Friday Church News Notes
November 14, 2025 - Volume 26, Issue 46
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.
Zohran Mamdani
THE FALL OF NEW YORK CITY (Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Daniel Greenfield, Frontpage Magazine, Nov. 6, 2025: “How did an Islamist socialist who posed with an unindicted terror bombing coconspirator become elected to head a city of terror survivors, the ‘most Jewish city in America,’ and how did he defeat an Italian-American political dynasty in what was once an Italian-American city? Because that New York City, the one people imagine from movies, no longer exists. In 1989, the last year of Mayor Ed Koch’s administration, Jews outnumbered Muslims roughly 4 to 1. ... by the time Zohran Mamdani beat Andrew Cuomo, there were more Muslims than Italian Americans in NYC. ... So much for New York City being the ‘most Jewish city’ in America. Or ‘Italian city.’ [Or Irish or Polish] Like so many European cities, it’s been redefined by waves of Muslim mass migration. ... New York City’s old ‘ethnic’ working-class population is gone. Instead they were replaced by college students, hipsters, and third-world immigrants who not only voted for Democrats but also for the far left. ... Another way to measure the foreign population in New York City is to look at the proportion of those to whom English is a second language. The number of non-English speakers has been steadily rising since 1990. ... Much of New York City no longer even speaks English. That’s why Mamdani could campaign in Arabic ... the New York City of families has disappeared. A majority of households in New York City are single now. ... Mamdani’s defeat of Andrew Cuomo, Curtis Sliwa, and Eric Adams, all personalities dating back to an older New York City, the city of the 80s and 90s, marked the defeat of old New York City by a ‘new’ New York City. This city has no character, no tradition, and no roots. It’s interchangeable with every upscale, gentrified city in America and all across Europe. This Neo-New York could just as easily be London or Toronto.” [CONCLUDING NOTE: Mamdani’s win not only marked the defeat of old New York City by a new New York City, it marked a defeat of the old America by the new America. America is a wicked nation that has turned from the great light God bestowed upon her, and she deserves the judgment that we are sadly witnessing. MAGA has barely slowed the onslaught. The global anti-God culture and the spread of antisemitism are major prophetic signs.]
A FOOTNOTE ON THE WESTMAN CASE (Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Like the mayoral election in New York City, the situation in Minnesota reminds us that wicked, leftist thinking has not disappeared from America under the current administration. Democrats (with their platform supporting abortion, homosexual marriage, LGBTQI+ super rights, childhood trans therapy, the right to vote without proper ID, open borders, sanctuary for criminals, globalism, despite toward law and order, defunding the police, manmade global warming, “free” everything, universal health care, and socialistic redistribution of wealth) remain in power in many states and could regain a majority in Congress next year. God’s people are foolish if they trust in politics and get wrapped up in it instead of doing what God has told them to do, which is preach the gospel to every creature in every nation, establish sound New Testament churches and build godly homes as light in a dark world, all the while watching for Christ’s imminent return. Morally and spiritually, America remains as wicked as she was before the last presidential election. That being true, what is happening today in Minnesota is what could easily happen nationally in 2029. If you value your citizenship in heaven more than your citizenship in America, if your affection is fixed on things above, not on things on earth, that won’t surprise you nor will it shake your world. The following is excerpted from “A Footnote,” PowerLine, Aug. 30, 2025: “Minnesota Democrats took control of the political branches of the state government in January 2023 and immediately set about advancing the agenda and priorities of their left-wing base. ... the Minnesota House and Senate passed bills establishing Minnesota as a ‘trans refuge’ state and banning ‘conversion therapy’ on minors and ‘vulnerable adults.’ In the aftermath of the murders and attempted massacre committed by Robin Westman at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis earlier this week, I revisited the ‘conversion therapy’ law and thought about it in the context of Westman’s case. Although I had read it many times previously, I never understood how perverse it is until this week. The ‘conversion therapy’ law reflects how Democrats have dominated the language battle on the gender issue for so long--call it ‘conversion therapy’ and people think it’s bad. I find it to be ideological mania masquerading as compassion. ... Robin Westman [who shot 26 children at a Catholic school on Aug. 27, killing two of them] was born Robert Westman but changed his name at 17 because he identified as a female. If Westman had been troubled by the feelings that led to his identification as female and wanted to confirm his masculinity, the law would have prevented him from receiving professional help of this sort. ... Before the attack, Westman reportedly professed to ‘regret being trans.’ He wished he ‘had never brain-washed’ himself, according to the New York Post. While Westman was 23 at the time of the attack the ‘conversion therapy’ law ... would have limited his right to receive such help were he deemed a ‘vulnerable adult’ as defined by Minnesota law. In effect, the law discourages mental health professionals from providing any such help. ... When the ‘trans refuge’ and ‘conversion therapy’ bills were passed in early 2023, [Minnesota governor Tim] Walz held a joyous signing ceremony and announced that ‘the march of bigotry and hate stops at Minnesota’s borders.’ If all this makes sense to you, you may need help yourself. Just don’t seek it in Minnesota.”
