Friday Church News Notes
Volume 22, Issue 24 - June 11, 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.
SCOTTISH TEACHER’S UNION SPONSORS BLASPHEMOUS PORTRAYAL OF JESUS AS TRANSGENDER (Friday Church News Notes, June 11, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Scottish teacher’s union,” The Christian Post, June 6, 2021: “A Scottish teachers union’s decision to promote a controversial play depicting Jesus Christ as transgender in celebration of June, what LGBT activists call ‘Pride Month,’ has outraged Christians who’ve long opposed the play, noting that ‘true biblical Christianity is becoming marginalized through political correctness.’ The union, called Education Institute of Scotland, which claims to represent around 80% of the country’s lecturers and teachers, plans to hold an LGBT event where they will feature excerpts of ‘The Gospel According to Jesus Queen of Heaven,’ as the production is titled, according to The Christian Institute. The play, which will be featured as part of a ‘Pride’ event, ‘School’s Almost Out! Celebrate Pride,’ on June 17, ‘invites us to imagine Jesus coming back to Earth in the present day as a trans woman,’ the EIS says. The play’s creator, Jo Clifford, a man who identifies as female and says he also identifies his religion as Christian, says the play recreates biblical stories with a ‘different slant.’ ‘The play imagines a transgender Jesus coming back to the world today,’ Clifford told BBC News in a previous interview. ‘She pitches a sermon and tells a few very familiar Gospel stories,’ Clifford added, ‘She has a communion, shares bread and wine with the audience, which is really a gesture of solidarity in the face of death, and she gives a blessing. So it’s a very important, very intimate show.’” CONCLUSION: This type of thing is a clear fulfillment of Bible prophecy and is a sign of the times: “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not. For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities” (2 Peter 2:1-10).
SCHOOL CHAPLAIN FIRED, REPORTED TO ANTI-TERRORISM PROGRAM FOR SERMON QUESTIONING LGBT POLICIES (Friday Church News Notes, June 11, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “My world fell apart,” Premier Christian News, June 4, 2021: “Rev Dr Bernard Randall was suspended from Trent College, a Church of England school, in 2019 after he preached that it was acceptable for students to hold traditional views on marriage, sex and gender identity. The chaplain said he was asked by a student to talk about LGBT+ issues, following the adoption of teaching material from ‘Educate and Celebrate.’ ... The school subsequently took disciplinary action after Rev Randall shared the sermon with his students. It was while going through the documentation related to the disciplinary action that Rev Randall discovered that he had also been referred to Prevent, an anti-terrorism programme designed to stop radicalisation in the UK. ... The police later ruled that Rev Dr Randall was not a ‘counter-terrorism risk’ nor ‘risk of radicalisation’. ... He went on to say that although the process has been traumatic, it has actually pushed him to become more vocal about freedom of speech, especially as a Christian. ... ‘I think as a Christian in particular, speaking about truth is really important, as Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life. He didn't say, I am the opinion, the feeling and the lived experience, or whatever some of these things that people attach themselves to might be, and truth really, really matters. I’ve become all the more convinced of the importance of standing up to speak truth, and to challenge what appear to me to be untruths in our society,’ Rev Randall concluded.”
ISRAEL LIFTS MOST COVID RESTRICTIONS (Friday Church News Notes, June 11, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Israel Lifts,” CBN News, June 2, 2021: “Israel lifted nearly all of its COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday as the daily infection rate remains at virtually zero. Now, Israelis will no longer need to use the proof of vaccination or recovery certificate known as the Green Pass to enter public venues like restaurants and gyms. The country also lifted restrictions on indoor and outdoor gatherings. ‘Today is a very special day,’ said Hezi Levi, Israel’s Health Ministry Director-General. ‘Now we are opening all the activity in Israel and no more green pass,’ he added.” Israel has also announced that the mask mandate will be lifted for indoor activities on June 15.
ONTARIO CHURCH FINED $166,000 FOR DISREGARDING COVID RESTRICTIONS (Friday Church News Notes, June 11, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “God Has Been Forgotten,” Christian Headlines, June 4, 2021: “A Canadian church and its leaders were fined a total of $66,000 this week for holding three outdoor services in violation of local health restrictions. The Church of God congregation in Aylmer, Ontario, held outdoor services on its property on May 16, May 23 and May 30 after a court ordered the doors locked because members were meeting indoors in violation of COVID-19 restrictions. With its doors locked by order of the government, the church members went outside. ‘Our building may be locked, but our God deserves all honour, glory, and praise,’ the church said in a May 15 Facebook post. ‘The Church must gather!’ Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas ordered the church and two of its officials to pay $66,000 after they violated provincial stay-at-home orders, according to Canadian radio station 980 CFPL. The $66,000 fine is on top of a $100,000 fine received by the church and its officials on May 14. Police monitored the outdoor services and counted attendees. On May 30, 283 attended. On May 23, it was more than 300. On May 16, it was 400-plus. Local media have reported on each violation. ... The church’s pastor, Henry Hildebrandt, appeared on a live Facebook video on May 14, reading from Acts 5 and saying the congregation would ‘obey God rather than men.’ The leaders of the country and the province, he said, have ‘forgotten’ God.”
