Friday Church News Notes
March 21, 2025 - Volume 26, Issue 12
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.
NASA’s SPHEREx telescope
NASA CONTINUES VAIN SEARCH FOR ORIGIN OF LIFE (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - With blind devotion to the hypothesis of evolution, NASA has launched a new satellite “to explore the origins of the universe.” SPHEREx is short for Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer. “The mission aims to deepen the understanding of a phenomenon known as cosmic inflation, referring to the universe’s rapid and exponential expansion from a single point in a fraction of a second after the Big Bang that occurred roughly 13.8 billion years ago” (“NASA SPHEREx telescope,” Reuters, Mar. 12, 2025). NASA claims that cosmic inflation “caused the universe to expand in size a trillion-trillionfold in a fraction of a second after the big bang” (“NASA Launches,” Mar. 12, 2025, nasa.gov). This is ridiculous and unscientific on its very face. According to the Big Bang, the universe of mind-boggling complexity with its living earth is the product of an accident or, more properly, an uncountable myriad of accidents, everything came from nothing, atomic clock precision was the product of an explosion, life leaped from non-life, and intelligence appeared from non-intelligence. NASA had it right in December 1968 when the crew of Apollo 8, the first human beings to travel to the moon, read from Genesis 1. Roughly a billion people in 64 countries heard the voices of three NASA astronauts read from the only accurate account of creation in existence. The astronauts concluded with the words, “and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth.” It is a good Earth because it is a divinely created Earth.
THE ONLY TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE CREATION OF THE EARTH (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is what three NASA astronauts broadcast to the earth while orbiting the moon on December 24, 1968: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:1-10).
THE CORRUPT WORLD OF TOP-LEVEL SPORTS (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Legal betting for the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) March Madness basketball tournament is expected to reach more than $3 billion (“Madness legal wagering,” Fox Business, Mar. 17, 2025). God’s born again people are to test everything by Scripture and disassociate with evil. “Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:10-11). There is a lot of evil throughout pro and collegiate sports. In fact, it is an idol to a great many people. In a report on a drought in west Texas that was killing the grass on football fields, the Los Angeles Times observed that this was serious because “football is God and the field is church” (“In West Texas,” Los Angeles Times, Oct 3, 2011). In 1982, the famous sports announcer Howard Cosell, while viewing the largest Sunday football game attendance in Texas history, said “the Cowboys are more than a football team in Dallas; they are a religion.” So the world itself says pro sports is an idol. What else is wrong with professional and collegiate sports from a biblical perspective? We could mention pride, boasting, envy, self-promotion, vanity, covetousness, cursing, blasphemy, drinking, drugging, gambling, fleshly rock music, sensual dancing, and indecent clothing. When evangelist Billy Sunday turned his back on a successful professional baseball career in 1893, he gave ten reasons for leaving. Reason number two was “Because it develops a spirit of jealousy and selfishness.” That was 130 years ago! Take the halftime shows and commercials for the Superbowl. The 2013 halftime performance (and things have not gotten better) by Beyonce was “pushing x-rated.” The Superbowl commercial voted a contender for “best” was a Mercedes advertisement that depicted a young man contemplating selling his soul to the devil for the worldly pleasures he could expect from owning a sleek automobile. The commercial was set to the Rolling Stone’s godless song “Sympathy for the Devil.” And what about neglect of God’s house? Not many decades past, professional sports were not played on Sundays in respect for the Lord’s Day and the command of God that Christians not forsake the assembly (Heb. 10:24-25). Not so today. The devil has pulled out all the stops in his effort to woo the hearts of professing Christians away from Christ toward the things of this wicked world. Those who allow professional and collegiate sports to capture their hearts become desensitized to the wickedness that is inherently associated with it. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USA BARS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HOMOSEXUALS, TRANSSEXUALS, AND HERETICS (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “PCUSA approves amendment,” Christian Post, Mar. 14, 2025: “Presbyterian Church (USA) has approved an amendment to its constitution that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The LGBT advocacy group Covenant Network of Presbyterians announced Wednesday the passage of Amendment 24-A in a statement posted to the PC(USA)’s official website through the Presbyterian News Service. Amendment 24-A amended the PC(USA) Book of Order to include gender identity and sexual orientation to the anti-discrimination statement found in F-1.0403, which read in part that ‘God unites persons through baptism regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sex, disability, geography, or theological conviction.’ ... The PC(USA) ratified an amendment allowing ordination of openly LGBT pastors at the discretion of each congregation in 2011.”
