Kong Hee’s first appearance at City Harvest after fraud verdict: “Pastor is sorry”

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One would think that a pastor would understand that saying “I’m sorry” is not the same as asking his flock to forgive him for sinning against them by misappropriating 35 million of their hard earned money. Hee and several cohorts were convicted of using church funds to make his wife a popstar. You can’t make this stuff up, brethren. According to Christian Today:

City Harvest Church’s pastor Kong Hee apologised to his congregation this weekend after the guilty verdict in his trial for fraud.

According to the Asia One news service, on Sunday morning Kong faced a crowded auditorium at the Suntec convention centre, bowed and said, “Pastor is sorry”. He had used the same words at a service on Saturday night.

Kong, his deputy pastor Tan Ye Peng, finance manager Sharon Tan and former finance manager Serina Wee, were found guilty with former board members John Lam and Chew Eng Han of misusing $17 million from the church’s building fund to further the music career of Kong’s wife Ho Yeow Sun, known as Sun Ho. A further $18.5 million was used to cover up the scheme through a complicated system of bond issues and ’round-tripping’ transactions in which the church used its own money to pay debt owed to it.

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Update: Lifeway Peddling Gay-Affirming Prosperity Preacher For Profit

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Pulpit & Pen brings to our attention Ed Stetzer’s continuing lack of discernment. This is important because Stetzer runs the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention so he has a lot of clout in the Christian community. According to P&P:

Remember the large kerfuffle that started last year involving Lifeway, the media retail branch of the Southern Baptist Convention, and their peddling of heretical materials for profit? It all began when Pulpit & Pen confronted Ed Stetzer, Executive Director of Lifeway Research about Lifeway’s promotion of Heaven Tourism books and other heretical materials in their retail outlets. Stetzer’s response was to brush off the complaints and counter attack with ad-hominems while ignoring the issue. This sparked a widespread movement, known as #the15 on Twitter, which after much investigation and uncovering of evidence of wrongdoing by Lifeway’s leadership, eventually led to Lifeway removing Heaven tourism books for good.

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“God is not a he or a she”, says first female bishop to sit in House of Lords

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God who chose how He would be represented to mankind — male. He could have chosen female, but He didn’t. There are around 170 references to God as the “Father” in the Bible. “Bishop” Rachel Treweek does not seem to realize that only males are fathers.The Guardian has the story:

God should not necessarily be seen as a masculine figure, according to the UK’s first female bishop to sit in the House of Lords on Monday. “God is not to be seen as male. God is God,” said Rachel Treweek, bishop of Gloucester, who is to be inaugurated in parliament.

While acknowledging that many Anglicans would profoundly disagree, Treweek said the Church of England should use both male and female pronouns when referring to God. She personally prefers to say neither “he” nor “she”, but “God”. “Sometimes I lapse, but I try not to,” the bishop told the Observer.

“In the creation narratives, we’re told that God created human beings in God’s likeness, and then it goes on to talk about male and female. If I am made in the image of God, then God is not to be seen as male. God is God.”

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Persecution of those who live righteously

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10 Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! 12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2 Timothy 3:10-13 NASB

Christians who live in total obedience to their Lord will be persecuted. So, what does that say about “Christians” who live at peace with the world around them? The truth of the matter is this; the reason “Christians” are not persecuted in the US like they are in other countries is that very few of them are walking in the level of obedience to their Lord that would draw attention to them from those who hate the real Jesus and the Word of God. However, if they were living holy lives, sharing their faith, actively making disciples, and preaching the whole Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ the wrath of Satan and his seed would come upon them. View article →

Mormons Say Duty to Law on Same-Sex Marriage Trumps Faith

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New York Times reports:

Despite its deep opposition to same-sex marriage, the Mormon Church is setting itself apart from religious conservatives who rallied behind a Kentucky county clerk, Kim Davis, who cited her religious beliefs as justification for refusing to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

In a speech this week about the boundaries between church and state, Dallin Oaks, a high-ranking apostle in the church, said that public officials like Ms. Davis, the clerk in Rowan County, Ky., had a duty to follow the law, despite their religious convictions.

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The Human Will and salvation

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43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘ And they shall all be taught of God. ’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. John 6:43-46 NASB

Even those who most ardently proclaim the sovereignty of man’s freewill must honestly deal with passages throughout Sacred Scripture which make it clear that the human will of the natural man is incapable of attaining such a high role. In fact, God’s Word actually makes it clear that the Human Will is simply the faculty of choice with no inherent ability to make a decision on its own. It is the Human Mind that decides while the Will is the “faculty of choice, the immediate cause of all action.”1 Therefore, it is quite incorrect to allocate the sovereignty of choice to a mechanism within each of us, created by God, which enables us to carry out the volition of the mind. View article →

Caitlyn Jenner Named “Woman Of The Year”

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Trouble is, “Caitlyn” is really Bruce all dolled up to look like a woman. But “she” still has her man parts, for now at least. We know this nation has hit rock bottom when a popular magazine gives an award to someone who clearly has mental issues. Daily Caller has the story:

Photo: Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Photo: Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Glamour magazine named Caitlyn Jenner its “Woman of the Year” on Wednesday.

