Prayer News | Where Christians Pray Through the News

Prayer List: Covid-19 Global Menace

Cases of Covid-19, the Wuhan Coronoavirus, have been reported in more than 200 nations and more than 80,000 people have died. – Stats from Wikipedia

Orders to stay at home are preventing normal funeral services for the victims. Some families and friends of the deceased are experiencing deep depression.

Severe economic problems are also on the horizon for the unemployed.

Prayer List

  • Pray for the Holy Spirit to comfort the families and friends of people that have died from Covid-19.
  • Pray for a rapid recovery for those who are sick.
  • Pray for safety for doctors, nurses and family members caring for the sick.
  • Pray for financial needs to be met for people financially struggling after losing a job or receiving fewer work hours.
  • Pray for the spiritual needs of people to also be met.
  • Pray for opportunities to share God’s love and hope to people that are depressed from these circumstances.

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Assemblies of God News

  • newAG Minister Remembered in Smithsonian Display
    AG minister Teresa Ruelas was deported in the 1930s to Mexico despite being a U.S. citizen, the Smithsonian used her story in an exhibit that has recently opened.
    - 19 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 3:00pm -
  • newA Call to Defend the Orphan
    Joy and Kevin McClain, who have adopted seven children, spur church leaders and adherents to take foster care seriously.
    - 22 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 12:00pm -
  • Beautiful Aromas Helping to Create Beautiful Lives
    In addition to chapel times and classes, the Primrose Hill Adult and Teen Challenge for women is using a unique work therapy program to help women rebuild their lives.
    - 2 days ago 27 Jun 22, 7:00pm -
  • Prayer Protected
    Supreme Court rules a high school coach can offer thanks to God on a football field.
    - 2 days ago 27 Jun 22, 3:33pm -
  • Roe Reversed
    Supreme Court ruling returns abortion decisions to state jurisdiction.
    - 5 days ago 24 Jun 22, 4:34pm -

Baptist Press

Christian Headlines

Christian Newswire

  • newTrinity Church Wall Street Awards More Than $23 Million in Grants
    NEWS PROVIDED BYTrinity Church Wall StreetJune 28, 2022NEW YORK, June 28, 2022 /Christian Newswire/ -- Trinity Church Wall Street, in its latest set of grants, has awarded $23.4 million to organizations in New York City, the U.S., and internationally.Most of the grants, which average more than $200,000, are going to organizations in New York City that are focused on affordable housing, homelessness, racial justice, and criminal justice reform. The work these groups are doing incl Source: Trinity Church Wall Street
    - 14 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 8:08pm -
  • newCare Pastor Awarded 'Public Citizen of the Year' by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
    NEWS PROVIDED BYValencia Hills Community ChurchJune 28, 2022SANTA CLARITA, Calif., June 28, 2022 /Christian Newswire/ -- Dan Broyles, Care Pastor for Valencia Hills Community Church, received the NASW "Public Citizen of the Year" award on Friday, June 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C., during the annual NASW awards ceremony and conference - recognizing individuals whose work has left an imprint in social work leadership, policy advocacy and social change."Public Citizen of the Year" Source: Valencia Hills Community Church
    - 19 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 3:00pm -
  • newProtest at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Today in D.C. Over Chemical Abortions
    NEWS PROVIDED BYStanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash RevolutionJune 28, 2022WASHINGTON, June 28, 2022 /Standard Newswire/ -- Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution will be leading a protest at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. calling for a ban on chemical abortions.The protest will be on Tuesday, June 28, at 2:00 p.m. at the Department of HHS located at 200 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20201.This effort is part of Stanton Public Policy Source: Stanton Healthcare
    - 19 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 2:30pm -
  • newNew Devotional Brings Hope to Discouraged First Responders Everywhere
    NEWS PROVIDED BYTez BrooksJune 24, 2022COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 24, 2022 /Christian Newswire/ -- Tez Brooks announces the release of his latest book, Debriefing: Meditations of Hope for Those Who Protect and Serve. First Responders have one of the nation's highest divorce, trauma, and suicide rates. With society watching their every move, it's easy to forget God's bigger purpose for them. Where do they go to refresh and refocus? Multiple award-winning author Tez Brooks is Source: Tez Brooks
    - 20 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 2:00pm -
  • Evangelist Will Graham Shares 'the God of Second Chances' in Fredericksburg
    Rappahannock Area Celebration featured music by award-winning artists, special event for childrenNEWS PROVIDED BYBilly Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA)June 27, 2022FREDERICKSBURG, Va., June 27, 2022 /Christian Newswire/ -- A total of 5,195 people attended the one-day Rappahannock Area Celebration with Will Graham in Fredericksburg on Saturday, June 25. Volunteers representing more than 170 churches and 41 denominations across the region participated in the evangelistic outreach, which Source: Billy Graham Evangelistic Association
    - 1 day ago 27 Jun 22, 11:00pm -

