Romans 8:38-39 says, ‘Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation.’ We may not have power over macro-scale world events, but every day we can make hundreds of choices to do good, love God and serve our neighbour. We can do plenty in our own spheres of influence to bring God's kingdom on earth. Philippians 4:6-7 says, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ When we choose to lay down our anxieties before God, who sees the beginning from the end, whose mind no one can fathom, before whom dictators and despots appear like ants, we will find inexplicable peace.

A Christian teaching assistant has won an apology from a school which disciplined her for telling a pupil that she did not believe in gay marriage. Vicky Allen took legal action after she received a formal written warning from Brannel School, in St Austell, Cornwall, which she said made her feel ‘like a criminal’. They accused her of opposing their ‘equal opportunities’ policy when she told a 14-year-old autistic boy that she disapproved of gay ceremonies. The widow, who has three children, also told the pupil she did not like the way the biblical rainbow symbol had been adopted as an emblem of gay pride. Disciplinary action was launched after the teenager’s mother complained to the school. Mrs Allen said she had done nothing wrong. ‘I was asked a question and gave my answer based on my beliefs and I was disciplined for it.’ The headteacher has now apologised to Vicky.

‘And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.’ (Gen.1:3) Lord, we know Your Spirit is brooding over our nation, and we thank You for every purpose, ministry and strategy of your Kingdom in this season of Advent. We pray for Your people to continue to enter Your presence and to stand upon their watch. As You spoke and there was light, may Your people be so connected to your heart and Your words that every purpose of heaven will be achieved in this season in our land. As Your Church opens its doors in unusual ways and your message of hope and salvation goes out with clarity and creativity, we pray for those who are spiritually open and hungry from every age group and community to hear and understand your message of truth and to experience your presence.

A new study by Youthscape revealed ‘churches are losing confidence in their ability to deliver quality youth work.’ The report, launched at Lambeth Palace on Wednesday, shows that many churches across the country are failing even to offer a youth work service, and those who do are concerned about its effectiveness. Common answers to the question ‘what's going well in your youth work?’ were ‘not a lot’, ‘nothing’, and ‘it does not do so well’. There is a disparity between what young people want to engage with and what the church is actually doing. Two-thirds of churches never discuss pornography or sexuality, while over half never discuss mental health, even though a separate survey of teenagers suggests that these are topics which they are highly interested in talking about. Pray for the fear to be removed from looking at issues around sex and sexuality.