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Showing posts from May, 2021

Equality Act Is a 'Clear and Present Danger' to Religious Liberty, Ken Starr Says

 By Michael Foust - Posted at Christian Headlines: The greatest threat to religious liberty under the Biden Administration is the Equality Act, which despite its name, would be a "clear and present" danger to freedom of conscience, says former solicitor general Ken Starr. The bill, which passed the House of Representatives this year 224-206 and is backed by President Biden, would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by adding "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the list of protected classes for public places, education and employment. Starr told Christian Headlines the bill is at the "very top" of his list of concerns related to religious liberty. Read more here.

The Beth Moore Effect, SBC Annual Meeting, and Storm Clouds

 By Elizabeth Prata - Posted at The End Time: I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first.20‘But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21‘I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 22‘Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. 23‘And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. ( Revelation 2:19-23 ). There are so many warnings about false teaching. There really is NO reason to tolerate it. The first instruction ever given to the church is in Matthew 18, to dis

God’s Ordinary Deliverance from the Sin of Homosexuality: A Testimony

 Posted at The Aquila Report: [ The Aquila Report Editor’s note: This article was submitted by Pastor Ray Heiple on behalf of a member of his church, who prefers to remain anonymous.] "If something like the positions espoused by Revoice were being articulated in 2005, I almost certainly would have gravitated to them. Though I was no longer interested in dating, I think that if I had been told it was okay to identify as same-sex attracted and even to pursue celibate friendships with other women who identified that way, I would have been very receptive to the arguments. The reflections below were originally written following the PCA’s 2019 General Assembly. After prayer and discussion with my pastors, I have decided to share my story ahead of the upcoming 2021 General Assembly. Although individual stories are not the basis of our theology, such testimonies have understandably formed part of the denomination’s discussions surrounding sexual identity, especially with regard to what

Post 2020 World Being Like the 1960s?

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin , Lunar Module pilot of the first lunar landing mission, poses for a photograph beside the deployed United States flag during an Apollo 11 Extravehicular Activity (EVA) on the lunar surface. - Wikipedia  By SlimJim - Posted at The Domain for Truth: I was thinking to myself: in this Post-2020 season which we have been in the last year, does it seem to be similar with any other decade in American history? Has anyone else notice how much our time parallel the 1960s? The 1960s was a time that had an unpopular war in the US: The Vietnam War. It’s a war that most Americans would eventually want American troops to leave. Likewise our time parallel that with the military in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is all punctured with news about space exploration. In the 60s we have the moon landing. These days we hear about Elon Musk, space rockets and helicopters flying on the Moon. News about space development sounds like intermission between various political moments. Of course t

How To Turn Complementarians into Egalitarians

 By Denny Burk - Posted at DennyBurk.com:  Mike Bird and Devi Abraham recently interviewed authors Kristin DuMez, Beth Allison Barr, and Aimee Byrd (see video below). All three of these authors have written books condemning complementarianism. Both DuMez and Barr are convinced egalitarians. While I have never heard Byrd own that label, she has said in her book that she is not a complementarian. In any case, it’s difficult to detect any daylight between Byrd’s position and that of the two egalitarians in this interview. They all three are very much opposed to complementarian theology, which is denigrated as abusive patriarchy in this interview. One thing that they all three seem to agree on is the need for women to take on more teaching and leadership positions over men in churches. On this point, there was one revealing moment at the end of the interview that I think complementarians would do well to take note of. Devi Abraham asks the authors what one thing needs to change in evangel

Pastor Arrested for Holding Worship Service against COVID-19 Restrictions Shares Gospel with Police

Image Source: https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/ By Michael Foust - Posted at Christian Headlines: Published Monday, May 17, 2021 Another Canadian pastor was arrested Sunday for holding a church service in violation of COVID-19 health restrictions, making him the second minister this month and the third this year to be taken into custody by police for organizing a worship service. Pastor Tim Stephens of Fairview Baptist Church in Calgary, Alberta, hugged his wife and children before being placed in a police vehicle and arrested for violating local restrictions, which limit church services to a maximum of 15 individuals. In a blog this month, Stephens acknowledged COVID-19 is "serious" but argued the "cure should not be worse than the disease," pointing to problems of mental health and suicide. His church, he said, had not had a "single transmission" of COVID-19. Read more here.

