Evangelist Franklin Graham has said in a media interview that he’s surprised to see all the confirmed venues in the United Kingdom pulling out due to his views on homosexuality, even as his supporters have started an online petition calling it “bullying” and a “hate crime.”

“I have been surprised… I’m not coming to speak against anybody and I don’t name any groups of people,” Graham, the son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, told Christian Today, based in the U.K., in an interview. “I’m coming to tell people how they can have a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ.”

Graham plans to tour the U.K. with eight stops starting in May, and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which he heads, says more than 1,800 churches across the United Kingdom are cooperating with it “to share the Gospel in multiple cities this spring.”

Currently, he and his team are searching for other venues after all the original locations canceled despite having signed contracts and received deposits.

What he’s most concerned about is the stifling of free speech for churches.

“… If we don’t stand up for the right to free speech and freedom of religion, there are lots of churches in this country that meet in public who are at risk,” he told Christian Today. “They could be kicked out, they could be forced to go somewhere else, just because of their faith.

“We haven’t broken any laws and I think it’s important for the church that we resolve this matter so that it protects them,” he said of possibly pursuing legal action.

This isn’t the first time the evangelist met opposition from LGBT groups. In 2018, bus ads for his 2018 evangelistic festival were pulled following outcry from LGBT groups.

Graham believes that the need for preaching the Gospel in the U.K. is “greater than ever.”

He wants people “to know that we are all sinners and our sins separate us from God.”

SOURCE: Christian Post, Anugrah Kumar

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

This is Daniel Whyte III with The Scripture & The Sense Podcast #408, where I read the Word of God and give the sense of it based on an authoritative commentary source such as the Bible Knowledge Commentary. This podcast is based upon Nehemiah 8:8 where it says Ezra and the Levites “read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” The aim of this podcast is that through the simple reading of the Word of God and the giving of the sense of it, the church would be revived and the world would be awakened.

Today we are reading Amos 1:4-5.

4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.

5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the Lord.

________

That was Amos 1:4-5. Now here is the sense of it.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary reads:

In the judgment on each of the first seven nations God is pictured as a suzerain Lord who has brought his armies to punish a vassal city for its revolt. The attack begins in each case with a fire that would eventually consume the walls and/or fortresses of the city and leave it a smoldering ruin. In punishing Damascus God declared He would smash the bar of the city gate and break down the gate, stripping the city of its defenses. He would destroy the rebel king who reigned over the wicked and proud nations. Valley of Aven and Beth Eden may refer to other regions of Aram, Baal-bek and Bit-A-di-ni. More likely, they are derogatory references to the area and palace of Damascus, meaning “Valley of Wickedness” and “House of Pleasure.” The house (dynasty) of Haz-a-el would be terminated, and the A-ra-me-ans would be exiled back to their place of origin, a Mesopotamian site called Kir. In essence, this punishment would be a complete reversal of Aram’s proud history. God, who had originally brought them out of Kir ), would send them back, after obliterating all they had achieved. This judgment was carried out by the Assyrians under Tig-lath-Pi-le-ser III in 732 b.c.

____________

Thank you for listening to the Scripture & The Sense Podcast. Remember to read the Word of God each and every day and pray without ceasing to God for wisdom to understand it and apply it to your life. Most importantly, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Please stay tuned for a complete presentation of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ so that you can get your soul saved from Hell to that wonderful place called Heaven when you die. May God bless you and keep you is my prayer.

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

Many reports on Mission Network News describe how God is moving in the Muslim world. Today, a Deaf believer describes how God’s Spirit is stirring Deaf Muslim hearts.

A believer we’ll call “Zed” was born Deaf to Muslim parents in Central Asia. Through an interpreter, Zed describes how coming to Christ created both friction and Gospel opportunity in his Deaf community at college.

“The Deaf world, as you might know, is so small,” he begins. “Word got around rather quickly that I was saved. So, many of these Deaf Muslims were coming to me and [asking], ‘Why did you convert to Christianity?’”

Read Zed’s full testimony here.

When Zed became a believer, he shared his testimony with members of his Deaf community and patiently answered their questions. Unfortunately, many people returned Zed’s kindness with evasion; some even turned hostile, he says.

“One of my friends… he straight up told me he wanted to kill me.”

When Zed learned of his friend’s anger, he extended forgiveness and love. “My friend was like, ‘No, you have this seething rage towards me. You have to have it’,” Zed says.

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Katey Hearth

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

Iran is reeling. Violence and anger spreads like a blanket over the nation’s citizens and leaders, and every headline seems to add fuel to political fires. And according to Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs USA, Christians get caught in the flames.

