Leonardo Blair

Latest

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  May 27, 2015

  Senior Vatican Official Says Ireland's Gay Marriage Vote Is a 'Defeat for Humanity'

  A senior Vatican official, reportedly seen as second only to the pope, said Ireland's recent legalization of gay marriage is a "defeat for humanity" in comments seen as the strongest yet from the Catholic Church on the controversial referendum.

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  May 25, 2015

  'There's No Such Thing as Comfortable Christianity;' NHCLC's Samuel Rodriguez Urges Spirit-Filled Christians to Speak Up

  In a high-energy parting shot to a gathering of several thousand Spirit-filled believers at the closing session of the Empowered21 Global Congress in Jerusalem, Israel on Sunday, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Samuel Rodriguez warned that "there is no such thing as comfortable Christianity" and urged the group to use the power God gave them to declare Him to the world.

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  May 24, 2015

  On Eve of Pentecost, Hundreds of Christians From Across the World Gather at the Jordan River in Israel for Praise and Baptisms

  At the border between Israel and Jordan in east Jerusalem, a lone Jordanian soldier dressed in camouflage and armed with a gun gazed nonchalantly at a spectacle unfolding before him on the other side of the river. Christians, busloads of them, were beginning to arrive.

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  May 23, 2015

  We've Got to 'Preach the Truth About Being Filled With the Holy Spirit' and Speaking in Tongues, Says Jentezen Franklin

  In a clarion call to a global gathering of Spirit-filled believers in Jerusalem Friday, Jentezen Franklin, senior pastor of the multi-campus Free Chapel Church, urged the anointed throng to start preaching "the truth about being filled with the Holy Spirit" and speaking in tongues to their families or risk losing a generation.

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  May 21, 2015

  Governor of Bethlehem Cancels Christian Event Scheduled for West Bank Site Due to 'Significant Political and Religious Pressure'

  An outdoor Christian worship event set to be hosted by the Empowered21 Global Congress in Manger Square, Bethlehem on Friday was abruptly cancelled by the Palestinian Authority governor of Bethlehem, Abdel Fattah Hamayel, due to "significant political and religious pressure."

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  May 21, 2015

  Young Leaving Churches That 'Abandoned Belief in Authority of Scripture,' Says Head of World's Largest Pentecostal Denomination

  George O. Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church (USA) and chairman of the World AG Fellowship, considered the world's largest Pentecostal denomination with more than 67 million adherents, said Wednesday that young people are leaving traditional churches that have "abandoned a belief in the authority of Scripture."

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  May 20, 2015

  Millions of Records and Fans Later, It's Still All About Jesus for Global Coalition of Empowered21 Worship Leaders

  Two million people once showed up at a worship service to hear her sing live, but for popular Brazilian worship leader Ana Paula Valadao and the global coalition of worship leaders at the Empowered21 Global Congress in Jerusalem this week, nothing behind their magnetic music will be about them. It's always about Jesus, they say, always.

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  May 19, 2015

  Spirit-Empowered Leaders Gather for What Could Be Largest Christian Pentecost Celebration in Israel's Modern History

  At the 11,600-seater Jerusalem Pais Arena in Israel Monday morning, workers here were busy trying to get the brand new 40,000-square-meter facility ready for what could be the largest Christian Pentecost Sunday celebration in the Jewish nation's modern history.

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  May 14, 2015

  Pastor's 23-Y-O Daughter Stabbed to Death on Sunday; 16-Y-O Teenager Arrested

  The 23-year-old daughter of a New Jersey pastor who serves a congregation of mostly South Korean immigrants is now dead after she was violently stabbed multiple times on Sunday and local police are holding a 16-year-old boy in connection with her death.

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  May 13, 2015

  UN Experts Say Paraguay Failed 10-Y-O Girl Impregnated by Stepfather by Denying Her Late-Term Abortion

  United Nations experts said Monday that a controversial decision by Paraguayan authorities to not perform an abortion on a 10-year-old girl who's now six months pregnant after being repeatedly raped by her stepfather has placed the unidentified child in grave danger, but local officials contend that allowing the abortion could claim her life as well.