Christian Post

Christian Research Network

  • newThe Real Danger to America
    “There is no question that the Democrats are using guns and abortion to advance party politics. Instead of respecting citizens who believe that killing the unborn is wrong, Nancy Pelosi and her acolytes demean and defame them.” (Bill O’Reilly) Once again, … Continue reading →
    - 16 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 6:26pm -
  • newAtlanta suburb pushes to secede from city due to surging crime: ‘This is a war zone’
    (Fox News) An Atlanta suburb is aiming to secede from the Peach State’s capital as violent crime plagues the city’s streets.  Buckhead City Committee CEO Bill White joined “Fox & Friends First” to discuss how crime has dismantled city streets … Continue reading →
    - 16 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 5:29pm -
  • newThe Sad Descent of Disney
    “It’s satisfying to see that Disney’s creepy propagandizing is causing it financial pain at the box office, here and overseas.” (Michael Reagan – Patriot Post) I cry to see what’s happened to Disney. When I was growing up — and … Continue reading →
    - 17 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 4:37pm -
  • newJen Hatmaker Comes out as Pro-Abortion
    (Protestia) Jen Hatmaker, the popular I’m-pretending-to-be-a-Christian-but-I’m-actually-a-pagan mommy-blogger and podcaster that is quickly climbing the ranks from “Gadfly False Teacher” to “Arch-Heretic,” has continued to out herself as a vessel of inhabitation for shifty-eyed swine who’d rather not go off a … Continue reading →
    - 18 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 3:59pm -
  • Sinning With A High Hand
    Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of … Continue reading →
    - 1 day ago 28 Jun 22, 4:40am -

Christian Sentinel

  • The United States of Israel: America in End Times Prophecy
    Controversial Book Impacts Traditional EschatologyThe post The United States of Israel: America in End Times Prophecy appeared first on The Christian Sentinel.
    - 18 days ago 11 Jun 22, 2:49pm -
  • ‘The Inevitable Collapse of the Auto Industry’ by Jackie Alnor and Joni Finkle
    The transportation industry is under tremendous pressure from the WEF/NWO in the real or imagined war on climate change. It doesn't take a genius to see the writing on the wall when passing by car dealerships with lots almost empty of cars for sale.The post ‘The Inevitable Collapse of the Auto Industry’ by Jackie Alnor and Joni Finkle appeared first on The Christian Sentinel.
    - 32 days ago 28 May 22, 2:31am -
  • NEW BOOK NOW ON AMAZON
    FROM THE FORMER DIRECTOR OF RAPTURE READY RADIO “There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; and hid that shall not be known.” Prophecy…The post NEW BOOK NOW ON AMAZON appeared first on The Christian Sentinel.
    - 47 days ago 13 May 22, 4:36pm -
  • Charisma’s 25th Anniversary Hall of Shame (Repost from the year 2000)
    Charisma Magazine's 25th Anniversary edition looks at the legacy of those who have graced its covers.  The list is a Who's Who of people who have brought shame to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The post Charisma’s 25th Anniversary Hall of Shame (Repost from the year 2000) appeared first on The Christian Sentinel.
    - 22 Oct 21, 2:53pm -
  • Stephen Strang in the Pits (2006 article I wrote posted by request)
    Do you think Jesus would be happy with Mr. Strang, selling out the Church for the almighty dollar?The post Stephen Strang in the Pits (2006 article I wrote posted by request) appeared first on The Christian Sentinel.
    - 22 Oct 21, 2:25pm -

