‘The Voice’ Contestant Uses Worship Anthem to Proclaim God’s Love

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November 24, 2021

Thanks to a performance by contestant Jeremy Rosado, viewers of “The Voice” this week heard about the “Reckless Love” of God. The song by Bethel Music’s Cory Asbury proclaims the “overwhelming, never-ending” love of God, who “leaves the 99” to find the lost one.

On Monday, Rosado’s rendition of “Reckless Love” earned him a standing ovation from the studio audience and his celebrity coach, Kelly Clarkson.

Who Is Jeremy Rosado?

Rosado, 29, isn’t new to TV singing competitions. Ten years ago, he placed 13^th in season 11 of “American Idol,” where celebrity judge Jennifer Lopez nicknamed him “Jer-Bear.” Exposure from that show helped launch Rosado’s career as a Christian artist and a church worship leader.

In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Rosado describes growing up in a large Puerto Rican family in Queens, New York, where he and his siblings performed “shows” for relatives. After moving to Florida, Rosado sang in his high school’s gospel choir and participated in every talent show he could find.

He also helped his mom raise his niece and eventually became the girl’s legal guardian. “She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he says of Jocelyn, now a college freshman. “I definitely had to push the music aside because I had to provide for my daughter, to be a single dad. [But now] I’m able to actually take a chance [with music] because it’s her turn to spread her wings.”

Jeremy Rosado Gives Glory to God

Of his run on “American Idol,” Rosado admits he “had a lot of immaturity vocally back then,” at age 19. But the publicity led to lots of offers and opportunities, including going on concert tours, making three albums, and serving as worship leader at Free Life Chapel in Lakeland, Florida, from 2015 to 2018. And all that experience helped mold Rosado into “a totally different singer” from his “Idol” days, he says.

On “The Voice,” Rosado says his hook is being “this big emotional guy who sings the big emotional songs.” To his coach, he pitches songs—including worship music—that “kind of play to my story, or that I feel so deeply.”

Rosado has cited Francesca Battistelli, Kirk Franklin, and Israel Houghton as his musical influences. The singer’s three albums are available on Spotify and Apple Music.

When his latest TV gig is over, Rosado says he plans to release a new album. He also has a “game plan in my head” for next steps, including what he hopes will be a major record deal. Another goal involves working in Christian broadcasting, “even locally” at Florida radio stations.

Following Monday’s performance of “Reckless Love,” Rosado took to social media to glorify God and thank his supporters. “Last night wasn’t about me, it was about HIM,” he posted on Instagram. “I’m not sure how America received this performance, it’s seems mixed between people online but what I do know for sure is that, the millions of lives that were impacted and told about the love of Jesus is worth it! Thank you family for sticking with me and for voting last night, praying for the best! I love you.”

CBN Calls Out SBC Seminary Professor for Promoting Gay Son’s Sermon

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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November 24, 2021

CBN — Photo from Instagram: @jonathan_merritt

The Conservative Baptist Network (CBN) released a statement Wednesday night (Nov. 23) blasting Dr. James Merritt’s endorsement of his son’s recent sermon. Jonathan Merritt identifies as a homosexual. Merritt is a Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) pastor and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) visiting professor.

Merritt, who is also lead pastor of Cross Pointe Church in Duluth, Georgia, and former SBC President (2000-2002), shared a message with a link on his Twitter account earlier this week (Nov. 22) saying, “Good Shepherd New York • 11.21.21 https://youtu.be/JtZla6bnxn8 via @YouTube I don’t agree with my loved son @JonathanMerritt on everything to be sure. But I encourage you to listen to his message on Mark 13. It is both brilliant and faithful to the gospel and the coming of Jesus!”

CBN wrote on its Twitter page, “Promoting homosexual preachers is not loving, biblical, or Baptist,” then provided a link to the full statement.

Who Is Jonathan Merritt?

Jonathan is an award-winning contributor for The Atlantic, author, speaker, and holds a Master of Divinity from SEBTS. On his birthday this year (Aug. 4), Jonathan described himself on his Instagram page as, “a gay man, beloved by God, who has endured the worst the world could throw at him and fought his way to health and wholeness.”

His post recalled a day in 2012 when someone publicly outed his sexual orientation, calling it “painful” and a “betray[al].” Jonathan shared that the trauma resulted in a “boatload of therapy” just to be able to “love the delightful human that God made when God made me.”

According to his post, this is the first time he’s written about his “identity” online because of trauma that left him “bruised and untrusting.” He added that he is “dead dog afraid” to be vulnerable to the public.

Jonathan wrote: “This disconnect between my private and public life has felt unnecessary and unsustainable. I don’t want to live fearful of the opinions of strangers or the venom of bigots.” Wanting to enter the second half of his life with more “authenticity, alignment, and integrity than I exhibited in the first half,” Jonathan said he wants to make clear he’s a gay man who’s beloved by God.

UPDATE: NY Pastor Resigns After Suggesting Men Are Free to Rape Their Wives in His Sermon

By

Dale Chamberlain

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November 24, 2021

UPDATED Nov. 24, 2021: Dr. Burnett Robinson, who suggested in a sermon that husbands are permitted to rape their wives, has resigned, according to a statement sent to ChurchLeaders from the Greater New York Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The statement reads:

Pastor Burnett Robinson has resigned as the Senior Pastor of the Grand Concourse Seventh-day Adventist Church. The Greater New York Conference of Seventh-day Adventists recognizes many have been deeply harmed by the sentiments expressed by Robinson. The views he expressed are wrong and not accepted by our church. Rape and sexual assault of women are crimes and should always be treated as such. We will continue to educate and counsel all pastors, seminary students, and staff to fully understand that this type of rhetoric is abhorrent and unequivocally unacceptable. We will continue to pray for and seek to become stronger advocates on behalf of survivors and those still living with violence and abuse. The Seventh-day Adventist Church condemns any language or behavior that perpetrates or encourages any type of violence against women. We humbly apologize and ask for forgiveness.

