Aug. 9, 2019: El Paso churches, white nationalism, discipleship, Christian cross on Penn county seal
Daily Radio Script - Friday, August 9, 2019
Here are the latest headlines, brought to you by The Christian Post.
— El Paso churches give blood, counseling, prayer to those affected by mass shooting
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Churches in El Paso, Texas are giving prayers, counseling, and blood to help the victims of the recent mass shooting that has so far resulted in 22 deaths.
J.C. Rico, lead pastor of Immanuel Church El Paso, told The Christian Post that his congregation is providing licensed counselors at no cost to anyone affected by the tragedy who needs them.
One example was a young man with their church who needed counseling, as he worked at the Walmart and had encouraged some people to show up for an event on the day of the shooting.
“He now feels responsible for sending the young girls’ soccer team ‘The Fusion’ to Walmart for a fundraiser. The two male coaches were shot and are still in the hospital. He needs counseling as well,” said Rico.
Maribel Valdivia of Beth El Bible Church said, “Please continue to keep us in your thoughts as this has been very impactful at different levels for many of us here in El Paso. We have not been given a spirit of fear but right after something like this happens, constant reminders of God's truth are absolutely vital.”
— Beth Moore: Pastors must resist white nationalism
Christian leaders are continuing to speak out about the evil of white nationalist ideology amid ongoing revelations about the motivations of the gunman who murdered 20 people at an El Paso shopping mall Saturday.
Bible teacher Beth Moore wrote, “Any ‘Christ’ that can be invoked in support of white nationalism is a false Christ of the highest, most hellish order. An anti-Christ. A wholly-opposite christ. No such christ is the Christ Jesus of Scripture who taught His followers a love that sacrifices life & limb for others.
“Let it be known, let it be declared by genuine followers of Jesus, that the man who opened fire in El Paso may invoke a christ of some kind but it is NOT our Christ. His christ would be unrecognizable to us. Unrecognizable in Scripture. We claim no Christ of white nationalism."
https://www.christianpost.com/news/beth-moore-pastors-must-resist-white-nationalism.html
— Study: Most churchgoers say they can walk with God alone
A new study by LifeWay Research highlights the lack of discipleship in today’s churches. The majority of Protestant churchgoers believe they can walk with God without other believers — yet also say they need other believers to help them in that walk.
Three in four Protestant churchgoers say they need other believers to help them to grow in their walk with God, with 38 percent strongly agreeing. However, 65 percent of Protestant churchgoers say they can walk with God without other believers, with 36 percent agreeing strongly.
Kenneth Priest, interim director of the Center for Church Revitalization at Southwestern, said those two statements contradict one another and highlight the need for greater discipleship in churches.
"I believe this is primarily a discipleship issue," Priest said, explaining that the "spiritual apathy" seen in many churches is due to "the lack of pastors and spiritual leaders equipped to effectively preach and teach a text-driven life application of God's Word."
https://www.christianpost.com/news/study-most-churchgoers-say-they-can-walk-with-god-alone.html
— Cross can stay on Penn county seal, judge says, citing Bladensburg decision
A federal appeals court panel has ruled that a Pennsylvania county seal can include a cross, rejecting a lower court ruling in favor of an atheist organization’s complaint.
Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman authored the opinion of the panel, citing the recent Supreme Court decision in which the high court concluded that a large cross memorial on public property in Bladensburg, Maryland did not violate the Constitution.
The Supreme Court decision gave a “presumption of constitutionality” to religious monuments, practices, and symbols found on government property, Hardiman found.
— VP Mike Pence: Spend more time in prayer than online
Vice President Mike Pence urged people to spend more time on their knees in prayer than they do online, particularly when faced with challenges.
Speaking at Alliance Defending Freedom's fireside chat Tuesday, the vice president talked about how he deals with critics, saying, "Number one is spend more time on your knees than on the internet."
"As a Christian believer, we're charged to pray for our loved ones, but also pray for our enemies. You have lots of opportunities in politics to do that," he added, receiving chuckles from the crowd.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/vp-mike-pence-spend-more-time-in-prayer-than-online.html
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