“But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.” [Ezekiel 33:6]
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” [Ephesians 6:12]
Presbyterians Week Headlines
[1] Christian Observer Highlights for May 2014
[2] Gospel Recordings in 6000 Languages Are Now Available For Free Download
[3] Church of Scotland Attempting to Sell More Than Fifty Properties for a Minimum of UK£8.2 Million
[4] United Church of Christ Sues over North Carolina Gay Marriage Ban
[5] News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell
[6] Headlines from Christian Concern
[7] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
[8] The Thinning Blue Line
[9] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
[10] The Religion of Peace
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[1] Christian Observer Highlights for May 2014
New articles in the Christian Observer for May 2014 include:
-- Luther’s Characterization of James’ Epistle?: “Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” – Romans 3:3 Geneva Bible - by Christian Observer Contributing Editor David Brand – While Martin Luther’s “analogy of faith” hermeneutic demanded that the Letter of James be dismissed as a “right strawy epistle,” nevertheless, there can be no real contradiction between the epistles of Paul and the epistle of James;
-- Education and Strange Bedfellows - by Christian Observer Contributing Editor Dr. Joe Renfro - Two movements, Islam and Atheism, seemingly strange bedfellows, are each seeking to take a dominant role in the world utilizing education as a primary means. They share little in their worldviews but they harmonize basically in what they oppose. This is very much evident in their attack against Christianity in public education in various parts of the world and in particular here in America;
Plus Daily Devotionals by T.M. Moore, dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe.
+ Christian Observer, Post Office Box 1371, Lexington, Virginia 24450, christianobserver@christianobserver.org
[2] Gospel Recordings in 6000 Languages Are Now Available For Free Download
By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
Temecula, California (ANS) -- A digital revolution is taking place at astonishing speed in various parts of the world, with Micro SD memory cards, smart phones and the Internet now making it easier for workers with the Global Recordings Network (GRN) to share the Gospel with unreached people groups, even in the remotest parts of the world.
GRN is a leading provider of Christian evangelistic and discipleship audio visual materials to the least reached language groups of the world.
“Our passion is to work where there are no translated Scriptures and no viable local church, or where a written Scripture or portion is available but where there are few if any who can read it or make sense of it,” said a spokesperson for the group which was begun in 1939, by American missionary to Honduras, Joy Ridderhof who, while back in the United States recovering from a bout of malaria, made Spanish evangelizing recordings that she distributed to oral learners in Latin America.
Ms. Ridderhof was then contacted and asked to produce Navajo recordings. She accepted, and then received more projects to record. This led her to form Gospel Recordings (now Global Recordings Network), and soon the work spread around the world. Often the way recordings were played were low-tech with hand-wound 78 rpm record players for people to listen to the Good News messages in often forgotten communities of the world.
This pioneer passed away on December 19, 1984 in Stanton, California, but if she had lived, she would be amazed to have witnessed the incredible digital revolution that has transformed the work of GRN in ways she could never have imagined.
“Audio visual materials are a particularly powerful evangelism medium as they communicate the gospel in story format suitable for oral learners,” the GRN spokesperson told the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net). “Our recordings can now be downloaded free of charge from our website (globalrecordings.net), and distributed via CD's, e-mail, Bluetooth and other media.
“Since we began in 1939, we have produced recordings in over 6,000 languages. That’s over one language per week! Many of these are the least reached language groups in the world.”
One of the biggest changes in the way these recordings are distributed are via Micro SD cards, which are memory card expansions for small electronic devices, most often telephones. They also get used in smaller cameras, digital recorders, and similar electronic devices.
Even people in St. Petersburg, Russia, have benefited from this digital revolution.
A group of GRN co-workers making a recent evangelistic trip to St. Petersburg, didn’t want to draw attention to their purpose and felt that CD's would appear suspicious to the customs officers at the airport, so instead they took with them 200 Micro SD cards in a small plastic box that contained Gospel materials in Russian.
“They were able to distribute them all in an inconspicuous manner to people they met,” said the GRN spokesperson.
In fact, all of the new technology is now being used by GRN to share the Gospel message.
