Pastor Miles McPherson of Rock Church in San Diego warned during a recent sermon that Christians shouldn't be "blasé" when it comes to worshiping God and advised believers to acknowledge the presence of God and His image-bearer, Jesus Christ, this Christmas. The former NFL defensive back's comments came during a Dec. 4 sermon titled "Heaven Came Down," which is the first part of a four-week Christmas series focusing on the significance of Jesus' birth. Reflecting on how people passionately pursue celebrities such as Kanye West, McPherson said, "Imagine what it would be like if you saw God. ... My encouragement to you is when you get up in the morning or when you come to church—and not even on Sunday [but] every single day—that you spend time encountering God before you start your day." Watch the full sermon here.

During the Institute on Religion & Democracy's panel discussion on Wednesday, human rights advocates highlighted religious freedom and women's rights concerns across Africa that they say are overlooked by the U.S. State Department. Scott Morgan, an Africa and national security analyst who helped organize the event, told CP that the event was the "first step" in preparing data to be shared with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom. Judith Nwana, a steering committee member for the Cameroon Humanitarian Relief Initiative, told CP, "We need the U.S. government and the international community not just to talk but to take action." Read more.

In this editorial, Christian Post Executive Editor Dr. Richard D. Land discusses why this Christmas season is the perfect time to focus on the first principles of the Christian faith, which he explains begins by declaring that every human being is created by God and someone "God deemed worthy to have His only Son come and die a cross kind of death to redeem them for the life and destiny God planned for them (Jn. 3:16)." In celebrating the birth of our Savior, Land reminds readers to remember that "the shadow of the cross always loomed over the manger. Our Savior came to sacrifice Himself voluntarily in order to rescue each one of us from our sinful selves." Read more.

Dr. Michael Brown cautions that the signing of the so-called Respect for Marriage Act will spell legal trouble for those who do not affirm same-sex marriage. Brown condemns the manipulative language that was used to tie interracial and same-sex marriages together—two fundamentally unrelated categories—and cautions that President Joe Biden's signing of the act into law is part of a larger societal agenda to push chemical castration and genital-mutilating surgeries for children. This is evidenced, according to Brown, by Biden's own words. "The President put it all together in one sentence, making it clearer than I could in a whole article. These are the words of the President of the United States of America on December 13, 2022, at the signing of the bill: 'Folks, racism, antisemitism, homophobia, transphobia—they’re all connected.' Enough said," Brown writes. Read more.

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St. Peter’s Church in Bramshaw near Southampton in the English countryside was terrified to learn that a dead cat was found hanging from a flagpole at their church. The gruesome discovery came just weeks after a dead fox was discovered on the church's doorstep. The vicar of the church, Rev. David Bacon, suspects the animals' bodies were deliberately dumped by satanists. "Every so often we get things like this happening. It makes everybody feel very uncomfortable," the vicar was quoted as saying. Satanists are being suspected because in 2019, sheep had been stabbed and sprayed with pentagrams, and graffiti with the same occult markings were found on the church walls. Bacon said he can't "definitively" say if the latest incidents are linked to the 2019 sheep killings, explaining that those behind it could be "just angry at life in general, or against the church, or is it linked to witchcraft? I can’t say." Read more.

Ukraine's Security Council has seized the assets of seven Orthodox Church clergy who purportedly have sympathetic ties to Russia. They have also been banned from certain economic and legal activities and prohibited from traveling, Reuters reports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Sunday that the measures were being taken to prevent clergy from aiding Russia. The orders against clergy are part of a broader effort on the part of Ukrainian officials to move against Orthodox churches in the nation that Zelensky claims might be sympathetic to Russia. At specific issue are Orthodox congregations that are affiliated with the Moscow Patriarchate—Moscow's Patriarch Kirill has been a strong supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine—instead of being affiliated with the independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Reuters previously reported that Ukraine was considering banning worship at churches that it believes might be taking orders from Kirill, which Zelensky justified by arguing that pro-Russian influences were trying to "manipulate Ukrainians and weaken Ukraine from within." Read more.

Gospel artist Kirk Franklin opened up on social media about the tragic suicide death of DJ, television host and dancer Stephen "tWitch" Boss, calling it "heartbreaking." Franklin, who said he's been open about his struggles with depression and anxiety, discussed the importance of checking in on people, saying, "The community that I have around me that knows what I go through and have always been there for me, they check on me. They want to see how I'm doing during the holidays and they asked me real questions." He added that people should not be afraid to "get on people's nerves" and ask tough questions to loved ones struggling with mental health. "Ask them how they're doing. Ask them about their thoughts; ask them about what they're thinking," he urged. Read more.

Academy Award-winning film director Guillermo del Toro says Carlo Collodi, the author behind the 19th-century fairy tale "Pinnochio," always "saw Pinocchio as a flawed Messiah." The film director's stop-motion animated film explores the story in new ways. Set in 1930s Italy during Mussolini's fascist dictatorship, Gepetto carves a wooden boy, Pinocchio, after losing his son in a church bombing. Gepetto initially resists the puppet, who comes to life, believing his deceased son can never be replaced. After he is captured by an evil puppeteer, Gepetto—who realizes he profoundly loves the puppet—and a talking bug, Sebastian J. Cricket, travel far and wide, seeking to reunite with Pinocchio. The film examines themes of love, loss, grief and the meaning of life, with del Toro, who was raised Catholic, telling The Christian Post that biblical allegories and illusions woven throughout the film are integral to the storyline. "[I]n this era we're in, where imperfection is a matter that should be tried violently, this is an act of forgiveness to all of us. … This movie is an act of forgiveness," he explains. Read more.