Friday Church News Notes
Volume 22, Issue 10 - March 5, 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.
DEMOCRAT REPRESENTATIVE SAYS GOD’S WILL “NO CONCERN OF THIS CONGRESS” (Friday Church News Notes, March 5, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Nadler,” ToddStarnes.com, Feb. 25, 2021: “Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) triggered a bunch of God-hating Democrats after he pointed out that God makes people uniquely male or female. Steube said, ‘When men or women claim to be able to choose their own sexual identity, they are making a statement that God did not know what he was doing when he created them. ... The gender confusion that exists in our culture today is a clear rejection of God’s good design. Whenever a nation’s laws no longer reflect the standards of God that nation is in rebellion against him and will inevitably bear the consequences. We are seeing the consequences of rejecting God here in our country today.’ That comment drew a fiery response from Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY). ‘What any religious tradition describes as God’s will is no concern of this Congress.’ ... May God have mercy on our nation...”
HOMOSEXUAL-AFFIRMING CHURCH BOOTED FROM THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION (Friday Church News Notes, March 5, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Towne View Baptist Church in Kennesaw, Georgia, has been disfellowshipped from the Southern Baptist Convention two years after it began accepting homosexuals as members. In the last issue of Friday Church News Notes, I used Towne View as an example of what is happening in Baptist churches in the South. That the church has been disfellowshipped from the SBC over this issue is irrelevant to the point I was making. Most of the SBC churches aren’t as far down the road of apostasy as Towne View, but a lot of former SBC churches are that far along, having joined the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Two decades ago, CBF coordinator Daniel Vestal said there are congregations that support the CBF who ordain homosexuals and that he does not want anyone to leave over this issue (“CBF ‘welcoming but not affirming’ of homosexuals,” Associated Baptist Press, Oct. 23, 2000). CBF council member Dixie Lee Petrey said, “I don’t think we should limit the Spirit of God in the way that it moves. Do we really want to sit here and say God’s Spirit cannot call a homosexual to follow God’s call?” That is complete apostasy, and there are a great number of Baptist churches in Georgia and across the country that are in that condition. Further, the large majority of the present SBC churches are terribly worldly, filled with unregenerate members (a great many of whom don’t even attend one service a week), having no spiritual power. Southern Baptist pastors and evangelists themselves have made this same observation, as we have documented. A long time ago I made the shocking realization that the average fundamental Baptist church is as worldly and lukewarm and powerless as the Southern Baptist church of my childhood. The point I was making last week (“Cobb County, Georgia, A Cast Study in the Priority of Churches over Politics”) is that as the churches go, so the politics go, and we need to put the priority where God tells us to put it, which is on the spiritual building up of churches. It is the Lord’s House that is the pillar and ground of the truth, not the White House (1 Timothy 3:15).
EQUALITY ACT PROMISES RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IF PASSED (Friday Church News Notes, March 5, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - God’s people should pray for the Lord to have mercy on America in halting the Equality Act. The following is excerpted from “6 Reasons to Oppose the Orwellian ‘Equality Act,’” PJMedia, Feb. 25, 2021: “On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5, ‘The Equality Act.’ Three Republicans joined with every single Democrat to support the bill, which now moves to the Senate. The bill will require 60 votes to pass in the Senate, due to the filibuster. ... The bill would amend federal law to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, among other things. It would expand the arenas in which non-discrimination law applies and explicitly gut religious freedom protections. In true Orwellian fashion, the Democrats have crafted an Equality Act that will promote inequality, enabling the government to privilege LGBT ideology over the Americans who disagree, for religious or other reasons. ... H.R. 5 explicitly erodes the protections of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA).” The following is excerpted from “The Gay Supremacy Act,” NC Daily Gazette, Feb. 26, 2021: “The hypocrisy of the left couldn’t be more obvious as they attempt to push through a massive bill that would do the very thing they claim they are trying to eliminate--it would undermine the rights of minority groups. H.R.5, dubbed by the left as The Equality Act, should rightfully be renamed the Gay Supremacy Act instead. The purpose of the bill is to make it illegal for minority Christian and conservative groups to hold to their sincere religious beliefs--a guaranteed right in the Constitution--and undermine protections for these groups. The bill argues that homosexuals and other sexually perverse people and their allies are a minority group and are disproportionately discriminated against in the public square. This is simply false. Gays are among the most celebrated group in this perverse society and while most Americans don’t self-identify as LGBTQ, support for them has hit record highs. ... On the other hand, Christians, particularly, conservative, Bible-believing Christians, are clearly in the minority. Conservatives who hold to a biblical worldview are enslaved to ‘Cancel Culture’ and are unable to voice their opinion on these issues without facing severe repercussions.”
