Dear 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

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Dear BPCWA worshipper, Back in June 2022, I wrote a pastoral about the Christian Funeral, which can be accessed from BPCWA’s online pastorals. While many may have attended funerals before, not many would have planned one. Funerals are a difficult time for all. Even though the church has conducted several funerals, it is still a stressful time for all involved. Funerals are occasions that leave little room for error, and we try as far as possible to avoid any mistakes or slip-ups that may inadvertently add distress to a solemn occasion. As this may still be a black box to most worshippers who have not encountered it before, I thought I’d use this pastoral to share some of the challenges

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Dear BPCWA worshipper, We continue from last week’s pastoral, where we saw how, centuries ago, entertainment began to creep into churches. Even during his time, Spurgeon warned, exposed, and taught against the trend that he saw around him. Today, Charismatic churches have drama ministries that produce musicals and plays, complete with props and scene settings. These trends do not start from a vacuum. Watching one such play available on YouTube without turning the volume up, it resembles a television serial drama. Does one subconsciously prefer such methods because of the entertainment or the teaching? Does the “Christian play” provide more edification than the biblical method of teaching and preaching? Musicals for gospel outreach under the banner of “preaching through music”

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Dear BPCWA worshipper, We have been considering various aspects of Spurgeon’s ministry over the past 2 weeks. While reading up on Spurgeon, some of the warnings he sounded in his day are still very relevant (or even more so) today, centuries later. Besides the Downgrade Controversy, Spurgeon also sounded an alarm on the growing prevalence of entertainment in churches. As we studied in a Teens session some months ago, some churches actively propound and practise what is called the cultural mandate, under the belief that the church must actively promote “God’s culture” to the world around us. We live in an age where the line between concert halls, church halls, and worship is increasingly blurred. Some churches proudly boast of

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