Thieves Use Prayer to Steal Cash,Credit Cards From Supermarket Shoppers

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Thieves Use Prayer to Steal Cash,Credit Cards From Supermarket Shoppers

Police in the Northwest suburbs of Atlanta are on the lookout for a two-women tandem that has used the allusion of prayer to distract and steal from gullible supermarket shoppers, who leave their personal items inside their cart.

The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office posted an alert bulletin on Monday to its Facebook page warning local shoppers throughout the Atlanta metro area to be wary of friendly strangers in stores who start up conversation and then offer to lead in prayer, claiming to try and help solve a shopper’s personal problems.

The police alert states that a team of two women are carrying out a prayer distraction scam on unsuspecting shoppers at local stores in the tri-county area. The scam entails one of the women distracting a shopper by sparking up a conversation that ultimately leads to the targeted victim bowing her head as the woman leads in prayer, while the partner sneaks up and swipes the shopper’s credit cards, cash and other valuable personal items that are sitting in the cart as the shopper is distracted.

Police have surveillance footage of one instance where the scammers struck at a Walmart in Hiram, Georgia. There, they made their move of talking, praying and stealing credit cards and cash from a woman’s purse, which was in her shopping cart.

“A female suspect usually strikes up conversation with a female patron in the store. After a few minutes, the suspect then asks the patron to pray with them. Once the patron bows their head, another female suspect comes in and steals that person’s cash and credit card out of their purse,” the police alert explains. “This is happening at stores all across the metro Atlanta area and has occurred at the Hiram Wal-Mart.”

As Atlanta’s news channel 2, WSB-TV, reports, the clarity in Walmart’s surveillance video has helped police to identify the women they believe have been orchestrating the prayer scam. The scammers are believed to be Shayla Sutherland and Jessica Pina.

Investigators will meet on Tuesday to map out the locations where the two are said to have also conducted distraction thefts. Police believe the same scammers struck in various stores spanning across three Georgia counties directly to the Northwest of Atlanta: Cobb, Douglas and Paulding.

“I work hard for all I get and when people think they can just take it, it’s unbelievable,” shopper Mercedes Shropshire told WSB-TV.

Source and Original Content by CP

Damita’s New Husband Reveals Recent Arrest

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Damita’s New Husband Reveals Recent Arrest

Reuben Chandler, 37, the husband of Deitrick Haddon’s ex-wife, Damita Haddon (now Chandler), is known for his lengthy diatribes on social media.

This time, he has made himself the topic of conversation, revealing his own recent arrest.

In a December 13 Facebook post, Chandler attached his official mug shot, captioning the photo, “Lol. Hey. It happens!! Lol,” adding the hashtag, “‪#‎StillWinning”.

According to Hillsborough County, Florida Sheriff’s Office, the CEO of REDD photography was booked September 13, 2014 on a “contempt of court” charge…Read More

Source and Original Content by BCNN1

Christian Faithfuls Defend Atlanta Fire Chief After He Was Suspended for Views on Sexuality

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Christian Faithfuls Defend Atlanta Fire Chief After He Was Suspended for Views on Sexuality

Georgia Baptist Convention leaders are rallying to defend Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran, who has been suspended without pay for a month and ordered to undergo sensitivity training over a book he wrote that upholds a biblical view of sexuality.

Cochran is a deacon, Sunday School teacher and Bible study leader at Atlanta’s Elizabeth Baptist Church, which is affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention.

A two-time Atlanta fire chief, Cochran also served as U.S. Fire Administrator under President Obama from 2009-10.

J. Robert White, executive director of the Georgia convention, said in a news release issued by the GBC Public Affairs Committee, “It is time for believers to stand up for their religious beliefs, biblical principles and fellow Christians who are punished or marginalized for their faith.” White affirmed the Public Affairs Committee for its “call to action for all fellow believers to take a stand.”

