Updated Throughout the Weekend
Understanding Domestic Persecution (Part 2)
“The persecution of Israel’s prophets, and that of the saints of the New Testament and this age find their nexus in the life and Person of Christ. He sets the pattern for persecution within an inhospitable culture, and Scripture shows us at least two ways of understanding Him from this angle.”
Politics of Inclusion
“Is bi-partisanship really a gospel imperative when practically every oped writer for the Times and the Post promotes crossing the aisle in Congress? Do we need to gussy up bi-partisanship with the gospel? Is that why Christ died?”
Setting The Stage
“As the century opened, the reform movement of Jan Hus allowed for the creation of a separate Czech church. Hus stood on the text of Scripture to reject the theological changes of the medieval Catholic church, though he was also spurred by the love of his country to seek independence from the Holy Roman Empire.”
Mr. Walker Goes to Washington
A friend of Walker and Lawndale Baptist Church’s senior pastor, Joe Giaritelli, said he never doubted Walker would make it to Washington. “I didn’t care what the polls were saying,” Giaritelli told RealClearReligion. “I just knew in my heart that he was going to win that, that God was going to open up doors.”
Irenaeus on Reading and Understanding Scripture
“A sound mind,” he wrote, “and one which does not expose its possessor to danger, and is devoted to piety and the love of truth, will eagerly meditate upon those things which God has placed within the power of mankind [i.e., power to understand], and has subjected to our knowledge, and will make advancement in them, rendering the knowledge of them easy to him by means of daily study.”
Why I Am (Still) An Evangelical
“Although I certainly simplified the matter, the truth was that as I read more, learned more, and thought more, the evangelical understanding of the biblical narrative of creation–fall–judgment–redemption impressed itself upon me, continuing to recount the story of my own life while making sense of the world in a way that nothing else that I studied did.”
Sola Scriptura or Sola Cardia?
“It would follow then that a sufficient Bible that must be read, obeyed and applied would be preached. Pastors who do not preach the Bible betray any commitment to sola Scriptura. As nice and entertaining as stories, jokes, and authenticity are–they cannot bear the freight of God’s work in the pulpit. God means to have his people’s minds renewed.”
Nothing In, Nothing Out
When you are thinking of the judgment: We check everything at the grave. When the multi-billionaire John D. Rockefeller died, his assistant was asked, “How much did he leave?” “Everything,” he replied. Why not print this verse and stick it on everything you have or want: “We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”
Keeping Gossip Out of Prayer Requests
Anyone can be tempted to gossip. But we can avoid it if we slow down and evaluate whether we are the right person, with the right motivation, talking to the right audience with the right information. A good prayer request comes from the good stored up in a good heart, and one day, we’ll all have to give an account for the prayer requests we passed on (cf. Matthew 12:35-36). May we be found faithful.
This Is The Last Post You Will Ever Need To Read On Why They Don’t Sing In Church Anymore
We may not be able to turn the tide in the rest of our culture, but with intentionality over the next generations, we can change the culture of singing in the church. This is not a non-essential of faith. This is not adiaphora. This is important stuff. If the ancient principal of lex orandi, lex credendi is true, if how we believe is determined by how we worship, then we must learn to sing well, just as we must learn to preach well and to pray well.
Where Did All The Preachers Go, And What Did You Do To Them?
Bottom line, do you want the sort of minister that gives you what you need, or the charlatan who gives you what you want? And what will be your response to the faithful man of God who week-in and week-out unflinchingly proclaims God’s Word in your hearing? Will you judge him for being too long? Will you condemn him for lacking the entertaining qualities of others? I think you might need to be careful before you answer these questions.
You Can Trust Scientific Research Reports (We Think; We Hope)
It is always wise and prudent to be skeptical about scientific research. Good science gives us valuable new insights into the world in which we live. Nevertheless, even when properly conducted, science does not yield “proof.” The testing of hypotheses is based on statistics and probabilities. Scientific research always includes some probability that the findings resulted from random noise rather than systematic effects.
One Simple Way To Encourage Your Pastor
Don’t worry about his head getting too big. The Lord knows how to keep his pastors humble so you can worry about keeping your pastor going. Who knows what season of doubt your minister may be enduring? Who knows what discouragement constantly plagues him? Who knows how close he may be to leaving the ministry (by quiet resignation or by public scandal)?
The Errors Of Liberation Theology
Liberation theology arose in the 1960s and 70s as a response to the widespread poverty and injustice in Latin America. It began with the Gospel premise that Christians have a special obligation to help the poor. But like so many theological movements which depart from sound Catholic principles
How Rich Corporate Elites Are Lobbying Lawmakers to Crush Marriage Advocates
The basic idea is that LGBT activists couldn’t persuade a majority of citizens to vote to redefine marriage, so they got five unelected judges to redefine marriage for the entire country. Now, they’re using corporate giants to pressure lawmakers in D.C. to enact legislation that would eliminate any dissent. It gets worse.
An abuse survivor speaks to the church
Powerful and personal words that call for the church to reflect the genuine image of Jesus.
How to talk to those who disagree with you
Q&A | How to talk with those who disagree with you
Evangelical Pastors Serving in Cities Known for Advocating Homosexuality Say: ‘Don’t Water Down the Gospel’
Evangelical pastors who lead churches in cities known for their strong support of homosexuality have stressed the need to preach the Gospel lovingly toward the LGBT community.
What Is Christian Hedonism?
What is Christian Hedonism? John Piper has used the short phrase for years to describe how our joy in God makes much of God. In other words, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. In ten minutes, he explains where that idea came from, and why he believes it is biblical.
Sadie Robertson Reminds Fans ‘We Serve a God Bigger Than Our Insecurities’ in Inspirational Post
“Duck Dynasty” star Sadie Robertson recently encouraged fans who may be going through a hard time to cast their cares on God, as He is bigger than human insecurities and has “already defeated it all on the cross.”
China’s Christians protest ‘evil’ Communist campaign to tear down crosses
Christian leaders – including an 89-year-old bishop – have taken to the streets of eastern China to protest against an “evil” campaign to remove crosses that many see as a coordinated Communist party attack on their faith. Activists say more than 1,200 crosses have been stripped from churches in Zhejiang province since the government initiative …
Heidelberg 104: Authority And Submission
In the fall Adam chose to exercise autonomy, to rebel against God. Since the fall humans have carried on Adam’s ignominious tradition. Cain rebelled against worshiping God truly and, in a jealous rage, murdered his brother who did worship God truly. We, the world that then was (2 Pet 3:6), became so rebellious against God […]
Watchmen Warn: Anybody Listening?
Jan Markell’s first guest, Avi Lipkin, an Israeli, says Israel will go it alone in an attack against Iran, if necessary. He warns of the Islamic immigration to America and reminds us that Iran sees America as the “Great Satan.” Progressives are all too quick to be friends with evil. Then John Haller gives his perspective that the Iran treaty could lead to the “covenant” with the Antichrist. Israel longs for peace and in the short-term, only war is looming. The Antichrist will offer solutions. Watch Haller’s weekly “Prophecy Update” on YouTube: Fellowship Bible Chapel. We use the mobile app found at http://www.oneplace.com.
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Eating a Slice of Humble Pie
Yesterday I had an opportunity to spend 3 hours with a local pastor and get an insight into some of the difficult work some of our Pastors do that often goes unnoticed. Years earlier this pastor faced a very tough personal economic situation where he and his family weren’t sure how they were going to […]
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Can We Define “Christian”?
First, for our international audience, please bear with us as we try to solve problems we are experiencing in our online streaming. You can always catch our podcasts posted later today. More than 80% of the citizens of our nation call themselves “Christians”. But many of them profess beliefs directly contradicted by the Word […]
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Can-We-Define-_Christian__-guest-William-Murray.mp3 24.5 MB
Shocking gender indoctrination in California: VIDEO
Do not be surprised, but Young children are being taught that they can choose to be a boy or a girl — or both. Boys, for example, should be comfortable wearing girls’ clothes and nail polish, etc. And there aren’t just two genders, there can be a range. And, of course, the school does not allow […]
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Our children, confusion and clarity
The visible church certainly has some challenges these days with the legality of same sex marriage and a culture of sin becoming more acceptable in the pews, and even in some who shepherd the flock. But wait, there’s more. There is a dramatic push in our schools to indoctrinate boys and girls as young as […]
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Our-children-confusion-and-clarity-guest-Ruth-Christian.mp3 24 MB
“I’m a Christian” Would You Define That Please?
