Holy Father, who hast nourished and strengthened thy Church by the writings of thy servant Thomas a Kempis: Grant that we may learn from him to know what we ought to know, to love what we ought to love, to praise what highly pleaseth thee, and always to seek to know and follow thy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

✝️ Today we remember Thomas à Kempis, a 15th-century monk best known for “The Imitation of Christ”, a spiritual classic urging humility, inner devotion, and following Jesus above worldly praise.

His quiet wisdom still guides many seeking a deeper faith. pic.twitter.com/q21gRzPi0e

— St. Jude & St. James Church (@SJSJChurch) July 24, 2025

Set a watch, O Lord, upon our tongue, that we may never speak the cruel word which is not true; or being true, is not the whole truth; or being wholly true, is merciless; for the love of Jesus Christ our Lord.

—Daily Prayer, Eric Milner-White and G. W. Briggs, eds. (London: Penguin Books 1959 edition of the 1941 original)

River Lagan. pic.twitter.com/INeEqTiprD

— Sharon Welby📷 (@sharonwelby1) July 24, 2025

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoeni′cia and Samar′ia, reporting the conversion of the Gentiles, and they gave great joy to all the brethren. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up, and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses.”

The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter rose and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God who knows the heart bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us; and he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you make trial of God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

–Acts 15:1-11

#sunrise pic.twitter.com/JQA5bBQ5yE

— Darius Aniunas (@dariusaniunas) July 24, 2025

For the first time, the bishop of a non-metropolitan diocese has been elected Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia.

The Bishop of Canberra & Goulburn, Dr Mark Short, was elected last Saturday to succeed the current Primate, the Archbishop of Adelaide, the Most Revd Geoffrey Smith, (News, 16 May). Archbishop Smith’s resignation will take effect on 31 October. Dr Short will assume his duties on 1 November, while remaining Bishop of his diocese. After an initial term of six years, he could be re-elected for a further three.

All former Primates since the inception of the office in 1872 have been bishops or archbishops of the five metropolitan dioceses: Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth.

Read it all.

The Rt Revd Dr Mark Short has served as 11th Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn since 6 April 2019. He will DV assume office as 17th Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia on 1 November 2025. The first time a diocesan who was not also an Archbishop has been chosen for the role. pic.twitter.com/eO4JttNGwN

— AustralianAnglican (@AustAnglican) July 19, 2025

Who (or what) has shaped your faith the most?” 

As a campus minister, I have asked this question to many college students over the years. Lately, I have noticed a shift in their answers. 

Last fall, I sat across from a freshman at Vanderbilt University. We were chatting over tacos when I posed the question. I watched the gears spin in his head. Would it be a church from back home? A great book? An older mentor who discipled him? Maybe his parents? 

He leaned back. 

“YouTube.” 

I stared blankly, trying my best not to show my surprise. 

It hit me: What we were doing—eating lunch alongside one another—discipler and disciplee—might be an entirely new experience for him. In the digital age, disembodied social interactions have become the norm.

Read it all.

Intuitive Surgical, an American biotechnology company, introduced DaVinci surgical robots in the late 1990s, and they became groundbreaking teleoperation equipment. Expert surgeons could operate on patients remotely, manipulating the robotic arms and their surgical tools based on a video feed from DaVinci’s built-in cameras and endoscopes.

Now, John Hopkins University researchers put a ChatGPT-like AI in charge of a DaVinci robot and taught it to perform a gallbladder-removal surgery.

The idea to put a computer behind the wheel of a surgical robot is not entirely new, but these had mostly relied on using pre-programmed actions. “The program told the robot exactly how to move and what to do. It worked like in these Kuka robotic arms, welding cars on factory floors,” says Ji Woong Kim, a robotics researcher who led the study on autonomous surgery. To improve on that, a team led by Axel Krieger, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at John Hopkins University, built STAR: the Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot. In 2022, it successfully performed a surgery on a live pig.

But even STAR couldn’t do it without specially marked tissues and a predetermined plan. STAR’s key difference was that its AI could make adjustments to this plan based on the feed from cameras.

The new robot can do considerably more….

Read it all.

