Friday Church News Notes
August 29, 2025 - Volume 26, Issue 35
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.
ANY CHURCH THAT IS NOT DEALING EFFECTUALLY WITH THE PORNOGRAPHY ISSUE IS DOOMED (Friday Church News Notes, August 29, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In the smartphone age, there can be no doubt that any church that is not dealing effectually with the internet pornography issue is doomed to be leavened with immorality. The church at Corinth had just one member who was living in immorality, and Paul rebuked the church for failing to “purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6). Paul said, “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” The one member at Corinth had adulterous lust for his father’s wife, and Paul warned them that if left alone that sin by one individual would leaven the entire congregation. How much more should churches be engaged in purging in a day when people everywhere are lusting after the vilest images? There is nowhere in the world that this problem does not exist. Our church has been dealing with it for several years. All of our members are enrolled in an accountability program. We refuse to remain silent and inactive in the face of this great onslaught. We preach and teach about it. We warn about it. We prepare our members to help one another as Scripture demands. Sam Black, who works with Covenant Eyes, warns that “pornography is quietly eroding the spiritual health of congregations worldwide and undermining every ministry in the local church--from children’s programs to marriage counseling” (“Porn is undermining every ministry,” Christian Daily International, Aug. 17, 2025). “Black said the first obstacle to addressing pornography in the church is acknowledging the scope of the issue. Research shows that two-thirds of men and one-third of women who attend church regularly say they struggle with pornography. Yet only 7% of churches provide specific resources or structured support for those who do. More than one-third of churchgoing men are in an ongoing struggle, and among younger Christian men, 36% report daily porn use. Women are also significantly affected--73% of women aged 18 to 35 say they have viewed porn in the past six months, and more than a quarter report viewing it in the past week. ‘Porn isn’t what it used to be,’ Black said. ‘It’s far more accessible, more extreme and more violent. And it’s reshaping how people think about sex, relationships, and even the value of another human being.’ Exposure to violent pornography is increasingly common among teens” (Ibid.). In 2024, Barna reported “that pornography use is so prevalent among all demographics and the gap in use among Christians and non-Christians, as well as men and women, has grown narrower over the last eight years.” Way of Life Literature has a Bible course designed for the entire church. It is entitled The Pornographic Age and Victory in Christ. See www.wayoflife.org. David Brady has a ministry called Purity Plan that is available for churches. See www.purityplan.org.
PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS HELPING END THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR WILL HELP HIM GET TO HEAVEN (Friday Church News Notes, August 29, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In the clearest way, President Donald Trump has stated that he doesn’t understand salvation and is not a saved man who is trusting in the blood of Christ alone. We find no joy in reporting this, but there have been voices raised stating that he is born again. The following is excerpted from “Trump Says,” Christian Post, Aug. 19, 2025: “Trump called into the Fox News program Fox & Friends for a phone interview on Tuesday morning, one day after he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders at the White House as part of the ongoing efforts to end the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion in 2022. Trump maintained that ending the war could ‘save 7,000 people a week from being killed.’ ‘I want to try and get to Heaven if possible,’ the 79-year-old said. ‘I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I hear I’m really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to Heaven, this will be one of the reasons,’ he said, referring to securing a hypothetical end to the Ukraine-Russia conflict that he would play a part in negotiating.” CONCLUDING REMARKS: The gospel of Jesus Christ is salvation through faith by God’s grace without works. It was purchased 100% by Christ’s atonement on Calvary. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). To add any works is a false gospel that is under God’s curse (Galatians 1:6-10). “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work” (Romans 11:6). All men and women are sinners before God and lack the righteousness demanded by God, and there are no degrees to salvation; you are either totally saved or totally lost. Saving faith is an exclusive faith in Christ alone, and it is a repentant faith. Paul himself emphasized this in his final exhortation to the pastors of Ephesus, summarizing the message he had preached among them in these words, “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). It is clear that Paul saw no conflict between repentance and the grace of God, which he mentioned in the same message in verse 24. Paul preached “repentance toward God,” but biblical repentance is not a work; it is not against grace. Repentance is not a change of life; it is a change of mind that results in a change of life. We see this in the case of the Ninevites, Zacchaeus, and the idolaters at Thessalonica (Matthew 12:41; Luke 19:8-10; 1 Thessalonians 1:9). Many preachers are convinced that preaching repentance is a works gospel. In this, they are not following Paul’s teaching and example; they are following some prominent false teacher they have accepted as a hero and guru. If President Trump were to repent, and we pray often that he will, he would make a public confession of his very public sins, including his lasciviousness and cursing for which he has been publicly reproved. One reason President Trump does not understand these things is that his chief spiritual advisor, Paula Cain-White, does not understand them.