The Bible warns us in many places that many who profess to be of the faith would fall away in the last days. The Church has always faced false teachings and false prophets seeking to infiltrate the Body of Believers to draw people away from the pure truth of God’s Word and the gospel of […]
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Planned Parenthood President Compares Pro-Lifers to Murderers
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! – Isaiah 5:20 If you haven’t seen the interview ABC’s George Stephenopolis did with Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards, you need to hear how she spins the […]
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Of Future Kings and Anti-Christs
What are pastors teaching their flocks about The AntiChrist, how kings are appointed and the ministry of Jesus Christ?
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Of-Future-Kings-and-Anti-Christs-guests-Dr.-Randy-White.mp3 24.6 MB
Submitting to authority
The Bible teaches Christians to submit to authority. But what kind of authority? Is there ever a time to not submit? We’re talking about that with our guest today, Pastor Saiko Woods. Pastor Woods is from His Word His Way Fellowship Church in Sugar Land, Texas, where he preaches God’s Word is our final authority. […]
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Submitting-to-authority-guest-Pastor-Saiko-Woods.mp3 23.9 MB
Is it okay to ask the military what happened to our freedom?
I know that this is touchy. I know that we’ve been conditioned to avoid even the consideration of such thoughts and subjects. I know that even asking the question will have many tempted to immediately tar and tag me as “unpatriotic” or some sort of commie pinko who should just shut up, stop thinking such things, […]
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Confronting Americult
For those hoping, praying, and pulling for true restoration in America, the past weekend offered us the clearest sign yet that we are nowhere near even beginning to head in that direction as a people. The one thing to watch for in this or any other culture where death is near and restoration is desperately […]
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How’s that Pagan “conservatism” workin’ out for ya, Christian?
So how is our Pagan “conservatism” and America worship working out for us? How’s that 40+ year “pro-life commitment” from the GOP panning out? (See: Note to ‘Merica: There is no “God-given right” to murder children. Repent accordingly.) How’s that GOP/”conservative” defense of “family values” playing out? (See: Of course Jeb Bush is “fine” with […]
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Rob Bell promotes “Mother God” and “apophatic meditation” in new “Liturgists” show
Article: Unbiblical Christianity
In addition to (or perhaps because of) his new The Rob Bell Show on Oprah Winfrey’s OWN channel, Rob Bell has been busy with his ZIMZUM of Love book promotions and now his new The Liturgists program, a podcast he has quietly launched with a dozen or so other theological partners who “do not actively promote our names and personal images” for ego reasons.
What do The Liturgists talk about when they talk about God the Father? Well actually, they talk about God the Mother. That’s not a typo. Says Bell:
Created in honor of Mother’s Day, God our Mother is a liturgy that explores both the scriptures that speak of God in a maternal context and the limits of human language in describing an infinite God. God Our Mother includes an apophatic contemplative meditation. Apophatic disciplines seek to push beyond language and rational thinking in the context of God’s Holiness, and can be very powerful. For this reason, we recommend that spiritual practices like apophaticism are best moderated through scripture, tradition, and some form of spiritual community.
Something Catastrophic Is Coming: Should We Tune Out?
While the biblical principle of balance and moderation is always in order, are there not seasons where desperate times require desperate measures? Just as birth pangs increase in intensity and frequency until delivery, are there not unique times in history when more is required of us because the pace is quickening and it’s imperative as “watchmen on the wall” to remain vigilant? Could we be in just such a time?
This Viral Meme is Wreaking Havoc on Christian Minds
by Eric Holmberg
We can now add to the list of risks associated with the homosexual lifestyle its impact on the frontal lobes and logic centers of the evangelical brain. Faced with the rising “gay” tide, multiple thousands—perhaps millions—of professing Christians are becoming both hosts and transmitters of a peculiar form of cognitive dissonance: embracing two incompatible ideas and somehow making peace with the disharmony.
I’m speaking here of the idea that active, unrepentant sexual activity between two same-gendered people is consistent with Christian beliefs and practices.
The solvent for forging this artificial union or peace (see Jer. 6:14)? A skewed view of Christian love, grace, mercy and forgiveness.
An important distinction needs to be made here between this and the other, more manifestly rebellious method some professing Christians use to reconcile the two: twisting scriptural references to homosexuality to mean something other than their clear meaning and what 99% of biblical scholars over three millennia have taken them to mean. In other words, advocating that when properly practiced God blesses homosexual behavior and that it is just as conducive to human and societal flourishing as heterosexuality. I am specifically addressing here Christians who still believe that homosex is wrong—or at least sub-optimal—but also believe that Christian love and forgiveness call for us to accept it.
I was recently confronted with this insidious meme for the umpteenth time while strolling through a special event held at an upscale shopping and dining development. It was a Kid’s Fare and the streets were dotted with booths and presentations catering to pre-teens. One was sponsored by a local church. Still looking for a congregation to join after moving to Cleveland, I stopped and visited with a nice lady who was handing out gift bags and talking up the impressive variety of programs her church had to offer children in the community. As we chatted, it was clear she was genuinely sincere and excited about Jesus and her faith. Yes, her church believed in the inerrancy of Scripture. Ditto the bodily death and resurrection of Christ. And yes, Jesus was the way, the truth and the life. Not wanting to monopolize her time, I decided to cut to the chase and ask “the question”—one that sadly has become one of the better gauges as to a particular church’s position on the “pillar and ground of truth” scale. (1 Tim. 3:15)
“Where are you guys in relation to the issue of homosexuality and gay marriage?”
She blinked and opened with what I have found to be a standard, evasive response: “We love and support all people and want to help them on their journey with God.”
“Fantastic!” I replied. “But what does that practically mean for someone who is actively engaged in a homosexual lifestyle?”
After a few more ambiguous comments, she finally cut to the chase, revealing the infectious meme. To better understand this affliction, I will break it down…
FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>>
This Viral Meme is Wreaking Havoc on Christian Minds | The Apologetics Group
Three Models for How Christians Can Engage Culture
by Eric Chabot
Given the current cultural climate, the hot topics that always being talked about are issues such as the same sex marriage and abortion debate. But what I have noticed over the years is that Christians are still struggling to figure out how to exactly engage the culture around them. In other words, should a Christian care about governmental laws? Should they be involved with politics? Should they be trying to impact legislation? Should Christians just pray and let God fight the battles around them? As for myself, I have invested plenty of time trying to engage the university. Allow me to go ahead and expand on this topic with three models for cultural engagement:
1. The Withdrawal Model: In this model, many Christians are just so disgusted with the evil in the culture that they have decided to separate from it completely. When I say ‘separate’ I mean that these Christians only socialize with other Christians and generally won’t engage the dangerous places like universities. Thus, they tend to always expect non Christians to behave like Christians and are convinced America will eventually return to its Christian foundations.
Let me tell a quick story: I once participated in an Interfaith panel on a university campus (e.g, we had a Muslim, a Jewish rabbi, a Buddhist, along with myself). Sadly, one of my Christian friends rebuked me for participating in such as event. Hence, he said I should never sit on a panel with people who were from different faiths. When I challenged him on being salt and light (Matt. 5: 13-14) and that we need to engage the dark areas of our culture, he only got more defensive. In many cases people who adhere to the withdrawal model forget that judgment comes to the household of God first (1 Pet. 4: 16-17). We can’t keep expecting non Christians to adhere to our values and beliefs. This ends up making the Gospel into the moral Gospel rather than a supernatural message…
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Three Models for How Christians Can Engage Culture – THINKAPOLOGETICS.COM
An Interview With Dr. Douglas Groothuis
Doug Groothuis is one of America’s leading Christian apologists. Author of Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Christian Apologetics, as well as many other books and articles, Dr. Groothuis is Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary.
