ALL SAINTS CHURCH NEWPORT

 

 

New prayer for current financial situation published on CofE website

Lord God, we live in disturbing days:
     across the world,
     prices rise,
     debts increase,
     banks collapse,
     jobs are taken away,
     and fragile security is under threat.
Loving God, meet us in our fear and hear our prayer:
be a tower of strength amidst the shifting sands,
and a light in the darkness;
help us receive your gift of peace,
and fix our hearts where true joys are to be found,
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer: a beginner’s guide

The good thing about prayer is that there’s only one way to go wrong, and that’s not to do it. The best way to do it is to just get on and do it. If prayer at its simplest level is listening to God and talking to him, you don’t need long books to tell you how to do it, you just need a conviction that prayer is a good thing to do, that you’re someone God wants to hear from and that he’s worth talking to.

Is prayer a good thing to do? Never mind for the moment about whether prayer ‘works’ or not: Jesus prayed and he encouraged his disciples to pray too, so if we’re following him, we need to be praying. Full stop.

Are you someone God wants to hear from? The message of the Bible is that however unworthy, sinful and useless we may feel as human beings, God can’t wait to hear from us and is sitting on the edge of his seat like a lovestruck teenager, hand poised ready to pick up the phone the second it rings.

Is he worth talking to? He’s the one person who knows us inside out, the one person with infinite power at his fingertips, the one who has the true perspective on an entire world’s story. Not a slot machine to pay into in the hope of one day getting ‘an answer to prayer’, but a person. Who likes us.

How might you begin to pray? What sort of a person are you? Do you like a good gossip? Then gossip to God. Are you the strong silent type? Then be silent in his presence. Say hello... say the Lord’s Prayer ... say ‘Oh God’ and mean it... deliberately be silent and still for one minute ... read a story from a Gospel and imagine what you would say to Jesus if you were there... tell him about what is worrying you or thrilling you ... copy the great pray-ers of the Bible and of the Church... write a letter to him ... listen and look for a few moments in a place you consider holy... You can’t go wrong. Prayer is good. God longs to hear from you. He’s worth it.

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Are you addicted to the internet?

Do you, or someone you love, find it hard to be away from the computer for any period of time? Be careful – you (or they) could be heading for a very real addiction, according to recent research by the Oregon Health and Science University.

The number of people worldwide who are addicted to the internet has reached a staggering level, according to psychiatrists. Ease of access to email and websites for gaming, gambling and pornography share a heavy part of the blame.

The result? Internet addiction is becoming recognized as a clinical disorder.

God the three in one

This month we celebrate Trinity Sunday. The doctrine of the trinity is one of the most important of the Christian faith, for it goes to the very heart of what God is like. The Bible is quite clear: there is one God, but he is revealed in three ‘persons’ – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever wondered at what point in the Bible God is revealed as being more than one person? Well, you don’t have to read very far: only to Genesis 1:26, where God (Elohim – a plural noun) says: Let US make man in OUR image. (Gen. 1:26)

The Bible reveals a pattern: God the Father lives in heaven and has never been seen. God the Son became the incarnate Jesus Christ, who made known to us the Father, and God the Holy Spirit, who is unseen, has been sent to live within and to equip his people, the Church.

The Trinity is basic to our salvation – for these three persons in the one Godhead have combined to save us from our sins: it is the WILL of the Father, the saving WORK of the Son, and the indwelling WITNESS of the Holy Spirit. (John 14:16, 23-26).

Here comes the sun

Last year one in ten parents ignored ‘safe sun’ messages and put their children at risk of burns and skin cancer. They admitted never using sun-screen on their children despite the dangers to young skin, a recent survey found.

Children are especially vulnerable to the sun’s ultraviolet rays – they have sensitive skin, and spend large amounts of time outside. One episode of sunburn may be enough to trigger changes that result in the potentially deadly melanoma skin cancer. It can take up to 15 years before the first signs of cancer appear.

Cancer Research UK’s SunSmart campaign urges adults and children alike to use factor 15 or above. About 75,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year in Britain.

Diet drinks that – aren’t!

You can’t win.... it seems that diet drinks may actually make you put ON weight rather than lose it, a study has claimed. It seems that artificial sweeteners can make it harder for us to regulate our intake of food, and so therefore may lead to over-eating. In a recent research, rats at Purdue University in Indiana were given low-calorie yoghurt, and gained more weight than rats given a sugary version.

It seems that sweet food provides a ‘orosensory stimulus’ which tells our body that a lot of calories are about to be consumed. When this does not happen, the body gets confused, and people feel an urge to eat more, to compensate for the food’s low calorie content. (Which would explain why obesity levels and the use of artificial sweeteners have risen simultaneously.)

Doctors instead advise that anyone wanting to lose some weight “should try and retrain their palate so that they enjoy foods without a lot of sugar.”

 

 

What Psalm 23 is really all about

The Lord is my Shepherd --- THAT'S RELATIONSHIP!
I shall not want --- THAT'S SUPPLY!
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures --- THAT'S REST!
He leadeth me beside still waters --- THAT'S REFRESHMENT!
He restoreth my soul --- THAT'S HEALING!
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness --- THAT'S GUIDANCE!
For his name sake --- THAT'S PURPOSE!
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death --- THAT'S TESTING!
I will fear no evil --- THAT'S PROTECTION!
For thou art with me --- THAT'S FAITHFULNESS!
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me --- THAT'S DISCIPLINE!
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies --- THAT'S HOPE!
Thou anointest my head with oil --- THAT'S CONSECRATION!
My cup runneth over --- THAT'S ABUNDANCE!
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life --- THAT'S BLESSING!
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord --- THAT'S SECURITY!
Forever --- THAT'S ETERNITY!