Along with Reese Witherspoon, Jenner will be featured on the publication’s December issue to celebrate 25 years of the magazine’s prize, Gossip Cop reports.

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Related: Jenner, Transgender and Trans-Lunacy

“Thou shalt commit adultery”: Rare Bible that encourages cheating goes up for sale

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Christian News Network reports:

Behold, cheaters! The most blasphemous Bible ever printed could be yours for $23,000.

One of the only 10 remaining copies of a Bible that mistakenly encourages infidelity will be auctioned off in London next month.

The 400-year-old holy book reads “Thou shalt commit adultery” after the word “not” was accidentally omitted from the Seventh Commandment.

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Fundamentalist Christian Ministry Attended by Josh Duggar under Investigation for Sexual Abuse

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Christian Headlines has the latest on Bill Gothard, founder of Institute In Basic Life Principles. In 2014 Gothard resigned over sexual harassment charges:

A fundamentalist Christian ministry is under investigation for allegedly covering up sexual abuse of employees and children who attended its programs.

Christian Today reports that the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), which was once a leading organization within the Christian homeschooling movement, has been accused of covering up sexual abuse.

Five women have filed a lawsuit against IBLP, asking for $50,000 in compensation and stating that the organization “frequently received reports” of “sexual abuse, sexual harassment and inappropriate/unauthorised touching,” and that these serious allegations were never reported to authorities.

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Archbishop Cupich lays out pathway for gay couples to receive Communion at Vatican press scrum

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LifeSiteNews reports:

Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago — who is participating in the Synod of the Family at Pope Francis’ personal invitation — said at a press scrum in the Vatican press office this afternoon that the conscience is “inviolable” and that he believes divorced and remarried couples could be permitted to receive the sacraments, if they have “come to a decision” to do so “in good conscience” – theological reasoning that he indicated in response to a follow-up question would also apply to gay couples.

During the lengthy press briefing, the archbishop also spoke approvingly of the so-called “Kasper Proposal,” which would permit divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion in some cases. Cupich explained that he had distributed Cardinal Walter Kasper’s book, The Gospel of the Family, in which the cardinal had laid out this proposal, to all of the priests in his diocese.

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Check out our research paper on Roman Catholicism

Pastors grow more polarized on Islam

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According to Baptist Press:

Protestant pastors are increasingly polarized about Islam, with a growing share labeling the Muslim faith violent while a sharply rising minority calls it spiritually good, a new study shows. Although a majority considers Islam dangerous, a small but increasing segment believes Islam is similar to Christianity, according to a new survey by LifeWay Research.

And two-thirds of Protestant pastors agree Christianity and Islam should seek to coexist in America.

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Run in such a way that you may win the prize

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24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 1 Corinthians 9:24 NASB

Back in the late 1970’s, through the 1980’s and even into the late 1990’s I was a runner. I trained on long daily runs between 6 and 7 minutes per mile. During a race, I could lower that by quite a bit when the time was right, like the last few hundred yards to the finish line. You would never believe that that was true by looking at me now that I am in my mid-60’s. My left knee will not allow me to run anymore. I miss it. However, I do remember very well preparing for a race and that high anxiety, high-energy period leading up to the starting gun. Then there would be the mad sprint for the first few hundred yards before the experienced runners would settle in and run according to their strategy. My favorite races were those in which the finish line was around a turn instead of at the end of a long straight. In those, I could hear the people at the finish line, but I could not see them. Then as I made the last turn to sprint to the finish line the people would begin applauding, some cried encouraging things. Then there was the last 50 yards or so in which I would run as fast as I physically could. As I crossed that finish line, it was incredible to look up at the clock and be amazed that I was physically able to cover that many kilometers or miles in such a short time. I would look back and the line of runners still on the course would stretch down the road. There was one common thread for me in all those years of running. If I trained well, I raced well. If I could not put in the miles in training for whatever reason, I simply could not compete. This is a direct parallel for us in how we walk before the face of God in our daily walk in this life. There is no way we can have the spiritual acumen to run the race set before us by God if we do not prepare correctly to do so. Then as we run the race, we must do so correctly or we will run poorly and may even fall out in shame. View article →

Bethel Redding children’s pastor and the finance angel?