Christianity Today

  • D. James Kennedy Ministries Loses Legal Battle Against ‘Hate Group’ Label
    Supreme Court declines to reconsider definition of defamation and make it easier to prove malice.The late D. James Kennedy’s television and radio ministry cannot sue for defamation over being called an anti-LGBT hate group.Five years after Coral Ridge Ministries Media first protested the “hate group” designation, the US Supreme Court has declined to reconsider the legal definition of “defamation.” The ministry’s suit against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) cannot go forward.The Supreme Court’s summary disposition was handed down Monday without explanation. The only dissent came from Justice Clarence Thomas. He argued the court should overturn the guiding 1964 precedent, New York Times Company v. Sullivan, which says media companies are only liable for libel against public figures when they publish false information with reckless disregard for the truth and “actual malice.”“Coral Ridge now asks us to reconsider the ‘actual malice’ standard,” Thomas wrote. “As I have said previously, ‘we should.’”Donald Trump also pushed for a reevaluation of New York Times v. Sullivan when he was president, calling the legal standards for libel “a sham” and “a disgrace” to America.“We are going to take a strong look at our country’s libel laws, so that when somebody says something that is false and defamatory about someone, that person will have meaningful recourse in our courts,” Trump said in 2018.According to Coral Ridge Ministries’ lawyer David C. Gibbs III, the “actual malice” standard is “a more-often-than-not insurmountable bar for a public figure to plead and prove a defamation claim.” He argued it should only apply to elected officials, not “private ...Continue reading...
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  • Pro-Life Black Christians Don’t Focus on Abortion Alone
    Overturning Roe v. Wade draws attention to what they’ve known all along: There’s much more to upholding life than banning abortion.For many white evangelicals who led the pro-life movement, the end of Roe v. Wade marks a long-awaited and celebrated outcome. But for Black Christians whose political views on life extend beyond a single-issue fight, the sentiment is more mixed.As the founder of Pro-Black Pro-Life, Cherilyn Holloway sees how Black Christians may agree with valuing life from a theological standpoint and are open to a “whole-life” perspective yet they reject politically conservative policy stances. For them, the racial disparities and injustice impacting abortion need to be prioritized too.“To live abundantly, we have to be able to acknowledge the systems that have been put in place to keep us from doing that,” said Holloway.While the abortion bans that go into place after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling may result in more babies born, Black Christians continue to call attention to so many other overlapping factors that threaten Black lives in pregnancy.“It’s not quite as simple as some folks make it out to be. Having the baby isn’t the only issue, and abortion isn’t the only issue,” said Justin E. Giboney, president of The And Campaign. “There are a lot of other factors that go into that when it comes to policies like paid family leave, health care issues—which this country still has not dealt with adequately. Those also play into the conversation.”Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, and their babies are half as likely as white babies to survive until their first birthdays. Racial disparities persist across nearly every measure—from income for covering childcare to quality ...Continue reading...
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  • 4 Post-Roe Policies Worth Pushing For
    Supporting unborn children requires more than government, but not less.By now you’ve no doubt heard the news and felt the shockwave: The US Supreme Court, through Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, has overturned Roe v. Wade and its purported constitutional right to abortion. In response, many states (including my current home of Arkansas) acted quickly to ban abortion in all but the most serious of medical circumstances. In the context of abortion policy, we are back to the pre-1973 landscape.As pro-life Americans celebrated and offered prayers of praise and thanksgiving for the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, some Christians urged legislatures to move toward greater social safety net spending. For example, author and former Obama administration official Michael Wear said the following:Calls like this attracted their share of criticism from conservatives skeptical of government intervention. Consider this, from the Babylon Bee’s Kyle Mann:Or this, from former Trump administration official William Wolfe (from just after the decision’s draft opinion leaked last month):Or this nuanced thought from scholar James Wood:Rehabilitating the family unit should absolutely be the top priority for Christians rightly focused on promoting a flourishing and thriving society. This is a foundational concern. But as we encourage this, we must also be open to complementary, immediate solutions to problems that have arisen precisely because of the decline of the ...Continue reading...
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  • Meet the Pioneering Radio Preachers Who Revolutionized Religious Broadcasting
    How Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier unlocked the evangelistic power of the airwaves.In the 1930s and 1940s, two of the most widely heard preachers in America were also two of the most unlikely candidates for such fame. Fulton Sheen and Walter Maier were both sons of immigrants, both seminary professors specializing in ancient languages, and both from historically oppressed religious traditions. But through the power of radio—which was then a novel mass medium—they reached millions of listeners and ultimately reshaped the trajectory of conservative religion in America.Their story is told in Kirk Farney’s compulsively readable dual biography, Ministers of a New Medium: Broadcasting Theology in the Radio Ministries of Fulton J. Sheen and Walter A. Maier. Maier, born to German immigrants, showed early academic promise and attended Concordia Seminary (the flagship seminary of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod) before completing a PhD at Harvard Divinity School. Being part of a still largely German-speaking Lutheran church was an obstacle given public suspicion towards German-American immigrants during and after World War I. Maier, seeking to establish his patriotic bona fides and to “register his disapproval of the Prussian military clique,” joined the US Army as a chaplain. Yet he promptly pushed the limits of official toleration by ministering to German prisoners of war.After the war, Maier joined the faculty at Concordia Seminary, where in 1924 he convinced the school to apply for a radio license, financing station KFUO with money fundraised from faculty, students, and alumni. Maier’s early adoption of radio as a means of outreach quickly paid off. Within a few years, his show, The Lutheran Hour, aired on stations nationwide, first on the CBS network and then on ...Continue reading...
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  • Praying Football Coach Wins at Supreme Court
    Conservative majority says Washington school was wrong to worry about “excessive entanglement” between church and state.Update (June 27): The US Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 on Monday that a high school coach’s post-game prayers on a football field were in-bounds.Joseph Kennedy’s prayers are protected by the First Amendment’s right to free speech and free exercise of religion, the court decided. The coach didn’t coerce any Bremerton, Washington, high school players into praying, so the school district was wrong to try to stop him from practicing his Christian faith.“The Constitution neither mandates nor tolerates that kind of discrimination,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the conservative majority, citing a 1992 precedent. “Learning how to tolerate speech or prayer of all kinds is part of learning how to live in a pluralistic society,’ a trait of character essential to ‘a tolerant citizenry.’”According to Gorsuch, the ruling would have been different if Kennedy had forced students to join him or said his prayers as part of his official coaching responsibilities. But state employees don’t lose the right to say private prayers of thanksgiving just because they work for a public school.“Mr. Kennedy prayed during a period when school employees were free to speak with a friend, call for a reservation at a restaurant, check email, or attend to other personal matters,” Gorsuch wrote. “He offered his prayers quietly while his students were otherwise occupied.”Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a sharp dissent, joined by justices Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer. Despite the characterization in the majority opinion, Kennedy’s prayers weren’t actually brief, quiet, or private, she said.The dissent included three photos of Kennedy surrounded by praying ...Continue reading...
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Forum 18 News Service

