Sunday 12 July 2020 9.30am and 11.00am

Brian Robertson 2 Timothy 2:5-7

“Athletes and Agriculturalists”

Sunday 19 July 2020 9.30am and 11.00am

Brian Robertson 2 Timothy 2:8-13

“Criminals and Certainties”

WELCOME to the

CORAL COAST CHRISTIAN CHURCH If you are visiting with us today, we welcome you and invite you to sign our Visitor's Book.

The restrooms are on the southern side of the hall, with entry off the veranda. There are baby-change facilities in the Toilet for People with Disabilities.

Thank You We thank those who came along and helped at yesterday’s working bee. Your efforts were much appreciated and it was good to get a number of jobs around the property completed.

Welcome Back! Today (Sunday 12 July) is the recommencement of ‘live’ worship services! It is intended that we will have two identical services, both one hour in length, and beginning at 9.30am and 11.00am. The half-hour gap between 10.30am and 11.00am will allow us to quickly clean the chairs, the toilets, and surfaces that may have been touched by people. Here are some things for you to remember –

Greetings

Minimise physical contact – please do not shake hands, hug, or kiss others.

‘Virtual’ non-touch handshakes or ‘elbow touches’ are acceptable.

Smile warmly at others and speak positive friendly words.

Signing In and Signing Out

When you arrive, you must sign-in, with your name, contact details, and time of arrival.

When you depart, you must record your departure time.

We have provided sign-in sheets that list – in alphabetical order – the names and details of the regular attendees of our church. If your name is listed on these sign-in sheets, you simply have to note the times of your arrival and departure.

If your name is not listed on the sign-in sheets, please complete one of the general forms (and we will add your name to next week’s sign-in sheets).

Seating

We have arranged the chairs in spaces marked out in accordance with the specified square meterage (currently 4m2 per person). There is one chair in each 4m2 space, and every chair is at least 1.5 metres away from other chairs.

Please do not move the chairs … except a couple may place two chairs together in the middle of their 8m2 space, or a family may group together the number of chairs needed in their multiples of 4m2 space.

When all the chairs are occupied, the building has reached its maximum capacity. Please do not get out additional chairs.

We encourage you to fill up the chairs from the southern side of the building first, leaving the chairs closer to the entrance foyer for those who arrive after you.

Singing

Congregational singing is not allowed at the present time (but this may soon change). Please respond to the ‘items in song’ presented by the worship team with words of

praise to the Lord

Morning Tea

The church is not permitted to serve morning tea at the present time. However, you may have up to twenty people in your home – appropriately social

distanced – so invite some people home to your house to share in fellowship.

Cleaning

After the conclusion of the service, we will need to wipe down the chairs and surfaces that have been touched, as well as clean the restrooms.

Filming the Services Many pastors have been saying that the numbers of people viewing their church’s ‘virtual’ services are much higher than the number of people who actually attended ‘live’ services before the coronavirus restrictions. In effect, the foyer of the church is not just a physical place now. People are ‘entering’ church from the safety and anonymity of their own homes, and are checking out what the church is saying and doing. Therefore, it has become crucial for a church to have an online presence, beyond just a website and Facebook page. Even when we resume ‘live’ services, our church really needs to be filming one of our services each Sunday and putting that online, either live or as a YouTube presentation. Are there a couple of people in our church with the technical expertise (and the video camera equipment) to do this? If you can be of assistance in this, please contact Pastor Brian on 0407 547036.

Men’s Time The next Men’s Time will be on Friday 17 July, between 6.00pm and 7.30pm at Pastor Brian’s home (20 Solander Street, Bargara), with dinner and a time of sharing. All men are welcome to attend to share in this time of ‘doing life better’. Speak with Pastor Brian on 0407 547036 to let him know if you will be attending (so that he can have sufficient food available, and so he can be certain that we do not exceed the allowed numbers).

Epic Youth Camp Our church’s Epic Youth will be going on an overnight camp on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 July. Pastor Lisa is planning for the group to go to Norville Park near Yandaran on the Saturday morning and then return on the Sunday afternoon. The group will be maintaining the necessary social distancing requirements.

