Why is an Affair with a Church Member ‘Clergy Sexual Misconduct?’

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I believe there’s unity on this particular issue because of my view of pastoral authority. I believe that what the Scripture has to say about the role of spiritual leaders makes it abundantly clear from the Bible that there’s no such thing as a pastor-congregant “affair.”

(Pulpit & Pen)  Tullian Tchividjian, when defending his return to the pastorate after being defrocked by his Presbytery and fired from multiple churches for both adultery and subsequent cover-ups, claimed that having sexual relations with a church member was not “abuse.” He is wrong. Continue reading →

Our Heavenly Dwelling

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. Romans 8:22-25 (NASB) Read verses 24-25 on the site.

As I have grown older as a Christian, and, hopefully, as the Lord has matured me, the more I want freedom from everything that is in any way tinged with The Fall. Of course that includes my own flesh that wants only to have its cravings satiated as well as the World System whose king is Satan. God does use our time here to grow us in humility while uprooting our pride, but I so want to be past this so I can be with my Saviour. Continue reading →

NY Times Piles Hate on America with the 1619 Project

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“The reason Donald Trump is hated and despised and feared is not just the Washington establishment. It is the worldwide globalist establishment. So in response to Trump, the New York Times, a leader in this globalist, “Let’s take America down a peg or two ’cause America doesn’t deserve her status” crowd has their new agenda that America’s true founding was when slaves first arrived, and everything that happened thereafter is basically criminal. The United States is a criminal state that has achieved its unwarranted power and prosperity on the backs of people of color.”

(Rush Limbaugh show transcript)  RUSH: We have some follow-ups from yesterday. I spent a lot of time, as you recall, yesterday on the New York Times attempting to rewrite American history and the founding of America as dating to 1619 when the slave trade arrived in North America. You talk about the state of modern-day journalism. Continue reading →

Popular, But False…Do Not Be Deceived

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“Just because a speaker sounds good to you does not mean he is speaking the truth. Do not trust your heart. God’s Word tells us the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. As fallen, sinful human beings, we will always seek validation and permission for our wicked, sinful desires. Many will come, even in God’s name, to grant such permission and soothe our consciences, and such people will be very popular. But do not be deceived.”

(Rob Pue – Rapture Ready)  I remember watching Christian-based movies back in the 1970s and ‘80s having to do with the end times. They were not very well done, and I found one aspect of these movies to be a little bit hard to grasp. They always showed Christians under great persecution…. Continue reading →

SBC Leader and Mike Bickle Explain Why Fake Miracles Are Okay

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In the video provided, Mike Bickle—who was a member of the Kansas City Prophets and a “General” in the New Apostolic Reformation, discusses the apostasy of several prominent ex-Christian celebrities. But it’s about halfway through the video that it gets really interesting.

(Pulpit & Pen)  An up-and-coming Southern Baptist leader in the Missouri Baptist Convention sat down to do a video with two leaders in the International House of Prayer (IHOP) cult in Kansas City, Missouri. The three men, including the SBC pastor, discussed why fake miracles and ‘exaggerations’ in the charismatic movement are “worth it.” Continue reading →

Marianne Williamson’s presidential candidacy shines light on ‘A Course in Miracles’

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We recently posted a piece entitled “The Curious Mystical Text Behind Marianne Williamson’s Presidential Bid, that delved into the New Age guru’s background and examined the occult book she introduced in her New York Times Best Seller “A Return to Love.”

To the surprise of many, Williamson got a lot of attention during the second Democrat debate. Literally thousands Googled her. You can bet that many of those folks bought her books; likewise, they bought “A Course In Miracles.” For our subscribers who missed the story, we told you that the Course claims to be dictated by Jesus Christ Himself.  Nothing could be further from the truth. According to a CRI Statement: “It is intelligently organized and simply written. It appeals to personal pride and can become almost addicting emotionally. It is carefully designed for radically restructuring a person’s perception against Christian faith and toward New Age occultism.” Continue reading →

Unworthy to Pray

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

Prayer is a huge struggle for me most of the time. It seems that God must wring my heart and drive me into deep despair at times in order for me to pray in such a way that bears fruit. Why do I struggle so? I think the following piece by Martin Luther nails this right on the head. Enjoy and be blessed – Mike Ratliff

by Martin Luther

But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:13) Continue reading →

The Return of the Loch Ness Monster

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The propaganda distributors in Nazi Germany were experts in how to create myths surrounding racial accusations.  They were specialists in demonization.  As the despicable Nazi Joseph Goebbels once said: “if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.”

(Bill O’Reilly)  In 1933, most likely in a small, smoke-filled pub, someone came up with the idea of creating a giant lake bound creature to attract attention to a remote region in central Scotland.

