Lauren Daigle first ever female artist to be top 10 of both Christian and secular pop chart

The American artist’s song ‘You Say’ has reached number 34 in the Billbard top 40 in the US and has already spent 17 weeks at number one in the Christian Airplay chart.

The Christian chart tends to move less frequently but Daigle’s single has the longest running reign in the category’s history since it began 16 years ago.

However, it is in the ‘Adult pop songs’ chart that ‘You Say’ is at number 9 and has been in the chart for 14 weeks, making her the only female artist ever to be in the top 10 of both at the same time.

Only The Fray’s song ‘How To Save A Life’ has reached the same kind of widespread audience when they charted in 2006-7.

Lauren Daigle’s album ‘Look Up Child’ has remained number one of the Christian album chart for 15 weeks.

The singer received some criticism for her response to being asked about homosexuality last year but often gets praised for appealing to both Christians and non-Christians.

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

Business Boots Mom for Wearing Shirt with Definition of ‘Woman’

Business Boots Mom for Wearing Shirt with Definition of ‘Woman’



A young mother was kicked out of a United Kingdom pub in recent days after a patron complained that her t-shirt – which listed the definition of “woman” – was offensive.


Rebekah Wershbale, 34, entered the pub wearing a black t-shirt emblazoned with the words: “Woman. Noun. Adult human female.”  


An employee at Five Clouds Tap and Bottle asked her to leave, saying she wasn’t welcome because her shirt was transphobic. The pub is located in Macclesfield. 


“She told me that the t-shirt I was wearing was upsetting people because it was transphobic and not inclusive so I was barred,” Wershbale told the Daily Mail newspaper. “What she meant was that I was somehow offending men who say they are women because my t-shirt did not include them in the definition of a woman. There aren’t even any transgender staff or patrons at the pub.”


Wershbale supports Fair Play For Women, a group that opposes reforms to the Gender Recognition Act. The government is considering overhauling the act to allow people to change their gender to the one they self-identity. Doing this, Wershbale believes, “could put women’s safety at risk by allowing men who say they are female access to women-only spaces,” the newspaper reported.


David Davies, a member of Parliament, supports the mom and said the shutting down of free speech is “now spreading from our…

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

‘You could feel his pain’, prayers encouraged as Andy Murray announces retirement

He fought back tears as he announced he would retire this year, possibly after his next match.

 

He admitted difficulties in playing with a recurring hip problem but said he hopes to make Wimbledon in the summer, though he could not confirm that would be the case.

He’s been hailed as a “legend” by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon while rival Rafa Nadal says the Scot doesn’t know how much he’ll be missed.

PA

 

Sports chaplain Carolyn Skinner who runs an outreach ministry at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships was one of millions who’ve watched his difficult press conference this morning,

Speaking to Premier, she said: “Watching it was heartbreaking – you could see how much it meant for him.

“Like many others I’ve grown to love watching him and seeing his personality come through.

“You could feel his pain, that heartache.”

PA

 

Calling on Christians to pray for him and other sports stars, she said: “It’s good to pray for people in the sporting world and particularly for their sense of identity and purpose.

“Obviously their sport is incredibly important to them, but pray they will discover who they are in Christ and that God has a purpose for them which is bigger.”

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

33 Vietnamese Christians Are Attacked, Raided after They Refuse to Worship Buddha

33 Vietnamese Christians Are Attacked, Raided after They Refuse to Worship Buddha



33 Vietnamese Christians were terrorized by government officials after they refused to worship Buddha. 


According to International Christian Concern, Hmong Christians in Phá Lóm village, Tam Hợp commune, Nghệ An province were given an ultimatum by officials – renounce Jesus or face consequences. 


Pastor Hoang Van Pa told the ICC that four of the Christians were beaten and arrested and the village was raided three times, twice in November and then again at the beginning of December. 


After the raids, the ICC reports that authorities from the Vietnamese Interdisciplinary Inspection Team put 33 of the Christian’s in the community on public trial where they were asked to “abandon their religion and worship the Buddha statue instead.” 


