Friday Church News Notes
Volume 22, Issue 2 - January 8, 2021
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.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
LEADERS OF U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DEFYING GOD WITH “INCLUSIVE” LANGUAGE (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In fulfillment of Bible prophecy, the Democratic leadership of the 117th U.S. House of Representatives is attempting to defy God with an “inclusive language” policy. The new rules would “address issues of inequities on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age, or national origin.” This is impossible nonsense, of course, since addressing alleged inequality on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity creates inequality against sex and religion, etc. The rule would outlaw the use of he and she, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, husband, wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandson, or granddaughter, among others. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the new measures would make the House of Representatives “the most inclusive in history.” True, and it would also make it the most stupid in history. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27). “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision” (Psalm 2:2-4).
UNITED METHODIST MINISTER INVOKES HINDU GOD AT OPENING OF U.S. CONGRESS (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Emanuel Cleaver, an ordained United Methodist minister and Democrat Representative, opened the first session of the 117th U.S. Congress by praying in the name of a Hindu god. He concluded, “We ask it in the name of the monotheistic God, Brahma, and god known by many names by different faiths. Amen and a-woman.” The term “amen” has nothing to do with gender, of course. It simply means “so be it.” According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Brahma was born from a golden egg and created the earth and all things on it. Later myths describe him as having come forth from a lotus that issued from Vishnu’s navel.”
WALL STREET JOURNAL STANDS UP AGAINST CANCEL CULTURE (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is standing up for freedom of speech against the totalitarian cancel culture. After the WSJ published an editorial on Dec. 11 by Joseph Epstein poking some fun at Joe Biden’s wife, Jill, for flaunting the title of “Dr.,” there was a “flood of media and Twitter criticism,” angry tirades demanding an apology, retraction, lifelong ban of Epstein, and the resignation of the WSJ editorial editor. Epstein was sharply criticized by Northwestern University, where he taught some 20 years ago. The school went so far as to remove Epstein’s name from its website listing past faculty. In his reply to the critics, Paul Gigot, editor of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page, wrote, “My guess is that the Biden team concluded it was a chance to use the big gun of identity politics to send a message to critics as it prepares to take power. There’s nothing like playing the race or gender card to stifle criticism. ... these pages aren’t going to stop publishing provocative essays merely because they offend the new administration or the political censors in the media and academe.” In a report on the WSJ brouhaha, The New Criterion observed, “Last month, after the electors met to cast their votes for him, Joe Biden once again made a plea for unity. ‘Now it’s time to turn the page ... to unite and to heal,’ he said. We applaud that sentiment. But we wonder what he means by ‘unite’ and ‘heal.’ To judge by the actions of the institutions supporting his cause in this sorry episode, ‘turning the page’ might just be euphemism for sweeping everything and everyone out of step with his program into the oubliette” (“The ‘Dr.’ will see you now,” The New Criterion, Jan. 2021).
JOE THE COWBOY DRONE (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Meet Joe, the drone,” Israel21c.org, Dec. 27, 2020: “Noam Azran is an Israeli version of the classic cowboy--a passionate rancher living in the Upper Galilee. But he’s ready to give up the romance of the open plain for technology that will reduce his herding costs and give him time with his family. Azran’s company, BeeFree Agro, is developing ‘Joe,’ an autonomous drone system Azran has dubbed the world’s first ‘click and herd’ solution--or, if you will, ‘Cowboy as a Service.’ ... The cattle respond to the movement of the drone, rather than the sound. ‘Although sometimes we do add sounds of dogs barking,’ Azran notes. ‘What matters is that we move them with the least amount of stress possible. If we try to scare them away, it just creates a mess.’ ... Joe is controlled by a mobile app. The software first pilots the drone around the countryside to scout out the most efficient herding routes. Then it’s one click to launch the drone. Onboard cameras provide a live video stream to the Joe app so the rancher knows what’s happening in real time. The cows (or camels in Dubai’s case) need to have GPS tags attached so the system can track them. ... The drones can fly up to five kilometers and a single drone can move up to 1,000 head of cattle. ... After Israel, BeeFree’s first international market will be Texas, home to 10% of all the cattle in the United States. BeeFree aims to have 10 to 20 pilot programs around the world running in 2021. ... The name ‘Joe’ comes from Azran’s favorite shepherd dog. ‘Joe displays all the characteristics of a good herding pal: he’s intelligent, loyal, follows orders, is autonomous and fast,’ Azran notes.”