Moreover, Religion News Service reports that the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has also issued a statement, saying, “We wholeheartedly condemn any form of behavior or rhetoric that perpetrates any type of violence against women — or any person. This is not what the Seventh-day Adventist Church believes.”

ChurchLeaders original article written on Nov. 23, 2021, below:

A change.org petition is calling for Dr. Burnett Robinson to resign as senior pastor from Grand Concourse Seventh Day Adventist Church in the Bronx, New York after a video of his sermon about wives submitting to their husbands began circulating. In the sermon, Robinson suggests that it is permissible for husbands to rape their wives.

The church has deleted the sermon video from their YouTube channel, but YouTube user Sarah McDugal captured Robinson’s words and uploaded them herself. In this one minute and 22 second clip from Robinson’s sermon, Robinson can be heard quoting Ephesians 5:22 and then explaining his interpretation of the text.

“‘Wives, you must submit yourself to your husband as unto the Lord,’” Robinson quoted from Ephesians. “And in this matter of submission, I want you to know upfront, ladies, that once you get married, you are no longer your own. You are your husband’s.”

After this remark, Robinson paused a few moments for effect. As Robinson continued to pause, the congregation began laughing. Amid the somewhat nervous chuckles, Robinson said, “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Robinson then went on to illustrate what he meant by expressing his confusion at something he watched on television earlier that week.

“And besides that, because I saw in court the other day on TV where a lady sued her husband for rape,” Robinson said. “And I would say to you, gentlemen, the best person to rape is your wife.”

Wife Accused of Having ‘Trust Issues’ After Posting Viral TikTok Video With ‘Christian Marriage’ Rules

By

Jessica Lea

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November 24, 2021

A video from a woman on TikTok explaining her and her husband’s rules for “Christian marriage” has gone viral, with some users particularly taking issue with a rule that a husband and wife should individually have no friends of the opposite sex.

“You want to go out of your way and be alone with men?” asked Bailey, whose handle is @bmcpher, in a follow-up video addressing the controversy. “Or you need to go out of your way behind your wife’s back and be alone with women? That’s a red flag. But ya’ll keep saying I’m insecure. That’s fine.”

Christian Marriage Advice From Bailey

Bailey posted two videos with rules she and her husband follow in their marriage. The first video has gotten 2.5 million plays as of this writing. She included the hashtag #christianmarriage and began the video with text saying, “Rules my Husband and I have for our marriage that make people ANGRY.” Those rules are:

-No friends of the opposite sex
-No work [girlfriends]/ [boyfriends] or being alone with the opposite sex
-No texting the opposite sex without the other knowing

Rules from the second video include:

-No lusting after others (no following scandalous pages)
-Always put each other first (even over parents)

Comments have been turned off for both of the videos, but prior to that, responses reportedly ranged from people who agree with Bailey to people who believe her rules show that her marriage is characterized by distrust, insecurity, and a desire to control the other person.

In her follow-up video about boundaries in Christian marriage, Bailey responded to user @lindseymethner, who had asked, “So you and your husband lose out on potential great friendships because of trust issues?”

At the beginning of her response, Bailey appeared to imply that she was not generalizing this rule for all couples. “It’s not a lack of trust thing so much as it’s just a boundary of respect that we both feel is right for us,” she said.

Greg Laurie on the Likelihood of Another Jesus Movement and Why Pastors Need to Evangelize

By

Jessica Lea

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November 24, 2021

The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast · Greg Laurie on the Likelihood of Another Jesus Movement and Why Pastors Need to Evangelize

Greg Laurie is the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, one of the largest churches in the country, as well as the founder of Harvest Crusades, which nearly 10 million people have attended. He is also the founder of Harvest America, one of the largest gospel presentations in American history. Greg is the author of over 70 books, including “Jesus Revolution: How God Transformed an Unlikely Generation and How He Can Do It Again Today.”

Other Ways to Listen to This Podcast With Greg Laurie

► Listen on Apple
► Listen on Spotify
► Listen on Stitcher
► Listen on YouTube

Key Questions for Greg Laurie

-Tell us a little about your journey. How you did you come to know Jesus?

-For people who might not know what the Jesus Movement is, help us understand what it was and how it impacted the church.

-You’ve been in ministry now for 50 years, so you’ve seen many cultural shifts. Were there any reasons why the Jesus Movement happened when it did?

-How do you help regular, everyday people be evangelistic?

Key Quotes From Greg Laurie

“I knew I was going down the wrong path, but I didn’t know what the right path was. I knew nothing of the Christian faith. All I knew of Jesus was a picture of him hanging on my grandmother’s wall when I lived with her for a period of time.”

“I transferred to Harbor [High School] with the sole purpose of becoming a full-blown, legitimate hippie drug user. I wanted to change who I was. I wanted to become a different person. And that’s exactly what happened, but not in the way I expected.”

“We need to pray God will do it again. And the next expression of a spiritual awakening probably will be different than the Jesus Movement. But you know, it was a sovereign work of God that simply took place.”

James Choung: How to Avoid Major Pitfalls When Pursuing True Revival

“I went to this guy’s house to use drugs every single day and we walked by Chuck Smith’s house. We didn’t even know it was Chuck Smith’s house. And Kay [Smith] later told me, ‘We saw these kids walk by our house and we would pray for them every day that the Lord would save some of them.’ And I was one of those kids. So Kay was really the one who prompted Chuck to start thinking about reaching out to these hippies.”

