More Than a Million Australians Attend Church Weekly

New National Data suggests Australia's churches are continuing a gradual recovey in weekly attendance following the COVID--19 pandemic,the Christian Daily website reports today (Jan. 1, 2026). 

The findings,released through the inaugural local Church Pulse Check Panel, offer one of the most comprehensive snapshots  to date of church participation across the country and are intended to provide a consistent, long--term measure of congregational health as faith communities navigate ongoing cultural and social change.

The findings ae based on a nationwide survey of 1,005 million  local churches conducted throughout October and Novembe 2025, representing about 10 percent of all Australian  congegations across multiple denominations.

The results indicate an estimated 135 million Australians attend church services in an average week.

Why Every Christian Will Stay in the Faith in 2026

In a recent article entitled"Why Do Some Americans Leave Their ReligionWhile Others Stay," Pew Research found that the vast majority of U.S. adults (86%) were raised in a religion, the Christian Post website reports today (Dec.30, 2025).

The Pew data "shows that  he nature of their religion experiences as children plays a significant role in whether they stay in their childhood religion as adults,"

Pew found that "84% of Americans who were raised in a religion and had a mostly positive childhood experience with religion still identify with that religion as adults." Just 10% of people who grew up in a religion and had a positive childhood experience with it are 'nones' today, while 6% identify with a different religion than the one they were raised in."

In sharp contrast, "69% of those who grew up in a religion and had a negative experience with it no longer identify with any religion at all. Far fewer (24%) still identify with their childhood religion, and 7% identify with a different religion."

Pope Seeks Prayers for Peace in Christmas Message

 Peace was the pope's resounding appeal this Christmas Day  "Uklia et Orbi" message, the Christian Today website reports today (Dec. 26, 2025).

Pope Leo XIV asked people to pray especially for an end to the war in Ukraine and for "justice,peace, and stability for Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, and Syria.

"Let us entrust the entire European continent o the Prince of Peace, asking Him  to oontinue to insoire a spirit of community and cooperation of those in need," he said.

"Let us pray in a particular way for the tormented people of Ukraine: may the clamor of weapons cease,and may the parties involved , with the supportand commitment of the international community, and the courage to engage

in sincere, direct, and respectful dialogue.

The pope said that Jesus showed"the way to overcome conflicts --all conflicts, whether interpesonal or international, " with His example of forgiveness and His death on the cross to free man from sin.

"He is the Savior .With  His grace,we can and must each do our part to reject hatred, violence,and opposition, and to practice dialogue, peace, and reonciliation," he said.

Christ of Christmas: A Gift to Keep

  Thanks to God for His undescribable gift, the Crossmap website reports today (Dec. 23, 2025).

All the shopping, decorating,cooking, carol--singing,  traveling,laughing, and gift--giving will be over -- leaving behind leftovers, gift exchanges, and decoration storage in the wake.

In the process, we need to keep in mind the most important gift we received -- God's salvation through the gift of His Son. We must keep thankfulness in our hearts.

Jesus has held our heartsi n His unfailing grip since He was crucified. We must praise Him after Christmas for His gift of eternal life.

Our Lord speaks clearly in His Word. May your soul be refreshed, renewed, restored, and repurposed in the light He shines around you from heaven.

Let's remember to thank Him for His amazing gift. By the Holy Spirit, let's ask for His matchless power and guidance to send us to the ends of the earth to share the message of His good news.

Let's plead with God to fill us with His intense, generous

 love  for His people. May it oveflow from us into the lives of others so that they too will reognize and accept them as their Lord and King,

May we keep His joy in our hearts along with our gratitude. May we shout our  Lord's good news and proclaim His praises everywhere we go into the new year. He is worthy of all these. Christ, our Savior, is born! Amen!

Ten Thousand Believers Mobilize in Thanksgiving March for Peace in Chiapas Mexico

 On Mexico's southern border, more than 10,000 people and members of the Jesus es el Camino church took part in the Thanksgiving March to God for 32 years of Peace in Chiapas, held under the theme "One and a Thousand Reasons to Thank God for Peace," the Christian Daily website reports today (Dec. 22, 2025).

The massive march aimed to recognize the Chiapas  stability the region has experienced to the tranquility that, rhey say, God has granted  Chiapas since the 1994 Zapatista uprising when Tzatzil, Tzeital,and Tjolala communities took to arms to demand rights and reognition as indigenous peoples.

Thousands of Christians marched from the eastern side of Tuxtia Gutierez, the same capital toward Central Park. Another group departed from the "bridge of colors"on the western side of the city. Both contingents met in the central plaza, where musical performances, preaching, and prayers for the peace  of the state took place.

Pastors and believers ftom states across the country joined the march.

Paricipants held signs with messages such as "God Is Love," "God Heals Our Land," and God Bless Chiapas."

Archdiocese to Sell Land unde NYC Hotel for $490 M to Pay Sex Abuse Victims

 The Catholic Archdiocese of New York has agreed to sell the land it owns beneath the historic Lotte New York Palace Hotel for $490 milliont o help pay survivors of clergy sex abuse, the Christian Post website reports today (Dec.19, 2025).

The agreement comes a wek after Cardinal Timothy Dolan announced plans to sell the real estate to pay child sex abuse survivors in the archdiocese.

When it purchased the building in 2015 for $805 million from New York City--based Northwood investors, the company had o rent the land from the archdiocese through renewable 25--year leases.

In a letter to the fqithful on Dec. 8, Cardinal Dolan announced that the archdiocese would seek to raise more than  $300 million through the sale of  "significant real estate assets" to pay more than 1,000 sex abuse survivors in a "global settlement."

 

Christ of Christmas --God's Gift of Love

 Christ's arrival at Christmas marked the beginning of God's fulfillment of His promise to redeem His people, the Crossmap website reports today (Dec.17, 2025).

The Israelites expected their Messiah to arrive in kingly fashion, in the gifted with a long Davidic reign and a new kingdom that would give them freedom from the hated Romans. Instead, they received a baby in rustic animal quarters. The child grew up to become a lowly carpenter who would die in humiliation on a cross....not what His followers had imagined.

 

Yet, our Messiah took on the debt of our sins and paid for them in full as the Passover Lamb of God. He gave Himself as the substitute for the wrath we all deserved, so that  His salvation would dawn into our dark, desperate hearts. We were lost, and He found us. He brought us under His banner of merciful grace.He pulled us back from the edge -- away from the horrors of hell.

When He rose from the tomb, He broke the curse, cracked the grave.The blessings of His grave are even more profound. Jesus reserved for each of us a seat in His table in heaven, to join Him there at His marriage heart.

Jesus' love is the very essence of the Christmas season. In His unimaginable love for us, He surrendered His throne and crown to put on our tattered clothes and walk among us, even when we rejected Him.

Let's raise Jesus' cross high this Christmas to lead others to His Easter resurrection amid love!