According to Mr. Dzung of the IIT, refusing to denounce Protestantism and convert to Buddhism will result in the expulsion from Vietnam. 


CBN News reports that early last year, the Vietnamese government passed legislation which gave the communist government greater control over religious practices in the country. 


The outlet reports that of the one million Hmong people in Vietnam, around 300,000 of them are Christians, many of whom have faced various forms of persecution including, “exclusion, harassment, discrimination, loss of property and even violent attack.”


Photo courtesy: Unsplash/Ashim D….

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

Proposed statue of Jesus set to eclipse world’s tallest

Eduardo Verástegui Córdoba, who is also a pro-life campaigner, has proposed a monument called ‘The Christ of Peace’ which would measure 77 metres in height (252 feet).

Organisers say it would stand as “a message of faith, love, hope, and peace” in Ciudad Victoria the capital of Tamaulipas – considered one of Mexico’s most violent states.

 

On completion, the statue would eclipse the Christ the King landmark (pictured above) in Swiebodzin, western Poland which is currently the tallest statue of Jesus in the world (52.5 metres high).

It would also be taller than the famous Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (pictured below).

The bellman/Wikimedia Commons

 

According to the Catholic Church, construction will get underway in early 2019. It is uncertain how much the project will cost or who will foot the bill.

Fernando Romero, whose company conceived Mexico City airport, is designing the figure – which will depict Christ with outspread arms.

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

Chris Pratt Is Doing the Daniel Fast, Encourages His Fans to ‘Check it Out’

Chris Pratt Is Doing the Daniel Fast, Encourages His Fans to ‘Check it Out’



An outspoken Christian, actor Chris Pratt took to Instagram this week to tell his followers that he is doing the Daniel Fast. 


The Guardians of the Galaxy actor said in an Instagram story, “Hi, Chris Pratt here. Day three of the Daniel Fast, check it out. It’s 21 days of prayer and fasting.”


The fasting plan based on the Old Testament fasting of the prophet Daniel takes participants on a 21-day prayer and fasting experience that aims to bring participants closer to God, the Daniel Fast website says. 


TODAY reports that Pratt, who is staring in the upcoming Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, is participating in the Daniel Fast while also preparing for the movie’s press junket. 


Pratt joked in his Instagram story, “It’s going to coincide also, coincidentally, with the Lego Movie 2 junket, so by the time you see me I’ll probably be hallucinating.” “Stay tuned,” he quipped.


The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part is set to hit U.S. theaters on February 8. 


Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Handouts

… Read More

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.

قالب وردپرس

How to Deal with the Constant Critic in Your Church

Podcast Episode #501

SUBSCRIBE:
iTunes • RSS • Stitcher • TuneIn Radio • Google Play • iHeart Radio • Spotify

Critics are real in the church. And for many pastors, they are incessant. Today, we discuss how to deal with the constant critic in your church.

Some highlights from today’s episode include:

  • Praying for a critic not only can change a critic’s heart, but can change your heart toward the critic.
  • Our goal in resolving conflict should be reconciliation and restoration, not revenge and retribution.
  • Too many pastors try to satisfy the most negative people in the church and end up ignoring the rest of the church.
  • If you’re a leader, you can expect criticism.

The seven steps we discuss are:

  1. Pray for him or her.
  2. Request a meeting to attempt reconciliation.
  3. Help him or her to re-dream the dream.
  4. Ignore the critic.
  5. Recognize it is a reality of leadership.
  6. Ask others to help.
  7. Exercise church discipline on rare occasions.

Resources mentioned in today’s podcast


Episode Sponsors

The ministry landscape is changing, and the need for biblical training is more necessary than ever. It’s time to get your Master of Divinity degree. The M.Div —Midwestern Seminary’s flagship degree program — is the primary track for ministry preparation. At just 81 hours, the Midwestern M.Div offers a complete foundation for full-time ministry leaders, offering everything you need, and nothing you don’t. Join other students in vibrant Kansas City as you train in a unique collaborative environment…

… Read More

—

Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.

قالب وردپرس

Jeff Bezos’ affair: The largest divorce settlement in history?

