julyaugust25pdfwebsite

July - August 2025

St. Mildred’s

Church Newsletter

July – August 2025

Tom Writes:

Parents and Toddlers

Summer Outing

Podcast Plus!

A challenging and

encouraging article on

prayer.

Enjoy this account

of a wonderful day out.

Find out more about this

Podcast.

Pages 2-3

Pages 10-11

Page 13

Parent and Toddlers Summer Outing - Pages 10-11

The call of God on our lives at St. Mildred’s is

to make and equip disciples of Jesus Christ locally

and globally in the power of the Holy Spirit.

www.stmildreds.org.uk

www.stmildreds.org 1

Tom writes...

July - August 2025

Inside this issue:

Tom writes...

Newsletter Articles

Anyone who regularly attends

St Mildred’s can contribute articles to

the newsletter.

The next Newsletter will be the October

- November 2025 Issue. The deadline

for contributions is 17 September.

Any queries regarding newsletter:

Email: newseditor16@gmail.com

2-3

The book of 1 Thessalonians 4-5

The Ascension 6-7

Diary - July – August 2025 8-9

Parent and Toddler

Summer Outing

10-11

Bible Reading Program 12

Podcast Plus! 13

Hallelujah! 14

Prayer for Businesses 15

Back Page 16

As we approach a critical juncture in our

building project in July, it is essential that

we turn our hearts and minds to prayer.

Prayer is not a religious duty or a last resort;

it's a profound and active engagement

with God, vital for every undertaking, especially

one as significant as this. Below is a

reflection on prayer drawing on insights

from Tim Keller.

At its core, prayer is a means to friendship

with God. The Hebrew word translated as

'friendship' in Psalm 25:14 (in the ESV) signifies

"intimate counsel and advice," revealing

that through prayer, we can have a

deeply intimate relationship with God

where He confides in us. It's a "conversation

and encounter" with God Himself, inviting

us into the dynamic, loving communion of

the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Prayer profoundly changes things. While

God is sovereign, we are reminded by

James that "we have not because we ask

not," indicating that our prayers play a crucial

role in God's work, enabling outcomes

that might not otherwise occur.

It also cultivates dependence, not selfsufficiency.

God often "waits to give us

blessings until we actually pray for them,"

not due to unwillingness, but to "keep us

from attributing them to our own cleverness,

our own hard work, our own diligence."

For our building project, this ensures

we acknowledge that success flows

from God, not simply our efforts.

Furthermore, prayer is active participation

in God's work; "a form of rebellion against

the world's evil status quo." Our prayers are

not passive requests but an active partnership

with God, battling obstacles and aligning

with His will for us.


July - August 2025

Prayer also prepares us to receive

blessings. God has many "gifts" for us,

but "it's not safe for him to give us those

things unless we're praying." Prayer

helps us remain humble, preventing us

from taking credit for God's blessings

and ensuring we utilise them for His

glory.

Finally, prayer builds resilience and

wisdom. In any significant undertaking,

challenges are inevitable. Prayer provides

"resilience" and "wisdom," helping

us "process things" and "pick ourself

up again" when setbacks occur.

As we enter this critical time in our

building project, let us pray with purpose

and passion:

Pray in adoration: Begin by praising

God for who He is – His majesty, wisdom,

and love. This "frames all the rest"

of our prayers, bringing His love to our

hearts and offering perspective. Then,

pray with acceptance: "Thy will be

done," committing to obey His word and

"accept everything he sends into our

lives whether we understand it or not."

Pray with bold asking: Jesus teaches us

to ask, "Give us this day our daily

bread." God expects us to "ask specifically

and repeatedly." Therefore, do not

be afraid to ask boldly for resources,

guidance, and breakthroughs. Remember,

there's a "safety catch on prayer":

God, in His infinite wisdom, will give us

"what we would have asked for if you

knew what he knew," filtering out anything

not ultimately for our good.

Ensure two-way communication

(through God's word): Prayer is a conversation;

as we speak to God, we must

also hear Him. God speaks primarily

through the Bible, His "alive and active"

word. Engage with Scripture, meditating

on it, and allowing it to "prompt the

prayer" to ensure our prayers are

grounded in His will, not merely our

feelings.

Engage in collective, "extraordinary

prayer": The history of significant spiritual

movements demonstrates the power

of "extraordinary prayer" Let us unite

in fervent, sustained prayer believing

our collective petitions can unlock remarkable

blessings and divine intervention.

Prayer is indeed a great privilege. It is

how we, as His children, engage with

our Heavenly Father, whose

"friendship... is with those who fear

him." Let us embrace this opportunity to

partner with God in this critical time,

trusting that He will lead, provide, and

sustain us. Amen.