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From John Lanagan of My Word Like Fire:

Lanagan writes:

The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it? (Jeremiah 5:31)

. As previously covered, Bethel Redding children’s pastor Seth Dahl has blasphemously claimed that in a vision Christ came to him and asked Dahl for forgiveness. You can watch this right here.

. In the above video, Dahl tells the Bethel Redding congregation of his experience with an enormous angel. Dahl asked the angel his name and then googled in the angel’s answer. The angel’s name was the same as that of a finance company. Dahl then realized the angel was “here for our finances at Bethel…”

. Dahl states, “You just need to hear a testimony so you can know what’s available to you ’cause I’m not trying to preach a sermon, I’m trying to invite you to a new way of life.”

. Yes, a way of life full of false visions and prophecies and dreams. Bethel Redding has taken many away from biblical Christianity.

. But it is apparent something else is happening as well. Because of these excesses (from Bethel Redding and elsewhere) many Christians are now afraid to draw near to God.

. “Experiencing God” has become a dreaded term. The great Reformed preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones, were he alive today, would be criticized by some well meaning discernment ministries for speaking about the “presence of God.”

. Related videos: Bethel Redding Snack Pack

Republished with permission

Al Mohler: Contraceptives and divorce led to same-sex marriage

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In an interview with Christian Today Albert Mohler tells it like it is:

A leading Southern Baptist theologian and commentator is to issue a call for “faithful, biblical witness” in a book to be released next week.

The president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Rev Dr Al Mohler, reflects in We Cannot Be Silent on the legalisation of same-sex marriage, the emergence of “transgenderism” and on divorce.

Interviewed for the seminary’s Southern News, Mohler said: “I am confronted daily with Christians who are asking one of the most basic questions and that is, ‘How did this happen?'”

In his book, Mohler says America’s Supreme Court will be held accountable by the court of “divine judgment” for legalising same-sex marriage.

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Mother of all highs: A determined push to win over moms is under way

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This piece is about winning moms over to marijuana. The Economist reports:

CandyAT A soirée on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado, one woman greets her fellow guests with a delicate bowl of vanilla sea-salt caramels, each one laced with marijuana. “It’s quite subtle,” she insists. “I just keep a few in my bag for when I’m feeling stressed out.” Over light chat about family and work, the group quickly cleaned up the bowl.

It is a scene Americans will be accustomed to by about 2025, according to Jazmin Hupp, head of Denver’s Women Grow society. “Once moms are on board, that’s it,” she explains, taking a drag on a hot pink e-cigarette filled with cannabis oil. Her battle cry explains the recent surge in products such as vegan weed bonbons, cannabis kale crisps, cannabis spiced almonds and “high tea”.

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Slander or discernment?

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

8 But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11 But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. Matthew 23:8-12 NASB

This discernment ministry stuff is not for everyone. I often wonder if I am cut out for it at all. I do not like conflict. On the other hand, God gifted me with the makeup that loves the truth and seeks justice because it is His truth and I am compelled, quite often, to speak out when false prophets besmirch His truth and the Gospel is treated as optional by certain “evangelicals.” However, there is a fine line between exposing that which is false and slander. That fine line has to do with intent and evidence. View article →

Peeping Toms lead college to reconsider gender-neutral bathrooms

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According to Christian Examiner:

A Canadian college that set up gender-neutral bathrooms in its dorms got a dose of reality recently when two women were videotaped by Peeping Toms – something critics have long warned would happen.

The incidents at the University of Toronto’s Whitney Hall took place Sept. 15 and 19 and have led to the school reconsidering its policies.

“Both victims (women) claimed seeing a cellphone reach over while they were in the shower,” Constable Victor Kwong of the Toronto Police told The Varsity student newspaper.

The person who did the recording has not been caught.

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How the Left Has Sabotaged Marriage and Family

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CommunismWhy would the Communist party USA be thrilled when the Supreme Court discovered a new right to same-sex marriage in the U.S. Constitution? And why are communists bent on pushing the LGBT agenda? According to Paul Kengor of The Daily Signal: “Communist Party USA and its publication, People’s World—successor to the Soviet-funded and directed Daily Worker—were thrilled with what Anthony Kennedy and friends had done.” This was no surprise to Kengor who studies communism for a living.

He continues:

For communists, this was a stunning victory, the securing of a long-elusive effort to vanquish the fixed marriage model set forth long ago by nature and the Creator. Indeed, if you thought the White House seemed eager to hoist the rainbow colors, you should have seen the American Communist Party.

In fact, the party of the red flag had been waving the rainbow flag before June 26, 2015. Communist Party USA has been pumping the full “LGBT” agenda for several years now.

