Extinction Rebellion members said the 400 litres of red paint “represented that of today’s children – who will suffer the effects of climate change the worst”.
Roughly 400 demonstrators, including children, staged the protest alongside Christian Climate Action members, while police stood by without making any arrests.
Holly-Anna Petersen, 30, from London and a member of Christian Climate Action, described the scene: “Most of those present wept as children bravely took to a small podium in front of the crowds and used a portable microphone to speak out on all they stood to lose through climate change.
“One child came to tears herself when she reflected on the fact that she has been stripped of the chance to raise a family, because she refuses to bring children into a broken world.”
Rachael Mender, 21, along with fellow Christian Climate Action member James Staff, 19, also took to the podium and said: “It breaks Gods heart to see this happen…he really hates it.”
Protests in other town across the UK were also held by members of Christian Climate Action, which are one of a number of groups taking part in the Extinction Rebellion.
Police arrested 14 Extinction Rebellion activists who were protesting at an oil industry dinner at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh on Friday.
Washington State Tells Churches: Pay for Abortions or Break the Law
A church filed a federal lawsuit Friday against the state of Washington over a new law that forces it to cover abortions in its health care plans.
The law, SB 6219, passed the Democratic-controlled Washington legislature last year and was signed by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who recently announced he is running for president. The law requires insurance plans to cover abortion if they also cover maternity care. It has no religious exemptions.
Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) filed the suit on behalf of Cedar Park Assembly of God, a Kirkland, Wash., congregation. The suit claims the law violates the congregation’s constitutionally protected freedom of religion and displays hostility toward religious groups that oppose abortion.
“Washington’s attack on people of faith is intentional. It represents the kind of deliberate religious persecution that our country was founded to prevent,” the suit says. “… The strong statutory language, lack of any church exception, and anticipated evidence that pro-abortion groups assisted in drafting and enacting SB 6219, indicates that Washington and its officials deliberately targeted religious organizations and intentionally violated those organizations’ religious beliefs.”
Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice Washington helped draft the bill before it was signed, according to the suit.
The Department for Education hopes the move will provide tailored support to help more children thrive.
Clive Ireson, director of ACT told Premier the move would give parents more choice.
“It will in some cases give a choice to parents where they feel their child is missing out or failing perhaps in mainstream school,” he said.
“If one of these new 37 special free schools is set up somewhere near them, it may be that they have an opportunity to go there and receive some specialist supervision.”
Every region in the country will benefit from a new school, which include 37 special free schools and two alternative provision free schools.
It follows a commitment from the Education Secretary Damian Hinds (below) to give the green light to all high-quality special free school bids last December when he announced an additional £250m for local authorities for their high needs budget.
Hinds said in a statement: “Parents rightly want choice of where their child goes to school and to know that the education and support they receive will ignite that spark of potential that exists in all of us, so they can go on and succeed?
“We want every school to be a school for children with special educational needs and disabilities. That’s why we are investing significant funding into Special Education Needs units attached to mainstream…
China Tears Down Church’s Cross, Arrests Members, Raises Chinese Flag
Chinese officials arrested a pastor and three of his church members last month after they objected to the forced removal of a cross on church property.
All four are members of Zhongxin Church in the province of Henan. The action was part of a widespread crackdown on Christianity across Henan that often has included the removal of crosses, sometimes with cranes, China Aid and International Christian Concern (ICC) reported.
In recent years, Chinese officials have removed crosses from an estimated 4,000 churches in Henan.
Pastor Li Juncai, along with church members Wu Raoyun, Bai Yun and Ma Yanfang were arrested and charged with “disrupting public service” after they stood against the forced removal of the church’s cross. Government officials installed a flagpole in place of the cross to fly the Chinese flag.
The 700-member Zhongxin Church formerly was part of the Three-Self -sanctioned Protestant movement. It withdrew in 2013, according to ICC.
Four days after the pastor and church members were arrested, government officials returned to tear down the cross. They pushed away protesters, including the elderly.