The news release called on Christians and people of faith across Georgia to:

— sign a petition in behalf of Cochran at http://gabaptist.org/petition on the Georgia Baptist Convention’s website;

— support Cochran by purchasing his book on Amazon, “Who Told You That You Are Naked?” which is at the center of the firestorm; and

— enlist as many churches and believers as possible to contact Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to reverse his actions against Cochran.

To the mayor, the Georgia Baptist committee called on Reed to:

“– Acknowledge Chief Cochran’s First Amendment Rights,

“– Make a public apology for the suspension and grief it has caused the Chief and his family, and

“– Restore Chief Cochran’s pay and reputation as an honorable Fire Chief.”

Reed suspended Cochran over such passages in the chief’s 162-page self-published book as a definition of uncleanness being the “opposite of purity; including sodomy, homosexuality, lesbianism, pederasty, bestiality, and all other forms of sexual perversion.”

Cochran’s book stemmed from a series of men’s studies at Elizabeth Baptist Church titled “A Quest for Authentic Manhood…Read More

Source and Original Content by BCNN1

Franklin Graham Says “War on Christmas Is All Over the Country”

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Franklin Graham Says “War on Christmas Is All Over the Country”

Franklin Graham went on Fox News’ Kelly File last night to talk about the country’s growing trend of taking Christ out of Christmas.

“It’s all over the country. You have the secularists and humanists who are wanting to take Jesus Christ out of His birthday and they’re wanting to deny He ever existed and take His name off everything,” Franklin Graham said.

“And that’s what’s happened. This has infiltrated now our government. Our government is now attacking Christmas. Not only attacking Christmas but the name of Christ.”

The show host Megyn Kelly cited example after example of society attacking Christmas, including a Minnesota courthouse banning red poinsettias because someone claimed it a Christian symbol and the largest school district in Maryland voting to strip religious holidays after Muslim leaders complained.

“That’s the world at which we live. I think we as Christians, not that we fight back, but that we stand up and let our voices be heard,” Franklin Graham said.

“I think it’s time that Christians write their politicians and stand up to defend their rights because if you don’t, we’ll lose them…Read More

Source and Original Content by BCNN1

Court Set to give Ruling for Catholic Midwives in Abortion Case

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Court Set to give Ruling for Catholic Midwives in Abortion Case

The UK’s highest court will say today whether two Catholic midwives have a right to reject any involvement in abortion procedures.

A health authority challenged a previous appeal at the Court of Session in Edinburgh last year which found Mary Doogan and Connie Wood are legally entitled to be conscientious objectors to the process.

Five justices have been considering the appeal by Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS.

It centres on the limits of the Abortion Act 1967, which says that “no person shall be under any duty … to participate in any treatment authorised by this Act to which he has a conscientious objection”.

But the court is deciding whether this means the Catholics can also refuse to supervise staff that is caring for women after the termination.

The health board has accepted that the women would have no role in abortions because of their faith but they want that to go further so they do not have to delegate, supervise and support staff involved in treating women who are having abortions.

Both women were working at Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital when the case was first launched several years ago.

Source and Original Content by Premier Christian Radio

Stolen Church Artwork raises £23m for IS

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Stolen Church Artwork raises £23m for IS

Sales of stolen pieces of art work from churches in Iraq and Syria is the fourth largest source of income for Islamic State.

It’s estimated that the militant group makes at least £23m from the artefacts it is taking from churches as it takes control of large parts of the Middle East.

Former Deputy Director of Europol, Professor Dr Willy Bruggeman, told Premier the militants were causing ‘irreparable damage’ to Christianity in Iraq and Syria.

He said the sale of artefacts is ‘booming’ and that IS has no problem selling the pieces on.

It’s ‘part of a broader process of genocide or ethnic cleansing,’ Prof Bruggeman said, explaining that the group didn’t just want rid of the people but also any other trace of their religion.

“It’s to kill the identity of the people they are fighting, those who do not agree with Islam, archaeological objects are part of their culture so they want to destroy these objects,” he said.

He was speaking at a meeting of a cross party group of MPs who were trying to find a way to cut down on the trafficking of art work.

