The Book that Made a Difference | 307 | Report 27

With celebrations continuing to mark the 400th Anniversary of the King James Bible, a recent poll for the Bible Society showed less than a fifth of people knew that the phrase “The writing on the wall” comes from the KJV. Over 10 per cent thought “a drop in the bucket” came from Tony Blair, and 14 per cent attributed it to Shakespeare. In fact Isaiah 40:15 of the KJV is where it originates. More worryingly less than half of under 35-year-olds have ever heard of the KJV.

Despite their lack of knowledge nearly half of the 2,379 respondents said the Bible was an important book and had valuable messages. Luke Walton, from the Bible Society, said: “It’s clear that people’s knowledge of the Bible is limited and they just don’t realise how significant and wide-ranging its influence has been.” Mr Walton added: “Making a connection with the text helps us both to appreciate its role in our own culture, history and politics, and it can enrich our lives personally. “The Bible remains the world’s best seller and we can’t afford to exclude it from public life.”

As part of the celebrations, the Royal Mail is set to produce a commemorative set of stamps, after numerous requests from the public. Meanwhile Revival’s evangelist – Glen Scrivener – has published an evangelistic booklet called The King’s English which takes many of the phrases from the KJV using them to explain the Gospel in a novel way. It is available from Revival to give to non-Christian friends.

Source: The Christian Institute; Bible Society; Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY: Psalm 119:129-136

PRAISE: God for the Book that had such an impact throughout English-speaking nations. Pray that many people may discover the Bible afresh this year.

British Young People Feel Isolated | 304 | Report 15

More than a third of young people in the UK aged 16 to 24 do not feel part of their local community, research by the Prince’s Trust suggests. Almost a quarter of young people (23%) felt ignored by older people.
The study of more than 2,000 youngsters found one in 10 felt like an outcast. Those who were not in education, employment or training were far more likely to feel isolated. “It is a tragedy that so many young people feel separated from the people around them,” said Martina Milburn, Chief Executive of the Prince’s Trust.
The study of 2,226 16 to 24-year-olds showed more than one in five (22%) felt isolated “most of the time”, while one in 10 (11%) felt like an outcast. Almost a third (30%) did not think there was a future for them in their local area. According to the report, more than half of young people (54%) “rarely” or “never” spoke to people over the age of 40 in their local community, while more than two thirds (68%) “rarely” or “never” spoke to those over 60.Almost a quarter (23%) felt ignored by older people, while almost half (46%) thought older people were scared of young people.
Martina Milburn said, “Being part of a community and interacting with a mix of people is a crucial part of a young person’s development.” On Friday and Saturday nights Street Pastors in over 150 UK towns and cities have the opportunity of mixing with young people and find that they are open and eager to talk, and to hear about the Gospel.

Source: BBC News; Revival Media.

BIBLE STUDY: Isaiah 49:22-23

PRAY: That the day will come when thousands of British young people find inclusion and happiness in the fellowship of the people of God.

UK: Young People Want Morals! | 304 | Report 3

A recent survey, commissioned by East Riding of Yorkshire Council and NHS East Riding of Yorkshire has found that young people want to learn about responsible parenting rather than sexual mechanics in sex education. Almost three quarters of boys and 84 per cent of girls agreed that a relationship doesn’t have to include sex. The survey, conducted among over 2,000 13 to 16-year-olds has surprised experts
in the field. Researchers from Hull University said that they were surprised that the majority of those surveyed supported “moral” ideas about having sex.
The survey revealed that the single most important ‘fact of life’ for both boys and girls was parenting. Nearly half the girls and almost 40 per cent of boys considered it the single matter they most wished to learn more about. The findings challenge the current emphasis in sex education on the mechanics of safe sex.
Commenting on the findings, Norman Wells of the Family Education Trust, said: “Young people are clearly tiring of the negative messages they are receiving about pregnancy and parenthood from sex educators obsessed with contraception”.“For too long, Government policy has all too often been encouraging and facilitating casual sex.” It’s time to transform this mindset, take young people at face value, and emphasize responsible relationships.

Source: The Christian Institute; Revival Media

BIBLE STUDY: Psalm 119:9

PRAISE: God that young people want a moral base on which to build their relationships. Pray that it will be given to them through knowledge of the Gospel.

