City Turned off Grandma’s Mic When She Read Christmas Story at Christmas Festival
City officials in Kitchener, Ontario, are being criticized after they ordered the microphone shut off at a Christmas festival when a grandmother began reciting the Christmas story from Matthew 1.
The grandmother was from Trinity Bible Chapel, a congregation that was invited by the city last year and was invited back this year to take part in the Christkindl Market festival in front of City Hall.
The church’s worship team sang several songs. But when the grandmother began reading Matthew 1:18-25 in the German language — “Christkindl” is German for “Christ child” — organizers cut off her mic.
“Not only that, background music was played through the speakers to seemingly drown out her voice and embarrass her,” Trinity Bible Chapel associate pastor Will Schuurman wrote on a church blog. The church performed the same program last year.
It is ironic, the church said, that “about 15 feet from the main stage was a nativity scene set up by the City of Kitchener … pointing to the birth of Christ.”
The city did not set parameters on what could be said, the church added.
The city told CTV that “in its 22 year history” Christkindl “has never had scripture or sermons as part of its scheduled programming.”
The event organizers told church officials that if they continued reading the Bible or preaching from it, “they…
Rt Rev Peter Forster, who’s sitting in the House of Lords this week, is worried the proposals don’t go far enough.
It’s been confirmed age checks will not apply to all online pornography fuelling fears at Westminster that children will still stumble across explicit content.
The verification regime aimed at denying access to under-18s, due to come into force next Easter, will not cover social media sites, such as Twitter, which could host user-generated adult material.
Free sites, where pornography makes up less than a third of overall content, will also be exempt, peers heard.
The House of Lords were debating regulations that will introduce the first system of its kind in the world, requiring commercial pornographic websites to have “robust age verification controls” in place to prevent children accessing explicit material.
But a number of members raised concerns over the limitations of the scheme and the Government has conceded it is “not a complete answer” to the problem.
Speaking in the debate, the bishop said: “My main concern is in relation to access to pornography on websites which don’t charge for access.
“Provided their pornographic content is limited to one third of their total content, they are exempted from these regulations.”
He said: “What’s the rationale for choosing one third and not, say, 10%?
Israeli Prime Minister Warns Hezbollah Terrorists Not to Interfere with Destruction of Their Tunnels
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Hezbollah that the terrorist group “will be hit” if the group’s actions continue.
“Our deployment is ready for a strong response if Hezbollah make a big mistake and decide to harm us or to resist to the operation we are conducting. They [Hezbollah] will be hit in such a way that they cannot even imagine,” he said.
Netanyahu’s comments came after Israel Defense Forces found a third cross-tunnel from Lebanon into Israel. The IDF had been destroying the terrorist-dug tunnels.
“The route, like the rest of the tunnels, is under IDF control and anyone who enters it on the Lebanese side endangers their life,” read a statement released by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.
Israel says the tunnels violate a U.N. resolution. As part of Operation Northern Shield, IDF is currently searching for and then destroying the tunnels. IDF says there is other tunnels, but because of military concerns, cannot release the number, according to The Times of Israel.
A Hezbollah leader also said this week “there is not a single point in the occupied territories (Israel) out of reach of Hezbollah’s missiles.”
“The Zionists cannot tolerate such a high level of threats in confrontation with Hezbollah, which is why they have no motive for entering another war with Lebanon,” said Sheikh Naim…
The MP for South-west Devon told Premier it was a “crazy” time for attempting to hold a leadership election.
He said he had confidence in Theresa May’s Brexit deal once the issues around the back stop for the Northern Ireland/Republic of Ireland border have been tweaked.
His comments come as Theresa May vows to fight an effort to oust her as Conservative leader “with everything I’ve got”.
In a dramatic early morning statement outside the door to 10 Downing Street, Mrs May warned a change of Prime Minister would put the UK’s future at risk and could delay or halt Brexit.