The All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief was highlighting the destruction of cultural heritage in Syria and Iraq.

Professor Bruggeman added that being able to sell the precious art was vital to Islamic State: “They have to buy weapons, they have to undertake organisation for the fighting units.

“So, that takes a lot of money.”

Walk of Truth is an organisation trying to stop the trafficking of artefacts.

Founder Tasoula Hadjitofi told Premier Islamic State will keep stealing the pieces until the demand stops.

“We need to bring to justice people who deliberately destruct the cultural heritage of the other.

“We need to set up a code of conduct for the auction houses and we should look at our own moral compass and decide what we should and shouldn’t buy.”

She also called for people who had bought stolen art work to return it so it can be taken back to the Middle East when the fighting is over.

Source and Original Content by Premier CHristian Radio

Church Of England Selects First Woman Bishop

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Church Of England Selects First Woman Bishop

The Church of England has chosen its first female bishop.

It’s understood a woman will take the Bishop of Stockport role just a month since canon law was changed to allow females into the top jobs.

The appointment will be made later today.

It’s unknown who the bishop will be although there are a number of favourites to take the position.

The Bishop of Stockport is a junior post, or a suffragan, within the Diocese of Chester.

That means any new bishop there will not be eligible for a place in the House of Lords, despite an expected change in the law that will see woman fast tracked.

Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg will announce legislation meaning female bishops will go to the front of a 10 year queue for a seat in the upper chamber.

Previously the Archbishop of Canterbury, Most Revd Justin Welby, said the church was starting “a completely new phase of our existence”.

Speaking after the vote, he said: “It has taken a very, very long time and the way is now open to select people for the episcopacy, to nominate them on the basis simply of our sense that they are called by God to be in that position without qualification as to their gender.”

Source and Original Content by Premier Christian Radio

Pastor Writes Heartbreaking Christmas Letter From Iranian Prison

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Pastor Writes Heartbreaking Christmas Letter From Iranian Prison

American Pastor Saeed Abedini—a U.S. citizen imprisoned for his Christian faith—has written a heartbreaking letter from his prison cell.

He talks about both the difficulty of spending Christmas trapped in a cold dark prison cell and how his faith in Christ is carrying him through this difficult time.

He writes:

These days are very cold here. My small space beside the window is without glass, making most nights unbearable to sleep. The treatment by fellow prisoners is also quite cold and at times hostile. Some of my fellow prisoners don’t like me because I am a convert and a pastor. They look at me with shame as someone who has betrayed his former religion. The guards can’t even stand the paper cross that I have made and hung next to me as a sign of my faith and in anticipation of celebrating my Savior’s birth. They have threatened me and forced me to remove it. This is the first Christmas that I am completely without my family; all of my family is presently outside of the country. These conditions have made this upcoming Christmas season very hard, cold and shattering for me. It appears that I am alone with no one left beside me.

But he also wrote what Christmas means to him in the midst of this turmoil:

Christmas means that God came so that He would enter your hearts today and transform your lives and to replace your pain with indescribable joy. …

The same way that the heat from the earth’s core melts the hard stones in itself and produces lava, the fiery love of God, Jesus Christ, through the virgin Mary’s womb came to earth on Christmas to melt the hard heart of sin and wickedness of the world and removes them from our life.

The letter was sent to a family member. It was just last week that a relative was able to visit him, the first time a family member has been able to visit him in well over a month. He remains in need of medical care, suffering from increased pain from internal injuries sustained as a result of multiple prison beatings throughout the course of more than two years in a harsh Iranian prison.

Yet even in the darkest of circumstances the light of Christ shines through. He concluded his message with this charge to everyone who reads his words: “So this Christmas let the lava-like love of Christ enter into the depth of your heart and make you fiery, ready to pay any cost in order to bring the same lava love to the cold world around you, transforming them with the true message of Christmas… Read More

Source and Original Content by Charisma News

Videdo of World’s Largest Nativity Gets Over 1.7 Million Hits in 4 Days

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Videdo of World’s Largest Nativity Gets Over 1.7 Million Hits in 4 Days

A Christmas-themed music video posted on YouTube featuring the Guinness World Record holder for largest living nativity has garnered over 1.7 million views in less than a week.

