UK: Churchgoing is On the Rise | 14th Mar 2010

It appears the long-term decline in UK churchgoing is levelling off and there are signs of a new interest in going to church.
A Tear Fund study showed that more than a quarter of adults in the UK attend church at least once a year while 15% went at least once a month in 2008, up from 13% in 2007. This trend appears to have continued into 2009. The study also showed that almost 3 million people would consider going to church given the right invitation.
However, the gender and age gaps are widening: only 35% of churchgoers are men and, among the critical under 16’s, attendance has continued to fall over the period.

Source: Tear Fund; Virgin Media

BIBLE STUDY: Isaiah 56:6-8

PRAISE: God for this change of momentum. Pray that churches may be ready to receive these people.

http://revivalmedia.org/2010/03/13/uk-churchgoing-is-on-the-rise-14th-mar-2010

Acts ch 11 vs 19 – 30, Best Seller with Richard Brunton

13th March 2010
Patrick Woodward talks to Richard Brunton about Acts chapter 11 vs 19 – 30.

Listen to this discussion and feel free to add your thoughts to the comments.

Can the Apostasy Laws be Abolished? | 13th Mar 2010

Islam is a one-way street. You can convert TO Islam, but you are not allowed to convert FROM Islam. Apostasy is seen as a “crime” against the rest of the Muslim community – often it is the family of the convert – not the State – that imposes the death penalty. This can happen even in non-Muslim nations where sizeable Muslim communities live.
“Hannah”, in Britain, has been forced to move house 45 times since she was converted to Christ at the age of 16. The reason? Her Muslim family has vowed to kill her unless she “returns to the fold.”
But things can change. On 22 August 2007 Christian and Muslim groups in Norway signed a joint declaration affirming the right to convert from one faith to another without fear of harassment or violence. Barnabas Fund has been campaigning hard to see an end to these attitudes the world over. It won’t be easy – old attitudes die hard! But, since the Norway declaration, others have begun to follow suite:
In 2008 a group of British Muslim academics and religious leaders began meeting in Cambridge to consider traditional views of Islam and certain aspects of Sharia. In October 2009 they published a report, Contextualising Islam in Britain. It reflects a strong and very encouraging commitment on the part of mainstream Muslim leaders in Britain to an adapted and modern Islam.
Islam does not normally distinguish between religious sins and crimes against the State. But the report argues that this distinction must be drawn and even apostates must not suffer discrimination. These are positive beginnings; it remains to be seen whether they will gradually take hold, particularly as more Muslims are absorbed into Western societies.

Source: Barnabas Trust; Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY: Matthew 22:21

PRAISE: God for small signs of change. Pray that these may snowball, and that Christians may know how to reach out to Muslims with the love of Christ.

http://revivalmedia.org/2010/03/12/can-the-apostasy-laws-be-abolished-13th-mar-2010

Cuba Allows Prison Chaplains | 12th Mar 2010

In an unprecedented change of policy, Cuban authorities have granted permission for Roman Catholic and Protestant chaplains to hold services in prisons throughout the Country. José Aurelio Paz, spokesperson for the Cuban Council of Churches said that they had held meetings with Communist Party officials responsible for religion. He explained that pastors would now be allowed to lead services, and use Bibles and hymn books in the prisons. Cuban Evangelicals are now organizing a prison chaplaincy, under the supervision of Rev. Francisco Rodés. Estimates put the Evangelical population of Cuba at 600,000 members. The Council of Churches comprises 47 denominations.

Source: Agenciaalvoz.com

BIBLE STUDY: Zephaniah 3:19-20

PRAISE: God for the steady growth of the Cuban Evangelical Church, and for new openings like this one. Pray that the Church may be ready for the day when democracy is established in Cuba.

http://revivalmedia.org/2010/03/11/cuba-allows-prison-chaplains-12th-mar-2010

Bible Translators Make It Possible | 11th Mar 2010

Almost 40 years ago, a British missionary canoed into a remote area of Panama with a proposal for the local chief. Could he and his family live among the tribe to learn their language and tell them about someone called Jesus? The answer, however, was “No!” “I just sat in our canoe that was tied up at the river bank and wept before the Lord,” recalled Wycliffe translator Keith Forster. “I mean, I bawled my heart out. Imagine that I’d given up my home, my country, my career, everything.”
After years of training, and obstacles, Forster’s mission had abruptly ended – or had it? As a parting gift, Forster offered a picture of his family and told the chief they were on a mission with a purpose. “We were sent by God to take His letter and translate it for you so you, too, could understand,” Forster said. “So in the future, when your children ask, ‘What is God like?’ You will have to say to them, ‘I don’t know.” This made the chief change his mind, and Forster and his wife settled among the Kunas, learned the language, and more than twenty years later, gave the tribe their own New Testament.
As the Word of God was translated into their own language, many Kunas decided to follow Jesus. And although, as Panamanians, most of them also speak Spanish, it’s the Kuna Bible that speaks to their hearts. Kuna missionary John Kennedy Morales says, “I use the Kuna Bible, because that’s the way they understand better.” Today, the translation team is revising the Old Testament translation, completing one more project in the task of giving every tribe and nation, God’s word in their own language.