“They hit people! The law enforcement hit people and drove the elderly away. They forcibly destroyed the lock and opened the gate. They are just like bandits,” one observer told International Christian Concern.
While the Chocolate eggs are plentiful – it’s claimed they could be the ingredient to solving Britain’s problems.
The project ShareTheMiracle is encouraging Christians to give eggs away to combat a growing sense of division in our communities.
Founder Dan Usher told Premier’s News Hour a small gesture can go a long way.
“We see the Easter egg as a catalyst to what we call little miracles,” he said. “The egg that starts a conversation with someone you wouldn’t ordinarily speak to. The egg that helps to put a dent in loneliness when a young person reaches out to an elderly member of their community, the possibilities are endless and we encourage everyone to get involved this Easter.”
Those looking to take part are being encouraged to work with their church to create a ShareTheMiracle Station
“There’s three simple steps,” Usher said. “The first one is you invite your church or school community or any other community group to donate chocolate eggs on the run up to Easter. Secondly, give them to those less fortunate in your local community. And thirdly, tell us what happened on social media to encourage and inspire others.”
Started in 2013, ShareTheMiracle has already impacted thousands of people.
Giving praise the Lord Mayor of Westminster said: “With the core purpose of encouraging acts of kindness, ShareTheMiracle brought…
Fatal Ethiopian Plane Crash Kills All 157 on Board
157 people were killed on Sunday when an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed into the ground and burst into flames.
According to the BBC, only minutes after taking off Sunday morning the pilot, Senior Captain Yared Getachew, radioed into air traffic control to see if he could return to the airport. Reportedly, Getachew noticed an issue with the plane – which was heading to Nairobi from Addis Ababa – and felt it was necessary to turn around. The veteran pilot was flying a Boeing 737 Max 8 jet – this is the second fatal crash involving this relatively new model of plane in five months.
According to the BBC, last October, a Lion Air Max 8 crashed only minutes after leaving the airport. The British news outlet reports that in Lion Air crash pilot reported issues with the “automated system designed to keep the plane from stalling.” According to reports, “the anti-stalling system repeatedly forced the plane’s nose down, despite efforts by the pilots to correct this.”
Like the most recent crash which left every passenger on board dead, the Lion Air crash also killed all 189 of its passengers. There is no evidence yet to suggest, however, that this is what caused the second Max 8 crash.
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told reporters, “Ethiopian Airlines is one of the safest airlines in the world. At this stage, we cannot rule out anything.”
I see a pattern developing in online churches. Perhaps it is a trend. The overall pattern is that online ministries of churches are becoming a strategic part of the overall church ministry. They are not viewed today as much as a separate congregation than as an entry point for people ultimately to connect to the physically-gathered church.
The new research is from Vanderbloemen, Pushpay, and Jay Kranda. All of the 176 churches participating in the study have an online church, so we are hearing from those who are presently very active in this ministry.
Definitions for the online church are evolving. Among those surveyed, the definition included an intentional effort to identify and minister to a group of people who are regularly viewing streaming services. The most common name for these digital gatherings were “online campuses” (36%) and “church online” (28%).
These churches typically had a person designated to lead these digital ministries, but the title of that person varied significantly. Only 16 percent of the churches surveyed had a full-time online ministry leader.
What are some of the key findings of this study? Here are nine insights:
The plurality of churches have a volunteer lead the online ministry. This ministry is led by a volunteer in about four of ten churches. Another 35 percent give the leadership to a full-time staff person who has other responsibilities.
The dominant broadcast method is live streaming. Among these churches, nine of ten congregations broadcast through…
Topic: First Response [Joyce Meyer Devotional 11 March 2019]
O God, You are my God; early I will seek You… — Psalm 63:1 (NKJV).
Sometimes I marvel at how long we can struggle in a situation before we think to talk to God about it and listen for His voice. We complain about our problems; we grumble; we murmur; we tell our friends; and we talk about how we wish God would do something about it.