  • KAZAKHSTAN: Religious freedom survey, June 2022
    Freedom of religion and belief, with interlinked freedoms of expression, association, assembly, and other fundamental freedoms remain seriously restricted in Kazakhstan. Forum 18's survey analysis documents violations including: jailing and torturing prisoners of conscience for exercising their freedom of religion and belief; banning meetings for worship and sharing beliefs without state permission; state control of all expressions of Islam, including restrictions on how Muslims are allowed to pray; and religious literature and object censorship.
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  • UZBEKISTAN: "The authorities do not want us to exist"
    The regime has nationwide in 2021 and 2022 blocked state registration attempts by Muslim, Protestant, and Jehovah's Witness communities, making it impossible for them to meet legally. Often the excuses used are property-related, with officials taking full advantage of the opportunities provided by the Religion Law for arbitrary and inconsistent demands. Religious community members often want their names and the names of their communities to remain anonymous for fear of state reprisals.
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  • AZERBAIJAN: "Torture is nothing new, but insulting Allah is crossing a red line"
    After the jailing of a Muslim Unity Movement member for six years, police seized and tortured two of his supporters outside the Baku courtroom. "They put their hands through the sack and pulled out my beard. I was insulted with the crudest of obscene words. They also insulted Allah," one of the two, Suleyman Alakbarov, recounted. In protest, the Movement's leader, prisoner of conscience Taleh Bagirov, began a hunger strike. "Torture is nothing new, but insulting Allah is crossing a red line," said Bagirov's wife Leyla Ismayilzade.
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  • AZERBAIJAN: Treason case against Imam Sardar Babayev "clearly fabricated"
    The State Security Ministry secret police arrested Shia Muslim Imam Sardar Babayev in October 2021 on treason charges. On 14 April, a Baku court extended pre-trial detention for a further five months. Human rights defender Elshan Hasanov described the treason case against Imam Babayev as "clearly fabricated". "No one believes Sardar Babayev is an Iranian spy," said exiled human rights defender Arif Yunus. Imam Babayev has already served a three-year jail term for leading mosque prayers after gaining Islamic education outside Azerbaijan.
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  • AZERBAIJAN: Direct regime employing and firing imams is "role of a religious organisation"
    In the first known use of new powers for appointing, re-appointing every five years, and firing all Islamic clergy, in early May, the State Committee for Work with Religious Organisations fired Imam Mirseymur Aliyev in Neftchala. He had held end of Ramadan prayers on 3 May, not the regime-enforced date of 2 May. Lawyer Asabali Mustafayev noted that the regime taking direct control of Islamic clergy means that "the state is now playing the role of a religious organisation."
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Get Religion

