Friday Church News Notes
April 25, 2025 - Volume 26, Issue 17
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.
Left: Pope John Paul II and Billy Graham
Right: Pope Francis and Franklin Graham
Right: Pope Francis and Franklin Graham
POPE FRANCIS’ DEATH AND THE ONE WORLD CHURCH (Friday Church News Notes, April 25, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio) died on April 21 at age 88. Elected in 2013 at age 76, he was the latest man to perpetrate the myth of Peter’s supremacy, which was a major building block in the development of the apostate “church” prophesied in the New Testament (Mt. 13:33; 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13; 4:3-4; 1 John 2:18-27; Revelation 17-18). By twisting Scripture like a nose of wax, the papacy falsely claims that Christ made Peter the rock upon which “the church” is built and gave him the keys of heaven and hell. Francis’ coat of arms featured the papal crown with its three-fold tiara signifying the pope’s authority over the earth and all rulers. Rome has a false gospel of salvation by faith plus works. The Second Vatican Council in the 1960s affirmed that salvation was given to Peter and the popes to distribute through the sacraments, beginning with baptism. “By the sacrament of Baptism ... man becomes truly incorporated into the crucified and glorified Christ and is reborn to a sharing of the divine life” (Vatican II, “Decree on Ecumenism,” chap. 3, II, 22). Every false gospel of works is under God’s terrible curse (Galatians 1). A false gospel is a damnable heresy (2 Peter 2), meaning a heresy that damns the soul to eternal judgment. The Pope’s complete apostasy was further revealed in his “veneration of Mary” and his desire to be buried in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Inside the basilica is a statue of Mary as Queen of Peace; on the ceiling is a painting of Mary sitting in Christ’s throne being crowned Queen of Heaven; outside the church is a large crucifix with Jesus hanging on one side and Mary hanging on the other. According to Roman theology, Mary is sinless, ever virgin, ascended bodily to heaven, was crowned Queen of Heaven, is “co-redemptress” with Christ, and intercedes for sinners. This is blasphemous heresy. The Pope’s death is a window into the formation of the one world church in our day. President Trump ordered American flags to be flown at half mast. The Eiffel Tower went dark. World political leaders, including Trump, and world religious leaders will attend the papal funeral to honor this deceiver. Franklin Graham, one of the most prominent evangelicals, published a photo of him shaking hands with the Pope and said, “Pray for the Catholic Church as they begin the process of selecting the next pope.” Pray for the election of the pope? What blindness! We will listen in vain for prominent evangelical leaders to denounce Rome in plain biblical language. Franklin’s father, Billy, did more to promote ecumenical unity and build a one world church than any man in history. (For documentation, see the free eBooks Is the Roman Catholic Church Changing? and Billy Graham and the One World Church, www.wayoflife.org.)
UK SUPREME COURT ISSUES LANDMARK RULING ON LEGAL DEFINITION OF WOMAN (Friday Church News Notes, April 25, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “UK Supreme Court Ruling,” Global Law Today, Apr. 16, 2025: “In a significant and closely watched decision, the UK Supreme Court has ruled that the term ‘woman’ under UK Equalities Law refers to an individual born biologically female. This ruling, issued on Wednesday, April 16th, 2025 brings clarity to a long-standing debate over gender identity and its intersection with legal protections against discrimination. The case, which had significant implications for both equalities law and the rights of transgender individuals, arose from a legal challenge brought by a transgender woman. The claimant argued that UK equalities law should be interpreted to include individuals who identify as women, regardless of their biological sex. ... The claimant’s argument was predicated on the idea that gender identity--not just biological sex--should define legal categories like ‘woman’ under the Equality Act 2010, which offers protection against discrimination based on sex, gender, and other protected characteristics. ... In its ruling, the UK Supreme Court concluded that the term ‘woman’ under the Equality Act 2010 should be understood as referring to someone who is biologically female at birth. The judgment reaffirmed the longstanding legal definition of sex as a biological characteristic, setting a clear boundary between biological sex and gender identity in the context of legal protections against discrimination. ... As society continues to evolve in its understanding of gender, this decision may not be the final word on the issue. Legislators, advocates, and courts will likely continue to grapple with the balance between safeguarding women’s rights and ensuring fair and equal treatment for transgender individuals.” CONCLUSION: No doubt society and courts will continue to “grapple” with this issue, since the leaven of homosexual rights is a sign of the end times. Sodom is mentioned in the context of Christ’s return (Luke 17:29-30).
CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP MUSICIANS ROCK OUT ANCIENT HYMN (Friday Church News Notes, April 25, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Influential contemporary Christian music artists Chris Tomlin and Ben Fielding have produced a rocking rendition of “the world’s oldest known hymn.” The scrap of papyrus containing the hymn was discovered in the late 1800s in the rubbish heap of the ancient ruins of Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and was translated and published in English in 1922. Dating to the third century AD, the hymn has Trinitarian language: “All glory and praise forever to our God, the Father, Son, and Spirit, we sing amen.” Now a new version entitled “The First Hymn” has debuted at Biola University and the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. It is being promoted as a unity hymn. John Dickson, who is affiliated with the project, “hopes Christians of all kinds of backgrounds will embrace the song.” He says, “Here is a version of Christianity before all our squabbles, before all our denominations. I like to think of the song as a token of unity” (“Chris Tomlin’s new song,” Religious News Service, Apr. 15, 2025). This is ecumenical mythology. The “squabbles” began in the first century as false teachers plagued the apostolic churches and the apostles taught the first churches to separate from false teachers and heretical churches. (See Romans 16:17-18; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 Timothy 2:16-18; 3:5; Titus 3:10; 2 John 1:8-11). Egypt, where the papyrus was found, was a greenhouse for heresies and some of history’s chief heretics, such as Origen, taught there. The apostles prophesied that false teaching and division would grow throughout the age. “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:5). Division among Christians is not wrong when it is the result of truth separating from error. The contemporary worship music movement is permeated with heresies and its “unity” is of man, not God. Contemporary worship music is a major aspect of the construction of a one-world “church” in preparation for the rise of Mystery Babylon in the day of the Lord. Any church that even begins to dabble with contemporary worship music is on the road to apostasy.
HOMOSEXUAL CHRISTIANS EXPRESS “RIGHTEOUS RAGE AND HOLY HOPE” (Friday Church News Notes, April 25, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The homosexual rights movement proceeds apace with its global agenda of mainstreaming moral perversion, and it is spreading rapidly within Christianity. On April 14, the Collective of Queer Christian Leaders, meeting in Washington D.C., proclaimed that gender is fluid. Don Abram, founder of Pride in the Pews, a Black LGBT advocacy group, said, “God is in everyone” and “all people are deserving of rights, protections, resources and safety” (‘LGBTQ Christians invoke ‘righteous rage,’” Fox News, Apr. 17, 2025). There is an entire denomination of homosexual churches called the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) consisting of more than 220 congregations in 37 countries. Founded in 1968 by Troy Perry, it has official observer status with the World Council of Churches. In 1969, Perry performed the first same-sex “marriage” in the United States. The MCC has been “a leading force in the development of queer theology,” which is the idea that Scripture supports homosexuality. The MCC supports abortion rights. Jan Lawrence, executive director of Reconciling Ministries Network, said, “From a faith perspective, we are all children of God, and if someone identifies as transgender and claims that as their identity, then who is anyone else to argue with that?” The answer, of course, is that God argues with that, and His argument is final and unappealable. Everywhere in Scripture, Old and New Testaments, homosexuality is condemned as a sin. Nowhere is it well spoken of. In the Epistle to the Romans, the apostle Paul called homosexuality “uncleanness,” “dishonour,” “vile affections,” “against nature,” “unseemly,” and “a reprobate mind” (Romans 1:24-28). Marriage as established and approved of God is clearly defined in Scripture as a holy union between a man and a woman, and any sexual activity apart from holy marriage is sin that will be judged. “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).