She insisted she would stay on to “finish the job” she has set herself as Prime Minister.
Mrs May’s statement came about an hour after it was confirmed the chairman of the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady, had received the 48 letters of no confidence from Tory MPs required to trigger a ballot on the leadership.
Speaking on Premier’s News Hour, Streeter suggested the 48 letters which were needed to trigger the ballot represents a small fraction of Conservative MPs.
He said: “It’s 15 per cent of the Conservative parliamentary party, which basically means that 85 per cent of did not want this challenge to happen.
“I think a substantial majority this evening will vote in her favour.”
He said he hoped that progress on the back stop would be made at Thursday’s European summit:”At that…
(RNS) — After a tense standoff with officials at the U.S.-Mexico border on Monday (Dec. 10), at least 30 American clergy were taken into custody over the objections of demonstrators, who had come to protest the treatment of Central American asylum-seekers and to decry the extension of a border wall and the militarization of the border.
Priests, pastors, imams and rabbis knelt at the border south of San Diego in front of a row of U.S. Border Patrol agents clad in riot gear. Organizers said 30 faith leaders were arrested, but a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official put the number at 32.
CBP said most were charged with failing to comply with directions from federal officials and then released, but one was charged with assaulting or resisting an agent — a charge the protesters already dispute.
The “Love Knows No Borders” demonstration was organized by the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group that assembled religious leaders from across the faith spectrum for the event. Participants said it was meant to express frustration about several border-related issues at once.
“It was about the militarization of the border, about the border wall itself and about calling for the rights of the migrant — particularly the migrant caravan,” said Lucy Duncan, an organizer and outreach director for the AFSC who was at the protest and was among those arrested.
“There were people there from all across the country from all faith traditions risking arrest and making a statement, saying this is not what our country stands for, this is not what…
Filipinos have for decades been calling for the return of the Bells of Balangiga which first hung in a Catholic church in the Spanish-colonized Philippines.
After the island nation came under US control, Filipino guerrilla fighters killed 48 US soldiers which motivated the troops to seek revenge.
American troops stole the bells and followed orders to turn the area into a “howling wilderness” by killing every male citizen age 10 or older.
Sung Kim, the American ambassador to the Philippine government, told the New York Times that he hoped the gesture will improve relations between the two nations.
“It has been a very long road home.
“Many Filipinos and Americans worked tirelessly for decades to make today possible.”
U.S. soldiers who survived a Filipino ambush in 1901 pose with a church bell used to signal the attack.
“Our relationship has withstood the tests of history and flourishes today.”
Relations with the US have been strained since Rodrigo Duterte was elected president and he forged closer ties with China and Russia.
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Open Heaven 13 December 2018 Thursday Daily Devotional by Pastor E. A. Adeboye – Year of Jubilee
Topic: Year of Jubilee (Open Heaven 13 December 2018)
Memorise: “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.”– Psalm 124:7
Read: Leviticus 25:10-13 (KJV)
10 And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.
11 A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed.
12 For it is the jubile; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field.
13 In the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession.
Bible in One Year: Daniel 11-12, John 11:1-27
Open Heaven 13 December 2018 Thursday MESSAGE:
The year of Jubilee is a year of liberation or freedom from oppression and servitude. The word “Jubilee” is derived from the Hebrew word jobel, meaning “ram’s horn”, because a ram’s horn is used as a trumpet to announce the beginning of the year of jubilee. It is a year when slaves are released and debts forgiven unconditionally, amongst the Israelites. Describing the tenets of this ordinance, Leviticus 25:39-41 says:
“39 And if thy brother that dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bondservant: 40 But as an hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall serve thee unto the year of jubile: 41 And then shall he depart from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return.”
