Friday Church News Notes
Volume 25, Issue 06 - February 9, 2024
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.
A WORLD UNDER DELUSION, WITHOUT EXCUSE, ON THE VERGE OF JUDGMENT (Friday Church News Notes, February 9, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - According to the Bible, the entire world totters on the very brink of eternal judgment. The good news of God’s gracious offer of salvation in Jesus Christ, a salvation that was purchased by the suffering and death of the very Son of God, has been proclaimed to the ends of the earth for 2,000 years; it has been translated into most languages; it is available on the internet at the click of a mouse or the swipe of a smartphone. For the most part, it has been callously rejected. The law of God is written on man’s very conscience and will condemn him in the day of judgment (Romans 2:14-16). Man instinctively knows there is a God, and he knows that this God is a holy Judge, and he tries to hide himself from that God as our forefather Adam did when he sinned. The universe shouts out its infallible testimony to an Almighty Creator. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. ... There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4). “[T]he invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). 2 Thessalonians 2 is a major Bible prophecy about the Antichrist. His coming and reign will be accompanied by global delusion, the cause of which is man’s willful rejection of God’s Word. This delusion is already happening, and it will be brought to perfection in the Great Tribulation, which is imminent. It is the only explanation for man’s stupidity in believing that everything came from nothing, that the utter chaos of a “big bang” produced a well-ordered universe, that life arose from non-life and intelligence from non-intelligence, that DNA has no maker and light just happened, that a hyper complex amoeba popped into existence and then became a butterfly, an elephant, a man, and an oak tree. Global delusion explains such things as the broad acceptance of transsexualism, the mutilation of brainwashed children, same sex “marriage,” diapers on cows, the destruction of farming, sympathy for vicious terrorists, Marxist thugs, police killers, baby killers, shoplifting gangs, and drug addled indolent encouraged to take over beautiful cities. The following Bible prophecy explains these insanities and much more: “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; BECAUSE THEY RECEIVED NOT THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH, THAT THEY MIGHT BE SAVED. AND FOR THIS CAUSE GOD SHALL SEND THEM STRONG DELUSION, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned WHO BELIEVED NOT THE TRUTH, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12). The hour is very, very late.
CALIFORNIA TO PAY $200,000 TO SETTLE GENDER LAWSUIT FROM CHRISTIAN PRESCHOOL (Friday Church News Notes, February 9, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “California to Pay,” Christian Headlines, Jan. 31, 2024: “The state of California has agreed to pay a Christian preschool and its attorneys some $200,000 as part of a settlement to a lawsuit that began when the state tried to force the school to change its biblical beliefs on gender and sexuality. The controversy began when the California Department of Social Services, citing new federal and state rules, told The Church of Compassion in El Cajon, Calif., that its preschool, Dayspring Learning Center, could only participate in the government-assisted food program if it agreed with a nondiscrimination policy that includes ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity.’ The state even told the church it must stop ‘requiring Church employees to sign or abide by’ a handbook that includes a statement of faith and affirms biblical teaching on gender and sexuality, according to court documents. Dayspring filed suit, alleging violations of the U.S. Constitution’s Free Exercise, Free Speech, Free Association, and Establishment Clauses. The suit also claimed the state was violating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Administrative Procedure Act. ‘While the Church and Preschool serve all families, they will not teach or promote all messages,’ the suit said. Following the lawsuit, the state agreed to settle. ... The school was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, the National Center for Law & Policy, and Advocates For Faith & Freedom. ... The church’s beliefs on gender and sexuality, the suit said, were ‘uncontroversial for more than 2,000 years and continue to be held by most major world religions.’”
EVANGELIST RETURNS TO CHURCH AFTER BEING SHOT WHILE STREET PREACHING (Friday Church News Notes, February 9, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Evangelist Hans,” Christian Post, Jan. 30, 2024: “Hans Schmidt, the 26-year-old military veteran and outreach director of Victory Chapel First Phoenix in Arizona, who was shot in the head while street preaching last November and wasn’t initially expected to recover, has returned to his church, his wife announced Sunday, saying, ‘he walks, he talks, [and] he even plays the drums.’ In a fresh update on her husband’s ‘miracle’ recovery, Zulya Schmidt, who shares two young children with the preacher, published videos and photos in an Instagram post ... ‘God has done an incredible work in Hans' life, and every day, he continues to improve. Please continue to pray for a full restoration.’ ... Schmidt, a former military medic, was shot in the head on the evening of Nov. 15, 2023, at the intersection of 51st Ave and Peoria in Glendale, Arizona, while doing church outreach before a Wednesday night service. ‘Single entry point on the side on the left temple. The bullet traveled through his brain. ... No one heard the shot or saw where it came from,’ family friend Brad Currell wrote in a GoFundMe campaign that has raised more than $78,000 as of Tuesday on behalf of the Schmidt family.”
