Fifty years after a Lutheran pastor set himself ablaze in a public square to protest communist oppression of the church, German Christians remember a man whose act reverberated through East Germany and beyond.
After a grueling travel journey we can get to our destination and not actually feel welcome. So it can be with arriving at a church. A sign can welcome people to a building but only people can welcome people into a community. Jesus was extraordinary at making people feel welcome.
The controlled use of fire helped develop our humanity. Gathering around fires for warmth and storytelling, singing, teaching, and spiritual rituals became a metaphor for inspiration, spirit, and knowledge. Fire extended human activity into the night with profound implications for learning, productivity and culture. It is worthy of awe.
When we touch earth, we are touching something deeply ancient, deeply alive. It may seem solid and lifeless, but scoop up a handful of dirt and you have a living substance. And without gravity, nothing would stay in place. Let us not lose the wonder of the free gifts God has given to all the Earth.
One of the saddest things about growing older is not the wrinkles on our faces; it’s the wonder we sometimes lose from our hearts. The same is true the longer we follow Jesus. Familiarity is one of faith’s greatest thieves. For the sake of the gospel and the vitality of our own faith, let us hold on to wonder as we walk in the world that is still full of God.
An insurance company in England has ordered a Christian motorist to remove “Jesus Loves You” and “Jesus Loves You V Much” stickers from his car or face invalidation of his policy,.
More than 3,300 teenagers and adults from Europe, the United States, and South Korea gathered in Offenburg, Germany, last week for TeenStreet 2026, an annual Christian youth conference organized by Operation Mobilisation.
A business tycoon with political ambitions is planning to build the world’s tallest statue of Jesus Christ in his home country of Armenia.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has promised “action” in redressing the evils of the historic transatlantic slave trade.
The new British Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, has indicated that assisted dying legislation should not be debated in Parliament yet, arguing that social care and palliative care need to be “fixed” first.
As debates rage across Europe over attempts by some countries to introduce assisted dying laws, Latvia’s first hospice day center for palliative care has been hailed as a success, raising hopes of a national roll-out.
The doors of some small churches in Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous archipelago of Tanzania, have been broken, Bibles scattered and congregations left shaken. Yet Christians in several Muslim-majority communities continue to gather for worship despite fears of further attacks and growing social pressure.
