The Presbyterian Moderator, Dr John Dixon, has called on all elected representatives to the Northern Ireland Assembly to "put divine principles before party or personal gain and ensure that all legislation passed and agreed will honour the Sovereign Lord".
In his New Year message Dr Dixon instanced in particular issues such as abortion and euthanasia, which he said "must unite all God-fearing members and ensure that the Creator's rights are respected as paramount in society".
Those who ruled in Dublin and Belfast did so under the delegated authority of God, he said, and he urged them to "use that authority to press within the European Union and the United Nations for a just resolution of unpayable Third World debt".
Political leaders on this island had a glorious opportunity to give a lead in "breaking these chains that enslave, degrade and starve millions created in the image of God".
Dr Dixon called on all Christians to live, speak and act as Christ had done. "The biggest scandal of recent years has been the disparity between what Christians say with their lips and show in their lives. Let us determine to change all that by God's Grace in 1999", he concluded.