Emergency budget
The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s emergency budget has met a lukewarm response from some Christians fearful that its impact will be felt by those least able to afford it. The Chancellor presented the severest budget for nearly 30 years outlining tax hikes and painful cuts to public spending. Paul Morrison, a member of the Methodist Church’s Joint Public Issues Team, said the taxation burden should be put on the people who could afford it rather than those least able. Chris Sheldon, Deputy Chief Executive of Kingdom Bank, welcomed the efforts to reduce the nation’s massive deficit. ‘I am pleased to see that the government is taking the issue of balancing the country’s income and expenditure so seriously,’ he said. ‘It is a strong biblical principle that we should not spend more than we can afford and that applies to the country in the same way that it applies to individuals’. Pray: for us to balance the collective responsibility we hold to address the national deficit whilst protecting the most vulnerable. (Pr.1:3) More:http://www.christiantoday.com/article/emergency.budget.draws.mixed.reaction.from.christians/26157-2.htm
Moldova: Proclaiming the Gospel through sports.
This office received news of ‘Sports Ministry’ that is evangelising young people in closed countries. ‘Let me share news from a Christian ministry we are doing in Moldova through a sports club. We have 32 instructors teaching annually over 1500 students in Moldova, Afghanistan, Pakistan and United Arab Emirates. The first hour of the ‘sports’ training is inductive bible study and during 13 years many accepted Christ and are active in their churches and in the ministry in their own countries. As the founder and president of the sports club I examine all the students when they take their tests. At a recent exam in Moldavia for 30 students and their parents, reported that they seriously studied the Word as well as developing in the sport.’ The BBC reported world football has a generation of players bringing God onto the pitch, such as the Brazilian player Kaka who celebrates victories by revealing a T-shirt saying, ‘I Belong to Jesus’. Fifa would rather religion stayed out of football. Praise: God for ‘hidden’ ministries in the world, and ask Him to send out more workers into the sports harvest fields. (Mt.9:37)
Moldova: Proclaiming the Gospel through sports.
This office received news of ‘Sports Ministry’ that is evangelising young people in closed countries. ‘Let me share news from a Christian ministry we are doing in Moldova through a sports club. We have 32 instructors teaching annually over 1500 students in Moldova, Afghanistan, Pakistan and United Arab Emirates. The first hour of the ‘sports’ training is inductive bible study and during 13 years many accepted Christ and are active in their churches and in the ministry in their own countries. As the founder and president of the sports club I examine all the students when they take their tests. At a recent exam in Moldavia for 30 students and their parents, reported that they seriously studied the Word as well as developing in the sport.’ The BBC reported world football has a generation of players bringing God onto the pitch, such as the Brazilian player Kaka who celebrates victories by revealing a T-shirt saying, ‘I Belong to Jesus’. Fifa would rather religion stayed out of football. Praise: God for ‘hidden’ ministries in the world, and ask Him to send out more workers into the sports harvest fields. (Mt.9:37)
Saints on the street
Baptist churches have been encouraged to set aside a number of Sundays each year to get out into their neighbourhoods and meet people who would not normally come to church. The future president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Revd Chris Duffett has launched an evangelistic project called Saints on the Street (St St). 'As the vast majority of people in the UK do not go to church, St St projects take church to the vast majority,' he explained. 'Our hope is that St St may become a vision for Baptist churches in the UK to set aside some Sundays in the year where the morning service is used to engage with people who wouldn't consider going to church.' Recently he invited shoppers in Peterborough to walk along a VIP red carpet to give them the message that God thinks they are 'Very Important People'. Forty copies of Mark's Gospel were given away. Praise: that this Baptist outreach may be effective in bringing the good news to the unchurched. (Isa. 52:7)
Saints on the street
Baptist churches have been encouraged to set aside a number of Sundays each year to get out into their neighbourhoods and meet people who would not normally come to church. The future president of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Revd Chris Duffett has launched an evangelistic project called Saints on the Street (St St). 'As the vast majority of people in the UK do not go to church, St St projects take church to the vast majority,' he explained. 'Our hope is that St St may become a vision for Baptist churches in the UK to set aside some Sundays in the year where the morning service is used to engage with people who wouldn't consider going to church.' Recently he invited shoppers in Peterborough to walk along a VIP red carpet to give them the message that God thinks they are 'Very Important People'. Forty copies of Mark's Gospel were given away. Praise: that this Baptist outreach may be effective in bringing the good news to the unchurched. (Isa. 52:7)
Israel: Gaza Strip blockade eased