We struggle with situations in our minds and in our emotions, while we often fail to take advantage of the simplest solution there is: prayer. But worse than that, we then make perhaps the most ridiculous statement known to man: “Well, I guess all I can do is pray.”
I am sure you have heard that before, and maybe you have even said it. We all have. We are all guilty of treating prayer as a last-ditch effort and saying things like, “Well, nothing else is working, so maybe we should pray.” Do you know what that tells me? It tells me that we really do not believe in the power of prayer as we should.
We carry burdens we do not need to bear—and life is much harder than it has to be—because we do not realize how powerful prayer is. If we did, we would talk to God and listen to what He says about everything, not as a last resort, but as a first response.
Prayer Starter: Father, I need You in every area of my life! Help me to talk to You about everything and make prayer a natural part of my life. In every situation, let prayer be my first response, not my last resort. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
The Daily Fountain Daily Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 11 March 2019 – Costly Assumptions
TOPIC: Costly Assumptions
READ: JOB 4:1-21
Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
“If one attempts a word with you, will you become weary? But who can withhold himself from speaking?
Surely you have instructed many, And you have strengthened weak hands.
Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, And you have strengthened the feeble knees;
But now it comes upon you, and you are weary; It touches you, and you are troubled.
Is not your reverence your confidence? And the integrity of your ways your hope?
7.“Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off?
Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity And sow trouble reap the same.
By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.
The roaring of the lion, The voice of the fierce lion, And the teeth of the young lions are broken.
The old lion perishes for lack of prey, And the cubs of the lioness are scattered.
12.“Now a word was secretly brought to me, And my ear received a whisper of it.
In disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men,
Fear came upon me, and trembling, Which made all my bones shake.
Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair on my body stood up.
It stood still, But I could not discern its appearance. A form was before my eyes; There was silence; Then I heard a voice saying:
17.‘Can a mortal be more righteous than God? Can a man be more pure than his Maker?
If He puts no trust in His servants, If He charges His angels with error,
How much more those who dwell in houses of clay, Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before a moth?
They are broken in pieces from morning till evening; They perish forever, with no one regarding.
Does not their own excellence go away? They die, even without wisdom.’
THE MESSAGE:
Job’s three friends visited him to sympathize with and comfort him over the trouble that came upon him. When they saw his situation, they mourned with him and remained speechless for seven days and seven nights. Finally, Eliphaz, one of them, broke the silence and made certain assumptions: the innocent and upright do not have trouble (verse 7); they that sow evil reap it (verse 8); mortals cannot be innocent before God their maker (verse 12).
In some cases of course, his assumptions may be true but not in Job’s case. To Eliphaz, Job’s suffering was as a result of his sins but the testimony of his life in verses 3-7 and Chapter 1:1 as a blameless man contradicts his assumptions.
Many a time, when brethren suffer as a result of sickness, horrible afflictions, etc., we quickly attribute such to sin. Though sin has a devastating effect, it is not responsible for every negative condition, as in the case of Job.
Let us therefore show brotherly affection to our troubled ones by praying for God’s mercy and intervention in their situations. Sometimes, costly assumptions are more painful than the trouble itself.
Prayer: Father, use me always to bring succour to troubled hearts.
Unveiling The Wonder Virtues In The Word! By David Oyedepo
Topic: Unveiling The Wonder Virtues In The Word!
Welcome to another exciting week! I believe you were blessed by the last teaching. Today, we shall focus on: Unveiling the Wonder Virtues in the Word!
We understand from Scriptures that a word from the Lord on any issue of life puts us in command of that issue. As it is written: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth (John 1:14). It takes a Word from the Lord to exercise authority (John 5:30). God’s Word is loaded with wonder genes, and when we are inoculated with them, we will begin to manifest the wonders that the Word carries. The Psalmist says: Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law (Psalm119:18). For instance, when you take a glass of water and ask a layman, “What is in that cup?” He will say, “It is water.” However, when you ask a chemistry student, he will likely tell you that it is a compound of hydrogen and oxygen in some percentages. That is because he has been given access to the knowledge of the chemical content of that colourless liquid. That is what the Word of God is like; it is loaded with some stuff and when the Holy Ghost leads us into them, we begin to experience the effect of those things in our lives. The Word of God has life; it is made up of genes, which energise the living capacity of the Word.
