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  British evangelicals are increasing, but is it really gospel growth? There have been some encouraging reports of growth in the numbers of British evangelicals. Anecdotally, some churches have been reporting an increase in visitors, with a significant number of younger men among them. That’s certainly true in the church that I pastor. And this is backed up by two recent survey reports, one by Ligonier Ministries and another by the Evangelical Alliance. In my city of Manchester, two evangelical m...

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  The Greens ban the words ‘mother’ and ‘father’, but thank God the Bible is clear The Green Party has issued guidance on inclusive language which says its members shouldn’t use the words ‘mother’ and ‘father’. Instead, they suggest the gender-neutral words ‘parents’ or ‘carers’ should be used. Oh good grief! When will this liberal progressive vandalism of the English language end? Ironically, they also say the words, ‘nutters’ and ‘lunatics’ are not acceptable. Don’t tempt me. Additionally, the...

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  MPs vote to reject assisted suicide bill, but activists vow to keep pushing for a change Christian, pro-life, and disability groups have welcomed September’s vote by MPs in the House of Commons to reject a bill legalising assisted suicide. MPs voted 286 to 270 – a majority of 16 – against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill which had been introduced by Labour MP Lauren Edwards. Catherine Robinson, CEO of Right to Life UK, said, ‘If this bill had passed and gone on to become law, it w...

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  Top Scottish lawyer criticises Northern Ireland bill to criminalise conversion therapy as 'jellyfish legislation' A leading human rights lawyer has slammed proposals to introduce a so-called ban on conversion practices in Northern Ireland. Aidan O’Neill KC, recently named Scotland’s ‘lawyer of the year’, has dubbed the Northern Ireland Conversion Practices (Criminalisation) Bill ‘jellyfish legislation’ – ‘impossible to grasp’ with ‘a sting in the tail’. There are ‘very strong argument...

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  The church as the pillar of the truth This article was first published in Tabletalk, the Bible study magazine of Ligonier Ministries. Find out more at TabletalkMagazine.co.uk or try it free for three months today at TryTabletalk.co.uk. Christians are people of the truth. We take our very name (Acts 11:26) from the incarnate God who is ‘full of grace and truth’ (John 1:14) and who said, ‘For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world – to bear witness to the truth’...

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  Parents and pastors face prison as Scotland hears only one side A Scottish Government minister has let slip that her office is in ‘very regular’ contact with LGBT groups who want an extreme ban on conversion practices. This law could place parents under criminal investigations for having honest, loving and concerned conversations with their own children about gender and sexuality. But the Scottish Government appears to be, in the main, listening to only one side. Simita Kumar MSP is the Scotti...

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  New evangelical church plant begins services in Burnley On Sunday 9 August, a new congregation was planted in the town of Burnley by members of Martin Top Chapel near Rimington in the Ribble Valley. It will meet each Sunday afternoon at the CVS Building on Yorkshire Street at 3 p.m. At the first service, the pastor of Martin Top Chapel preached through the first chapter of Nehemiah, concerning the broken walls and ruined gates of Jerusalem. 32 had gathered for prayer, worship, and the preachin...

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  Italy: First assisted suicide by a regional health service is carried out in Lombardy A 59-year-old Italian man has become the first person in the country to die by assisted suicide with the procedure entirely organised by a regional public health service. Domenico Zuccarella, from Lombardy, died on 25 August after suffering from secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. His death was the first in Italy in which a regional health authority assumed responsibility for organising the entire assi...

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  Why the Trinity matters in Muslim evangelism As Britain’s Muslim population grows, opportunities for conversations about Jesus are becoming increasingly common. Yet many Christians feel unsure when it comes to one of Christianity’s key doctrines and the challenge, ‘Why do you believe in the Trinity?’ On 4 July, more than 100 Christians from across London and beyond gathered for London City Mission’s Muslim Engagement Conference, entitled ‘Affirming the Triune God: Engaging with Muslims Confide...

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  A History of Outreach Sunday Schools Authors: Andrew Owen Publisher: Wakeman Trust 106 pages Purchase from: Tabernacle Books (£5.95) This short and relevant book asks whether ‘the contemporary abandonment of outreach Sunday Schools should be reversed’. It offers a brief survey of the evangelisation of the young from Bible times to the present and therefore is neither a detailed theological nor referenced historical study. This post is for su...

