Former teacher appointed as Bishop of Truro

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Former teacher appointed as Bishop of Truro

The Rev Canon Philip Mounstephen, 59, will become the 16th bishop when he is consecrated later this year.

He is currently the executive leader of the Church Mission Society having been ordained in 1988, and is serving in the Dioceses of Oxford and Southwark. He was also the chaplain of St Michael’s Church in Paris.

 

Prior to ordination, he taught for four years in a rural comprehensive school in Oxfordshire.

Canon Mounstephen is married to Ruth, who is a strategic planner in the charity sector, and they have one adult daughter, Kitty.

He enjoys gardening, travelling and reading, and is a long-time fan of Newcastle United, which he describes as “a triumph of hope over experience”.

Canon Mounstephen has significant family roots in Cornwall with several generations of his ancestors living in Tregony from the mid-18th century, before moving to Truro.

“I am absolutely delighted to have been called to lead the Diocese of Truro in mission and ministry,” Canon Mounstephen said.

“With my family roots in Cornwall, I am very well aware of what a rich Christian heritage we have.

“I rejoice in Cornwall’s strong sense of identity and I look forward under God into leading us in what I hope and pray will be a fruitful and exciting future.”

Canon Mounstephen will succeed The Rt Rev Tim Thornton who was appointed as the Bishop at Lambeth last year.

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Are You a ‘Sunday Stalwart,’ ‘Relaxed Religious’ or ‘Solidly Secular’? Pew Releases New Religious Groupings

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Are You a ‘Sunday Stalwart,’ ‘Relaxed Religious’ or ‘Solidly Secular’? Pew Releases New Religious Groupings

(Photo: Facebook/Monroeville Assembly of God)Worship held at Monroeville Assembly of God, in Pennsylvania.

Pew Research Center has announced a new group of religious classification terms for the U.S. population, in the hopes of better categorizing religious groups.

In a report released Wednesday, Pew stated that their new typology was meant to examine similar traits found in different religious groups.

“The new typology sorts Americans into seven groups based on the religious and spiritual beliefs they share, how actively they practice their faith, the value they place on their religion, and the other sources of meaning and fulfillment in their lives,” explained Pew.

The new types, from most to least religious, are: “Sunday Stalwarts,” “God-and-Country Believers,” “Diversely Devout,” “Relaxed Religious,” “Spiritually Awake,” “Religion Resisters,” and “Solidly Secular.”

These seven terms are further grouped into three other categories, with “Sunday Stalwarts,” “God-and-Country Believers,” and “Diversely Devout” being grouped as “Highly Religious;”  “Relaxed Religious” and “Spiritually Awake” being grouped as “Somewhat Religious;” and “Religion Resisters” and “Solidly Secular” being grouped as “Non-Religious.”

Sunday Stalwarts are identified as being religious traditionalists who are active in their religious beliefs and their respective congregation.

God-and-Country Believers are identified as holding politically and socially conservative viewpoints, but being less active in their congregations.

Diversely Devout are identified as not only holding traditional religious beliefs, but also…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – The Christian Post.

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German bishop praises return of colonial-era remains to Namibia at church ceremony

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German bishop praises return of colonial-era remains to Namibia at church ceremony

At a church ceremony in Berlin, two skulls in glass boxes along with a coffin covered with a Namibian flag were placed in front of the altar ahead of the handover.

The repatriation of the remains is a reminder of Germany’s short-lived past as a colonial power in Africa – which included the bloody suppression of a Herero and Nama uprising between 1904 and 1908 that left tens of thousands dead.

 

“We intend to do something today we should have done many years ago, namely to give back mortal human remains of people who became the first victims of the first genocide of the 20th century,” German Lutheran Bishop Petra Bosse-Huber told the fully packed church.

Germany is returning 19 skulls, five full skeletons and bone and skin fragments that were stored in hospitals, museums and universities for decades.

In the early 20th century, German scientists tried to prove the “racial superiority” of white Europeans over black Africans by, for example, analysing the facial features of the skulls, well before Nazi-era scientists conducted similar experiments on Jews and others.

“These skulls tell the story of brutal, godless colonial past and its consecutive suppression of the Namibian people. They say, ‘Never again!'” Lutheran Bishop Ernst Gamxamub from Namibia said during his sermon.