Tom

Tom Lake - Vicar


July - August 2025

The Book of Thessalonians

Over the past term, we've been studying the book of 1

Thessalonians. Below is a brief overview to help us retain what

we've learned:

Paul structures his letter around the prayers he shares with the

church (shaded pink). The first half of the book (shaded yellow)

recounts the details of his relationship with the Thessalonians. This

includes how he had to leave them in haste, his subsequent concern

for them, and his ultimate encouragement from news of their

continued growth in faith.

The final section (shaded blue) contains Paul's instructions for

Christian living for them (and us) in light of our relationship with

Jesus. The darker blue section hints at a possible distinction within

these instructions: matters he had been raising and wanted to say

more on when he was forced to leave the church (in lighter blue),

and final general instructions (in darker blue).

Wednesdays 9th July and 13th August - 11am - 3pm

Hope you can join us


July - August 2025


The Ascension

July - August 2025

Though returning to His throne still He

calls mankind His own.

Still for us He intercedes, His prevailing

death He pleads. (C. Wesley)

Ten days before Pentecost (see the last

issue), Jesus was taken up to Heaven having

met with His disciples on the Mount of

Olives. “He was taken up before their

very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their

sight” (Acts 1:9). This short, simple statement

leads us to discover some of the

many places in Scripture where the results

and significance of this event are

explained.

Jesus had spent forty days preparing the

eleven for the time when they would no

longer see Him. Both before and after

Easter He had said: “I go to prepare a

place for you…..I will come back and

take you to be with me” (John14:2,3). In

John 16 He says: “if I do not go, the Holy

Spirit will not come to you, but if I go, I

will send Him to you” (v7). In Acts 1 he

tells them not to leave Jerusalem until the

Holy Spirit had come in power (v2) or

their future would be hopeless. Last time

we saw how Jesus’ promise was fulfilled

and 3000 people entered the Kingdom

after just one sermon! Peter, in his explanation,

says that this Jesus, once crucified,

is now “Exalted to the right hand of

God” (2:32) and it is He who has poured

out the Holy Spirit who has inspired worship

and is about to call many people to

repentance and baptism.

So the Ascension answers the question,

“Where is Jesus now? And what is He doing?”

Psalm 110 tells us that He is seated

at the right hand of the Father: “Sit at my

right hand until I make your enemies

your footstool” (v1). Having poured out

the Holy Spirit, every aspect of His salvation

work has been completed. Nothing

can ever be added to this work because

of its completeness, although over many

centuries many believers have called

down the benefits of this salvation, the

Power to live and to serve, and have

been led by the Holy Spirit to be “guided

into ALL Truth,” (John 16 v13).A few verses

later Jesus says, “He will bring glory

to Me by taking from what is Mine and

making it known to you” (v15). In Philippians

2:9 Paul says “God has exalted Him

to the highest place and given Him the

Name that is above every name,” fulfilling

Jesus’ own words in Matt28v18 “All

authority in Heaven and on earth has

been given to Me. Therefore go and

make disciples of all nations….” All this

means that when we pray in the Name of

Jesus, we are praying down the infinite

power of that highest Name – provided

that we ourselves are seeking to live under

that same Kingdom authority, drawing

on His humility and obedience.

Another reason for Jesus being “seated”

is made clear in Hebrews 10, “When this

priest (Jesus) had offered for all time one

sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right

hand of God” (v12). In the Jewish Temple

sacrifices had to be repeated every day,

partly because the people were not good

enough, but also the sacrifices themselves

were not good enough! The courts

of Heaven are now a sanctuary where Jesus

Himself ministers. Hebrews 7:25 says

“He is able to save completely those who

come to God through Him because He

lives for ever to intercede for them”. He

not only prays to the Father on our behalf

as the Good Shepherd of our welfare; at

any time when we fail, rebel, compro-


July - August 2025

mise or sin generally, He calls down

God’s grace on the repentant by pointing

to His shed Blood – “Father, because

they are repentant, don’t look upon their

sin, look upon my Blood instead!” As we

read in 1John1:7, “The Blood of Jesus His

Son purifies us from all sin.”

We see from the Easter narratives that

Jesus had been raised in a Resurrection

body. They could touch Him and He

could eat food with them – so He was not

like a ghost. Yet He could pass through

locked doors and even seems to have

passed through the grave clothes without

them being untied. His transformed body

was neither left in the tomb nor abandoned

at His Ascension – in some mysterious

way He took His new Body with

Him! We must therefore conclude that

His glorified body is somehow present in

Heaven, still bearing the wounds of the

nails, the spear, the thorns and the flogging.

In 1 Timothy 2:5 Paul says; “there is

one God and one mediator between God

and man, the Man Christ Jesus.” This

tells us clearly that all people of faith are

represented by a glorified Man in Heaven!

Hebrews 4:15 tells that He is therefore

able to sympathise with our weakness

– He knows all about the human

condition from personal experience. He

knows temptation yet was without sin.

