Friday Church News Notes
Volume 19, Issue 25 - June 22, 2018
The Friday Church News Notes is designed for use in churches and is published by Way of Life Literature. 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.
Einstein's secrets to happiness are revealed in lost letters.
EINSTEIN’S THEORY OF HAPPINESS SELLS FOR $1.6 MILLION (Friday Church News Notes, June 22, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Albert Einstein’s theory of happiness sold recently at an auction for $1.6 million. He wrote the “theory” on a piece of paper in 1922 and gave it to a hotel bellboy. It read, “A calm and modest life brings more happiness than the pursuit of success combined with constant restlessness.” This, of course, is a simple platitude that most people would recognize as basically true, yet it is also vague and therefore nearly meaningless. Einstein was a brilliant man who depended upon his own mind rather than God’s Word and therefore was a foolish man. “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered” (Proverbs 28:26). The secret to happiness is to be in right relationship with the Creator through the salvation that He has provided through His Son Jesus the Messiah. “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).
FEWER AMERICANS ARE TITHING TO THEIR CHURCHES (Friday Church News Notes, June 22, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - According to Barna research, there has been a steady decrease in the percentage of Americans who give 10% of their income to churches. In 2002, the percentage was 3%, down from 8% in 2001 (“The Ancient Rise and Recent Fall of Tithing,” Christian History, Aug. 2008). This is a sad and telling statistic. God’s people should give more than 10% of their income to the Lord’s churches for God’s great business on this earth. “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10).
KING JAMES BIBLE STILL THE PREFERRED TRANSLATION IN AMERICA (Friday Church News Notes, June 22, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The 2015 Barna State of the Bible survey found that the King James Bible remains the preferred Bible version among Americans by far. It is the preferred Bible by 39% of those surveyed. After that is the New International Version (NIV), at 13%, and the New King James (NKJV), at 10%. These numbers have remained consistent since 2012. There is a significant difference when it comes to age groups. Among Boomers (age 50-68), 43% prefer the KJV; among Gen-Xers (age 31-49), 41%; but among Millennials (age 16-30), it is 28%. Still, the King James Bible is the preferred translation among all age groups over the New International Version, which is the next favorite. This information is from “State of the Bible 2015,” www.americanbible.org/uploads/content/State_of_the_Bible_2015_report.pdf
DRAG QUEEN CHILDREN TV SHOWS (Friday Church News Notes, June 22, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Drag Queen Children TV Shows Coming to America,” Christian Post, Jun. 11, 2018: “At least two new animated television shows about drag queens, one featuring children characters, are set to debut in America, drawing high concern from conservative commentators. World of Wonder released a trailer in May about ‘Drag Tots!,’ a show about toddler drag queens coming June 28th, featuring transgender model RuPaul. ‘In a world on the brink of chaos, where fear is the rule of the land, the voices of a generation have banded together to give our planet what it needs...BABY DRAG QUEENS!’ proclaims a preview on YouTube. On May 31, Netflix announced the animated ‘Super Drags,’ with a teaser preview that is yet to be given a release date stating: ‘By night, they tighten up their corsets and transform into the baddest SUPER DRAGS in town, ready to combat shade and rescue the world’s glitter from the evil villains. Get ready, because the SUPER DRAGS are going deeper than you think.’ ... Rod Dreher observes, ‘Netflix is turning drag queens into animated superheroes, and RuPaul’s streaming service is turning drag queens into child superheroes. You might think--I certainly hope you think--that your child will not be exposed to this filth. The thing is, your child, and all of us, have to live in a world in which this is normal, and in which the popular culture thinks that dressing little boys up like sexually provocative women is not only permissible, but a sign of cultural progress.’ Dreher pointed to other such efforts, like the ‘Drag Queen Story Hours’ that have been held in libraries across America. They have been adapted by other countries as well, including the United Kingdom, with activists defending the idea of drag queens reading to children.”
