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PASTOR AND BIBLE TEACHER JOHN MACARTHUR, 86, PROMOTED TO GLORY
John MacArthur, an American Calvinist Baptist pastor, Christian theologian, author, and founder of Grace to You, an American nationally syndicated radio and television Bible teaching program, the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California from 1969 to 2025, died on the 14th July, 2025, at the age of 86. MacArthur passed away after contracting pneumonia. He had spent more than five decades in the pulpit at Sun Valley, California,  preaching thousands of sermons, but unable to preach most of this year due to health challenges., Grace to You ministry reported: “Our hearts are heavy, yet rejoicing, as we share the news that our beloved pastor and teacher John MacArthur has entered into the presence of the Saviour. This evening, his faith became sight. He faithfully endured until his race was run.”
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Albert Mohler honoured MacArthur, writing: “I had the great privilege of knowing John MacArthur as a friend. He made a massive impact on my life, and I saw him in so many different settings, from his home to so many public events. He was the same, constantly. He was generous and gracious and kind, even as he had the courage of a lion.” The American Family Association wrote that “Few men have so shaped the modern church as John MacArthur. His legacy is not one of fame, but of faithfulness — to Scripture, to sound doctrine, and to the glory of Christ. We grieve his loss and give thanks for a life well spent.” John MacArthur believed that the government had no right to stop Christians worshipping in person, and made national headlines in 2020 after a California judge ruled he could continue holding in-person services despite statewide restrictions implemented by the Governor of California during the COVID-19 pandemic.  He leaves behind his wife Patricia whom he married in 1963, four children. 15 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. 

CHRISTIAN MP CALLS FOR UK REVIVAL IN DESERTED COMMONS CHAMBER
A Christian MP has told Parliament that the UK needs a social and political Christian revival. Despite the chamber being empty when Danny Kruger spoke, a video of his impassioned speech has garnered over 1.3 million views online. The Conservative MP for East Wiltshire highlighted the role of Christianity in British politics, calling it “the wellspring of democracy”. He noted that the Houses of Parliament themselves are built on the site of a former royal church, St Stephen’s Chapel, and that the government is forever entwined with the Christian faith through the Church of England. “The Church of England is not some private club, just another eccentric denomination,” said Kruger. “The parish system covers every square inch of this country… We all belong, even if you never set foot in your church from one year to the next, even if you don’t believe in its teachings, it is your church, and you are its member.”
However, Kruger’s main point hinged on what he sees as spiritual—and thereby political—decline in the nation. “It’s no surprise that both the church and the country itself are in a bad way, divided internally, confused, badly led,” said Kruger. He claimed that a “new religion” is creeping over the nation, “a hybrid of old and new ideas, and it doesn’t have a proper name, and I don’t think ‘woke’ does justice to its seriousness. It is a combination of ancient paganism, Christian heresies, and the cult of modernism all mashed up into a deeply mistaken, deeply dangerous ideology of power, hostile to… families, communities and nations.” Kruger suggested that recent parliamentary votes—such as the decision to back assisted dying legislation—reflect a lack of care for the most vulnerable in society. “We have a choice,” he urged. “A new restoration is needed now. A revival of the faith, and the recovery of Christian politics… The route to a prosperous modernity is founded on respect for human dignity, responsibility for the created world, and the worship of God.” [Source: Premier Christian News]

