Friday Church News Notes
January 9, 2026 - Volume 27, Issue 02
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 being sworn in as
Mayor of New York using Quran.
Dec. 31, 2025 (NY Times)
Mayor of New York using Quran.
Dec. 31, 2025 (NY Times)
NEW YORK CITY MAYOR SWORN IN ON A QURAN PROMISES COMMUNISM (Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2026, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The new America--the anti-freedom of speech, anti-freedom of religion, anti-Christian, anti-democracy, anti-separation of powers, anti-life, anti-wholesome, anti-kindness, anti-law and order, anti-capitalism America--continues to make progress. The following is excerpted from “Christian Pastors Warn,” Christianity Daily, Jan. 2, 2026: “Democratic New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani faced swift backlash following his inaugural address, delivered Thursday from the steps of City Hall after being sworn in on a Quran by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. The 34-year-old democratic socialist drew widespread attention for remarks in which he framed his governing philosophy around collectivist ideals, declaring, ‘We will replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism.’ ... Several Christian pastors and theologians responded publicly, warning that communism has repeatedly produced outcomes far different from what their advocates promise, according to reporting by The Christian Post. ... Josh Howerton, senior pastor of the multi-campus Lakepointe Church in Dallas, Texas, noted that Christianity and Marxism have been fundamentally opposed since the latter’s inception. Howerton pointed to an 1889 sermon [41 years after the publication of the Communist Manifesto] by Charles Spurgeon on Isaiah 66, in which Spurgeon condemned ‘Democratic Socialism’ as a counterfeit gospel that sought to ‘set up a kingdom for Christ without the new birth or the pardon of sin,’ while treating the Cross as an enemy. ‘The latter-day gospel is not the gospel by which we were saved. To me it seems a tangle of ever-changing dreams,’ Spurgeon preached. ‘It is, by the confession of its inventors, the outcome of the period, the monstrous birth of a boasted progress, the scum from the caldron of conceit. It has not been given by the infallible revelation of God: it does not pretend to have been. It is not divine: it has no inspired Scripture at its back.’” CONCLUSION: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:1-4).
UN SPENDS $100 MILLION A YEAR AGAINST ISRAEL (Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2026, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from, “UN Spends,” World Israel News, Dec. 24, 2025: “Israel’s envoy to the United Nations blasted the international body this week, accusing the UN of spending roughly $100 million per year to investigate and vilify the State of Israel, and to fund various activities hostile to the Jewish state. In a video statement on Monday, Danon teased the release of an analysis of the proposed 2026 United Nations budget, showing that the UN has allocated some $100 million for investigations of Israel, ‘incitement’ against Israel, and other programs hostile to the country. ... ‘Instead of obsessively dealing with Israel, I would suggest that the UN invest the money where it is really needed, like humanitarian crises or in the global fight against terrorism. But until that happens, we will continue to push back against the machine of lies and incitement and fight for the truth here, in the corridors of the UN.’ ... ‘The UN will also allocate about $80 million this year to UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East], an organization that has for years been a hotbed of terrorism,’ Danon said.”
NEARLY 80,000 JEWS VISITED THE TEMPLE MOUNT IN 2025 (Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2026, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Israel365News, Jan. 2, 2026: “In 2025, 76,448 Jews ascended to the Temple Mount--Judaism’s holiest site--shattering all previous records. This represents a 31% increase over 2024 and marks the continuation of a decade-long surge that has seen Jewish presence at the site [increase] more than sevenfold since 2015, when only 10,700 Jews made the ascent. ... The transformation extends beyond mere statistics. What was once the practice of a small, dedicated group has become a movement spanning Israeli society. ... Jews from every background--ultra-Orthodox to entirely secular--are reconnecting with the place where two Temples once stood, where Abraham bound Isaac, where Solomon built his sanctuary, and where Jewish sovereignty was centered for a thousand years. ... During 2025, Jews openly used siddurim—Jewish prayer books—on the Temple Mount, reclaiming their right to worship at the site where their ancestors brought offerings and sang psalms. ... The Israeli government, however, continues to impose severe restrictions on Jewish religious expression at the site. During 2025, 202 Jews received administrative bans from the Temple Mount following prayer or suspicion of prayer--compared to 109 in 2024, 85 in 2023, and 52 in 2022.”