18TH CENTURY BAPTISTS AND A REGENERATE CHURCH MEMBERSHIP (Friday Church News Notes, February 9, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from A Treatise of Church Discipline, 1798: “[T]hey should be careful in the admission of members. Let there be pretty clear evidence of a work of grace. Slackness, or inattention here, has been the bane of the church, in all ages. ... The prerequisites for baptism and admission into the church are, godly experience, soundness in the faith, and a regular life. Knowledge of the first will be best obtained, by letting persons declare, in their own way, the gracious dealings of the Lord with them, such questions being put occasionally as will assist and lead them on. 1 Peter 3:15. The second should be confined to the essentials of religion. ... And we attend to the last, as the necessary fruit, without which, their pretension to religion must be vain. Titus 2:12, 14; 3:8.”
TWO HOUSES: THE CHURCH AND THE HOME (Friday Church News Notes, February 9, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - We see two houses in 1 Timothy, and they are to work together. First, we see the “house of God” (1 Ti. 3:15). This is the New Testament church. The context is a church with pastors and deacons. Its purpose is to nurture, protect, train, equip, prepare, and discipline God’s people. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Ti. 3:15). It is tasked with being the headquarters of world evangelism and discipleship in this age. Second, we see thine “own house” (1 Ti. 3:4, 12; 5:8). This is the Christian home. Its purpose is to raise up a godly seed for God’s glory. Children do not belong to parents; they belong to God. “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine...” (Eze. 18:4). Malachi 2:15 says that the Lord seeks “a godly seed” from the homes. We don’t need a “home church,” so to speak. We need a church that ministers to the home and works together with the home. The church should build up the home, and the home should build up the church. An example of how this works in practice from the home side is Mr. and Mrs. Castleman of the Clear Creek Baptist Church in Clear Creek, Kentucky, in the early 19th century. They were saved and baptized at the same time. Pastor John Taylor testified of them as follows: “They have raised many children. A number of them are in the Baptist church, also their grandchildren in different parts of our commonwealth. ... The old gentleman has long kept a great tannery. His apprentices have been numerous. Many of them have become professors of religion, so that this family has been a great nursery to the Baptist church for near half a century. The old lady being truly a mother in Israel and a fine tutoress of children...” (Taylor, A History of Ten Baptist Churches).
HIGH ALTITUDE ENGINEERING (Friday Church News Notes, February 9, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Answers in Genesis, Answers 15, No. 1, Jan.-Feb. 2020: “The atmosphere at 24,000 feet (7300 m) contains only 30–50% of the oxygen at sea level--barely enough for most humans and animals to stay conscious. But scientists have recorded bar-headed geese regularly crossing the Himalayas at that altitude on their annual migration. Some observers have even reported seeing the geese as high as 29,000 feet (8800 m). How the geese not only survive but also vigorously flap their wings without losing a beat has been a mystery for decades. To solve this mystery, researchers decided to place trained geese in a wind tunnel and cover their faces with oxygen masks. (How they managed to fit geese with oxygen masks is a mystery for another day.) The study showed that bar-headed geese can slow their metabolism and cool their blood for high-altitude flight. Colder blood stores more oxygen. Unlike low-flying birds, bar-headed geese also have extra capillaries surrounding their chest muscles. More oxygen in the blood and more blood to the flight muscles mean higher flying without overexertion. In love for his creation, God gave these birds the ability to adapt to extreme situations. His eye is on the sparrow--and the bar-headed goose.”
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).
CALIFORNIA TO PAY $200,000 TO SETTLE GENDER LAWSUIT FROM CHRISTIAN PRESCHOOL (Friday Church News Notes, February 9, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “California to Pay,” Christian Headlines, Jan. 31, 2024: “The state of California has agreed to pay a Christian preschool and its attorneys some $200,000 as part of a settlement to a lawsuit that began when the state tried to force the school to change its biblical beliefs on gender and sexuality. The controversy began when the California Department of Social Services, citing new federal and state rules, told The Church of Compassion in El Cajon, Calif., that its preschool, Dayspring Learning Center, could only participate in the government-assisted food program if it agreed with a nondiscrimination policy that includes ‘sexual orientation’ and ‘gender identity.’ The state even told the church it must stop ‘requiring Church employees to sign or abide by’ a handbook that includes a statement of faith and affirms biblical teaching on gender and sexuality, according to court documents. Dayspring filed suit, alleging violations of the U.S. Constitution’s Free Exercise, Free Speech, Free Association, and Establishment Clauses. The suit also claimed the state was violating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Administrative Procedure Act. ‘While the Church and Preschool serve all families, they will not teach or promote all messages,’ the suit said. Following the lawsuit, the state agreed to settle. ... The school was represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, the National Center for Law & Policy, and Advocates For Faith & Freedom. ... The church’s beliefs on gender and sexuality, the suit said, were ‘uncontroversial for more than 2,000 years and continue to be held by most major world religions.’”