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  Is student debt biblically wise? I used to think that student debt was justifiable for the Christian but have begun to have my doubts. Here’s why. Solomon cautioned against debt as a trap – ‘the borrower is the slave of the lender’ (Proverbs 22:7). Paul urged believers to avoid or escape it – ‘owe no one anything’ (Romans 13:8). But evangelicals have found exceptions to these biblical principles. Christians generally view a mortgage as wise stewardship. Better to pay rent to a bank (mortgage...

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  Was Judas Iscariot responsible for his sin? Judas Iscariot was an immensely blessed man. He became an early disciple of Jesus and was specifically chosen to be one of the Twelve, an immense blessing. More than this, we know Jesus appointed him as treasurer of their little group, a sign of special favour. Yet tragically it was from this exalted position of privilege and blessing that he fell. And he fell to such depths, didn’t he? He became a cold, calculating, ruthless traitor, who could sit a...

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  Shapers of Christianity Authors: Nick Needham Publisher: Banner of Truth 100 pages Purchase from: Banner of Truth (£6.75) Any book that encourages Christians to read church history and the lives of famous Christians is a positive investment and with Nick Needham we have a proven and safe guide. Mature believers will find it a great refresher and younger Christians a helpful starting point to further study in church history. Shapers of Christi...

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  Found: Long-lost audio of Lloyd-Jones’s address that shook British evangelicalism Sixty years after the address that divided British evangelicalism, the Martyn Lloyd-Jones Trust will release the audio for the first time on October 13. For six decades, one of the most consequential addresses in the history of British evangelicalism has been known almost entirely through the printed page. Now the voice itself can be heard. The Martyn Lloyd-Jones Trust has recovered the audio recording of "E...

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  Exclusive: Lost recording of Lloyd-Jones’ 1966 speech has been found This is one of those genuinely wow moments. The lost audio recording of the famous address by Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones which shook evangelicalism in the 1960s has been found. The recording, which also includes part of the controversial response from the Chair by John Stott, will be made publicly available by the MLJ Trust for the first time on October 13. Details are given below of how to access the recording free of charge. At...

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  ‘What is a real Christian?’ addressed at youth conference in Warwickshire Saturday 20 June saw the launch of the Faith Together Youth Conference, held in the pleasant surroundings of the village of Wolvey in Warwickshire. Tim Ramsbottom and Jeremy Roe, pastors of Jireh Particular Baptist Chapel, Attleborough, and Hope Fellowship, Ossett, led two of the three main sessions, followed by Pastor Peter Wilkins of Ebenezer Chapel, Haynes. This post is for subscribers onlyBecome a member to get acce...

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  We’re missing something Mr O, deep down inside me I can’t help feeling that we’re missing something, but I can’t tell you what it is. You’ve clearly got something on your mind, but you’ll have to tell me more than that. What’s really biting you? Well, as you know, I travel a lot in my work. As a result I visit Bible-believing churches all over the country. But wherever I go, with rare exceptions, it always seems to be the same story. And what do you mean by that? This post is for subscriber...

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  Highbury Centre to close Aberdeen Park guest house after more than 70 years The Highbury Centre, a Christian charity providing accommodation in London to missionaries, pastors, and church workers since 1893, has announced that its guest house and meeting rooms at Aberdeen Park will close from October this year. The charity itself is not closing, but trustees say the decision to end the ministry at the historic site has been made ‘prayerfully and with a heavy heart’. The decision follows a com...

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  Dealing with difficulties All of us at some stage find ourselves needing to speak to somebody else about their conduct. In fact, this is our Christian duty, as Galatians 6:1 tells us: ‘Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.’ Love covers a multitude of sins, but sometimes sin needs to be confronted. It could be a brother or sister at church. It could be a child in the hom...

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  Creation weekend draws strong interest in Suffolk In May, Brandon Baptist Church in Suffolk hosted a Creation Weekend at which the speaker was Matthew Pickhaver from Biblical Creation Trust. On the Saturday afternoon, nearly 50 people gathered for two talks. In the first, Matthew addressed how we should read Genesis 1–11. He looked at the text itself (which has all the features of historical narrative), what Jesus and the apostles taught about its record of events, and implications for the gos...