It was the third time Germany has returned human remains to Namibia. In 2011, 20 skulls were handed…

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Pope laments abuse in first Vatican appearance since Ireland trip

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Pope laments abuse in first Vatican appearance since Ireland trip

Francis presided over his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square and spoke about his weekend trip to Ireland, where the abuse scandal has devastated the Catholic Church’s credibility.

The final day of the trip was overshadowed by release of a document from a retired Holy See diplomat accusing Vatican authorities, including Francis, of covering up for ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick – despite knowing for years that he regularly slept with religious scholars.

 

The author of the document – retired Vatican ambassador to the US Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano – said Francis should resign for his complicity in the McCarrick scandal, which has implicated US and Vatican church leaders over a period of two decades.

Francis referred to the Irish culture of cover-up, but he omitted from his remarks a line in his prepared text noting how he had prayed in Ireland for the Virgin Mary to intervene to give the church strength to “firmly pursue truth and justice” to help victims heal.

US bishops have called for an independent investigation to find out who knew about McCarrick’s abuse and when, and how he was able to rise through the ranks even though it was an open secret that he regularly invited seminarians to his New Jersey beach house and into his bed.

Francis last month removed McCarrick as a cardinal and ordered him to live a lifetime of penance and prayer after a US church…

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Is Serving in a Revitalization a Unique Calling?

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SUBSCRIBE TODAY: iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play

Every pastor should have a sense of calling to ministry. But is that necessarily to revitalization or not? Today, we discuss that calling.

Today’s Listener Question:

FROM JOSEPH

Is serving in a revitalization a separate calling than the initial calling to pastoral ministry? If so, how?

Episode Highlights:

  • “Revitalization is God’s work. You’re not gonna make it happen in a church just because you show up as the pastor.”
  • “In a revitalization, you need spousal perseverance, not just spousal cooperation.”
  • Your community should feel the impact of your church and the presence your church members.
  • Church revitalizers need to have a long term perspective.
  • Pastors, don’t let your self worth be tied up in the size of your church.

The six aspects of a calling that we discuss are:

  1. It is a local congregational calling
  2. It is a family calling
  3. It is a stage-of-life calling
  4. It is a missionary calling
  5. It is a community calling
  6. It is a personality calling

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Revitalize & Replant is sponsored by the North American Mission Board and ChurchReplanters.com. More than 10% of churches in North America are at risk of closing and the North American Mission Board is committed to reversing this trend by decreasing the death rate of existing churches while simultaneously increasing the birth rate of new churches. To learn more about what it means to become a replanting pastor or to…

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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.

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Man charged over fires at Methodist Church and Sikh temple in Edinburgh

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Man charged over fires at Methodist Church and Sikh temple in Edinburgh

Police and fire crews were called to the Guru Nanak Gurdwara in Sheriff Brae at around 5am on Tuesday. No-one was injured. The blaze was condemned by the Church of Scotland.

A 49 year old man was arrested on Wednesday and Police Scotland said he has now been charged over the incident.

 

He has also been charged in connection with a second fire at The City of Edinburgh Methodist Church in Junction Place which also happened in the early hours of the same day.

The man is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday.

The gurdwara, situated in a former church, is the only Sikh centre in the Scottish capital, serving a community of more than 500 people.

 

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “A man has now been charged following the suspicious fire at the Sikh Temple in Sheriff Brae, Edinburgh.

“The 49-year-old is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on Thursday 30th August, where he will also appear in relation to a second fire at the Methodist Church in Junction Place which also happened in the early hours of Tuesday 28th August.”

Stay…

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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

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Joyce Meyer’s Daily 30 August 2018 Devotional — The God-Shaped Hole Inside You

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Joyce Meyer’s Daily 30 August 2018 Devotional — The God-Shaped Hole Inside You

Topic: The God-Shaped Hole Inside You [Joyce Meyer’s Devotional Thursday August 30, 2018]

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. — Romans 8:29

There is a God-shaped hole inside every one of us, and even if we had all the money in the world, there is nothing to be bought that could fill it. The only thing that is going to fill that craving is God Himself.

Seek God as your first and most vital necessity in life. Put Him first in your time, thoughts, conversation, and actions. Love Him with all of your heart and talk to Him throughout the day about everything that takes place in your life.

As you include Him in all that you do, you will develop an intimacy with Him that will satisfy your soul like nothing else in the world can do.

Prayer Starter: Lord, give me a greater hunger for You. Help me to put You first in my life and require You as a vital necessity. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read “Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional HERE’’

From Joyce Meyer’s Ministries.