A PASTOR’S TESTIMONY ABOUT THE DANGER OF MEDICAL QUACKERY (Friday Church News Notes, June 22, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Brother Cloud, I am thankful for the current series of warnings concerning Quack Diets. This also exposes the deceitfulness of those who make a living off of gullible and misinformed individuals. One particular chiropractor (a charlatan doctor) was so persuasive and crafty that he hooked an influential church family by giving them free care. But it did not stop there! The family loved their free care so much that they were glad to highly promote this man to the rest of the church, defrauding the brethren. Much of the church began to go to this man, who claimed that a special diet along with his supplements could cure everything. His evaluation began with a belt hooked to a computer that would tell all your problems in a few moments. He also determined one’s mineral and vitamin deficiencies by having the patient hold a bottle of a particular vitamin while he pushed down on the patients extended arm. If the arm was resistant then you were not deficient. If he easily pushed it down, then the conclusion was that the patient was deficient in that particular vitamin. You can imagine the amount of deceit this would take for a doctor to perform this kind of fake and false procedure, ripping off gullible and overly trusting people! The worst part of all this quackery was when I warned against the deceitful doctor and exposed him, the influential family became offended and took sides with the doctor to keep up their free chiropractic care. They did not just leave the church but eventually caused a church split. Quackery can be used of the devil. It is dangerous to follow these foolish men and women with their lies and false claims. Bro. Cloud, I appreciate your Biblical insight and the many warnings that you publish. Some folks may turn a blind eye, but others will be deterred from falling into foolishness!” (For the studies about quack diets, see the book The Bible and Diet, which is available for free reading at www.wayoflife.org/free_ebooks/.)
BABYLON IN THE BIBLE (Friday Church News Notes, June 22, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) -Babylon is mentioned nearly 300 times in the Bible, more than any city other than Jerusalem. Babylon is many things. First, Babylon is the kingdom established by Nimrod at the time of the Tower of Babel (Ge. 10-11). It was here that idolatry was invented, and from here it spread to all of mankind. This is described in Romans 1:21-32. Second, Babylon is the devil’s world kingdom stemming from the time of the Tower of Babel. It is the kingdom of the “god of this world” (2 Co. 4:4). Third, Babylon was one of the city-states of ancient Mesopotamia that vied with other city-states (such as Ur and Ebla) for power and wealth, rising and falling in position and prestige over the centuries. Hammurabi was the most famous of Babylon’s ancient kings. (For a pictorial study of this see Bible Times and Ancient Kingdoms, PowerPoint 06 “Hammurabi and His Times,” available from Way of Life Literature.) Fourth, Babylon is the ancient kingdom of Daniel 2, the head of gold world kingdom founded by Nebuchadnezzar. This was the Babylon of the prophet Jeremiah’s time. Fifth, Babylon is the Antichrist’s end-time kingdom, called Mystery Babylon (Re. 17-18). Prophecies about Babylon are found in Isaiah 13-14; 21:1-10; 47:1-15; Jeremiah 25:11-14; 50-51.
MONARCH BUTTERFLY MIGRATION AND THE “METHUSELAH GENERATION” (Friday Church News Notes, June 22, 2018, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Seeing the Non-existent: Evolution’s Myths and Hoaxes, David Cloud, copyright 2011: “In September and October one variety of the monarch flies 2,500-3,000 miles from Canada and the northern USA east of the Rocky Mountains to locations it has never seen in mountain forests in central Mexico. It even flies to the very same tree where its forebears overwintered! The exact hibernation sites were not discovered until 1975 when Dr. Fredrick Urquhart of the University of Toronto developed a method of tagging and tracking the butterflies. Hundreds of millions of butterflies find their way unerringly to these remote locations each year. The generation that flies to Mexico is called the ‘Methuselah Generation’ because it is genetically programmed to live for six to eight months rather than the few weeks that is typical for monarch butterflies. This allows it to complete the first part of the massive migratory movement and is necessary for the monarch’s survival. (Some of them actually make the entire migration and return to their starting place in the north.) The migration to Mexico takes about two months, with the insect averaging about 30 miles a day, and the butterflies hibernate over winter in small concentrated areas, with millions congregated in a few acres. Some of the butterflies actually cross the Gulf of Mexico. In mid-March the females fly north for some distance, lay eggs, and die. The caterpillars hatch, go through metamorphosis, then continue the migration north. The new butterflies that hatch on the way, though they never meet their parents, know where they are on the migration route and exactly where to go and how to get there. It is the second, third, or even fourth generation that arrives back in the northern areas from where their forebears originated! Dr. Andrew McIntosh of the University of Leeds observes, ‘This means that a remarkable system of information is bound up in the genetic coding of each butterfly, such that it ‘knows’ at what stage of the migrating cycle the group of butterflies is in. Such a delicate mechanism shouts intelligent design!’ (In Six Days, edited by John Ashton, p. 167).
CONCLUSION: 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, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).