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Herb: What motivated you to become interested in apologetics?
Doug: I became a Christian after studying philosophy my first year in college. And then I went back and tried to be philosophical about Christianity and think through the Christian worldview and how it related to other worldviews. And I ended up getting a PhD in philosophy and studying other religions and other philosophies, writing about those. And I had some facility in doing that and it ministered to people. I love to build Christians up in their faith and also try to speak the truth in love to unbelievers, understand them, be able to interact logically with people that I disagree with.
Herb: Wonderful. I have a ministry that ministers to men and so a question I have for you involves the tremendous worldview change in our culture over the last several decades. How do you feel that that has affected men?
Doug: Well, the changes are profound, really titanic. And it has to do with not considering God as the ultimate moral authority. We’re concerned more about what’s contingent and what culture thinks. So laws are changed with no regard to the fear of God. And sexual ethics have gone insane in recent years. So I think men are told any sexual relationship they want is legitimate as long as it’s consensual. And that’s wrong. I think when people stop exercising dominion, as we’re called to do. We’re called to cultivate the planet–it’s true for men and women–that they often resort to the strongest feelings they have. And in many people, those are erotic feelings. So men and women need to practice self restraint, self control, and also have a worldview that makes sense out of sexuality. God created us male and female for marriage. Pretty simple. And if we stay within heterosexual, monogamous marriage and faithfulness within marriage, then we’ll have a framework for our lives and we won’t be tossed about by all these bizarre sexual ideas that assail us all the time.
Herb: When our culture had a theistic worldview, a Christian worldview, that men had a template of what they were supposed to do.
Doug: Right.
Herb: And now, with a materialistic worldview, men tend to think of themselves as just mere animals.
Doug: Well that’s right because people are trying to erase the distinction that exists between the human and the non-human. And often behaviors are justified or explained on the basis of what’s called evolutionary psychology which, as Francis Schaefer said, has a view of human beings where you look down, you don’t look up. You look down at your supposed evolutionary history. And you don’t look up in terms of your creator who made you in his image and likeness. So we lose a law above the law. We lose an orientation to God and we look only to the biological and only to the social world. And that means that we won’t have abiding standards and we won’t have reasons to say no to ourselves because we’re saying yes to God and his kingdom. And once that becomes a part of culture, anything goes. It’s like the psalmist says, “When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” What we do is we cling to God. We read the Bible. We believe the Bible. We attend church. We try to be salt and light in the culture. But we can’t underestimate the philosophical consequences of this belief that God has nothing to say to the human condition…
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Eternal Truth for Changing Times: An Interview With Dr. Douglas Groothuis
Does the Cumulative Case for Design Point to a Divine Designer?
By J. Warner Wallace
Much has been written about the evidence for design in biological organisms. In fact, the appearance of design is largely uncontroversial. Even famed atheist and evolutionist, Richard Dawkins has written, “Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.” But what, precisely, are the attributes of design most of us believe (either consciously or unconsciously) are most reasonably explained by an intelligent designer? In my new book, God’s Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for A Divinely Created Universe, I make a case for Intelligent Design based on the contributions of many great scientists and thinkers, my own experience as a designer (my education and training is in design and architecture) and my professional investigative career as a detective. The result: a cumulative case approach to the appearance of design and the reasonable inference of an Intelligent Designer. I believe there are eight attributes of design we employ when reasonably inferring the existence of a Designer. To make them easier to remember, I’ve assembled them in an acronym (DESIGNED):
D- Dubious Probability (Given Chance)
Is random chance an insufficient explanation for the formation and assembly of the object we are examining?
E -Echoes of Familiarity
Does the object resemble other structures we know (with certainty) were designed by intelligent designers?
S- Sophistication and Intricacy
Does the object display specificity, sophistication and intricacy consistent with the involvement of an intelligent agent?
I – Informational Dependency
Is there any evidence the object was directed and created by way of instructional information?
G – Goal Direction (and Intentionality)
Does the form and assembly process of the object process to be goal-directed?
N – Natural Inexplicability (Given Laws of Physics or Chemistry)
Are the laws of physics and chemistry insufficient to account for the form and function of the object?
E – Efficiency / Irreducible Complexity
Does the object display efficient, irreducible complexity reflecting the involvement of an intelligent designer?
D – Decision / Choice Reflection
Does the object display evidence of conscious choices indicative of an intelligent designer?
Like every cumulative case built on a collection of seemingly innocuous pieces of evidence, no single aspect of the case may appear all that compelling. But the cumulative collection of evidences, when they all point to the same reasonable inference, provide us with good reason to believe an intelligent agent has been involved in the design process…
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Does the Cumulative Case for Design Point to a Divine Designer?
Sieg Heil Planned Parenthood
Each passing day as we learn more about the money-hungry killing machine known as Planned Parenthood, the more we see obvious and clear parallels to the Nazi killing machine. There seems to be so much common ground here that PP is really no different morally speaking than the Nazis were.
Indeed, the origins should tell us all we need to know. Adolf Hitler was greatly impressed with and influenced by the diabolical eugenicist Margaret Sanger – who just happens to be the founder of Planned Parenthood. The odious worldview of the Nazis aligned so very well with that of Sanger.
For more on how greatly Hitler was influenced by the eugenicists of the day, including Sanger, one should consult the important 2003 volume by Edwin Black , War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race.
Given those connections, we should not be surprised about the shocking revelations emerging today about this mega baby killing machine. The same mindset and ethos prevails, and the same horrible outcomes are being realised. PP alone is responsible for the death of more babies than Hitler was of Jews.
Of course the same callous disregard for human life can be found in both groups. Jews and others were viewed as subhuman by the Nazis, and so could be killed or “medically” experimented upon as they liked. PP treats the unborn baby in exactly the same fashion.
And the same rationale is being used here as well: ‘If these folks are going to die anyway, why not put to good use their body parts.’ Just yesterday on Fox News I heard one radical leftist guest say exactly this. ‘Hey, they are going to die so we might as well make good use of them.’
Um, where have we heard all this before? During the Nuremberg Trials after WWII we heard plenty of testimony about what was being done with the body parts of Jews and others. Consider the case of Nazi doctor Julius Hallervorden. As one author says,
“Hallervorden, who was shipped six hundred preserved brains of ‘mercy death’ victims for his research in neuropathology, testified after the war: ‘There was wonderful material among those brains. . . . Where they came from and how they came to me was really none of my business.”
Said Dr.Hallervorden: “If you are going to kill all these people, at least take the brains out so that the material can be utilised.” Hmm, sound just like the officials at PP and their defenders. Needless to say, Hallervorden was ultimately found guilty of major war crimes. But when it comes to PP, we still treat them as heroes.
But let me mention one more Nazi doctor, and you tell me if you see any parallels with what PP or any other abortionists are doing to babies:
Dr. Herta Oberheuser, in order to kill them, would inject oil and evipan into children’s blood streams. While the children were still conscious, she removed their vital organs and limbs with no anesthetics. They usually had about 3-5 minutes before death would come. Herta also focused on inflicting wounds that were similar to the wounds the German soldiers got on patients. She would then rub objects such as; glass, wood, rusty nails, and sawdust into the wounds. Herta was the only female defendant at the Nuremberg Medical Trials. She received a 20 year sentence, but only served 10. After being released in the April of 1952, she became a family doctor in Stocksee, Germany. Her license was revoked in 1958.
Richard Cromwell has recently penned a piece entitled ” It’s Getting Tough To Tell Planned Parenthood From Nazis”. He begins his article this way:
German SS officer and Auschwitz “physician” Josef Mengele once wrote, “There’s only one truth and one true beauty …There’s no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in nature. There’s only ‘appropriate’ or ‘inappropriate’… Both sides receive equal chances. Nevertheless, nature provides a strainer. Things that are ‘inappropriate’ fall through since they lose in the struggle for survival.”
