Friday Church News Notes, Volume 17, Issue 16
Apr/15/16 10:51
The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, though this does not imply an endorsement. 
McDONALD’S PROMOTING MORAL RELATIVISM/TOLERANCE (Friday Church News Notes, April 15, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - McDonald’s has joined the frenzy by major international corporations to promote acceptance of homosexuality. An ad in Taiwan features a boy “coming out” to his father in a McDonald’s restaurant. When the boy writes “I like boys” on a McCafe coffee cup and slides it across the table, the father initially seems upset and walks away, but he quickly returns and writes on his own cup. “I accept that you like boys.” “Music swells and the boy cries tears of joy. The spot closes with the tag, ‘Let there be more warmth in conversation’” (“McDonald’s Ad,” Fox News, Mar. 10, 2016). The fundamental theme is non-judgmentalism, tolerance, and moral relativism, which is a major doctrine of the New Age. Those who resist the doctrine are considered enemies of man’s evolution and of world peace. “Love” and oneness and unity must..
Men vs. Women’s Physiological Differences
Apr/14/16 06:00
The differences between men and women have been obvious to mankind throughout history, but rabid unisex campaigners today are doing their best to belittle them. A couple of years ago the ultra-liberal and very politically correct Huffington Post gleefully reported that “the whole ‘men are from Mars, women are from Venus’ trope is false” (“Men’s and Women’s Differences Aren’t Actually Distinct, Confirms Study,” Huffington Post, Feb. 6, 2013).
Such nonsense is refuted by the fact that men and women can rarely compete head-to-head in athletics at the elite level.
“As a group, women do not run, jump or swim as fast as men. Women are also more prone to certain types of athletic injuries than men. ... The mean difference has been about 10 percent between men and women for all events. The mean gap is 10.7 percent for running, 8.9 percent for swimming and 17.5 percent for jumping” (“How Do Men and Women Differ Athletically? Livestrong.com).
Women are smaller in stature than men. “The average 18-year-old man is 70.2 inches tall and weighs 144.8 pounds, whereas the average woman of the same age is 64.4 inches tall and weighs 126.6 pounds” (“Physiological Differences Between the Sexes,” PhysicallyTrained.com, U.S. Army physical training regulations).
continue reading this article..
Dealing With Worldly Church Members
Apr/13/16 05:55
"And more often than not, the merciful Lord gives strength, healing, and restoration."At a recent Bible conference in the Philippines, some pastors asked for suggestions about how to deal with worldly families in the church membership. One of the questions was as follows: “What can I do as a pastor if I have families that won’t obey in their homes my teaching about music and other standards?”
The following is a slightly expanded edition of the reply I gave to that:
1. Set the right example in your own life and family.
Don’t be a hypocrite by preaching one thing and living another, or by preaching one thing and allowing your own family to live in a different way. I know many pastors who have weakened their authority and harmed churches by doing this.
I think of a pastor who preached against dating but allowed his son and the son of his associate pastor to date girls in the church.
I think of a pastor who preached against contemporary music but allowed his son to form a contemporary gospel group.
I think of a pastor who preached against skipping church services for sports and other such things, but allowed his own son to miss mid-week prayer meetings for wrestling matches.
I think of a pastor who preached against bossy, unsubmissive wives, but his own helpmeet was the epitome of a bossy wife!
We hear too often about lying pastors, thieving pastors, lazy pastors, porno-addicted pastors, adulterous pastors, and even child molesting pastors.
Church members need pastors that will be the examples that God’s standards in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 call for, and I thank the Lord that I personally know many such men.
2. Guard the door to membership.
A major way to avoid having worldly families is to be very careful about receiving members in the first place. In my experience, most Independent Baptist churches are very careless on this point. They are so eager for new members that they don’t “vet” them properly, especially those coming from other churches.
continue reading this article..
Reiki
Apr/12/16 18:38
__________
A study on alternative medicine in the January 2008 report in U.S. News & World Report focused on the rapid growth of Reiki (pronounced ray-key). The report says the number of Reiki practitioners worldwide is in the millions, with half a million in the United States and over a million in Germany.
According to the American Hospital Association, 15% of hospitals were using Reiki in 2007.
A report in The Washington Post for May 16, 2014, was entitled “Reiki Goes Mainstream.”
The practice has been praised by Oprah and Dr. Oz.
Reiki is an occultic practice that allegedly channels “universal healing energy” for human benefit such as relaxation and physical healing. The word “reiki” is Japanese for “spiritually guided life force energy.”
It was developed in Japan in the early 20th century by Mikao Usui. During a 21 day program of fasting, meditation, chanting, and other pagan contemplative practices he allegedly experienced “the great Reiki energy entering” into him and found that he could use the energy to heal others. It came in the form of a light that moved toward him and entered the middle of his forehead (Mohan Makkar, The New Reiki Magic, p. 5). Usui allegedly began to heal with his touch and to initiate others into the “energy.” Reiki was established in Hawaii in the 1930s and from there spread to North America. The American International Reiki Association was formed in 1982.
continue reading this article..
Friday Church News Notes, Volume 17, Issue 15
Apr/08/16 06:01
The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature’s Fundamental Baptist Information Service. Unless otherwise stated, the Notes are written by David Cloud. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, though this does not imply an endorsement. 
U.K. PRISON CHAPLAIN FIRED FOR QUOTING BIBLE (Friday Church News Notes, April 8, 2016, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Christian Prison Chaplain,” Christianity Today, Mar. 17, 2016: “A prison chaplain who was accused of reading ‘homophobic’ Bible verses to prisoners has lost his claim for unfair dismissal. The Rev. Barry Trayhorn, a Pentecostal minister, said he was discriminated against when he was reprimanded for the Bible verses he read to prisoners at HMP Littlehey where he worked as a gardener and led services in the chapel as a volunteer. He said the passages were about God’s love and he had wanted to explain the concept of forgiveness to..