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has reportedly been dating an actress and helicopter pilot named Lauren Sanchez for four months. The problem is, Bezos has been married to his wife, MacKenzie, for twenty-five years.

Yesterday, the two announced their plans to divorce. Bezos is worth $137 billion. Since the couple has no prenuptial agreement, their divorce settlement may be the largest in history.

In other news, officials have determined that a sinkhole that cost $75 million to fix was caused by human error.

Water was released too quickly into sewage pipes, eventually causing the ground to collapse into a sinkhole that grew to 100 feet wide and 250 feet long. Nearly two dozen homes in a neighborhood north of Detroit were evacuated; a major roadway was closed for almost a year for repairs.

We may not see the consequences of our sins today, but that makes them no less dangerous.

We must not be “outwitted by Satan”

The Lord warned Adam that he must not eat of the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” for “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17).

However, Adam did not die on the day he ate from the forbidden fruit. In fact, he lived for a total of 930 years (Genesis 5:5). For many centuries, he might have wondered if God’s warning would come to pass.

A delay in the consequences of sin can tempt us to sin further. Many of our sins are committed in the belief that no one will know, that we will get away with this. The longer we sin without apparent consequences, the more emboldened we become.

This is because we misunderstand the nature of sin and its results.

The Hebrew word translated “die” in Genesis 2 refers to physical and spiritual death. Such death began for Adam the day of his sin. It led to his separation from God (Genesis 3:22-24) and a life of suffering in a fallen world (vv. 17-19) before culminating in his physical death.

Sin can harm the sinner in ways we don’t see. If I slowly turn down the…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.

قالب وردپرس

Evangelical Alliance appoints first female Wales director

Siân Rees, who is originally from Aberystwyth, is also joining the UK-wide leadership team of the EA – the largest and oldest group seeking to draw together the country’s evangelicals.

She said: “I am passionate about equipping, releasing and championing others to become all that God has created them to be.

 

“I’m excited to be taking up this role and believe that the Evangelical Alliance is uniquely placed at this time to envision, unite and mobilise churches and Christians across Wales and the UK in order to extend the kingdom of God.”

Siân Rees has most recently been leading the performing arts department of a North Wales secondary school. Previously, she undertook a sabbatical studying at Hillsong International Leadership College in Sydney.

Evangelical Alliance

 

Steve Clifford, general director of the Evangelical Alliance, said: “We are delighted to welcome Siân Rees as our new director of the Evangelical Alliance in Wales and member of the UK leadership team.

“Siân is a first language Welsh speaker who lives with a passion to see the church in Wales rise to the challenge of making Jesus known to the diverse communities which make up the nation.

Evangelical Alliance

 

“Siân brings wide experience both inside and outside the Christian community, and we are looking forward to benefiting from all she will bring…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس

DR Congo’s powerful Catholic Church challenges official election result

Leaders said an announcement of Felix Tshisekedi’s (pictured above) victory did not reflect the findings of their 40,000 observers who monitored results posted at each polling station.

The secretary general of DCR’s Catholic Church would not reveal who won the vote but, according to diplomats briefed on the results, rival opposition candidate Martin Fayulu won by a comfortable margin.

 

Donatien Nshole also called for peace as he urged those challenging the official announcement – which had previously been delayed – to do so without violence and within the country’s legal framework.

While backers of Mr Tshisekedi took to the streets of the capital Kinshasa in celebration (pictured below), supporters of Mr Fayulu denounced the result as fraudulent.

AP Photo/Jerome Delay

 

According to observers and diplomats, DRC’s outgoing President Joseph Kabila seems to have reached a deal with Mr Tshisekedi to stop Mr Fayulu (pictured below) – an outspoken critic of corruption – from winning.

Speaking earlier this week, a Kinshasa-based worker from the Catholic aid charity CAFOD told Premier a fraudulent result could trigger unrest in DRC.

AP Photo/Jerome Delay

 

Bernard Balibuno said: “We are really afraid that, if the person who is announced the winner is not what the people have voted for, this may create issues in the county.”

Click here to listen to Premier’s Alex Williams…

… Read More

—

Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.

قالب وردپرس