Pope Francis After US Christmas Parade Crash: May Good Overcome Evil

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AP News

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November 24, 2021

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis sent his condolences Tuesday to the victims of the Christmas parade crash in Wisconsin that killed five people and said he was praying for “spiritual strength which triumphs over violence and overcomes evil with good.”

The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, sent the telegram of condolences on behalf of Francis to the archbishop of Milwaukee, Monsignor Jerome Listecki.

Francis asked that those affected by the “tragic incident” know he is spiritually close to them, and called on “the Lord to bestow upon everyone the spiritual strength which triumphs over violence and overcomes evil with good.”

Police say Darrell Brooks Jr., 39, was behind the wheel of the SUV that sped through the parade route Sunday in the city of Waukesha, killing five people and injuring 48 others in that Milwaukee suburb. Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said Brooks was leaving the scene of a domestic dispute that had taken place just minutes earlier.

One of the pending legal cases against Brooks at the time was that he had deliberately hit a woman with his car in early November after a fight.

This article originally appeared here.

Target Makes Liberty Counsel’s ‘Naughty’ List for Censoring Christmas

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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November 24, 2021

Liberty Counsel Target — Source: Mike Mozart from Funny YouTube, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Liberty Counsel has released its annual “Naughty and Nice Retail List,” placing Target, TJ Maxx, and Barnes & Noble on the list of businesses that “silence and censor” Christmas.

The non-profit ministry, which specializes in “providing assistance and representation involving religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family,” started noticing businesses censoring the word “Christmas” back in 2003, as companies began using words like “holiday” and “season” instead of “Christmas.”

Due to the rising anti-Christmas attitudes businesses were adopting, the Liberty Counsel launched their annual “Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign” to combat the ever-growing censorship of the true meaning of the holiday season: Jesus.

Every year, the campaign releases a list of retailers who celebrate Christmas and a list of those who censor it. The list’s goal is to encourage Christians to support businesses that aren’t ashamed to promote the name of Christ by not censoring Christmas. “If retailers choose to profit from Christmas while pretending it does not exist, we encourage you to politely explain why and then patronize their competitors,” Liberty Counsel’s website reads.

Apart from the perennial honoree Hobby Lobby Stores making the “nice” list, American Eagle Outfitters, Bath & Body Works, Bealls Department Store, Belk, Best Buy, Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland, Christmasplace.com, Dillard’s, Hallmark, The Home Depot, JCPenny, Kirkland’s, Kmart, Kohl’s, Lehman’s Hardware, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Menards, Nordstrom, Old Time Pottery, Sears, Staples, and Walmart all landed on the “nice” list.

The companies placed on the “naughty” list were Academy Sports + Outdoors, Barnes & Noble, Burlington Coat Factory, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Gap, Inc., J. Crew Outfitters, The Limited, The Loft, Lord and Taylor, Right Aid Pharmacy, Target, TJ Maxx, and Walgreens.

One of America’s largest and most famous retailers, Target, made the “naughty” list, because the Liberty Counsel claims they don’t make Christmas the main focus on their website or within their stores. According to the list, Target’s marketing includes language like, “pack your season full of merry,” “seasonal ugly sweaters,” and “secret gifting room,” more than they do Christmas.

Walmart, another one of America’s largest retailers, was commended by the Liberty Counsel for not being afraid to label categories like decorations as “Christmas” instead of “holiday.”

Both lists provide numbers and/or website addresses to each company, so that patrons can share their thoughts with businesses that downplay Christmas or show appreciation for companies that celebrate it openly.

Faith Advisory Board With Trump Ties Urges Religious Vaccine Exemptions for Military

By

Jack Jenkins

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November 24, 2021

(RNS) — More than 1,700 religious leaders organized by former President Donald Trump’s faith advisers are urging the U.S. military to grant religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, alleging service members with spiritual objections to the inoculations are being “stripped of their religious liberties.”

But while the effort singled out COVID-19 vaccine mandates first initiated by President Joe Biden, it did not grapple with similar military mandates that predated the ongoing pandemic. It also lacked support from at least one of Trump’s longtime faith advisers — a hint at possible divisions among the former president’s evangelical allies regarding COVID-19.

In a letter sent to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Nov. 15, the group of faith leaders insisted military brass grant exemptions to COVID-19 vaccines before looming deadlines. Active-duty Navy and Marine Corps members must get the shots by Sunday (Nov. 28), while the Army has until Dec. 15. The Air Force deadline already elapsed on Nov. 2.

“We should be rewarding their bravery and the bravery of all our men and women in uniform, by not forcing them to choose between sincere religious convictions and staying in the military,” the letter read in part.

“We urge you to grant religious exemptions as soon as possible for every American risking their lives to defend our country. Religious freedom is enshrined in our Constitution and must always be protected.”

The letter was organized by the National Faith Advisory Board, a group founded in September with the former president’s support and led by Paula White-Cain, a Florida pastor who oversaw the Trump administration’s faith office. In addition to White-Cain, signers of the letter included several evangelical Christian leaders who advised Trump, such as Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, co-founders of Kenneth Copeland Ministries; Pastor Jack Graham, head of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas; Pastor Jentezen Franklin of Free Chapel church in Gainesville, Georgia; and the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.

Other prominent signers included Ralph Reed, founder of the Faith and Freedom Coalition; former Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann; and conservative commentator Eric Metaxas, a Trump loyalist who attracted media attention in 2020 after he admitted to punching an anti-Trump protester and emceed a “Jericho March” in Washington protesting the results of the presidential election.