We may also deduce that in God’s amazing

plan he desires the company of redeemed

human beings, not just to be involved

in transcendent worship, but to

serve in the governance of the new

Heaven and the new earth.

All this speaks of the love of Jesus. He

goes to prepare a place for us (however

undeserved!) He goes so that He can

(and does) pour out the Holy Spirit to fulfil

His every promise. On earth Jesus

could only be in one place at a time,

now, in love, He can rule wherever the

Holy Spirit is poured out – potentially in

millions of places at once. In love we can

pray in the most effective Name to the

Highest Lord imaginable. In love we are

commanded to share all this with every

person on our planet. In love He will continually

pour out forgiveness, restoration

and answers to all kinds of prayer on

countless thousands who call upon Him.

Because the eleven sensed and received

His love, His power and His purposes

“they returned to Jerusalem with great

joy” (Luke 24:52) whereas previously in

John 16:6 they had been sad at the

thought of Him leaving.

One day He will come again to rule and

reign on earth as perfectly as He now

rules in Heaven. In Glory he waits for the

appointed time when the words of the

angels will be fulfilled: ”This same Jesus

who has been taken from you into Heaven

will come back in the same way you

have seen Him go into Heaven” (Acts

1:11). At His first coming His Kingdom

was only visible to those with faith in

Him. At His second coming everyone

will know about it and receive the words

and the outcome of His judgement! Until

then we are commanded to have faith

and faithfulness and to seek to cooperate

with the coming King, praying

His Kingdom into human hearts

(including our own!)

Your Kingdom come, Your will be done,

on earth as it is in Heaven!

For Yours is the Kingdom, the Power and

the Glory now and forever.

AMEN !

David Nicholls


Diary ~ July 2025

July - August 2025

Tuesday 1 Parent and Toddlers

8pm Home Group

Wednesday 2 9.45am Daytime Home Group

11am-3pm Warm Welcome Space

8pm Home Group

Thursday 3 8pm Home Group

Friday 4 8.30am Prayer Meeting

Sunday 6 10am Morning Worship

10.30am Kool Kidz

6pm Sunday@six

Monday 7 9.30am Prayer Meeting


8pm PCC Meeting

Wednesday 9 11am-3pm Refresh@WWS

8pm Prayer Meeting


Sunday 13 10am All Age Holy Communion

6pm Sunday@six



8pm Home Group

Wednesday 16 9.45am Daytime Home Group

11am-3pm Warm Welcome Space

8pm Home Group

Thursday 17 8pm Home Group


Saturday 19 10am-12pm St Mildred’s Ladies Meetup


10.30am Kool Kidz

6pm Sunday@six


July - August 2025


Wednesday 23 11am-3pm Warm Welcome Space

8pm Prayer Meeting

Sunday 27 10am Holy Communion



Thursday 31 6pm Men’s Night Out

Diary ~ August 2025




Sunday 10 10am All Age Holy Communion


Wednesday 13 11am-3pm Refresh@WWS

Saturday 16 10am-12pm St Mildred’s Ladies Meetup




Sunday 24 10am Holy Communion


Thursday 28 6pm Men’s Night Out


.


Parent and Toddler Summer Outing

July - August 2025

The parent and toddler group

enjoyed its annual summer

outing to Swanley Park.

What started as a grey and drizzly

morning turned into a gloriously

sunny afternoon. Lots of our regulars

joined us. Chris stalwartly ran the

train all day to the delight of the children,

some who went round and

round many times!

This was always one of Henry’s

favourite days of the toddler group

calendar and we felt his absence

keenly today.

However Tim Chard stepped in to

lend a hand in the signal box along

with one of SNBR regular

volunteers.


July - August 2025

After the train ride there was time to visit the

playground, sandpit & feed the ducks before

a picnic by the splash park.

The splash park was very popular

with kids & adults alike having

a paddle, including Kay.

There were a lot ice creams

consumed, then it was time to

get the train back to the car

park!

A fun day was had by all.

Many thanks to Chris &

the team at Swanley Park.


Week

Beginning

14/07/25

21/07/25

28/07/25

04/08/25

11/08/25

18/08/25

25/08/25

Monday Tuesday

2 Thessalonians

1:1-12

2 Peter

2:1-11

2 Timothy

2:1-13

Psalm

146

Zechariah

2

Zechariah

8

Zechariah

14

Bible Reading Plan

2 Thessalonians

2:1-12

2 Peter

2:12-22

2 Timothy

2:14-26

Psalm

147

Zechariah

3

Zechariah

9

Wednesday

2 Thessalonians

2:13-3:5

2 Peter

3:1-9

2 Timothy

3:1-9

Psalm

148

Zechariah

4

Zechariah

10

Thursday Friday Saturday

2 Thessalonians

3:6-18

2 Peter

3:10-18

2 Timothy

3:10-17

Psalm

149

Zechariah

5

Zechariah

11

2 Peter

1:1-11

2 Timothy

1:1-11

2 Timothy

4:1-8

Psalm

150

Zechariah

6

Zechariah

12

2 Peter

1:12-21

2 Timothy

1:12-18

2 Timothy

4:9-22

Zechariah

1

Zechariah

7

Zechariah

13

Jonah 1 Jonah 2 Jonah 3 Jonah 4 Micah 1:1-16

01/09/25 Micah 2:1-13 Micah 3:1-12 Micah 4:1-13 Micah 5:1-15 Micah 6:1-16 Micah 7:1-20

