Friday Church News Notes
Volume 19, Issue 36 - September 7, 2018
Graphical Edition
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.
Photo of Aretha Franklin
ARETHA FRANKLIN CHRISTIANITY (Friday Church News Notes, September 7, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Aretha Franklin’s death and funeral have been the focus of news reports worldwide over the past three weeks. In my teen years I was captivated by her incredibly sensual hit songs, such as “Respect,” which took the airwaves by storm in 1967, the year I graduated from high school. Known as the “Queen of Soul,” she was eulogized as “a musical titan, an American icon, a legend.” The tributes at her funeral in the Greater Grace Temple of Detroit stretched on for eight hours. In attendance were former presidents, prominent pastors, civil rights leaders, entertainment stars, and sports heroes. It was a fitting celebration for a singer who so perfectly represented the spiritual character of America and its churches. She stood for syncretism and ecumenism: the merging of Christ and the world, the blending of spirituality and sensuality, the amalgamation of holy and sexy, the yoking of sacred and secular, the integration of the church with the filthy pop culture, the friendship of truth with error. Her funeral exuded this spirit even in the choice of songs, from the sacred “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” to the worldly “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman.” In reality, this mixture philosophy is confusion and wickedness and heresy. It is the Christianity that America loves (whether it goes by the name of Baptist or evangelical or charismatic or emerging or whatever), but it is no kind of true Christianity. It is the Christianity of end-time apostasy, of the one-world “church.” The Lord Jesus Christ taught that “no man can serve two masters” and “ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24). It is impossible. It is a lie. Any “christ” who commends such a thing is a false christ. Any preacher who preaches such a thing is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The Bible commands separation from the world, the flesh, and the devil (Galatians 5:17; Ephesians 5:11; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17). It forbids the yoking together of believers with unbelievers, the fellowship of righteousness with unrighteousness, the communion of light with darkness, the concord of Christ with Belial (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). Aretha was the daughter of a Baptist pastor who used his God-given talent (known as the man with “the million dollar voice”) to serve mammon and destroyed his marriage by infidelities. She was at the forefront of breaking down biblical barriers between Christ and the world, and the entire field of Contemporary Christian Music has exactly the same philosophy. Her producer, Jerry Wexler, said Aretha’s song “Spirit in the Dark” was a “perfect R&B blend of the sacred and the secular. It’s Aretha conducting church right in the middle of a smoky nightclub. It’s everything to everyone.” But this is impossible. There is no “church” in the middle of a nightclub unless that “church” calls the nightclub to repentance, but Aretha and her music called no one to repentance. Christ is a friend of sinners, but Christ called men to repentance from sin in the sharpest language. He said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish,” and He repeated it for emphasis (Luke 13:3, 5). He warned men of eternal hellfire, and He repeated that, too, for emphasis (Mark 9:43-48). That kind of preaching would put a quick end to any worldly party, but that is the true Christ of Scripture. He is the Friend of Sinners, but He is also “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners” (Hebrews 7:26). He is the Saviour, but He is also the Judge. He is the Lamb of God who came to atone for man’s sin (John 1:29), but He is also the Lamb who will pour out “the wine of the wrath of God upon the impenitent (Revelation 6:16; 14:10). This is not the message that America hears from the vast majority of its “reverends” today, but they are no reverends at all. Reverend means holy, and they know nothing of holiness. They are the blind leading the blind, and all will fall into the ditch of eternal destruction. God says to the Aretha Franklin crowd, “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).

MICHAEL W. SMITH LEADS CONCERT THAT “WILL BE THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT GREAT AWAKENING” (Friday Church News Notes, September 7, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Michael W. Smith, one of the most influential contemporary Christian musicians, led a concert last week in Nashville that he believes “will be the beginning of the next great awakening through the US. and the world” (“Singer to Fulfill Prophecy over Nashville,” The Christian Post, Aug. 29, 2018). The concert, called “Surrounded: A Night to Pray, Worship and Be Awakened,” was held in partnership with TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network), which has spewed out heresy and worldliness since its founding by Paul Crouch in 1973. Smith claims that the concert is the result of “dreams and visions.” One of the major goals is to break down “all denominational lines,” which is the reason that Contemporary Christian Music is one of the chief elements in the building of the apostate “one world church.” It is impossible to obey God’s Word and at the same time strive for Christian unity in an hour when the vast, vast majority of churches are either totally apostate or deeply compromised with the world, the flesh, and the devil. It is impossible to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered unto the saints, which is a command of God, and at the same time to strive for ecumenical unity. Michael W. Smith and his compatriots are deeply confused, tragically deceived people. The bottom line is that Contemporary Christian Music is just rock & roll, and there is nothing spiritual about it.