Christianity More Vital in UK Today | 16th Mar 2010

George Pitcher, Vicar of St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and Religion Editor of Telegraph Media, was invited to Vanessa Feltz’s BBC radio show a few weeks ago to comment on the news that the number of Briton’s calling themselves Christians has dropped markedly. Responding to Ms Feltz’s suggestion that he should be downcast about the news, George Pitcher claimed he was actually quite cheerful about it.
“Leaving aside the fact that Christianity is, globally speaking, in the middle of a boom, it’s encouraging that so many people in Britain are still actually signing up to the faith. Remember, after all, that ours is the first generation for hundreds of years that isn’t Christian by default,” he said.
“Even in the middle of the last century,” he continued, “our parents would automatically tell census-takers that they were “Church of England”, without any real sense of conviction. It was just what you were. This applied less to other denominations, because the C of E was a default position – just part of the background; ambient noise.
By contrast, people these n – something unthinkable even a decade ago.”
“Secondly,” he says, “36 per cent of those surveyed were part of the ‘fuzzy faithful’… They’ve drifted from organised religion because of the fashion in recent decades for the materialistic lifestyle… Why is this encouraging? Well, Miss Feltz made a very good point: churches and synagogues and temples have historically provided networks of support, nourishment and education that we’re now lacking. The term that often crops up is ‘social cohesion’. Spirituality performed in private at home hardly has the same beneficial effects on society.
But I think people are becoming increasingly fed-up with the me-me-me consumerist lifestyle. A spiritual hunger will bring them back together in groups again, helping them to rediscover their common – and very often Christian – heritage. The resulting bodies may not call themselves churches, but that’s what they’ll be.”
George Pitcher ends with a remarkable statement: “All in all, Britain is going through one of those periods of religious refreshment that crop up every few decades…”

Source: The Daily Telegraph

BIBLE STUDY: Jeremiah 24:7

Day 16 – PRAY: That Christians may indeed practice a vital, living faith that puts Jesus at the centre.

http://revivalmedia.org/2010/03/15/christianity-more-vital-in-uk-today-16th-mar-2010

Christianity More Vital in UK Today | 15th Mar 2010

George Pitcher, Vicar of St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and Religion Editor of Telegraph Media, was invited to Vanessa Feltz’s BBC radio show a few weeks ago to comment on the news that the number of Briton’s calling themselves Christians has dropped markedly. Responding to Ms Feltz’s suggestion that he should be downcast about the news, George Pitcher claimed he was actually quite cheerful about it.
“Leaving aside the fact that Christianity is, globally speaking, in the middle of a boom, it’s encouraging that so many people in Britain are still actually signing up to the faith. Remember, after all, that ours is the first generation for hundreds of years that isn’t Christian by default,” he said.
“Even in the middle of the last century,” he continued, “our parents would automatically tell census-takers that they were “Church of England”, without any real sense of conviction. It was just what you were. This applied less to other denominations, because the C of E was a default position – just part of the background; ambient noise.
By contrast, people these n – something unthinkable even a decade ago.”
“Secondly,” he says, “36 per cent of those surveyed were part of the ‘fuzzy faithful’… They’ve drifted from organised religion because of the fashion in recent decades for the materialistic lifestyle… Why is this encouraging? Well, Miss Feltz made a very good point: churches and synagogues and temples have historically provided networks of support, nourishment and education that we’re now lacking. The term that often crops up is ‘social cohesion’. Spirituality performed in private at home hardly has the same beneficial effects on society.
But I think people are becoming increasingly fed-up with the me-me-me consumerist lifestyle. A spiritual hunger will bring them back together in groups again, helping them to rediscover their common – and very often Christian – heritage. The resulting bodies may not call themselves churches, but that’s what they’ll be.”
George Pitcher ends with a remarkable statement: “All in all, Britain is going through one of those periods of religious refreshment that crop up every few decades…”

Source: The Daily Telegraph

BIBLE STUDY: Jeremiah 24:7

Day 15 – PRAISE: God that fewer can mean better.

http://revivalmedia.org/2010/03/14/christianity-more-vital-in-uk-today-15th-mar-2010

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

Church Growing Fast in Nepal | 1st March 2010

Until 1951 Nepal was closed to the outside world. Nepali Christians were few and mainly lived in north India on the border with Nepal. When, in 1951, there was some opening up, missionaries started a hospital in Pokhara called Shining Hospital. Still, until 1990, it was officially prohibited to have any religion other than Hinduism and it was hard for Christians to fellowship and many were imprisoned. The Census of 1971 counted just 2,541 Christians in Nepal.
However, in 1990, a revolution broke out followed by a new Constitution that granted freedom of religion. Since then many new churches were planted, and the Census of 1991 recorded 31,289 Christians, 0.17 % of the total population of Nepal. But, by 2001, official Census figures put the number of Christians at 101,976. However, Christians argued that the Census underestimated the number of Christians. So the Nepal Research and Resource Network carried out a survey in 2007. According to their work there were 2,799 churches throughout Nepal and 379,042 Christians, 1.46% of the total population of Nepal.
Since the establishment of democratic government in 2008, conditions for the Christian community have further improved, and reports indicate Church growth is spiralling. There remain cases of isolated violence against Christians, and there is concern that the proposed new Constitution prohibits conversion from one religion to another.

