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News in Brief, 26 April 2019

26 Apr 2019 General
News in Brief, 26 April 2019

A selection of the week's happenings for your prayers.

Society & Politics

  • RSE bill passes in House of Lords: The Government’s controversial pro-LGBTQ+ Relationship and Sex Education plans were passed in the upper house this week, though concerns were expressed that parental rights are being undermined. Read more here.
  • Brexit Party attracts widespread support: The new party, formed earlier this month and focusing its efforts on the upcoming European elections, is being led by Nigel Farage. Its candidates include business magnates, Tory defectors and former Tory MPs. Read more here and visit the Party’s website here.
  • Government pressuring NI to accept abortion: The Women and Equalities Committee, which includes no Northern Irish MPs, is calling for the law to be changed so that abortion is allowed in some circumstances, despite its own inquiry showing that 89% of the public are opposed to any changes. Read more here.
  • Church-run food bank usage at record high: Nearly 1.6 million supplies have been handed out in the last year, with a third going to children. The main reasons for food bank usage are benefits not covering the cost of living or not being paid on time. Read more here.

Church Issues

  • Quarter of a million to hear Gospel in Singapore: The era of mass evangelistic crusades is not over; six huge outreach events, entitled ‘Celebration of Hope’, will take place next month at Singapore’s 50,000-seat National Stadium. Evangelist J.John will speak at three of the events. Find out more here. Also this week, Franklin Graham has been following in his father’s footsteps, preaching to 94,000 in Colombia. Read more here.

World Scene

  • Rwanda marks 25 years since genocide: The process of recovery, reconciliation and restoration is still ongoing, and the Church is playing a ‘pivotal’ role. Read more here.
  • Cyclone Kenneth to hit Mozambique: Still recovering from the devastation caused by Cyclone Idai last month, Mozambique is about to be hit by another potentially catastrophic cyclone. This will be the first time in its known history that two have hit in one season. Read more here.
  • Persecution in India worsens ahead of elections: Hindu extremists are rallying animistic villagers to attack Christians, teaching them that being Christian is being anti-Indian. Read more here.

Israel & Middle East

  • Iran designates US military as terrorist: Following the recent US designation of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group, the Iranian Parliament has retaliated by labelling the entire US military similarly. Read more here. Earlier this week the Trump administration further pressured Iran by announcing that nations buying its oil would no longer be exempt from US sanctions. Read more here.
  • Arab League pledges $100m a month to PLO: The money is meant to offset the $138m a month being withheld by Israel over Palestinian payments to terrorists and their families. Palestinian President Abbas has been working hard to drum up international support ahead of the release of the Trump peace plan. Read more here. Next month the PLO will discuss whether or not to suspend all relations with Israel (including security co-operation). Read more here.

Events

  • 'Give me a chance' live concert (Central London): Thursday 2 May at the Emmanuel Centre in Westminster. Join the Core Issues Trust and a number of Christian musicians seeking to celebrate and defend all those who do not conform to mainstream narratives about abortion, LGBTQ+ and faith. Tickets £5. Click here to find out more and book.
  • March for Life UK (Central London): Saturday 11 May, 2pm, starting outside Westminster Church House. Click here for more information about the march, pre-march events, tickets and transport.
  • 'Legislating Morality' lecture (Central London): Monday 13 May, 6-7:30pm, at Christian Concern, Marylebone. Join Christian Concern for the first in a new series of lectures on 'Gospel issues in today's society'. Tim Dieppe opens the series. Click here for more information, future dates and to book tickets (£5).
  • Wilberforce Academy 2019 (Oxford): 9-14 September. Applications are open until 7 May for Christian Concern's flagship young leaders' conference. Click here to find out more.

 

Recommended Sources

At Prophecy Today UK we are aware that the world is moving very quickly and it is difficult to keep up with all the latest developments – especially when the material circulated by our mainstream media is increasingly far from reality and definitely not devoted to a biblical perspective!

Though we are not a news service, we want to help keep you informed by passing on updates and reports as we are led. This will be a selective, not an exhaustive, round-up, which we hope will be helpful for your prayers. Click here to browse our News archive.

We recommend the following news services for regular updates from a Christian perspective:

For regular news briefings about Israel, the Jewish News Syndicate is also recommended.