It’s Friday, December 13th, A.D. 2019. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus.
By Jonathan Clark
New Sudanese Prime Minister meets with U.S. Religious Freedom group
Sudan’s new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok met with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom last Thursday, the first time Sudan’s leader has visited Washington in three decades.
Hamdok came into the transitional government in August after the Sudanese military deposed dictator Omar al-Bashir under whose leadership the country was ranked sixth for worst persecution against Christians.
However, Hamdok’s meeting with the U.S. commission indicated the country is working to increase religious liberty and human rights.
Sudan now has a ministry office for church affairs to make sure churches are self-governed without government interference.
Please pray for real religious liberty growth in Sudan for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Pro-lifers march in Costa Rica and New Zealand
Tens of thousands of people marched for life in Costa Rica’s capital city of San Jose this month. Political and religious leaders along with adults, young people, and children are calling on the country’s president to not sign a law that would legalize abortion.
Meanwhile, thousands of pro-lifers joined in New Zealand’s third National March for Life last week in the capital of Wellington. That country is considering a bill to remove all restrictions on abortion before 20 weeks of pregnancy.
As Britain considers leaving EU, Johnson hopes conservatives win election
Polls opened yesterday in the United Kingdom to hold a December vote for Parliament for the first time in nearly a century.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the snap election in the hopes of his Conservative Party gaining the majority to finalize Brexit by January 31, 2020.
The vote will determine who will be the next Prime Minister as Britain considers leaving the European Union.
Daniel 4:17 says, “The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom He will.”
Defense bill gives 12 weeks paid parental leave for federal employees
The U.S. House passed a $738 billion defense bill on Wednesday after weeks of negotiation between the House and Senate.
The bill gives 12 weeks of paid parental leave for federal employees, authorizes President Trump’s Space Force as a new branch of the Air Force, includes a 3.1 percent military pay raise, and repeals the widow’s tax on military death benefits.
Trump is expected to sign the bill despite not getting over $7 billion in funding for a southern border wall.
Three Naval heroes gave their lives in face of evil
The Navy is recognizing three sailors as heroes who gave their lives during the attack last Friday by a Saudi Royal Air Force member on Pensacola, Florida’s Naval Air Station that left three people dead and eight injured.
Capt. Tim Kinsella, the base’s commanding officer, recognized sailors Cameron Walters, Mohammed Sameh Haitham, and Joshua Kaleb Watson, saying, “The sailors that lost their lives in the line of duty showed exceptional heroism and bravery in the face of evil. When confronted, they didn’t run from danger; they ran towards it and saved lives.”
Friends of 19-year-old Haitham told The Washington Post that he had only recently rekindled his interest in Christianity and was attending church, telling others he wanted his life to have a positive impact.
John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
Virginia superintendent impeded parents’ right to homeschool
The Home School Legal Defense Association will be defending Virginia parents Kirk and Kristen Sosebee before the state’s supreme court this next year over the parent’s rights to homeschool their children.
The Sosebees wanted their children to join some 40,000 other kids in the state who are being homeschooled, but the local school superintendent started requiring more information from them than the state law requires and even threatened prosecution if they didn’t provide it.
Franklin Graham preached to 13,000 Cambodians
And finally, Evangelist Franklin Graham preached to 13,000 people in Cambodia on Sunday, calling people to turn to Jesus in the Buddhist-majority nation.
GRAHAM: “The Bible says that ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ What are the obstacles preventing you from coming to Christ tonight? Zaccheus had this large crowd in front of him. He couldn’t see Jesus. But what are the obstacles for you don’t know? Sin is an obstacle. Your sins prevent you from coming to God.”
Hundreds of people said they have turned to God after the preaching.
The translator at the event helping to preach was one of just 200 Christians who survived the 1970s Cambodian Khmer Rouge by communist dictator Pol Pot that left nearly two million dead.
Acts 2:41 says, “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.”
(You can watch the 40-minute video of Graham’s sermon in Cambodia here.)
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Friday, December 13th in the year of our Lord 2019. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I’m Adam McManus (adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.