The post Joyce Meyer’s Daily 30 August 2018 Devotional — The God-Shaped Hole Inside You appeared first on Flatimes.

MFM Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional 30 August 2018 – Evidence Of Obedience

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TOPIC: Evidence Of Obedience (Mountain Of Fire And Miracle Ministries Thursday, 30 August 2018)

FIRE SCRIPTURE: John 15:9-12

MEMORY VERSE: “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” – John 15:14

The MESSAGE:

Love is a magnet, especially when we express unselfish love, which seeks to meet a need in the life of another person. As the magnet attracts that which is opposite to it, so a Holy God draws the sinner to Himself. Christ wants us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44; Luke 6:27, 35). He does not want us to stay away from them, even as He did not stay aloof from those who hated Him. He wants us to recognise their need and meet it, even as He met our own need in our sinful condition. If you are estranged from people, try loving them by meeting a need in their lives. Thus you will build a bridge between you and them. The Lord does not want us to compromise ourselves by associating with those of opposite lifestyles. He does not want us to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). He advocates love that is based on a relationship of common interests, not for those who oppose and hinder the gospel. Jesus extended the same kind of love to us as the Father extended to Him in that while we were yet sinners, He died for us so that we may be reconciled unto the Father. The quality of the love which the Father showed to His only begotten, is the quality of love which the Son demonstrated to us as branches of His vine.

It was a love that would not spare Jesus’ suffering and death. It was a love that accomplished the Father’s purpose, Jesus giving eternal life through His death. The love of the Father did not mean escape from duty, but faithfulness. There was identity of purpose between the Father and the Son. There is no greater love than that between the Father and the Son. Love was not given because the Son needed it, but because of their complete unity of essence, character, and purpose. It is a historical love. It is sealed and no one can change it. No circumstances in the life of Jesus, or the disciples can classify the necessity of suffering by Christ. Love does not rescue from suffering but redeems through it. Obedience is the correct response to love. He who is loved should obey the One who loves him. Each act of disobedience to God’s commandments makes the relationship stronger. When it comes to Jesus’ keeping the Father’s commandments, there is no condition — not, ‘if I keep them’, but ‘I have kept them’. Jesus speaks of a completed fact. Obedience is the secret of abiding in God’s love. It was easy for Jesus to obey God to the end because of love. True love is sacrificial, enduring and pain-absorbing. It magnetises the presence of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit to you. True love enables you to identify with the suffering of Jesus and the sufferings of the dying sinner. True love makes you to go out to preach the gospel in order to rescue the perishing. The love makes your joy to be full. Take step today and demonstrate your love to God and your neighbours.

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTE:
TRUE LOVE IS SACRIFICIAL, ENDURING AND PAIN-ABSORBING.

PROPHETIC WORD:
May the Lord empower your love to accomplish the Father’s purpose.

PRAYER POINTS:

MORNING
1. Give me love that cannot fail You, O Lord my God, in the name of Jesus.
2. Holy Spirit, empower me to love those who despitefully use me, in the name of Jesus.
3. Holy Spirit, deliver me from the cage of hatred towards others who wrong me, in the name of Jesus.

EVENING
4. Inability to address my personal weaknesses and faults, depart from me now by fire, in the name of Jesus.
5. Holy Spirit, show me the true picture of myself, in the name of Jesus.
6. Spirit of giving and selflessness, enter me now, in the name of Jesus.
7. I love You O Lord, help me to love You more than this, in the name of Jesus.

If you missed yesterday devotional, please click to read MFM Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional HERE

MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE is a daily devotional by Dr. D.K Olukoya (General Overseer, Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries, Worldwide)

Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:

Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.

If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

The post MFM Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional 30 August 2018 – Evidence Of Obedience appeared first on Flatimes.

David Ibiyeomie: Covenant Protection

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David Ibiyeomie: Covenant Protection

Covenant Protection By David Ibiyeomie

Topic: Covenant Protection

Life is a gift from God to man and if it is a gift, it must be preserved. Many pursue things without taking care of their lives. The most miserable thing a believer can do is to be ignorant about protection.

In this last days, wickedness will increase but in the mist of all these evil, God will exempt His own and you are one of them. It is God’s will that no evil befalls you but there are certain covenant requirements you must meet to enjoy divine protection. The first is that you must be born again. Until you are saved, you are not safe. The dwelling in the secret place is dwelling in Christ.