Stewards’ Meeting The next Stewards’ Meeting will be held on Monday 20 July, beginning at 7.00pm. If there are some matters you would like the stewards to discuss, please speak with Jill Jennings, our Church Secretary, on 0411 800256.

Reconnect Dinners Many of us have been missing the opportunities for fellowship. So, once a month, our church will be holding Reconnect Dinners – six people coming together to share a meal and fellowship in someone’s home. The host supply the main course, and the other guests bring drinks, entrée, and dessert. The first Reconnect Dinner will be on Saturday 25 July. If you would like to participate in the Reconnect Dinners, please contact Janette Elvery on 0403 364564 or philnet@bigpond.com. Janette will allocate people to various groups of six for the first Dinner and let participants know where to go.

Birthdays This Week Sunday 12 July – Wayne Johnson Monday 13 July – Mark Thun Thursday 16 July – Gillian Bullock

Pens Marked with the Church Name and Address If you would like to purchase a pen marked with the church name and street address, take one from the box on the table in the foyer and put $2.00 in the plastic container inside the box.

Church Account Details If you would like to have your weekly or fortnightly offering directly debited from your bank account into the church account, you will need the following information –

BSB Number 704 913 Account Number 400040010 Account Name Coral Coast Christian Church

Please reference you giving as “Offering” or “Tithe”. Including your surname is optional.

Monthly Financial Reports

Offerings during June During June, our church’s offering (including direct deposits) totalled $15,115.00 which makes an average of $3,778.75 per week over the four Sundays. The total offering was $2,273.00 more than the total in May, and the average weekly offering in the four-Sunday month was $1,210.35 per week more than the five-Sunday month of May. At the completion of the 2019-2020 financial year, our offering income is $20,208.58 below the projected income for the 2019-2020 Church Budget. The church is still ‘in the black’ because we have curtailed expenditure below that which was projected in the Budget and we have begun receiving JobKeeper payments from the Federal Government to assist in covering Pastor Brian’s stipend. It should be noted that the total income from all sources in June 2020 (excluding JobKeeper) was $16,098.77, whereas the total income from all sources in June 2019 was $16,978.92, which is a 5.2% decrease. In June, $200.00 was contributed to our “Buying Bricks” appeal. Some 400 years before Jesus’ birth, God challenged the people of Israel to “bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this … if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” (Malachi 3:10) We are usually commanded to not put God to the test, but in this matter – our financial prosperity – He invites us to test Him. And then Paul encouraged the Corinthians believers to give to God’s work by telling them of the expansive generosity of the Christians in Macedonia who were experiencing “a great ordeal of affliction” and yet still “overflowed in the wealth of their liberality” (2 Corinthians 8:2). Give generously, and trust Him! Thank you to all those who have been giving faithfully to the Lord’s work in our church. If you are regularly tithing your income to God’s work through our church, thank you! If you have not yet learned the discipline of giving 10% of your income to God’s work, you are urged to trust God in this response to Him. The regular week-by-week giving by the people of our church is our church’s only source of income (apart from bank interest and now, JobKeeper payments). Please remember too that if you are going away for a period of time, it is appropriate to put your offering for those weeks that you will be away in before you go (or when you return). The church still has to meet its financial commitments when you are away.

Balance of the Church Loan On 30 June, our church loan with BapLink stood at $338,272.61.

Balance of Kingdom Offset Accounts ‘Tagged’ to Our Church As of 30 June, a total of $96,673.71 was lodged in Kingdom Offset Accounts with BapLink and ‘tagged’ to our church. This money belongs to people associated with our church, and because these people are forgoing interest on their funds, the church is paying less interest on $96,673.71 of our loan from BapLink. It would be good to increase the total further, so if you have some ‘spare’ funds on which you would be willing to forgo interest, move those funds into a Kingdom Offset Account ‘tagged’ to our church. Contact BapLink at PO Box 6166, Mitchelton, Qld, 4053, or telephone 1800 650062, or email baplink@baplink.org.au to inquire about opening a Kingdom Offset Account.