THE APOSTASY OF “MAINLINE PROTESTANTS” (Friday Church News Notes, August 29, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - For what it’s worth, the apostasy of mainline Protestants has been yet again exposed in a new major survey of “Christian clergy.” The National Survey of Religious Leaders (NSRL) 2025 polled 1,600 clergy. Of mainline Protestants, only 40% expressed certainty about God’s existence, 75% do not believe Adam and Eve were real figures, 72% believe the Bible is not completely historically accurate, 60% do not believe in heaven, 60% do not believe in hell, and 50% believe that all world religions are equally true and good. “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” (2 Peter 2:1-2).
KING CHARLES A FAN OF ISLAM (Friday Church News Notes, August 29, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “5 Troubling Facts,” Christian Post, Aug. 19, 2025: “For over 500 years, every British monarch has inherited the title ‘Defender of the Faith,’ meaning defender of Christianity. But in 1994, Charles III, the Prince of Wales, declared that he wished to be ... defender of all religions. ... Here are five facts you should know about King Charles III and Islam: 1. He studied Arabic to understand the Quran. ... At his Highgrove House residence, he expressed his love of the Quran by creating the Carpet Garden, inspired by Turkish carpet designs. ‘I planted fig, pomegranate, and olive trees in the garden,’ he said, ‘because of their mention in the Quran.’ 2. His passion for Islam has affected his judgment. ... On three occasions, from 2011 to 2015, Prince Charles accepted cash-filled luggage from a friend in Qatar. Those gifts--donations to the prince’s charitable fund--totaled three million euros. ... The donor was Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani (aka ‘HBJ’), one of the richest men in the world. HBJ was Qatar’s prime minister from 2007 to 2013. He also owned the $400 million luxury jet that Qatar recently gifted to President Donald Trump. In addition to currying favor with King Charles and President Trump, Qatar has spent an estimated $2 billion financing the terror organization Hamas. 3. He is reluctant to condemn terrorism. After the July 7, 2005, London suicide bombings (52 innocent people killed, nearly 800 injured), Prince Charles said, ‘Islam preaches humanity, tolerance and a sense of community ... These acts have nothing to do with any true faith.’ 4. He is highly critical of Western culture. For decades, King Charles has actively championed Islam as more enlightened than Western civilization--or even Christianity. In an October 1993 speech as patron of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, he declared, ‘Islam can teach us a way of understanding and living in the world which Christianity itself is poorer for having lost.’ Terrorism, he said, is the result of ‘extremism,’ not Islamic ideology. 5. He is prone to wishful thinking about Islam. ... Charles selects favorable passages and ignores violent passages to craft a sanitized version of Islam. He projects onto Islam what he wishes it to be, not what it is.”
ELECTRIC SINGING (Friday Church News Notes, August 29, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, August 21, 2025: “The brown ghost knifefish, popular in many aquariums, generates a weak electric signal that it uses for navigation and communication. The electric field they generate is too weak to stun prey. However, the electric organs that run along the sides of their bodies can pick up any changes in the field when the field encounters something with a conductivity that is different than water. The communication aspects of the field are even more amazing. Male knifefish have been recorded singing to females by modulating their electric field. Researchers report that the males will sing like this for hours at night. However, when two knifefish who are hostile to one another encounter each other, they will raise the frequency of their electric field to jam their rival’s signal. Researchers confirmed their conclusion that the knifefish were attempting to jam an enemy’s signal by using a dummy knifefish. They rigged the dummy to generate signals that mimicked a knifefish. Then they placed two male knifefish in the tank with it. The two males were rivals to the dummy, and both male knifefish quickly raised their frequencies to jam the rival’s signal. Some people believe that mindless evolution gave the knifefish the ability to generate and control electric fields for communication as well as the ability to receive those signals. That credit clearly belongs to God! Ref: Science News, S. Milius, ‘Tszzzzzt!’”
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).
PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS HELPING END THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR WILL HELP HIM GET TO HEAVEN (Friday Church News Notes, August 29, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In the clearest way, President Donald Trump has stated that he doesn’t understand salvation and is not a saved man who is trusting in the blood of Christ alone. We find no joy in reporting this, but there have been voices raised stating that he is born again. The following is excerpted from “Trump Says,” Christian Post, Aug. 19, 2025: “Trump called into the Fox News program Fox & Friends for a phone interview on Tuesday morning, one day after he hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other European leaders at the White House as part of the ongoing efforts to end the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion in 2022. Trump maintained that ending the war could ‘save 7,000 people a week from being killed.’ ‘I want to try and get to Heaven if possible,’ the 79-year-old said. ‘I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I hear I’m really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to Heaven, this will be one of the reasons,’ he said, referring to securing a hypothetical end to the Ukraine-Russia conflict that he would play a part in negotiating.” CONCLUDING REMARKS: The gospel of Jesus Christ is salvation through faith by God’s grace without works. It was purchased 100% by Christ’s atonement on Calvary. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). To add any works is a false gospel that is under God’s curse (Galatians 1:6-10). “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work” (Romans 11:6). All men and women are sinners before God and lack the righteousness demanded by God, and there are no degrees to salvation; you are either totally saved or totally lost. Saving faith is an exclusive faith in Christ alone, and it is a repentant faith. Paul himself emphasized this in his final exhortation to the pastors of Ephesus, summarizing the message he had preached among them in these words, “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). It is clear that Paul saw no conflict between repentance and the grace of God, which he mentioned in the same message in verse 24. Paul preached “repentance toward God,” but biblical repentance is not a work; it is not against grace. Repentance is not a change of life; it is a change of mind that results in a change of life. We see this in the case of the Ninevites, Zacchaeus, and the idolaters at Thessalonica (Matthew 12:41; Luke 19:8-10; 1 Thessalonians 1:9). Many preachers are convinced that preaching repentance is a works gospel. In this, they are not following Paul’s teaching and example; they are following some prominent false teacher they have accepted as a hero and guru. If President Trump were to repent, and we pray often that he will, he would make a public confession of his very public sins, including his lasciviousness and cursing for which he has been publicly reproved. One reason President Trump does not understand these things is that his chief spiritual advisor, Paula Cain-White, does not understand them.