More lately, Dr. Deborah Nucatola, Planned Parenthood’s senior director for medical services, had this to say: “We’ve been very good at getting heart, lung, liver, because we know that, so I’m not gonna crush that part. I’m gonna basically crush below, I’m gonna crush above, and I’m gonna see if I can get it all intact.”
It’s almost like Planned Parenthood is the strainer and babies, those inappropriate little consequences of life, fall through in the struggle for survival while the organs, the appropriate parts, survive and get sold at market. Ain’t progress grand?
He concludes,
Planned Parenthood is run by a bunch of nihilists, as evidenced by the fact that they obviously find life meaningless. Nihilists! I mean, say what you want about the tenets of National Socialism, at least it’s an ethos, a philosophy of life that attempts to provide meaning to and excuses for butchery. When it comes to harvesting organs for sale, solely for the sake of $30 to $100, you’ve officially abandoned any claim to an ethos, even a disgusting and misguided one. When you have no intention of stopping, because progress! even as the death toll rises, you’re nothing more than state-sponsored murderers.
Currently we now have ten US state investigations and three Congressional investigations into the goings on of PP. Texas is one such state. Consider this recent report:
Anti-abortion activists rallied at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday to applaud the state’s Republican leaders for investigating Planned Parenthood.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee will meet Wednesday to discuss Planned Parenthood’s role in fetal tissue donation programs. The investigation is one of three ordered by state leaders following the release of undercover videos showing several national Planned Parenthood officials discussing fetal tissue procurement methods and reimbursement fees.
Fetal tissue donation for research is legal, but the group behind the videos, the Center for Medical Progress, alleges that Planned Parenthood is illegally profiting from the reimbursements they receive for tissue procurement. Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards has called the accusations untrue.
At the rally Tuesday, Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, R-Parker, compared the procurement and research of fetal tissue to Nazi experiments.
“This is no different than what happened in Nazi Germany,” Laubenberg said. “No different than doing experiments on the old men and old women, and now doing them on the babies.”
She called Planned Parenthood “liars” and “destroyers of human life.”
She and the other rally speakers applauded the state’s success in banning Planned Parenthood from the state’s Women’s Health Program and recently the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening program.
But all these investigations should not be limited to some of the more obvious dodgy deals of PP. The very rationale and purpose of PP (the killing of innocent human life) should be called into question. While the defunding of PP is long overdue, we should look more closely at not just curtailing taxpayer funding, but at curtailing the entire organisation.
http://www.kawvalley.k12.ks.us/schools/rjh/marneyg/04_holocaust-projects/04_mccune_medical-experiments.htm
http://thefederalist.com/2015/07/15/its-getting-tough-to-tell-planned-parenthood-from-nazis/
Christian Mass Murderers (Or Clueless Wonders)
There is absolutely no question that the Nazis were mass murderers. And there is absolutely no question that groups like Planned Parenthood are mass murderers. Both have slain their millions. Both are guilty of crimes against humanity, and both are on the wrong side of history – certainly God’ history.
Yet incredibly we have some “Christians” actually defending mass murder. They are siding with the killers against God and his holy hatred of the shedding of innocent blood. These folks are not Christians at all, but woefully deceived dupes of Satan.
They are doing Satan’s work for him by attacking real Christians who resist the shedding of blood, while they in fact defend the murderers. This is just so mind-boggling that you would have to argue this just can’t be happening. But sadly it is occurring.
Consider one fellow on another website who rightly posted on Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood, the world’s biggest baby killing operation. He correctly referred to her as a “murderous lady”. Well of course she is. She and Hitler are like sister and brother when it comes to genocide and the slaughter of the innocents.
Yet some completely clueless wonder who claims to be a Christian actually got all upset and sent in a strong comment condemning him! I kid you not! This is what he said:
Don’t you get it? Jesus explicitly says not to judge. Your posts go way beyond disagreeing with this lady. You are in the realm of vilification and slander. Do you think it is okay to accuse this lady of breaking God’s law, when you are yourself by publically denouncing her? I know I am being blunt here, but the bible says that Daddy God has no darkness in Him – there is no concept of doing the wrong thing to achieve a good outcome in His Kingdom.
Wow, mind boggling. He is actually claiming the slaughter of babies and the seeling of their baby parts for profit is no worse than calling out those who do this! Sorry, but when I find stuff that is this morally and mentally challenged I feel compelled to respond. So I sent in this reply to the guy:
So, Elijah was wrong to judge (condemn) the Baalists, Isaiah was wrong to judge the false idols, Jesus was wrong to judge the Pharisees, Paul was wrong to judge the Judaisers, John was wrong to judge the antichrists, Wilberforce was wrong to judge the slave traders, and the Allies were wrong to judge the Nazis? How utterly foolish.
No wonder the church is in such a mess when clueless wonders will defend mass murderers of babies while whining about (and judging and condemning!) those believers who rightly stand against such evil.
Imagine that: not only is he 100 per cent wrong on the issue of judging, and not only does he judge others while telling them how wrong it is to judge, but he actually goes to bat for baby killers. If this is the stuff of Christianity these days, we might as well just close down all the churches, turn them into gay discos, and just give the whole thing away.
But wait, there’s more. If it were just one-off fruit loops like this guy, it would not be so bad. But we actually have entire denominations shrilling for Planned Barrenhood (or is it Banned Parenthood?) while attacking true followers of Jesus Christ. Consider a recent report on this uber-madness and gross spiritual deception:
According to a group of liberal clergy, killing babies in abortions and selling their body parts to the highest bidder is “God’s work.”
On July 29, the Planned Parenthood Clergy Advocacy Board said the undercover videos portraying their executives haggling over the cost of aborted babies’ body parts are simply an attack on health care.
Jeffrey Walton from the Institute on Religion and Democracy reports that the board is made up of religious leaders from the United Church of Christ, Episcopal Church and American Baptist Churches as well as clergy from Reformed Jewish and Unitarian Universalist congregations.
In a statement the clergy said, “As faith leaders committed to justice, honesty, and liberty, we are troubled by the decades-long campaign of harassment against Planned Parenthood and those they serve. Our faiths demand care for those marginalized by poverty and other oppressions. Faith leaders have supported Planned Parenthood for nearly 100 years because of our shared goals: every person — regardless of income, race, or religion — deserves access to safe, affordable, high-quality health care.”
They concluded, “Our religious traditions call us to offer compassion, not judgment. People who work for Planned Parenthood give care and respect to those in need, doing God’s work. For this we are grateful.”
OK, so let me get this right: killing babies and selling their body parts is doing God’s work. OK, got that. And there I thought that God was a God of life and love. But it seem he is really a God of death and hate. Hmmm, so all those centuries we have got God wrong, and these trendy folks are here to set the record straight. Right.
How is this satanic deception over PP one bit different from entire church bodies defending the work of the Nazis and telling us they were doing God’s work? They might as well have formed the First Church of the Nazis. They might as well have served as deacons, priests and alterboys for the Hitler House of Heaven.
They might as well have established the Christian Congregation of Concentration Camps. They might as well have belonged to the House of Holocaust Holiness. Christians spruiking for Hitler and the Nazis are no different from Christians spruiking for PP and abortion.
When people flat out reject God and his Word that is one thing, but when they actually seek to use God as a cover for pure evil and everything that God hates, then you know that demonic deception is in full swing. These church leaders and groups are serving the Synagogue of Satan, not the living and true God.
So, are these fake Christians mass murderers? Well perhaps not directly, But as they do everything they can to defend, promote and exonerate those who are mass murderers, they are just as bad in my books. They are doing the devil’s work big time. And one day they will stand before a Holy God to give an account.