Balance of The Sowers Fund As of 30 June, a total of $10,000.98 had been donated to The Sowers Fund – ‘seed funding’ for the expansion of our church’s pastoral team in 2021.

Separate Account for The Sowers Fund There is a separate account with BapLink for contributions to The Sowers Fund.

BSB Number 704 913, Account Number 100001092 Account Name “Coral Coast Christian Church The Sowers Fund”

Mission News

Newsletter from Global Interaction Stamps We have received a newsletter, dated June 2020, from Bryan Laurens, the Chairman of Global Interaction Stamps (Queensland). He wrote –

Dear Friends of Global Interaction Stamps, It is safe to say this is proving to be a year like no other! The cross-cultural work of Global Interaction, like so many other ministries, is experiencing very significant challenges. Programs and projects have been significantly disrupted. Some workers have had to return to Australia, others have stayed, in many cases facing the concern of a restricted health service. Social distancing has meant that close relationships and trust developed over long periods are being tested. There are also financial challenges. If would refer you to the Global Interaction website https://www.globalinteraction.org.au/support/pray for specific prayer points. Anything we can do as a stamp group is proving very helpful. Please be in prayer for the Mission needs and join in praising God that we were able to forward $15,000.00 to the National office in March and are hoping to repeat this at the end of the current financial year. We are able to do this through God’s enabling you to continue sending good supplies of used postage stamps which we have been able to sell at very acceptable prices. We still have businesses which are willing to save envelopes for us. We are grateful for their continuing interest and support. We always agree to dispose of responsibly the envelopes from which we have trimmed the stamps. Recently issued used stamps are always highly sought after by collectors and they are willing to pay good prices for them. If trimming, please try to allow 6-8mm (quarter inch) of envelope paper around the stamp. These days, most stamps are of the self-adhesive variety and of course we welcome these. However, if we can discover used stamps that have been taken from a sheet of stamps, then their rarity ensures they are very highly sought after and we obtain higher prices. These are usually sold singly to very particular collectors. The accumulations you send are bundled together and gradually sold to retailers who in turn sell them typically to buyers in Europe and North America where philately is still a very common hobby. Days are short and nights are long in some of those countries’ winters and stamp and coin collecting must make a welcome diversion from television! A reminder: Please keep in mind the packs of unused postage stamps we sell, both domestic and international. We still have a good stock of stamps and stamped envelopes, and sales of these are a significant help to our fund raising. Do you think your church office would buy some? Finally, Containers for Change. Your help is raising approximately $100.00 per week. In Queensland, you can simply use the ID number C10064731 and drop a bag or box of containers to the recycling depots. The amount is credited to our account. Some of you will know Rick Kirkpatrick, a long-time supporter of our work. Sadly, he had a severe stroke and is in palliative care. I have visited him and assured him of our prayers. Thank you for your continued support and interest. It is not taken for granted and remember “a little is much when God is in it”.

Bryan Laurens

School Chaplaincy Positions Available Scripture Union Queensland is inviting applications from suitably qualified persons for four part-time school chaplaincy positions at Moore Park Beach State School (1 day per week), Walkervale State School (2.5 days per fortnight), Alloway State School (1.5 days per week), and Agnes Water State School (2 days per fortnight). Applicants need to demonstrate their suitability to provide support and care to young people. Training and experience in youth work, pastoral care, and / or teaching is desirable. Minimum qualifications are required. If you, or anyone you know, would be interested in applying for one of these positions, speak with Lisa Hardie (Field Development Manager) on 0414 983353 or email lisah@suqld.org.au.

Social Issues in the News “Aborigines and Evolutionary Racism” This article was written by Dr Carl Wieland, the former Managing Director of Creation Ministries International.

The sinful desire to dominate, reject, ignore or mistreat others for one’s own particular motives has never required much excuse. However, Darwin gave it a tremendous impetus, as has been shown before by both evolutionist and creationist writers. An unusual book helps document the links between evolutionary thinking and an upsurge in racism in Australian colonial history. The book is called “Aborigines in White Australia: A Documentary History of the Attitudes Affecting Official Policy and the Australian Aborigine 1697–1973”. Apart from a few introductory / editorial comments, it consists largely of substantial excerpts from documents as varied as parliamentary transcripts, court records, letters to editors, anthropological reports, and so forth.