As of late, most headlines focus on growing U.S.–Iran tensions. January brought news of the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Then, not long after protestors turned their anger against the U.S., an Iranian missile downed a Ukranian passenger jet, and protest immediately turned back toward Iranian leadership.

But discontent started much earlier than either of these episodes. Iran is “a country that is facing hyperinflation [and] high unemployment rate,” Nettleton says. “Basic food items have grown too expensive for the average person, and so many people are just eating bread and cheese.”

As if things weren’t bad enough, Iranian officials raised gas prices in December.

Actually, they tripled them overnight.

“Literally you wake up the next door day and they say, ‘Oh, hey, by the way, gas just tripled in price today, and also you can only buy a certain number of gallons. There’s a ration system in place,’” Nettleton says.

This decision affects many Iranian citizens, but Christians were especially wounded by this move. According to Nettleton, “what our Christian brothers and sisters are saying is, ‘Hey, the part of our ministry is getting in a car and driving to places to meet with believers, but also to evangelize, to share the Gospel, not just driving across our city or across town, but literally driving around the country, driving to other cities where we have outreach events and where we have other churches that we’re coordinating with.’”

That means that by tripling the cost of gas, authorities have effectively tripled the cost of ministry for the Iranian Church.

SOURCE: Mission Network News, Alex Anhalt

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

There are spiritual lessons for every Christian believer in the life of godly Enoch, seventh generation from Adam through Adam’s third son, Seth. We are impressed that he could resist the devil and find fellowship with his Creator-God, for he lived in a worldly society headed for destruction. Enoch’s daily walk was a walk of faith, a walk of fellowship with God. The Scriptures are trying to assure us that if Enoch could live and walk with God by faith in the midst of his sinful generation, we likewise should be able to follow his example because the human race is the same and God is the same! Beyond that, Enoch reminds us that the quality and boldness of our faith will be the measure of our preparation for the return of Jesus Christ to this earth. We walk by faith as Enoch did, and although it is now 20 centuries after Christ’s sojourn on earth, we hold firmly to the New Testament promise that our risen Lord will return to earth again!

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

As the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) marks its annual Racial Reconciliation Sunday on February 9, the denomination faces continued controversy surrounding critical race theory and intersectionality. The observance, now in its 56^th year, highlights SBC efforts to eradicate racism, promote healing and unity, and encourage diversity within congregations. Formerly called Race Relations Sunday, the name was changed in the year 2000.

Arguments against Racial Reconciliation Sunday have resurfaced largely due to “Resolution 9: On Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality,” which passed at last year’s SBC convention. The denomination’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), which provides resources for Racial Reconciliation Sunday, is trying to clarify what it calls “misinformation” about the observance.

For this year’s Racial Reconciliation Sunday, the ERLC is providing a bulletin insert with an excerpt of Pastor Jamaal Williams’ article “Intentionally Cultivating Multicultural Churches.” Williams, lead pastor at Sojourn Church Midtown in Louisville, Kentucky, credits Jesus with originating the concept of diversity but admits that pursuing it can be challenging.

“The process is painful for pastors and congregations alike,” he writes. “Not only does it challenge heart-level issues of prejudice, but it challenges lifelong preferences regarding music, expressiveness in services, preaching style and more.” Williams advises congregations to strive for Christian maturity, build bridges, “continuously sow seeds” to expand God’s kingdom, listen to one another, and extend grace and forgiveness.

As non-Hispanic whites are projected to become a minority in America, Williams says, churches must start seeking diversity immediately or risk becoming obsolete “monocultural silos.” By contrast, he writes, when earthly congregations reflect “the portrait of heaven we’re given in Revelation 7:9,” they have the power to “transform the mores of society.”

SBC President J.D. Greear has spoken repeatedly about the sin of racism and the common humanity of all people. In 2018 he wrote: “If we want the SBC to be a homogeneous, conservative, white Anglo-Saxon movement, then cultural hegemony is fine. But if we want to reach the diverse communities throughout the U.S., then we better get ready to change our cultural and leadership structures.”

Intersectionality refers to the different ways that various forms of discrimination or marginalization overlap and interact. Critical race theory is a movement to change—and improve—how society organizes itself around racial categories and oppression.

Critics say those ideologies are injecting theological liberalism into society and the SBC. Intersectionality has been at the center of the denomination’s debate about allowing women pastors. John MacArthur called Resolution 9 a “watershed” moment signaling that the SBC is allowing the culture to interpret the Bible.

