The Northern Ireland Assembly has rejected same-sex marriage legislation by an outright majority for the fourth time. (See last week’s Prayer Alert) Today MLAs voted 49 to 47 against a motion calling for the redefinition of marriage. There were three abstentions. Traditional marriage supporters had warned that the motion sought to limit the free speech of Christians. Callum Webster, spokesman for The Christian Institute, said: ‘This is now the fourth time in three years this motion has been defeated. We’re thankful to those MLAs who have resisted this constant and co-ordinated pressure from activists to redefine marriage.’ He had previously highlighted that a sentence supporting ‘freedom of religion’ in last year’s motion was deleted from this year’s version. Mr Webster said this indicated that supporters of gay marriage only want to allow free speech within church services.

‘Killing Jesus,’which aired on the National Geographic Channel on Sunday (29 March), scored an all-time high for viewership at 3.7 million. The TV movie also received a rating of 1.0, the highest rating since the premiere of ‘Killing Kennedy’ in November 2013. Both ‘Killing Jesus’ and ‘Killing Kennedy’ were based on books of the same titles by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. ‘Killing Jesus’ will be featured again on the Fox News Channel this Friday at 8:00pm and on Easter Sunday at 8pm. It will also air across the globe in 171 countries. The film features Haaz Sleiman as Jesus, Kelsey Grammer as King Herod the Great, and Stephen Moyer as Pontius Pilate.It also includes Rufus Sewell as Caiaphas, Emmanuelle Chriqui as Herodias, Eoin Macken as Antipas, and John Rhys Davies as Annas.

Eric Pickles has welcomed the passing of a new law which ensures all councils have the right to hold prayers at the start of meetings. The Local Government (Religious Observances) Act received Royal Assent from the Queen on Thursday 26 March after clearing its final stages in Parliament this week. The bill means councils at any level can be 'beyond any doubt' that they can chose to start meetings with prayer without fearing discrimination accusations. The legislation which was supported by the Government was taken through Parliament by Jake Berry MP and Lord Patrick Cormack after a number of legal challenges by individuals - some of whom had been supported by the National Secular Society. Communities and Local Government Secretary and Minister for Faith, Eric Pickles said: ‘The right to worship is a fundamental and hard-fought British liberty, and the fight for religious freedom in British history is deeply entwined with the political freedoms we take for granted.’ (See Prayer Alert 01-2015)

For 2,000 years it would have been shocking to claim that Jews can believe in Jesus! It is today no longer so uncommon to find Jewish people who believe in Yeshua (Jesus) as the promised Messiah of Israel, and within a Jewish context. Still, these people are often disregarded by mainstream Judaism as confused or disillusioned. The Israeli Messianic online ministry ‘One For Israel’ has set out to demonstrate that Jewish people of the highest standing, and most certainly in their right minds, are indeed coming to a realisation that Yeshua is Messiah. On their facebook page One For Israel stated, ‘We are proud to announce our new project I MET MESSIAH. Dynamic video testimonies of Jewish professionals who met their Messiah!’ Over a period of ten weeks, the team, in partnership with Chosen People Ministries, interviewed 35 Jewish professionals who are today believers in Yeshua. Their video testimonies are online at::- imetmessiah.com.

‘Just moments ago, I left the field after the final meeting of the Gospel Campaign here in Douala, Cameroon. 370,000 people attended the four days of meetings, and many thousands responded to the Gospel. After I preached the Gospel and prayed for the sick, we heard wonderful testimonies. For example, a woman suffering from an issue of blood was healed. The lump in a woman’s breast vanished, and all pain left. A woman with multiple painful fibroids was healed and many more. After taking testimonies, I pronounced blessing after blessing upon the nation, the city, the economy, the churches and the people gathered. They received it with joy and great faith. We depart now with a confidence that something historic has taken place this week. Douala will never be the same again in Jesus name!’ Evangelist Daniel Kolenda, together with Reinhard Bonnke, Peter van den Berg and the whole Christ for all Nations team.

Top security officials in France say they've arrested an Islamic jihadist in Paris who was planning an attack on at least one church. In a press conference on Wednesday, the country's interior minister says the suspect - whose name has not been released yet - is a 24-year-old Algerian computer science student. He was arrested on Sunday after he shot himself by accident and called for an ambulance. That is when police found an arsenal of weapons and notes about potential targets in his car. Documents proved without any ambiguity that the individual was preparing an imminent attack against one or two churches. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manuel Valls reminded French citizens that the country was facing an unprecedented terrorist threat, saying ‘Terrorists are targeting France to divide us and our response must be to protect citizens and rally together as we face terrorism’. See also article 1 in the Europe section.

Councillors in Lowestoft have rejected a licensing application for the opening of a Sex Entertainment Venue in the town centre. The case was supported by the Christian Legal Centre. This was the third licensing application for a Sex Entertainment Venue to be heard by Lowestoft councillors in a period of just 12 months. In February 2014, local residents expressed concern after a licence was granted for the opening of a sex club in the town, despite strong opposition from members of the Lowestoft community. After several months, it transpired that the proposed venue would no longer go ahead. However, in autumn 2014, a second application was made for the opening of a lap dancing club in the town centre, which was also rejected after residents, businesses and churches objected and three petitions were submitted. A third application was then made, this time for a sex shop in the town. But earlier this year, councillors rejected it after the Christian Legal Centre again supported local residents in opposing the plans.

Some startling facts are causing quite a stir among the Muslim population in Indonesia, amid all the news about Islam's gains around the world. In Indonesia - the most populous Muslim nation - 2 million Muslims are converting to Christianity per year. That's one new convert every 15 seconds. At this rate, Indonesia will be mostly Christian by 2035. Some Muslims are so alarmed they've created a video on YouTube to alert other Muslims to this menace and are trying to raise $2 million to start a TV station aimed at Muslim youth to keep them in Islam. Read the full story via the ‘More’ link.

Detectives in Dungiven discovered a cannabis factory worth £250,000 and arrested a 38-year-old woman. Some of the plants were four feet high. The owner of the property - who discovered the cannabis factory - said, ‘I’m shocked, I can’t believe it.’ Detective Chief Inspector, Colin Gillis, from Crime Operations Dept. said, ‘I would like the people involved in the use and supply of illegal drugs to know that Northern Ireland is not a safe environment for them to spread their misery and destroy people’s lives. When members of the public work along with police we see time and again that successes can be made against the drugs gangs and I would actively encourage anyone with any information about the use or supply of illegal drugs to contact police on 101 to enable us to continue taking these substances off our streets.’