Sami, a young boy from Aleppo, told his story during a day of filming for the SAT-7 children’s show Family of Jesus. ‘We came to Tartous for a vacation seven years ago, and then the war erupted. We had to remain here because our home was flattened to the ground. Many homes in Aleppo suffered the same fate. We’ve been here for seven years now. Thank you (SAT-7) so much for this day, I enjoyed it so much. We had so much fun. We learned about Jesus. He is with us wherever we go. He answers our prayers. We mustn’t be afraid because He is with us. When we face problems, we ask Jesus to calm the storm. He can silence all the storms, even the war. I’m not afraid of anything now with Jesus.’

Shelter, a Christian charity ministering to vulnerable young people, says it is ‘scandalous’ that over 130,000 youngsters across Britain are expected to be homeless this Christmas season. Alastair Welford, the founder of Nicodemus, a Christian charity in Warwickshire with similar aims, said the figure could be an underestimate. He added, ‘When you think of the number of churches in this country, if 20% of them started little homeless projects - little marginalised youth projects with some support from us - it would be incredible’. 9,500 children will spend their Christmas in a hostel or bed and breakfast; others will be in local authority emergency accommodation. London is worst affected by child homelessness.

As the media increasingly report LGBT and 'gay pride' issues, the Christian response has been unclear. A Christian Concern article presents six reasons why LGBT is not biblical. The authors believe the church must boldly and clearly tell the truth. They explain why the practice of different sexualities and same-sex unions are in direct conflict with God’s intended purpose for marriage and sexuality, and quote many Bible passages confirming this. They remind us that ‘Gay pride’ conflicts with 2000 years of the Church’s teaching, and changing our teaching on marriage and sexuality is something that should worry us - especially if what is being taught is false (Jeremiah 23:16-17). Also, by partaking in ‘pride’ events, we are ‘doing an injustice to our brothers and sisters in Christ who experience same-sex attraction, and leading them to believe God blesses such intimacy.’ For the full article, click the ‘More’ button.

Britain is Israel’s largest trade partner in Europe; that relationship seems to be going from strength to strength. Exports from the UK to Israel increased by 75% in the first half of 2018, with more than £7 billion in trade between the two countries in 2017. Trade minister Liam Fox, on a visit to Israel to strengthen trade relationships, told prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ‘As we leave the EU and Britain takes its place as an independent state of the World Trade Organization, we want to push our concept of free trade even further. In a world where the siren calls of protectionism are rising, two free-trade nations like ours need to make the case for global free trade because trade spreads prosperity.’ Netanyahu said, ‘Britain is one of our most important trading partners in the world, and we value the friendship.’

Foodbanks expect more people than ever to need their help this Christmas. ‘Cold parcels’ are being given to people who have neither food nor the means to heat it. Many more may well be needed as the impact of Universal Credit rolls out. The charity Crisis tweeted, ‘Dealing with local authority homeless decisions, where one reason to find someone “non-priority” is the fact they have shown capacity and ability to even make the application. Frustratingly bizarre logic. “Your application would have been stronger had you been unable to make it”.’ Someone replied, ‘We see exactly the same thing with disability benefit assessments. If you turn up for assessment and/or an appeal hearing, they find you have no problems with mobility. If you don't turn up, they refuse your claim.’ Meanwhile, in one of the richest countries in the world, it is only charity that prevents some people starving.

A recent Confident Christianity conference in Dundee’s Central Baptist Church saw around three hundred people considering how to share the gospel in our age of tough questions. Pastor Jim Turrent started proceedings with a call for the Church to embrace the Biblical call to unashamed proclamation. He suggested that lack of confidence in the gospel is the main factor inhibiting our effective witness today. Evangelists suggested how to open up deeper, more fruitful conversations around Jesus and the gospels, and Dr Ben Thomas gave his testimony of conversion to Christ when he was sharing his life with his same-sex partner. He explained that deep wrestling with scripture led him to conclude that this could not continue, and therefore he has chosen a single, celibate life. Reactions to the conference were positive. Organisers are praying that its fruit will be more ‘Confident Christians’, because they are the key to the re-evangelisation of Scotland and the North.

Chronic food poverty exists in Britain, even in rural communities, exacerbated by higher food, transport, and fuel costs. Research shows that these additional costs average £3,000 per year – the ‘premium’ for living in rural areas. Pray for churches both to help and speak up for those without sufficient income to feed themselves or their families (see endhungeruk.org). Village primary schools are often at the heart of their communities, but many face closure due to falling numbers. A Church of England summit took place in November to consider how to deal with this problem, especially as it affects the CofE’s 2,000 rural schools. Pray that the solutions proposed will be effective in securing a future for village schools and in providing focuses for community life.

Part of a declaration by Passion for the Nation: ‘Father, We thank You for the call on the UK to display Your righteousness and justice. We praise You for our heritage of godly justice, and we decree, this is a time for a reawakening of Kingdom values within our justice system. May the God-given sovereignty and order of governmental authority for this nation, judicial and legislative, be restored for the United Kingdom. In the Name of Jesus, we speak godly design over every aspect of the Brexit settlement in relation to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, Criminal Justice , Civil Law and Legal Services and for Heaven’s schedule in every aspect of the transitional period, so that no plan of man or of the enemy will alter either Your timing or Your purpose.’

On 1 December, to mark World AIDS Day, Margaret Sentamu, wife of the Archbishop of York, joined NHS staff from York’s sexual health services and charity Yorkshire MESMAC to highlight the importance of taking a HIV test.  Demonstrating how simple it can be, Margaret took a finger prick test where the result can be given within twenty minutes. She said: ‘It’s important to raise awareness - not just for one day, but all year round - of the importance of getting tested. There have been fantastic advances in medication which means people can now live a completely normal life, particularly when they get an early diagnosis.’ Margaret recalled the devastating impact of losing family and friends to AIDS in her home country of Uganda. While the HIV epidemic is slowing in the UK, nearly half of people who test positive are finding out they have HIV very late, meaning that it virus may already have damaged their health permanently. Over 100,000 people live with HIV, and around a quarter of them don’t know they’re HIV positive.

Participants at the UN climate talks in Poland have discussed how they will keep promises made in 2015 to reduce their climate footprint by 2020. Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide and methane emissions increase, trapping solar energy. As more gases enter the atmosphere, earth’s temperature rises rise; changing the timing and length of seasons and the amount and frequency of rainfall - rising sea levels, flooding, droughts and a range of ecosystem changes affecting life on earth. Two years ago, research found (see) that widespread adoption of vegetarian diets would cut food-related emissions by 63%. There are 3.6 billion sheep, cattle, goats and buffalo on the planet, 50% more than fifty years ago. Methane from their digestive systems is the single biggest human-related source of greenhouse gas. This is a great concern to the livestock industry worldwide. See also