Increase in Brutality Far from showing a progressive enlightenment as time goes on, one can see a distinct change for the worse after 1859, with a marked increase in callousness, ill-treatment and brutality towards Aborigines being evident in official attitudes. As the book’s editor writes:

“In 1859 Charles Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species popularised the notion of biological (and therefore social) evolution. Scholars began to discuss civilization as a unilinear process with races able to ascend or descend a graduated scale. The European was … the “fittest to survive” … [The Aboriginal] was doomed to die out according to a “natural law”, like the dodo and the dinosaur. This theory, supported by the facts at hand [i.e. that Aborigines were dying out, which was due to ill-treatment and disease, added Dr Wieland] continued to be quoted until well into the Twentieth Century when it was noticed that the dark-skinned race was multiplying. Until that time it could be used to justify neglect and murder.”

In the transcript of an interrogation of a policeman during a Royal Commission of inquiry in 1861 (p83), we read concerning the use of force against tribal Aborigines:

“And if we did not punish the blacks they would look upon it as a confession of weakness?” “Yes, that is exactly my opinion.” “It is a question as to which is the strongest race – if we submit to them they would despise us for it?” “Yes …”

The influence of evolutionary thinking can also be seen in a transcript on page 100. The writer, also author of an 1888 book, is justifying the killing of Aborigines in the State of Victoria. He writes: “As to the ethics of the question, there can be drawn no final conclusion.” He says that this is because it is “a question of temperament; to the sentimental it is undoubtedly an iniquity; to the practical it represents a distinct step in human progress, involving the sacrifice of a few thousands of an inferior race. … But the fact is that mankind, as a race, cannot choose to act solely as moral beings. They are governed by animal laws which urge them blindly forward upon tracks they scarce can choose for themselves.” In other words, he is justifying “iniquity” (another word for sin) by appealing to the ‘animal laws’ of the evolutionary struggle for survival. Opposition can be dismissed as “sentimental” – lacking understanding of such ‘natural laws’. On page 96, someone also writing in an 1880 newspaper said:

“Nothing that we can do will alter the inscrutable and withal immutable laws which direct our progress on this globe. By these laws the native races of Australia were doomed on the advent of the white man, and the only thing left for us to do is to assist in carrying them out [i.e. helping the “laws” of evolution by hastening the Aborigines’ doom, added Dr Wieland]

Carl Wieland

with as little cruelty as possible … We must rule the blacks by fear … “ These immutable ‘laws of evolution’ have, of course, always been a complete fiction. The continuing social tension surrounding Aboriginal issues is, in large part, a legacy of these past evils.

Church Backdown on Creation Many genuine Australian Christians and church institutions, though occasionally somewhat patronising, seem to have tried to protect Aborigines from the full brunt of the many inhumanities sanctioned by evolutionary thinking. However, like today, most church leaders and institutions compromised in some form or another with this new Darwinian ‘science’. Virtually no Christian voice did what was required – to affirm boldly the real history of man as given in the Bible. To stress that we all go back only a few thousand years, to Noah’s family, would have refuted Darwinian racism. It would have anticipated the findings of modern genetics, that we are all biologically extremely close. It would also have given a completely different perspective on Aboriginal status and culture – for example, it would have been seen as no surprise that they already had many stories of their own about the Flood, and some about Babel. What a dramatically different starting point for missionary outreach – reaching your relatives, not inferior ‘savages’! The false belief system of evolution has been used since its inception to dull people to the moral absolutes of Scripture, whether justifying Nazism, Stalinism, the abortion holocaust, indifference to starvation in Africa, or the maltreatment of indigenous people. God’s Word has always stated that He has “made of one blood [i.e. from one man, Adam] all nations of men” (Acts 17:26, cf. 1 Corinthians 15:45). The answer to racism is in Genesis, which tells us that all people are closely related.