A co-worker in Mexico shared the following story: “A missionary working among the Mixtec’s of Diuxi asked if we had any other material in this language because she had already used the recording of one presentation called ‘Words of Life’. I told her that we had available the audio visual presentation that she immediately wanted--but she could not come to the local office to pick up the CD's. So, we suggested a solution. She went to a local cyber café, got onto the GRN webpage (globalrecordings.net) and was able to download the material and then burn it on CDs which she is now using for an outreach among these people who speak the Mixtec, Diuxi-Tilantongo language.”
Another GRN worker, based in the Mexican state of Baja California, used the SD Micro cards for language distribution among the indigenous people living there.
Now the GRN work is proceeding at great speed, especially now that some two billion smart phones are capable of Internet access. Most can also play a Gospel recording in their Micro SD slot.
The GRN spokesperson said, “The world is crazy to get mobile phones and there are now 800 million people in China that have access to the Chinese Internet that blocks Facebook and Twitter, but not globalrecordings.net.”
He added, “Even the Arab Bedouins, who used to search for water to decide where to set up their tents, now searches for the best mobile phone reception, and so they, too, can find the ‘Living Water’ found in Jesus Christ.”
+ Assist USA, Post Office Box 609, Lake Forest, California 92609, 949-380-1558, danjuma1@aol.com
[3] Church of Scotland Attempting to Sell More Than Fifty Properties for a Minimum of UK£8.2 Million
A 30 April 2014 Press and Journal article by Cameron Brooks titled “Kirk Sells Off Its Empty Properties” reports that the Church of Scotland is trying to sell off more than fifty surplus properties, mainly in north and northeast Scotland, in an attempt to raise at least UK£8.2 Million.
+ Press and Journal, Lang Stracht, Mastrick, Aberdeen AB15 6DF, Scotland, 01224-343311, pj.newsdesk@ajl.co.uk
+ Church of Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4YN, Scotland, 0131-225-5722
[4] United Church of Christ Sues over North Carolina Gay Marriage Ban
The United Church of Christ (UCC) sued the state of North Carolina on Monday (April 28) over its constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, saying the 2012 amendment violates the religious freedom of its clergy.
The liberal denomination of some 1 million members is the first in the country to attack a same-sex marriage ban on religious freedom grounds, taking a cue from religious conservatives who used the same argument over the contraception mandate in the Affordable Care Act.
In 1972, the UCC was the first denomination in the United States to ordain an openly gay pastor, and in 2005 was the first to endorse the fledgling movement to allow civil marriage for same-sex couples.
The suit asks the federal courts in the Western District of North Carolina to strike down the ban, which was passed by state voters. It argues that the ban limits clergy choices and violates the principle of “free exercise of religion” by requiring clergy to minister to one segment of the public.
A dozen non-UCC clergy and same-sex couples joined the suit.
“By preventing our same-sex congregants from forming their own families, the North Carolina ban on same-sex marriage burdens my ability and the ability of my congregation to form a faith community of our choosing consistent with the principles of our faith,” said the Rev. Nancy Petty, pastor of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, who joined the lawsuit.
As part of the state ban, it is a Class 1 misdemeanor for a minister to perform a marriage ceremony for a couple that hasn’t obtained a civil marriage license. In addition, the law allows anyone to sue the minister who performs a marriage ceremony without a license.