GONE CONTEMPORARY (Friday Church News Notes, September 7, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - “Gone Contemporary” is the title of an article by Dave Mallinak exposing the error and danger of the contemporary music philosophy that is spreading rapidly among Independent Baptists. We commend the entire report, which has links to Independent Baptist contemporary worship services and a video dialogue between Josh Teis and Robert Bakss, author of Worship Wars. Following is an excerpt from the report that gets to the heart of the issue and rightly calls for separation from those who are committed to the contemporary philosophy: “The contemporary music push is the death rattle of a dying church. This style of worship is not becoming more popular because we are becoming more faithful. In our attempt to pander to the audience, we have forgotten that God is the audience. God now bores us. The more dependent we become on this kind of external approach to worship, the more we lose the very heart of worship. Eventually, Christians will find that they must have the contemporary kind of music or they cannot worship. Contemporary worship turns the audience into spectators and the music into a performance. It produces a low view of God, a delight in the experience of worship rather than the God we worship, a superficial sense of passion that loses the passion of true worship, a growing dependence on the experience produced by the music itself, and the false idea that worship is easy, that devotion can be whipped up in a couple of choruses. True worship is challenging--it requires focus and diligence and depth, all things that CCM discourages. ... Musical style indicates what a church thinks of God. Scripturally, we cannot pretend to be in good fellowship with churches who have chosen relevance over reverence. So, while we do not attempt to dictate the way another church should worship, we most certainly do have a God-given responsibility to determine the limits of our fellowship. ... The claim that musical style is nothing more than a preference choice demonstrates just how relativistic these men have become. They have purposely ignored the study of music theory. They believe that we should only need to study the Bible to see what kind of style is required.  They remind us, somewhat condescendingly, that the Bible says nothing about syncopation or ‘beat anticipation.’ So saying, they purposely ignore the clear message musical style sends about the occasion of worship. Their determined know-nothingness aside, style still informs us about the meaning of the occasion. Movie producers understand this. Most people know what music is appropriate for weddings, funerals, classy restaurants, backyard barbecues, military parades and basketball games. These men believe we can drag any style into the worship service, slap some sacred lyrics onto it, and somehow ‘redeem it.’ ... Style is the meaning. The music, dress, and trendy look of the contemporary Independent Baptists tell us less about their view of style and so much more about their view of God. The same can be said for most events. The way we dress and the music we play tells more about the way we view the event than it does about the way we view style.” Dave Mallinak’s report “Gone Contemporary” can be found at the following link - villagesmithysite.wordpress.com/2018/08/31/gone-contemporary/

PROTEINS ARE NECESSARY FOR LIFE (Friday Church News Notes, September 7, 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: “Cells are largely made up of proteins (about a million per cell in thousands of varieties), and cells and proteins in turn form the body. Proteins ‘are the machines within living tissue that build the structures and carry out the chemical reactions necessary for life’ (Michael Behe, Darwin’s Black Box). Muscles, skin, hair, eyes, antibodies, enzymes (that produce essential chemical reactions such as breaking down sugar), and hormones are made of proteins. Blood clotting is accomplished by the proteins fibrinogen and thrombin. Hemoglobin in the red blood cell is a protein that allows oxygen to be transported to every part of the body. The proteins collagen and keratin, which are elastic and stronger than steel, make up skin, hair, and fingernails, as well as the structural support within the cell itself. The cell can make thousands of different types of proteins, each one amazingly complex in itself and designed for a specific function. For example, there are hundreds of types of proteins that bridge the cell membrane to act as gates and transporters. First the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) makes three kinds of RNA (ribonucleic acid). The RNA then reads the DNA’s complicated code, knowing exactly where to start and how to accomplish this task, working with the cell’s various organs to create proteins according to the master blueprint. This process is complex beyond words, and scientists are only beginning to understand small parts of it. Each protein is composed of a long string of 20 different amino acids, typically thousands in length, and each amino acid must be in exactly the right sequence for the protein to work. After the protein is strung together, it is folded and shaped perfectly within the cell’s factories and then transported to the right place. The right shaping is essential. Proteins require DNA for formation, but DNA is itself made up of proteins. ‘Because DNA and proteins depend so intimately on each other for their survival, it’s hard to imagine one of them having evolved first. But it’s just as implausible for them to have emerged simultaneously out of a prebiotic soup’ (Carl Zimmer, “How and Where Did Life on Earth Arise?” Science, Vol. 309, July 1, 2005, p. 89).”

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).

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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.

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