Continue reading →

Southern Baptist Church Now Accepting Gay Church Members

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The pastor said that addressing the sin of homosexuality was “not on his list” until someone asked if they could become a member while being a homosexual, at which point he decided that “silence is not golden.” Subsequently, because the struggle “had a face,” Conrad began to “study and pray,” at which point he began to question the teaching he had since a child, that “homosexuals were sinners.”

(Pulpit & Pen) A Southern Baptist church announced this past Sunday that it would warmly embrace homosexual church members or leaders. Following what Reformation Charlotte calls the logical conclusion of The Gospel Coalition’s promotion of celibate gay Christianity, this church is now embracing practicing gay Christianity. Continue reading →

Teen Vogue gonna do its thing, but will parents do parenting?

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“Teen Vogue has been online for some time after dropping its profit-losing magazine, which means the teen-oriented website is depending on popular messaging app Snapchat to market its controversial content, including the hide-your-abortion story.”

(Charlie Butts – OneNewsNow)  A teen magazine known for its outrageous left-wing articles is at it again but a family advocacy group says parents are ultimately responsible for pushing back. Continue reading →

Antinomianism

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

4 Everyone practicing sin also practices lawlessness and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that he was manifested to take away sins, and there is no sin in him. 6 No one who abides in him continually sins; those who continually sin have not seen him or known him.  1 John 3:4-8 (translated from the NA28 Greek text)  Read verses 7-8 on the site.

Antinomianism means “opposed to law.” Antinomian views are those denying that God’s law in Scripture should directly control the Christian’s life. Dualistic antinomianism appeared early in the Gnostic heresies. The Gnostics taught that salvation was for the soul only, making bodily behavior irrelevant both to God’s interest and to the soul’s health. The conclusion was that one may behave riotously and it will not matter. Continue reading →

Back in pulpit after scandal, Tullian Tchividjian insists sex with former congregants was not abuse

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The question that needs to be asked is who restored Tullian Tchividjian to ministry after he was very publicly defrocked? As Pulpit & Pen points out: “Certainly, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church has not restored Tchividjian. His former pastor, Kevin Labby, has not restored Tchividjian. GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) has not restored Tchividjian. The Presbyterian Church of America has not restored Tchividjian. The PCA’s South Florida Presbytery has not restored Tchividjian. So how on Earth did Tchividjian get restored?”

Once a pastor/shepherd is defrocked for committing an egregious sin against God, he is unqualified to lead, or in Tchividjian’s case “unfit for Christian ministry”….unless you happen to be the grandson of Billy Graham, and have an ego roughly the size of the Grand Canyon. Continue reading →

James MacDonald hints at return to ministry to followers

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“Great days of triumph and victory always follow days of testing – we look forward to sharing with you in brand new ways – all the Lord has been teaching us and what His calling is for us.” 

(Brandon Showalter – Christian Post)  Former Harvest Bible Chapel pastor James MacDonald is signaling that he may soon be back in ministry.

The longtime pastor of the Chicago-area megachurch — who was ousted earlier this year after derogatory comments he made were played on the air of a local radio program and following months of controversy over alleged financial malfeasance and an abusive church culture — posted a message Thursday in a Facebook group called Walk in the Word Partners, according to independent journalist and radio broadcaster Julie Roys. Continue reading →

The Latest In Exploitation: Down Syndrome Drag Show Will Perform at a Midwest Art Fair

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“Audiences think the queens are great performers first and foremost, with an interesting way of playing with gender, identity and sexuality. Through drag they can be fierce, sexual, wild, and they can express their ideas… For the audience to see a performer playing with gender, some people can feel uncomfortable because they don’t see people with Down Syndrome as sexual beings or someone who is connected to gender of sexual desire.”

(Pulpit & Pen)  This must be an all-time cultural low. We are now encouraging those with special needs to imitate the sexual provocations of deluded same-sex impersonators—and calling it “art.” Continue reading →

Make Your Calling and Election Sure

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, 23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass.The grass withers, And the flower falls off, 25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:22-25 (NASB)

The Puritans had a term they used in their theological writings and discussions describing professing believers who fell away or were in some way not consistent in their walk. They called them “temporary believers.” Continue reading →

The Test of True Faith

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. James 1:16-18 (NASB) 

The test of true faith is that which is revealed in how one lives and walks through this life. Right belief, that is, a faith that lives in a regenerate heart born from above, is exhibited in right living as James, the brother of our Lord Jesus Christ wrote in the passage above…. Continue reading →

The ERLC Publishes an Article on Women Written by a Feminist Lesbian

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“For Rebecca McLaughlin, the New Testament works as a Critical Race Theory / Intersectionality / Liberation Theology manifesto. In the world of Critical Race Theory, the world is divided into identity groups at war in a zero-sum game. For one group to be lifted up, another must be pulled down.”