Psalm 91:1 -He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

You also need to understand your position in Christ.

Psalm 82:5 -They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

Ignorance of who you are will make you a cheap victim of the devil but that will not be your portion in Jesus name. You must understand your new status as a child of God. At new birth, you received the life of God that makes you untouchable, unkillable, unmollestable and indestructible by the devil and his cohorts. When you know who you are in Christ, satan will not be able to touch you because you have the very life of God in you. Thus, to enjoy protection, you have to understand your new place in Christ. With this understanding, you can live a constant victorious life in this wicked world.

Understand that you are in a new kingdom.

John 17:14 – I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Satan dictates what happens in the world but you belong to another kingdom. The laws of the devil in the world does not have power over you as born again because you belong to another kingdom though you are in the world. You have been moved from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God the moment you became born again.

Col.1:13 – Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

When you are born again, your status changes; you no longer belong to the kingdom where the devil is and satan will never have access to you. When this understanding dawns on you, you will know that you cannot be in Christ and be attacked as whatever cannot touch Him cannot touch you too.

Always make right confession; it is your confession that determines your possession in protection. Don’t say what the world say but say what the WORD says. Saying what God says is not pride; it is fulfilling the law of faith

Prov. 6:2 – Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.

Many people that died untimely died through their mouth. When you confess negatively, God withdraws His protection around you.

Prov. 18:21 – Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

The word you speak determines the direction of your life. When people in the world talk about insecurity in the face of kidnap, assassination, armed robbery and other evil in the society, you talk safety and declare that no evil shall befall you.

Matt. 12:37 – For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

The devil cannot attack you until you speak negatively. He is very subtle; he will want to confess negatively; thereby breaking the hedge of protection around you for him to attack. For your confession to produce good result, you have to store God’s word in your heart. Meditate on the word and then, speak it and it will produce in your life in Jesus name!

Therefore, ensure you say constantly, consistently and continually about what God says about protection in order to enforce it and I stand as God’s elect, and cancel every idol word you have spoken that is standing against you with the blood of Jesus Christ! From today, begin to enjoy divine protection in Jesus name –Amen!

God bless you

Also Read: Other Inspiring Messages by Pastor David Ibiyeomie

Flatimes Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:

Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.

If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], 07026385437 OR 08141320204.

The post David Ibiyeomie: Covenant Protection appeared first on Flatimes.

TREM 30 August 2018 Daily Devotional – You Are Called To Glory

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TREM 30 August 2018 Daily Devotional – You Are Called To Glory

Topic: You Are Called To Glory [TREM 30 August 2018 Daily Devotional]

“Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” Romans 8:30 (KJV)

Somebody once said I found Jesus. No, you didn’t find Him, He found you. You are the one lost and He zeroed in on you. He called you. For He whom He did foreknow, He did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son and those He did predestinate, He called, those He called, He justified and those He justified, He glorified. You are called for glory. Let every shame and reproach be removed in your life now. Whatever is causing you disgrace is removed today.

I declare that sickness will not bring you shame. You will reign over sickness. You will reign over disease. Don’t let the devil confine you to the bed in order to garage you. Don’t allow him to confine you to a hospital this year, No he must not! He can’t confine you to poverty or to lack because there is abundance of everything. This is the victory that overcomes the world even our faith (1 John 5:4). That means there is a victory that overcomes the world. As I was thinking about it, the Lord told me: He wants His children to function in victory. We function from victory; we don’t function for victory. Understand that the victory is already obtained. He said that is how you overcome the world. When you understand that the victory concerning you has already been gotten, then you will never suffer defeat.

The word ‘faith’ there can still be described as the word of God. In other words, if I have the word of God for it (the word that speaks to that issue), I have already overcome. Once the promise is there, I am an overcomer. What has God spoken to you lately? I declare that you have the victory. No matter what the devil is packaging, he’s too late. You have the victory!

Further Reading: Colossians 1:27, 2 Corinthians 3:18

Daily Bible Reading: Morning- Psalms 129-131; Evening- 1 Corinthians 11:1-16

“If you missed yesterday devotional click HERE to read TREM Daily Devotional by Dr. Mike Okonkwo’’

Written by Dr. Mike Okonkwo; Is the Presiding Bishop of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM); a versatile man of God with over 30 years of dedicated service unto the Lord.

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