Vice President Pence on Thursday thanked Americans for their prayers and urged them to be “persistent” in praying for those fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Pence made the remarks alongside President Trump in the Rose Garden at a National Day of Prayer service with religious leaders. Pence also delivered a video address to a Pray.com National Day of Prayer streaming ceremony later in the day.  

“Karen and I will both attest that the sweetest words that we ever hear are when people will take a moment, walk up, and say, ‘I’m praying for you,’” Pence said, referencing Second Lady Karen Pence. “And you know they mean it from their hearts and we hear it all of the time. We can attest, firsthand, America is a nation of prayer.

“The American people have long believed in the power of prayer, that the effective and fervent prayer of a righteous person availeth much, and that in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, we’re to present our request to God with the promise that the peace of God that passes all understanding will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.”

Prayer, Pence said, is the “core that runs through every era of American history.”

“In 1775, the Second Continental Congress established a day of fasting and prayer,” he said. “In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln urged Americans to pray so that, in his words, ‘The…

Christian leaders across the United States have expressed horror and outrage at the shooting of a 25-year-old black man in Georgia.

Ahmaud Arbery was out jogging in Brunswick when he was confronted by a father and son who said they believed him to be connected to a spate of burglaries in the area. As Arbery attempted to evade the pair, he became involved in a tussle with one of the suspects, before being shot dead.
While the killing took place back in February of this year, police only decided to take action this month after a video of the incident was leaked by a witness, causing a nation-wide uproar. The two suspects – former police officer Gregory McMichael, 64, and Travis McMichael, 34 – have since been arrested and charged with murder.

“He was out for his daily jog and he was hunted down like an animal and killed,” his mother Wanda Jones told CBS News. “I’m hoping that all involved, they’re indicted and they go to jail.”

On Twitter, the attorney representing Mrs. Jones, S. Lee Merritt, wrote: “The series of events captured in this video confirm what all the evidence indicated prior to its release— Ahmaud Arbery was pursued by three white men that targeted him solely because of his race and murdered him without justification. This is murder.”

The slaying has also sparked responses from a number of prominent Christian leaders in the US, and has ignited racial tensions…

A pastor from Mississippi is one of the nine finalists in NBC’s singing competition show, The Voice.

Todd Tilghman, the lead pastor of Cornerstone Church in Meridian, Miss., advanced from the round of 17 to the round of nine after singing Peter Cetera’s 1986 song, Glory of Love, this week. Tilghman is a member of Team Blake, meaning he worked with and was coached by country singer Blake Shelton.

Although the series normally takes place in front of a live audience, the pandemic has forced the singers to perform at remote locations. 

Shelton called Tilghman’s performance “incredible.” 

“You have got to vote for this man,” Shelton urged the television audience.

Shelton told Tilghman, “You are one of my favorite artists that I’ve ever worked with. In 100 years of doing this show, you’re a class to be around. You deserve to go all the way, man. Great job.”

Glory of Love was featured in the 1986 movie Karate Kid II.

“Todd, you literally are the Karate Kid,” Shelton joked.

Tilghman has been married to his wife, Brooke, for 21 years. They have eight children.

“I’ve literally never performed. I just sing at church,” Tilghman told the panel of coaches in February after his first performance.

He told fans in a Facebook video this week, “I am so very grateful.” 

The pandemic has forced changes to The Voice but also to Tilghman’s church, which has gone virtual….

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, videos of three women and their respective family members singing hit gospel songs have gone viral on Facebook.

In the past seven weeks, videos of Natalie Emmons, Nicole Smith and Kara Smith from Salem Baptist Church in Lake, Mississippi, have acquired over a million views on their church’s Facebook page.

In an interview with Faithwire, Nicole drew a comparison between their unexpected reach on social media and the miracle of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with just five loaves and two fish in Matthew 14.

“God takes little, bitty, tiny things that we look at, and he has such a greater purpose,” she told the outlet.

“Because he can take those tiny, little, bitty efforts, and just like loaves and fish, he can break, and he can bless, and he can multiply. And he will feed the thousands. And it may simply not be loaves and fishes, but it may be with spiritual encouragement, spiritual food,” Nicole added.

The videos, which were originally meant to encourage fellow church members amid the pandemic, would eventually gain national and international attention.

“We have received so many comments, so many messages globally,” Natalie shared with Faithwire. 

