Spiritual and Sacred Links - Monday 8th June 2015

This week in the wake of new figures on religious affiliation in Britain, there has been a lot of thought put into the church, its history and what can be done to engage people and some of that is in this collection:

#1 Kendall Harmon on Pentecost and the church and our part in it; #2 Vaughan Roberts on the history of the church in Europe and the part we can play; #3 Martin Robinson shares his experience of church-planting in a modern European context.   This theme is taken further in #14 with an article by Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali, and some analysis and suggestions by others.   The other side of the coin is the continuing persecution of Christians reflecting not so much the secular hostility to Christianity as the offence other religions appear to take at it and the threat they perceive it to be.  Do please pray for them.

Prayers for you for the coming week

SERMONS AND TALKS
1. Pentecost - the birth of the Church - Dr Kendall Harmon - Christ St Pauls Audio [Acts 2]
http://tinyurl.com/ngnwjzr

2. The Evangelism of Europe - Vaughan Roberts - St Ebbes Audio [Acts 16:11-34]
http://tinyurl.com/pwz9o6c

3. Church Planting in a Continent Experiencing Rapid Change - Martin Robinson - FOCL [watch this if nothing else]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POfa-Sod1LI

4. Preaching Galatians - David Cook - St Helens media
http://tinyurl.com/ogoomqm

Commentary
5. Preaching Ideas and Commentary - Rev Peter Carrell
http://preachingdownunder.blogspot.co.nz/

6. The Sunday Readings - Rev Stephen Trott [hopefully back online soon]
https://laworgospel.wordpress.com/

7. The New Testament in a year with Rev Andrew Goddard
http://www.sjtl.org/category/reading-nt/

WORSHIP
8. The bells of St Lawrence, Jewry in London - BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05z5m42

9. Choral Evensong from Truro Cathedral - BBC Radio 3
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05x1w65

10. Sunday Hour - BBC Radio 2
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05x8vjg

11. Choral services from the chapels of King's College Cambridge
http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/choir/webcasts.html
and St John's College, Cambridge
http://www.sjcchoir.co.uk/webcasts
and Trinity College, Cambridge
http://trinitycollegechoir.com//webcasts/listen-again/
and New College, Oxford
http://www.newcollegechoir.com/webcasts.html

PRAYER
Please pray for the Church of England, Christians and all facing persecution and crime in Syria and Iraq, Sudan, Nigeria and Iran; for those affected by the earthquakes in Nepal; for peace in Burundi, Ukraine, Israel and Gaza; and for the Diocese of South Carolina.

12. Topical Prayers - Church of England
http://tinyurl.com/6wnk2pk
Prayers for the Church of England from Lent and Beyond
http://tinyurl.com/mvux2u3
Sudan: S. Sudan pastors face death penalty on charges of sedition and spying - WWM
http://tinyurl.com/nv4xzms
Christian pastor on trial in Sudan: 'God chose me to suffer' - CT
http://tinyurl.com/q9pcu2m
Iran: Iran sentences 18 Christian converts to prison for creating house churches - CT
http://tinyurl.com/odvwz8x
Iran pastor Fathi's appeal fails, against extra year in prison and 74 lashes - WWM
http://tinyurl.com/ph4lwl6
South Carolina:Prayers from Lent and Beyond
http://tinyurl.com/kssn33y

CURRENT AFFAIRS
13. Sunday Programme - with Caroline Wyatt - BBC Radio 4
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05xcqs9

Food for thought
14. We need to embrace our history and reach out to the "spiritual" if we want to halt declining Anglican numbers - Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali
http://tinyurl.com/nb62bre
Religious 'nones' aren't as anti-church as we might think - CT
http://tinyurl.com/p5mzm6s
Evangelism: Knowledge and Openness - Darryl Dash
http://tinyurl.com/n9bglzs
Socio-Demographic Groups and Religious Affiliation in Britain - BRIN
http://tinyurl.com/qcx3l5r
2,600-year-old 'tomb of prophet Nahum' is under threat from Islamic State - CT
http://tinyurl.com/nuqoc74
Judge sides with student suspended by his school for sharing Christ with classmates - CT
http://tinyurl.com/otjcmz2
Is this the secret to living longer? - Peter Bowes - BBC Capital
http://tinyurl.com/p6btduc

FINALLY
15. Why do I care? - Release International
http://tinyurl.com/q9ex8x5

16. Corpus Christi Carol - Britten - Voces 8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcjRh0BB1So

17. Behold the Lamb - Stuart Townend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alvX9Fa53-o

18. Reflections from Uyuni, Bolivia - Enrique Pacheco Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/126061288

God bless you