Under the New Testament, we experience Jubilee when we surrender our lives to Jesus. An encounter with Jesus is the fulfillment of Jubilee in its fullness. He is our Kinsman-Redeemer who came to redeem us from the slavery which our spiritual poverty has imprison us in. The Spirit of life in Jesus Christ sets us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Jesus paid the price, repaid all our debts and freed us from every form of bondage we were under through His death on the cross and His resurrection on the third day after His death. Through His work of salvation, we have access to a rest that is found only in Him. For those who have not experienced this rest, Jesus is calling out to you today, saying:
“28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30
Whoever wants to experience genuine and complete freedom must come to Jesus Christ. He is the one who is able to grant all-round freedom: physically, spiritually and mentally. Beloved, if you are experiencing genuine Jubilee from the Lord, I congratulate you. However, if you know you are not experiencing complete freedom, today is the day of salvation. You need to decide today to surrender all that concerns you to Him and commit to living according to his will, and you will begin to experience the total freedom that He gives.
Open Heaven 13 December 2018 Thursday Prayer Point:
Father, I thank You for the freedom You have given me through Christ, please grant me grace to walk in this liberty forever in Jesus’ Name.
Open Heaven 13 December 2018 Thursday Hymn 3: What Can Wash Away My Sins?
1. What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Chorus:
Oh! precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
2. For my cleansing this I see, Nothing but the blood of Jesus; For my pardon this my plea, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
3. Nothing can for sin erase Nothing but the blood of Jesus; Naught of works, ‘tis all of grace, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
4. This is all my hope and peace, Nothing but the blood of Jesus; This is all my righteousness, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Open Heaven 13 December 2018 Thursday Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries. The Open Heavens devotional application is available across all mobile platforms and operating systems: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Nokia, Windows Mobile and PC. Open Heaven 13 December 2018 Thursday Daily Devotional.
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Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.
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Pope Francis to Approve New Wording of the Lord’s Prayer
Pope Francis is working on approving a newly translated version of the Lord’s Prayer.
According to the Washington Times, the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI) submitted a proposal to the Vatican asking them to approve a translational change to the Lord’s prayer. The committee asked that the verse “lead us not into temptation” be changed to “abandon us not when in temptation,” because they believe the original version makes God seem like he is tempting people.
The Daily Express reports that experts have been studying this text for some 16 years and have recently decided “from a theological, pastoral and stylistic viewpoint,” that the English translations of the Bible are wrong.
Seemingly, the Pope agrees. Francis is expected to approve this proposal, as he previously questioned this verbiage calling it “not a good translation.” In a television interview in Italy, Francis said, “A father doesn’t do that, a father helps you to get up immediately. It’s Satan who leads us into temptation, that’s his department.”
While this change to the Lord’s prayer is being welcomed with open arms by some, others are deciding to stick to the original version.
The German church, for example, has announced that they will maintain the current translation of the Lord’s prayer. Religion News Service reported that the German bishops said in a statement last year,…
Islamic militants claimed responsibility for the ambush of the bus that was carrying Coptic Christians to a remote desert monastery in the country.
The assailants arrived in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, opened fire on the bus and then disappeared into the desert.
Human rights charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s (CSW) chief executive Mervyn Thomas said: “We commend the efforts to bring those responsible for the 2nd November attack to justice.
“CSW also welcomes the legalisation of 168 places of worship, which will contribute significantly towards inclusivity and the equality of all citizens.”
Following news of the attack, Archbishop Angaelos, the Coptic Archbishop of London, told Premier: “We pray for those who continue to plan and perpetrate these attacks because it’s only in them seeing the true effects of what they’re doing and looking at those who are mourning – that will change their minds.”
Egypt’s Christians, who account for 10 per cent of the country’s 100 million people, have faced persecution in the Muslim majority country a number of times.
An attack last year on pilgrims heading to the St Samuel the Confessor monastery left nearly 30 people dead.
Mervyn Thomas called on the Egyptian government to prevent such attacks and added: “We call upon the Egyptian authorities to take further steps to ensure that the constitutional rights of all Egyptian citizens…
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