The Virtual Vicar

The Sunday Sermon: Jesus is in Charge! A sermon for this Sunday based on Luke 10:1-11 and 16-20 Luke 10:1-11 Good News Translation Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two 10 After this the Lord chose another seventy-two[a] men and sent them out two by two, to go ahead of him to every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 He said to them, “There is a large harvest, but few workers to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest. 3 Go! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. 4 Don't take a purse or a beggar's bag or shoes; don't stop to greet anyone on the road. 5 Whenever you go into a house, first say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ 6 If someone who is peace-loving lives there, let your greeting of peace remain on that person; if not, take back your greeting of peace. 7 Stay in that same house, eating and drinking whatever they offer you, for workers should be given their pay. Don't move around from one house to another. 8 Whenever you go into a town and are made welcome, eat what is set before you, 9 heal the sick in that town, and say to the people there, ‘The Kingdom of God has come near you.’ 10 But whenever you go into a town and are not welcomed, go out in the streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. But remember that the Kingdom of God has come near you!’ Luke 10:16-20 Good News Translation 16 Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.” The Return of the Seventy-Two 17 The seventy-two[a] men came back in great joy. “Lord,” they said, “even the demons obeyed us when we gave them a command in your name!” 18 Jesus answered them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Listen! I have given you authority, so that you can walk on snakes and scorpions and overcome all the power of the Enemy, and nothing will hurt you. 20 But don't be glad because the evil spirits obey you; rather be glad because your names are written in heaven.”

The vast majority of UK churches are declining, with Anglican, ... Elim is one of the fastest growing church movements in the UK. Here's why.

Hollywood brought her fame, the royal family brought her notoriety, and now politics is set to bring Meghan Markle a really large white house. New reports say the Duchess of Sussex has set her sights on becoming the next US President, as she gives politically savvy interviews around legislature and voting.

A daily devotional based on 2 Kings 6:15,16). When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:) Your Daily Devotional from Peter Timothy Cooper.

More than 650 Anglican bishops are meeting in Canterbury for almost two weeks of prayer and discussion that will highlight divisions within the church, broadly between the global north and south. The 15th Lambeth conference – postponed twice before finally convened recently, and formally opening on Friday – is likely to descend into acrimony over polarised views on same-sex marriage and relationships. Even before the conference began, a furious row over a draft declaration forced Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury and conference president, into a U-turn.

Insects are proposed to be the future food of the planet. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) has been making continuous efforts to popularise entomophagy as a healthy, sustainable, and environment-friendly practice for years. Yuck!

The Sunday Sermon (TSS) I preached at St Lukes Poulton and St Pauls Seacombe today based on the Scripture Luke 12:33,34 "Provide for yourselves purses that don't wear out, and save your riches in heaven, where they will never decrease, because no thief can get to them, and no moth can destroy them.  For your heart will always be where your riches are." Features audio from "A Sound Investment" MINI-MOVIE by Second Look Films

People attending Pride celebrations hosted by LGBTQ+ communities across the United States this weekend expressed outrage at the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion as well as a wave of anti-transgender legislation.

When resigned from his role as the UK’s Health Secretary, Sajid Javid has revealed that he quit his Cabinet-appointed role after hearing a sermon by an evangelical pastor.

In July 2022 the UK government hosted a human rights conference to urge increased global action on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all. The conference brought together governments, parliamentarians, faith and belief representatives, and civil society to urge increased global action on freedom of religion or belief for everyone.

Swiss food giant Nestle has warned that it will continue to raise the prices of its products because of the rising costs of food. The maker of KitKats and Nesquik increased prices by more than 5% in the first three months of the year. The price rise helped Nestle to report sales growth of 7.6% in the period. As costs rise, Nestle boss Mark Schneider said "further pricing and mitigating actions over the course of the year" will be required. "We stepped up pricing in a responsible manner and saw sustained consumer demand," Mr Schneider added. Food prices worldwide are at their highest since records began 60 years ago, according to the UN Food price index.

The Great Reset has long been associated with unprovable conspiracy theories about a globalist takeover of world economic and political systems. However, recent developments on the world stage have lent some credence to at least some of the theories. Advocates for the Great Reset are quite vocal about their plans, and they use that term. In June 2020, the World Economic Forum (WEF) held their fiftieth annual conference in Davos, Switzerland. The theme of the conference was “Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World,” and the purported goal was “to overcome income inequality, societal division and the climate crisis” (from the official WEF website). Significantly, the Davos 2020 Conference used the term The Great Reset and launched what they call “The Great Reset Initiative.” Is this the start of the End Times?

World Wide Web Day is observed on August 1 each year. The day is marked in honour of the ability of people to browse information freely using the Web. The Web is the tool that billions across the globe use every moment to interact with the global system of interconnected computer systems that is the Internet.

Unconventional Conversations: A conversation about which has more freedom: Cold War Soviet Russia or contemporary Britain. Albina Koumirova from Russia speaks with Peter Timothy Cooper.