Christian organizations have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the enforcement of the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate following an appeals court decision allowing the employer mandate to take effect. The First Liberty Institute, a legal nonprofit specializing in religious liberty cases, filed an emergency application for stay with the nation’s high court over the weekend on behalf of multiple faith-based organizations, arguing that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration vaccine mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Click through to read the story in full.

It's been a busy year for news between COVID-19 lockdowns, a push for vaccinations, continued COVID-19 deaths, new presidential leadership, and watching the fallout following scandals among a handful of prominent Christian leaders. Click the image to view part one of our roundup of the top 10 news stories of 2021.

In the most recent episode of "Challenging Conversations" on the edifi podcast network, host Jason Jimenez, who's also a pastor and founder of Stand Strong Ministries, was joined by apologist Sean McDowell to discuss why some 60% of professing Christians believe cohabitation and sex outside of marriage are OK. "[P]remarital cohabitation has become common in the Church because many Christians have made today’s secular values their own. Our society cherishes 'trying before buying,' convenience at any cost, sex without rules, companionship without commitment, and relationship without responsibility," they explain.

On December 1, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a case that poses the best chance in over a generation to overturn Roe v. Wade. Julie Rickelman, senior director of U.S. litigation for the Center for Reproductive Rights, argued that the Court should strike down Mississippi’s Gestational Age Act — the bipartisan legislation banning abortion after 15 weeks that was at issue in the case. Click the image to keep reading.

A magistrate’s court in central England has thrown out a case against a female Christian pastor whom police had fined $21,000 for holding a church gathering for the homeless in a car park during the COVID-19 lockdown. Nottingham Magistrates Court ruled that Pastor Chez Dyer, who organized an outdoor service during the February lockdown, will not have to pay the fine and ordered the government to pay her legal fees, said the Christian Legal Centre, which supported the clergy.

In this op-ed, Robin Schumacher compares a key passage from Revelation to the Christmas story. "Although certainly not traditional Christmas fare, [Revelation 12:1-5] provides unique insight into the birth of Christ over what we find in Matthew and Luke," Schumacher explains. Click the image to read his full list of comparisons.