Crosstalk America: State of the Church 2021

 Posted at Sermon Audio : Details: Since the outbreak of COVID-19, a transformation of the world has taken place. Businesses in America were forced to close their doors as the government determined who was "essential" and who wasn't. Schools were closed, relationships have been challenged, surgeries deemed "nonessential" were prohibited and more. It's not just the secular world that's been impacted. The church has had to adjust as well. Many churches were closed, ministries were forced to shut down and pastoral visits to the sick, lonely and those in need were forbidden. How this has impacted the church and how they've responded was the topic, as Ben Everson joined Jim for this important discussion. Ben is an international evangelist known for his a cappella singing and writing music. He's been traveling in revival ministry for 25 years along with his family. He was one of the first conservative Christian musicians to take advantage of You

Was Jesus a Socialist?

 By Kelvey Vander Hart - Posted at Caffeinated Thoughts: I attended a university that holds to a Christian worldview. During one of my classes my professor said one of my least favorite statements: “Jesus was a socialist.” He then pulled out the classic things Jesus has said that are used to back this statement up. Included on the list were things like Christ telling us that it’s harder for the rich to get to heaven than it is for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle and similar verses from the Gospels. My professor and I went back and forth on this throughout the entire semester. Is he right? Was Jesus truly a socialist? Did the Savior of the world hold beliefs similar to that of Karl Marx? My answer is firmly no . To begin, we must have an understanding of what socialism really is. Read more here.

Christ is King Over the Nations

 By Pastor Benjamin Glaser - Posted at Thoughts From Parson Farms: As we continue along in our look at the Westminster Confession of Faith we come to the chapter 23, "Of the Civil Magistrate". Now "magistrate" is a word we don't use much anymore, but every now and then you will run into a "magistrates court" or something like that. It is simply a term which means the people in charge of the political government (Clover, York County, South Carolina, the United States) over against the Church courts (Session, Presbytery, Synod). In the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church we have a different Chapter 23 from all of our other Reformed brothers and sisters, like the PCA, OPC, RPCNA, etc... In our Chapter 23 we require our civil authorities to promote the Christian Religion. Now, that may seem strange at first, and I will admit that it can be hard to imagine someone like Joe Biden or Kamala Harris doing such things, but when we confess something we are say

What to Make of Owen Strachan’s Departure

 By Jeff Wright - Posted at  Conservative Resurgence: Voices : "I once told Owen that I believed he was our Machen because he was taking an unique stand against a popular and egregious error. His departure makes the parallels more pronounced... As you likely know, Owen Strachan is leaving the Southern Baptist Convention. How should we think about that move? For starters there are lots of people his departure is good for. It’s great for everyone connected to Grace Bible Theological Seminary, so great that “great” really doesn’t quite capture how good it is. Go look on YouTube for the reaction in Cleveland when the Cavs won the Lebron James lottery. That is what I mean by “great for GBTS.” Read more here.

Biden’s American Families Plan Hurts American Families

 By Shane Vander Hart - Posted at Caffeinated Thoughts: On the eve of his 100th day in office last week, President Joe Biden gave his first joint address to Congress. There is a lot I could focus on with his speech. For instance, I could point out the price tag that would accompany his priorities ($6 TRILLION). I could write that his speech reflected a far-left wish list instead of the unifying moderate he supposedly campaigned as (not that I believed that). I could also highlight that he doesn’t have the numbers in Congress to accomplish most of the agenda he outlined (and for that, I’m thankful). He also took credit for the COVID-19 vaccine when the Trump administration did most, if not all, of the legwork for that. I am alarmed by his American Families Plan. He talked about how 12 years of public education is no longer enough to compete in the 21st century. Then he said, “That’s why the American Families Plan guarantees four additional years of public education for every person in A