The Sacrament Of Autonomy
Even partial-birth abortion is — must be — a sacrament in the Church of “Choice.” This sect knows that its entire edifice depends on not yielding an inch on its insistence that what an abortion kills never possesses a scintilla of moral significance. —George Will, “Planned Parenthood and the barbarity of America”
HIllsong NYC Church Has An ‘Engaged’ Openly Homosexual Couple Leading The Choir
“We have a lot of gay men and women in our church and I pray we always do.” – Pastor Carl Lentz, Hillsong NYC
“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.” Romans 1:26,27 (KJV)
Hillsong Church in New York City attracts over 7,000 energized worshippers every week. It’s pastor, Carl Lentz, has a half-shaved head, ripped jeans, is covered with tattoos and draws a celebrity audience of people like Justin Beiber and NBA star Kevin Durant. When it comes to the topic of same-sex marriage, however, their official position is shrouded in half-answers and obfuscation. But one thing is quite clear: they allow an openly and unrepentantly gay couple to lead their choir.
Meet your Hillsong NYC church choir leaders Josh Canfield and Reed Kelly.
As seen above, Josh Canfield and Reed Kelly, are a proudly-out homosexual couple who preach the gospel of the LGBT Agenda. They became “engaged” last year and are planning a “wedding” for sometime in 2016. They feel no conviction of any kind for the lifestyle they lead, and yet, shockingly, they are allowed to lead the worship choir during church services. Pastor Lentz, when asked about homosexuality, had this to say:
“Jesus was in the thick of an era where homosexuality, just like it is today, was widely prevalent. And I’m still waiting for someone show me the quote where Jesus addressed it on the record in front of people. You won’t find it because he never did,” he said.
Well, if Pastor Lentz would turn down the Marshall stacks on his platform and open his Bible, he would find exactly where Jesus condemned homosexuality. All through Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus preached an adherence to the Law of Moses, as we see here:
“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 5:18 (KJV)
And what does that same Law that Jesus commanded be kept have to say about homosexuality? Read it for yourself, Pastor Lentz:
“If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” Leviticus 20:13 (KJV)
That God is against homosexuality is a theme that is repeated three times in the New Testament as well, so even the most least-read Bible student should be able piece together what the Bible’s ultra-clear stand on homosexuality might be. But this seems to be a feat unable to be accomplished within the Hillsong theology circles.
“And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:14-16 (KJV)
But an inability to understand Scripture is not the problem with Hillsong Church, in New York City, in Australia, or around the world. The problem is money. The Hillsong Church global corporation is a multi-million dollar cash cow that provides an opulent lifestyle for all it’s leaders. And the millions of dollars that now flow in from parishioners would come to a grinding halt if they ever started preaching Bible truth. The only reason why thousands line up to attend their services is because there is no conviction of sin, no preaching about Biblical righteousness, no hard truths from the Scriptures. What they get is a “christian” rock concert with strobe lights and massive video displays, so that the people who were out in the clubs the night before will feel right at home.
Making It Free
As a pastor of a small church, I notice that music is one of those things upon which a church could spend a whole lot of money. I wrote elsewhere a while back about my seething wrath toward CCLI, then dialed back my indignation after learning that CCLI is a necessary evil in these days of vampiric Christian “artists” and record labels. But I still am mystified by the prospect of having to pay so much for rights to material that is self-consciously designed to go out of style, even when I could not not recommend 99.999% of that material as worthy of Christian contemplation.
In another year, another bill will come, along with another batch of “hot” Christian worship songs that all the cool kid churches will be performing. Not tempting.
But what about hymnals? I’ve found that the devotion to this cult of ephemerality has invaded the publication of hymnals as well. Whether is embodied in poorly-bound songbooks full of contemporary favorites and older songs that can be performed to sound like contemporary favorites, or lavishly-bound songbooks full of the same, hymnal publishing has become a way to get favorites into people’s hands who want something in their hands. I’m not a historian of hymnody nor of hymnal publication, but I imagine this started back when people still expected hymnals in their churches, but demanded that those hymnals be full of favorites. Outfits like Singspiration, Hope, Rodeheaver, and even many of the denominations were only too willing to comply, pounding out new hymnals every few years as people’s fickle tastes demanded that new favorites be included. Did Harry Emerson Fosdick or George “Beverly” Shea or Ralph Carmichael or the Gaithers produce a new hit? Time for a new hymnal!
But things have changed somewhat. Hymnals are rarer now, for one thing, as projection screens have largely replaced them in a silent affirmation of the cult of taste. So hymnal publishers are less likely to sell enough hymnals to cover their costs, much less be able to serve meat at the company picnic.
But favorites are also more expensive than they used to be. Favorites are more expensive because Christian artists are expensive. Guitars, drums, basses, cables, microphones, monitors, and vehicles to move all that stuff to shows are expensive. Studio time is expensive. Pressing and publication are expensive. The whole Christian music industry is one big expensive expensive. And industries, bless their little hearts, don’t become industries by only charging enough to cover their costs.
Is this ministry? What would change if ministry became the priority again?
Here is an opinion on that matter:
Grace Music Group | To My Fellow Musicians: Make It Free
Be Still . . .
Our Spiritual Adversary would have everyone believe that we are all “one” because God is “in” everyone and everything. Using every promotional means possible—including a creative and ingenious perversion of quantum physics—he is attempting to convince the world and the church that while Jesus was Christ, so is everyone. And while Jesus was God, so is everyone else.[1]
Is the purpose of the modern meditation movement(s) to desensitize people into believing that “we are all one” and “we are god”? The extent to which these ideas have now entered the evangelical church world is quite alarming. Our research friend Warren B. Smith has just released a new booklet Be Still and Know That You are Not God!—God is Not “in” Everyone and Everything that examines this issue in a simple and concise overview.
For the 20+ years that I’ve known Warren Smith he has been consistently warning about this rising heresy. In fact, in 2007 Herescope ran an excerpt from an updated Internet version of Smith’s 2002 book Reinventing Jesus Christ where he described his meditation experiences while he was in the New Age Movement. He explained how he was supposed to “be still” so that he could then affirm that “I am God”:
In our New Age meditations we would often meditate on and contemplate certain passages of Scripture. At an Edgar Cayce conference I once attended, we began each day by meditating on Psalm 46:10—“Be still, and know that I am God.” Looking back on that experience now, I realize why that particular verse of Psalm 46 was used by so many New Age groups for contemplation. The spirit world was only too willing to take something God was saying about Himself and translate it into something that the New Age was saying about man. It was very clever.
We were being “still” and we were quoting Scripture, but we were continually affirming that we were God by emphasizing the “I” and repeating the phrase “I am God” over and over again. We were “going within” to the “God within”—“Be still” and know that “I” am God. In our unguarded state of “being still” we were not being taught that God was God. We were being taught that we were God.
The “Jesus” of A Course in Miracles also used Psalm 46:10 to teach this New Age concept. We were to “be still” and to “know” that we were “God.” This false Jesus actually used the “Be still” verse to preface his false teaching that “the journey to the cross should be the last ‘useless journey.’” Our New Age journey was around the cross not through the cross. We were being taught by A Course in Miracles and our other New Age teachings that if we were “being still,” and if we “knew” that we were God, then we didn’t need the cross and we didn’t need Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. We could save ourselves by “being still” and “awakening” to the inner “self-realization” that we were God. A Course in Miracles lesson number 70 is “My salvation comes from me.” (Chapter 5 Update, subsection “Be Still”)[2]
Smith’s latest booklet first presents a helpful summary of biblical truth. Smith then recounts example after example of the error as it has been taught by New Agers and church leaders over the past eight decades. Seeing these quotations compiled together in one long list illustrates the magnitude of the problem. The evangelical church world has been tolerating these heretical teachings, probably because the leaders were so “esteemed,” for a long time!
Smith diligently and effectively counters these false teachings, and makes the following observations about their significance in the world today:
Scripture makes it clear that God is not an immanent/quantum/panentheistic force or “ground of all being” that interpenetrates His creation. Scripture exhorts believers to lay up “a good foundation”—the true Jesus Christ—for the challenging days ahead. It also warns us to beware of a false foundation that purports to be scientifically proven—like the quantum/New Age/New Spirituality. God is our creator, but He is not “quantum-ly” embedded in His creation. He is not “in” everyone and everything….