  • newUnited Methodist conflict hits Bible Belt pews, while Tennessean report omits crucial facts
    If you have followed United Methodist warfare for the past 40 years or so, as I have, you know that this is a local, regional, national and global story that is only getting more complex now that it has reached pews in local churches.For years, the key battles were between activists in the global UMC majority (primarily growing churches in Africa and Asia) and the North American UMC establishment (rooted in agencies, seminaries and shrinking blue-zip-code flocks).At the moment, the fiercest battles are in parts of the Midwest and the Bible Belt where doctrinally conservative churches (usually rural and suburban) will square off with establishment leaders based in big-city-friendly regional conferences. You can see this drama in a recent Tennessean story: “As United Methodists in Tennessee navigate schism, 60 churches leave denomination.” Here’s the overture: As 60 churches in West and Middle Tennessee leave the United Methodist Church, churches in East Tennessee are so far sticking around but passionately debating denomination policies. The departures and disagreements were features of recent annual meetings for Tennessee’s two UMC conferences, illustrating the regional variation of the ongoing schism in the UMC. In May, the split within the UMC solidified when a new "traditionalist" denomination splintered from the UMC for churches with more conservative theological and cultural views, including on sexuality and gender. When the new Global Methodist Church launched, the pace of churches leaving the UMC was expected to intensify.Yes, there is that problematic word once again — “schism.” In this recent post — “In terms of church history, should the United Methodist break-up be called a 'schism'?” — I argued, for several reasons, that it’s more accurate to call what is happening a “divorce.”Without repeating all of that, the crucial point is that group given the “traditionalist” label is, in fact, the majority in the GLOBAL denomination that has, for several decades, won tense votes defending the doctrines in the UMC’s Book of Discipline. The group seeking to change these doctrines is the entrenched North American establishment. According to the Tennessean framing, the majority is creating the “schism,” while the establishment minority represents the doctrinal heart of the denomination.Instead of a “schism,” many in the denomination — a coalition on the doctrinal left and right —negotiated is a “divorce” plan that could save years of additional pain and millions of dollars in legal fees. That plan is the “Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation” protocol, which remains in limbo after establishment leaders twice delayed the vote, citing COVID-19 fears.This Tennessean story never mentions this important document.
    - 18 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 3:59pm -
  • Fallout from Supreme Court abortion decision: When reporters parrot partisan talking points
    With emotions running high, the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade marked a cataclysmic shift in the ongoing culture wars. What it means for the upcoming midterm elections and beyond has been the topic of much speculation since the ruling was handed down.The decision was marked by joy on one side and anger on the other, with may reporters wearing their emotions on their faces and under their bylines. However, many people I know reacted with mixed emotions. Even conservatives were uneasy about the decision, mostly because they feared the violence that could be a part of the fallout. Indeed, the National Catholic Reporter’s news account put it best in its headline: “As Court overturns Roe v. Wade, Catholics react with joy, anger, trepidation.”We do live in a time when political decisions often inspire violence.Lose an election? Storm the Capitol Building.Unhappy with police misconduct? Burn down stores.Both sides are guilty of this, although the mainstream press — which has grown ever-partisan in the Internet age — hasn’t always been good about calling out both sides for such intimidation.The fallout from the Dobbs decision? It’s only been a few days, but there was violence in some parts of the country from Rhode Island to Iowa to Arizona. The rhetoric was vile on Twitter, quickly aimed at Christians, and that was soon on display in the streets in a variety of forms.Again, national legacy media have not always been good about giving proper background and context to the events of the recent past, especially in terms of coverage of violence against churches and crisis-pregnancy centers.The fissures in American public life are real. So are the distorted realities partisan news organizations like to perpetuate these days.Just two weeks ago, Gannett, the nation’s largest newspaper chain, argued that opinion pages are alienating readers and becoming obsolete. They doubled down by warning their reporters to refrain from using social media platforms to comment on the decision. However, take a look at this morning’s news summary from USA Today. Spot any patterns?
    - 2 days ago 27 Jun 22, 3:33pm -
  • Plug-In: Roe falls, plus the Supreme Court's four other biggest religion cases of 2022
    It happened.The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.The Associated Press’ Mark Sherman reported: WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has ended constitutional protections for abortion that had been in place nearly 50 years in a decision by its conservative majority to overturn Roe v. Wade. Friday’s outcome is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states. The decision, unthinkable just a few years ago, was the culmination of decades of efforts by abortion opponents, made possible by an emboldened right side of the court that has been fortified by three appointees of former President Donald Trump. The ruling came more than a month after the stunning leak of a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito indicating the court was prepared to take this momentous step.Read the full opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.• • •I haven’t always paid close attention to the Supreme Court. But lately I do.On days the nation’s high court releases new opinions, I vow find myself refreshing — again and again — the justices’ home page.The court’s five biggest religion cases of 2022 have piqued my interest. The Dobbs decision, highlighted above, was not specifically about religion. But religious voices on both sides are a major part of the debate.Here is where the other four religion cases stand:
    - 2 days ago 27 Jun 22, 1:00pm -
  • Reality on bloody ground: That Pentecost massacre in Nigeria wasn't all that unusual
    The massacre occurred during a Sunday Mass, but it wasn't an ordinary Sunday -- this was the great feast of Pentecost, which marks the end of the Easter season.What's more, the gunmen didn't strike in tense northern Nigeria, where Christian communities are isolated in a majority-Muslim region. This 30-minute attack was inside St. Francis Catholic Church, located in the safer southwestern state of Ondo.While 40 worshippers were confirmed dead, including five children, the number was almost certainly higher since many families buried their dead privately. Another 100 were wounded.The scope of this attack was "unique," especially in southern Nigeria, but "this violence … was not unique in its occurrence," stressed Stephen Rasche, senior fellow at the independent Religious Freedom Institute in Washington, D.C. "These types of murders are taking place weekly, almost daily, in Nigeria -- murders of innocent Christians, being gunned down, slaughtered indiscriminately, throughout the north and, increasingly, into the central part of Nigeria and into the south."Human-rights activists are trying to document the bloodshed. According to the nondenominational watchdog group Open Doors, the 4,650 Christians killed in Nigeria during 2021 accounted for 80% of such deaths worldwide -- nearly 13 per day. Nigeria's Christian death toll has topped 60,000 over the past two decades.Nevertheless, this year's International Religious Freedom Report from the U.S. State Department said the "Secretary of State determined that Nigeria did not meet the criteria to be designated as a Country of Particular Concern for engaging in or tolerating particularly severe violations of religious freedom or as a Special Watch List country for engaging in or tolerating severe violations of religious freedom."It's understandable that news reports about Nigeria have faded, in part because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and pressing global economic issues, said Rasche, who visited Nigerian churches during this Holy Week and Easter.Also, many Western leaders view atrocities in Nigeria as clashes between Christian farmers and Muslim cattle herders, with climate-change issues erasing safety zones between these groups.
    - 3 days ago 26 Jun 22, 6:22pm -
  • Gen Z and trends in religious faith and practice: Looking at 2021 and beyond
    It’s been nearly two years since I’ve written a post about the precarious religious position of Generation Z (those born after 1995), and with data from late 2021 available it seems like a prime opportunity to update what we know about their religious inclinations.Because almost all surveys only contact adult Americans (18+), we can’t get a full picture of the entirety of Gen Z, but just the oldest members of this generation. Thus, here I am analyzing those between the ages of 18 and 25 years old.Let’s start broadly, comparing the religious composition of different generations beginning with the Silent Generation (who were born between 1925 and 1945).In this generation, half of all respondents indicated that they were Protestant, while 22% said that they were Catholic. Just 8% of the Silent Generation say that they were atheists or agnostics and nearly the same share describe their religion as “nothing in particular” (10%). In sum, the oldest Americans are 72% Christian and 18% none.Now, for Generation Z things are much different.Just 22 % of the youngest adults describe themselves as Protestant — a more than 50% decline from the Silents. Catholics make up 14% of Gen Z, an eight percentage-point dip from the Silent Generation.Of course, the share of nones is much larger. Seventeen percent of young people describe their religion as atheist or agnostic, and 31% say that they are attached to no religion in particular. Taken together, 36% of Gen Z are Christians, while 48% are nones.For journalists, there is the news hook: This is the first generation in history in which the nones clearly outnumber the Christians.
    - 4 days ago 25 Jun 22, 6:22pm -

ID the Future (Podcast)