HE BREATHES THROUGH HIS LEGS (Friday Church News Notes, April 25, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, March 11, 2025: “Members of the animal kingdom generally have similar parts. For example, the radius bone in the forelimbs of the bat, the horse and the human look similar but this is because they have similar functions. Listeners will recall the illustration in their high school biology textbook where this similarity of parts is called ‘homology.’ Similarity is said to be the result of descent from a common ancestor and, thus, is evidence of evolution. But this is circular reasoning because the evidences are chosen on the belief that there was a common ancestor. Then it is argued that the evidences of similarity prove a common ancestor! The octopus eye and the human eye are very similar but this example is never given since no one believes the octopus and humans had a common ancestor. God seems to have deliberately created novelties in order to make it more difficult to believe in evolution. For example, almost all animals get their oxygen through lungs or gills located in the main part of the body. Usually, the hearing organs are in or on the head, but occasionally there is a novelty where the ears are close to the knees. Until a few years ago scientists thought that two organs on the sand bubbler crab’s legs were ears, but then they discovered that they were actually breathing organs! God’s creation of novelties like this should help us challenge ideas that try to deny that He is our Creator.”
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).
UK SUPREME COURT ISSUES LANDMARK RULING ON LEGAL DEFINITION OF WOMAN (Friday Church News Notes, April 25, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “UK Supreme Court Ruling,” Global Law Today, Apr. 16, 2025: “In a significant and closely watched decision, the UK Supreme Court has ruled that the term ‘woman’ under UK Equalities Law refers to an individual born biologically female. This ruling, issued on Wednesday, April 16th, 2025 brings clarity to a long-standing debate over gender identity and its intersection with legal protections against discrimination. The case, which had significant implications for both equalities law and the rights of transgender individuals, arose from a legal challenge brought by a transgender woman. The claimant argued that UK equalities law should be interpreted to include individuals who identify as women, regardless of their biological sex. ... The claimant’s argument was predicated on the idea that gender identity--not just biological sex--should define legal categories like ‘woman’ under the Equality Act 2010, which offers protection against discrimination based on sex, gender, and other protected characteristics. ... In its ruling, the UK Supreme Court concluded that the term ‘woman’ under the Equality Act 2010 should be understood as referring to someone who is biologically female at birth. The judgment reaffirmed the longstanding legal definition of sex as a biological characteristic, setting a clear boundary between biological sex and gender identity in the context of legal protections against discrimination. ... As society continues to evolve in its understanding of gender, this decision may not be the final word on the issue. Legislators, advocates, and courts will likely continue to grapple with the balance between safeguarding women’s rights and ensuring fair and equal treatment for transgender individuals.” CONCLUSION: No doubt society and courts will continue to “grapple” with this issue, since the leaven of homosexual rights is a sign of the end times. Sodom is mentioned in the context of Christ’s return (Luke 17:29-30).