Source: CBN News

BIBLE STUDY: Psalm 42:1-2

PRAISE: God for the extraordinary work of Wycliffe and other Bible translators

El Salvador: People Trust Evangelicals | 10th Mar 2010

Two recent university surveys, carried out between June and October 2009, show that the Evangelical Church in the Central American Republic of El Salvador has almost doubled its membership in the last 11 years – 38% of the population now consider themselves to be Evangelical Christians.
The proportion of those professing no faith has actually fallen by 13% in the same period. One of the surveys indicated that the Evangelical Church was the most trusted institution in the Country, and that it has a positive influence not only on the religious life of the nation but also in society, politics and the economy.
This is an extraordinary witness to the grace of God among His people, and gives the growing Evangelical Church enormous opportunities and responsibilities.

Source: Protestante Digita; Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY: Philippians 4:8-9

PRAISE: God for the respect enjoyed by Evangelical Christians. Pray that growth may go hand in hand with faithfulness to Christ’s call to discipleship.

Link to this story:
http://revivalmedia.org/2010/03/09/el-salvador-people-trust-evangelicals-10th-mar-2010

Honduras: Church Strong in Crisis | 9th Mar 2010

For five months two competing presidents created conflict and divisions in the Central American nation of Honduras. But the country’s voters, encouraged by church leaders, helped bring an end to the crisis. On Sunday, November 29 Honduran voters turned out in record numbers to elect a new president. Their choice, Porfirio Lobo, has promised to bring the country together after a leadership crisis that has deepened social and political divisions in one of Latin America’s poorest nations.
Ousted former President Zelaya had called on Hondurans to stay away from the polls. Instead, voters turned out in record numbers, largely because Christian leaders encouraged them to do so. Church leaders say more than a third of Honduras’ population is evangelical. They waged a strong get-out-and-vote campaign.
According to Evelio Reyes, pastor of Vida Abundante Church, the result is a sign that democracy is working. “We’ve dealt a blow to voter abstention; we’ve dealt a hard blow to indifference,” Pastor Reyes said. “And I like that because it shows we’re changing our society to one that’s alert, a society that participates, that wants to make its opinions known.” Now most Hondurans hope they have seen the worst of the crisis that isolated them from the international community.

Source: CBN News

BIBLE STUDY: Acts 2:46-47

PRAISE: God that the churches were prepared to be a voice of reason in the midst of political turmoil. Pray that Christians may help affirm a peaceful transition for the new government, and this may lead to great opportunities for the Gospel.

http://revivalmedia.org/2010/03/08/honduras-church-strong-in-crisis-9th-mar-2010/

Satellite Brings Gospel to Middle East | 8th Mar 2010

For centuries, in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Christians have been isolated, the image of Christianity distorted and the Gospel silenced. Over the course of the 20th century, the Middle Eastern church shrank from 20% of the population to less than 5%. Many Christians throughout this region suffer daily for their faith, from low level harassment and abuse, job discrimination and ostracism, to rejection by family and friends, deliberate violence and even death.
For believers and seekers, access to Christian teaching and resources is limited in many parts of the Arab world. But the exponential growth of satellite television over the last decade or more has presented Christians with a highly strategic way of encouraging the church, giving Christianity a voice, and making the Gospel available to millions. SAT-7 is a Middle Eastern satellite TV network that has been broadcasting locally made Christian programming across this region for 13 years. Recent surveys estimate audience figures of over ten million.
Abdul (not his real name) is a young man from Morocco who wrote to tell SAT-7 his story. He began watching SAT-7 when he was 12 years old, until his mother found out and forbade him. Undeterred, he watched secretly and entered a competition for which the prize was a Gospel of John. He won and in due course the prize arrived, only to be confiscated by his furious mother. One day he found it and eagerly read it. The first thing he read was, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God…” Suddenly all was clear to me, it needed no more explanation. He who appeared to me when I was praying at a younger age is Jesus Christ and he is the Way’. Despite continued opposition, Abdul grew in his faith and today is involved in Christian media himself.
In October last year, SAT-7 seized the opportunity of broadcasting its two Arabic language channels on a new satellite, Atlantic Bird 4. The new broadcasts on the AB4 satellite have enabled SAT-7 to reach millions of new viewers overnight! The Rev. Dr. Samah Maurice, senior pastor of the Kasr El Dobara Church in Cairo, the largest Protestant church in the Middle East, commented: “Most of the cities in the Arab world now, even homes in the poorest areas, have satellite dishes and they are even more common than refrigerators or ovens! Satellite TV is everywhere. SAT-7, from the beginning, has done its best to be a partner to the local church, not to be separate from the local church.”
“The local church cannot do what satellite can do these days,” he continued, “so I praise God and I think this is the door God has given us to reach the multitudes. We see its effectiveness, and so do the millions of viewers who are tuning in.