“To get those messages from those people and you see videos where they’re gathered around watching your videos, and they’re worshipping, watching you worship, it changes who you are. It brings…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to finalize a unity government agreement with political rival Benny Gantz.

According to CBN News, if Netanyahu is able to form the government, the country will not be forced into a fourth election.

In Israel, the prime minister needs to earn the endorsement of 72 members of the country’s 120-seat parliament and form a unity government.

Netanyahu and Gantz announced in April that they would work together to form an emergency government that would get Israel through the coronavirus pandemic.

Under their agreement, Netanyahu will serve as prime minster for 18 months and then Gantz will take on the role for 18 months. Both are expected to swear in the new administration next week.

Since April 2019, Netanyahu and Gantz have been unable to secure a unity government and forced the country into emergency elections.

Gantz had previously said he would not partner with Netanyahu, who is facing indictment charges. However, Gantz agreed to the deal because of the potential economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reports.

In Israel, about 16,300 people have been infected and 239 have died from the virus, according to The Guardian.

Netanyahu, 70, is facing an indictment of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He has said that the charges are false. His trial is expected to start on May 24.

This month, an Israeli…

A new survey found that less than 1/5 of Americans believe life’s purpose is knowing and loving God.

According to the American Worldview Inventory from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, the survey revealed that Americans largely do not believe in a life spent serving God.

The survey included 2,000 American respondents polled both via phone and online, The Christian Post reports.

The data showed that 86 percent of Americans believe in a “universal, shared purpose” of human life, and 66 percent said they believe they have a “unique, God-given calling or purpose.”

Only 18 percent said the universal purpose is “knowing, loving and serving God.”

“Even among the 71 percent of Americans who consider themselves to be Christians, fewer than 20 percent adopt the biblical view that our purpose is to know, love and serve God,” an analysis of the data reads.

The data instead found that most Americans, including Christians, believe in their unique purpose but not a purpose that includes God at the center.

“The disconnect is staggering,” said CRC Director of Research George Barna, a longtime evangelical pollster and founder of The Barna Group. 

“As a nation, we yearn for purpose and calling, ideas deeply rooted within our nation’s historical Christian faith and biblical understanding of God,” he added in a statement. 

“Americans…

Representing Missouri based Televangelist Jim Bakker in an ongoing lawsuit for allegedly selling a false coronavirus cure, attorney Jay Nixon is calling the lawsuit against Bakker an attack on his religious freedom.

On Monday, Nixon – who served as the 55th governor of Missouri for two terms before leaving office in 2017, and two terms as attorney general before that – submitted a court filing against Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt who previously filed suit against Bakker for allegedly selling a product called Silver Solution as a cure for the coronavirus.

“Jim Bakker is being unfairly targeted by those who want to crush his ministry and force his Christian television program off the air,” Nixon, who is currently a partner with St. Louis law firm Dowd Bennett, along with the Kansas City-based firm Spencer Fane, said in a statement.

“The video recording of The Jim Bakker Show clearly shows the allegations are false,” he asserted. “Bakker did not claim or state that Silver Solution was a cure for COVID-19.”

Nixon also noted that Bakker ceased promoting Silver Solution in compliance with orders issued in March by the FDA and the FTC, adding that the product is commonly sold online and in stores.

Furthermore, Nixon implied that the lawsuit violated the Missouri Constitution and the state’s Religious…

(RNS) — Members of Beaumont Presbyterian Church in Lexington, Kentucky, aren’t exactly keen on reopening their church for in-person worship anytime soon. Given the ongoing pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, the church’s pastor, the Rev. Stephen Fearing, said his congregation is unlikely to gather physically until June or July at the absolute earliest.

But as the congregants mull over whether to worship together again physically, Fearing says he knows exactly who they will speak with first: his insurer.

“We would never, ever consider getting back together without talking to our insurer,” Fearing said. “The liability is just too great.”

Insurance companies are primed to play an increasingly influential role for houses of worship as governors ease social distancing restrictions and many faith groups prepare to reopen their doors, with agents providing guidance and advice to policyholders wary of litigation should one of their worshippers contract or spread the disease. But questions remain as to how — or even if — insurers will cover communities struck by COVID-19, or how best to minimize risk in the midst of a pandemic.

Fearing said the situation has been on the minds of Beaumont and other Kentucky churches ever since Gov. Andy Beshear issued a stay-at-home order that largely barred faith groups from in-person gatherings on March 19, prompting most religious…