U.S. DIVORCE RATE HITS 50-YEAR LOW, BUT MARRIAGES ALSO ON THE DECLINE (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “U.S. Divorce Rate,” Christian Headlines, Nov. 11, 2020: “The new data shows that 14.9 marriages per 1,000 ended in divorce in 2019, a rate that is the lowest it’s been since 1970, according to an analysis by author Wendy Wang, director of research for the Institute for Family Studies. It’s even slightly less than in 1970 when it was 15.0, Wang wrote in an online analysis. The data is derived from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. ... The drop in the divorce rate likely will continue, despite the pandemic, Wang asserted. New data from the American Family Survey shows that 58 percent of married Americans say ‘the pandemic has made them appreciate their spouse more and half agree that their commitment to marriage has deepened,’ Wang wrote. ... But the Census data also has some bad news for the nation: The marriage rate continued to decline in 2019, hitting an all-time low. ‘For every 1,000 unmarried adults in 2019, only 33 got married. This number was 35 a decade ago in 2010 and 86 in 1970,’ Wang wrote.”
CIRCUIT COURT STRIKES DOWN BAN AGAINST “CONVERSION THERAPY” (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Court Strikes Down,” PJMedia, Nov. 25, 2020: “Last week, a panel on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals effectively struck down two Florida bans on sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) that sought to ban counselors from putting minors through ‘conversion therapy.’ The court ruled that the laws violated the First Amendment by restricting free speech. While LGBT activists have rightly condemned the historic abuses of ‘conversion therapy’ in the past, modern SOCE therapists use patient-directed talk therapy, not ‘shock therapy.’ When the City of Boca Raton and the County of Palm Beach banned SOCE counseling, licensed marriage and family therapists Robert Otto and Julie Hamilton sued, seeking an injunction to prevent the city and county from enacting their bans. ... The therapists argue that ‘their clients typically have sincerely held religious beliefs conflicting with homosexuality, and voluntarily seek SOCE counseling in order to live in congruence with their faith and to conform their identity, concept of self, attractions, and behaviors to their sincerely held religious beliefs.’ ... As Judge Grant wrote, ‘The ordinances thus codify a particular viewpoint--sexual orientation is immutable, but gender is not— and prohibit the therapists from advancing any other perspective when counseling clients.’ ... This involves an unconstitutional restriction of free speech. ‘Whether therapy is prohibited depends only on the content of the words used in that therapy, and the ban on that content is because the government disagrees with it. And whether the government’s disagreement is for good reasons, great reasons, or terrible reasons has nothing at all to do with it. All that matters is that a therapist’s speech to a minor client is legal or illegal under the ordinances based solely on its content,’ Judge Grant wrote. ... Lawsuits against ‘conversion therapy’ bans received a new lease on life thanks to NIFLA v. Becerra. In that decision, Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly struck down California’s law forcing crisis pregnancy centers to advertise abortion under the argument that states can regulate ‘professional speech.’ In striking down California’s law, Thomas referenced a case (King v. Governor of New Jersey) involving bans on sexual orientation change efforts. Otto v. Boca Raton represents a landmark case for therapy freedom.”
BIGGEST LOCKDOWN IS COMING (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Lockdowns dominated the news for 2020, but the really big lockdown is in the future. Bible prophecy was fulfilled literally and precisely in the first coming of Christ, and it will be fulfilled in the same manner in His second coming. As a precursor, the Antichrist will lockdown the whole world with his worship program and economic control scheme, backed up by the death penalty. It will be a global North Korea. “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:15-17). The Covid pandemic is child’s play compared with the trouble that looms on the horizon. Billions of people will die during the Great Tribulation from wars, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, and totalitarianism on a scale that will make Stalin and Mao seem like choir boys. It is all described in the book of Revelation for those who are interested. It is called “the day of the Lord” because it will spell doom for “the day of man.”