CALIFORNIA ORDERED TO PAY $2.1 MILLION FOR CHURCHES’ LEGAL FEES (Friday Church News Notes, June 11, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Religious Liberty Triumphs,” Thomas More Society: “Attorneys with the Thomas More Society recently secured settlements in two major cases: South Bay United Pentecostal Church, et al. v. Newsom, et al. and Father Trevor Burfitt v. Newsom, et al. In both cases, the State of California agreed to enter into permanent injunctions that prohibit the State from ever again imposing discriminatory restrictions on all houses of worship statewide. In addition, the State of California agreed to pay $2,150,000 in ‘prevailing party’ attorneys’ fees to settle both cases ($1,600,000 in South Bay and $550,000 in Burfitt). Thomas More Society Special Counsel Charles LiMandri and Paul Jonna, partners at LiMandri & Jonna LLP, both expressed satisfaction with the resolutions. According to LiMandri, ‘The South Bay case represents an unprecedented three trips to the United States Supreme Court in a one-year period, which resulted in a landmark decision that opened up the churches in California for 40 million people. The permanent injunctions in these cases uphold and protect one of the most cherished principles of our republic: The Free Exercise of Religion.’ Jonna stated that ‘The settlement terms in these cases track the United States Supreme Court’s seminal holding in South Bay v. Newsom, and the basic constitutional principle is simple and now cemented into permanent statewide injunctions. Restrictions on churches cannot be more severe than restrictions on retail. We are pleased with the final results in these two important cases.’ ... ‘The injunction in Burfitt was the first of its kind in the country, anticipating what the Supreme Court would later hold definitively, that houses of worship must receive the same treatment as the most favored secular comparators. If favored businesses are allowed 100% occupancy during a pandemic, so must churches be allowed, said Christopher Ferrara [of the Thomas More Society].”
A ROSE IS STILL A ROSE (Friday Church News Notes, June 11, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, May 3, 2021: “Roses have fascinated people for thousands of years. While modern rose strains are the result of two centuries of breeding, the Greek naturalist Theophrastus wrote about the hundred-petaled rose 2,400 years ago. The Autumn Damask rose, which blossoms in both spring and fall, was nurtured and cultivated by the ancient Romans. The first settlers in China began to cultivate roses over 4,000 years ago. Rose breeding is one of the oldest human experiments in the science of genetics. Roses are bred for variations in size, color, frequency of bloom and scent. More than 25 distinct scents have been identified in roses. By the mid-19th century, breeders had developed some 4,000 varieties of roses. Perhaps roses with names like Chrysler Imperial, Charlotte Armstrong or Mirandy sound familiar to you. The man who developed those roses and has won over a dozen ‘All America Rose of the Year’ awards is Walter Lammerts. He became one of the world’s leading authorities on roses while he worked as the senior breeder at Armstrong Roses. He also developed four varieties of peaches. Dr. Lammerts is a creationist. He not only rejects evolution, but he blames belief in evolution for slowing the development of better strains of plants. He points out that breeders who think change takes place slowly and through evolution don’t expect to make much progress, and they waste time trying to fit what they learn into evolution. He adds that, despite thousands of years of breeding, roses are still roses. Author: Paul A. Bartz. Ref: Mohs, M. 1987. ‘Where has all the fragrance gone?’ Discover, June. p. 90.”
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).
SCHOOL CHAPLAIN FIRED, REPORTED TO ANTI-TERRORISM PROGRAM FOR SERMON QUESTIONING LGBT POLICIES (Friday Church News Notes, June 11, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “My world fell apart,” Premier Christian News, June 4, 2021: “Rev Dr Bernard Randall was suspended from Trent College, a Church of England school, in 2019 after he preached that it was acceptable for students to hold traditional views on marriage, sex and gender identity. The chaplain said he was asked by a student to talk about LGBT+ issues, following the adoption of teaching material from ‘Educate and Celebrate.’ ... The school subsequently took disciplinary action after Rev Randall shared the sermon with his students. It was while going through the documentation related to the disciplinary action that Rev Randall discovered that he had also been referred to Prevent, an anti-terrorism programme designed to stop radicalisation in the UK. ... The police later ruled that Rev Dr Randall was not a ‘counter-terrorism risk’ nor ‘risk of radicalisation’. ... He went on to say that although the process has been traumatic, it has actually pushed him to become more vocal about freedom of speech, especially as a Christian. ... ‘I think as a Christian in particular, speaking about truth is really important, as Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life. He didn't say, I am the opinion, the feeling and the lived experience, or whatever some of these things that people attach themselves to might be, and truth really, really matters. I’ve become all the more convinced of the importance of standing up to speak truth, and to challenge what appear to me to be untruths in our society,’ Rev Randall concluded.”
