by Soo-Inn Tan | Dec 29, 2023 | 2023, Hope, Jesus' Birth, Loving Others
This Christmas I felt very conflicted. On the one hand there were the usual encouragements to “ho-ho-ho”; to rejoice because Jesus had come. I preached a number of Christmas sermons, including one on John 1:1–18 and reminded one and all that...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Dec 22, 2023 | 2023, Articles, Evangelism, Jesus' Birth, Jesus' Second Coming, Soo-Inn Tan
Last Sunday I preached on Luke 2:8–20 and the shepherds’ encounter with the angel who brought the news of the coming of the promised Messiah. As I reflected further on the passage I thought of how ordinary, how quiet, the evening must have been before the appearance...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Dec 24, 2021 | 2021, Articles, Christian Living, Hope, Jesus, Jesus' Birth
Have yourself a merry little Christmas Let your heart be light From now on Your troubles will be out of sight — Hugh Martin 1943 My favourite Christmas song (not carol) is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. It is a sad song telling us that our troubles will...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Dec 13, 2019 | 2019, Articles, Christian Living, Faith, God, God's Grace, God's Will, Jesus, Jesus' Birth
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was no wimp. The angel Gabriel declared that Mary was “highly favoured” and that the Lord was with her (Luke 1:26–28), which are Luke’s code words for the fact that Mary was a woman of substance. She was maybe 14 years old? Yet she stood her...
by Soo-Inn Tan | Nov 30, 2017 | 2017, Articles, God, God's Love, Jesus, Jesus' Birth, Jesus' Death, Life Issues, Meaning & Purpose
Love and death shouldn’t be in the same universe. A few weeks ago I was having lunch with Bernice when a Chipmunks song came on (The Chipmunk Song — Christmas Don’t Be late). Suddenly my dad came to mind. (He passed on in 2003.) I remembered that he had...
by Tienli | Dec 22, 2016 | 2016, Articles, Jesus, Jesus' Birth
Advent is a season of expectation. But what are we looking towards? Christmas turkeys and dinner parties? Presents by the dozen? Around this time, many years ago, Mary was also filled with anticipation (Luke 1). She would have been heavily pregnant and eager to meet...