EVANGELICALISM AND THE GREAT APOSTASY (Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Evangelicalism and the Great Apostasy, a new book and Bible course, has two major themes: apostasy as taught in the Bible and as seen through the age and evangelicalism as the broad sphere of apostasy in the last hours of the church age. We document how the apostasy developed in the first 1800 years of church history, how it exploded in the 19th century, how it reached new heights in the 20th century, and how it is nearing its apex in the 21st century. It is evangelicalism, with its profession of biblical faith yet lack of real boundaries, that is destroying the black and white of truth and error and creating the gray of compromise. Everything is changing, moving, merging, blending, homogenizing. In dramatic fulfillment of Bible prophecy, the stage is being set for the day of the Lord and the rise of Mystery Babylon. The doctrine of apostasy is a doctrine that is clearly taught in God’s Word, and it is no small matter. In brief, the doctrine of apostasy is the Bible’s teaching that there will be a falling away from the New Testament faith beginning even in the days of the apostles and progressing in strength throughout the church age, ending in an explosion of apostasy and false Christianity at the end of the age. That’s where we are! The doctrine of apostasy is necessary for a right understanding of church history. The homes and churches must be better educated! The doctrine of apostasy explains the Roman Catholic Church and Greek Orthodoxy. It explains the appearance in church history of gnosticism, Montanism, Cerinthianism, adoptionism, Sabellianism, Arianism, Manichaeism, infant baptism, baptismal regeneration, priestcraft, the papacy, transubstantiation, sacramentalism, auricular confession, Mariolatry, the cult of the saints, purgatory, pilgrimages, holy bells, holy water, holy relics, scapulars, rosaries, monasticism, asceticism, cathedrals, iconography, inquisitions, amillennialism, the crusades, antinomianism, enlightenment theology, unitarianism, transcendentalism, theological liberalism, documentary theories, form criticism, textual criticism, soul sleep, and sabbath keeping. The doctrine of apostasy is necessary for a proper understanding of the times in which we live. It is necessary for a proper Christian worldview. Why are there so many different types of denominations and churches? Why are there so few churches that take the Bible seriously? Why is Christianity so divided? Is the ecumenical movement a good thing? Why are there so many disgraceful scandals in Christianity? The doctrine of apostasy is necessary for spiritual and doctrinal protection. The doctrine of apostasy instructs God’s people to have a testing mindset: to be serious Bible students and to measure everything by the Bible, to “prove all things” (1 Th. 5:21), to be Bereans (Acts 17:11). The doctrine of apostasy instructs churches to be serious Bible training institutions in order to disciple and protect the people in an evil time. The doctrine of apostasy tells us that every preacher and Bible teacher must have a “warning ministry” as a matter of protecting the sheep (Col. 1:28). Evangelicalism and the Great Apostasy is a 402-page book. It is also a Bible course consisting of a textbook, review questions, tests, and the PowerPoint “Evangelicalism a Bridge to Dangerous Waters,” which deals with the following dangers: The John 17 heresy, charismaticism, rejection of the pre-tribulation Rapture, ecumenism, Catholicism, the one-world church, the world of secular rock, homosexual Christianity, contemplative prayer, modern Bible versions, cultural liberalism, the downgrade of Bible inspiration, process salvation, salvation apart from faith in Christ, theistic evolution, the downgrade of hell, open theism, and false gods and goddesses. Evangelicalism and the Great Apostasy is available at the Books section of the Way of Life Literature web site, www.wayoflife.org.
