St Christopher's Church

10/06/2026

Thank you to Mark for this week's Mid-week Bridge
Romans 12:3-8

When I worked as a counsellor in BCP and the NHS, one of the things I enjoyed most was helping people to recognise what they were good at. Sometimes people would come to talk about work difficulties, and sometimes the reason for that was because they felt like a square peg in a round hole. It was a relief for them to discover that insight, and to work towards a role that better suited their temperament.

In Romans 12:3, Paul tells us:

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”

What is Paul saying to us here?

He is saying: Do an accurate self assessment on yourself. Evaluate the gifts given to you by the Holy Spirit, based on the faith God has given you

He is also saying: True humility is not about low self-esteem or hating ourselves. It’s seeing ourselves clearly and objectively, recognising our strengths and our weaknesses. Sometimes it can help to ask a trusted friend what they think our gifts are.

And finally, it means recognising the Source of those Gifts, the Holy Spirit. Even the faith we have is a gift. That will keep us from “thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to”

And then Paul mentions these gifts:
The gift of prophecy
The gift of serving
The gift of teaching
The gift of encouraging
The gift of giving
And the gift of leading.

He calls us to identify what gift/gifts God has given us, then put those gifts into action to build up the church family!

09/06/2026

06/06/2026

A warm welcome awaits you on Sunday 7th June at 10.00am for Worship with Communion. Hebrews 8: 1-13
Theme: Prophesies concerning Jesus: A New Covenant
During our Service this morning a creche is available at the back of the church for parents with pre-school age children, with baby facilities, toys and colouring sheets.
School age children will leave during the service to attend their age appropriate groups, returning at the end of the service.
Sunday Club for Reception up to School year 5 in the hall, and SCY for year 6 upwards in the back room off the hall.
Refreshments will be served afterwards.
We hope that you can join us.

03/06/2026

Thank you to Mark for this week's Mid-week Bridge 3rd June
1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Last week we were reflecting on Pentecost, and how the Holy Spirit came in power to live in the early Christians and to spread the Good News of Jesus ‘to the ends of the earth’.

Today we’re looking at the Holy Spirit giving spiritual gifts to the church, nor for personal status, but to serve and to build up and encourage fellow believers.

3 things come out from I Corinthians 12:1-11:

The first thing is the Holy Spirit is the Source of the gifts. There are 9 spiritual gifts for differing ministries in the church, but they all come from the same Triune God

Secondly, they have a purpose: they are for ‘the common good’
They are given to serve the church, to serve each other, because their source is our Serving God.

Thirdly, they are different. They all have a necessary role to play.
To illustrate this, I remember reading about the conversion of Charles Spurgeon. He was converted when a preacher directed a portion of his sermon to a young Spurgeon; it was a message that spoke directly to where his heart was. It was a word of knowledge. Today, Spurgeon’s sermons and quotes still circulate on platforms like Facebook, and encourage believers today.

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”
1 Corinthians 12:4-6 NIV

30/05/2026

A warm welcome awaits you at 10.00am 31 May on Trinity Sunday for Worship.
Revelation 5: 1-11
Mission Partner Simon will be preaching this morning.
During our Service this morning a creche is available at the back of the church for parents with pre-school age children, with baby facilities, toys and colouring sheets.
School age children will leave during the service to attend their age appropriate groups, returning at the end of the service.
Sunday Club for Reception up to School year 5 in the hall, and SCY for year 6 upwards in the back room off the hall.
If you can stay afterwards please join us in the Bridge for refreshment and fellowship.

27/05/2026

Mid-week Bridge with thanks to Mark
May 27th

Acts 1:8, Acts 2:1-12

A few days ago we celebrated Pentecost Sunday.
Pentecost was a time to celebrate for the Jews because it marked the thanksgiving for the harvest, coming 50 days after the feast of Passover.
And for Christians, it was a celebration, because it came 50 days after Easter. How time flies; 50 days since Easter!

Someone once said this:
“At Bethlehem, we celebrate God with us; At the Cross, we celebrate God for us; at Pentecost we celebrate God in us”

Pentecost is the fulfilment of Jesus’s words before He left the disciples and Ascended into heaven.

He said this:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 NIV

‘Power…to be Jesus’s witnesses…to the ends of the earth’

The reason we’re reading these words today is because these words of Jesus were soon fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on the waiting disciples in tongues of fire and as a ‘violent wind’

And the result? The disciples were filled with power to proclaim the Gospel to the thousands of Jewish pilgrims from around the world who were in Jerusalem for the festival.

The Book of Acts is the message of how that continues. It’s the message coming from ‘God in us’ to share His Good News with a world stuck in bad news.

It’s the message of God with us, God for us, and God in us.