ISRAEL LIFTS MOST COVID RESTRICTIONS (Friday Church News Notes, June 11, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Israel Lifts,” CBN News, June 2, 2021: “Israel lifted nearly all of its COVID-19 restrictions on Tuesday as the daily infection rate remains at virtually zero. Now, Israelis will no longer need to use the proof of vaccination or recovery certificate known as the Green Pass to enter public venues like restaurants and gyms. The country also lifted restrictions on indoor and outdoor gatherings. ‘Today is a very special day,’ said Hezi Levi, Israel’s Health Ministry Director-General. ‘Now we are opening all the activity in Israel and no more green pass,’ he added.” Israel has also announced that the mask mandate will be lifted for indoor activities on June 15.
ONTARIO CHURCH FINED $166,000 FOR DISREGARDING COVID RESTRICTIONS (Friday Church News Notes, June 11, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “God Has Been Forgotten,” Christian Headlines, June 4, 2021: “A Canadian church and its leaders were fined a total of $66,000 this week for holding three outdoor services in violation of local health restrictions. The Church of God congregation in Aylmer, Ontario, held outdoor services on its property on May 16, May 23 and May 30 after a court ordered the doors locked because members were meeting indoors in violation of COVID-19 restrictions. With its doors locked by order of the government, the church members went outside. ‘Our building may be locked, but our God deserves all honour, glory, and praise,’ the church said in a May 15 Facebook post. ‘The Church must gather!’ Superior Court Justice Bruce Thomas ordered the church and two of its officials to pay $66,000 after they violated provincial stay-at-home orders, according to Canadian radio station 980 CFPL. The $66,000 fine is on top of a $100,000 fine received by the church and its officials on May 14. Police monitored the outdoor services and counted attendees. On May 30, 283 attended. On May 23, it was more than 300. On May 16, it was 400-plus. Local media have reported on each violation. ... The church’s pastor, Henry Hildebrandt, appeared on a live Facebook video on May 14, reading from Acts 5 and saying the congregation would ‘obey God rather than men.’ The leaders of the country and the province, he said, have ‘forgotten’ God.”
CALIFORNIA ORDERED TO PAY $2.1 MILLION FOR CHURCHES’ LEGAL FEES (Friday Church News Notes, June 11, 2021, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Religious Liberty Triumphs,” Thomas More Society: “Attorneys with the Thomas More Society recently secured settlements in two major cases: South Bay United Pentecostal Church, et al. v. Newsom, et al. and Father Trevor Burfitt v. Newsom, et al. In both cases, the State of California agreed to enter into permanent injunctions that prohibit the State from ever again imposing discriminatory restrictions on all houses of worship statewide. In addition, the State of California agreed to pay $2,150,000 in ‘prevailing party’ attorneys’ fees to settle both cases ($1,600,000 in South Bay and $550,000 in Burfitt). Thomas More Society Special Counsel Charles LiMandri and Paul Jonna, partners at LiMandri & Jonna LLP, both expressed satisfaction with the resolutions. According to LiMandri, ‘The South Bay case represents an unprecedented three trips to the United States Supreme Court in a one-year period, which resulted in a landmark decision that opened up the churches in California for 40 million people. The permanent injunctions in these cases uphold and protect one of the most cherished principles of our republic: The Free Exercise of Religion.’ Jonna stated that ‘The settlement terms in these cases track the United States Supreme Court’s seminal holding in South Bay v. Newsom, and the basic constitutional principle is simple and now cemented into permanent statewide injunctions. Restrictions on churches cannot be more severe than restrictions on retail. We are pleased with the final results in these two important cases.’ ... ‘The injunction in Burfitt was the first of its kind in the country, anticipating what the Supreme Court would later hold definitively, that houses of worship must receive the same treatment as the most favored secular comparators. If favored businesses are allowed 100% occupancy during a pandemic, so must churches be allowed, said Christopher Ferrara [of the Thomas More Society].”
A ROSE IS STILL A ROSE (Friday Church News Notes, June 11, 2021, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, May 3, 2021: “Roses have fascinated people for thousands of years. While modern rose strains are the result of two centuries of breeding, the Greek naturalist Theophrastus wrote about the hundred-petaled rose 2,400 years ago. The Autumn Damask rose, which blossoms in both spring and fall, was nurtured and cultivated by the ancient Romans. The first settlers in China began to cultivate roses over 4,000 years ago. Rose breeding is one of the oldest human experiments in the science of genetics. Roses are bred for variations in size, color, frequency of bloom and scent. More than 25 distinct scents have been identified in roses. By the mid-19th century, breeders had developed some 4,000 varieties of roses. Perhaps roses with names like Chrysler Imperial, Charlotte Armstrong or Mirandy sound familiar to you. The man who developed those roses and has won over a dozen ‘All America Rose of the Year’ awards is Walter Lammerts. He became one of the world’s leading authorities on roses while he worked as the senior breeder at Armstrong Roses. He also developed four varieties of peaches. Dr. Lammerts is a creationist. He not only rejects evolution, but he blames belief in evolution for slowing the development of better strains of plants. He points out that breeders who think change takes place slowly and through evolution don’t expect to make much progress, and they waste time trying to fit what they learn into evolution. He adds that, despite thousands of years of breeding, roses are still roses. Author: Paul A. Bartz. Ref: Mohs, M. 1987. ‘Where has all the fragrance gone?’ Discover, June. p. 90.”
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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