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Faith working through love

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5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. Galatians 5:5-6 NASB

This Christian walk is fraught with struggle against a deadly enemy. That enemy is the flesh. Our flesh is deceitful and has only one goal, which is, motivated by pride, to drive us to seek fulfillment through channels which will always result in the believer not walking in the Spirit, but according to it. It is very clever and can even conjure up false humility that is really pride in disguise. It can justify all sorts of things that appear to be humble and Christlike, but which are merely screens and bluffs designed to disguise a life of self-gratification. In this walk it is vital that believers come to terms with the fact that they will have to deal with this monster as long as they are in this life and that it is the victory over it which is the wonderful result of the mortification of sin. This humble pursuit is only possible for believers as they learn to walk by faith motivated by God’s love working through them. View article →

TV Review: Oprah Winfrey’s “Belief”

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Brian Lowry of Variety reviews “Belief,” a seven-night miniseries Oprah produced that explores the origins and impacts of different world religions. Without getting too far afield, Oprah says she’s a Christian. However, when we examine the beliefs she holds it becomes clear that her religious views are more in line with New Age/New Thought.

Now to Lowry’s review:

Oprah Winfrey narrated Discovery’s splendid nature series “Life,” and seeks to bring similar production values — including sleek photography and a sweeping score — to OWN’s take on faith in “Belief.” Yet as earnest and human-interest oriented as this seven-part production is, it will play best among those who buy into the billionaire mogul/personality’s particular brand of “Live your best life” mumbo-jumbo, a mix of spirituality and self-help. The Oprah seal of approval should make this a winner by OWN’s standards, but for all its positive energy, “Belief” will likely wind up preaching to the choir.

“My confidence comes from knowing there is a force, a power, greater than myself, that I’m a part of, and that is also a part of me,” Winfrey says in voiceover at the outset of each installment, summing up where she stands on the belief continuum. After that, however, the program is — literally and by design — all over the map, flitting to different spots across the globe to explore manifestations of faith in all its varied forms.

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149 children rescued from human trafficking in America

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Christian Examiner reports:

In a week-long nationwide sting, over 500 law enforcement officials coordinated by the FBI rescued 149 children from human trafficking—and the youngest one was 12 years old.

“It’s a really young age—we’re really concerned about that,” said Staca Shehan, executive director of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which provided aid for the rescued children. “The majority of cases we see involve 15-, 16- and 17-year-old children,” Shehan said.

Runaway youth are especially likely to be exploited by predators who, after winning the children’s trust and obtaining their dependence, force them into prostitution.

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Godly contentment

Posted by ∙ ∙ In Devotion/Teaching

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:10-13 ESV

If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 1 Timothy 6:3-5 ESV

In this post, I deeply desire to focus on what I call “Godly contentment.” I tire of continually pointing out the false and why it is so. Let us take this  post and look at true contentment, its proper focus, and what it brings to each Christian who obtains it. View article →

Fuller Theological Seminary professor caves. Comes out in support of same-sex relationships

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Berean Research reports:

Fuller Theological Seminary professor Daniel Kirk has changed his position on LGBT inclusion in the church. He announced on his blog this weekend that he now fully affirms same-sex relationships:

Is it time for us, not to “accept them into the body,” as though we were making some momentous decision ourselves, but to recognize that God has already accepted them—and we simply need to acknowledge what God has done? We could, like the apostles, exercise our faith by pointing to what it seems that the Spirit is doing and walk by that Spirit in our embrace of those whom God has already embraced. This is the road I’m choosing.

Full post is here. We share this not out of shock or surprise, but to keep you apprised of the daily darkening of the so-called visible Church that has departed from the truth of Scripture. Fuller, after all, was one of the first seminaries to become infected by emergent thought. (See Paul Smith’s must-read book, New Evangelicalism: The New World Order. It is also the home of famous alumni wolves Rob Bell and Tony Jones, a former professor.

Israel: Palestinian children taught “How to Stab a Jew”

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According to Sky News:

Danny Danon, Israel’s new ambassador to the United Nations, is urging the Security Council to make a statement against what he described as “the incitement that fuels terror”.

During his speech, Mr Danon held up a piece of card with a diagram of a human body entitled “How to Stab a Jew”, which he said was “an example of what Palestinian children are being exposed to day in and day out, in school, after school”.

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Homosexual Men “Divorce” to Become Threesome, Now Plan to Use Sisters as Surrogates

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Christian News Network reports:

Two homosexual men recently “divorced” under Canadian law so that they could include a third man in their relationship, and now plan to have their sisters serve as surrogates to bear their children.

“We just want to say that love is love. It should be multiplied not divided,” Adam Grant told the Daily Mail. “It shouldn’t matter if you’re in a three-way or a four-way relationship.”

Grant and his partner Shayne Curran met Sebastian Tran at a nightclub in 2012, after “tying the knot” the year prior. A year later, they agreed to be open to seeing others.

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