AI SLOP: MASSIVE AUDIENCES, EMPTY MINDS, BIG BUCKS (Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2026, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “YouTube shovels AI slop,” Breitbart, Jan. 1, 2026: “Low-quality AI-generated content is saturating YouTube, generating an estimated $117 million in revenue annually, according to new research. The study found that more than 20 percent of the videos shown to new users on the platform fall into the category of low effort posts popularly known as ‘AI slop,’ with many channels posting content aimed at children. The Guardian reports that a study conducted by video-editing company Kapwing has revealed that more than 20 percent of the videos recommended to new YouTube users are ‘AI slop’--low-quality, AI-generated content designed to garner views and monetize attention. ... Collectively, these AI slop channels have accumulated over 63 billion views and 221 million subscribers, generating approximately $117 million in yearly revenue. When the researchers created a new YouTube account, they found that 104 of the first 500 recommended videos were AI slop, while one-third of the content fell under the ‘brainrot’ category, which includes both AI slop and other low-quality, attention-grabbing videos. ... In Spain, nearly half the country’s population--20 million people--follow trending AI channels. Egypt has 18 million followers of AI channels, while the United States and Brazil have 14.5 million and 13.5 million followers, respectively. Bandar Apna Dost, an India-based channel featuring bizarre adventures of an anthropomorphic monkey and a Hulk-like character, is the most-viewed channel in the study with 2.4 billion views. Pouty Frenchie, a Singapore-based channel seemingly targeting children with its absurd storylines, has amassed 2 billion views. Meanwhile, Cuentos Facinantes, a U.S.-based channel with cartoon content aimed at children, has the highest subscriber count in the study at 6.65 million. The AI slop industry is a growing, semi-structured ecosystem of creators exchanging tips and ideas on platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, and Discord to monetize the world’s most powerful social media platforms using AI tools.”
51% OF CHILDREN 8 AND UNDER HAVE MOBILE DEVICES (Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Every church that is not dealing aggressively and effectively with the issue of the internet and the smartphone is a church that is on the path of moral destruction. We recommend The Pornographic Age and Victory in Christ, available from www.wayoflife.org. The following is excerpted from “Even the future king discovers smartphones are a royal pain for kids and parents,” Fox News, Dec. 7, 2025: “Prince William--one of the most recognizable figures in the world--recently revealed that keeping smartphones out of the hands of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis has become a ‘tense issue,’ sharing in a recent interview that ‘children can access too much stuff they don’t need to see online.’ He added that they instead spend time jumping on the trampoline, playing sports and trying to learn musical instruments. It’s a reminder that no matter one’s status or position, every parent today faces the same challenge: how to protect childhood in the age of constant connection. ... Interestingly, some of the world’s top tech leaders--industry titans who helped create the devices and platforms shaping our digital lives--have also kept them away from their kids. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates banned phones at the dinner table and didn’t allow his children to have their own until age 14. Apple’s Steve Jobs famously limited his children’s screen time and denied them unrestricted iPad access. Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki gave her children phones only under controlled circumstances and took them away on vacations. Even billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has said his kids live with strict tech limits. ... Ninety-five percent of teens today have access to a smartphone, and nearly half say they’re online ‘almost constantly.’ ... Children are accessing devices at younger ages. A 2025 Common Sense Media report found that 51% of children aged 8 and younger have a mobile device, spending nearly two and a half hours a day using screens--and for those aged 5-8, it’s nearly three and a half hours.”