EVANGELIST RETURNS TO CHURCH AFTER BEING SHOT WHILE STREET PREACHING (Friday Church News Notes, February 9, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “Evangelist Hans,” Christian Post, Jan. 30, 2024: “Hans Schmidt, the 26-year-old military veteran and outreach director of Victory Chapel First Phoenix in Arizona, who was shot in the head while street preaching last November and wasn’t initially expected to recover, has returned to his church, his wife announced Sunday, saying, ‘he walks, he talks, [and] he even plays the drums.’ In a fresh update on her husband’s ‘miracle’ recovery, Zulya Schmidt, who shares two young children with the preacher, published videos and photos in an Instagram post ... ‘God has done an incredible work in Hans' life, and every day, he continues to improve. Please continue to pray for a full restoration.’ ... Schmidt, a former military medic, was shot in the head on the evening of Nov. 15, 2023, at the intersection of 51st Ave and Peoria in Glendale, Arizona, while doing church outreach before a Wednesday night service. ‘Single entry point on the side on the left temple. The bullet traveled through his brain. ... No one heard the shot or saw where it came from,’ family friend Brad Currell wrote in a GoFundMe campaign that has raised more than $78,000 as of Tuesday on behalf of the Schmidt family.”
18TH CENTURY BAPTISTS AND A REGENERATE CHURCH MEMBERSHIP (Friday Church News Notes, February 9, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from A Treatise of Church Discipline, 1798: “[T]hey should be careful in the admission of members. Let there be pretty clear evidence of a work of grace. Slackness, or inattention here, has been the bane of the church, in all ages. ... The prerequisites for baptism and admission into the church are, godly experience, soundness in the faith, and a regular life. Knowledge of the first will be best obtained, by letting persons declare, in their own way, the gracious dealings of the Lord with them, such questions being put occasionally as will assist and lead them on. 1 Peter 3:15. The second should be confined to the essentials of religion. ... And we attend to the last, as the necessary fruit, without which, their pretension to religion must be vain. Titus 2:12, 14; 3:8.”
TWO HOUSES: THE CHURCH AND THE HOME (Friday Church News Notes, February 9, 2024, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - We see two houses in 1 Timothy, and they are to work together. First, we see the “house of God” (1 Ti. 3:15). This is the New Testament church. The context is a church with pastors and deacons. Its purpose is to nurture, protect, train, equip, prepare, and discipline God’s people. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Ti. 3:15). It is tasked with being the headquarters of world evangelism and discipleship in this age. Second, we see thine “own house” (1 Ti. 3:4, 12; 5:8). This is the Christian home. Its purpose is to raise up a godly seed for God’s glory. Children do not belong to parents; they belong to God. “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine...” (Eze. 18:4). Malachi 2:15 says that the Lord seeks “a godly seed” from the homes. We don’t need a “home church,” so to speak. We need a church that ministers to the home and works together with the home. The church should build up the home, and the home should build up the church. An example of how this works in practice from the home side is Mr. and Mrs. Castleman of the Clear Creek Baptist Church in Clear Creek, Kentucky, in the early 19th century. They were saved and baptized at the same time. Pastor John Taylor testified of them as follows: “They have raised many children. A number of them are in the Baptist church, also their grandchildren in different parts of our commonwealth. ... The old gentleman has long kept a great tannery. His apprentices have been numerous. Many of them have become professors of religion, so that this family has been a great nursery to the Baptist church for near half a century. The old lady being truly a mother in Israel and a fine tutoress of children...” (Taylor, A History of Ten Baptist Churches).
HIGH ALTITUDE ENGINEERING (Friday Church News Notes, February 9, 2024, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Answers in Genesis, Answers 15, No. 1, Jan.-Feb. 2020: “The atmosphere at 24,000 feet (7300 m) contains only 30–50% of the oxygen at sea level--barely enough for most humans and animals to stay conscious. But scientists have recorded bar-headed geese regularly crossing the Himalayas at that altitude on their annual migration. Some observers have even reported seeing the geese as high as 29,000 feet (8800 m). How the geese not only survive but also vigorously flap their wings without losing a beat has been a mystery for decades. To solve this mystery, researchers decided to place trained geese in a wind tunnel and cover their faces with oxygen masks. (How they managed to fit geese with oxygen masks is a mystery for another day.) The study showed that bar-headed geese can slow their metabolism and cool their blood for high-altitude flight. Colder blood stores more oxygen. Unlike low-flying birds, bar-headed geese also have extra capillaries surrounding their chest muscles. More oxygen in the blood and more blood to the flight muscles mean higher flying without overexertion. In love for his creation, God gave these birds the ability to adapt to extreme situations. His eye is on the sparrow--and the bar-headed goose.”
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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