A man in Tennessee who was stopped from reading his Bible on a public sidewalk due to a city ordinance is arguing that the ordinance violates his religious freedom rights.

CBN News reports that Paul Johnson is being supported in his argument by First Liberty Institute and the Center for Religious Expression, who sent a letter to Sweetwater, Tennessee city officials on Johnson’s behalf.

Johnson himself expressed his thoughts on the situation: “I was shocked that a city had a law banning anyone from reading the Bible on a public sidewalk without the city’s permission. All I want to do is tell people about the love of Jesus by reading my Bible, but I was worried I might be arrested if I tried.”

The letter sent to city officials requests that the ordinance be repealed because it is “overbroad and unconstitutional,” as well as “outdated.”

“Because he can’t go into the mission field and go to all the world to preach the Gospel, he does that anywhere nearby that he can,” said Chelsey Youman, counsel for First Liberty, in an interview with CBN News.

The letter also notifies city officials that Johnson attempted to get a permit to preach and read the Bible in public, but that he was arbitrarily denied.

The letter concludes by demanding that Johnson be allowed “to peacefully share his religious beliefs at future events without imposing the unconstitutional permit…

Carol Kent is an international speaker and best-selling author. She and her husband, Gene, run the ministry Speak Up for Hope, which seeks to encourage prisoners and their families.

“Readiness for God means that we are prepared to do the smallest thing or the largest thing—it makes no difference.” (April 18)

It was a season of sadness. Following two and a half years and seven postponements of my son’s trial, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.2 Wallowing in grief and self-pity, I began spending less time in the Bible and even less time in prayer. My son, a US Naval Academy graduate, had done the unthinkable: he shot and killed his wife’s first husband. There could be no do-overs. There could be no happy ending.

I had always been quick to do what felt like the “big things” for God—speaking, writing books, or challenging participants at a leadership conference. That felt like important work that deserved my time. But what would it look like for me, the mother of a prisoner with a life sentence, to do “the smallest thing”?

My attitude and my outlook began to change. I came to understand that “the smallest thing” in my view is often “the largest thing” in God’s eyes. Before I left for prison visitation, I prayed, “Lord, help me to have a divine encounter with one of the families of inmates today.” As I approached the prison driveway, I began praying with authority, “Father, may your presence be felt all over the prison…

Atheist organization the Freedom From Religion Foundation thought they won a victory when they prevented a coach at a Georgia high school from conducting a time of prayer before football games, but their actions against the coach have backfired.

The FFRF initially sent a letter to the Coweta County School System, making them aware that the coach’s activities allegedly violated the U.S. Constitution because public school officials are not allowed to “further personal religious beliefs by leading their teams in prayer.

The school district complied with the FFRF’s demands, telling school officials that “representatives of the school cannot participate in any student initiated/student-led prayer or other worship while acting in their official capacity. For instance, they cannot join hands, bow their heads, take a knee or commit another act that otherwise manifests approval with the students’ religious exercise, at least where it would be perceived by a reasonable observer to display government endorsement of religion.”

Upon learning of this, Coweta County students doubled down on the prayer effort. Since the FFRF cannot do anything about the students themselves leading a time of prayer, the students came out in full force to support their religious freedom rights.

“Instead of it being 100 players praying, it turned into 400 students praying,”…

Christians in a village in southeastern China have reportedly been asked to replace their posters of Jesus Christ with posters and photos of Chinese President Xi Jinping if they want relief from poverty and illness.

According to the South China Morning Post, Chinese government officials are encouraging the change.

Xi has publicly said that he is working to end poverty by 2020. That work includes government visits to Christian families to encourage them to follow the Communist Party policies and solve their problems.

 “Many poor households have plunged into poverty because of illness in the family. Some resorted to believing in Jesus to cure their illnesses,” said Qi Yan, chairman of the Huangjinbu people’s congress.

“But we tried to tell them that getting ill is a physical thing and that the people who can really help them are the Communist Party and General Secretary Xi,” he added.

The Huangjinbu township gave more than 1,000 portraits of Xi to families.

Officials deny that they suggested religious icons would need to be removed.

But residents have said that officials are calling for the removal of religious artifacts.

“They all have their belief and, of course, they didn’t want to take them down. But there is no way out. If they don’t agree to do so, they won’t be given their quota from the poverty-relief fund,” the resident said.

In October,…