FEWER AMERICANS ARE TITHING TO THEIR CHURCHES (Friday Church News Notes, June 22, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - According to Barna research, there has been a steady decrease in the percentage of Americans who give 10% of their income to churches. In 2002, the percentage was 3%, down from 8% in 2001 (“The Ancient Rise and Recent Fall of Tithing,” Christian History, Aug. 2008). This is a sad and telling statistic. God’s people should give more than 10% of their income to the Lord’s churches for God’s great business on this earth. “But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10).
KING JAMES BIBLE STILL THE PREFERRED TRANSLATION IN AMERICA (Friday Church News Notes, June 22, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The 2015 Barna State of the Bible survey found that the King James Bible remains the preferred Bible version among Americans by far. It is the preferred Bible by 39% of those surveyed. After that is the New International Version (NIV), at 13%, and the New King James (NKJV), at 10%. These numbers have remained consistent since 2012. There is a significant difference when it comes to age groups. Among Boomers (age 50-68), 43% prefer the KJV; among Gen-Xers (age 31-49), 41%; but among Millennials (age 16-30), it is 28%. Still, the King James Bible is the preferred translation among all age groups over the New International Version, which is the next favorite. This information is from “State of the Bible 2015,” www.americanbible.org/uploads/content/State_of_the_Bible_2015_report.pdf
DRAG QUEEN CHILDREN TV SHOWS (Friday Church News Notes, June 22, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Drag Queen Children TV Shows Coming to America,” Christian Post, Jun. 11, 2018: “At least two new animated television shows about drag queens, one featuring children characters, are set to debut in America, drawing high concern from conservative commentators. World of Wonder released a trailer in May about ‘Drag Tots!,’ a show about toddler drag queens coming June 28th, featuring transgender model RuPaul. ‘In a world on the brink of chaos, where fear is the rule of the land, the voices of a generation have banded together to give our planet what it needs...BABY DRAG QUEENS!’ proclaims a preview on YouTube. On May 31, Netflix announced the animated ‘Super Drags,’ with a teaser preview that is yet to be given a release date stating: ‘By night, they tighten up their corsets and transform into the baddest SUPER DRAGS in town, ready to combat shade and rescue the world’s glitter from the evil villains. Get ready, because the SUPER DRAGS are going deeper than you think.’ ... Rod Dreher observes, ‘Netflix is turning drag queens into animated superheroes, and RuPaul’s streaming service is turning drag queens into child superheroes. You might think--I certainly hope you think--that your child will not be exposed to this filth. The thing is, your child, and all of us, have to live in a world in which this is normal, and in which the popular culture thinks that dressing little boys up like sexually provocative women is not only permissible, but a sign of cultural progress.’ Dreher pointed to other such efforts, like the ‘Drag Queen Story Hours’ that have been held in libraries across America. They have been adapted by other countries as well, including the United Kingdom, with activists defending the idea of drag queens reading to children.”
A PASTOR’S TESTIMONY ABOUT THE DANGER OF MEDICAL QUACKERY (Friday Church News Notes, June 22, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Brother Cloud, I am thankful for the current series of warnings concerning Quack Diets. This also exposes the deceitfulness of those who make a living off of gullible and misinformed individuals. One particular chiropractor (a charlatan doctor) was so persuasive and crafty that he hooked an influential church family by giving them free care. But it did not stop there! The family loved their free care so much that they were glad to highly promote this man to the rest of the church, defrauding the brethren. Much of the church began to go to this man, who claimed that a special diet along with his supplements could cure everything. His evaluation began with a belt hooked to a computer that would tell all your problems in a few moments. He also determined one’s mineral and vitamin deficiencies by having the patient hold a bottle of a particular vitamin while he pushed down on the patients extended arm. If the arm was resistant then you were not deficient. If he easily pushed it down, then the conclusion was that the patient was deficient in that particular vitamin. You can imagine the amount of deceit this would take for a doctor to perform this kind of fake and false procedure, ripping off gullible and overly trusting people! The worst part of all this quackery was when I warned against the deceitful doctor and exposed him, the influential family became offended and took sides with the doctor to keep up their free chiropractic care. They did not just leave the church but eventually caused a church split. Quackery can be used of the devil. It is dangerous to follow these foolish men and women with their lies and false claims. Bro. Cloud, I appreciate your Biblical insight and the many warnings that you publish. Some folks may turn a blind eye, but others will be deterred from falling into foolishness!” (For the studies about quack diets, see the book The Bible and Diet, which is available for free reading at www.wayoflife.org/free_ebooks/.)