The letter zeroed in on the COVID-19 vaccine but did not mention other long-standing vaccine requirements for members of the military. According to The Washington Post, neither the Army nor the Navy granted any religious exemptions to vaccine requirements over the past seven years — including during Trump’s tenure.

Representatives for the advisory board did not immediately respond to questions about whether they took issue with the military’s previous record of not granting vaccine exemptions on religious grounds.

Most active-duty service members have already been vaccinated against COVID-19, with the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force reporting inoculation rates of at least one dose ranging from 94% to 99% (the Air Force’s data includes members of the newly created Space Force).

But holdouts have caused controversy, with critics noting military leaders are largely rejecting religious accommodation requests. For example: As of Nov. 16, the Air Force reported it was processing 4,817 such requests but had yet to grant any.

Chiefs Defensive Tackle Chris Jones Enjoys Career Night, Lives by ‘I Am Second’ Mantra

By

Cole Claybourn

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November 24, 2021

This story is courtesy of Sports Spectrum, and is used by permission.

The Kansas City Chiefs picked up a much-needed win on Sunday over the Dallas Cowboys. One big reason was the play of defensive tackle Chris Jones.

The veteran from Mississippi State recorded a career-high 3.5 sacks to go along with five total tackles, two tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a pass deflection that led to an interception that sealed a 19-9 win over the Cowboys. The win was the fourth in a row for the Chiefs, and it brought their record to 7-4 as they sit atop the AFC West.

On Jones’ wrist during the game were a couple of wristbands, which proclaim his faith in Jesus. One says “I am Second,” a phrase he also has in his Twitter bio. The other says “I play for Him.” He says he’s worn them since entering the NFL in 2016.

“It’s a Christian wristband,” Jones told Sports Spectrum ahead of Super Bowl LIV. “I am second, God is first. And I also have a wristband [that says] ‘I play for Him.’ I play for God, Jesus Christ. I’m a very religious guy. I believe my faith is everything and that’s what I live by.”

Over the past few seasons, Jones has become a rock on the Kansas City defense, and in June 2020, he was rewarded with a four-year, $85 million contract, with $60 million guaranteed.

He shared with Sports Spectrum that his faith has always been important to him, going back to his childhood in Houston, Mississippi.

“My grandma, right behind her house, probably 200 feet, is a church that everyone in my small town, everyone in my neighborhood, goes to,” he said. “I was raised in a church. My grandfather used to play guitar. My grandmother has a singing group, so it was a natural thing for us to go to church every Sunday.”

Jones also uses his social media presence to share his faith and give God the glory, as he did on Sunday following the win, tweeting, “Thank you God!”

He also has a tweet pinned from 2017 that serves as a declaration for his faith, which says, “Whoever finds God finds life!!!”

He told Sports Spectrum ahead of Super Bowl LIV why he chooses Jesus over everything else.

“Jesus means the Son of God,” he said. “The most perfect human being who sacrificed His life for us, so that right there means a lot so our sins can be forgiven.”

The Chiefs will look for a fifth straight win on Dec. 5 as they host the division-rival Denver Broncos after their bye week.

Christian Community Isn’t Parasitic

By

Mike Leake

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November 24, 2021

It was 1941 and Great Britain was in the midst of their engagement in World War II. Winston Churchill was the leader and was tasked with giving a speech to the House of Commons. Amongst other things he gave these words:

Nothing is more dangerous in wartime than to live in the temperamental atmosphere of a Gallup Poll, always feeling one’s pulse and taking one’s temperature. I see that a speaker at the week-end said that this was a time when leaders should keep their ears to the ground. All I can say is that the British nation will find it very hard to look up to leaders who are detected in that somewhat ungainly posture. (Churchill)

You cannot lead with your ear to the ground. You cannot lead if you’re constantly checking the pulse of people. But what pastor can’t at least somewhat identify with the megachurch pastor who informed Os Guinness that he was always “haunted” when he looked at his Christian community because he realized “they are always only two weeks away from leaving for another church.” (Guinness, 71)

In his book, The Call, Guinness laments what he calls a “leadership co-dependent on followership.” His words are very much in line with the insights of Edwin Friedman in Failure of Nerve who spoke of the “fallacy of empathy.” He said:

…a focus on being empathic towards others, rather than on being responsible for one’s own integrity, can actually lessen the odds for an organism’s survival by lowering the other’s pain thresholds, helping them to avoid challenge and compromising the mobilization of their “nerve”. (Friedman, 144)

I agree, in part, with the insights of Friedman. And I give Guinness a hearty “amen” when he calls us to be “inner-directed rather than other-directed” and to “truly make one audience decisive, the Audience of One”. (74) There is a type of leading which is actually harming because its own identity is centered upon the response of another. That will inevitably lead to harm of self and others.

What About John Maxwell?

But what do we do with the insights of John Maxwell? There must be some truth to the statement that “He that thinketh he leadeth, and hath no one following, is only taking a walk. If you’re all alone as a leader, are you really leading?” (source) Aren’t the insights of Maxwell, and those who make similar claims about leadership, pushing us into this co-dependent relationship which both Guinness and Friedman decry?

If Maxwell is absolute then there would have been times in which Jesus wasn’t leading but only taking a walk. Was he leading as he went to the Cross? Certainly, even if all his followers left Him, he was leading the charge and securing our redemption. Leadership can, and at times must, be lonely. Friedman and Guinness are correct on this point.

Where does 1 John 1:4 Fit?

Maxwell’s insights, then, cannot be absolute. But neither can those of Friedman. Otherwise, what do you do with 1 John 1:4?

