*WEEKLY CHURCH NEWS NOTES

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

**WEEKLY CHURCH NEWS NOTES*

November 20, 2009

By: David Cloud FBIS

The Weekly Church News Notes is designed for use in churches

LEE STROBEL’S DANGEROUS ASSOCIATIONS

- Lee Strobel, the influential author of several widely-used apologetics
books including The Case for Christ, is an “evangelical” whose
associations with rank heretics sounds loud warnings. In January 2010 he
is scheduled to speak at the Break Forth conference in Canada with
William Paul Young, author of The Shack, and Leonard Sweet, a New Age
contemplative. Lighthouse Trails observes, “[Though many have admired
Strobel’s work in the past], it is really no surprise that he is
attending Break Forth. With his sponsorship of his son’s very
contemplative/emerging ministry Metamorpha, multiple appearances at
Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral over the years, and his ongoing
connections with Saddleback and Willow Creek, discernment is not
something that Strobel appears to give much attention to” (“Why Are Joel
Rosenberg and Frank Peretti Appearing with New Age/New Spirituality
Sympathizers,” Lighthouse Trails, Nov. 9, 2009). Strobel’s fellow
speaker Paul Young depicts God as a woman and claims that He/She does
not judge sin or send anyone to hell. Leonard Sweet promotes a New Age
universalist spirituality that he calls New Light and “the Christ
consciousness.” He describes it in terms of “the union of the human with
the divine” which is the “center feature of all the world’s religions”
(Quantum Spirituality, p. 235). He says it was experienced by Mohammed,
Moses, and Krishna. He promotes Matthew Fox, M. Scott Peck, and Ken
Wilber, New Agers who believe in the divinity of man. Sweet says
humanity needs to learn the truth of the words of the Buddhist-Catholic
priest Thomas Merton, “We are already one” (Quantum Spirituality, p.
13). The Bible warns that it is impossible to join hands with such men
in ministry without becoming partaker of their evil deeds (2 John 8-11).

RULES! LAWS!

- When a high school gymnastics team recently lost a title competition
because the coach broke the rules, the responses were telling. They
ranged, in effect, from “we understand and accept the rule” to “we are
special and shouldn’t be bound by such silly rules.” On the weekend of
November 7-8, Northwest High School of Shawnee Mission, Kansas, slipped
from first place to third after one of the coaches inappropriately
questioned a scoring decision, costing the team a one-point penalty. The
school’s athletic director, Richard Grinage, admitted that the coach
acted contrary to the rules, saying, “It would be similar to a called
ball or strike.” The coach in question, though, was unrepentant, saying,
“We were the strongest team and had the highest score with 103.9 points,
but, because of a ruling that has never been enforced in 30 years; we
got a 102.9 and were third place” (“Sometimes It’s Better to Just Keep
Your Mouth Shut,” Homeschool.rivals.com, Nov. 11, 2009). Discussing the
purpose of the rule, Becky Oakes of the National Federation for State
High Associations, said that “to allow a coach to always question an
official could really interrupt the flow of events for the athletes and
the competition.” That’s reasonable. Games must have rules. Life must
have laws. And if laws are broken and there is no penalty, the law is
destroyed and anarchy reigns. This is why the holy Creator God punishes
infractions of His Law, and it means that we all deserve His just
punishment, because we are all sinners. But in His great love He has
provided a way of salvation for those who put their trust in the
cross-work of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. The unfathomable love
of God cannot be understood without a comprehension of His inflexible
holiness. The Gospel cannot be understood apart from the Law.