23/05/2026

A warm welcome awaits you on Pentecost Sunday for Worship.
Acts 2: 1-21
Theme: Pentecost
During our Service this morning a creche is available at the back of the church for parents with pre-school age children, with baby facilities, toys and colouring sheets.
School age children will leave during the service to attend their age appropriate groups, returning at the end of the service.
Sunday Club for Reception up to School year 5 in the hall, and SCY for year 6 upwards in the back room off the hall.
Refreshments will be served afterwards.
We hope that you can join us.

20/05/2026

Mid-week Bridge 20 May 2026 from John with thanks.
This is the last in the series of three about Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Today’s title is “The Work of the Holy Spirit”.
What on earth is God the Holy Spirit doing?
The Old Testament reveals that he has been at work from the creation of the world (Genesis 1:2). He gives life and sustains it. He gives people gifts such as craftsmanship and prophecy and leadership. He instructs and admonishes his chosen people. And the Old Testament foretells a time when God will “pour out his Spirit” on all his people, young and old, female and male. (We celebrate that particularly at Pentecost.)
What did Jesus say about the work of the Holy Spirit?
Much, according to John’s gospel, especially in chapters 14-16. Last week we focused on Jesus’ promise to his disciples that the Holy Spirit would come and indwell them, bringing the presence of the triune God (John 14).
If possible, please now read John 16:5-15.
“It is for your good that I am going away” says Jesus to his disciples. That sounds absurd. But Jesus then explains, “Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (v7). And then Jesus tells them two aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit.
a) The Holy Spirit and the World (vv8-11)
“When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, and righteousness, and judgment” (v8). As in much of John’s gospel, “the world” means human society that is opposed to God and his word, that hates and rejects the Lord Jesus Christ, and that therefore hates and persecutes his followers (John 15:18-25).
So the world is in a terrible state. BUT ”God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…” (John 3:16). And Jesus speaks here of God the Holy Spirit convicting (convincing) the world of the reality of sin and righteousness and judgment. We may speak and preachers may preach about these matters. But only the Holy Spirit can convince people of the truth about themselves and their desperate situation.
b) The Holy Spirit and the Church (vv12-15)
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”
N.B. to whom was Jesus speaking? It was the 11 disciples (12 minus Judas), who had just shared the Last Supper with him. They were entrusted with “the truth” – the gospel focused on Jesus who is the truth (John 14:6). They would be the prime witnesses to Jesus: the Spirit of truth would guide them, revealing the glory of the Father and the Son (John 15:26-27). They, the apostles, would be sent into the world with this message.
And we have received their testimony. It is found in Scripture, in the New Testament. In our creeds we say that we believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
If we, the church, faithfully hold to and live by and proclaim the apostles’ message in the Bible, the Spirit of truth will guide and empower us.
May it be so.

16/05/2026

A warm welcome awaits you on Sunday at 10.00am for Worship with Communion.
Isaiah 53: 1-12
Prophesies concerning Jesus: By his wounds we are healed
During our Service this morning a creche is available at the back of the church for parents with pre-school age children, with baby facilities, toys and colouring sheets.
School age children will leave during the service to attend their age appropriate groups, returning at the end of the service.
Sunday Club for Reception up to School year 5 in the hall, and SCY for year 6 upwards in the back room off the hall.
Refreshments will be served afterwards and Rachel Nash Cards will be on sale.
We hope that you can join us.

13/05/2026

Mid-week Bridge 13 May 2026 from John with thanks
We continue the series of three about Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Today’s title is “Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit”.
In John’s gospel we find the record of an extended conversation between Jesus and his eleven disciples, following the Last Supper he had with them. This conversation is sometimes called the “Final Discourse”, and is found in John chapters 14-16. Here, Jesus teaches the disciples much about himself and the Father, and particularly about the Holy Spirit. He uses simple words, but the teaching is immensely deep.
If possible, please read John 14:15-24.
Going…going…going…? Coming!
Jesus has just told his disciples several times that he is soon going to leave them. “I will be with you only a little longer….Where I am going, you cannot come.” (13:33; see also 14:2-4, 12). He has been physically present with them for about 3 years. They have seen him, heard him, touched him, smelt him. Now that must stop. The disciples are perplexed and distressed about this: what will they do without Jesus?
BUT NOW Jesus makes a wonderful promise to them: “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever – the Spirit of truth.” (vv15-17). (The word translated “Counsellor” can also mean Comforter, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby.)
Another Counsellor? Yes, because Jesus himself has been the disciples’ Counsellor while with them. Now he is going. But he tells them “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (v18). The Spirit’s coming will be his own coming. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus.
And then Jesus makes the most breathtaking promise to his disciples: “Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” (v23)
In the Old Testament God revealed his divine purpose for his people, “I will dwell among them and be their God”. Now Jesus promises that our poor and needy hearts will become the residence of the triune God, as all three persons of the Godhead make a home within us.
May we respond with wonder, love and obedience.