False Christian teachings, trends….
In this issue of Behind the Scenes with Curtis Bowers, the church is called to take the lead in this cultural battle for freedom. Curtis uses clips from a Eric Metaxas speech to encourage his viewers, and to explain just how the church should be conducting itself in a time such as this. Individual Christians will receive plenty of specifics about their roles in God’s world at this time.
Alistair Begg preached this two-part sermon for the New Year, to orient his congregation in accordance with God’s purposes in this world. Sermon series title: Behold Your God He had two points, the message and the mission: those need to be the chief concern of the individual Christian and the church. We are not to listen to some new prophet claiming to have a new, improved message for the church… but commit, recommit to God’s gospel message and its propagation.
The purpose of Dr. MacArthur’s sermon was to address the law that passed in Canada, which states that it is against the law to convert a transgender or homosexual. He used scriptures that clearly state God’s view of transgenderism and homosexuality, there is much on both in the Old and New Testaments. He emphasized that the apostle Paul described the Corinthian Christians as having been great sinners, giving a long list of particular sins, yet the government only wants to protect two of that list of sins via legislation; and that protecting those sins is taking a stand against Christ’s church, because it’s chief purpose in the world is to converts sinners. It is an excellent sermon in that Christians are informed about God’s view of our current culture and encouraged to be godly. Sermon highlights are provided because the sermon is 72 minutes long.
Pastor Matthew Everhard explained what it means to be a Presbyterian. His explanation explained touched on Protestantism and Reformed Protestantism. I used the narrative that accompanied his 7 minute video to make 8 points for quick reading for those who do not have time to listen. He intended a brief overview for those who never understood the definitions the terms Protestantism and Presbyterianism
The Global Imams Council (GIC) of Muslim faith leaders on Dec. 30 banned followers of Islam from participating in and attending the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, citing the oppression of Uyghurs in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region. The GIC is the world’s first and largest transnational non-governmental body of Muslim religious leaders from all Islamic denominations and schools of thought, with over 1,300 members worldwide, according to its website. …“We stand in support of, and united with, the oppressed Uyghur Muslims. …Uyghurs—the majority of whom are Sunni Muslim—alongside other ethnic minorities such as Tibetans—the majority of whom are Buddhist—as well as believers of other faiths, such as house Christians and Falun Gong adherents, have long been targeted by the CCP and its atheistic social policies for transformation through “thought reeducation,” also known as brainwashing.
Dr. John MacArthur used many examples to show how Satan operates through governments: from Exodus, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Proverbs, Acts and others. From all of his examples, one could ascertain that Satan works through governments. He tied Bible examples to current events. He also emphasized that it is a believer’s responsibility to stand against ungodliness when it seeks to oppress the church. He cited some current ways the church is being persecuted: Covid-19 lockdowns, rules; LGBTQ; transgenderism; abortion — via these things, government is the purveyor of wickedness and is punishing those who do not agree with such things, Christians
For failure to count the cost, the children of religious parents often do not turn out well, and they bring disgrace on Christianity. Familiar from their earliest years with the form and theory of the gospel, taught even from infancy to repeat the most common Bible verses, being used to being instructed in the gospel every week, or even to instruct others in Sunday school, they often grow up professing Christianity without knowing why or without ever having thought seriously about it. Then when the realities of grown-up life begin to press upon them, they often astound everyone by dropping all their Christian ways and plunging right into the world. Why? Because they had never thoroughly understood the sacrifices that Christianity involves….
Jeremiah 5:23 The people are revolting and rebellious… They are gone, their heart is not with God; neither do they desire the fear of the Lord… Run from churches in the US and Canada where the Bible is not preached! Run from churches where there is no theology of the cross; no soul-searching word; no repentance of sin; no mention of the blood of Christ that saves! Run from churches where you’re comfortable in your sin – if you go there with sin in your life and do not experience conviction
The Supreme Court granted the diocese’s petition for …review, on Nov. 1 and immediately vacated—without hearing oral arguments—the ruling of the New York court and remanded it to that court for further consideration in light of its pro-religious-freedom ruling earlier this year in Fulton v. Philadelphia. Apart from citing the previous ruling, the unsigned order didn’t provide reasons for the decision. In the Fulton ruling on June 17, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a Roman Catholic charity in Pennsylvania may refuse on religious-freedom grounds to place children with same-sex couples, as The Epoch Times previously reported. …In the case at hand, the New York State Department of Financial Services issued a regulation in 2017 requiring that employers fund abortions through their employee health insurance plans. The regulation exempted religious entities whose “purpose” is to inculcate religious values and who “employ” and “serve” primarily coreligionists.
Biden met with Pope Francis in Vatican City behind closed doors. The topic of abortion did not come up, the president told reporters afterward. “We just talked about the fact that he was happy that I was a good Catholic,” he claimed. Asked if the pope said he should keep receiving communion, POTUS said “yes.” Biden has been in danger of being denied communion since the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in June voted to approve the drafting of a document relating to how abortion supporters should be treated. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), another Catholic who supports abortion, was told the following month that “no one can claim to be a devout Catholic and condone the killing of innocent human life, let alone have the government pay for it.”