THE NEW IRON CURTAIN

- The following is excerpted from “The Iron Curtain” by Paul Proctor,
Nov. 10, 2009, Newswithviews.com, watc...@usa.com -- “On this 20th
anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, with America deteriorating
like an old and obsolete relic of our patriotic past, I’m left to wonder
if the event let freedom in or tyranny out. You see, as I write, the
wall is being rebuilt--not with concrete, mortar or razor wire--but
instead, with satellites, cameras, computers, databases and an array of
impressive and oppressive technologies that can monitor, record and
analyze the movements, expressions, words and even thoughts of an
unsuspecting populace now evermore willing to exchange God-given
liberties and freedoms for governmental guarantees of health, safety,
security and prosperity. These are the new guard towers that cast long
shadows from above that to many are far more intimating than they are
comforting. ... I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the wall is
indeed returning--and this time it extends around the world. When the
powers that be are finished with it, there will be nowhere to run and
hide. It won’t protect us from the evil without, but will only chain us
electronically and spiritually to the wickedness within. It doesn’t
matter how many guns are purchased or how much ammo one has stored away.
Ultimately, this is a spiritual battle with eternal consequences and God
Himself is the only One who can deliver us from what lies ahead. The
sooner we fall to our knees, confess our sins, repent and cry out for a
salvation that comes only by Jesus Christ, the sooner we will have ‘the
peace of God which passeth all understanding’ and the wherewithal to
carry on into the future, uncertain as it may be. ‘For whosoever shall
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved’ (Romans 10:13). That’s
real freedom, liberty and security--the kind the Apostle Paul sang about
joyously while bound and imprisoned for his faith as told in the 16th
chapter of Acts. Without it, there is no hope---not in this life or in
the life to come.”

AL GORE’S FINANCIAL STAKE IN CAP AND TRADE

- The following is excerpted from “Gore’s Gravy Train,” OneNewsNow, Nov.
4, 2009: “It seems Al Gore is playing both sides of the fence on the
energy front. He has made millions of dollars in private energy
ventures--and now, according to the New York Times, it seems he will
profit significantly from the government energy policies for which he is
lobbying. Marc Morano of ClimateDepot.com says Gore stands to reap huge
profits from ‘cap-and-trade’ legislation that would mandate carbon
trading. ... Morano notes that if Gore can get Washington to pass
cap-and-trade legislation, he will be in a perfect position to become
the world’s first ‘carbon billionaire.’ Currently, Gore’s net worth is
estimated to be in the hundreds of millions.” (For more about this see
the article “Carbon Trading: The Hypocrisy and the Foolishness” at the
Way of Life web site.)

IRANIAN PRESIDENT SAYS OBAMA MUST CHOOSE ISRAEL OR IRAN

The following is excerpted from The Jerusalem Post, Nov. 11, 2009:
“Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the US to choose
between Israel and Iran on Tuesday night, according to Iranian state
media. Ahmadinejad said that for a real change in relations to take
place, a choice must be made. Speaking in Istanbul at the 25th Session
of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation
(COMCEC) of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Iranian
president said that it was up to US President Barack Obama to illustrate
his motto of ‘Change.’ ‘The support of both Israel and Iran can’t go
hand in hand,’ he was quoted as saying by IRNA. ‘No change is made
unless great choices are made.’ Addressing the same conference a day
earlier, Ahmadinejad said that capitalist excesses caused the global
economic meltdown and are un-Islamic. ... Ahmadinejad did not mention
Iran’s struggling economy.”

WORSHIP SERVICES FOR PETS

Some churches in the U.S. are holding worship services for animals,
believing that they have souls. Covenant Presbyterian Church in Los
Angeles recently started a Canines service, which features a 30-minute
service with doggie beds, dog treats, hymns about dogs, and prayers for
dogs (both living and dead). Pastor Tom Eggebeen hopes it will
“reinvigorate the church’s connection with the community, provide solace
to elderly members, and possibly attract new worshippers who are crazy
about their four-legged friends” (“Gone to the Dogs,” AP, Nov. 8, 2009).
Eggebeen says that “when we love a dog and a dog loves us, that’s a part
of God.” Laura Hobgood-Oster, religion professor at Southwestern
University, found 500 churches that have blessings for animals and about
six that hold pet worship services. One in a Boston suburb is called
Woof ‘n Worship. One of the attendees at Eggebeen’s Canines service
said, “I don’t have any kids, so my pets have always been my children.”
In fact, though animals can be a blessing, because God made them for
man, they are not children and they don’t have eternal souls. They have
no consciousness of God, and when they die, they die.