And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Some manuscripts do have “your” joy may be complete. And that makes more sense, doesn’t it? We wouldn’t be baffled much by a verse that said essentially, “I’m writing this so your joy in Jesus will be complete”. But the fact that it makes more sense means that it’s least likely. Scribes didn’t tweak a text to make it more obscure. So “our joy may be complete” is the preferred reading.

How Pastoral Care Stunts the Growth of Most Churches

By

Carey Nieuwhof

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November 23, 2021

Of all the mysteries that shouldn’t be mysteries, why most churches remain small is perhaps the greatest.

I’m sure there are a few leaders who want to keep their churches small, or who don’t care about growth.

But most small church leaders and pastors I meet actually want to reach more people. They want to see their mission fully realized. They hope and pray for the day when they can reach as many people people as possible in their community.

But that’s simply not reality.

The Barna group reports the average Protestant church size in America as 89 adults. Sixty percent of Protestant churches have less than 100 adults in attendance. Only 2 percent have over 1,000 adults attending.

As a result, the dreams of most small and even mid-sized church pastors go unrealized. Why?

I outlined eight reasons most churches never break the 200 attendance mark in this post, but today I want to drill down deeper on one that kills almost every church and pastor: pastoral care.

If pastors could figure out how to better tackle the issue of pastoral care, I’m convinced many more churches would grow.

Here’s why. And here’s how.

How Pastors Die Trying

When the pastor has to visit every sick person, do every wedding and funeral and make regular house calls, attend every meeting, and lead every Bible study or group, he or she becomes incapable of doing almost anything else.

Message preparation falls to the side, and providing organizational leadership for the future is almost out of the question.

The pastoral care model of church leadership simply doesn’t scale.

It’s somewhat ironic, actually.

If you’re a good pastoral care person (and many pastors are), people will often love you so much that the church will grow to 200 people, at which point the pastoral care expectations become crushing.

Saying the Lord’s Prayer With Kids: A Helpful Guide

By

Mark Altrogge

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November 23, 2021

I try to pray for my family on a regular basis. And the pattern Jesus gave us in the Lord’s Prayer helps me focus. The words help me stay on track in my prayers. Just as the Lord’s Prayer is a wonderful guide for adults, it offers meaning for kids too.

Read on to discover suggestions for saying the Lord’s Prayer with your kids. The tips work whether you’re teaching Sunday school, leading children’s church, or holding at-home family devotions.

Pray the Lord’s Prayer With Kids

First, here’s the wording of the Lord’s Prayer:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Matthew 6:9-13

Here’s a phrase-by-phrase guide for praying the Lord’s prayer with kids:

“Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.” (9)

When we start with this, we acknowledge that God is our Father. He cares about us and our family deeply. God adopted us as his own children through Jesus, and as our Father he hears our prayers. He has a family he cares deeply about, so I know he cares for my family. I don’t always start with this. But when I do, it encourages my faith to bring my cares to him.

“Hallowed be your name” or “Holy is your name.” When we pray this, we acknowledge that our Father is infinitely holy, righteous, and pure. In a sense, we bow before God. We humble ourselves before his holiness and glory and power. We take a moment to think about who we’re praying to.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven. (10)

God’s kingdom is his rule, specifically his spiritual rule. Although he is King over the whole universe and earth, through Jesus the King, God brings his rule into our lives when he saves us. I ask the Lord to bring his rule into the lives of every one of our children, our grandchildren and descendants, and save every one until Jesus returns.

Include Other Promises From the Bible

Often I pray one of the many promises for parents God has spoken in his word. For example:

The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you. PSALM 102:28

“My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.” ISAIAH 59:21

Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. PSALM 112:1-2

God makes many more promises to save our offspring. So I pray he will save every one of our children and descendants until he returns.

I also ask the Lord, as part of bringing his kingdom rule into our lives, that Kristi and I and all our descendants will know him, love him, and delight in him and his Word. I ask that we will lead lives worthy of the gospel and bear much fruit for him. You can do the same as you pray the Lord’s Prayer with your kids.

Give us this day our daily bread (11)

I try to remember to thank the Lord for how abundantly he always provides for us and our children. I ask God to provide for our needs. For example, I might ask him to provide money for us to travel to visit our children and grandchildren in other states. And I ask him for any other needs and ask our generous Father to provide for our kids.

Next Up…

Christians to Pray for Roe Reversal Days Before Key SCOTUS Abortion Case

By

Stephanie Martin

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November 23, 2021

Days before the highly anticipated Supreme Court abortion case that could reverse Roe v. Wade, pro-life Christians throughout America will unite in prayer. On Sunday, November 28, a Pray Together for Life event is planned in Mississippi (where the case originated), in several other U.S. locations, and online.

Family Research Council organized the event ahead of Dec. 1 oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The case addresses the constitutionality of Mississippi’s controversial ban on most abortions after 15 weeks. Fetal viability is a key question, leading some experts to surmise that the landmark 1973 Roe decision hangs in the balance—especially with the high court’s recent conservative leanings.

Christians Unify in Prayer for Supreme Court Abortion Case

Pray Together for Life is scheduled from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Central Time on November 28. The event’s primary location is New Horizon Church, a historically Black congregation in Jackson. Other gatherings will occur at a West Coast church and at congregations along America’s northern and southern borders. Through video streaming, Christians around the country can hear speakers and join fellow believers in prayer.

Expected speakers include Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (a Republican), state Rep. Ronnie Crudup Jr. (a Democrat and senior pastor of New Horizon Church), Democrats for Life President Monica Sparks, Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph Kopacz, evangelist Alveda King, and former Planned Parenthood employee Mayra Rodriguez. The West Coast event will feature Pastor Jack Hibbs, the northern-border event will feature former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, and the southern-border event will feature GOP official Adrienne Pena-Garza. A full speaker list is available.