Experimental surgery performed by AI-driven surgical robot https://t.co/dO71bcrw7z

— Ars Technica (@arstechnica) July 21, 2025

As anybody who has ever taken a standardised test will know, racing to answer an expansive essay question in 20 minutes or less takes serious brain power. Having unfettered access to artificial intelligence (AI) would certainly lighten the mental load. But as a recent study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) suggests, that help may come at a cost.

Over the course of a series of essay-writing sessions, students working with (as well as without) ChatGPT were hooked up to electroencephalograms (EEGs) to measure their brain activity as they toiled. Across the board, the AI users exhibited markedly lower neural activity in parts of the brain associated with creative functions and attention. Students who wrote with the chatbot’s help also found it much harder to provide an accurate quote from the paper that they had just produced.

The findings are part of a growing body of work on the potentially detrimental effects of AI use for creativity and learning. This research points to important questions about whether the impressive short-term gains afforded by generative AI may incur a hidden long-term debt.

Read it all.

Having unfettered access to artificial intelligence certainly lightens the mental load. But as a recent study suggests, that help may come at a cost https://t.co/uBZ5B6v8ZB

Illustration: enigmatriz pic.twitter.com/7yf9rgXVmk

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) July 18, 2025

Holy and Mighty One, whose beloved Son Jesus Christ blessed the pure in heart: We offer thanks for the life and teachings of John Cassian that draw us to a discipline of holy living for the sake of thy reign. Call us to turn the gaze of the eyes of our soul always toward thee, that we may abide in thy love, shown to us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit is one God, living and true, to the ages of ages. Amen.

St. John Cassian icon, written by George Kordis, 2012 pic.twitter.com/tbbg3UAuum

— Solas (@solas_na_greine) August 29, 2024

Grant, O blessed Lord, that thy Church in this our day may hear anew thy call to launch out into the deep in the service of thy glorious gospel; that souls for whom thou hast died may be won for thee, to the increase of thy kingdom and the glory of thy holy name.

Ich wünsche euch einen guten Tag!

(Samstag auf dem Seehorn, im Hintergrund der Große Hundstod) pic.twitter.com/okdVaHS1Bo

— Die Bergziege (@brauchtfreiheit) July 23, 2025

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”

–Mark 4:35-41

Morning everyone I hope you are well. Waiting for the bit of light to illuminate Tarn Hows. Have a great day.#LakeDistrict pic.twitter.com/IFBdITN0wE

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) July 23, 2025

The Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Pete Wilcox, is to chair a statutory inquiry into the violence at the coking plant at Orgreave, Rotherham, in 1984, when 6000 police officers, many on horseback, confronted a protest of striking miners who had responded to a call by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) for a mass picket of the pit.

The inquiry will be “thorough and fair”, Dr Wilcox said on Monday. The NUM has promised him “any assistance that he requires to ensure that the inquiry uncovers the truth about who orchestrated the events at Orgreave . . . so that precautions can be put in place so it never happens again.”

The miners were striking over the National Coal Board’s plans to close 20 collieries, with the loss of 20,000 jobs: 120 injuries were recorded as riot squads pursued fleeing miners into Orgreave village, and 95 picketers — assembled to prevent lorries conveying coke to the Scunthorpe steelworks — were arrested and charged with riot and violent disorder. All the charges were later dropped after the evidence was discredited.

Read it all.

The Bishop of Sheffield @PeteWilcox1564 is to chair a statutory inquiry into the violence at the coking plant at Orgreave, Rotherham, in 1984 https://t.co/ygOdxWmV8d

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 21, 2025

American missionary Caleb Rowen has witnessed firsthand China’s tightening restrictions on religious faith and practice.

From 2006 to 2016, government policies prohibiting missionary work did not feel strictly enforced, Rowen said. Cross-organizational outreach, partnerships, and Bible translation projects took shape and flourished in this season.

The Chinese government “just turned a blind eye,” he said, “until they didn’t.”

In 2014, the Chinese government started cracking down on Korean missionaries and went on to expel entire Western mission agencies in 2018. In the same year, it shut down prominent house churches and arrested pastors like Wang Yi of Early Rain Covenant Church. It seemed as if overnight, half the missionaries whom Rowen knew had left China. CT is using a pseudonym for Rowen, as he is concerned about his safety for speaking with Christian media. 

Read it all.

