This year's Alliance Prayer Week revolves around hope and focusing on Jesus Christ, according to the German-speaking evangelical alliances in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Together, they launched a prayer brochure to provide inputs for devotionals during the annual prayer week, held this year from Jan. 12 to 19.
The screen dopamine snare is an epidemic among children who are provided access to smart phones and other portable smart devices. Research suggests numerous negative impacts but it will be some time before we have definitive findings. Much harm could be done in the meantime, however, to children's well-being and to their faith as they enter adulthood. We know enough now to make changes, but will it be too little too late?
It is not unusual to be triggered by an opinion or comments in mainstream or social media that we feel strongly against. The relatively anonymous nature of the internet feeds the urge to respond with a strong corrective. If we think we are representing Christianity well in this way, we do well to pause and think again, informed by these insights from an Evangelical political commentator in the United Kingdom.
Cultural Christians are those who embrace the ethics of Christianity that formed the foundation of Western society, which has brought a great deal of benefit to the world. They are convinced of the Christian message but not committed to the Christian Lord. In his first opinion for Christian Daily International, J.John says that Cultural Christianity provides wonderful opportunities for sharing the gospel.
Reputation is something highly prized by the world and those with a public reputation work hard to protect it. The Lively/Baldoni saga is a case in point. From Hollywood to tribal honor cultures, reputation is highly valued. It is the world's pearl of great price, but Jesus considers us his pearl and sacrificed everything including his reputation to purchase it, setting the bar for his followers to sacrifice similarly so that we may thrive.
The U.K. Health Secretary has made existing emergency measures banning puberty-suppressing hormones (blockers) “indefinite” for children aged under 18, following the official advice of medical experts. A press release from the Department of Health and Social Care published yesterday (Dec. 11) confirmed that both the sale and supply of the puberty blockers via private prescriptions to treat gender dysphoria and/or gender incongruence for youngsters not already taking them is no longer allowed.
The U.K. Parliament’s recent approval of assisted dying has apparently been mirrored to a certain extent in Ireland where a final report (March 2024) by the Oireachtas [National Parliament] Joint Committee on Assisted Dying recommended “that the government introduces legislation allowing for assisted dying, in certain restricted circumstances.”
Tributes have been paid to “dedicated and visionary leader” Peter Rowan (1967-2024), co-national director of Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF) U.K., part of OMF International, who died in the company of his family after a brave battle with cancer on Monday, Dec. 9. An OMF tribute on its website said that Rowan’s contributions to the missionary organization, which is based in Sevenoaks, Kent, England with an evangelism focus on East Asia, and the global church generally, had been “immeasurable
The solidarity artists' platform DTProject, in collaboration with Diaconia Spain, has presented Valientes, an audiovisual work that explores the complex and painful reality of human trafficking from an artistic and human perspective. Supported by over 120 volunteers and the testimonies of 10 women survivors, this project weaves a compelling narrative.
Christian leaders in Russia are concerned about a bill introduced in parliament that would ban religious services in residential complexes, a publication based in Germany reported.
A Swiss mother and father are “heartbroken” and face criminal charges unless they hand over identity documents to verify their estranged teenage daughter’s “sex change” identity and gender transition as a male, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (Schweizerisches Bundesgericht) ruled.
Frank Heinrich is stepping down as co-leader of the Evangelische Allianz in Deutschland (Evangelical Alliance in Germany, or EAD) after two and a half years in the role, the national alliance announced following a farewell event Wednesday.