Official Crimes We have already documented the murderous trade in body parts to northern hemisphere museums, based on Darwin’s teaching that indigenous Australians were living ‘missing links’. Early atrocities against Aborigines (which were also often ‘justified’ by pre-Darwinian evolutionary ideas) frequently brought swift retribution from the authorities. But after Darwin’s work appeared, such horrors, of all types, were much more often officially sanctioned. A letter-writer to a newspaper in 1880, incensed by the treatment of his fellow man, stated:

“This, in plain language, is how we deal with the aborigines: On occupying new territory the aboriginal inhabitants are treated exactly in the same way as the wild beasts or birds the settlers may find there. Their lives and their property, the nets, canoes, and weapons which represent as much labour to them as the stock and buildings of the white settler, are held by the Europeans as being at their absolute disposal. Their goods are taken, their children forcibly stolen, their women carried away, entirely at the caprice of white men. The least show of resistance is answered by a rifle bullet … [those] who fancied the amusement have murdered, ravished, and robbed the blacks without let or hindrance. Not only have they been unchecked, but the Government of the colony has been always at hand to save them from the consequences of their crime.”

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World News – Iran

Underground Church Growing in Iran Iran’s human rights violations have been on display in recent months, and its shameless persecution of religious minorities continues to be too egregious to ignore. On a regular basis, Christians are arbitrarily detained, arrested, tortured, and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Converts from Islam to Christianity are specifically targeted by the regime and labelled a national security threat, while the historic Assyrian and Armenian Christian communities are treated like second class citizens. This religious oppression continues unhindered, and the current international attention on Iran presents an opportunity to raise the issue of religious freedom violations in Iran. Yet, in spite of all this, the underground church in Iran is growing rapidly and people continue to turn to the Christian faith. Here are two stories from Christian victims of religious persecution in Iran. Maryam Rostampour and Marziyeh Amirizadeh are Iranian Christian converts from a Muslim background. Evangelism is illegal in Iran, but they managed to covertly put copies of the New Testament into the hands of 20,000 Iranians and started two secret house churches. In 2009, they were both arrested and spent almost nine months held in the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran. After their release, they fled to the United States. Maryam and Marziyeh told their story in their book, Captive in Iran. They have shared their experience of persecution in Iran in many venues, including the US State Department’s 2019 Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom. Dabrina Bet Tamraz is the daughter of Iranian Pastor Victor Bet Tamraz. Pastor Bet Tamraz led a church in Iran until it was shut down in 2009. In 2017, he was sentenced to ten years in prison for “acting against national security by forming home churches, attending seminars abroad, and proselytising Zionist Christianity”. In 2018, Dabrina’s mother, Shamiram Isavi, was sentenced to five years in prison on similar charges, and her brother, Ramiel Bet Tamraz, to four months in prison for “spreading Christian propaganda”. They are currently awaiting the results of their appeals. Dabrina has a powerful story, and she has spoken at the US State Department's 2019 Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom as well as at the United Nations.

Iranian Christian Convert Granted Early Release One Iranian Christian convert imprisoned for his faith was released early from prison and it was expected that two more converts would also be granted an early release. According to Middle East Concern, Asghar Salehi was freed from his six-month prison sentence on 2 February 2020, after having been convicted of propaganda against the Islamic Republic. Mr Salehi was arrested, along with Mohammadreza Rezaei and four other associates, in the Fars Province after their homes were raided by intelligence officers in September 2018. Mr Asghar was allegedly interrogated for three days in which he was kept blindfolded for most of the time. He was eventually transferred to Eghlid prison for eight days before being released on bail. Then, Asghar, Mohammadreza and one other convert whose name was not reported were summoned to a court hearing in Eghlid in April 2019. The judge refused to allow Mr Asghar to speak. Additionally, he was warned that he was being monitored and told he would have to commit to stopping his Christian activities before another court session. Last September, the three men were reportedly sentenced to six months in prison under Article 500 of the Iranian legal code banning “propaganda against the system through promoting Zionist Christianity”. Mr Asghar was again arrested last December and sent to Eghlid prison. He and the other two then applied for a pardon and early release. Mr Asghar’s request for early release was granted after serving only two months of the six. While he was freed on 2 February, MEC reported that the two other converts were scheduled to be released on 8 February. “Today, there is not a free church. There is no free evangelical church, nor free Pentecostal,” said Marziyeh Amirizadeh, a former Muslim who helped lead two house churches in Iran