“[God] laughs at restrictions, and so do we, because we know that no system on earth can keep the lid on this thing—this chain reaction that God initiated with the cross,” said an American missionary in China. https://t.co/LgaThcpSgw

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) May 11, 2025

The militants are using the quadcopters to drop improvised explosive devices or mortar shells on their targets, five security officials said. They said these explosive devices were packed with ball bearings or pieces of iron.

Provincial police chief Zulfiqar Hameed said the police lacked resources to meet the new challenge.

“We do not have equipment to counter the drones,” he told the local Geo News channel on Sunday. “The militants are better equipped than we are,” he said.

No militant group has claimed responsibility for the drone strikes.

Read it all.

Pakistani Islamist militants use drones to target security forces, officials say https://t.co/b8OU8lkc1R

— Reuters Asia (@ReutersAsia) July 21, 2025

For decades, the prices Medicare pays doctors for different medical services have been largely decided not by Medicare itself, but by a powerful industry group, the American Medical Association.

An A.M.A. committee meets in secret to determine the difficulty and time demands of each type of medical visit, test and procedure, and then recommends to Medicare how much doctors should be paid for performing them.

And for decades, critics have complained that this process unfairly rewards surgeons and other specialists, at the expense of primary care physicians and other generalists.

Medicare officials have been loath to change it because it has spared them from needing their own staff and budget to make such pricing decisions, along with the unpleasant politics of adjudicating conflicts between competing groups of physicians.

Read it all.

“Under the new proposal, Medicare would pay 2.5 % less for every procedure, operation & medical test in 2026, based on data suggesting there have been improvements in “efficiency” over the years.”https://t.co/vZDu3kwjC4

— Howard Liu, MD MBA (@DrHowardLiu) July 21, 2025

Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by thy grace we may be healed of all our infirmities and know thee in the power of his endless life; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever.

Today's the feast of St Mary Magdalene, recorded in all canonical gospels and elsewhere as a follower of Christ, and by tradition as the 'Apostle to the Apostles'. In Swiss glass of c1350 in the Burrell Collection, Glasgow, she holds a pot of ointment, her conventional symbol. pic.twitter.com/kzlMTNZnao

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) July 22, 2025

O God, who in thy fatherly love hast called us that we should inherit a blessing: Give to us also, we pray thee, the blessing of wholesome speech and loving deed; that following always that which is good, we may do and suffer all that thou willest; in the name and strength of Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord.

Good morning everyone wishing you a lovely day 😀yesterday’s wonderful wander thru Whiteley Wood to Forge Dam 💚#Sheffield pic.twitter.com/8qNEjU3gHW

— doristhehat (@doristhehat) July 22, 2025

Now at Ico′nium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue, and so spoke that a great company believed, both of Jews and of Greeks. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to molest them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycao′nia, and to the surrounding country; and there they preached the gospel.

Now at Lystra there was a man sitting, who could not use his feet; he was a cripple from birth, who had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking; and Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and walked. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycao′nian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, because he was the chief speaker, they called Hermes. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the people. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out among the multitude, crying, “Men, why are you doing this? We also are men, of like nature with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways; yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” With these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

–Acts 14:1-18

Taking in the sunset over Loch Maree – happy Tuesday, friends #ScotlandisNow #StormHour #photography #photooftheday #landscape #OutAndAboutScotland #landscapephotography @VisitScotland @ScotsMagazine #friends #ThePhotoHour #beautiful #sunsets pic.twitter.com/deSLUaaG6I

— Mike Wood (@MikeMikwd) July 22, 2025

…Mr Kruger expressed concern about “two religions moving into the space from which Christianity has been ejected”, saying that he could not “be indifferent to the extent of the growth of Islam in recent decades”.

He did not elaborate on this, save to say that he often found himself in agreement with Muslim MPs on social issues.

“It is the other religion that worries me even more,” he said: “a hybrid of old and new ideas, and it does not have a proper name. I do not think that ‘woke’ does justice to its seriousness.

“It is a combination of ancient paganism, Christian heresies, and the cult of modernism, all mashed up into a deeply mistaken and deeply dangerous ideology of power that is hostile to the essential objects of our affections and our loyalties: families, communities, and nations,” he said.

This religion “must simply be destroyed, at least as a public doctrine”, he said. “It must be banished from public life — from schools and universities, and from businesses and public services.”

Read it all.