08/09/25

15/09/25

Nahum

1

Habakkuk

1:12-2:1

Nahum

2

Habakkuk

2:2-20

Nahum

3

Habakkuk

3:1-19

Obadiah

1:1-14

Psalm

1

Obadiah

1:15-21

Psalm

2

Habakkuk

1:1-11

Psalm

3

July - August 2025


July - August 2025

Podcast Plus!

Summer is coming, so it's going to rain all the time (of course).What better way of

passing the time indoors than by listening to podcasts?

I make podcasts by going out to where people are, and getting the sounds of what's

going on. So I've been on patrol with Street Pastors, and been on demonstrations.

The idea behind the podcasts is to communicate to non-Christians the huge difference

that Christians are making, whether by running Parent and Toddler groups (half

the groups in the country are run by Churches), collecting for and running foodbanks

or campaigning against Climate Change.15 million people in the UK listen to podcasts

every week, so the potential to reach people through podcasting, which could

be a point of contact for further discussion, is huge.

Podcast quiz!

• Which podcast was recorded in Harlow?

• Which comedian did I interview?

• What happened on Valentine's Day last year?

• Which south London team helped with the 'Church and Football' podcast?

• Where were the Street Pastors patrolling?

The podcasts are available at:

podcastplus.libsyn.com

or by scanning the QR code.

Happy listening!

Bill Shaw

#sport, #police, #climatechange, #streetpastors, #more....

Interviews, reports, features and documentaries:

my podcasts can be heard here:

Podcast Plus


Hallelujah!

July - August 2025

“He will reign for ever and ever.”

Revelation 11:15

Astonishingly, it took Handel only twenty-four days to write the orchestral

music for the Messiah oratorio—today perhaps the world’s most famous

musical composition, one performed thousands of times every year

around the world. The magnificent work reaches its climax nearly two

hours after it begins with the most famous part of the oratorio, the

“Hallelujah Chorus.”

As the trumpets and timpani announce the beginning of the chorus, voices

layer on top of each other as the choir sings the words of Revelation

11:15: “And he shall reign for ever and ever.” It's a triumphant declaration

of the hope of eternity in heaven with Jesus.

Many of the words in Messiah come from the book of Revelation, the apostle

John’s account of a vision he had near the end of his life describing

events culminating with the return of Christ. In Revelation, John returned

again and again to the theme of the return of the resurrected Jesus to

earth—when there would be great rejoicing with the sound of choirs (19:1

–8). The world will rejoice because Jesus will have defeated the powers of

darkness and death and established a kingdom of peace.

One day, all the people of heaven will sing together in a magnificent choir

proclaiming the majesty of Jesus and the blessing of His forever reign

(7:9). Until then, we live, work, pray, and wait in hope.

How does the return of Jesus to reign over

the earth provide you with hope now?

What songs encourage you with

reminders of the majesty of Jesus?

Come quickly, Jesus, to establish Your reign over the earth.

By Lisa M. Samra

Used with permission:Hallelujah!


July - August 2025

Businesses to pray for

July to August

Please continue to pray for all

our local businesses

Absolutely Animals

Allen & Wainwright

AMC MOT centre

ARCCI Design

Aroma Beauty Rooms

Bansal

Baring Food & Wine

Baring Road Fish & Chips

The Fascia Place

Tara's Acupuncture

Timeless Beauty Salon

Travis Perkins

Trinity Schools

TLC Electrical Distributors

Toolstation

Baring Road School

Beaumont Beverages

Bijou Nails

Blackheath Station

Brewers Decorator Centres

Bright and Beautiful Cleaning

Brockley Brewery

Brindishe Schools

Burnt Ash Ceilings

MSD Food (was Lyca)

Morleys

Movo Insurance

Masala Mix

Naturbit UK

P & S Tyres

The Summerfield Pub

The Sun (Bottle & Basket) NEWS

AGENTS


Used with permission. Article found at: Perfect harmony - CartoonChurch.com

The Back Page

July - August 2025

Thames Water working on our site in June,

(inspecting and clearing drains)

Church Warden Service at Southwark Cathedral

One of Sunday@six leaders was painted by our

young people using toothpaste on plates.

Sadly we had to wash away the evidence but this

photo survived!


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