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Way of Life Literature

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Way of Life Literature

Publisher of Bible Study Materials

Way of Life Bible College
Friday Church News Notes
Volume 23, Issue 35 - September 2, 2022
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.
 
Pastor John Amanchukwu

Pastor John Amanchukwu

BLACK PREACHER URGES PASTORS TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST CRITICAL RACE THEORY, BLM (Friday Church News Notes, September 2, 2022, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “College football player turned pastor,” Christian Post, Aug. 23, 2022: “Pastor John Amanchukwu, a former football player for North Carolina University who is now a preacher, urged pastors to be more courageous in denouncing unbiblical ideas. ... He warned that America is enduring a ‘famine’ because there are too many preachers today who ‘are afraid to preach the unadulterated Word of God. We have preachers who are less of watchmen and more like wimps. ... And they’re preaching a steady diet of easy believism, cheap grace and lies to congregations...’’ Amanchukwu said. ‘What we need more than ever is preachers who are not afraid to stand on the Word of God.’ Amanchukwu said many pastors struggle with acknowledging that critical race theory has no place in the Church, and insisted that BLM [Black Lives Matter] has not helped the African American community. ... ‘They say through critical race theory that whites are inherently racist. That’s not true. What if a person gets born again? ... we don’t need worldly terms to help us deal with biblical racial reconciliation. We have the Word of God. And the Bible tells us to love our neighbors as ourselves.’ CRT ‘causes you to find racism in every action and encounter that you might see in society.’ ... People have passed out victimization to blacks as a crown, but only fools put it on. Many wear the garland of victimization as an ornament or trophy. I am not a victim.’ ... Amanchukwu told those gathered that he’s ‘glad’ God made him black and warned against making someone else feel guilty because they are white. ... ‘But at the end of the day, we all bleed red.’ Other topics Amanchukwu discussed included the importance of voting in alignment with one’s values. For him, that includes acknowledging that abortion is ‘the shedding of innocent blood,’ opposing same-sex marriage, and declaring that ‘there are only two genders.’”

MENNONITES PASS RESOLUTION REPENTING OF EXCLUDING HOMOSEXUALS (Friday Church News Notes, September 2, 2022, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - At their annual assembly this summer, the Mennonite Church USA passed two resolutions on the issue of accepting unrepentant homosexuals as members. The “Resolution for Repentance and Transformation,” repenting of harm done to LGBTQ people and calling for broader inclusion, passed by a majority of 55.7% (“MC USA Delegate Assembly widens the circle for LGBTQ people,” Mennoniteusa.org, June 1, 2022). An “organization resolution” updated the membership guidelines so that pastors are no longer prohibited from performing “same-sex covenant ceremonies.” That one passed by a majority of 82.8%. The Mennonites trace their roots to the Anabaptists of Europe and to Menno Simons (1492-1561) in particular. Beginning in the 17th century, large numbers of Mennonites settled in America and Canada. They are divided into about 40 groups, some more conservative than others. The Mennonite Church USA is the largest group with about 530 congregations and is the most “liberal,” meaning apostate, in that they follow man’s thinking rather than God’s Word. (In May 2022, the Lancaster Mennonite Conference, with its 180 congregations, separated from the Mennonite Church USA for its changing views on homosexuality.) There are several conservative, separatist Mennonite groups, including Biblical Mennonite Alliance, Conservative Mennonite Conference, Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church, and Ohio Wisler Mennonite. There are also small numbers of “old order” Mennonites that are similar to Amish, traveling in horse and buggy and practicing plain dressing and shunning.

COURT RULES CALIFORNIA CAN’T FORCE CHURCHES TO COVER ABORTION IN INSURANCE PLANS (Friday Church News Notes, September 2, 2022, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Victory: California,” Christian Headlines, Aug. 26, 2022: “A group of California churches won a major religious liberty victory Thursday when a federal court ruled that the state of California cannot force them to cover abortion in their insurance plans. At issue was a rule by the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) that requires companies to offer insurance plans that cover abortion. Three California churches--Foothill Church, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills and Shepherd of the Hills Church--subsequently sued the state after being denied insurance that did not include abortion coverage. On Thursday, U.S. District Chief Judge Kimberly Mueller, an Obama nominee, sided with the churches, ruling that the state had violated the churches’ rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution’s First Amendment. That clause says Congress shall make no law ‘prohibiting the free exercise’ of religion. The state’s action, Mueller wrote, imposes a ‘substantial burden’ on their religious liberty. Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented the churches, applauded the decision.”