The country needs “a revival of faith” and a recovery of “Christian politics”, the Conservative MP Danny Kruger said in the House of Commons on Thursday afternoon#houseofcommons #dannykruger #christianity #newreligion https://t.co/vOC4LXdBtH

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 20, 2025

From last year’s disaster in Asheville to this month’s catastrophic floods in Central Texas, the world has entered a new era of rainfall supercharged by climate change, rendering existing response plans inadequate. A Washington Post analysis of atmospheric data found a record amount of moisture flowing in the skies over the past year and a half, largely due to rising global temperatures. With so much warm, moist air available as fuel, storms are increasingly able to move water vapor from the oceans to locations hundreds of miles from the coast, triggering flooding for which most inland communities are ill-prepared.

“We’re living in a climate that we’ve never seen, and it keeps throwing us curveballs,” said Kathie Dello, North Carolina’s state climatologist. “How do you plan for the worst thing you’ve never seen?”

To understand why inland regions are so vulnerable to heavy rainfall, The Post compared the response to Helene in western North Carolina with that of Florida’s Gulf Coast, where the storm hit first. The investigation, based on analysis of cellphone data and interviews with two dozen meteorologists, disaster experts and storm survivors, revealed how scant flood awareness and a lack of effective warnings led to far fewer evacuations in North Carolina’s mountainous western counties.

Yet it was in these inland areas that Helene wrought its greatest human toll. At least 78 people in North Carolina died in Helene’s floodwaters, according to data from the National Hurricane Center — more than five times the number of people who drowned on the coast.

Read it all.

“How do you plan for the worst thing you’ve never seen?”

A new era of floods has arrived. America isn’t prepared.
via @sarahkaplan48 @kcrowebasspro @NaemaAhmed @BenNollWeatherhttps://t.co/Lesg50kWdt

— Brady Dennis (@brady_dennis) July 21, 2025

When President Trump slapped tariffs on nations across the globe this spring, many economists feared higher prices and spending cuts would flatten the economy.

Consumer sentiment collapsed. The S&P 500 stock index fell by 19% between February and April. The world held its breath and waited for the bottom to drop out.

But that didn’t happen. Now businesses and consumers are regaining their swagger, and evidence is mounting that those who held back are starting to splurge again.

The stock market is reaching record highs. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, which tumbled in April to its lowest reading in almost three years, has begun climbing again. Retail sales are up more than economists had forecast, and sky-high inflation hasn’t materialized—at least not yet.

“We’ve been surprised again and again by consumers,” said Jonathan Millar, senior U.S. economist at Barclays. In April, Millar predicted that the U.S. economy would likely go into recession this year. He now expects it to keep growing, albeit at a slow pace.

When President Trump slapped tariffs on nations across the globe, many economists feared the economy would flatten. That didn’t happen—and now businesses and consumers are regaining their swagger. https://t.co/WIBgPogfQv

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) July 21, 2025

Some modern theologians have, quite rightly, protested against an excessively moralistic interpretation of Christianity. The Holiness of God is something more and other than moral perfection: His claim upon us is something more and other than the claim of moral duty. I do not deny it: but this conception, like that of corporate guilt, is very easily used as an evasion of the real issue. God may be more than moral goodness: He is not less. The road to the promised land runs past Sinai. The moral law may exist to be transcended: but there is no transcending it for those who have not first admitted its claims upon them, and then tried with all their strength to meet that claim, and fairly and squarely faced the fact of their failure.

–The Problem of Pain, Chapter IV

“No tienes alma. Eres un alma. Tienes un cuerpo.“ C. S. Lewis#3Chapters #CitasCitables #CSLewis pic.twitter.com/TUfBmukBtF

— 3Chapters (@3Chapters1C1558) June 6, 2025

Almighty and everlasting God,
by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church
is governed and sanctified:
hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,
that in their vocation and ministry
they may serve you in holiness and truth
to the glory of your name;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Monday Magic!🌅 Good morning world! 🌍#Cornwall #StormHour #ThePhotoHour #MondayVibes pic.twitter.com/4gW6jfqL4e

— Kate 🏄‍♀️🌊🤙〓〓 (@CornwallK8) July 21, 2025

The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with jealousy, and contradicted what was spoken by Paul, and reviled him. And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,

“I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of God; and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of the Lord spread throughout all the region. But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. But they shook off the dust from their feet against them, and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

