Just before penning his now-famous advice to the Corinthians about the weapons of our warfare, Paul confessed, “Indeed, we live as human beings” (2 Cor. 10:3, NRSV). This seems like an obvious admission. But Paul’s words here contain perhaps a reality we Christians don’t like to concede. Yes, we live as humans, and so, we all deal with human things from time to time: struggles, temptations and weaknesses. Issues to which, on this side of eternity, none of us are completely…
(PHOTO: DENNIS LENNOX)One of the many church monuments in Great St. Helen’s Church, Bishopsgate.
London is full of historic churches that await your discovery.
Yes, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey are the most famous, but there are dozens of other churches with both interesting architecture and rich history.
Many people are not familiar with these churches. They mostly belong to the Church of England (Anglican), but others are Roman Catholic. Some are even London outposts of foreign churches — like the Church of Sweden.
Here are three churches to visit the next time you are in London:
Great St. Helen’s Church, Bishopsgate
Great St. Helen’s Church has a history dating back to the early 13th century. It survived the ensuing centuries, including the Great Fire of 1666 and the German bombings of World War II, only to be heavily damaged by IRA terrorists in the early 1990s.
In addition to its unusual double nave — originally, one was used by Benedictine nuns while the other was the parish church for this part of the City of London — St. Helen’s, Bishopgate has an impressive collection of church monuments scattered across its poorly reordered interior.
Church of St. James, Garlickhythe
Sir Christopher Wren designed the present-day St. James, Garlickhythe after the medieval church was lost in the Great Fire of 1666. His work was saved from annihilation during World War II when a 500-pound German bomb that crashed through the roof failed to explode.
The interior here is the big draw. Perhaps the finest feature is the superb 17th century double-decker pulpit, which…
An Amtrak passenger train collided with a CSX freight train in South Carolina on Sunday, killing at least two people and injuring at least 70, the South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD) reported.
The train with 139 passengers and eight crew members aboard was traveling between New York and Miami when it collided with the freight train…
(Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad)A footbridge leads from the Western Wall to the compound known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem’s Old City June 2, 2015. Picture taken June 2, 2015.
An indigenous Arab Christian from Jerusalem is connecting Western Christians with believers in the Middle East in a new book to help them understand the moments leading up to Jesus’ death and the Gospel through an ancient near Eastern lens.
In One Friday in Jerusalem: Walking to Calvary – A Tour, a Faith, a Life, author Andre Moubarak, 42, who hails from the Old City of Jerusalem and can trace his roots back to the ancient city to before the time of Christ, takes readers on a journey through The Stations of the Cross, the successive moments beginning with Pilate’s condemnation of Jesus all the way up to His crucifixion and burial.
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(Photo: Courtesy of Andre Moubarak)One Friday in Jerusalem: Walking to Calvary – a Tour, a Faith, a Life
Moubarak grew up on the Via Dolorosa, which means “Way of Sorrows,” the street in Jerusalem widely believed to be the path that Jesus walked carrying His cross on the way to be crucified.
“[Life] was never boring,” the author recounted of his childhood, “because you meet people from all over the world.”
Last year, they helped finish New Testament translations in 104 languages.
But the CEO, Bruce Smith, said in a statement: “As miraculous as 2017 has been, I am praying 2018 will be even more astonishing,”
Smith explained in a statement how they’ve managed to progress global access to God’s Word: “New strategies, methods, tools, and resources are empowering the local church and Christians to translate God’s Word into more languages than at any time in world history.”
He added: “Our MAST [Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation] strategy is building momentum. Word is spreading. Even people living in areas of intense persecution, violence, or danger, now have hope.”
Wycliffe Associates developed a strategy in 2014 called MAST (Mobilized Assistance Supporting Translation) which speeds up the process of translation from what was years, to months or even weeks.
The ‘MAST’ strategy involves running translation workshops worldwide and accuracy-checking processes as well as providing technology such as tablets which not only have translation software but also mean groups can translate discretely where they are not allowed.
Speaking of how these have directly helped the spread of God’s Word, Smith said: “They’re pleading for our innovative technology so they can translate God’s Word for themselves.”
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REUTERS/LUCY NICHOLSONA woman is seen here putting on an earlier version of the Oculus virtual reality headset during the 2014 LA Auto Show.
Virtual reality, which can easily allow churches to have global presence and foster diversity and inclusiveness, is far more enabling than live-streaming, which numerous megachurches are currently using to conduct multi-site worship services. So are we going to see a rise of VR churches in the near future as the technology becomes cheaper and more accessible?
“Attend a real church in virtual reality,” says the website of a VR church established by Los Angeles, California-based Pastor D.J. Soto and whose mission is “to explore and communicate God through virtual reality, augmented reality, and next generation technologies.”
Soto, the owner of Sonata 7 Studios, LLC. which is a film production and virtual reality company, quit his job as a pastor at a branch of his local megachurch in Reading, Pennsylvania, a few years ago with a burden to reach out to people in unusual places. He and his wife even sold their home and most of their belongings and moved with their five young children into a 30-foot trailer.
His journey soon took him to virtual reality as the vehicle of his dream. However, as Pastor Soto spoke about his vision with…
CBN said in a statement that he had an embolic stroke and that after being given tPA, a drug that breaks down blood clots, he “was awake and responsive and able to move all of his limbs.”
They added that: “He should be discharged from the hospital on Monday at the latest.”
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Fast Facts: Philadelphia Baptist Church traces it roots back to 1773, when a landowner wanted to have a church for his family and those in the area. The church building is in its third location, but all have been within about 2 miles of its original location. The church currently uses a food pantry, a clothes closet, a bus ministry, and a sewing ministry to reach into its community. Teams also travel to Honduras for a medical/dental mission almost every year and to Virginia each year at Christmas for a backpack ministry. The church’s vision comes from a statement made by a deacon in the past: “We have been here a long time. We must decide if we are going to be a landmark in this community or a lighthouse to this community.” That statement has become a part of the DNA at Philadelphia. Please pray that they will be a lighthouse and not a landmark.
“Pray for . . .” is the Sunday blog series at ThomRainer.com. We encourage you to pray for these churches noted every Sunday. Please feel free to comment that you are praying as well.
The special rapporteurs, who are part of the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, said in a joint statement:
“We are deeply concerned by the long jail sentences imposed at a previous hearing on Pastor Victor Bet Tamraz, Amin Afshar Naderi and Hadi Asgari for allegedly ‘conducting evangelism’ and ‘illegal house church activities’, and similar charges that.”
The four rapporteurs, Mr. Ahmed Shaheed, Ms. Asma Jahangir, Fernand de Varennes, and Mr. Dainius Pūras are part of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.
They added: “We strongly call on the Government to ensure that the final review hearing on Sunday is fair and transparent, in accordance with Iran’s obligations under international human rights law.”
The three Christians were initially given prison sentences of 10 years at a hearing in July. Mr Naderi received an additional five years for blasphemy.
They added that they are concerned with the lack of healthcare available to the men as well as the worry that this is not an isolated incident: “We are aware of several other reported cases in which members of the Christian minority have received heavy sentences after being charged with ‘threatening national security’, either for converting people or for attending house churches,” they said.
They went on to speak of a disturbing pattern in the…
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