It has been rightly said that God is God and we are not. However, tremendous pressure is being continually mounted to convince everyone there is a New Age/New Spirituality/New Worldview that can save the world from its present problems. We are being told that if we accept the new revelation that “we are all one” because “God is in everyone and everything” then world peace can happen. But we know from Scripture that a false Christ—Antichrist—“shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice” and “by peace shall destroy many” (Daniel 8:25). The Bible warns that what will appear to be a wonderful “peace and safety” will suddenly turn into terrible “destruction” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).
Be Still and Know That You are Not God!—God is Not “in” Everyone and Everything is available from Lighthouse Trails and can be accessed in its entirety online. Purchasing information for the booklet is posted at the same page: http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=17572. It is well worth a read!
For those who wish to do further research on this topic, see Pastor Larry DeBruyn’s excellent biblical analysis of the Psalm 46:10 passage in his article “Be Still: Contemplative or Listening Prayer & Psalm 46:10” posted on Herescope.[3]
Endnotes:
1. Be Still and Know That You are Not God!—God is Not “in” Everyone and Everything, Warren B. Smith, http://www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com/blog/?p=17572
2. Read: http://herescope.blogspot.com/2007/11/what-is-rethinking.html
3. Read: http://herescope.blogspot.com/2012/09/be-still.html
Broken but Breathing—A Sobering Update from Tullian Tchividjian
Tullian shared this vulnerable message on Facebook this week sharing his struggle and the daunting rode ahead for him and his family.
Church, I think it’s time we start seriously praying for our pastors and leaders. These men and women are human, just like us, and need the support and protection of prayer. We can stand in the gap and raise up the arms of leaders in the church, our cities and our country.
“The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history.” – Andrew Murray
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3 Things I Wish the Church Would Say About J Lo and Sexuality
3 Things I wish the Church Would Say About J Lo and Sexuality
Jennifer Lopez got in trouble for her provocative performance in Morocco. Apparently, there was so much curve showing and booty shaking that she now has a lawsuit on her hands. Honestly, I find this kind of humorous. After all, J Lo was really just being J Lo. (Not an appropriate Christian response, I know).
I’m not here to pick on Jennifer Lopez. She is beautiful and talented. Interestingly, she helped positively change the definition of beauty for women with her curves and confidence.
Don’t panic, but I’m here to pick on the church … just a little bit. I don’t think we’re talking about modesty, purity and sexuality in a way that empowers, equips and honors men and women. So, how do we talk about this in the church?
Here are three things I wish the church would say about sexuality and purity more often:
1. Your Body is Beautiful!
This is a far cry from, “Cover up! You might make someone stumble.” I grew up in a Christian home, attending church and going to a Christian school. That’s a lot of Jesus, people. The truth is, I loved it. However, there were some messages I received that just weren’t helpful growing up. They were messages that shamed girls for their beauty and sexuality. We need young girls to feel comfortable in their own skin. Body-shaming leads to embarrassment and insecurity. What if the church was that clear voice that offered positive language about our bodies?
2. You are Uniquely Made in God’s Image
I heard a sermon for college students about men and women that went like this: Men are like thermos containers and women are like crystal goblets. They both hold liquid, but if you drop them, one breaks while the other just dents.
That’s got to be the least helpful sermon I’ve heard. It’s definitely not honoring men and women to insinuate that some people shatter and some people can be bounced around. God equally created men and women in His image as fearfully and wonderfully made to reflect His glory and character. Let’s celebrate our strengths, gifting, passions and differences.
3. God Made You this Way, Don’t be Ashamed
I think the message in the church should be “you are loved, you are seen, and you are delighted in.” God is a God of beauty. There should be a holy acknowledgement of beauty without a fear of sexuality. Our conversations about modesty, purity and sexuality should be soaked in grace. We are a people of freedom, not under the law. Can we speak about boundaries and values in a way that creates space for free spirits, love and safety? We need to define beauty by God’s standards and not by culture’s, and the church can be the vessel for these bold conversations to happen.
So where does that leave us?
People who know who they are and whose they are don’t need to flaunt their… assets. Let’s celebrate beauty and confidence without demeaning girls. Let’s talk about sex without condemnation. Let’s model modesty and purity without being weird. Let’s open up this conversation in homes, at small group, at youth group and learn from each other.
This girl knows what she’s talking about:
You see me hanging with my fam, but that don’t mean I’m living in a bubble
You’ll find me at church, but that don’t mean I can’t cause trouble
Stir up a little scene ’cause isn’t that what you want?
Thinking maybe they’ll let me sing songs about real things
And baby who knows maybe I can sell out shows without taking off my clothes
God made me sexy I don’t care if only I know
Want some fun resources? Here are just a few people who are doing this well – with style, grace and courage:
- SWIMSUIT READY OR NOT by Shauna Niequist
- Cameron Russell: Looks aren’t everything. Believe me, I’m a model.
- Colbie Caillat – Try
- The lady stripped bare – Tracey Spicer
- Dear Women & Daughters: When You’re Tired of Media Voices Telling You What Beauty & Love Is – by Ann Voskamp
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On Grace, Football and Tom Brady
Word has it Tom Brady deflated some footballs. I don’t know what was wrong with the inflated ones; maybe it’s just a personal preference. The NFL found out (surprise!) and let Brady know he had to sit out the next few games. Brady said he didn’t do it (see his long Facebook post here). Next he destroyed his phone after saying he never texted or emailed anyone about this issue. (That’s not suspicious at all).
Oh, Tom Brady of little faith. We’ve all been there too. Maybe we haven’t deflated footballs and crushed our phones, but we’ve all made mistakes and tried to avoid the consequences of our actions. It sucks having to swallow our pride. I feel for you Tom Brady (even though I don’t like football very much).
In the game of life, we’re all Tom Brady. We all have sinned and fallen short. The playing field was officially leveled long ago on the cross. In God’s economy, we’re all equal.
I’m so thankful Christ humbled himself to do life with us on earth and to take our punishment upon himself so we could forever be with him. And that forever starts today. As Believers, we have the incomparable joy of eternal life right now. The kingdom of heaven is right here and right now. Why do we live in fear instead of walking in grace?
We play it safe to avoid pain and mistakes, yet miss out on life to the fullest. Or we throw caution to the wind to experience it all – both good and bad. Can we rest in the healthy tension of audacious daring and the favor and influence of God?
It takes great courage to humble ourselves, admit our mistakes and then make restitution. It’s not fun. Sometimes it even hurts. We won’t make it through life without making mistakes, but we have a choice to try to dodge fair punishment or to make things right.
“Don’t you ever get the feeling that all your life is going by and you’re not taking advantage of it? Do you realize you’ve lived nearly half the time you have to live already?” ― Ernest Hemingway
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Intercepted Document Reveals ISIS militants’ Apocalyptic Plan to End the World
A chilling document has been obtained from the jihadist group exposing their plans of a terrorist attack on India to provoke an “end of the world” war with the United States.
This recruitment document was received by the American Media Institute and was translated from Urdu by a Harvard researcher and translator. U.S. intelligence officials believe the document is authentic based on unique language and markings.
Reflected in the document is an alarming hunger for genocide and relentless violence as they detail plans to attack U.S soldiers as they depart Afghanistan, and target American diplomats and Pakistani officials.
ISIS seeks to encourage Pakistani and Afghan Taliban factions to join with them as one army to form a worldwide caliphate. They plan to use an attack on India to trigger the United States’ involvement in what they hope will start an apocalyptic war to “end the world.”
For further reading on how we can help with the refugee crisis in the Middle East click here, to learn more about the ISIS caliphate watch here, and to reach about what ISIS wants click here.
How can the church respond to this threat to domestic security? How can the church stand in the gap for the innocent suffering in the Middle East?
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0-100: What Is Love?