POISON OF THE LAST DAYS HAS PENETRATED EVERYWHERE (Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following was spoken in the late 1880s by Horatius Bonar, preacher and hymn writer: “I know not but this may be my last opportunity of bearing witness to the much-forgotten doctrine which was so specially given to the Church as her blessed hope; and I wish to say how increasingly important that doctrine is to me as the ages are running to their close, and the power of the great adversary is unfolding itself both in the church and in the world. ... The poison of the last days has penetrated everywhere. Unbelief, error, strong delusion, self-will, pride, hatred of God and of His Christ--these are the deadly forces operating all over the earth, disintegrating society, and demonstrating the necessity for the return of Him who is to end all of Satan’s and man’s evil work, and introduce the kingdom of righteousness and peace” (Christopher Knapp, Who Wrote Our Hymns?, 1925).
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).s
A FOOTNOTE ON THE WESTMAN CASE (Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Like the mayoral election in New York City, the situation in Minnesota reminds us that wicked, leftist thinking has not disappeared from America under the current administration. Democrats (with their platform supporting abortion, homosexual marriage, LGBTQI+ super rights, childhood trans therapy, the right to vote without proper ID, open borders, sanctuary for criminals, globalism, despite toward law and order, defunding the police, manmade global warming, “free” everything, universal health care, and socialistic redistribution of wealth) remain in power in many states and could regain a majority in Congress next year. God’s people are foolish if they trust in politics and get wrapped up in it instead of doing what God has told them to do, which is preach the gospel to every creature in every nation, establish sound New Testament churches and build godly homes as light in a dark world, all the while watching for Christ’s imminent return. Morally and spiritually, America remains as wicked as she was before the last presidential election. That being true, what is happening today in Minnesota is what could easily happen nationally in 2029. If you value your citizenship in heaven more than your citizenship in America, if your affection is fixed on things above, not on things on earth, that won’t surprise you nor will it shake your world. The following is excerpted from “A Footnote,” PowerLine, Aug. 30, 2025: “Minnesota Democrats took control of the political branches of the state government in January 2023 and immediately set about advancing the agenda and priorities of their left-wing base. ... the Minnesota House and Senate passed bills establishing Minnesota as a ‘trans refuge’ state and banning ‘conversion therapy’ on minors and ‘vulnerable adults.’ In the aftermath of the murders and attempted massacre committed by Robin Westman at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis earlier this week, I revisited the ‘conversion therapy’ law and thought about it in the context of Westman’s case. Although I had read it many times previously, I never understood how perverse it is until this week. The ‘conversion therapy’ law reflects how Democrats have dominated the language battle on the gender issue for so long--call it ‘conversion therapy’ and people think it’s bad. I find it to be ideological mania masquerading as compassion. ... Robin Westman [who shot 26 children at a Catholic school on Aug. 27, killing two of them] was born Robert Westman but changed his name at 17 because he identified as a female. If Westman had been troubled by the feelings that led to his identification as female and wanted to confirm his masculinity, the law would have prevented him from receiving professional help of this sort. ... Before the attack, Westman reportedly professed to ‘regret being trans.’ He wished he ‘had never brain-washed’ himself, according to the New York Post. While Westman was 23 at the time of the attack the ‘conversion therapy’ law ... would have limited his right to receive such help were he deemed a ‘vulnerable adult’ as defined by Minnesota law. In effect, the law discourages mental health professionals from providing any such help. ... When the ‘trans refuge’ and ‘conversion therapy’ bills were passed in early 2023, [Minnesota governor Tim] Walz held a joyous signing ceremony and announced that ‘the march of bigotry and hate stops at Minnesota’s borders.’ If all this makes sense to you, you may need help yourself. Just don’t seek it in Minnesota.”