AMERICA: DANGER AND HOPE (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - America is a special nation. Though never truly godly, it was greatly influenced by the Bible from its inception, a nation that God, in His grace, has used as an oasis of light and liberty, a blessing to the whole world. But America is grossly wicked now and her light is mostly darkness. I believe America is in greater danger today than ever. Trump is doing many good things, but he is no savior. He cannot change the fundamentals. The “woke America” which is intent on destroying the “old America” is still very large and very well, don’t let anyone deceive you. We must focus on the spiritual issues. We must see everything through heaven’s lens. The fundamental issue is a very wicked nation standing before a very holy God. There has been no repentance, no real change spiritually and morally, no change in the churches, just politics and carnal weapons. We have seen no evidence that churches have gotten on their knees. The best of them are still partying, mostly, happy-go-lucky. Trump has everything under control. America is going to be great again and rich again. When tested by Scripture, it is wrong, ridiculous, frightful. There is hope, but it is not politics and the weapons of the flesh. It is not Trump or MAGA. The hope is effectual prayer. It is time to pray as we have never prayed before. There is real, nation-changing power in effectual prayer. And it is time for pastors to be what they are called to be in Scripture, not hirelings who are afraid of losing the lukewarm, worldly crowd, but true spiritual warriors for Jesus Christ and truth. The right pastors are the key to strong New Testament churches, and strong New Testament churches are the key to true power and blessing. “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). “For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed” (Isaiah 9:16).
THE FROG’S BROADCASTING SYSTEM (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, February 12, 2025: “If you live in a large city, especially one that is surrounded by other large cities, you know that the radio dial can become very crowded. To prevent the radio dial from turning into incomprehensible gibberish, radio stations are assigned a frequency on which to operate. This orderly arrangement is also found among many animals. Male birds will often stake out a territory so that their mating call does not interfere with other males of their kind. Frogs too, have mating calls, but often many species of frogs are found in the same swamp. They avoid interfering with each other by each using a unique frequency for their calls. Otherwise, no one’s call could be clearly understood. This orderly arrangement is evidence enough of the Creator’s hand. But there are two South American frogs, often found in the same locations, which use the same frequency. How can they do that? One frog calls only above water while the other frog uses his call only under water. Since the surface of the water is an effective barrier for sound, neither call interferes with the other. Frogs could have never gotten together and agreed on limiting themselves to unique frequencies.”
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; Mt. 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” (Ro. 13:11-14).
THE ONLY TRUE ACCOUNT OF THE CREATION OF THE EARTH (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is what three NASA astronauts broadcast to the earth while orbiting the moon on December 24, 1968: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:1-10).
THE CORRUPT WORLD OF TOP-LEVEL SPORTS (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Legal betting for the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) March Madness basketball tournament is expected to reach more than $3 billion (“Madness legal wagering,” Fox Business, Mar. 17, 2025). God’s born again people are to test everything by Scripture and disassociate with evil. “Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:10-11). There is a lot of evil throughout pro and collegiate sports. In fact, it is an idol to a great many people. In a report on a drought in west Texas that was killing the grass on football fields, the Los Angeles Times observed that this was serious because “football is God and the field is church” (“In West Texas,” Los Angeles Times, Oct 3, 2011). In 1982, the famous sports announcer Howard Cosell, while viewing the largest Sunday football game attendance in Texas history, said “the Cowboys are more than a football team in Dallas; they are a religion.” So the world itself says pro sports is an idol. What else is wrong with professional and collegiate sports from a biblical perspective? We could mention pride, boasting, envy, self-promotion, vanity, covetousness, cursing, blasphemy, drinking, drugging, gambling, fleshly rock music, sensual dancing, and indecent clothing. When evangelist Billy Sunday turned his back on a successful professional baseball career in 1893, he gave ten reasons for leaving. Reason number two was “Because it develops a spirit of jealousy and selfishness.” That was 130 years ago! Take the halftime shows and commercials for the Superbowl. The 2013 halftime performance (and things have not gotten better) by Beyonce was “pushing x-rated.” The Superbowl commercial voted a contender for “best” was a Mercedes advertisement that depicted a young man contemplating selling his soul to the devil for the worldly pleasures he could expect from owning a sleek automobile. The commercial was set to the Rolling Stone’s godless song “Sympathy for the Devil.” And what about neglect of God’s house? Not many decades past, professional sports were not played on Sundays in respect for the Lord’s Day and the command of God that Christians not forsake the assembly (Heb. 10:24-25). Not so today. The devil has pulled out all the stops in his effort to woo the hearts of professing Christians away from Christ toward the things of this wicked world. Those who allow professional and collegiate sports to capture their hearts become desensitized to the wickedness that is inherently associated with it. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17).