  • Michael Denton Discusses The Miracle of the Cell
    New research keeps unveiling ever more ways in which this fine tuning exists, from the cosmos to the atoms of the periodic table, even to the subatomic level of quantum tunneling.
    - 12 Oct 20, 9:31pm -
  • Michael Denton: Remarkable Coincidences in Photosynthesis
    On this episode of ID the Future from the vault, we listen in on a few minutes from a lecture given by Australian biochemist Michael Denton, author of the brand new book The Miracle of the Cell. In this segment, Denton explains the “remarkable set of coincidences” that makes the creation of oxygen through photosynthesis possible. From the specific energy of visible light to the unique properties of water, this degree of fine tuning for life shouts intelligent design. For more on how the cosmos is designed for life, watch Discovery Institute’s documentary Priviledged Species, featuring Michael Denton.
    - 9 Oct 20, 7:16pm -
  • Dr. Michael Denton on Evidence of Fine-Tuning in the Universe
    On this episode of ID the Future from the vault, Casey Luskin sits down with Dr. Michael Denton, a Senior Fellow of the CSC who holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry. Denton is the author of Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, which has been credited with influencing both Phillip Johnson and Michael Behe, as well as Nature's Destiny: How the Laws of Biology Reveal Purpose in the Universe, which elaborates on the evidence of design in nature.
    - 7 Oct 20, 11:29pm -
  • The Demise of the Artifact Hypothesis
    Paleoentomologist Günter Bechly makes the case that recent findings have put the nails in the coffin of this “artifact hypothesis.” He goes on to argue that these findings are “not just a tiny problem but a fatal problem” for modern Darwinism.
    - 5 Oct 20, 7:28pm -
  • Scott Turner on Purpose in Nature, Part 2
    On this episode of ID the Future from the vault, Rob Crowther continues his conversation with J. Scott Turner, biologist at the State University of New York (SUNY), visiting scholar at Cambridge University, and author of the new book Purpose and Desire: What Makes Something “Alive” and Why Modern Darwinism Has Failed to Explain It. Turner critiques evolutionary biology’s bias toward mechanistic and gene-centric thinking, and contemporary biology’s failure to come to grips with the evidence of purpose and intentionality at many levels of biology. Viewing the brain as a computer, for example, obscures many things about the brain and the mind that exceed computers, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
    - 2 Oct 20, 8:55pm -

International Missions Board

Julie Roys Report

  • newDespite Attacks, Christian Pregnancy Centers Poised to Expand as Roe Falls
    One Tuesday in early June, Kristi Brown, executive director of Mountain Area Pregnancy Services in Asheville, North Carolina, arrived at work to find shattered windows, a broken door and red, spray-painted text scrawled across the sidewalk. “If abortions aren’t safe, neither are you,” the graffiti read.A month earlier, Politico had published a draft majority opinion in the Mississippi abortion rights case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, showing that the Supreme Court had voted to overturn Roe v. 
    - 10 hours ago 29 Jun 22, 12:15am -
  • newFormer Christian School Admin, Pastor Convicted of Having Sex with Student from His School
    A former North Carolina pastor and Christian school administrator was convicted of eight sex offenses this month, local media reported. A woman reportedly told police that the man had sex with her multiple times when she was a student at his school.Jason Wesley Keller, 42, is in jail after a jury convicted him of six felony counts of sex with a student and two counts of indecency with a student. He is set to spend four to five years in prison followed by 30 months’ probation, according to local news reports. 
    - 13 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 9:15pm -
  • J.D. Hall Disqualified from Ministry for Dependency on Prescription Drug Xanax
    Jordan “J.D.” Hall, founder of Protestia (formerly Pulpit&Pen), is disqualified from ministry because of his dependency on the prescription drug Xanax (alprazolam), his church announced today.Hall had been lead pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church in Sidney, Montana, and publisher of Protestia—a blog known for vitriolic attacks on “heretics,” “woke” preachers, and “feminists.” However, yesterday Protestia published a statement saying Hall had been disqualified from ministry by his church for “serious sin” and removed from Protestia’s staff. 
    - 1 day ago 28 Jun 22, 1:50am -
  • Lawsuit Against McLean Bible Church & David Platt Dismissed
    A yearlong legal battle over a contested election at a prominent Washington, D.C.-area church appears to be over for now.On Friday, a Fairfax County, Virginia, judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by dissident members of McLean Bible Church who sought to overturn the results of an election for church leaders, known as elders. Those dissident members argued that church leaders, including senior pastor David Platt, a best-selling author, had violated the church’s constitution. 
    - 2 days ago 27 Jun 22, 8:40pm -
  • ‘Blessing of Elders’ Lauds 7 Black Christian Luminaries at Museum of the Bible Gala
    Well-known names from the world of gospel music and the Black church gathered at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. to hail the contributions of African American churches and to call for continued efforts toward building unity and bridging divides.The “Blessing of the Elders,” an awards celebration held Thursday just blocks from the U.S. Capitol, specifically honored seven leaders known for their contributions in megachurches, denominational leadership, civil rights, music and religious broadcasting. 
    - 2 days ago 27 Jun 22, 6:40pm -

