Bishop Steven announces his retirement

The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, has announced he will retire next July. After 10 years as diocesan bishop for the Diocese of Oxford, Bishop Steven will lay down his crozier at a service at Christ Church Cathedral on 31 May. Bishop Steven’s retirement means he will also step down from […]

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The LORD is the great God

“For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods” (Psalm 95.3 NIV) In the first word of verse 3 we change gear.  So far the psalm has been inviting and encouraging us to praise God.  It’s a common form in the psalms. …

In all circumstances not for all circumstances

[Let us] be glad in him with psalms Psalm 95.2 The first four verbs in Psalm 95 all summon us to joy:  let us sing….let us heartily rejoice….let us come with thanksgiving….let us be glad in him with psalms. But what if we don’t…

The power of thanksgiving

Let us come into his presences with thanksgiving(Psalm 95.2) In her Christmas Day message this year the Queen spoke of the vital importance of reflection in human life.  Standing back and thinking about what has been and what is to come…

The Rock of our Salvation

“let us shout aloud to the Rock of our Salvation”[1] Here’s a mystery.  Psalm 95 means a great deal to Christians because, to the eyes of faith, there is a reference to Jesus in the first verse. When Christians worship the LORD,…

A daily turning

Come let us sing for joy to the LORD[1] Some years ago, I sat quietly in a very old and beautiful church in Barnby Dun, near Doncaster before a service.  Like many old church buildings, it had a deep atmosphere of prayer.  This was one…

The vital importance of joy

The vital importance of joy “….let us sing….let us make a joyful noise…..”[1] Psalm 95 is a call to rediscover joy at the centre of our Christian faith, to sing out with joy in our worship and express that joy in the whole of…

A threefold invitation

Welcome to 2014.  This year we mark the centenary of the Diocese of Sheffield.  I’m asking the diocese to focus in this first part of the year on a single text: Psalm 95. I’m planning to post a short reflection Psalm 95 on the blog…

Today if you hear his voice (Psalm 95)

The Diocese of Sheffield celebrates its centenary in 2014.  This is my Presidential Address to the Diocesan Synod today which gives, I hope, a perspective on those celebrations, where we are and where we are going through the lens of Psalm…

Reconciliaton: a sermon at Ecclesall

On Wednesday this week, it was my privilege to institute the Revd. Gary Wilton as Vicar of All Saints, Ecclesall, to the south west of Sheffield.  Like all institutions it was a big occasion for the parish and for Gary who comes to this new…