Kayne West, the rapper-turned Christian who last month announced he would no longer release secular music, is scheduled to appear on stage this Sunday at televangelist Joel Osteen’s Houston megachurch. 

According to TMZ, West will appear during the 11 a.m. service for a 20- to 30-minute conversation with Osteen, pastor of Lakewood Church, but will not perform.

“Our sources say Joel wants his congregation—which stands 45,000 strong—and his TV audience—which stands at 10 million in the U.S. alone—to hear how Kanye has overcome significant adversity in his life,” the entertainment website reported.

TMZ also said that West will bring his choir to Houston where he is expected to perform during the Sunday night service, but the church website lists Christian artist Tauren Wells as the special guest.

West’s appearance at Lakewood comes as the rapper is promoting his latest album, the gospel-themed “Jesus is King,” which released Oct. 25. 

Since January, West has been hosting pop-up worship gatherings called “Sunday Service.” According to Vox, the services began as invite-only events for celebrities with participants required to sign non-disclosure agreements. 

In April, however, the events became public after West took his Sunday Service to a prominent music festival in California’s Coachella Valley. Since then they have popped up all…

Franklin Graham is asking believers to pray for President Donald Trump as impeachment inquiry hearings begin.

“This is a sad day for America,” Mr. Graham said in a statement shared on social media. “Our politics in this country has hit a new low. Nancy Pelosi and her followers in Congress have weaponized the impeachment process. After two years of the Russia collusion hoax, now they’ve turned to this.”

“In my opinion, asking another country to investigate corruption is a good thing — not a bad thing. This is just another attempt to tarnish and embarrass the President before the next election. We have so many problems in this nation that need to be addressed. Instead, the Democrats are fixated on only one thing — removing President Donald J. Trump from office,” he added.

Graham’s post comes just as the impeachment hearings begin in Washington, where the inquiry will also be televised live.

Trump said on Twitter that the impeachment inquiry is the “single greatest scam in the history of American politics.”

Graham said in his post that he is praying for the president.

“Pray for President Trump today, for God to give him wisdom, protection, and guide each and every step he takes. I pray that he and Melania will sense the presence of the Lord through this unjust inquisition,” he said.

Graham previously showed his support…

In retaliation for a recent Israeli airstrike that killed a senior Islamic Jihad commander, more than 250 rockets were fired from the long-disputed Gaza strip into Israel as violence escalates in the region.

“They know we will continue to strike them without mercy,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihadist in Gaza, according to the Los Angeles Times. “They have one choice: either stop these attacks or absorb more and more blows.”

Israel’s airstrike killed Bahaa Abu el-Atta, who Netanyahu believes was the “mastermind” behind recent attacks against Israel, according to NBC News. The country does not intend to continue a confrontation in Gaza and has limited its strikes to Islamic Jihad, a militant Iranian-backed group. Their strikes have killed 18 Palestinians.

No Israelis have been killed in the conflict, largely due to Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, which has intercepted 90% of the projectiles. Forty-seven Israelis have been wounded. A few homes and a major highway were damaged.

“The barrage of rockets being fired by Islamic Jihad in #Gaza at Israeli civilians after our surgical strike on their commander shows exactly why he was targeted in the first place,” said the Israel Defense Forces on Twitter.

The US has stood beside Israel during the attacks.

“The United States condemns the barrage of rockets on Israeli civilians….

Christian authors Michael and Lauren McAfee recently adopted their daughter, Zion, from China. But, a month after her adoption, the toddler ended up in the hospital after doctors discovered a tumor in her liver, according to Faithwire.

“Talking child cancer treatment, meeting a dozen doctors, and waiting for so many test results…how was this my day today?” Lauren wrote in a Facebook post last week. “Yesterday morning, Michael and I were waking up expecting another normal day, going through our morning routine with Zion, making her eggs, and giggling at her overly expressive faces at breakfast. We had no idea that we would get a call from her doctor that afternoon and be sent straight to the ER to be admitted because a tumor had incidentally been found in some unrelated scheduled tests she had been through.

“We are still in shock and scared, and I don’t quite know what to say except that we are reminding ourselves of God’s promises and praying for healing. Will you pray with us?” Lauren asked.

The couple adopted Zion from China. In addition to being authors, Michael is the director of community initiative at the Museum of the Bible and Lauren works in the corporate offices of Hobby Lobby. After only a few days after Zion’s adoption, Lauren admitted how “natural it feels” being her mother.

“We’ve learned her routines, and…

A leading Republican in the Michigan state legislature is refusing to apologize after comparing legal abortion to legal slavery – remarks that have drawn criticism from pro-choice members of the chamber. 

Michigan Sen. Majority Leader Mike Shirkey made the comments during an interview with Radio Free Hillsdale. 

“I believe the rampant acceptance of unfiltered and unregulated abortion, or frankly allowing abortion to occur at all, is the scourge of our country now today,” he said. “In my mind, it’s comparable – and people are going to be very upset when I say this – but it is comparable to the scourge we endured when we still had slavery in this country. It is no less a scourge today than slavery was then.”

Such comparisons aren’t new. Former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum, in the mid-2000s, also compared abortion to slavery. 

Democratic state Sen. Erika Geiss, who is black, urged Shirkey to apologize. 

“It is incredibly out of touch for him to have made such incredibly insensitive remarks,” she told the Associated Press. “I don’t think comparing something that is a reproductive health care choice for one in four women – that is really no one’s business except between her and her physician – has any place in a conversation about slavery.”

A spokesperson for Shirkey said the senator would not apologize.

“Senator…

The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Assembly passed a resolution Tuesday labeling the evergreen in the Capitol rotunda a “Christmas Tree,” four days after the Democratic governor said he was renaming it a “Holiday Tree” and decorating it with science-themed ornaments.

The resolution passed, 64-30, with 60 Republicans and four Democrats joining together to support it. All the “no” votes came from Democrats. It now moves to the Senate, which must pass it for it to have power. It does not require the signature of Gov. Tony Evers, the Journal Sentinel reported.

The tree itself is two stories tall.  

“It is a Christmas tree. Everyone knows it’s a Christmas tree. Changing the name of the Christmas tree to anything else would be a political game,” said Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, a Republican. “And that’s what the governor did when he renamed it.”

The resolution says the state “respects all religious and cultural customs and is desirous of properly naming the publicly-displayed symbols of our state’s diverse holiday traditions out of respect for all traditions.”

“The decorated tree has been on display in the Capitol rotunda annually during the Christmas holiday season since 1916 and has been traditionally referred to as a ‘Christmas tree,’” the resolution says. “… The Wisconsin legislature…