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).
UNITED METHODIST MINISTER INVOKES HINDU GOD AT OPENING OF U.S. CONGRESS (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Emanuel Cleaver, an ordained United Methodist minister and Democrat Representative, opened the first session of the 117th U.S. Congress by praying in the name of a Hindu god. He concluded, “We ask it in the name of the monotheistic God, Brahma, and god known by many names by different faiths. Amen and a-woman.” The term “amen” has nothing to do with gender, of course. It simply means “so be it.” According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “Brahma was born from a golden egg and created the earth and all things on it. Later myths describe him as having come forth from a lotus that issued from Vishnu’s navel.”
WALL STREET JOURNAL STANDS UP AGAINST CANCEL CULTURE (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is standing up for freedom of speech against the totalitarian cancel culture. After the WSJ published an editorial on Dec. 11 by Joseph Epstein poking some fun at Joe Biden’s wife, Jill, for flaunting the title of “Dr.,” there was a “flood of media and Twitter criticism,” angry tirades demanding an apology, retraction, lifelong ban of Epstein, and the resignation of the WSJ editorial editor. Epstein was sharply criticized by Northwestern University, where he taught some 20 years ago. The school went so far as to remove Epstein’s name from its website listing past faculty. In his reply to the critics, Paul Gigot, editor of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial page, wrote, “My guess is that the Biden team concluded it was a chance to use the big gun of identity politics to send a message to critics as it prepares to take power. There’s nothing like playing the race or gender card to stifle criticism. ... these pages aren’t going to stop publishing provocative essays merely because they offend the new administration or the political censors in the media and academe.” In a report on the WSJ brouhaha, The New Criterion observed, “Last month, after the electors met to cast their votes for him, Joe Biden once again made a plea for unity. ‘Now it’s time to turn the page ... to unite and to heal,’ he said. We applaud that sentiment. But we wonder what he means by ‘unite’ and ‘heal.’ To judge by the actions of the institutions supporting his cause in this sorry episode, ‘turning the page’ might just be euphemism for sweeping everything and everyone out of step with his program into the oubliette” (“The ‘Dr.’ will see you now,” The New Criterion, Jan. 2021).
JOE THE COWBOY DRONE (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Meet Joe, the drone,” Israel21c.org, Dec. 27, 2020: “Noam Azran is an Israeli version of the classic cowboy--a passionate rancher living in the Upper Galilee. But he’s ready to give up the romance of the open plain for technology that will reduce his herding costs and give him time with his family. Azran’s company, BeeFree Agro, is developing ‘Joe,’ an autonomous drone system Azran has dubbed the world’s first ‘click and herd’ solution--or, if you will, ‘Cowboy as a Service.’ ... The cattle respond to the movement of the drone, rather than the sound. ‘Although sometimes we do add sounds of dogs barking,’ Azran notes. ‘What matters is that we move them with the least amount of stress possible. If we try to scare them away, it just creates a mess.’ ... Joe is controlled by a mobile app. The software first pilots the drone around the countryside to scout out the most efficient herding routes. Then it’s one click to launch the drone. Onboard cameras provide a live video stream to the Joe app so the rancher knows what’s happening in real time. The cows (or camels in Dubai’s case) need to have GPS tags attached so the system can track them. ... The drones can fly up to five kilometers and a single drone can move up to 1,000 head of cattle. ... After Israel, BeeFree’s first international market will be Texas, home to 10% of all the cattle in the United States. BeeFree aims to have 10 to 20 pilot programs around the world running in 2021. ... The name ‘Joe’ comes from Azran’s favorite shepherd dog. ‘Joe displays all the characteristics of a good herding pal: he’s intelligent, loyal, follows orders, is autonomous and fast,’ Azran notes.”