RENAMING OF SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOLS PUT ON HOLD (Friday Church News Notes, March 5, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - We reported in October that 44 schools in the San Francisco School District were to be renamed, including those named after the nation’s founding fathers. The list includes eight schools named after George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Paul Revere, and Francis Scott Key (composer of “The Star Spangled Banner”). The name of any person who fails any one of the following criteria was to be removed: “Anyone directly involved in the colonization of people; slave owners or participants in enslavement; perpetrators of genocide or slavery; those who exploit workers/people; those who directly oppressed or abused women, children, queer or transgender people; those connected to any human rights or environmental abuses; those who are known racists and/or white supremacists and/or espoused racist beliefs.” Now this nuttiness has been put on hold. On February 21, Board President Gabriela Lopez said that the board had made mistakes in the renaming process and needs to work on getting schools reopened safely. She said, “I acknowledge and take responsibility that mistakes were made in the renaming process. ... We will not be taking valuable time from our board agendas to further discuss this, as we need to prioritize reopening” (“S.F. School Board,” San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 22, 2021). One of the schools to be renamed is Alamo Elementary because of its alleged connection with the Alamo in Texas, but actually the school is named for the Spanish word for the cottonwood tree. No matter what happens with this business in the long run, this level of insanity is a judgment of God on a wicked nation. “lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?” (Jeremiah 8:9).
SOUTHERN BAPTIST PRESIDENT SAYS JESUS DIDN’T SAY “TAKE UP MY TEACHINGS OR MY MORAL LAW” (Friday Church News Notes, March 5, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - J.D. Greear, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, tweeted on Feb. 25, “Jesus doesn’t say, ‘Take up my teachings and follow me,’ Or, ‘Take up my moral code.’ He says, ‘Take up my cross.’” This is further heresy from an ignorant man who has no business in the pastorate. Note the following words from Christ Himself: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John. 14:21). “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:23-24). “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10). “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:14). “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:18-20).
THE GLORIES OF THE BIBLE (Friday Church News Notes, March 5, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Bible is a whole university. There is more wisdom in the Bible than all the universities of the world. It contains the best theology, the best history (and the key to understanding history), the best philosophy (Ecclesiastes, Job), the best anthropology, the best natural philosophy, the best social science, the best apologetics, the best prophecy. The Bible is a paradise. Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania is 1077 acres or 1.6 sq. miles. It has indoor and outdoor flowers, ponds, a five acre fountain garden with 1700 fountain jets, an Italian water garden. It has lovely colors, sweet smells, and fascinating wildlife. It is delightful, but the Bible is a much more delightful paradise. The Bible is a treasure mine filled with silver and gold and jewels. Yea, it is “better than thousands of gold and silver” (Ps. 119:72). The Bible is a feast for the mind and soul. Shady Maple in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, has 200 feet of buffet tables, with cheese bar, soups, all sorts of meats (beef, pork, chicken, salmon), flavored breads, southern style vegetables, breakfast cooked to order, Amish style cakes and pies. But the Bible is a much greater feast! It is spiritual milk and honey, bread and meat. God Himself is the greatest treasure, and He is the theme of Scripture. To know Him is the greatest delight; to feed on Him is the greatest feast; the knowledge of Him is the greatest wisdom.
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).
HOMOSEXUAL-AFFIRMING CHURCH BOOTED FROM THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION (Friday Church News Notes, March 5, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Towne View Baptist Church in Kennesaw, Georgia, has been disfellowshipped from the Southern Baptist Convention two years after it began accepting homosexuals as members. In the last issue of Friday Church News Notes, I used Towne View as an example of what is happening in Baptist churches in the South. That the church has been disfellowshipped from the SBC over this issue is irrelevant to the point I was making. Most of the SBC churches aren’t as far down the road of apostasy as Towne View, but a lot of former SBC churches are that far along, having joined the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Two decades ago, CBF coordinator Daniel Vestal said there are congregations that support the CBF who ordain homosexuals and that he does not want anyone to leave over this issue (“CBF ‘welcoming but not affirming’ of homosexuals,” Associated Baptist Press, Oct. 23, 2000). CBF council member Dixie Lee Petrey said, “I don’t think we should limit the Spirit of God in the way that it moves. Do we really want to sit here and say God’s Spirit cannot call a homosexual to follow God’s call?” That is complete apostasy, and there are a great number of Baptist churches in Georgia and across the country that are in that condition. Further, the large majority of the present SBC churches are terribly worldly, filled with unregenerate members (a great many of whom don’t even attend one service a week), having no spiritual power. Southern Baptist pastors and evangelists themselves have made this same observation, as we have documented. A long time ago I made the shocking realization that the average fundamental Baptist church is as worldly and lukewarm and powerless as the Southern Baptist church of my childhood. The point I was making last week (“Cobb County, Georgia, A Cast Study in the Priority of Churches over Politics”) is that as the churches go, so the politics go, and we need to put the priority where God tells us to put it, which is on the spiritual building up of churches. It is the Lord’s House that is the pillar and ground of the truth, not the White House (1 Timothy 3:15).