EVANGELICALISM AND THE GREAT APOSTASY (Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Evangelicalism and the Great Apostasy, a new book and Bible course, has two major themes: apostasy as taught in the Bible and as seen through the age and evangelicalism as the broad sphere of apostasy in the last hours of the church age. We document how the apostasy developed in the first 1800 years of church history, how it exploded in the 19th century, how it reached new heights in the 20th century, and how it is nearing its apex in the 21st century. It is evangelicalism, with its profession of biblical faith yet lack of real boundaries, that is destroying the black and white of truth and error and creating the gray of compromise. Everything is changing, moving, merging, blending, homogenizing. In dramatic fulfillment of Bible prophecy, the stage is being set for the day of the Lord and the rise of Mystery Babylon. The doctrine of apostasy is a doctrine that is clearly taught in God’s Word, and it is no small matter. In brief, the doctrine of apostasy is the Bible’s teaching that there will be a falling away from the New Testament faith beginning even in the days of the apostles and progressing in strength throughout the church age, ending in an explosion of apostasy and false Christianity at the end of the age. That’s where we are! The doctrine of apostasy is necessary for a right understanding of church history. The homes and churches must be better educated! The doctrine of apostasy explains the Roman Catholic Church and Greek Orthodoxy. It explains the appearance in church history of gnosticism, Montanism, Cerinthianism, adoptionism, Sabellianism, Arianism, Manichaeism, infant baptism, baptismal regeneration, priestcraft, the papacy, transubstantiation, sacramentalism, auricular confession, Mariolatry, the cult of the saints, purgatory, pilgrimages, holy bells, holy water, holy relics, scapulars, rosaries, monasticism, asceticism, cathedrals, iconography, inquisitions, amillennialism, the crusades, antinomianism, enlightenment theology, unitarianism, transcendentalism, theological liberalism, documentary theories, form criticism, textual criticism, soul sleep, and sabbath keeping. The doctrine of apostasy is necessary for a proper understanding of the times in which we live. It is necessary for a proper Christian worldview. Why are there so many different types of denominations and churches? Why are there so few churches that take the Bible seriously? Why is Christianity so divided? Is the ecumenical movement a good thing? Why are there so many disgraceful scandals in Christianity? The doctrine of apostasy is necessary for spiritual and doctrinal protection. The doctrine of apostasy instructs God’s people to have a testing mindset: to be serious Bible students and to measure everything by the Bible, to “prove all things” (1 Th. 5:21), to be Bereans (Acts 17:11). The doctrine of apostasy instructs churches to be serious Bible training institutions in order to disciple and protect the people in an evil time. The doctrine of apostasy tells us that every preacher and Bible teacher must have a “warning ministry” as a matter of protecting the sheep (Col. 1:28). Evangelicalism and the Great Apostasy is a 402-page book. It is also a Bible course consisting of a textbook, review questions, tests, and the PowerPoint “Evangelicalism a Bridge to Dangerous Waters,” which deals with the following dangers: The John 17 heresy, charismaticism, rejection of the pre-tribulation Rapture, ecumenism, Catholicism, the one-world church, the world of secular rock, homosexual Christianity, contemplative prayer, modern Bible versions, cultural liberalism, the downgrade of Bible inspiration, process salvation, salvation apart from faith in Christ, theistic evolution, the downgrade of hell, open theism, and false gods and goddesses. Evangelicalism and the Great Apostasy is available at the Books section of the Way of Life Literature web site, www.wayoflife.org.
POISON OF THE LAST DAYS HAS PENETRATED EVERYWHERE (Friday Church News Notes, November 14, 2025, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following was spoken in the late 1880s by Horatius Bonar, preacher and hymn writer: “I know not but this may be my last opportunity of bearing witness to the much-forgotten doctrine which was so specially given to the Church as her blessed hope; and I wish to say how increasingly important that doctrine is to me as the ages are running to their close, and the power of the great adversary is unfolding itself both in the church and in the world. ... The poison of the last days has penetrated everywhere. Unbelief, error, strong delusion, self-will, pride, hatred of God and of His Christ--these are the deadly forces operating all over the earth, disintegrating society, and demonstrating the necessity for the return of Him who is to end all of Satan’s and man’s evil work, and introduce the kingdom of righteousness and peace” (Christopher Knapp, Who Wrote Our Hymns?, 1925).
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).s
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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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