COMPLEX ANT SOCIETY (Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, November 11, 2025: “Imagine a huge living creature covering about one square mile and made up of almost a third of a billion cells. Imagine each of those living cells being able to move about independently of the others. No, it’s not the plot of a new science fiction movie. Some scientists have suggested that ant colonies may be thought of as one large living organism. They suggest this because of the way individual members within ant colonies behave. Ant colonies have many kinds of members, each with its own specific task. The soldier ants in a colony have extra-large heads and heavy-duty jaws for fighting. Other ants are concerned only about finding and returning food. Still other workers do nothing but process and store food. Within the colony another caste of ants does nothing but tend the eggs. Others prepare the food for the larvae and deliver it to other specialized ants who do nothing but feed the next generation. If this sounds complex, imagine the largest known ant colony. This Japanese ant colony has an estimated 306 million worker ants, and more than a million queens. The colony occupies 45,000 interconnected underground nests that range over about a square mile! There is obviously intelligent design and control behind ant society--intelligence not found in ants or in nature itself. This intelligence comes from outside nature. Here is yet another witness that no concern of any living thing is too small for God’s complete attention!”
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).
UN SPENDS $100 MILLION A YEAR AGAINST ISRAEL (Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2026, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from, “UN Spends,” World Israel News, Dec. 24, 2025: “Israel’s envoy to the United Nations blasted the international body this week, accusing the UN of spending roughly $100 million per year to investigate and vilify the State of Israel, and to fund various activities hostile to the Jewish state. In a video statement on Monday, Danon teased the release of an analysis of the proposed 2026 United Nations budget, showing that the UN has allocated some $100 million for investigations of Israel, ‘incitement’ against Israel, and other programs hostile to the country. ... ‘Instead of obsessively dealing with Israel, I would suggest that the UN invest the money where it is really needed, like humanitarian crises or in the global fight against terrorism. But until that happens, we will continue to push back against the machine of lies and incitement and fight for the truth here, in the corridors of the UN.’ ... ‘The UN will also allocate about $80 million this year to UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East], an organization that has for years been a hotbed of terrorism,’ Danon said.”
NEARLY 80,000 JEWS VISITED THE TEMPLE MOUNT IN 2025 (Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2026, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from Israel365News, Jan. 2, 2026: “In 2025, 76,448 Jews ascended to the Temple Mount--Judaism’s holiest site--shattering all previous records. This represents a 31% increase over 2024 and marks the continuation of a decade-long surge that has seen Jewish presence at the site [increase] more than sevenfold since 2015, when only 10,700 Jews made the ascent. ... The transformation extends beyond mere statistics. What was once the practice of a small, dedicated group has become a movement spanning Israeli society. ... Jews from every background--ultra-Orthodox to entirely secular--are reconnecting with the place where two Temples once stood, where Abraham bound Isaac, where Solomon built his sanctuary, and where Jewish sovereignty was centered for a thousand years. ... During 2025, Jews openly used siddurim—Jewish prayer books—on the Temple Mount, reclaiming their right to worship at the site where their ancestors brought offerings and sang psalms. ... The Israeli government, however, continues to impose severe restrictions on Jewish religious expression at the site. During 2025, 202 Jews received administrative bans from the Temple Mount following prayer or suspicion of prayer--compared to 109 in 2024, 85 in 2023, and 52 in 2022.”