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (FRC), says the event’s denominational, ethnic, and political diversity reflects tremendous “unity on the sanctity of life.” The wide range of speakers reminds him of the early Christian church in Acts 2, with everyone gathering in “one accord” to pray about the Supreme Court abortion case.

Supreme Court Abortion Case Is a ‘Defining Moment’ for Life

The entire focus of the prayer event, according to Perkins, will be life—and “praying for the court that America would get [the abortion issue] right after nearly 50 years.” America “is again at a defining moment as the Court considers the future of abortion,” he says, urging all Christians to “join us in praying for the justices, the lawyers, and especially the unborn and their mothers whom this decision will impact.”

Perkins calls abortion “a blight on this nation,” saying, “Every life has value because it is created in the image of God.” If Roe does get overturned, he adds, states, churches, and Christians must be ready to step up and meet people’s needs.

Alabama Worship Pastor Hides His Identity for 10 Years as Fugitive Sex Offender

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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November 23, 2021

worship_pastor_fugative — Screengrab WBRC News Evergreen True House of Prayer Missionary Baptist Church pulpit

Larry Albert Flake, who is 75-years-old, has been running from the law for the last 20 years. For 10 of those years, he has been serving as the worship pastor at a church in Alabama. He was arrested on Friday, November 19, 2021 after the FBI and Birmingham, Alabama police located him.

According to a statement released by Richmond, Indiana’s Police Department, “Larry Flake was convicted of Sexual Misconduct with a Minor on August 30, 2001, from an incident reported to the Richmond Police Department in the fall of 1999. Flake failed to appear for the trial and has been a fugitive from justice since August 2001.”

Flake went by the name Larry White, or Reverend White, in an attempt to hide his identity from those at Evergreen True House of Prayer Missionary Baptist Church.

The church’s pastor, Willie Perry, told WBRC News, “I never would have thought that it was to this degree—He’s a good liar.”

“It was heart wrenching. I mean, you couldn’t imagine the horror of waking up and finding out that someone had this kind of checkered past,” Perry said, then admitting that he never really got to know Flake over the past decade. Flake kept to himself, limiting the personal information he shared with others. Now Perry knows why.

Perry took full responsibility, saying, “Trust but verify. I apologize to this body of Christ and this congregation. It should not have happened.” Although the pastor received multiple references from other churches that endorsed Flake, Perry shared he will triple check the background of his next hire.

“No minister should have to deal with that. You had somebody in the midst of your congregation that had no character at all,” Perry said.

20 years ago, Flake was identified out of a photo lineup by his 15-year-old victim, whom he had forced into his car and raped.

“Acting on a new lead received in this case in January of 2021, the Investigative Services Division of the Richmond Police Department, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigations Indianapolis Field Office, worked tirelessly together to bring Flake safely to justice,” Richmond’s Captain Curt Leverton said. “Without the new lead and the collaboration with the FBI Indianapolis and Birmingham field offices, as well as the Birmingham Police Department, Larry Flake would not have been captured, which gives closure to this twenty year old case.”

Alabama authorities will return Flake to Indiana, where he will face justice.

Man Commits to Stand Guard Outside Church Where ‘Church Mother’ Was Murdered Inside

By

Jesse T. Jackson

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November 23, 2021

Evelyn Player muder — Screengrab WBFF News (L) Kimkur Lee (R) Evelyn Player

Last week, Evelyn Player (69) was killed inside Southern Baptist Church in East Baltimore, a crime so disturbing that Maryland Governor Larry Hogan directed all state law enforcement agencies to assist Baltimore’s local police department in its investigation, calling it an “all-hands-on-deck effort.”

It happened early Tuesday morning (Nov. 16) around 6:50 A.M., police said. Player was a longtime member of the church, and it wasn’t unusual for her to come early in the morning to pray at the church. She also worked on staff as a church sexton. Player arrived at the church around 6 A.M. A maintenance worker discovered her body around 7:20 A.M.

Player was found inside a bathroom where investigators believes she was attacked, reporting that the trauma to her body resulted in her death.

“Typically, Evelyn would not come as early. We have other male sextons that come to the church. She just beat everybody here. She had been praying all week, praying and crying, and she may have come to the church early to have some time to pray by herself,” Bishop Donte Hickman said. “It’s been unsettling in my spirit and a violation to our home — our home in this community.”

Baltimore mayor Brandon Scott called Player’s killer a “coward” and pleaded with anyone who has information regarding the assailant’s whereabouts to let the authorities know. Scott told the murderer to “man-up” and “turn yourself in.”

Althea Finch, Player’s daughter, spoke with Baltimore’s WBFF News, telling them, “I’m just numb that my mother is gone and that she had to die with someone’s intent to just come into a sacred place and kill her.”

“I don’t even know how to begin to express what it is that I feel. I just know that my heart is shattered into a million pieces, and whoever did this has not only broken my heart [and] my son’s heart, but those who loved her,” Finch continued.

“Her text to me this morning at 6:03 said ‘Good morning. I’m here. Have a great day. I love you.’ I texted back at 6:06 saying, ‘I love you.’ It’s the last message I’ll ever have from my mother,” Finch said. “I have no idea who would want to hurt my mother.”

In light of the crime, Baltimore resident and 53-year-old Kimkur Lee has been devoting his time to ensuring other church members and workers feel safe.

“Church is supposed to be sacred. For somebody to come into a church and take a life, that’s a very evil person. A very evil person,” Lee said.