DEVASTATED CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA PRAY FOR RELIEF
Morning Star News – As terrorism-scarred Christians in Nigeria await help from the government and the international community, within and outside of the country they prayed for God’s intervention this month. The Rev. Joshua Bari, area chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and the Rev. Adamson Gado, president of the Irigwe Ministers Forum (IMF), said in a press statement that the purpose was to seek God’s healing of their land and communities. “As horrific attacks and killings continue across the nation, we must rise and stand in the gap – for Irigwe, Plateau state and Nigeria as a whole,” they said. “We are calling on every family, church, workplace, and place of business to take this day seriously.”
The call to prayer came on the heels of continued violence by the Muslim Fanaticals – Fulani herdsmen – in which hundreds of Christians have been killed. These attacks are more prominent in the country’s North-Central zone, where Christians are more common than they are in the North-East and North-West, They include large-scale destruction of villages, farmlands and crops.“These attack mirror previous incidents where Fulani militias targeted Christians,” said community leader Joseph Chudu. “In spite of this, we will continue to demand justice and peace in our communities.” At about the same time, prayer for persecuted Christians was included in the Baptist World Congress in Australia. The July 7-12 congress in Brisbane devoted a major part to prayer for persecuted Christians. “A powerful solidarity moment as the global Baptist family stood in the gap, lifting prayers for persecuted believers around the world,” a church statement read. “May God’s comfort, strength, and justice abound for our sisters and brothers facing trials.”
Christian leaders in Nigeria have said they believe herdsmen attacks on Christian communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are inspired by their desire to forcefully take over Christians’ lands and impose Islam as desertification has made it difficult for them to sustain their herds. Nigeria remained among the most dangerous places on earth for Christians, according to Open Doors’ 2025 World Watch List of the countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Of the 4,476 Christians killed for their faith worldwide during the reporting period, 3,100 (69 percent) were in Nigeria, according to the WWL.

SPIRITUAL REVOLUTION UNFOLDING IN KAZAKHSTAN
SHONZHY, Kazakhstan – In the remote corners of Kazakhstan, which sits in the heart of Central Asia, a spiritual revolution is quietly unfolding. Surrounded by ancient traditions and deep-rooted Islamic faith, a small but growing group of Uyghurs are discovering a new spiritual path. The Uyghurs  are a Turkic ethnic group, with 12 million living in China (where they have faced persecution), and 300,000 living mostly in the remote part of eastern Kazakhstan (close to the Chinese border). Some here still practise ancient traditions like herding horses and sheep across the wide Kazakh steppe grassland. “We have about 25 Uyghur villages here, quite unreached with the gospel,” Rico, a Uyghur evangelist, told CBN News.
Rico was born and raised in the region. His family spent years in both Kazakhstan and China, reaching out to the Uyghur people with the message of Jesus. In recent years, though, things have been changing. More and more Uyghurs are discovering Christianity – some through personal transformation, others through the influence of outreach in these rural villages.
Australian-American Wally Kulakoff Kulakoff has spent 25 years as a missionary in Kazakhstan, and has seen firsthand how God is moving among the Uyghurs and other ethnic groups of Central Asia. He’s humbled by the prayers and perseverance of his family, who planted seeds of faith they never saw bloom. [Source: CBN News]

A FORMER GAY MAN FACES JAIL, FINES AFTER SHARING HIS JOURNEY TO GOD
An ex-LGBT activist in Malta who reportedly faces potential prison time after sharing his testimony of leaving behind a gay lifestyle to follow Christ, faces years-long court battles. Matthew Grech is back in court to continue his quest to avoid a potential five-month jail sentence and fines, after being accused of ‘advertising so-called conversion practices’. 
Grech had shared his story of leaving the LGBTQ lifestyle and finding Jesus with a local media outlet in Malta. Prior to coming to Malta, Grech was living an active homosexual lifestyle in London and was also heavily interested in the New Age Movement He was in a place of utter confusion. Grech then met a Christian who warned him about his New Age beliefs, and invited him to church. He recalled the kindness he was shown by members of this Church, and decided to get a Bible. And he said truth began to permeate his heart after he read Paul’s words about homosexuality. The Holy Spirit brught him to a powerful realization of his sin: “I needed to repent and obey and follow Jesus, I did that, and it’s been the most surprising and blessed decision I’ve ever made in my life; I’m so thankful.”
Malta, in 2016, became the first European Union country to ban attempts to ‘change, repress or eliminate a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression,’ leading to fines or even jail time. After three people reported Grech to police, he found himself in a legal quagmire, and now has faced 12 criminal court hearings in Malta since the case began. [Source: CBN News]

– compiled by Guido Kettniss