AI SLOP: MASSIVE AUDIENCES, EMPTY MINDS, BIG BUCKS (Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2026, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is excerpted from “YouTube shovels AI slop,” Breitbart, Jan. 1, 2026: “Low-quality AI-generated content is saturating YouTube, generating an estimated $117 million in revenue annually, according to new research. The study found that more than 20 percent of the videos shown to new users on the platform fall into the category of low effort posts popularly known as ‘AI slop,’ with many channels posting content aimed at children. The Guardian reports that a study conducted by video-editing company Kapwing has revealed that more than 20 percent of the videos recommended to new YouTube users are ‘AI slop’--low-quality, AI-generated content designed to garner views and monetize attention. ... Collectively, these AI slop channels have accumulated over 63 billion views and 221 million subscribers, generating approximately $117 million in yearly revenue. When the researchers created a new YouTube account, they found that 104 of the first 500 recommended videos were AI slop, while one-third of the content fell under the ‘brainrot’ category, which includes both AI slop and other low-quality, attention-grabbing videos. ... In Spain, nearly half the country’s population--20 million people--follow trending AI channels. Egypt has 18 million followers of AI channels, while the United States and Brazil have 14.5 million and 13.5 million followers, respectively. Bandar Apna Dost, an India-based channel featuring bizarre adventures of an anthropomorphic monkey and a Hulk-like character, is the most-viewed channel in the study with 2.4 billion views. Pouty Frenchie, a Singapore-based channel seemingly targeting children with its absurd storylines, has amassed 2 billion views. Meanwhile, Cuentos Facinantes, a U.S.-based channel with cartoon content aimed at children, has the highest subscriber count in the study at 6.65 million. The AI slop industry is a growing, semi-structured ecosystem of creators exchanging tips and ideas on platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, and Discord to monetize the world’s most powerful social media platforms using AI tools.”
51% OF CHILDREN 8 AND UNDER HAVE MOBILE DEVICES (Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - Every church that is not dealing aggressively and effectively with the issue of the internet and the smartphone is a church that is on the path of moral destruction. We recommend The Pornographic Age and Victory in Christ, available from www.wayoflife.org. The following is excerpted from “Even the future king discovers smartphones are a royal pain for kids and parents,” Fox News, Dec. 7, 2025: “Prince William--one of the most recognizable figures in the world--recently revealed that keeping smartphones out of the hands of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis has become a ‘tense issue,’ sharing in a recent interview that ‘children can access too much stuff they don’t need to see online.’ He added that they instead spend time jumping on the trampoline, playing sports and trying to learn musical instruments. It’s a reminder that no matter one’s status or position, every parent today faces the same challenge: how to protect childhood in the age of constant connection. ... Interestingly, some of the world’s top tech leaders--industry titans who helped create the devices and platforms shaping our digital lives--have also kept them away from their kids. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates banned phones at the dinner table and didn’t allow his children to have their own until age 14. Apple’s Steve Jobs famously limited his children’s screen time and denied them unrestricted iPad access. Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki gave her children phones only under controlled circumstances and took them away on vacations. Even billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has said his kids live with strict tech limits. ... Ninety-five percent of teens today have access to a smartphone, and nearly half say they’re online ‘almost constantly.’ ... Children are accessing devices at younger ages. A 2025 Common Sense Media report found that 51% of children aged 8 and younger have a mobile device, spending nearly two and a half hours a day using screens--and for those aged 5-8, it’s nearly three and a half hours.”
COMPLEX ANT SOCIETY (Friday Church News Notes, January 9, 2026, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - The following is from CreationMoments.com, November 11, 2025: “Imagine a huge living creature covering about one square mile and made up of almost a third of a billion cells. Imagine each of those living cells being able to move about independently of the others. No, it’s not the plot of a new science fiction movie. Some scientists have suggested that ant colonies may be thought of as one large living organism. They suggest this because of the way individual members within ant colonies behave. Ant colonies have many kinds of members, each with its own specific task. The soldier ants in a colony have extra-large heads and heavy-duty jaws for fighting. Other ants are concerned only about finding and returning food. Still other workers do nothing but process and store food. Within the colony another caste of ants does nothing but tend the eggs. Others prepare the food for the larvae and deliver it to other specialized ants who do nothing but feed the next generation. If this sounds complex, imagine the largest known ant colony. This Japanese ant colony has an estimated 306 million worker ants, and more than a million queens. The colony occupies 45,000 interconnected underground nests that range over about a square mile! There is obviously intelligent design and control behind ant society--intelligence not found in ants or in nature itself. This intelligence comes from outside nature. Here is yet another witness that no concern of any living thing is too small for God’s complete attention!”
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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