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USA BARS DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HOMOSEXUALS, TRANSSEXUALS, AND HERETICS (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “PCUSA approves amendment,” Christian Post, Mar. 14, 2025: “Presbyterian Church (USA) has approved an amendment to its constitution that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The LGBT advocacy group Covenant Network of Presbyterians announced Wednesday the passage of Amendment 24-A in a statement posted to the PC(USA)’s official website through the Presbyterian News Service. Amendment 24-A amended the PC(USA) Book of Order to include gender identity and sexual orientation to the anti-discrimination statement found in F-1.0403, which read in part that ‘God unites persons through baptism regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sex, disability, geography, or theological conviction.’ ... The PC(USA) ratified an amendment allowing ordination of openly LGBT pastors at the discretion of each congregation in 2011.”
AMERICA: DANGER AND HOPE (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - America is a special nation. Though never truly godly, it was greatly influenced by the Bible from its inception, a nation that God, in His grace, has used as an oasis of light and liberty, a blessing to the whole world. But America is grossly wicked now and her light is mostly darkness. I believe America is in greater danger today than ever. Trump is doing many good things, but he is no savior. He cannot change the fundamentals. The “woke America” which is intent on destroying the “old America” is still very large and very well, don’t let anyone deceive you. We must focus on the spiritual issues. We must see everything through heaven’s lens. The fundamental issue is a very wicked nation standing before a very holy God. There has been no repentance, no real change spiritually and morally, no change in the churches, just politics and carnal weapons. We have seen no evidence that churches have gotten on their knees. The best of them are still partying, mostly, happy-go-lucky. Trump has everything under control. America is going to be great again and rich again. When tested by Scripture, it is wrong, ridiculous, frightful. There is hope, but it is not politics and the weapons of the flesh. It is not Trump or MAGA. The hope is effectual prayer. It is time to pray as we have never prayed before. There is real, nation-changing power in effectual prayer. And it is time for pastors to be what they are called to be in Scripture, not hirelings who are afraid of losing the lukewarm, worldly crowd, but true spiritual warriors for Jesus Christ and truth. The right pastors are the key to strong New Testament churches, and strong New Testament churches are the key to true power and blessing. “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs 14:34). “For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed” (Isaiah 9:16).
THE FROG’S BROADCASTING SYSTEM (Friday Church News Notes, March 21, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, February 12, 2025: “If you live in a large city, especially one that is surrounded by other large cities, you know that the radio dial can become very crowded. To prevent the radio dial from turning into incomprehensible gibberish, radio stations are assigned a frequency on which to operate. This orderly arrangement is also found among many animals. Male birds will often stake out a territory so that their mating call does not interfere with other males of their kind. Frogs too, have mating calls, but often many species of frogs are found in the same swamp. They avoid interfering with each other by each using a unique frequency for their calls. Otherwise, no one’s call could be clearly understood. This orderly arrangement is evidence enough of the Creator’s hand. But there are two South American frogs, often found in the same locations, which use the same frequency. How can they do that? One frog calls only above water while the other frog uses his call only under water. Since the surface of the water is an effective barrier for sound, neither call interferes with the other. Frogs could have never gotten together and agreed on limiting themselves to unique frequencies.”
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; Mt. 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” (Ro. 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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