Life News

  • newIowa Governor Kim Reynolds Asks Court to Restore Abortion Ban to Protect Unborn Babies
    Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has asked the Iowa Supreme Court to reinstate an abortion ban and multiple pro-life laws protecting babies from abortions following the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Governor Reynolds wants the court to uphold the heartbeat abortion ban that she signed in 2018 that bans aboritons on unborn babies […]The post Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds Asks Court to Restore Abortion Ban to Protect Unborn Babies appeared first on LifeNews.com.
    - 11 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 10:46pm -
  • newAbortion Still Banned in Texas Despite Narrow Temporary Restraining Order
    Today, four days after the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v. Wade, a Harris County judge granted a temporary restraining order blocking some government officials from enforcing its pre-Roe abortion bans against several abortion clinics. However, an abortionist who commits an abortion in Texas today could be prosecuted for homicide according to a different Texas […]The post Abortion Still Banned in Texas Despite Narrow Temporary Restraining Order appeared first on LifeNews.com.
    - 12 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 10:10pm -
  • newPatricia Heaton, Pro-Life Leaders Raise $50,000 for Teen Mom and Her Twin Babies in 24 Hours
    In a powerful example of the pro-life movement’s dedication to helping mothers in need, actress Patricia Heaton, pro-life leader Lila Rose and others helped to raise $50,000 in 24 hours for a young Texas mother and her baby girls. Brooke Alexander and her twin daughters recently were featured in a Washington Post article critical of […]The post Patricia Heaton, Pro-Life Leaders Raise $50,000 for Teen Mom and Her Twin Babies in 24 Hours appeared first on LifeNews.com.
    - 12 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 9:41pm -
  • newCongressman Corrects Nancy Pelosi: Actually Abortion Kills More Children Than Guns
    Congressman Mike Johnson recently corrected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she wrongly claimed that guns kill more children than anything else in America. Speaking on the House floor, Johnson, R-Louisiana, told the Democrat leader that abortion violence actually is the number one killer of children today. “Speaker Pelosi just lectured us,” Johnson said. “She said guns […]The post Congressman Corrects Nancy Pelosi: Actually Abortion Kills More Children Than Guns appeared first on LifeNews.com.
    - 12 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 9:38pm -
  • newJoe Biden Unveils 5-Step Abortion Action Plan to Kill Babies to “The Fullest Extent Possible”
    The Biden administration released a five-step plan Tuesday to keep America killing unborn babies in abortions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last week. Insider reports U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra unveiled the plan at a press conference in Washington, D.C., including efforts to thwart state legislation banning mail-order abortion […]The post Joe Biden Unveils 5-Step Abortion Action Plan to Kill Babies to “The Fullest Extent Possible” appeared first on LifeNews.com.
    - 13 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 8:55pm -

Mennonite Central Committee

  • Peace and chocolate
    What does embodying the peace of Jesus look like in the face of violence? For some people living in the Chocó region of Colombia, the answer involves an unexpected ingredient – chocolate.
    - 6 days ago 23 Jun 22, 4:00am -
  • Participant insight: Learning through service and grief
    The only information I had about being a refugee was basically what I saw on TV. Situations like the Syrian civil conflict and the Rohingya exodus to Bangladesh as examples were all so distant to me.
    - 8 days ago 21 Jun 22, 4:00am -
  • Host insight: Our adopted family of IVEPers
    I grew up in a family that has always been very supportive of MCC and international friendships. My parents met during my dad’s MCC assignment in Germany after the Second World War. My mother was part of a Mennonite summer tour that volunteered at the same work camp.
    - 8 days ago 21 Jun 22, 4:00am -
  • Partner insight: Our IVEPer really got in the mix
    The Mix was excited to partner with MCC this year to host an IVEPer at the organization, unsure of what the experience was to be like.
    - 8 days ago 21 Jun 22, 4:00am -
  • Staff insight: To everything there is a season
    Summer season has now arrived in Northern Hemisphere. As someone who grew up in a tropical country, Indonesia, summer is the closest season to what I used to know. I get to spend more time in my backyard here in Akron, Pennsylvania. I tend to my garden where I planted vegetables and flowers.
    - 8 days ago 21 Jun 22, 4:00am -

MinistryWatch

Religion News Service

  • newNaked and unashamed: Christians strip down at a South Texas nudist community
    (RNS) — Public nudity may seem antithetical to the modesty often promoted by churches, but to Christian naturists, the two go hand in hand.The post Naked and unashamed: Christians strip down at a South Texas nudist community appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 12 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 9:54pm -
  • newDespite attacks, Christian pregnancy centers poised to expand as Roe falls
    (RNS) — At least a dozen pregnancy centers across the U.S. have been vandalized or set ablaze since the leak of the Dobbs decision draft.The post Despite attacks, Christian pregnancy centers poised to expand as Roe falls appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 12 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 9:45pm -
  • new‘God’s Favorite Idiot’: Proof we need more religious comedies
    (RNS) — The show is a reminder that not all stories with a religious message have to be somber or existential. Sometimes they can — and should be — as sweet and simple as pecan pie.The post ‘God’s Favorite Idiot’: Proof we need more religious comedies appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 15 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 7:22pm -
  • newTeacher-led prayer is back in the public schools
    (RNS) — At least, on the playing field.The post Teacher-led prayer is back in the public schools appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 15 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 6:40pm -
  • newThe Episcopal saint whose journey for social justice took many forms
    (The Conversation) — Pauli Murray, the first Black woman to be ordained by the Episcopal Church, was an advocate for women’s rights and racial justice.The post The Episcopal saint whose journey for social justice took many forms appeared first on Religion News Service.
    - 15 hours ago 28 Jun 22, 6:34pm -