EQUALITY ACT PROMISES RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION IF PASSED (Friday Church News Notes, March 5, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - God’s people should pray for the Lord to have mercy on America in halting the Equality Act. The following is excerpted from “6 Reasons to Oppose the Orwellian ‘Equality Act,’” PJMedia, Feb. 25, 2021: “On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 5, ‘The Equality Act.’ Three Republicans joined with every single Democrat to support the bill, which now moves to the Senate. The bill will require 60 votes to pass in the Senate, due to the filibuster. ... The bill would amend federal law to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, among other things. It would expand the arenas in which non-discrimination law applies and explicitly gut religious freedom protections. In true Orwellian fashion, the Democrats have crafted an Equality Act that will promote inequality, enabling the government to privilege LGBT ideology over the Americans who disagree, for religious or other reasons. ... H.R. 5 explicitly erodes the protections of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA).” The following is excerpted from “The Gay Supremacy Act,” NC Daily Gazette, Feb. 26, 2021: “The hypocrisy of the left couldn’t be more obvious as they attempt to push through a massive bill that would do the very thing they claim they are trying to eliminate--it would undermine the rights of minority groups. H.R.5, dubbed by the left as The Equality Act, should rightfully be renamed the Gay Supremacy Act instead. The purpose of the bill is to make it illegal for minority Christian and conservative groups to hold to their sincere religious beliefs--a guaranteed right in the Constitution--and undermine protections for these groups. The bill argues that homosexuals and other sexually perverse people and their allies are a minority group and are disproportionately discriminated against in the public square. This is simply false. Gays are among the most celebrated group in this perverse society and while most Americans don’t self-identify as LGBTQ, support for them has hit record highs. ... On the other hand, Christians, particularly, conservative, Bible-believing Christians, are clearly in the minority. Conservatives who hold to a biblical worldview are enslaved to ‘Cancel Culture’ and are unable to voice their opinion on these issues without facing severe repercussions.”
RENAMING OF SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOLS PUT ON HOLD (Friday Church News Notes, March 5, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - We reported in October that 44 schools in the San Francisco School District were to be renamed, including those named after the nation’s founding fathers. The list includes eight schools named after George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Paul Revere, and Francis Scott Key (composer of “The Star Spangled Banner”). The name of any person who fails any one of the following criteria was to be removed: “Anyone directly involved in the colonization of people; slave owners or participants in enslavement; perpetrators of genocide or slavery; those who exploit workers/people; those who directly oppressed or abused women, children, queer or transgender people; those connected to any human rights or environmental abuses; those who are known racists and/or white supremacists and/or espoused racist beliefs.” Now this nuttiness has been put on hold. On February 21, Board President Gabriela Lopez said that the board had made mistakes in the renaming process and needs to work on getting schools reopened safely. She said, “I acknowledge and take responsibility that mistakes were made in the renaming process. ... We will not be taking valuable time from our board agendas to further discuss this, as we need to prioritize reopening” (“S.F. School Board,” San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 22, 2021). One of the schools to be renamed is Alamo Elementary because of its alleged connection with the Alamo in Texas, but actually the school is named for the Spanish word for the cottonwood tree. No matter what happens with this business in the long run, this level of insanity is a judgment of God on a wicked nation. “lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?” (Jeremiah 8:9).
SOUTHERN BAPTIST PRESIDENT SAYS JESUS DIDN’T SAY “TAKE UP MY TEACHINGS OR MY MORAL LAW” (Friday Church News Notes, March 5, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - J.D. Greear, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, tweeted on Feb. 25, “Jesus doesn’t say, ‘Take up my teachings and follow me,’ Or, ‘Take up my moral code.’ He says, ‘Take up my cross.’” This is further heresy from an ignorant man who has no business in the pastorate. Note the following words from Christ Himself: “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him” (John. 14:21). “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:23-24). “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10). “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:14). “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED YOU: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:18-20).
THE GLORIES OF THE BIBLE (Friday Church News Notes, March 5, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The Bible is a whole university. There is more wisdom in the Bible than all the universities of the world. It contains the best theology, the best history (and the key to understanding history), the best philosophy (Ecclesiastes, Job), the best anthropology, the best natural philosophy, the best social science, the best apologetics, the best prophecy. The Bible is a paradise. Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania is 1077 acres or 1.6 sq. miles. It has indoor and outdoor flowers, ponds, a five acre fountain garden with 1700 fountain jets, an Italian water garden. It has lovely colors, sweet smells, and fascinating wildlife. It is delightful, but the Bible is a much more delightful paradise. The Bible is a treasure mine filled with silver and gold and jewels. Yea, it is “better than thousands of gold and silver” (Ps. 119:72). The Bible is a feast for the mind and soul. Shady Maple in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, has 200 feet of buffet tables, with cheese bar, soups, all sorts of meats (beef, pork, chicken, salmon), flavored breads, southern style vegetables, breakfast cooked to order, Amish style cakes and pies. But the Bible is a much greater feast! It is spiritual milk and honey, bread and meat. God Himself is the greatest treasure, and He is the theme of Scripture. To know Him is the greatest delight; to feed on Him is the greatest feast; the knowledge of Him is the greatest wisdom.
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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