BABYLON IN THE BIBLE (Friday Church News Notes, June 22, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) -Babylon is mentioned nearly 300 times in the Bible, more than any city other than Jerusalem. Babylon is many things. First, Babylon is the kingdom established by Nimrod at the time of the Tower of Babel (Ge. 10-11). It was here that idolatry was invented, and from here it spread to all of mankind. This is described in Romans 1:21-32. Second, Babylon is the devil’s world kingdom stemming from the time of the Tower of Babel. It is the kingdom of the “god of this world” (2 Co. 4:4). Third, Babylon was one of the city-states of ancient Mesopotamia that vied with other city-states (such as Ur and Ebla) for power and wealth, rising and falling in position and prestige over the centuries. Hammurabi was the most famous of Babylon’s ancient kings. (For a pictorial study of this see Bible Times and Ancient Kingdoms, PowerPoint 06 “Hammurabi and His Times,” available from Way of Life Literature.) Fourth, Babylon is the ancient kingdom of Daniel 2, the head of gold world kingdom founded by Nebuchadnezzar. This was the Babylon of the prophet Jeremiah’s time. Fifth, Babylon is the Antichrist’s end-time kingdom, called Mystery Babylon (Re. 17-18). Prophecies about Babylon are found in Isaiah 13-14; 21:1-10; 47:1-15; Jeremiah 25:11-14; 50-51.
MONARCH BUTTERFLY MIGRATION AND THE “METHUSELAH GENERATION” (Friday Church News Notes, June 22, 2018, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Seeing the Non-existent: Evolution’s Myths and Hoaxes, David Cloud, copyright 2011: “In September and October one variety of the monarch flies 2,500-3,000 miles from Canada and the northern USA east of the Rocky Mountains to locations it has never seen in mountain forests in central Mexico. It even flies to the very same tree where its forebears overwintered! The exact hibernation sites were not discovered until 1975 when Dr. Fredrick Urquhart of the University of Toronto developed a method of tagging and tracking the butterflies. Hundreds of millions of butterflies find their way unerringly to these remote locations each year. The generation that flies to Mexico is called the ‘Methuselah Generation’ because it is genetically programmed to live for six to eight months rather than the few weeks that is typical for monarch butterflies. This allows it to complete the first part of the massive migratory movement and is necessary for the monarch’s survival. (Some of them actually make the entire migration and return to their starting place in the north.) The migration to Mexico takes about two months, with the insect averaging about 30 miles a day, and the butterflies hibernate over winter in small concentrated areas, with millions congregated in a few acres. Some of the butterflies actually cross the Gulf of Mexico. In mid-March the females fly north for some distance, lay eggs, and die. The caterpillars hatch, go through metamorphosis, then continue the migration north. The new butterflies that hatch on the way, though they never meet their parents, know where they are on the migration route and exactly where to go and how to get there. It is the second, third, or even fourth generation that arrives back in the northern areas from where their forebears originated! Dr. Andrew McIntosh of the University of Leeds observes, ‘This means that a remarkable system of information is bound up in the genetic coding of each butterfly, such that it ‘knows’ at what stage of the migrating cycle the group of butterflies is in. Such a delicate mechanism shouts intelligent design!’ (In Six Days, edited by John Ashton, p. 167).
CONCLUSION: 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, but this obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch. 12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again? Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).
_____
Distributed by Way of Life Literature., publisher of Bible Study Materials and reports for Fundamental Baptists and other fundamentalist, Bible-believing Christians. Established in 1974, Way of Life Literature is a fundamental Baptist preaching and publishing ministry based in Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. Brother Cloud lives in South Asia where he has been a church planting missionary since 1979. OUR GOAL IN THIS PARTICULAR ASPECT OF OUR MINISTRY (REPORTS AND FRIDAY NEWS) IS NOT DEVOTIONAL. IS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO ASSIST PREACHERS IN THE PROTECTION OF THE CHURCHES IN THIS APOSTATE HOUR.
David Cloud, Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
The Way of Life Literature preaching and publishing ministry is based at Bethel Baptist Church, London, Ontario, of which Wilbert Unger is the founding Pastor. A mail stop is maintained in Port Huron, Michigan.
Way of Life Literature - www.wayoflife.org
copyright 2018 - Way of Life Literature