Trinity Foundation

  • Church Purchases $8.3 Million Mansion, Received Tax-Exempt Status After Complaints to IRS
    (Photo: Mansion and guest house from Realtor.com) It should surprise no one that televangelist David E. Taylor’s church purchased an $8.3 million mansion and guest house in Tampa, Florida. The church parsonage serves as a palace and Taylor is a king. Taylor, a proponent of the prosperity gospel, teaches that Christians are supposed to be […]
    - 33 days ago 27 May 22, 5:09pm -
  • Bethel Redding-Related Ministries Reported for Possible PPP Loan Fraud
    After reviewing recently published Form 990s, Trinity Foundation has reported two of three non-profit organizations affiliated with Bill Johnson’s California megachurch Bethel Redding for possible Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan fraud. Trinity Foundation reported Bethel Media and Bethel School of Technology, but not Bethel Music, to the Small Business Administration.  Let’s take a look at […]
    - 33 days ago 27 May 22, 4:58pm -
  • Pastors Selling Homes to Churches for Large Profits
    (Photo: Pastor Charles Stovall Weems preaching at Celebration Church.) In 2021, Stovall and Keri Weems, then pastors at Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida, purchased a home at $855,000 through Weems Group LLC, a limited liability company, and then sold it to their church four months later for $1,286,900, a $431,000 profit! This financial transaction plays […]
    - 33 days ago 27 May 22, 4:25pm -
  • A Word from our President
    (Photo:  Pete Evans, President of Trinity Foundation) How much is embezzled by “Christian” religious leaders? Researchers at the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, which study this problem, produce an annual estimate which is published each year in the January issue of the International Bulletin of Mission Research. This year’s estimate: $59 billion in […]
    - 33 days ago 27 May 22, 3:49pm -
  • James Eugene Ewing, Founder of St. Matthews Churches: the Religious Direct Mail Monster
    (Photo: St Matthews Churches includes inexpensive items such as this tablecloth in mailouts to create a sense of obligation for the letter recipient to donate.) How a Man You’ve Never Heard of Created the Unholy Grail of Televangelist Fund-Raising Letters and Keeps the Cash Rolling In Over 60 Years Later. By Mike Renfro and Pete […]
    - 89 days ago 1 Apr 22, 2:27pm -

United Methodist News Service

The World And Everything In It (Podcast)

  • new6.29.22 Washington Wednesday, World Tour, and Dobbs Demonstrations
    On Washington Wednesday, discussion of the Supreme Court’s Second Amendment ruling; on World Tour, the latest international news; and a report from the steps of the Supreme Court following the Dobbs decision. Plus: a surprise pregnancy, and commentary from Kim Henderson and the Wednesday morning news. Support The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from Ridge Haven, the camp and retreat center of the PCA in NC and Iowa. With extensive lodging, dining, and recreational offerings, Ridge Haven serves retreat groups of all sizes and ages, year-round. To book your next retreat visit ridgehaven.org
    - 3 hours ago 29 Jun 22, 7:15am -
  • 6.28.22 Seeking asylum in UK, and responding to Dobbs
    A report on what is driving the increase in people seeking asylum around the world; Turkey is refusing to vote in favor of Sweden and Finland joining NATO; and what the local church can do to help in the wake of the Dobbs decision. Plus: a fish tale, and commentary from Steve West, and the Tuesday morning news. Support The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from Ridge Haven, the camp and retreat center of the PCA in NC and Iowa. With extensive lodging, dining, and recreational offerings, Ridge Haven serves retreat groups of all sizes and ages, year-round. To book your next retreat visit ridgehaven.org
    - 1 day ago 28 Jun 22, 7:15am -
  • 6.27.22 Legal Docket, Moneybeat, and History Book
    On Legal Docket, diving into the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision; on Moneybeat, Nick Eicher talks to financial analyst David Bahnson about the latest economic news; and on History Book, the British hand over control of Hong Kong to China. Plus: the Monday morning news. Support The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from Ridge Haven, the camp and retreat center of the PCA in NC and Iowa. With extensive lodging, dining, and recreational offerings, Ridge Haven serves retreat groups of all sizes and ages, year-round. To book your next retreat visit ridgehaven.org
    - 2 days ago 27 Jun 22, 7:15am -
  • Listening In - A conversation with Sean McDowell - S10.E10
    Sean McDowell takes tough concepts and makes them understandable in his new book for teens and parents, A Rebel's Manifesto. In it he offers short, sharp, satisfying discussions of such tough topics as homosexuality, pornography, abortion, immigration, guns and violence, the environment, and other hot-button issues. In this conversation with host Warren Smith, McDowell talks about some of those issues, why he wrote the book, and what it was like growing up as Josh McDowell's son.
    - 4 days ago 25 Jun 22, 7:30am -
  • 6.24.22 Culture Friday, and the life of Elvis
    On Culture Friday, John Stonestreet talks about the potential reactions to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Dobbs case; and a review of a new biopic about Elvis. Plus: pro-life reading resources, and the Friday morning news.Support The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from Ambassadors Impact Network, a nationwide group of members who have invested more than fifteen million dollars in early-stage companies led by gospel-advancing entrepreneurs. More at ambassadorsimpact.com And from Ridge Haven, the camp and retreat center of the PCA in NC and Iowa. With extensive lodging, dining, and recreational offerings, Ridge Haven serves retreat groups of all sizes and ages, year-round. To book your next retreat visit ridgehaven.org
    - 5 days ago 24 Jun 22, 7:15am -

World Magazine