Tag Archives: Church

Gallup poll shows increase in lack of trust toward Pastors and Churches

Matthew 7:15-20 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire

Important Takeaways:

  • Pastors and Churches Face Historic Lack of Trust
  • Gallup’s most recent annual surveys on Americans’ institutional confidence and honesty ratings for professionals found trust in both the church and pastors reaching their lowest points in the history of the surveys.
  • After dropping 5 points last year, the church suffered another 6-point fall in 2022. Currently, only 31% of Americans say they have quite a lot or a great deal of confidence in the church or organized religion, with just 14% expressing a great deal of confidence.
  • In 1975, a high mark of 68% expressed a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the church.
  • In addition to small businesses and the military, the church currently ranks behind the police (45%) and the medical system (38%), both of which also saw their confidence levels fall 6 points this year.

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3 D.C. Churches targeted with Vandalism and Arson. Police quiet on who it might be, but a Pastor thinks he knows

Matthew 5:10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Arson, Vandalism at 3 D.C. Churches; Pastor Points to Pro-Abortion Movement
  • Two churches in the Washington D.C. area were set on fire, and another was heavily vandalized over the weekend.
  • Samuel Giese with St. Jane Frances drew a direct correlation to what caused the situation.
  • “We believe this is because of the church’s stance on the issue of life, when it begins and when it should be protected,” said Giese. “And this is one of the manifestations of the deep divisions now in our country.”
  • Police say the neighboring churches targeted by vandals are connected to one another but they’re unwilling to draw any conclusions.
  • While the White House condemns violence and threatening protests, they’re encouraging pro-abortion activists to get loud.
  • “Yes, keep protesting,” declared Biden. “Keep making your point, it’s critically important.”

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Country Founders knew the Government would rule over the Church if the First Amendment wasn’t established

  • The Founders Meant to Keep Government Out of the Church, Not God Out of the Government
  • These days the phrase “wall of separation between church and state” has come to mean keeping God or His believers from having a big effect on government and public life.
  • But that’s far, far from what the Founding Fathers were thinking of when they were separating church and state.
  • They were afraid of what so many of the Old World countries had: a religion established by the state as its one true religion, that would tyrannically rule over the faith and conscience of every citizen.
  • Not only did the First Amendment say, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,” but it also said, “or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
  • “What they wanted was the freedom that we have in the Bible: the rights of conscience,” Barton said. “And they didn’t want the state telling us how we could or couldn’t practice our faith.”

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Presumed jihadists stormed church in Nigeria, opened fire on worshipers killing at least 50

Mark 13:13 “You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Pentecost Massacre in Nigeria claims the lives of more than 50 Christians
  • The attack on St. Francis Catholic Church took place in the morning when the faithful had gathered to celebrate Pentecost.
  • While no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, the targeting of Christians strongly suggests Islamic extremists were behind the assault.
  • Our peace and tranquility have been attacked by the enemies of the people.

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Orange County church shooting suspect hogtied by attendees

Matthew 24:12 “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Man killed, 5 wounded in shooting at Laguna Woods church; suspect in custody
  • One man was killed and five others wounded when a gunman opened fire in a church in Laguna Woods
  • The shooting occurred at Geneva Presbyterian Church, located in the 24000 block of El Toro Road
  • By the time Orange County Sheriff’s deputies arrived on scene, the suspect, a man in his 60s, was hogtied by an extension cord by churchgoers. The churchgoers had also confiscated at least two weapons, the sheriff’s department said.
  • Laguna Woods Mayor Carol Moore thanked the “impressive” members of the church who “were wise enough to take action and endanger themselves to save others.”

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See what God showed to Chuck Pierce about the current global crisis and the calling on the Church

Revelations 6:3-4 “ when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • Chuck Pierce: What God Showed Me About Russia, Ukraine, China, America and the Church
  • In 2004 and 2008, I wrote articles and met with leaders in the Ukraine to explain to them that they were in a very small window of revival. I told them if they didn’t understand the times, they also wouldn’t understand the progression of events after 2020. After 2020, Russia would re-establish themselves at the right time by regaining Ukraine. They would continue to gain back their old territory and move toward establishing themselves in Syria and ultimately move to gain more control in Israel. When that happens, we’ll see Ezekiel 38 come alive in a way that we’ve never seen before.
  • In the prophetic realm, I’ve always seen America as a wild-card. I believe our nation could be strengthened or unravel based on the response of the church.
  • The church across the world still has a role to play. I’m calling the church in America, in Ukraine and all around the world to pray.
  • We have to become an apostolic, prophetic, warring tribe who rises up in the midst of this.
  • In Scripture, the Lord says that if you don’t bind the strong man, he gets seven times worse. We’re in that scenario.
  • We need to be advocates for the Holy Spirit, because if we hear what the Spirit is saying to the church, we will overcome.