THE APOSTASY OF “MAINLINE PROTESTANTS” (Friday Church News Notes, August 29, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - For what it’s worth, the apostasy of mainline Protestants has been yet again exposed in a new major survey of “Christian clergy.” The National Survey of Religious Leaders (NSRL) 2025 polled 1,600 clergy. Of mainline Protestants, only 40% expressed certainty about God’s existence, 75% do not believe Adam and Eve were real figures, 72% believe the Bible is not completely historically accurate, 60% do not believe in heaven, 60% do not believe in hell, and 50% believe that all world religions are equally true and good. “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” (2 Peter 2:1-2).
KING CHARLES A FAN OF ISLAM (Friday Church News Notes, August 29, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “5 Troubling Facts,” Christian Post, Aug. 19, 2025: “For over 500 years, every British monarch has inherited the title ‘Defender of the Faith,’ meaning defender of Christianity. But in 1994, Charles III, the Prince of Wales, declared that he wished to be ... defender of all religions. ... Here are five facts you should know about King Charles III and Islam: 1. He studied Arabic to understand the Quran. ... At his Highgrove House residence, he expressed his love of the Quran by creating the Carpet Garden, inspired by Turkish carpet designs. ‘I planted fig, pomegranate, and olive trees in the garden,’ he said, ‘because of their mention in the Quran.’ 2. His passion for Islam has affected his judgment. ... On three occasions, from 2011 to 2015, Prince Charles accepted cash-filled luggage from a friend in Qatar. Those gifts--donations to the prince’s charitable fund--totaled three million euros. ... The donor was Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani (aka ‘HBJ’), one of the richest men in the world. HBJ was Qatar’s prime minister from 2007 to 2013. He also owned the $400 million luxury jet that Qatar recently gifted to President Donald Trump. In addition to currying favor with King Charles and President Trump, Qatar has spent an estimated $2 billion financing the terror organization Hamas. 3. He is reluctant to condemn terrorism. After the July 7, 2005, London suicide bombings (52 innocent people killed, nearly 800 injured), Prince Charles said, ‘Islam preaches humanity, tolerance and a sense of community ... These acts have nothing to do with any true faith.’ 4. He is highly critical of Western culture. For decades, King Charles has actively championed Islam as more enlightened than Western civilization--or even Christianity. In an October 1993 speech as patron of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, he declared, ‘Islam can teach us a way of understanding and living in the world which Christianity itself is poorer for having lost.’ Terrorism, he said, is the result of ‘extremism,’ not Islamic ideology. 5. He is prone to wishful thinking about Islam. ... Charles selects favorable passages and ignores violent passages to craft a sanitized version of Islam. He projects onto Islam what he wishes it to be, not what it is.”
ELECTRIC SINGING (Friday Church News Notes, August 29, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, August 21, 2025: “The brown ghost knifefish, popular in many aquariums, generates a weak electric signal that it uses for navigation and communication. The electric field they generate is too weak to stun prey. However, the electric organs that run along the sides of their bodies can pick up any changes in the field when the field encounters something with a conductivity that is different than water. The communication aspects of the field are even more amazing. Male knifefish have been recorded singing to females by modulating their electric field. Researchers report that the males will sing like this for hours at night. However, when two knifefish who are hostile to one another encounter each other, they will raise the frequency of their electric field to jam their rival’s signal. Researchers confirmed their conclusion that the knifefish were attempting to jam an enemy’s signal by using a dummy knifefish. They rigged the dummy to generate signals that mimicked a knifefish. Then they placed two male knifefish in the tank with it. The two males were rivals to the dummy, and both male knifefish quickly raised their frequencies to jam the rival’s signal. Some people believe that mindless evolution gave the knifefish the ability to generate and control electric fields for communication as well as the ability to receive those signals. That credit clearly belongs to God! Ref: Science News, S. Milius, ‘Tszzzzzt!’”
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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