Source: SAT-7 Trust

BIBLE STUDY: Deuteronomy 5:23-25

Day 8 – PRAY: For wise, Holy Spirit-anointed programmes, so that hearts may break open to Jesus.

http://revivalmedia.org/2010/03/07/satellite-brin…t-8th-mar-2010/

Satellite Brings Gospel to Middle East | 7th Mar 2010

For centuries, in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Christians have been isolated, the image of Christianity distorted and the Gospel silenced. Over the course of the 20th century, the Middle Eastern church shrank from 20% of the population to less than 5%. Many Christians throughout this region suffer daily for their faith, from low level harassment and abuse, job discrimination and ostracism, to rejection by family and friends, deliberate violence and even death.
For believers and seekers, access to Christian teaching and resources is limited in many parts of the Arab world. But the exponential growth of satellite television over the last decade or more has presented Christians with a highly strategic way of encouraging the church, giving Christianity a voice, and making the Gospel available to millions. SAT-7 is a Middle Eastern satellite TV network that has been broadcasting locally made Christian programming across this region for 13 years. Recent surveys estimate audience figures of over ten million.
Abdul (not his real name) is a young man from Morocco who wrote to tell SAT-7 his story. He began watching SAT-7 when he was 12 years old, until his mother found out and forbade him. Undeterred, he watched secretly and entered a competition for which the prize was a Gospel of John. He won and in due course the prize arrived, only to be confiscated by his furious mother. One day he found it and eagerly read it. The first thing he read was, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God…” Suddenly all was clear to me, it needed no more explanation. He who appeared to me when I was praying at a younger age is Jesus Christ and he is the Way’. Despite continued opposition, Abdul grew in his faith and today is involved in Christian media himself.
In October last year, SAT-7 seized the opportunity of broadcasting its two Arabic language channels on a new satellite, Atlantic Bird 4. The new broadcasts on the AB4 satellite have enabled SAT-7 to reach millions of new viewers overnight! The Rev. Dr. Samah Maurice, senior pastor of the Kasr El Dobara Church in Cairo, the largest Protestant church in the Middle East, commented: “Most of the cities in the Arab world now, even homes in the poorest areas, have satellite dishes and they are even more common than refrigerators or ovens! Satellite TV is everywhere. SAT-7, from the beginning, has done its best to be a partner to the local church, not to be separate from the local church.”
“The local church cannot do what satellite can do these days,” he continued, “so I praise God and I think this is the door God has given us to reach the multitudes. We see its effectiveness, and so do the millions of viewers who are tuning in.

Source: SAT-7 Trust

BIBLE STUDY: Deuteronomy 5:23-25

Day 8 – PRAY: For wise, Holy Spirit-anointed programmes, so that hearts may break open to Jesus.

http://revivalmedia.org/2010/03/06/satellite-brin…t-7th-mar-2010/

New Discovery Proves Bible True | 6th Mar 2010

On December 21st, 2009, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced an archaeological discovery that may cause red faces for those who have doubted the New Testament’s historical accuracy, after a 1st century house was discovered in the area where the Nazareth of Christ’s time was located. Although Nazareth exists today as a thriving Arab city of 65,000 in northern Israel, many scholars have insisted it didn’t exist during Jesus’ lifetime. For example, in 2006, American Atheist Press published a book by Rene Salm entitled, The Myth of Nazareth. The author summarises his findings: “What must matter to all Christians, however, is the inescapable fact that the evangelists invented this basic element in the story of cosmic redemption. The proof is now at hand that ‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ a long-standing icon of Western civilization, is bogus.” Archaeologist Stephen Pfann, president of the University of The Holy Land, states: “It’s the only witness that we have from that area that shows us what the walls and floors were like inside Nazareth in the first century.”

Source: Y-Jesus.com

BIBLE STUDY: Numbers 24:3-5

PRAISE: God that His Word is proved reliable and sceptics are again shown to be wrong. Pray that the reliability of Scripture may lead many to God.

http://revivalmedia.org/2010/03/05/new-discovery-…e-6th-mar-2010/

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