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
+ United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115, 216-736-2100, ogm@ucc.org
[5] News from the Deepest Recesses of Hell
-- Abortion Clinic Counselor Films Her Own Abortion “To Show People It’s Not Scary”
-- Mom Killed Her Newborn Baby to Save Her Sex Life, Cut His Throat Minutes after Birth
-- Woman Films Her Own Abortion to Show World How ‘Cool’ It Is
-- Newfoundland Parents Furious after Hospital Refuses to Resuscitate Premature Baby
-- More Human Embryos Destroyed in Grisly Human Cloning Experiments
-- Doctor Kills Depressed Woman in Euthanasia without Any Mental Health Treatment
+ LifeNews.com, Post Office Box 270841, Fort Collins, Colorado 80527, news@lifenews.com
+ The Daily Caller, 1050 17th Street Northwest # 900, Washington DC 20036, 202-466-3004, media@dailycaller.com
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
[6] Headlines from Christian Concern
Headlines of the past week from Christian Concern:
-- Google Bans Ads for Pro-Life Crisis Pregnancy Centers
-- U.K. Senior Family Judge Calls for Dismantling the Status of Marriage
-- Northern Ireland Rejects Same-Sex Marriage for the Third Time
+ Christian Concern, 70 Wimpole Street, London W1G 8AX, England, 020 7935 1488, Contact Page
[7] Articles from LifesiteNews.com
Articles from the past week from LifesiteNews.com:
-- Pride Toronto Co-Chairman Charged with Drugging, Raping Young Man
-- University of Manitoba Law Professors Urge Province’s Law Society to Blacklist Christian Law School Graduates
+ LifeSiteNews.com, Incorporated, 4 Family Life Lane, Front Royal, Virginia 22630, 888-678-6008, Contact Page
[8] The Thinning Blue Line
-- Boiling Spring Lakes, North Carolina Police Shoots Dead Tased and Subdued Teen
+ The Free Thought Project, contact@thefreethoughtproject.com
[9] Raging Heathen and Vain Imagining
Articles from the past week regarding kings and rulers setting themselves against the LORD and against his anointed:
-- Glenn Beck Invokes Joseph Smith, Mormon Beliefs during Liberty University Speech
-- Florida School Bans Bible during Free Reading Time
-- Hook Up Truck in San Francisco Hits the Street Offering Haven for Casual, Safe Sex
-- The First-Ever Sikh Prayer at the Pentagon
-- Laodicean Christian Sellout Amy Grant Glories in Her LGBT Fan Base
+ Christian News Network, Post Office Box 30000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, Contact Page
+ Godfather Politics, 457 Nathan Dean Boulevard, Dallas, Georgia 30132
+ CBS – San Francisco, 855 Battery Street, San Francisco, California 94111, 415-362-5550, bcohen@cbs.com
+ Huffington Post, 560 Broadway, New York, New York 10012, 212-245-7844, info@huffingtonpost.com
+ Now the End Begins, Contact Page
[10] The Religion of Peace
Articles from the past week about the religion of peace:
-- Distribution List of ‘Smoking Gun’ Benghazi Email Included Muslim Brotherhood Agent
-- Obama the Jihadist
-- The Manipulation of the American Military by the Muslim Brotherhood
-- Media Silent about the Crucifixion of Christians by Radical Jihadists
-- Situation in Nigeria Rapidly Deteriorating
-- Kenya: Islamic Jihadists Murder Three in Two New Bus Attacks in Nairobi
-- Florida Senate Democrats Vote against Bill to Protect Women from Sharia Law
-- Nigeria: 329 Schoolgirls Abducted by Jihadis Raped Fifteen Times Daily, Forced to Convert to Islam
-- FBI: American Muslims Going to Wage Jihad in Syria Are “Growing Problem for U.S. Intelligence and Law Enforcement”
-- Indonesia: Thirty-Six Bali Jihad Bombers Who Murdered Ninety-Two Australians Are Freed
-- Iraq: Islamic Jihadists Murder Four with Car Bomb in Tikrit
-- Islamic Jihadists Murder Twelve with Car Bomb in Afghanistan’s “Safest Province”
-- Nine Dead in Jihad attacks on Mali
-- ‘Sex Jihad’ Fatwa Permits Incest in Syria
-- Pakistan: Tribal Council Marries Off Eight-Year-Old Girl to Twenty-Six-Year-Old Man
-- U.S. Offers Plea Deal of Freedom to Tunisian Muslim Linked to Passenger Train Bomb Plot; Bacteria Plot To Kill ‘100,000 People’
-- Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) Call for Armenian Genocide Recognition and Commemoration
-- Muslim Brotherhood Rape Six-Year-Old Boy For Supporting Anti-Brotherhood Revolution
+ Atlas Shrugs, writeatlas@aol.com
+ Clash Daily
+ Right Side News
+ Christian News Wire, 2020 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington DC 20006, 202-546-0054, newsdesk@christiannewswire.com
+ Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch
+ FrontPage Magazine, Post Office Box 55089, Sherman Oaks, California 91499, Contact Page
+ Presbyterian Church (PCUSA), 100 Witherspoon Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202, 888-728-7228, Fax: 502-569-8005