CLIMATE CHIEF HYPOCRITICALLY SAYS GIVE UP MEAT TO SAVE THE PLANET

The following is from the Australian Independent Baptist Newsletter,:
“Lord Stern of Brentford, who is ‘the author of the influential 2006
Stern Review on the cost of tackling global warming,’ told The Times,
‘People will need to consider turning vegetarian if the world is to
conquer climate change, according to a leading authority on global
warming’ (“Climate Chief Lord Stern,” The Times, Oct. 27, 2009). Stern
also said that eating ‘meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot
of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources.
A vegetarian diet is better.’ But Lord Stern had the audacity to also
acknowledge that he himself ‘was not a strict vegetarian.’ These
deceived folk are leading the way for the one-world system. Of course,
believers in the Lord Jesus Christ should always take care of God’s
creation, but we should not imitate those who worship ‘and serve the
creature more than the Creator’ (Romans 1:25).”

THE INDEPENDENT BAPTIST MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY OF COMPROMISE

The following warning is edited from a sermon by Pastor Terry Coomer,
founder and director of For Love of the Family ministries (P.O. Box 535,
Elwood, IN 46036, 765-552-1973, tlco...@juno.com,
http://www.churchpages.org/fortheloveofthefamily). “Quite frankly, I am
just amazed when I talk to Christian leaders and pastors. I recently
conversed with a man who talked about a Christian college where he is
the leader. He told me about wanting to turn things around. He talked
about right music, right dress, and right stand on the Bible, which are
very admirable things. Yet the leaders and teachers in this school do
all the things that he privately admitted to be wrong. I ask you, how
can a man take a stand for dress standards when he has none? How can a
man take a stand against Southern Gospel music when he allows it right
in his church or allows those to come to speak that promote it? How can
a man take a stand for the Bible when he believes all texts are okay?
The answer is that he cannot, and he allows these things in his church
because it appeals to the flesh. Romans 6:12 says, ‘Let not sin
therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts
thereof.’ Revival can never come to a church or a nation as long as the
leaders’ lives are dictated by the ‘lusts of the flesh.’ ... Folks, the
real need today is not for more programs, but real Christian holy
living. WE HAVE A MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY OF COMPROMISE TODAY. Our
church takes a stand against the things mentioned above and will not
compromise them. This does not mean that people need to be enemies, yet
there are things I cannot and should not participate in and just call it
a difference of opinion. If a person has a real desire to change and
asks for help, we help them and provide information, but the idea that I
should have compromisers preach in my church to try to help them or to
be a political person is utter nonsense. Many do this under the guise
that the people they invite do not understand the issues yet. No, my
friend, they are Biblical compromisers, and if you invite them to speak
or associate with them in the ministry you are participating in their
‘living for the lusts of the flesh’ lifestyle. It is a serious flaw that
is killing the spiritual fervor of our churches, church people, Bible
colleges, and children. We are teaching them it is okay to live for the
lusts of the flesh and to live a compromising life. It is shameful and a
direct violation of the Scripture and is willful sinful disobedience. We
need to remember that someday, maybe today, we will stand before God and
give an account for how we have lived our lives. Titus 2:11-12 says,
‘For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men.
Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.’”

CONCLUSION: The Weekly Church News Notes is designed for use in
churches. Of necessity we quote from a wide variety of sources, but this
obviously does not imply an endorsement. We trust that our readers will
not be discouraged. It is God’s will that we know the times (1 Ch.
12:32; Mat. 16:3) and that we be as wise as serpents and harmless as
doves. The News Notes remind us that the hour is very late, and we need
to be ready for the Lord’s coming. Are you sure that you are born again?
Are you living for Christ? “And that, knowing the time, that now it is
high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than
when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us
therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour
of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and
drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and
envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for
the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Rom. 13:11-14).