The Word is Illuminative: The Word has power to illuminate us and this empowers us to dominate darkness. When Jesus came, evil spirits fled at His appearance, because He carried light. Nothing threatens darkness like light. It is written: …All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world (John 1:1-4/9). The Word does not only enlighten us, we are also lighted by it. The Word of God is supernaturally illuminative. It has the capacity to illuminate us with divine light, so we can dominate every realm of darkness.
God’s Word is Genetic: The Bible says: …the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63). God’s Word contains life-quickening genes. Anything living has genes within it. Thus, God’s Word has life genes. The Word was made flesh (John 1:14). This goes further to establish the fact that God’s Word carries genes within it. So, God’s Word is genetic, with the ability to transform the life of anyone that encounters it.
God’s Word is Creative: When a Word from the Lord comes, it creates even what is not in existence. When God said, “Let there be light,” there was light. Everything God said, He saw. God’s Word is genetically creative; it can create brand new organs for the body. Whatever is not curable must be repairable and whatever is not repairable, must be replaceable. He said: …for I am the Lord that healeth thee (Exodus 15:26).
God’s Word is Prophetic: Every Word from the Scriptures is prophetic, which means that it has an assurance of delivery. This is called the more sure Word of prophecy. When God’s Word of prophecy comes, its fulfilment is guaranteed (2 Peter 1:21-22). God said: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it(Isaiah 55:11). When God says a thing, His integrity backs it up. Any Word spoken by God to us is ordained for fulfilment because it is prophetic in nature, except we do not believe it.
God’s Word is an Indestructible Seed: It takes the Word from God for anyone to truly take command of any issue of life. The Bible says: Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God (Luke 8:11).It is also written: So shall my word that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the things whereto I sent it (Isaiah 55:11; see also Matthew 24:35).
God’s Word is Medicinal: There are healing virtues in the Word, because there is a healing God in it, and His Word carries the same order of healing virtue in Him. It is written: He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions (Psalm 107:20). By medicinal, I mean, it contains therapeutic values. His Word brings healing to our spirit, soul and body. We cannot tap into the healing virtue of God until it is rooted in our minds and spirit. If our minds are overwhelmed by the truth, we are in control. We need to have an understanding of what the Word carries, and recognise that our total health is part of the virtues in the Word.
God’s Word is Surgical: It has the capacity to create our desired solutions. Examining the woman that was bent over in Luke 13:11-13, Jesus performed instant surgery on her and she was made straight that same hour. All He said was, “Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.” That brought about instant healing.
In summary, every time we approach God for His Word, we must understand that His Word carries all we need for our health and wholeness(John 1:1).It took God four days to create the fullness of the world; it took Him only one day to make man. Therefore, it will not take Him more than a day to repair or replace whatever is damaged in our lives. But, you must be born again. Are you born again? If you are not, this is an opportunity to do so. Simply say the following prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to You today. I am a sinner. Forgive me my sins. Cleanse me with Your precious Blood. Today, I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour. Thank You Jesus for saving me! Now, I know I am born again!”
For further reading, please get my books: Turnaround Power of the Word, The Force of Freedom, Walking in Dominion, Satan Get Lost, Born to Win and Fulfilling your Days. I invite you to come and fellowship with us at the Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, the covenant home of Winners. We have four services on Sundays, holding at 6:00 a.m., 7:50 a.m., 9:40 a.m., and 11:30 a.m. respectively. I know this teaching has blessed you.
Write and share your testimony with me through: Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, P.M.B. 21688, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria; or call 01-4548070, 01-4548280; or E-mail:[email protected]; Face book: www.facebook.com/davidoyedepoministries/; Twitter: @DavidOyedepoMin
David O. Oyedepo is a Nigerian Christian author, architect, preacher, and the founder and presiding bishop of the mega church, Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners’ Chapel
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