Posted by The Piano Guys on Friday, the music video features the living Nativity scene held earlier this month at Provo, Utah, that had over 1,000 participants.

Featuring a hymn fusing the two carols “Angels from the Realms of Glory” and “Angels We Have Heard On High,” the video has garnered more than 1.7 million views, over 56,000 likes, and more than 3,200 comments as of Tuesday morning.

The Christmas carol was performed by The Piano Guys, along with singer-songwriter Peter Hollens and former American Idol contestant David Archuleta.

Earlier this month, organizers gathered at the Rock Canyon Park in the city of Provo from 2 to 8 p.m. MST to break the record for largest living Nativity scene.

With a tally of 1,039 participants, the Provo display successfully broke the record previously held by Lancashire in the United Kingdom in December 2013; 898 volunteers took part for that attempt.

John Dye, one of the organizers for the Provo nativity, told The Christian Post in an earlier interview that the success of the living nativity was “nothing short of a miracle.”

“We felt in many instances that we had help from above. A week prior, the forecast was showing a 60% chance of rain — which would have been catastrophic for a production of this nature. But the shoot day was sunny and clear,” said Dye.

“It amazed us that people — on incredibly short notice — were willing to change any plans they may have previously had during this busy holiday season to stand in long lines, and be willing to come dressed up as angels and take direction for 5-7 hours in the cold to help break the record and shoot the video.”

Source and Original Content by CP

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to Release New Documentary About Louis Zamperini on Dec 25

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Billy Graham Evangelistic Association to Release New Documentary About Louis Zamperini on Dec 25

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will release a new documentary film on Dec. 25 called Louis Zamperini: Captured by Grace. Zamperini is also the subject of Universal Pictures’ Unbroken, the movie based on the best-selling book of the same name by Laura Hillenbrand.

Captured by Grace is a compelling, documentary-style film that chronicles Zamperini’s remarkable journey – from Olympic runner to WWII prisoner of war – all the way to his return home and encounter with Jesus Christ at a Billy Graham Crusade in Los Angeles in 1949. The film includes recent interview footage of Zamperini sharing his complete story in his own words.

“I started to leave the tent meeting, and I felt awful guilty about my life,” Zamperini says about his experience at the 1949 Billy Graham Crusade held in a constructed tent on the corner of Washington and Hill streets in Los Angeles. “Yes, I had a lot of great times, a lot of great experience, a lot of escape from death, but I still didn’t like my life after the war. I came home alive. God kept His promise. I didn’t keep mine, and so I went forward and accepted Christ.”

“The heart of this story is when I found Christ as my Savior,” Zamperini continues. “That’s the heart of my whole life.”

Captured by Grace can be viewed online starting Dec. 25, and will be available via DVD as an offer of appreciation with any contribution to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. For more information, to watch a short trailer for the film, or preorder a copy, visit www.billygraham.org/unbroken.

Zamperini, who passed away earlier this year, visited Billy Graham in June of 2011 at his home in Montreat, N.C. At age 94, he also visited the Billy Graham Library where he signed copies of the New York Times bestseller Unbroken and greeted many WWII veterans. Up until his passing, Zamperini was an inspirational speaker and shared his life-changing testimony at several of Graham’s Crusades, including San Francisco (1958) and Los Angeles (1963).

This coming New Year’s Day, Will Graham, at the request of the City of Torrance, will represent his grandfather Billy Graham at the 126th Rose Parade on Zamperini’s hometown float. The parade’s theme for 2015 is “Inspiring Stories.” Zamperini was selected earlier this year to be the Grand Marshall of the annual event, and despite his passing, the Tournament of Roses Committee decided to use the opportunity to honor his life.

About BGEA
The BGEA proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world by every effective means available. For more information, please visit www.billygraham.org. Get news updates on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/BGEAnews.

Source and Original Content by BCNN1

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