CHINA “LIQUIDATES” HOUSE CHURCH AS PART OF CRACKDOWN (Friday Church News Notes, September 2, 2022, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “China ‘Liquidates,’” Morning Star News, Aug. 26, 2022: “Authorities in China on Aug. 19 officially ‘liquidated’ an historical house church in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, as part of a crackdown on churches that refuse to join the state-controlled Three-Self Church, rights advocates said. The Church of Abundance, which began about 30 years ago, had been targeted as a ‘cult’ that allegedly collected illegal donations, but officials closed it as an ‘illegal social organization’--that is, one that refused to join the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-controlled Three-Self Church, according to Italy-based religious rights organization Bitter Winter. The closure appeared to be part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s call in December 2021 for action against ‘non-Sinicized’ and ‘illegal’ religious groups, Bitter Winter reported. ‘Xi Jinping’s plan of compelling all Protestant Christians to join the government-controlled Three-Self Church or face arrest and liquidation of their churches as xie jiao or illegal religious groups is being ruthlessly implemented,’ the group stated. The Church of Abundance was ordered to cease activities or its members and pastors would be subject to arrest and detention. Bitter Winter reported that Church of Abundance Pastor Lian Changnian and his son, Pastor Lian Xuliang, were placed under ‘residential surveillance at a designated place.’ ... The wife of one of the arrested pastors stated, according to China Aid, that Pastor Lian Xuliang had a large bruise from a beating on his forehead. ‘His eyes were bloodshot, and there was dried blood in the corner of his eyes,’ she stated. ‘His face-mask also had blood streaks. His arms and hands were bruised and swollen. There was undoubtedly physical abuse by these so-called law enforcement officers during their law enforcement.’” [In August, Chinese authorities raided Covenant Home Church, Changchun Sunshine Reformed Church, and Zion Church in Beijing.]

PUSH BACK AGAINST GENDER-ALTERING PROCEDURES ON CHILDREN (Friday Church News Notes, September 2, 2022, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “American Academy of Pediatrics,” CBN News, Aug. 24, 2022: “Gender medical treatment for children has seen a staggering spike in recent years. In the U.S. alone, more than 50 pediatric clinics perform or refer out for procedures, including surgery, that could leave young patients unable to have children of their own. Now, a surprising move by the American Academy of Pediatrics may be putting the brakes on such radical measures. It comes in the wake of criticism from parents and professionals, plus a significant shift in direction overseas. In July, the United Kingdom stunned many when it closed its Tavistock Centre, the country’s gender clinic for children. The shutdown came after an independent review found shaky scientific evidence for pushing hormones, puberty blockers, and surgery. ... Now, a class action lawsuit against Tavistock is launching with potentially up to a thousand affected families joining. Barrister Thomas Goodhead is leading the suit and told Times Radio,  ‘I think this is going to be one of the largest medical negligence scandals of all time.’ ... In the U.S., social media protests over pediatric gender clinics have taken off, prompting places like the Boston Children’s Hospital to remove videos explaining its surgeries. On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) appeared to backpedal, saying that for the vast majority of children it does not recommend medical treatment or surgery. In 2018, it called the watchful waiting method, which delays medical treatment, an outdated approach. ... Many parents are rising up by seeking support in parent groups or becoming politically active after witnessing how gender medicine has harmed their children. Doctors are also speaking out in professional groups like SEGM [Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine].”

PLANTS CALL IN AIR DEFENSES (Friday Church News Notes, September 2, 2022, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from creationmoments.com, March 29, 2021: “New research shows that, when attacked, many plants make chemicals that will give munching insects a bad case of indigestion. They also seem to warn their neighbors about the attack so that they, too, start up their defenses. Some plants even call in air defenses. Some plants, when attacked by caterpillars, release a scent that scientists simply describe as ‘green leaf odors.’ These odors attract certain female wasps, who home in on the plant. The wasp will sting the caterpillar, leaving him paralyzed. She then lays her eggs in the pest, who remains paralyzed until the hatching young wasps consume it. That ‘green leaf odor’ is a plant’s way of calling in air defenses. It is communication between plant and insect! Some evolutionary biologists are upset with the intelligence and design in this arrangement. Plants are supposed to be too simple to communicate. As one evolutionist put it, this is ‘not a defense against anything’ … it ‘just happens.’ I remember trying that excuse as a child. The cookie jar fell to the floor while I was trying to sneak a cookie. ‘It just happened,’ I said, as if the cookie jar had come alive before my unbelieving eyes and jumped to the floor. My mother reminded me that things don’t ‘just happen.’ And science teaches us that things don’t ‘just happen.’ Not only do we see that God exists, we also see a bit of His love in providing for the plant and His intelligence as the author of communication. Author: Paul A. Bartz. Ref: Chen, I. 1990. ‘Pest-eating allies: calling up the reserves,’ Science News, v. 138, Dec. 22 & 29. p. 410.”

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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