CONTEMPORARY WORSHIP MUSICIANS ROCK OUT ANCIENT HYMN (Friday Church News Notes, April 25, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Influential contemporary Christian music artists Chris Tomlin and Ben Fielding have produced a rocking rendition of “the world’s oldest known hymn.” The scrap of papyrus containing the hymn was discovered in the late 1800s in the rubbish heap of the ancient ruins of Oxyrhynchus, Egypt, and was translated and published in English in 1922. Dating to the third century AD, the hymn has Trinitarian language: “All glory and praise forever to our God, the Father, Son, and Spirit, we sing amen.” Now a new version entitled “The First Hymn” has debuted at Biola University and the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. It is being promoted as a unity hymn. John Dickson, who is affiliated with the project, “hopes Christians of all kinds of backgrounds will embrace the song.” He says, “Here is a version of Christianity before all our squabbles, before all our denominations. I like to think of the song as a token of unity” (“Chris Tomlin’s new song,” Religious News Service, Apr. 15, 2025). This is ecumenical mythology. The “squabbles” began in the first century as false teachers plagued the apostolic churches and the apostles taught the first churches to separate from false teachers and heretical churches. (See Romans 16:17-18; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 5:11; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 Timothy 2:16-18; 3:5; Titus 3:10; 2 John 1:8-11). Egypt, where the papyrus was found, was a greenhouse for heresies and some of history’s chief heretics, such as Origen, taught there. The apostles prophesied that false teaching and division would grow throughout the age. “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:5). Division among Christians is not wrong when it is the result of truth separating from error. The contemporary worship music movement is permeated with heresies and its “unity” is of man, not God. Contemporary worship music is a major aspect of the construction of a one-world “church” in preparation for the rise of Mystery Babylon in the day of the Lord. Any church that even begins to dabble with contemporary worship music is on the road to apostasy.
HOMOSEXUAL CHRISTIANS EXPRESS “RIGHTEOUS RAGE AND HOLY HOPE” (Friday Church News Notes, April 25, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The homosexual rights movement proceeds apace with its global agenda of mainstreaming moral perversion, and it is spreading rapidly within Christianity. On April 14, the Collective of Queer Christian Leaders, meeting in Washington D.C., proclaimed that gender is fluid. Don Abram, founder of Pride in the Pews, a Black LGBT advocacy group, said, “God is in everyone” and “all people are deserving of rights, protections, resources and safety” (‘LGBTQ Christians invoke ‘righteous rage,’” Fox News, Apr. 17, 2025). There is an entire denomination of homosexual churches called the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) consisting of more than 220 congregations in 37 countries. Founded in 1968 by Troy Perry, it has official observer status with the World Council of Churches. In 1969, Perry performed the first same-sex “marriage” in the United States. The MCC has been “a leading force in the development of queer theology,” which is the idea that Scripture supports homosexuality. The MCC supports abortion rights. Jan Lawrence, executive director of Reconciling Ministries Network, said, “From a faith perspective, we are all children of God, and if someone identifies as transgender and claims that as their identity, then who is anyone else to argue with that?” The answer, of course, is that God argues with that, and His argument is final and unappealable. Everywhere in Scripture, Old and New Testaments, homosexuality is condemned as a sin. Nowhere is it well spoken of. In the Epistle to the Romans, the apostle Paul called homosexuality “uncleanness,” “dishonour,” “vile affections,” “against nature,” “unseemly,” and “a reprobate mind” (Romans 1:24-28). Marriage as established and approved of God is clearly defined in Scripture as a holy union between a man and a woman, and any sexual activity apart from holy marriage is sin that will be judged. “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).
HE BREATHES THROUGH HIS LEGS (Friday Church News Notes, April 25, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, March 11, 2025: “Members of the animal kingdom generally have similar parts. For example, the radius bone in the forelimbs of the bat, the horse and the human look similar but this is because they have similar functions. Listeners will recall the illustration in their high school biology textbook where this similarity of parts is called ‘homology.’ Similarity is said to be the result of descent from a common ancestor and, thus, is evidence of evolution. But this is circular reasoning because the evidences are chosen on the belief that there was a common ancestor. Then it is argued that the evidences of similarity prove a common ancestor! The octopus eye and the human eye are very similar but this example is never given since no one believes the octopus and humans had a common ancestor. God seems to have deliberately created novelties in order to make it more difficult to believe in evolution. For example, almost all animals get their oxygen through lungs or gills located in the main part of the body. Usually, the hearing organs are in or on the head, but occasionally there is a novelty where the ears are close to the knees. Until a few years ago scientists thought that two organs on the sand bubbler crab’s legs were ears, but then they discovered that they were actually breathing organs! God’s creation of novelties like this should help us challenge ideas that try to deny that He is our Creator.”
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, BUT 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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