Displaying items by tag: Praise

Ashers Baking Company, a Christian bakery in Belfast which was sued by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and found guilty of discrimination by refusing to bake a cake supporting same-sex marriage, has reported record profits. These topped £1.5 million last year, an annual increase of more than £170,000. In 2014, the McArthur family who own and run Ashers turned down the cake order because they said the slogan on the cake conflicted with their Christian belief that marriage is between a man and a woman. The Equality Commission sued them, and the bakery lost the legal fight a year later. According to the Christian Institute, which is backing the company, the McArthur family is in the process of appealing to the UK Supreme Court.

On Sunday the Bring Back Our Girls Group (BBOG) applauded the federal government and security agencies on the release of 82 more Chibok girls. Their release was negotiated through the combined efforts of security agencies, the military, the Swiss government, the Red Cross, and local and international NGOs. 21 girls had been set free last October, and the government committed to rescuing the 113 girls who are still captive. A spokesperson for the Young Women Political Forum urged the ministry of women’s affairs and the ministry of health to work together to provide the girls and their parents with adequate psychological counselling. Pray that communities will accept these victims of rape, who are now mothers with babies and no husbands. See also the Prayer Alert world article 3.

Yesterday Hassan Abduraheem and Abdulmonem Abdumawla received a presidential pardon and were set free! Along with Kuwa Shamal and Petr Jasek, they were arrested in December 2015 and charged with espionage, inciting strife between communities, and other offences. In January they were each sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for espionage, and one year's imprisonment for inciting strife between communities and spreading rumours undermining the authority of the state. Since then they have been serving their sentences in prison while their lawyers appealed against the verdict. Kuwa was acquitted on 2 January, and Petr was pardoned on 26 February. While rejoicing at their release, pray also that it will signal a change of heart in the government’s attitude towards Christians generally.

A prayer leader writes: ‘Many were praying for safety and no attacks during the Easter days. NL was a medical student who got involved with Daesh in Hyderabad and married a terrorist. Three days before Easter they went to Lahore, intending to bomb a big church, but a relative informed the police, saying she was acting strangely. The police followed this lead, and there was a shootout with the couple. The husband was killed, but NL was taken alive. The church was safe. Also on a more spiritual theme, at the medical school in Hyderabad one girl who had attended our prayer seminars decided to start a 24/7 prayer group in Hyderabad with medical students attending. It has become so strong that women from the outside asked to join, and it now has 150+ members.’

United Christian Broadcasting (UCB) Prayerline is a confidential service available to anyone, whoever they are and whatever their background. Christian volunteers take phone calls and pray with the callers over issues they are facing. Premier Christian Radio also have a telephone lifeline; trained volunteers create a confidential, anonymous place for people to talk about and pray into whatever they wish, without judgment or rejection. They could be worried about losing jobs, young people who do not know what to do next, people needing prayer for healing, those with money worries or family worries, or those who want to know more about what God can do in their lives. These are not counselling or advice services; it’s all about prayer and asking God for help. See also

Pastor Paul, director of Bibles for Mideast, writes: ‘My risen Lord Jesus Christ has saved my life once again, and I praise and thank God for His unspeakable grace! Certainly, I am not worthy of it. The Assembly of Loving God Church of Bibles for Mideast started praying and fasting from 13 March to 2 April. As that period ended, over three thousand former Muslims were baptised in our churches in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The Lord enabled me to baptise many people during this time. Then three weeks later, when I was changing after an early-morning baptism, militants began stoning our group. Although we were injured, God protected us from much worse.’

Five hours of prayer every day, soup kitchens, sharing the Gospel with street people, impromptu guitar jams, amazing beards in the world of a Franciscan friary  - all these are featured in a BBC documentary, Friars on a Mission (available for another 19 days on iPlayer). This unique insight into the simple and missional lifestyle of five Franciscan friars in Bradford has testimonies from them and those they have helped. Brother Benedict - who was once promiscuous and heavily involved in drugs before having a life-changing encounter with God - enthuses in a thick Mancunian accent, ‘I’ll always be raving for Manchester, but I’m raving for the Lord.’ Tony, a homeless man, adds, ‘If it wasn’t for the friars, there is a very good possibility I’d be dead.’ Warmth, humility, and joy - not to mention an infectious sense of humour - radiate from them all.

Pastor Marcio Antonio stands at the pulpit in a one-room evangelical church built precariously above barbed wire fences and illegally hung electrical cables, exhorting his flock in a Brazilian favela to improve their morals. A former drug dealer in Cantagalo, an informally built hillside settlement where most residents lack official property rights, Pastor Antonio and his flock at the Assembly of God Church are part of a growing trend. Evangelical churches are expanding rapidly in Brazil, home to the world's largest Catholic community, especially in poor favelas. These communities, which developed from squatter settlements, often do not have the same services as formal Brazilian neighbourhoods in terms of healthcare, sanitation, transportation or formal property registration. ‘The government doesn't help us so God is the only option for the poor’, Pastor Antonio, 37, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation following his Sunday sermon.

During Theresa May’s Easter message, she talked about religious freedom and said people should be able to talk freely about their faith, including their faith in Jesus Christ. She urged everyone to uphold the country's ‘strong tradition’ of religious tolerance and freedom of speech. ‘We must continue to ensure that people feel able to speak about their faith, and that absolutely includes their faith in Christ. We must be mindful of Christians and religious minorities around the world who do not enjoy these same freedoms, but who practise their religion in secret and often in fear.’ She added, ‘People should be confident about Christianity's role in the country.’ Alastair Campbell, editor-at-large of the New European, said the prime minister should be careful about merging her faith with her politics.

For the first time ever, all the UK’s biggest supermarkets have stocked a religious-themed Easter egg. Out of 80 million eggs on sale in the UK, The Real Easter Egg is the first and only one to explain the real story of Easter. Morrisons, Sainsbury, Coop, Waitrose and Tesco have it on their shelves, though stock levels will vary. This egg is backed by church leaders, including the Archbishop of York. At first, all the supermarkets turned down the idea, but the Meaningful Chocolate Company, which manufactures the egg, sold over 250,000 through mail order. This year’s supermarket turn-around is a milestone. The manufacturers donate profits to Tradecraft Exchange, it is a Fairtrade egg, and it appeals to children and adults with its Easter story activity pack in the box.