In an article titled “Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, and the Gospel,” Tom Ascol calls the concepts “Marxist” and “incompatible with biblical Christianity.” His proposed amendment to Resolution 9, emphasizing that critical race theory and intersectionality aren’t just tools but dangerous ideologies, was rejected at last year’s SBC convention.

Ascol writes that even if they’re considered analytical tools, these concepts can’t be used neutrally because they “have ideas and principles embedded within them that are, at best, antithetical to the way of Christ.” He objects to viewing religion in terms of power dynamics and oppression, saying that “fails to evaluate people in their primary relationship, which is as creatures made in the image of their Creator.”

Focusing on someone’s victim statuses, Ascol writes, “clouds the fact revealed in the Bible that every person’s fundamental problem is that they have sinned against the holy God who created them.”

Writing at SBCVoices.com, Todd Benkert argues that critical race theory and intersectionality may be both a “dangerous ideology” and a “useful analytical tool.” He urges a balance, saying Christians should move beyond “mere trigger words” and not “reject an idea merely because of its source.”

Source: Church Leaders

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5)

Evangelicalism is a house divided politically in 2020.  The last few weeks have seen major evangelical volleys back and forth over the political divide.

The brouhaha started with Christianity Today’s editor-in-chief Mark Galli’s editorial “Trump Should be Removed from Office” and continued to gain steam with the follow-up piece from CT’s President/CEO Timothy Dalrymple’s “The Flag in the Whirlwind.” The most recent high-level evangelical rebuttal was penned by evangelical theologian and ethicist Wayne Grudem “Trump Should Not be Removed from Office.” All call themselves evangelicals.  All are highly respected. CT has been the flagship evangelical periodical since 1956, being founded by Billy Graham, and Grudem is responsible for Systematic Theology, one of the most popular single-volume systematic theology textbooks assigned in seminaries and bible colleges over the last 25 years. There is probably not an evangelical pastor in America who has not read Christianity Today or heard of Wayne Grudem.

I have no reason to exacerbate the divisiveness.  My voice is not a national voice. My concern is pastoral and local: to shepherd the people under my care and make sure our corporate witness to Jesus Christ in our community is stronger in 2020 despite the divisiveness of our political landscape. To that end, let me make a modest proposal and advocate for a seemingly forgotten Christian attribute.

I believe the Christ-centered trait evangelicals most need in the political arena (and on social media) in 2020 is meekness. Let me explain.

In the 17th century, Matthew Henry wrote a little book called A Discourse on Meekness and Quietness of Spirit. The puritan writer argued that the old term meekness (mansuetus in Latin) was often associated with the process of taming wild beasts of burden and curbing the aggressiveness of a wild, bucking stallion. By curbing a naturally aggressive nature, meekness could actually characterize a formerly aggressive horse.

The opposite of meekness is unbridled aggressiveness rooted in an easily bruised ego that lashes out with the tongue. The opposite of meekness is wading into controversy at every opportunity while provoking the other in endless confrontation.  Matthew Henry argued that meekness wisely cools the heat of passion and curbs the often-untamable tongue. Meekness is strength harnessed.

In short, a meek person gives a wise, poised, and measured reaction – something often foreign to the hyper-aggressive type of engagements that have become (virtually) normalized on social media.

I believe evangelical Christians would be wise to recover the lost trait of meekness during the upcoming political elections. Yes, there is a place for healthy discourse in the public square. Yes, there is a place for healthy dialogue across the political spectrum. Yet the modest question I raise to my fellow evangelicals is this: is social media the place where those ideals organically happen in a manner that adorns the gospel of Jesus Christ above all things in a winsome way to a watching world?

In a previous blog post, I alluded to George C. Edwards III, the presidential historian at Texas A&M, who conducted the seminal study on the history of “The Bully Pulpit” in American politics.  The results were counter-intuitive.  During the 20th and 21st centuries, presidents have given fireside chats, appeared on radio and TV, and crisscrossed the nation to stump at rallies for their point of view.  Edwards’ study argues persuasively that all those activities of “The Bully Pulpit” never moved the needle of public opinion in the President’s favor or translated into significant legislative victories for presidential policies in Congress.

“It is true for all presidents. They virtually never move public opinion in their direction,” Edwards tells National Journal…”It happened for Ronald Reagan. It happened for FDR. It happens all the time. You should anticipate failure if you’re trying to change people’s minds. The data is overwhelming.” [1]

In other words, all the ranting and raving, all the advocating and cajoling by the President of the United States of America – the most influential and powerful person on the planet for much of the 20th and 21st centuries – did not sway public opinion.

Source: Church Leaders

All Content & Images are provided by the acknowledged source