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Forward From Conversion: How We Can Focus on Spiritual Growth and Transformation
One of the most exciting moments within the life of a church is when someone comes to know Jesus Christ as Savior. We celebrate having new believers in our churches, but are we leading them to become lifelong disciples of Jesus?
Are we helping them continue through the transformation process or are we leaving them in convert mode?
Conversion is not the end. It is the glorious beginning.
We have become masters at getting “decisions.” Conversion is a powerful event in the life of the believer. It is a great moment. But it isn’t the end of the game. Converting those decisions into disciples must be part of the church’s purpose.
https://www.churchleaders.com/article-headlines-widget.html
Sometimes we put such an emphasis on that moment, we make people think that is all we are after. The not-so-funny joke is that some people are willing to receive Christ just so the pastor will leave them alone. Our goal is often for conversions. But God’s goal is for transformation, which really just begins at conversion.
Paul remarks in his letter to the Philippians (1:6), “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.” Conversion is central to the beginning of new life, being relocated (spiritually) to another kingdom. Colossians 1:13 tells us that we are “transferred through the domain of darkness into the kingdom of the Son He loves.”
They have been born again, Jesus says in John 3. So there is now a spiritual life present that was not present before. The Spirit of God dwells in them. They have new life. They are a new creation in Christ even as Christ in them is the “hope of glory.” But that event is not the end. It is a taste of the ongoing transformation that will come.
Spiritual growth should always follow spiritual birth.
How do we follow up for spiritual growth?
It’s a really bad idea to give birth to a baby and leave them on their own. We call that abandonment. People go to jail for that—and rightfully so. But I think sometimes we do that in church.
I call people to trust and respond to Christ every week in our church service. We ask them to share that decision through a card. Others use an altar call where new believers are connected with an established believer.
Whatever you use, it is at this point the process of partnership in spiritual growth is now stewarded to you and your church. We need to prioritize the discipling of anyone who has trusted Christ in our church.
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08/01/15 Trembling at His Word
TEXTS AND APPLICATION: I love reading God’s Word. The truths are rich, and the blessings are many. I wonder, though, if I tremble at His Word.
Today’s reading covers the final three chapters of the book of Isaiah, chapters that reveal God’s restoration of His people and His kingdom after judgment. In particular, God points to the kind of person He blesses:
Isa. 66:2 I will look favorably on this kind of person: one who is humble, submissive in spirit, and trembles at My word.
I understand “humility” and being “contrite (submissive) in spirit.” God wants us to be broken and tender, open to His leading and listening to His pleading. Do I, however, tremble at His Word?
It seems to me that if I tremble at His Word, I will . . .
- be amazed and grateful that I have the Word of God in my hand and in my language
- read the Word with caution, pausing to think deeply on passages that warn of judgment
- read the Word with wonder, learning that a perfectly holy God loves and seeks me
- see life change — particularly, forsaking sin and seeking God — as a result of reading; that is, I ought to fear more if I read but don’t see repentance and faith as a result
- desire to read God’s Word regularly simply because it is His Word
- be both alarmed and longing when I choose not to read the Word
PRAYER: You know the prayer today: “God, let us be a people who tremble at Your Word.”
08/02/15 Bad Use of a Second Opportunity
TEXTS AND APPLICATION: These chapters tell the story of Hezekiah’s illness and miraculous recovery. Through the prophet Isaiah, God sent word to the king that he was about to die. Hezekiah prayed and wept, and God granted him 15 more years of life (2 Kgs. 20:6). The king who had been faithful to this point was granted additional years to be a faithful witness for God.
In apparent arrogance, though, Hezekiah displayed all his wealth before the son of the king of Babylon, and he may well have considered a treaty with the Babylonians against the Assyrians.
2 Kgs. 20:13 Hezekiah gave them a hearing and showed them his whole treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil—and his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.
PRAYER: Pray with me that all of us will give God our best today, knowing that we live only because of His grace.
Sin’s Here—- Part One
Sin’s Here— Part Two
BCC Weekend Resource: Gospel-Driven Counseling for Suffering
Is Cecil the lion more devastating than the Planned Parenthood videos?
Karen Swallow Prior:
While elective abortion and trophy hunting are different issues surrounded by different ethical and political questions, both news stories offer — regardless of one’s views on either issue — an opportunity to consider the moral responsibility that comes with knowledge — and the moral responsibility that comes with willful ignorance.
Conservative Progressives: How to Pass the Baton from Generation to Generation
Joe Rigney:
But sidelong glances won’t be the only challenge. Leadership transitions within churches and institutions are also full of pitfalls for those moving on out and those moving on up. Passing the baton from one generation to another has never been easy. But it’s also never been optional. The Christian faith, after all, is something that’s handed down (2 Tim. 2:2). It’s entrusted from one generation to another.
Which means we must learn to make the generational handoff without dropping the baton.
Pastors, Don’t Be Passive on Planned Parenthood
Dan Darling:
Millions of people are seeing the brutal reality of what has always been labeled by abortion providers as a safe and clinical practice. New technologies, such as ultrasound machines, smart phones that capture video, and social media have converged to cause us to see what we didn’t previously: the humanity of the unborn and the gruesome nature of abortion. As Columnist Ross Douthat puts it, we’re just starting to realize that “an institution at the heart of respectable liberal society is dedicated to a practice that deserves to be called barbarism.”
But how do pastors and church leaders lead their people through the outrage to champion the sacred value of human life? How do we bring the hope of the gospel into the brokenness of our world?
7 False Assumptions Made About Introverts
Ron Edmonson offers a helpful correction about what extroverts think us introverts are like.
Exceptionally Ordinary
Nick Horton:
Do you really think God needs you or I to do anything in order to accomplish what he wills? We’re overestimating our value by 100% if we do. God uses means to accomplish his will, yes. However, he decides the means, not us. He chooses his servants, both great and small, to accomplish the tasks he wants them to do. We’re going by the wrong economy if we measure kingdom impact by worldly numbers.
A La Carte (August 1)
Here are some deals to start your month: The Unquenchable Flame by Michael Reeves ($2.99); Double Play by Ben Zobrist ($0.99); The Ultimate Proof of Creation by Jason Lisle ($2.99). You’ll also find a new list of books spanning all genres in their list of monthly deals.
Free from Christian Audio this month is Rosaria Butterfield’s excellent Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert.
It’s Board Game Day at Amazon and they’ve got lots of good ones on sale. We love Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Catan, Smallworld, Dominion, and others.
I rather enjoyed this article titled A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared. It is all about a company owner who decided to offer every one of his employees at least $70,000 per year. Who would have thought that move would make people mad?
This TED talk (which has quite a lot of rough language, especially in the tweets it displays on the screen) shows How One Tweet Can Ruin Your Life. The Internet outrage machine can destroy people’s lives.
Logos users will be interested in this New Source for Free Logos Training. I think most of us only barely scratch the surface of Logos’ power.
Jamie Brown has a massively sarcastic article about nonsensical worship music: Flammable Sound And Its Implications.
The Art of the Interchange shows the unexpected beauty in highway interchanges. Yes, I said highway interchanges.
Mark Altrogge offers some pastoral words: There Are No Accidents With God. “Wherever we find ourselves and whatever we have to deal with we can know that God in his infinite wisdom has designed it for our good and to make us like Christ and bring him glory.”
What Should We Do When They Stray? Nick Batzig says, “There are many difficult and painful experiences that ministers face, but the spiritual rebellion of a child of a believer weighs heavily on the heart of any true minister of the Gospel.”
Notable Voices: August 1, 2015
7 False Assumptions Made About Introverts — Ron Edmondson
Ron, a fellow introvert, shares some false assumptions people make of him due to his introversion. I’ve experienced these as well from time to time.
3 Sermon Prep Tips for Bi-vocational Pastors — Marty Duren
Sermon prep is difficult for any pastor, but for bi-vocational pastors it can be even more so. Marty gives two planning tips and one technology tip for bi-vocational pastors to prepare their sermons more efficiently and effectively.