Israel has announced it will ease its blockade of the Gaza Strip and allow more civilian goods to enter the Palestinian territory. It comes amid growing international pressure to end the embargo. An Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla attempting to break the naval blockade of Gaza last month was widely condemned. Israel and Egypt tightened the blockade after the Islamist Hamas movement took control of Gaza in 2007. The decision to ease the land blockade, agreed by Israel's security cabinet after a two-day meeting, will see the expansion of the number of products Israel will allow into Gaza via border crossing points. The naval blockade will remain in place. The only item singled out in an Israeli government statement is a plan to allow in construction materials for civilian projects, but only under international supervision. Pray: for an easing of the tensions between the Palestinians and Israelis, and that Gazans would have all they need to rebuild their communities. (Pr.12:20) More: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/10338199.stm
USA: Hamas leader’s Christian son faces deportation
Masab Hassan Yousef, the son of a prominent Hamas leader who became a Christian is facing a deportation hearing on June 30 in San Diego because the U.S. Government views him as ‘a threat to America’s national security.’ Yousef, 32, authored the globally circulated book ‘Son of Hamas’ in which he recalls embracing Christianity and working as a secret agent for Israeli intelligence for over a decade to halt ‘terrorist attacks throughout Israel.’ Israeli officials have not commented on the case. The book was published this year, resulting in television appearances on American network shows. Yousef sought political asylum in the US but was told last February he was ‘barred from a grant of asylum because there were ‘reasonable grounds’ for believing he was ‘a danger to the security of the United States.’ Pray: for God to protect Yousef and provide a safe haven for him to put down his roots. (Ps.121:3) More: http://www.worthynews.com/8288-hamas-leaders-christan-son-faces-deportation-from-u-s
Somalia: Family abuses girl for leaving Islam
The tiny, shaken Christian community in Gedo Region reports that a Muslim family shackles their 17 year old daughter to a tree by day and puts her in a small dark room at night because she converted to Christianity. Anonymous source said, ‘When the woman’s family found out that she converted to Christianity she was beaten badly but insisted on her new-found religion.’ Her parents took her to a doctor who prescribed medication for a ‘mental illness'. Traditionally Somalis believe the Quran cures the sick especially the mentally ill so Islamic scripture is continually recited to her twice a week. ‘The girl is very sick and undergoing intense suffering. There is little the community can do about her condition but I have advised our community leader to keep monitoring her condition, but not to meddle for their own safety.’ Pray: that the faith of this young lady would continue to uphold her and that God would release her from this oppression. (Heb.13:13)
Kenya: Blasts at Christian prayer rally
Church leaders in Kenya are holding the government responsible for two explosions at a constitution prayer rally in Nairobi where seven people died and nearly 100 were injured on 13 June. The church leaders have been campaigning for a ‘No’ vote against a proposed draft constitution and condemned the attack as an affront to the Christian faith. They sent their condolences to the families of those who had died. ‘Having been informed over and over that the passage of the new constitution is a government project, we are left with no doubt the the government, either directly or indirectly, had a hand in this attack. Who else in this country holds explosives?’ said the Rev. Peter Karanja, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Kenya. ‘We therefore hold the government and the ‘Yes’ team responsible for the attack and the blood that was shed.’ said Karanja. Pray: against the enemy that seeks to de-stabilise and for the Christians to stand firm and not be intimidated. (Pr.18:17)
Kyrgyzstan: Tense after ethnic fighting
Kyrgyz troops patrolled burnt-out streets of the city of Osh to maintain a fragile peace between ethnic groups following days of fierce fighting. Mainly Muslim Kyrgyzstan has been on edge since a revolt in April toppled the president of the ethnically divided Central Asian country and brought an interim government to power. Clashes between its main ethnic groups, Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, erupted in the south on June 10 and escalated into the deadliest violence in the former Soviet republic in 20 years. At least 179 people have been killed, mainly in Osh and nearby Jalalabad. The violence has subsided in past days but a constitutional referendum expected next week may reignite tensions. The son of the deposed president was arrested in Farnborough having flown from Kyrgyzstan to the UK in a private jet. The interim government is seeking his extradition, accusing him of funding this latest violence. STOP PRESS: Kyrgyz Christians are already risking extra hostility for protecting Uzbek believers in the midst of the violent ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan. This morning (16 June) a pastor in Kyrgyzstan told Barnabas Fund that threats are now being voiced against Christians - rather than simply against a particular ethnic group. Barnabusfund Pray: that the fragile peace in Kyrgyzstan would continue and that the referendum would bring stability. (Pr.29:4)