before fleeing in 2010. “The only churches that are allowed to function are orthodox or Catholic churches with restrictions. They are not allowed to have books in Farsi. They are not even allowed to, nowadays, print books in our own language. Any Christian literature or Bible even in our own language is not permitted. They are not even allowed to speak to a Farsi person near the church.” Muslim background believers risk arrest just by simply attending church in Iran. “Any time if the government find out, they can raid the gathering, arrest people, torture them and confiscate their property,” she said. “That is why they have to be very cautious about their communications. They can’t worship God loudly. We have to stay very quiet because you never know who is your neighbour and it can happen at any time.”

Iran Forcing Converts to Publicly Declare Their New Faith Christian converts from Islam no longer have the choice of keeping their faith secret in Iran after the Islamic Republic removed the “other religions” option from the new application form for the national ID card. The National Census Bureau has narrowed the choices available to new applicants to only the four religions recognised under the Iranian constitution: Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Zoroastrianism. The removal of the “other religions” option will further marginalise other religious groups including Baha’is, Hindus and Yarsan. The Iranian government’s new rule on ID card applications is in line with its strategy of harassing Christian converts from Islam and pressurising them to emigrate. This means that Muslim-born converts to Christianity, who may have preferred not to make public their faith in order to avoid hostility or persecution from their family, employers or the authorities, now have to reveal they are Christian, or lie about their faith and tick the box that says Muslim. A Barnabas Fund contact said the ID cards, which are compulsory for every citizen aged 15 and above, are a necessary part of daily life in Iran and are required to access basic government services or to make bank transactions. The holder’s religion is not shown on the card, but information given on the application form is easily accessed by the state’s computer network. The contact said, “Converts are frequently arrested and then released to drive them to leave the country – and, in some cases, officials have openly suggested converts leave. Because so many leave, it means that many leaders of convert groups have little theological and Biblical education.”

Iran Released Prisoners to Curb Spread of Coronavirus On 10 March 2020, it was reported that the Iranian government was to release 70,000 prisoners serving sentences of less than five years, including many Christians, to lessen the spread of coronavirus within prisons. Among those released was Christian prisoner Ramiel Bet Tamraz, who was freed on 26 February. Official government statistics confirmed 145 coronavirus related deaths and 5,823 cases of infection by 7 March 2020, but some sources suggested the figures may be higher. Health Minister Saeed Namaki had advised limiting the use of paper bank notes and had warned against travelling within the country after schools and universities were closed down to prevent the spread of the virus. Iran is in need of “urgent prayer”, an Iranian Christian told Barnabas Fund, particularly for the cities of Tehran and Qom, where the outbreak of coronavirus was particularly severe. “At the moment everyone is suffering. The issue is affecting everyone. The shortage of medical equipment, medical personnel and medicine are a very main concern. Lack of training is another one. People don’t know how to deal with it,” she explained. “Christians are pleading prayers and for God’s mercy for Iran and Iranians.”

Change of Law Puts Iranian Christians at Greater Risk of Repression A change of law in Iran “will facilitate the repression and punishment of Christian converts and others belonging to unrecognised religious groups”, according to regional experts. Amendments to Article 500 of the Islamic Penal Code, approved by Iran’s parliament in May 2020, mean that anyone found guilty of using “mind control methods” or “psychological manipulation”, in the “real or virtual sphere”, for “deviant educational or propaganda activities