New Children’s Story Bibles Rethink How Christians Share Old Stories With Young Readers

By

Emily McFarlan Miller

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November 23, 2021

children's bibles — A child reads a mockup of "The Book of Belonging." Photo by Daniel Ebersole

“If we want to raise followers of Jesus who wrestle with God and ask important questions and fight for justice and admit when they’re wrong and love their neighbor, we need them to see themselves in these pages mirrored back,” said Clark, a former editor of philosophy and religion books for National Geographic, in the video accompanying her Kickstarter campaign.

Publishers have also answered that need with a string of new and upcoming children’s story Bibles.

“I Wonder: Exploring God’s Grand Story,” an illustrated Bible by Glenys Nellist that was published in September, not only retells 30 stories from both the Hebrew Bible and New Testament for children ages 4 to 8, but also it encourages them to engage with the stories by ending each one with a series of questions beginning “I wonder … .”

“I wonder … which part of creation God enjoyed the most,” ends the story of creation.

“I wonder… if Lydia ever imagined that her story would one day be told to others,” ends a story about the early church featuring Lydia, the first convert to Christianity in Europe.

“God’s Colorful Kingdom Storybook Bible: The Story of God’s Big Diverse Family,” by Esau McCaulley, just announced for release in January 2023, will pull together stories showing God’s desire for a multi-ethnic family that cares about those the author calls the “stepped-on.”

McCaulley, the author of the award-winning book “Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope” who teaches New Testament at Wheaton College, said his book is the one he has wanted to read to his own four children, now ages 5 to 13.

“I found myself often having to reinterpret stories or edit them, or I would say things like, ‘The Bible has this vision for all of the different nations and peoples and colors of the world to be a part of God’s family,’ but then I would open up a gift book and everybody there was white,” he said.

It will be a while before his children are old enough to read “Reading While Black,” he said. In the meantime, he wants them to hear the same stories that formed him growing up in the Black church.

“God’s Colorful Kingdom Storybook Bible” will include the stories of familiar figures like David, but rather than focus on his battle with the giant Goliath, McCaulley said, his book will emphasize how God instructed Israel’s greatest king to care for the poor and needy. It also will include the stories of less-known figures, such as the Hebrew midwives who saved Moses as an infant, Simon the Cyrene and the Ethiopian eunuch.

“The question isn’t, ‘Which stories do you tell?’ it’s, ‘What gets highlighted in the stories that you tell?’ And when I was growing up, these are some of the things that were brought out,” he said.

United Methodist General Conference to Consider Split Is Still on…for Now

By

Emily McFarlan Miller

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November 23, 2021

united methodist meeting — Jessica LaGrone, a member of the Commission on a Way Forward, presents the Traditional Plan during the special session of the United Methodist Church General Conference in St. Louis on Feb. 24, 2019. RNS photo by Kit Doyle

(RNS) — Organizers of the United Methodist Church’s General Conference announced last week they are moving forward with plans for the meeting next fall … for now.

But, the Commission on the General Conference said Friday (Nov. 19), it hasn’t ruled out postponing the usually quadrennial meeting of the denomination’s global decision-making body yet again.

That would mark the third time the meeting has been postponed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic since it was originally scheduled for 2020, delaying yet again an expected vote on a proposal to split the denomination over disagreements on the full inclusion of its LGBTQ members.

At its online meeting last week, the commission adopted guidelines to help it decide during the first quarter of 2022 whether to hold the General Conference as currently scheduled or consider postponing it again.

That includes considering the health and safety of delegates, staff, volunteers and guests, as well as the inclusion of the broad diversity of the church amid travel restrictions and differing access to vaccines around the world.

“We wanted to have stated values that we will lift up as we make these important decisions,” Commission on the General Conference Chair Kim Simpson said in a written statement.

“For example, we feel it is important to go beyond the minimum requirement of quorum when thinking about the involvement of as many delegates as possible.”

The General Conference originally had been set for May 5 to May 15, 2020, in Minneapolis. That meeting was rescheduled for Aug. 29 to Sept. 7, 2021, when the Minneapolis Convention Center announced it was restricting events during the pandemic. It was rescheduled then again for Aug. 29 to Sept. 6, 2022, at the same venue.

Delegates to the General Conference are expected to take up a proposal to split the denomination, called “A Protocol of Reconciliation and Grace Through Separation.” The proposal, negotiated by 16 United Methodist bishops and advocacy group leaders from across theological divides, would allow churches and conferences to leave to form new Methodist denominations, including a conservative “traditionalist” Methodist denomination that would receive $25 million over the next four years.

Calls to split one of the largest denominations in the United States have grown since the 2019 special session of the United Methodist General Conference approved the so-called Traditional Plan strengthening the church’s bans on the ordination and marriage of LGBTQ United Methodists.

This article originally appeared here.

Sing Anew This Christmas

By

WordGo

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November 23, 2021

Tis’ the season to be singing, hymns of joy, hymns of light, hymns of royal beauty bright, hymns of one most Holy Night! Thanks to the hymn writers, Christmas is never without a soundtrack—melodies rich with heritage sung across generations, in sanctuaries, on street corners, and in the quiet of firelit homes.

Christmas hymns have the power to proclaim the season’s arrival… but does their familiarity lull us into missing their notes of truths? This Christmas, can our hearts wake up to the words we sing?

To sing these songs anew together, let’s examine a few verses of this Christmas hymn, then ask three questions to respond…

Let’s Examine…

Let’s Ask…

1. What is this hymn about?

Think:

Who are the key players and what are they doing?
What details of conversation, declaration, or action seem important?

Notice facts from the hymn, then try recapping the verses:

– Angels, messengers from God’s presence, declare Jesus’ arrival.