Source: Revival Media; Wikipedia

BIBLE STUDY: Joshua 1:8-9

PRAISE: God for faithful witness over years of oppression, leading to a vibrant Church today. Pray that the new law may not obstruct evangelism.

Christianity More Vital in UK Today | 16th Feb 2010

George Pitcher, Vicar of St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and Religion Editor of Telegraph Media, was invited to Vanessa Feltz’s BBC radio show a few weeks ago to comment on the news that the number of Briton’s calling themselves Christians has dropped markedly. Responding to Ms Feltz’s suggestion that he should be downcast about the news, George Pitcher claimed he was actually quite cheerful about it.
“Leaving aside the fact that Christianity is, globally speaking, in the middle of a boom, it’s encouraging that so many people in Britain are still actually signing up to the faith. Remember, after all, that ours is the first generation for hundreds of years that isn’t Christian by default,” he said.
“Even in the middle of the last century,” he continued, “our parents would automatically tell census-takers that they were “Church of England”, without any real sense of conviction. It was just what you were. This applied less to other denominations, because the C of E was a default position – just part of the background; ambient noise.
By contrast, people these n – something unthinkable even a decade ago.”
“Secondly,” he says, “36 per cent of those surveyed were part of the ‘fuzzy faithful’… They’ve drifted from organised religion because of the fashion in recent decades for the materialistic lifestyle… Why is this encouraging? Well, Miss Feltz made a very good point: churches and synagogues and temples have historically provided networks of support, nourishment and education that we’re now lacking. The term that often crops up is ‘social cohesion’. Spirituality performed in private at home hardly has the same beneficial effects on society.
But I think people are becoming increasingly fed-up with the me-me-me consumerist lifestyle. A spiritual hunger will bring them back together in groups again, helping them to rediscover their common – and very often Christian – heritage. The resulting bodies may not call themselves churches, but that’s what they’ll be.”
George Pitcher ends with a remarkable statement: “All in all, Britain is going through one of those periods of religious refreshment that crop up every few decades…”

Source: The Daily Telegraph

BIBLE STUDY: Jeremiah 24:7

Day 16 – PRAY: That Christians may indeed practice a vital, living faith that puts Jesus at the centre.

Christianity More Vital in UK Today | 15th Feb 2010

George Pitcher, Vicar of St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and Religion Editor of Telegraph Media, was invited to Vanessa Feltz’s BBC radio show a few weeks ago to comment on the news that the number of Briton’s calling themselves Christians has dropped markedly. Responding to Ms Feltz’s suggestion that he should be downcast about the news, George Pitcher claimed he was actually quite cheerful about it.
“Leaving aside the fact that Christianity is, globally speaking, in the middle of a boom, it’s encouraging that so many people in Britain are still actually signing up to the faith. Remember, after all, that ours is the first generation for hundreds of years that isn’t Christian by default,” he said.
“Even in the middle of the last century,” he continued, “our parents would automatically tell census-takers that they were “Church of England”, without any real sense of conviction. It was just what you were. This applied less to other denominations, because the C of E was a default position – just part of the background; ambient noise.
By contrast, people these n – something unthinkable even a decade ago.”
“Secondly,” he says, “36 per cent of those surveyed were part of the ‘fuzzy faithful’… They’ve drifted from organised religion because of the fashion in recent decades for the materialistic lifestyle… Why is this encouraging? Well, Miss Feltz made a very good point: churches and synagogues and temples have historically provided networks of support, nourishment and education that we’re now lacking. The term that often crops up is ‘social cohesion’. Spirituality performed in private at home hardly has the same beneficial effects on society.
But I think people are becoming increasingly fed-up with the me-me-me consumerist lifestyle. A spiritual hunger will bring them back together in groups again, helping them to rediscover their common – and very often Christian – heritage. The resulting bodies may not call themselves churches, but that’s what they’ll be.”
George Pitcher ends with a remarkable statement: “All in all, Britain is going through one of those periods of religious refreshment that crop up every few decades…”

Source: The Daily Telegraph

BIBLE STUDY: Jeremiah 24:7

Day 15 – PRAISE: God that fewer can mean better.

El Salvador: People Trust Evangelicals | 10th Feb 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.

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