(Pulpit & Pen)  The ERLC has published an article on Jesus and women written by a lesbian Critical Race Theory / Intersectionality advocate. What could possibly go wrong here?

Rebecca McLaughlin recently wrote an article for the ERLC website on “How the Gospels Show that Jesus Valued Women.” Continue reading →

Teacher Issues ‘Gender Unicorn’ Handout to Students on First Day of School to Explain Why He Goes By ‘Mx’

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“I don’t care what you identify as, that’s your decision. But no one has the right to ask my child these questions that have absolutely nothing to do with what you are teaching in a classroom.” 

(Heather Clark – Christian News Network)  Some parents have expressed objection after a middle school teacher in California issued a “gender unicorn” handout to students on the first day of school to explain why he goes by the prefix “Mx.” rather than “Mr.”

Luis Davila Alvarado teaches science at Denair Middle School. Last week, he gave students a worksheet that features an image of a unicorn along with sections such as “gender identity,” gender expression” “sexually attracted to” and “emotionally attracted to.” The document comes from Trans Student Educational Resources. Continue reading →

Standing Up To The enemy

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The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it. Nehemiah 2:20

The men who opposed the rebuilding of the wall stood outside the covenant of promise. None of the three had any claim to the promise of God to inherit the land. That is why Nehemiah took this stand.

The form their opposition took is also prophetic of our struggles. They first mocked and ridiculed. Continue reading →

Christian Rocker Posts Stunning Response to Recent Apostasy of Christian Leaders

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“It is time for the church to rediscover the preeminence of the Word. And to value the teaching of the Word. We need to value truth over feeling. Truth over emotion. And what we are seeing now is the result of the church raising up influencers who did not supremely value truth who have led a generation who also do not believe in the supremacy of truth. And now those disavowed leaders are proudly still leading and influencing boldly AWAY from the truth.”

(Julie Roys) John Cooper, the lead singer for the band Skillet, posted a stunning response on Facebook yesterday to the recent public renunciations of Christianity by Joshua Harris and then Hillsong songwriter, Marty Sampson. (Sampson has since slightly walked back his initial statement after Dr. Michael Brown posted an open letter challenging Sampson’s assertions.) Below is Cooper’s entire statement, which was also published at Cogent Christianity. I’m reposting it here because it’s so good and so important, I want to make sure everyone who follows this blog sees it. Thank you, John Cooper, for saying what few have the insight or courage to say. God bless you, brother! Continue reading →

Parental Nightmares in Public Schools

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“Public schools aren’t just undermining parents with the curriculum. When children “decide” they “might” be transgender, parents better not object, or else they will be treated as a threat to their own children’s well-being.”

(Brent Bozell – Townhall)  Public schools are reopening for business across America, meaning it’s time to get back to reading, writing, arithmetic … and revolution.

As usual in matters such as these, California is leading the way. Continue reading →

Homosexuality – Men Acting Like the Woman

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“The definition of effeminacy (transgenderism) is wrapped up in the concept of men acting like women and women acting like men, contrary to their sex.  Little girls still like to play with dolls and teacups.  Little boys like to run and hit things. This is God’s created and cosmic order. Effeminacy reverses God’s created order.”

(Larry E. Ball – The Aquila Report)  In the discussion of the homosexual movement in our culture, and also in the corresponding debate in evangelical churches, including the PCA, there is another missing link in this whole discussion…. Continue reading →

The Hatred of the World

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

13 Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you. 1 John 3:13 (NASB) 

There are many ministries in our time that are run by people who have either forgotten that friendship with the world is a sin or they are deliberately overlooking it. If a ministry operates in such a way that the world loves it then there is at least one missing component in it. That of course is obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture is clear that Christians cannot be friends of the world…. Continue reading →

Judicial Watch Finds Documents Showing Fusion GPS Working Directly With Obama’s DOJ to Frame Trump

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“These documents show a crazed DOJ-FBI effort to use the Clinton spy ring at Fusion GPS, namely Nellie Ohr, to smear President Trump – even before he was sworn in as president.  Clinton campaign operative Nellie Ohr may as well as have had a desk at the Justice Department.”

(Katie Pavlich – Townhall)  Government watchdog Judicial Watch has uncovered and released hundreds of documents showing the Obama Justice Department working directly with Fusion GPS, a research firm hired by the Clinton campaign, to frame President Trump. Continue reading →