Basingstoke Salvation Army

02/06/2026

29/05/2026

Have you been following Kammy’s storyline on Emmerdale recently?
There are many thousands of people hiding the fact they are homeless because they are afraid of being judged, worried about losing their job, or put off asking for help by a bad experience.

While rough sleeping may be the most visible type of homelessness, there are also people who, like Kammy, are forced to live in unsafe conditions without proper facilities such as barns, garages and cars. Others may rely on friends and family for a floor or a sofa to sleep on, making everyday life a huge struggle. They are also subject to many of the same problems as those sleeping rough, such as mental and physical ill health and family relationship breakdown.

We have been working with Emmerdale to highlight the struggles of hidden homelessness through Kammy’s storyline, informed by real experiences of people we help daily.

Photo credit: ITV

28/05/2026

‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…’ 📖 Acts 1:8

The world needs power – clean, renewable power – and as much as possible. The need for it is so crucial that we are willing to accept power that is created causing pollution to meet all our needs: to charge our phones, to light our streets, to make our buildings warmer or colder, to run our cars, to entertain us…

The power of the Holy Spirit is clean, and it is unlimited and renewable. Not to fill all our needs, but to fulfil God’s needs and to enable us to selflessly serve others. Millions of Christ followers have experienced that power. Some have spoken another language, like those on the first Pentecost. Some have been carrying a gift to bring healing in Jesus’ name. Some have received energy to keep going when there was no energy left. Some have experienced outpourings of love. Some have looked back on a hard time in their life and seen that it was the Holy Spirit that carried them through. The examples are near endless. Not only second blessings, but also third and fourth and fifth…

Was the purpose of the Holy Spirit’s presence to entertain us or to make our lives more comfortable? No! An explanation is offered in 1 Corinthians 12:7: ‘Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.’ The power of the Holy Spirit is given to us to serve others, but primarily so that we may be witnesses who share the good news of Jesus Christ. The power is unlimited.

⚡'The power' is today’s reflection from Words of Life – Life on the Edge. The Holy Spirit doesn’t empower us for comfort or recognition, but to serve, endure, love, and boldly share the good news of Jesus.

👉 Continue reading on the YouVersion Bible App: 🌐https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/70703

27/05/2026

27/05/2026

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control 📖 Galatians 5:22-23 NLT

‘Peace and Love’ is a well-known slogan from the 1960s. A dream for a discouraged generation in not so peaceful times. Then add joy, kindness, goodness and other nice words, and we have a dream that many think is too good to be true. Except it is no fantasy.

In God’s Kingdom, these words are perfectly present. By the Holy Spirit, they are present among us. And by the Holy Spirit they are available to every believer. Not for us to perform, but for us to be shaped by the Spirit. As we live with Jesus, with God’s Word, and open our hearts for the Spirit to work on us, the fruit will become more and more visible. We call this ‘sanctification’.

What are the obstacles? Selfishness? Greed? Pride? Yes, and all the other things that tempt us to make wrong choices. Paul calls them ‘acts of the flesh’ in Galatians 5:19.

Can we call it ‘unsanctification’? The lifestyle of ‘unsanctification’ may look very appealing at first, but it won’t last, whereas those things that come from God are always good, all the time, forever.

The choice is ours to make. Every single day. To live with God, influenced by the Holy Spirit, so the dream will become reality: peace and love – and joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Not because we perform well – Christian living is not about performance – but because the Spirit grows these things within us.

🍇 'The fruit' is today’s reflection from Words of Life – Life on the Edge. The Spirit doesn’t call us to perform perfectly, but to live closely with God so that his character grows within us day by day. Let's grow together as we meditate on the word with daily readings and reflections on the YouVersion Bible App:
🌐https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/70703

26/05/2026

With the story of Pentecost, it’s easy to focus on the power, the tongues of fire, the thousands of converts and speaking in tongues. But the real miracle happens afterwards.

The Church is established not in power and preaching but in food around a table, in prayer and in fellowship. These are the things that distinguish the Church from the rest of the world.

The Church looks like a table surrounded by people who are different from each other but who recognise Christ in one another.

In Matthew 22:1–14, Jesus says that the Kingdom of God is like a feast where all the unexpected people are invited. Do our churches today look like that?

24/05/2026

Dear friends,
We are sorry but due to technical issues we are unable to stream our worship this morning. We hope to resolve the situation as soon as possible.