’t state that 25th December is a special feast day, and neither do we have an accurate record of the exact day our Saviour was born into this world. If so, how should Christians consider this day? Christ’s incarnation is a pivotal day in mankind’s history. To consider how important commemorating Christmas is, we must first know how critical Christ’s birth is to us. The importance of an event is often signified by the announcements leading up to it. Nothing can be more stupendous than having the angels bring “good tidings of
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, Perhaps, like me, you are thinking, “It’s already December and 2026 is coming soon!” As the saying goes, time and tide wait for no man. We would have had interactions with many people in our lives in 2025, whether as casual contacts with friends or relatives or through other avenues. We often say we want to be a good testimony to them. Being a good testimony, but neglecting to bring to some of these the Gospel of salvation is insufficient. As the year ends, let us pose ourselves this reflection question: “How has my personal evangelism this year been to those who have passed through my life?” Evangelism is every Christian’s duty. Many are eager to serve,
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, Last week, we looked at the vows which parents take when bringing their child forward for infant baptism. Infant baptism is not dedication, for the child God places in the believer’s family is already His. When I first came to BPCWA, a visitor came to church requesting her baby be baptised. I counselled the lady that infant baptism is not the mere bestowment of a “guaranteed” blessing. This is because infant baptism is the parent’s promise to be faithful in bringing up the child for God, and claiming God’s promises to help them as they diligently do so. Certainly, there is a blessing in the Covenant when parents obey and fulfil the vows. Hence, she needs to
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, We thank God for the children that He has given to our families. A particular practice of the Reformed faith is infant baptism. As part of the Covenant of Grace which the believing parent has received, God commands the parent(s) to infant baptise the baby. Since we had had an Affirmation of Faith 2 months ago, it is a good time for us to be reminded of the responsibilities of both the parent and child in the Covenant of Grace: Begins with the Sacrament of infant baptism. Covenants have a sign.In the Old Testament, the sign of the Covenant of Grace was circumcision (Gen 17:11). In the New Testament, the Sacrament of water baptism has replaced circumcision
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, By God’s providence, we begin a new book of study this Lord’s Day, after having studied the book of 1 Samuel over the past years. As November also draws to a close, spring will soon be officially over as the hot days we have experienced over the past 2 weeks signalled the coming summer. These changes should remind us of the passage we studied at our fellowship meetings on 1 Peter, “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away” (1Pe 1:24). The transient beauty of flowers. I still remember the start of spring, with its crisp, cool air. With
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, In last week’s pastoral, we looked at the “S” and “T” from the acronym “STOCK”, of what we need to do to take stock of our marriage. Marriages are not just for our self-satisfaction. God designed marriages to fulfil His spiritual purposes. If there are problems in the marriage, we must “S”tart to face up to them instead of avoiding what is unpleasant. Our marriages are part of our lives and will affect our spiritual walk with God. In “T”aking stock, we must think carefully about our marriages, to decide what to do. Instead of being defensive when sins are pointed out, we must humbly accept them before we are willing to change and correct the problem.
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, We conducted a Family Seminar about a month ago. This year, the topic was “Take Stock of Your Marriage”. This builds upon what was covered last year, “Building A Happy Marriage”. The audio and video messages have been uploaded to both our website and YouTube page, and I strongly encourage worshippers of all ages to avail themselves of them and learn. As it is often useful even for those who have attended to revisit what they’ve learned, I will summarise the lessons over this and next week. Stories often leave off after the couple gets married and rides off into the romantic sunset. However, after the vows, the challenging journey has only just begun. God instituted marriages
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, We thank God for Reformation Sunday last week, commemorating Martin Luther’s posting of his 95 Theses on the church walls on 31 October. During this period, we may have also noticed the ghoulish décor around some houses in our neighbourhoods and the sale of Halloween themed candy in supermarkets in preparation for Halloween on 31 October. Is the common date of the Reformation and Halloween a mere coincidence? Also, what do you know about the popularly commemorated All Saints’ Day on 1st November each year? It is important that the Christian is not ignorant of these “celebrations”. All Saints’ Day. During Luther’s time, 31 October was observed as the night before All Saints’ Day. The church where
Read moreDear BPCWA worshipper, Regular worshippers in BPCWA are probably familiar with the term, “ecumenism”. Today, on Reformation Sunday, it is important for us to revisit this subject and have a better understanding of what it means in Christianity today, and the proper response to it. Living in a war-torn world, many yearn for peace, and the call for unity rings loudly as it is seen as the means to end the strife. In Christendom, many today call for unity and commonness to “heal” the unnecessary “rift” which they believe the Reformation caused. The Ecumenical Movement’s goal. The World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches work to bring about “a community of churches on the way to visible
Read moreView More