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It’s Not Just Political It’s Spiritual Too – Control of State Religion

Matthew 24:6 “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Putin is after more than land — he wants the religious soul of Ukraine
  • The physical landscape of Ukraine isn’t the only battle space Russian invaders hope to dominate. For the past decade, the two countries have fought another battle — not over territory but the religious orientation of Ukraine. And if Russia occupies the country, religious freedom will be one of the many casualties.
  • Putin’s efforts to restore Russian prestige have included elevating the Russian Orthodox Church to the center of Russian identity while also undermining the independence of the Moscow Patriarch. Putin’s Ukraine scheme included leveraging the potential religious soft power of the Moscow-aligned Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate.
  • The Orthodox Church of Ukraine becoming free was a declaration of independence from foreign influence and achieved greater religious freedom
  • The president of the European People’s Party, Donald Tusk, cited sources saying Putin’s “demands are also connected with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and its independence from Moscow.
  • Whatever the outcome, the future is uncertain. The Prussian strategist Carl von Clausewitz said, “War is the continuation of politics by other means.” War was probably the only outcome Putin wanted. The implications for Ukrainian religious freedom and other human rights, however, hang in the balance.

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Quake wrecks old buildings in Crete, killing one person

By Angeliki Koutantou and George Georgiopoulos

ATHENS (Reuters) -An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 shook Greece’s largest island, Crete, on Monday morning, killing one person and injuring several, authorities said.

The tremor sent people fleeing out of homes, schools and public buildings across the island. Damage was reported to many old buildings close to the epicenter, in the east of the island.

The Greek infrastructure ministry said it had sent a group of civil engineers to assess the structural damage and assist in relief efforts.

A man died when the dome of a small chapel in the town of Arkalochori, some 30 km (20 miles) outside Crete’s main city Heraklion, caved in during renovation works, a police official said. The church was largely reduced to rubble.

Civil protection authorities said nine people were injured in the quake, which damaged mainly old, unοccupied buildings in the wider Arkalochori region.

Nevertheless many people in Heraklion rushed outdoors. Schoolchildren were told to leave their classrooms, gathering in schoolyards and town squares.

Supermarket shelves were toppled or emptied by the tremor. Schools in the Heraklion region were closed for the day.

A civil protection official said hotel rooms would be made available for people needing to stay outside their homes overnight, and 2,500 tents would also be put up.

The Athens Geodynamic Institute put the quake’s magnitude at 5.8 and said it was centered at a depth of 10 km, with an epicenter 23 km (14 miles) northwest of Arvi in southeastern Crete.

Earlier, the European Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) had measured the earthquake at a magnitude of 6.5, while the United States Geological Survey (USGS) put it at 6.0.

(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou, George Georgiopoulos; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Kevin Liffey)

Jerusalem church suffers damage in arson near Garden of Gethsemane

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli police on Friday arrested a man for trying to set fire to an east Jerusalem church by the Garden of Gethsemane, the site revered by Christians as the place where Jesus prayed before he was crucified.

The 49-year-old Israeli suspect poured flammable liquid inside the Church of All Nations, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The man then set it alight, a separate police statement said, before the church guard detained him.

“Preliminary investigation and the suspect’s details strengthen the assessment that the background to the incident was criminal,” police said, suggesting investigators believed it was not a hate crime.

Reuters pictures showed a charred bench and a small blackened portion of the mosaic floor of the Catholic church, which overlooks Jerusalem’s walled Old City.

“This is a crime, a crime that shouldn’t happen in a church in the Holy Land,” said Father Ibrahim Faltas, as he inspected the damage. The Custody of the Holy Land for the Roman Catholic Church in a statement urged police to conduct a thorough investigation.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the suspect as a “terrorist Israeli settler” and said in a statement the Israeli government was responsible for such attacks.

Over the past decade, Jewish extremists have been charged or blamed for arson attacks on a number of churches and mosques in the Holy Land.

(Reporting by Jerusalem bureau; Editing by Janet Lawrence)