13 Numbers You Need to Know about Abortion and the Planned Parenthood Videos — Aaron Earls
The numbers Aaron has compiled are almost as disturbing as the videos which have been released over the past few weeks. One example: 0 — Pew surveyed individuals in 40 nations, in none of them did a majority of people say abortion is morally acceptable.
Three Questions for New Fall Ministries — Chris Hefner
Fall ministries and activities kick off soon in many churches. Chris shares three helpful questions to gauge your preparedness for the start of any new ministries.
8 Reasons Why Loving Money Is so Dangerous — David Murray
This short post from David examines our relationship with money and issues eight warnings about turning it into an idol.
Should a Pastor’s Wife Play Second Fiddle? — Chad Ashby
Chad cautions pastors not to put their relationship with the church they pastor above their relationship with their wife.
The post Notable Voices: August 1, 2015 appeared first on ThomRainer.com.
Booklet Review: Be Still . . . So You Can Be God?!
The Daily Discovery (August 1-2, 2015)
Homosexuals Aiming for Your Kids – “The New York Times reported on July 27, 2015 that the ‘Boy Scouts End Ban on Gay Leaders.’ The Boy Scouts of America claims its child abuse prevention program is the best in the country. However, there have been over 2,000 cases of abuse in the Boy Scouts. Here are some examples.”
Church Responsibility – “I love the The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is a compelling story and so, so well-made. If you have seen the films, you might recall a brief scene in the first part of the saga, The Fellowship of the Ring, where Frodo Baggins attempts to slip away from his traveling companions in a boat so he will not put them at risk any longer. It is a noble action, met by nobler response from his gardener and trustworthy friend, Samwise Gamgee.”
Novel Presents Abortion as “Funny” – “A new graphic novel, reportedly the ‘first graphic novel about abortion,’ apparently illustrates ‘two women going through the ‘abortion process.” Supposedly it is an ‘often funny,’ and ‘even humorous look at what a woman can go through during an abortion.’ Reportedly the description of the book heavily emphasized the idea that the book was humorous. Interestingly enough this graphic novel about abortion apparently doesn’t even show the actual abortion—it doesn’t even show a baby on the ultrasound screen monitor! Why not? Well, presumably it’s because in reality, abortion—the murder of a baby inside of his or her mother’s womb—is simply not funny.”
Image Bearers at Planned Parenthood – “Unborn babies bear God’s image. It is His sanctity that makes them holy, not their own. It is not their genetic background, their capacity to feel pain, their wide open futures, their potential capabilities that makes them imbued with dignity and value. It isn’t their relative moral innocence, but the image of God, graciously given to all, no matter the circumstances of their conception, no matter their viability, no matter the relative development of their organs.”
The Truth, The Whole Truth, and Nothing But the Truth – “The title of this post is borrowed from chapter nine of Dr. Albert Mohler’s excellent treatment of the Ten Commandments, Words From The Fire. Mohler makes the case that the worst possible lie we can tell is about God. If our theology is wrong we are, in essence, lying about God.”
SERMON:
Matt Chandler – God is for God
VIDEOS:
A Professing “Christian” Could Not Stop the Preaching of the Gospel
Tim Hawkins Discount Grocery Stores
“If you alter or obscure the Biblical portrait of God in order to attract converts, you don’t get converts to God, you get converts to an illusion. This is not evangelism but deception.” – John Piper
The post The Daily Discovery (August 1-2, 2015) appeared first on Entreating Favor.
- Why Religious Liberty Arguments Aren’t Working by Jennifer Roback Morse
- Ruth Institute
- Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty
- The Sexual Revolution and Its Victims by Jennifer Roback Morse
- Love and Economics: It Takes a Family to Raise a Village by Jennifer Roback Morse
- Smart Sex: Finding Life-Long Love in a Hook-Up World by Jennifer Roback Morse
- Kids’ Divorce Stories – Ruth Institute
- What Every Child Needs: The Unique Contributions of Fathers and Mothers – Collection of studies
- Fathers Don’t Mother by Amy Hall
- Why Same-Sex Marriage Can’t Afford to Be Tolerant by Amy Hall (Quoting Matt Anderson)
Christian Headlines Daily –
http://www.christianheadlines.com/
Only Two Religions!
I don’t know if you know this but there are only two religions in the entire world.
You might say I’m nuts. There are hundreds if not thousands!
But there is one religion that likes to put on hundreds if not thousands of different masks on, and so ultimately there are only two: the religion of Human Achievement and the religion of Divine Accomplishment.
You see Islam, Mormonism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Judaism and every single religion that you have ever heard of, ultimately teaches some form of a works-based salvation. They say that you have to be a little more good than bad in order to make it to heaven. These religions encourage you to hand God a resume when you face Him one day. The resume will be filled with all your accomplishments. It will list everything you’ve done for other people, every penny you’ve given to charity and every good deed you’ve done. God will look over this resume and say, “Good job! You’ve made it into heaven”.
The problem is that if you were to enter into heaven because of a resume based on your accomplishments God would get no glory; you would be the one who gets all the praise. In fact, Ephesians 2:9 would say that salvation is not of works lest you
should boast! Genesis chapter one shows us that God created the entire universe including you. Everything He created is designed to bring Him glory. The problem is that sin has entered the world, and from birth we all have replaced exalting God with exalting ourselves. Everything we do from birth is geared towards bringing us glory and bringing praise to ourselves. We all have a throne in our hearts that God should be sitting and reigning on, but instead we are born with ourselves sitting on it. We are so used to it we don’t even notice it to the point where we all think that our resumes are good enough to get us into heaven.
Of course we are going to think that we are good people! Of course my mom is going to tell me I’m a good person! But what does your Creator think? He says in Romans 3:23 that we all have sinned and fall short of His glory. He also says in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death. So if we stand before God and start listing accomplishments or hand Him a resume we might as well slap Jesus in the face because God is going to look at the resume and say, “I killed my only Son because you were not good enough to get to me!”
And that’s where the only other religion comes in.
The religion of Divine Accomplishment. God saw your situation, and decided that since man was so sinful and could not save himself, that He would come Himself and take the form of a man. He humbled himself, spent nine months in a womb he created, grew up with every temptation you and I face every day, but without sinning. He then died on the cross for our sins, and then rose from the dead and defeated death. He made it possible for human beings to stand before God one day and not hand Him a resume and condemn themselves further, but rather, tell God that they deserve His wrath but have placed their faith and trust in the work that Jesus did on their behalf on the cross and through His resurrection.
You see we need someone to be a substitute for us because no matter how hard we try, we can never bridge the gap between God and us. And the substitute can’t be merely a human. It must be God Himself.
Do you see the difference between Christianity and every other religion?
The Greatest Story Ever Told
God’s goal in all of His creative and redemptive work is to bring glory to Himself (Isa 43:7; cf. Eph 1:6, 12, 14).
What is The Gospel?
“My Last Day” — the Jesus Anime
9 powerful minutes of animation that begins with a thief behind bars watching the scourging of Jesus, and it ends with the thief dying next to Jesus, and waking to see Him in a beautiful place.
The dying thief: What was so great about his faith?
Our Time is Short
Ready to start your new life with God?
Who do you think that I am?
With that brief question Jesus Christ confronted His followers with the most important issue they would ever face. He had spent much time with them and made some bold claims about His identity and authority. Now the time had come for them either to believe or deny His teachings.
Who do you say Jesus is? Your response to Him will determine not only your values and lifestyle, but your eternal destiny as well.
Consider what the Bible says about Him: Read more
Look to Jesus
Have you ever felt a little lost and wished there was a quick-start guide to your relationship with God? This is it!
30 Day Next Steps
John Beckett, a leading Christian businessman, has written a series to read over 30 days for new believers.
New Believers Guide
The New Believer’s Guide is a series of articles designed to show you how to walk in the new life Christ has given you— a life of faith and freedom.
Jesus Booklet
Jesus is the Savior of the world. Discover who Jesus is today in this series.
About Christianity
Know Jesus Christ and your life will be transformed
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