U.S. DIVORCE RATE HITS 50-YEAR LOW, BUT MARRIAGES ALSO ON THE DECLINE (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “U.S. Divorce Rate,” Christian Headlines, Nov. 11, 2020: “The new data shows that 14.9 marriages per 1,000 ended in divorce in 2019, a rate that is the lowest it’s been since 1970, according to an analysis by author Wendy Wang, director of research for the Institute for Family Studies. It’s even slightly less than in 1970 when it was 15.0, Wang wrote in an online analysis. The data is derived from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. ... The drop in the divorce rate likely will continue, despite the pandemic, Wang asserted. New data from the American Family Survey shows that 58 percent of married Americans say ‘the pandemic has made them appreciate their spouse more and half agree that their commitment to marriage has deepened,’ Wang wrote. ... But the Census data also has some bad news for the nation: The marriage rate continued to decline in 2019, hitting an all-time low. ‘For every 1,000 unmarried adults in 2019, only 33 got married. This number was 35 a decade ago in 2010 and 86 in 1970,’ Wang wrote.”
CIRCUIT COURT STRIKES DOWN BAN AGAINST “CONVERSION THERAPY” (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Court Strikes Down,” PJMedia, Nov. 25, 2020: “Last week, a panel on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals effectively struck down two Florida bans on sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) that sought to ban counselors from putting minors through ‘conversion therapy.’ The court ruled that the laws violated the First Amendment by restricting free speech. While LGBT activists have rightly condemned the historic abuses of ‘conversion therapy’ in the past, modern SOCE therapists use patient-directed talk therapy, not ‘shock therapy.’ When the City of Boca Raton and the County of Palm Beach banned SOCE counseling, licensed marriage and family therapists Robert Otto and Julie Hamilton sued, seeking an injunction to prevent the city and county from enacting their bans. ... The therapists argue that ‘their clients typically have sincerely held religious beliefs conflicting with homosexuality, and voluntarily seek SOCE counseling in order to live in congruence with their faith and to conform their identity, concept of self, attractions, and behaviors to their sincerely held religious beliefs.’ ... As Judge Grant wrote, ‘The ordinances thus codify a particular viewpoint--sexual orientation is immutable, but gender is not— and prohibit the therapists from advancing any other perspective when counseling clients.’ ... This involves an unconstitutional restriction of free speech. ‘Whether therapy is prohibited depends only on the content of the words used in that therapy, and the ban on that content is because the government disagrees with it. And whether the government’s disagreement is for good reasons, great reasons, or terrible reasons has nothing at all to do with it. All that matters is that a therapist’s speech to a minor client is legal or illegal under the ordinances based solely on its content,’ Judge Grant wrote. ... Lawsuits against ‘conversion therapy’ bans received a new lease on life thanks to NIFLA v. Becerra. In that decision, Justice Clarence Thomas explicitly struck down California’s law forcing crisis pregnancy centers to advertise abortion under the argument that states can regulate ‘professional speech.’ In striking down California’s law, Thomas referenced a case (King v. Governor of New Jersey) involving bans on sexual orientation change efforts. Otto v. Boca Raton represents a landmark case for therapy freedom.”
BIGGEST LOCKDOWN IS COMING (Friday Church News Notes, January 8, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Lockdowns dominated the news for 2020, but the really big lockdown is in the future. Bible prophecy was fulfilled literally and precisely in the first coming of Christ, and it will be fulfilled in the same manner in His second coming. As a precursor, the Antichrist will lockdown the whole world with his worship program and economic control scheme, backed up by the death penalty. It will be a global North Korea. “And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Revelation 13:15-17). The Covid pandemic is child’s play compared with the trouble that looms on the horizon. Billions of people will die during the Great Tribulation from wars, famine, pestilence, earthquakes, and totalitarianism on a scale that will make Stalin and Mao seem like choir boys. It is all described in the book of Revelation for those who are interested. It is called “the day of the Lord” because it will spell doom for “the day of man.”
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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