The full 11th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Thursday to hear a case involving a former Congresswoman’s conviction on fraud and a juror who was dismissed for saying he had received guidance from the Holy Spirit on the verdict.

Former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown was convicted in 2017 on 18 counts of conspiracy, mail and wire fraud and tax charges. She appealed the case, saying the judge had improperly dismissed a male juror, Juror No. 13, who had said he received guidance from the Holy Spirit on the case.

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit in January this year upheld her conviction in a 2-1 decision, but on Thursday the full 11th Circuit vacated that ruling and agreed to hear her case. Eleven judges serve on the court.

First Liberty Institute, a religious freedom legal organization, applauded the full 11th Circuit for taking the case.

“Dismissing a deliberating juror for believing prayer is effective denies the noble and civic duty to serve as a juror to hundreds of millions of Americans who seek divine guidance through prayer,” said Lea Patterson, counsel for First Liberty. “How is it possible that we demand a juror take an oath invoking God’s aid in rendering a verdict but then dismiss that same juror for taking that oath seriously? If this decision stands millions of Americans are disqualified from fulfilling their civic duty as jurors simply because…

Los Angeles County health officials are asking a state judge to hold Grace Community Church and Pastor John MacArthur in contempt for holding indoor services after a court prohibited them from doing so.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff issued an injunction Sept. 10 that upheld the county’s ban on indoor worship and prevented the church from meeting, but three days later Grace Community defied the order and met anyway.

The county’s health officials want Beckloff to hold the church and its pastor in contempt of court, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. Each could face a $3,000 fine for a total of $6,000. The county says around 3,000 people attended the indoor service. It also says the church had an outdoor service on Sept. 13 without masks being required and without social distancing.

Beckloff on Thursday said he will decide at a later date whether to hold the church in contempt. The next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 13, the Daily News said.

Grace Community says it has a constitutional right to worship indoors.

In his Sept 10 injunction, Beckloff said the county’s restrictions on indoor church services is necessary for public health.

“The court finds the balance of harms tips in favor of the County,” Beckloff wrote. “The potential consequences of community spread of COVID-19 and concomitant risk of death to members of the community – associated and…

Evangelist Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of the late Rev. Billy Graham, is calling the nation to repentance in light of its continual moral decline and rejection of God.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Lotz explained how God has been gradually erased in society and how it will result in divine judgment, as seen in Romans 1.

“When you do that, God just backs away,” Lotz asserted.

“God gives us over to ourselves, and I believe that is where we are right now; it really is the judgment of God,” she continued. “America has a window of opportunity to return to the Lord, but it’s just a window, and it’s going to close. We’re going to find our nation without God, and without Him, we don’t have His protection, we don’t have His wisdom.”

She continued, “If we’re not careful, we’re going to totally lose our way. America will become unrecognizable. The world is a very dangerous place right now. We desperately need God.”

On Saturday, Lotz will be partaking in The Return, a national and global prayer event at the National Mall in Washington D.C.

Messianic Pastor and best-selling author Jonathan Cahn will be leading the event which will also be streamed live in over 90 languages. Leaders from over 150 nations are expected to participate in the event. Among those participating are Dr. James Dobson, Pat Robertson, Mike Lindell, Alveda King, Kevin…

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — Danny Chambers, a Nashville-based worship leader and pastor who was well known in charismatic Christian circles, has died.

Chambers’ death was announced by his wife, Jillian Chambers, on Instagram Wednesday (Sept. 23).

“May the Rain of Your presence fall as we mourn the passing of my best friend, Danny Chambers,” she wrote. “I know many of you have heard that he is now in the arms of Jesus. The earth will feel a great void but Heaven is rejoicing.”

Chambers, known for his worship songs “Let the Rain of Your Presence” and “I Will Bow Down and Worship,” was the longtime pastor of Oasis Church in Nashville, now known as Citipointe Church, Nashville.

“As you can imagine, the past 24 hours have been difficult for all of us here on staff as we are all mourning the passing, as many are, of our former pastor, Danny Chambers. Our hearts go out to the Chambers family. Please keep them in your prayers,” a notice on the church’s Facebook page stated.

News of Chamber’s death spread on social media.

“Very sorry to hear that Danny Chambers passed away today in Nashville,” wrote Lee Grady, former editor of . magazine, on Twitter. “He was a gifted worship artist who made some amazing albums. His recording of ‘All Consuming Fire’ was my favorite. Pray for his wife and family.”

Christian musician Russ Taff also mourned his friend on…

The twin brothers made famous on YouTube for the “First Time Hearing” reaction videos are thanking God for being able to buy a car.

According to Faithwire, Fred and Tim Williams gained fans after posting a video of themselves listening to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” for the first time.

“I never thought we’d get this big, but we’re doing this to show people that it’s ok to listen to different types of music,” Tim said in an interview in August.

This week, Tim Williams posted a vlog update saying that he had been praying for a car for “forever.” He bought a Dodge Challenger.

“I thank God for the opportunity I have to get this car,” Williams said. “It’s only God willing I’m able to even get this car. I appreciate the fan-love support, but God always first for everything. I’ve been praying for this forever, like for real. It’s just a dream come true, man.”

The mother of the boys, Tiffany King-Richardson, said in an interview with The U.S. Sun that she is proud of her sons. King-Richardson said she struggled with drug addiction and spent two years in prison.

“The boys were nine when I went to prison and 11 when I came out,” she said.

Today, she is an addiction recovery coach and mentor.

She said when her son Tim wanted to drop out of college to produce YouTube videos, she was doubtful.

“I said to him: ‘How are you going to earn a living…

(RNS) — People who identify as highly spiritual are more likely to say it’s important to make a difference in their communities and contribute to the greater good, a broad new study on American spirituality finds.

The study, “What Does Spirituality Mean to Us?,” found that 86 percent of Americans identify as spiritual to some extent. It also found that the more people define their spirituality through connection — to a higher power or to humanity at large — the more likely they are to volunteer, donate and vote.

Funded by the Kalamazoo, Michigan, Fetzer Institute, whose mission is to build a spiritual foundation for a loving world, the study included a nationally representative survey of 3,609 people, as well as 16 focus groups that met in 2018 and 2019. All the research was done before the coronavirus pandemic. (Fetzer is a past funder of Religion News Service projects.)

“What the Fetzer study has uncovered is how much people are talking about connection when they talk about spirituality — connection between the inner and outer world and with others in community,” said Omar M. McRoberts, a professor of sociology at the University of Chicago and an adviser to the study. “Spirituality is not a solipsistic endeavor where it’s just about individual experience or elevation.”

Still, only 45% of respondents said spirituality influences their political views; 36% said…