The post Billy Graham Devotional 20 August 2019 – Three Kinds of Pleasure appeared first on Flatimes.
IDF Attacks Underground Terror Structures after Hamas Fires Rockets into Israel over the Weekend
After Palestinian terror groups fired several rockets into Israel on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces struck back, attacking “two underground terror structures,” the Times of Israel reports.
“A short time ago, IDF warplanes and aircraft attacked two underground terror structures of the Hamas terror group in the north and center of the Gaza Strip,” the IDF said in a statement.
“The attack was carried out in response to the rocket that was launched from Gaza earlier tonight. The IDF will continue to act against attempts to harm Israeli civilians and sees the Hamas terror group as responsible for all that is done in the Gaza strip,” the group wrote in a statement regarding Friday night’s attack. Reportedly, the rocket fired on Friday was intercepted by Israel’s missile defense system – the Iron Dome.
According to CBN News, the Hamas terror group is believed to have fired three more rockets into southern Israel on Saturday. Of the three rockets fired into Israel, two were intercepted by the Iron Dome. The third rocket – a Qassem rocket – reportedly struck the yard of a home in Sderot.
No one was directly injured by the rockets, though two people were injured while trying to run to shelter. According to the Jerusalem Post, a 30-year-old woman fainted while running toward a bomb shelter and a 76-year-old woman suffered…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Christian Headlines.
Ageism is seeping into our church culture says Christian charity
It comes as new research found 34 per cent of Britons discriminate against others because of their age.
A survey of 4,000 adults found that 1 in 30 people admitted to being ageist on a regular basis in the UK, with people in their thirties most likely to use age discriminating language.
The Ageist Britain report analysed thousands of blogs and twitter posts in the UK and found the most age discriminating language was used by people in their 30s, with the phrases “old fart”, “little old lady” and “old hag” among the most used.
Steve Robinson, CEO of Pramafoundation – an organisation promoting initiatives that give dignity to people in later life told Premier prejudice can easily slip into our language and people need to be mindful of the impact their words can have.
“There are some areas where we do feel that we can still get away with [prejudice]. Ageism and ageist language is one of those things, and it’s whether it’s in the community, but also when the community seeps into the church as well.
“When we are unintentionally ageist, it makes people within our congregations feel less valued. It makes them feel unhappy, and it alienates them for what else is going on within the community.
The report also found that 40 per cent of British people over 50 regularly experience ageism, with one in three commonly experiencing it at work, one in 10 on public transport, and one…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
Bishop gives sermon from helter skelter
The fairground attraction was part of the Cathedral’s Seeing It Differently project, aiming to let visitors see the stained glass windows depicting Bible stories nearer the roof and to look around the rest of the building
Bishop Jonathan said: “God wants to be attractive to us… for us to enjoy ourselves, each other and the world around us and this glorious helter-skelter is about just that.
“Enjoying ourselves is a good thing to do and God will be revelling in it with us and all those people who have found fun and joy and laughter here,” he said.
The 55ft slide opened on Thursday 8th August and ended on Sunday, where the bishop gave his talk from the top and then slid down.
The diocese expect 10,000 people went down the slide and that 20,000 people visited the building.
On the helter skelter at Norwich Cathedral #seeingitdifferently pic.twitter.com/afW381pFuc
— Louise Watts (@DaisyDuck2109) August 14, 2019
Revd Canon Andy Bryant, who came up with the idea, said: “Many will want to focus on the sheer numbers we have been able to welcome into the Cathedral and the relaxed happy and joyous atmosphere in the Cathedral. However, the things I will most carry away from this time are the individual conversations, people sharing stories of connecting with the Cathedral, enjoying seeing the building from a new perspective, finding a welcome distraction at a…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
Five Healthy Ways to Run Your Church Like a Business
One of the most common responses we receive at ThomRainer.com is something like this statement: “You can’t run your church like a business.”
I get it. Our goal is to glorify God. Our goal is to make disciples. Our goal is to be faithful to God’s Word.
Our goal is not to make profits. Our goal is not to adopt secular principles in place of biblical principles.
So, when someone insists we not run the church like a business, I understand his or her heart and intent.
But there are indeed some business principles that correlate with church practices and biblical truth. To say we don’t run our church like a business carte blanche may be a signal that we are ignoring sound and, at least indirectly, biblical counsel. Here are five examples:
- Healthy businesses are determined to spend wisely. So should churches. Sound business practices require a company to have systems in place to evaluate expenditures constantly. Frankly, I’ve seen many businesses that understand better why they spend funds than churches do. Too many churches just do things the way they’ve always done it.
- Healthy businesses have clear financial accountability. So should churches. Good business practices include clear and demonstrable accountability to owners and/or stockholders, as well as the Internal Revenue Service. Churches would do well to emulate some of these practices.
- Healthy businesses make tough personnel decisions. So should churches. Jim Collins, in his classic book Good to Great, uses the bus metaphor to…
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Click here to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Thom Rainer.
Christian Aid may make up to 200 staff redundant
The anti-poverty charity said it has a goal of saving £7 million a year as part of it new global strategy called Standing Together and that “political uncertainty and a tough environment for unrestricted fundraising” means some staff may have to be made redundant.
Christian Aid will withdraw from 12 countries in order to reduce unrestricted spending from £47m to £40m a year.
The countries the charity is leaving are Angola, Egypt, Zambia, Mali, South Africa, Ghana, the Philippines, Nepal, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Amanda Mukwashi, chief executive of Christian Aid, said: “After careful consideration of every piece of work Christian Aid does, the senior leadership and trustees have made the difficult decision to exit from some countries and instead, in some cases, work regionally to have greater impact.
The charity said it will still be working in 15 other countries and the new strategy will help it to be “more focused and deepen its interventions in fewer countries and to do so as good stewards living within our means”.
The charity employs around 1,100 people. Half the jobs at risk are in the UK.
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Premier Christianity News.
The threat of great white sharks and contact lenses that zoom: God’s call to excellence
“Any person could be attacked at any minute,” said a surfer who spotted a great white shark off Cape Cod. Researchers have identified at least three hundred of the huge predators in the popular area.
Nine people were injured last night in Pennsylvania when lightning struck a tree, causing it to fall on their tent. Fleas carrying the plague have infested prairie dogs near Denver, threatening humans and prompting officials to close parts of a wildlife refuge. Overseas, the Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a bombing at a wedding that killed sixty-three people and wounded 182 others in Kabul, Afghanistan.
With all the bad news in the news, let’s focus today on some good news.
Scientists have taken the next step in developing contact lenses that zoom when we blink. This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) gave an award to a Bluetooth-connected water bottle that plays music, takes and receives phone calls, and offers caller ID.
CES also recognized a countertop dishwasher that requires no plumbing connections; you load your dishes, add a gallon of water, and turn it on. And the event celebrated a laptop computer with a keyboard that transforms into a writing pad.
Scientific advances are changing our lives daily. For instance, thousands of people have RFID devices implanted in their bodies so they can activate doors and computerized locks. A Tesla owner recently implanted in her arm the RFID chip that starts her car.
Earbuds now offer real-time language translation. Exoskeletons are being tested that enable soldiers to hike long distances without fatigue. A man who is colorblind can detect color through an antenna grafted onto his skull.
What a rocket scientist said about God
Each day’s news seems to report new ways science is improving our lives. By contrast, religious news these days is tragically focused on clergy abuse scandals, hateful rhetoric, and radical ideologies.
It’s…
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Click Read More to read the rest of the story from our content source/partners – Denison Forum.
