The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet
Read moreOne of [the ten men who had leprosy], when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him – and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?” Luke 17:15-17 (NIV) For a moment,
Read moreThe tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” ‘I tell you that this man … went home justified before God.’ Luke 18:13-14 (NIV) What is God like? That is an important question, perhaps the most
Read moreI wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6 I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ The Lord
Read more“You must be born again.” John 3:7 (NIV) I think it was the preacher George Whitefield who was once asked why he kept preaching that people must be born again. And he replied, “Because you must be born again.” It was a good answer! And with that answer he was doing no more than echoing
Read moreMake every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3 (NIV) I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people. Jude v3 (NIV) Are you more of a unity person, or more of a
Read moreDear brothers and sisters, Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits… Psalm 103:1-2 (NIV) How’s your prayer life? That’s always an uncomfortable question to be asked! Who is content with their prayer life? I’m not! And I don’t
Read more150 Years.mov from St Stephen’s & St Wulstan’s on Vimeo. 20 August 2021 This week we celebrated 150 years since St Stephen’s Church was opened. We enjoyed a barbecue, we sang ‘Happy Birthday’ and we shared a birthday cake which featured a model of the church. And we sang the hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness,
Read moreProud and Ashamed.mov from St Stephen’s & St Wulstan’s on Vimeo. 16 July 2021 Many England football fans have had reason this week to feel both proud and ashamed, and I count myself among them. We are proud of the team: for getting to the final of Euro 2020, for playing such attractive football, for
Read moreThe Beauty of Unity.mov from St Stephen’s & St Wulstan’s on Vimeo. 9 July 2021 “For the first and only time in my presidency, we didn’t need to sell what we’d done.” Those rueful words belong to Barack Obama, reflecting on the CIA-led operation in 2011, in which the terrorist leader Osama bin Laden was
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