that contradict or interfere with Islamic teachings in ways such as making false claims” can be punished with imprisonment, flogging, fines or even the death penalty. “This section has great potential to hurt converts from Islam to Christianity and those Christians that desire to teach and proclaim their faith,” said a Barnabas Fund contact and regional expert, “since any converts’ claims (about their conversion or their new faith) and any Christian proclamation can be interpreted as false propaganda against Islam or attempts at psychological manipulation of Muslims.” Human rights lawyer Hossein Ahmadiniaz, who has represented several Christian converts, agreed. “The law should protect citizens, including Christian converts and Baha’is, against the government,” he said. “But in Iran the law has become a tool to justify the government’s violent treatment of converts and other unrecognised minorities.” Mr Ahmadiniaz previously defended Naser Navard Goltapeh, a Farsi-speaking convert from Islam who was arrested in 2017 during a police raid on a church meeting. Naser was convicted of assembling in an “illegal gathering” that “threatens the security of Iran” and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment. He has since written an open letter from his prison cell asking why worshipping in house churches is an “action against national security”. There was an international outcry when Christian convert and pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, arrested in 2009 for objecting to the teaching of Islam to Christian schoolchildren, was sentenced to death for apostasy. He was acquitted in 2012 after repeatedly refusing to renounce his faith. Youcef is now back in prison in Iran, also serving a ten-year sentence for “actions against national security”.

Iran in Crisis Recent events in Iran reaffirmed that the regime is engulfed with serious domestic and international crises. It faces a restive society, the coronavirus outbreak, and international isolation. The Tehran regime’s actions are exacerbating the coronavirus crisis in the country as it deceitfully claims sanctions are hurting, whereas its officials are hoarding the medicines and stealing the money destined for the Iranian people. The number of coronavirus deaths in the country surpassed 48,200 deaths in 323 cities as of 31 May 2020, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)’s latest update. Faced with a restive society and the prospect of more anti-regime protests across the country, state-run media and websites have been dedicating their writings to warning – and whining – about the growing popularity of the organised opposition, the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI / MEK) in Iranian society particularly among the youth. Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have begun arresting and summoning large numbers of young activists in Iran, especially targeted the families and supporters of the PMOI, including a considerable number of women. The International Committee in Search of Justice (ISJ) recently expressed its concern over these arrests in Iran in a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Javaid Rehman. The ISJ, which enjoys the support of many parliamentarians on both sides of the Atlantic, warned that those detained are at risk of execution. It urged the UN to immediately intervene to prevent the regime from further violating human rights and secure the release of all political prisoners to avoid another humanitarian catastrophe. In an interview with Iranian state television on 30 May, Rouhani’s Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli, admitted to the killing of at least 200 protesters and shutting down the internet during the nationwide anti-regime protests in November last year. “Maintaining security is important for all of us, and is the basis of all activities”, he said with regards to the crackdown on the protests. This was the first official admission by a senior regime official exposing the real dimensions of the regime’s crackdown seven months after the nationwide uprising that shook the regime to its core. The new parliament in Iran, which is dominated by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s faction, started its work in early June amid the corona crisis. The sham

parliamentary election in February was met with an unprecedented boycott even as authorities concealed the existence of COVID-19 to have a larger turnout. In one of its first official acts, the new parliament named the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf as the Parliament Speaker. Mr Qalibaf is among the principle regime officials involved in suppression of the Iranian people and warmongering. He is also known for his involvement in several high-profile corruption cases during his tenure as Tehran’s mayor. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) president-elect, Mrs Maryam Rajavi, described Mr Qalibaf’s appointment as a new step by Ayatollah Khamenei towards a further contraction of the ruling system in the final phase of the ruling clerical regime. “The IRGC-dominated Parliament is the flip-side of, and indispensable to, a Hezbollahi Government, for which Khamenei had called on 17 May”, she added in a statement by the NCRI on 28 May. Iran was also shocked by the tragic honour-killing of a 14-year-old girl by her father in early June 2020. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) Women’s Committee condemned the tragic honour-killing of Romina Ashrafi in strongest term and said, this is “the outcome of the oppressive and medieval policies and laws of the misogynist clerical regime that encourage and promote violence against women and girls. The religious fascism ruling Iran is responsible for the murder of Romina Ashrafi.” On the international front, the USA announced on 27 May its decision to end the sanctions waiver related to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with world powers. There are also signs that the regime is losing its death grip on Syria as it has begun to withdraw its forces from the country due to US’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran, wrote former Scottish MEP, Struan Stevenson in an article for United Press International (UPI) last week. A member regime’s parliament, Heshmatullah Falahatpisheh, acknowledged some facts about Iran’s adventurism in Syria in an interview with the state media and estimated that the regime’s financial support of Bashar al-Assad had reached $US30 billion dollars before the beginning of last year.