– Shepherds faithfully at work receive Light’s news, God’s here!

– Believers today worship and wait for the Lord to come again.

– Sinners repent and receive freedom from guilt and death.

– Infant Jesus is King of all.

Witnesses of the Incarnation worship Christ as King and call us to worship!

Foundations of the Cell Church Movement

By

Joel Comiskey

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November 23, 2021

What is the core concept in the cell church? Community? Evangelism? Church growth? Steve Irvin and I debated this idea over dinner one night in my home. We batted around a few commonly held assumptions about the main theme of the cell church. Then I sprang on Steve a growing conviction of my own heart. “I believe that the essence of the cell church is preparing leaders who are sent out to reap the harvest. The cell church is a leadership strategy,” I told him.

As I’ve studied, practiced, and reflected on the cell church over the last few years, I’ve concluded that the cell church is all about developing and releasing leaders to reap the harvest. The perfect environment for leaders to begin and thrive is the cell group.

The Leader-Driven Church

Rick Warren’s best selling book The Purpose Driven Church provides important principles for the church at large. I’d like someone to write a book for the cell church called The Leadership Driven Church. Raising up a continual flow of healthy multiplying cell leaders is the heart of the cell church. Cells are leader breeders. Cells breed new leaders. If you catch the awesome power of raising up an army of leaders through the cell strategy, you’ll succeed.

One cell church will do better than another in producing and sustaining the leadership flow in their churches. Some transitioning cell churches start out well, but as soon as the already prepared saints are taken, their cell church begins to sink. Such churches fail to understand how to develop and supervise new leaders. It’s a leadership strategy.

Biblical principles of leadership in the cell church

Christ’s Choice of the Twelve

It’s surprising that Jesus did not choose key, prominent men to form part of His twelve. None of Christ’s disciples occupied important positions in the synagogue, nor did any of them belong to the Levitical priesthood. Rather, they were common laboring men, having no professional training, no academic degrees, and no source of inherited wealth. Most were raised in the poor part of the country. They were impulsive, temperamental, and easily offended. Jesus broke through the barriers that separated the clean and unclean, the obedient and sinful. He summoned the fisherman as well as the tax collector and zealot. Jesus saw hidden potential in them. He detected a teachable spirit, honesty, and a willingness to learn. They possessed a hunger for God, a sincerity to look beyond the religious hypocrisy of their day, and they were looking for someone to lead them to salvation. In calling the despised to Himself, in sitting down to a meal with publicans, in initiating the restoration of a Samaritan woman, Jesus demonstrated that even these people were welcomed into the kingdom of God.

Look at the Heart

Most of the leadership problems can be solved if you are willing to develop the lay people within your own congregation. True, this will require that you open your heart to a broader spectrum of lay people in your church.

A study of three hundred highly successful people such as Franklin Roosevelt, Helen Keller, Winston Churchill, Albert Schweitzer, Mahatma Gandhi, and Albert Einstein, revealed that one-fourth had handicaps, such as blindness, deafness, or crippled limbs. Three-fourths had either been born in poverty, come from broken homes, or from exceedingly tense or disturbed situations.

Sometimes we fail to see emerging leadership because we are looking for the wrong things. We often look for those who mesh with our personality but pass over those who follow a different drummer.

Samuel misjudged the Lord’s choice for the second king of Israel because he focused on height and stature: “Samuel saw Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.’ But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart’” (1 Samuel 16:6-7).

Two Ways to Know You Are Saved

By

J.D. Greear

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November 22, 2021

This post remains one of our most popular ever, and for good reason. The question of assurance is a troubling one for many people in the church. I myself struggled for years to feel completely sure that I was saved. There’s much more to say about the issue than this, but for those wondering, “Am I really saved?” this is a helpful start.

I get the question from Christians a lot: “How can I know for sure that I’m saved?” So often, in fact, that I wrote a book addressing it: Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart. I struggled with the question a lot myself until someone pointed me to passage from 1 John that helped open my eyes. In 1 John 5:13-18, John identifies two ways that we can be sure of our salvation.

Two Ways to Know You Are Saved

1. We have placed our hopes for heaven entirely on Jesus. (1 John 5:13)

“I write these things to you,” John says, “who believe in the name of the Son of God.” It’s so simple that we’re liable to miss it, but assurance comes from believing in Jesus. This is the gospel: When we trust in his name, we cease striving to earn heaven by drawing upon our own moral bank account; instead, we withdraw on his righteous account in our place.

The gospel, by its very nature, produces assurance. Because the gospel proclaims “Jesus in my place,” my assurance does not depend on how well or how much I have done. It depends on whether or not I rest in his finished work. So the question is not, “Can I remember praying a prayer?” or “Was my conversion experience really emotional?” The important question is, “Are you currently resting on Jesus as the payment for your sin?”

A lot of Christians get caught up looking for assurance to a prayer they prayed two years, five years or 30 years ago. But John does not say, “I write these things to you who prayed the sinner’s prayer.” He writes to those who believe. The point is not the prayer you prayed, but the present posture you are in.

2. You have a new nature. (vv. 16–18)

If you have been born of God you have been given a new nature. And that comes with new desires. So you do not “keep on sinning,” as John writes, because you have new desires. As an earthy way to think about this, you might imagine some vomit on the ground. None of us would require a list of rules keeping us from eating it. Why? Because we find it disgusting. Now, a dog has a totally different nature, with different desires. A dog would find that vomit as appetizing as we find it disgusting.

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1. What is this hymn about?

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Two Ways to Know You Are Saved

1. We have placed our hopes for heaven entirely on Jesus. (1 John 5:13)

2. You have a new nature. (vv. 16–18)

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