–Acts 13:44-52

Good morning everyone wishing you a happy week ahead 😀this weekend’s wet though wonderful walking towards Bempton Cliffs. So thrilled to see Puffins and baby Gannets 💚 pic.twitter.com/bqMEto7aZ1

— doristhehat (@doristhehat) July 21, 2025

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Guten Morgen aus den Bergen 😊 pic.twitter.com/i5ZiAoo617

— Renate Umundum (@RUmundum) July 20, 2025

“For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ”˜Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ”˜Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ”˜Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ”˜Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ”˜Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ”˜You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sowed, and gather where I have not winnowed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’

–Matthew 25:14-30

Good morning everyone wishing you a lovely day 😀heading down to the beach to paddle in the sea towards Filey. Yesterday’s wet though wonderful walking from Bempton 💚 pic.twitter.com/7qSdr2SCaA

— doristhehat (@doristhehat) July 20, 2025

Merciful God, who didst call thy servant Macrina to reveal in her life and her teaching the riches of thy grace and truth: Mercifully grant that we, following her example, may seek after thy wisdom and live according to her way; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today, June 19h in the #Catholic Church ✝️
is the feast day of
Saint Macrina the Younger 😇

She was the oldest daughter of Saint Basil the Elder and Emmalia, both considered saints. She was born around 327 in Caesarea and was the sister of Saint Basil the Great, Saint Peter,… pic.twitter.com/VveCp8MZF6

— Adam Bil (@1addamB) July 19, 2025

Almighty Father, we pray for your holy catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth, with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it; where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen.

Guten Morgen aus Dresden: der Blick ohne Carolabrücke auf die Silhouette pic.twitter.com/NLz09fktwn

— Hochtouren Dresden (@Hochtouren) July 19, 2025

“Brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you that fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets which are read every sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning him. Though they could charge him with nothing deserving death, yet they asked Pilate to have him killed. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead; and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm,

‘Thou art my Son,
today I have begotten thee.’

And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he spoke in this way,

‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’

Therefore he says also in another psalm,

‘Thou wilt not let thy Holy One see corruption.’

For David, after he had served the counsel of God in his own generation, fell asleep, and was laid with his fathers, and saw corruption; but he whom God raised up saw no corruption. Let it be known to you therefore, brethren, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him every one that believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest there come upon you what is said in the prophets:

‘Behold, you scoffers, and wonder, and perish;
for I do a deed in your days,
a deed you will never believe, if one declares it to you.’”

As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next sabbath. And when the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

–Acts 13:26-43

The White River at St. Austell, Cornwall. The river is coloured white by local china clay in the soil. pic.twitter.com/ugdXdPesUv

— Michael Perry (@MikePer85818309) July 19, 2025

 A “spiritual awakening” is happening in Generation Z-A (11-18s), which “defies every prediction about declining religious engagement”, Youth for Christ (YFC) says.

The charity was launching a report last week, Z-A Growing Spirituality, drawing on 1009 completed anonymous online surveys from across Britain which a research company undertook for it in May. Of the respondents, 52 per cent identified as Christian. One third (35 per cent) considered themselves to be “a follower of Jesus” — up from 23 per cent in a YFC survey carried out in 2020 — and eight per cent said that they attended church as part of their week — up from four per cent.

The charity had previously surveyed the same age brackets in 2016 and 2020. In 2016, participants were asked: “Which of the following, if any, do you believe in?” with the options “God” (selected by 32 per cent), “ghosts and spirits” (22 per cent), and “Don’t believe in either” (47 per cent). In 2025, asked whether they believed in God, 48 per cent answered “yes”, with “no” at 28 per cent and “unsure” at 24 per cent. In total, 19 per cent said that they had had a spiritual experience — up from 11 per cent in 2020.

A total of 43 per cent said that they prayed, up from 31 per cent in 2020 (and from 41 per cent in 2016). Of the 43 per cent, 61 per cent said that this was daily. When they were asked, “Who or what do you pray to?”, the top answer remained God (79 per cent), but the second most common response was “myself” (14 per cent).

Read it all.

Following the "Quiet Revival" report I had a look at a new report by Youth for Christ looking at 11-18-year-olds & "something profound happening beneath the surface of our cultural conversations" https://t.co/6AaIB3GWIT

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) July 18, 2025