Wisdom for Life “Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the One who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.”

Max Lucado

“The reality is, my prayers don’t change God. But, I am convinced prayer changes me. Praying boldly boots me out of that stale place of religious habit into authentic connection with God Himself.” Lysa TerKeurst

“If you believe in prayer at all, expect God to hear you. If you do not expect, you will not have. God will not hear you unless you believe He will hear you; but if you believe He will, He will be as good as your faith.” Charles Spurgeon

Prayer Points

Uphold our Christian brothers and sisters in Iran – especially those who have converted from a Muslim background – before the Lord, as they face increasing persecution from their government.

Thank God for the ‘shaking’ of the dark stronghold that is Iran. Pray that the true God will move in mighty ways to bring down the spiritual strongholds that are keeping people in bondage. Pray for the gospel to continue to impact Iranian peoples’ lives as they turn from the emptiness of Islam and find spiritual fulfilment in Jesus Christ.

Pray that God’s people in Hong Kong will know His strength as they prepare for the increased persecution that is sure to come now that the Chinese communist government has passed new laws allowing it to arrest ‘troublemakers’ in Hong Kong and deport them to the mainland.

Thank God that a number of Western countries have expressed a willingness to resettle people who want to flee from Hong Kong (although this resettlement may be limited to those who hold dual passports). Thank God that the United Kingdom has indicated that it will accept several million Hong Kong citizens who hold dual British-Chinese passports, and thank God that Australia has also indicated that it will accept some people from Hong Kong.

Keep praying that the Chinese communist government will ‘come clean’ and tell the truth about the origins and spread of COVID-19. Pray that the World Health Organisation inquiry into COVID-19 will be genuinely independent – and not ‘whitewashed’ by China – so that the truth about the origins and spread of coronavirus can be established.

There have been some political tensions in France in recent weeks. Pray that these issues can be resolved smoothly, and pray for a spiritual awakening amongst the French people.

Pray that the true purposes of the Black Lives Matter movement will come to light and that people will realise that BLM’s neo-Marxist agenda is ultimately not helpful for African-American people.

Begin to pray about the elections in the Northern Territory, scheduled for 22 August 2020. Pray that candidates will be men and women who desire to see God’s standards upheld, and pray that a government will be formed that will govern well and seek God’s wisdom in its decision-making.

There has been an upsurge in the number of COVID-19 cases in Victoria. Pray that the Victorian health authorities will be able to quickly confine the spread of the virus. Pray too that those responsible for the failure in quarantine arrangements for returned overseas travellers will admit their errors and that this series of failures can be addressed.

Thank God for the re-opening of Queensland’s borders to most of our fellow Australians. Pray that the arrival of people from inter-state will not result in an upsurge of COVID-19 cases in our State, and that the return of domestic tourists will be a boost for businesses in the tourist areas of Queensland.

Keep praying for those who are suffering the loss of income because of the shutdown of much of everyday life in our country. Pray that this ‘hit’ to our country’s economic wellbeing will cause many people to seek spiritual answers to life’s issues.

Pray for the work of Global Interaction – the mission agency that is a part of Australian Baptists – as it seeks to bring God’s transforming presence and Word into communities in Africa and Asia. Pray for the provision of necessary finances, and for the physical and spiritual protection of the GIA workers (especially those who are serving in areas where COVID-19 is rampant).

Pray again for Andrew and Sandra Freeman as they serve God in Botswana.

Pray too for Christine Pheeney as she continues the process of writing her PhD, asking for clarity in thinking and fluency in writing.

Remember Andrew and Hilda Steele in prayer as they serve with Wycliffe Bible Translators in the Solomon Islands. Pray for God’s blessing on their ministry, and for continued opportunities to promote Scripture use and literacy development in the tribal languages of Malaita Province.

Continue to pray for the ministry of FEBC Australia as it funds the radio broadcasts of gospel messages, Christian teaching, and practical advice on family issues and farming and business activities. Pray that the people who listen to these broadcasts, which are mainly in heart languages, will come to realise that the true God is interested in their lives.