www.thegoodnewstoday.org INSIDE National News 6 World News 7 Health 8 Book Reviews 9 Sports 9 Entertainment 12 Editorials 13 Letters 13 Inspiration 14 Humor 15 Calendar 16-17 Partners 16-17 Classified 18 Vol. 11 No. 3 MARCH 2012 Health Book Sports Entertainment Food Idols P. 8 Help Meet P. 9 Jeremy Lin P. 9 NEW Movies P. 12 Chris Alves to Page 5 Dr. Lowney to Page 3 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. - Joel 2:27 Olive Tree to Page 4 FREE By Judith Ryder “Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.” Psalm 107:6 “She’s coding,” Dr. Mark Lowney remem- bers thinking as Ash- ley’s heart stopped, necessitating that he give CPR for the first time in twenty years of practice. Earlier that evening, Dr. Lowney had been called to Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, MA by an associate who needed help with a delivery. While there, he noticed that Ashley Cabral, age 25, his patient of four years, was nearing delivery of her and her boyfriend, Jason Soares’ first child. Dr. Lowney decided to stay to deliver her baby, too. The day before, after her water had broken, and following an uneventful pregnancy, Ashley Medical Miracle Or God’s Grace? was admitted in early labor. As her labor slowly progressed, she received help to sleep; later, Pitocin assisted her progression into active labor. At 8:36 p. m. on Decem- ber 12, 2011, Dr. Lowney delivered “Jett”, a healthy, beautiful baby boy. That was the last normal thing that would happen to Ashley for the next two weeks. Immedi- ately after delivery, Ashley began hemor- rhaging severely. During a two-hour interview, somewhat emotional both for Ashley, as she cradled her nine-week old baby and listened to her doctor describe her recent rendez- vous with death, and for Dr. Lowney, who had borne the heavy responsibility of directing her treatment. He began by explaining that post-partum Dr. Mark Lowney, Dr. Lacey LaBarge, and Ashley and Jett Cabral By Ralph Davis H ere is a quiz (1) What would cause God to stop loving you? (2) What sin would not be forgiven by God? (3) When approached, whom would Jesus refuse to forgive? If you answered “Noth- ing, none, and nobody,” you are correct! Zowie! For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but will have everlast- ing life. Some of us may not believe that. We know our hearts and we know our deeds and even though we have been taught different we tend to believe that we are just unforgiv- able; God would never forgive me. Chris- topher Alves of East Providence, RI says “Trust me, based where I have been and what I have done nobody can ever say that they can’t be forgiven. God’s grace is that Chris Alves Testimony big!” Of course, some might argue that their sin is the biggest! Chris, age thirty, is the youngest of four children. He was raised in a Christian home and his earliest memo- ries are attending Bible studies and church ser- vices with his parents. He said that he was six-years-old when a Bible study leader named Ron died and he persistently asked his mother, “Where did Ron go?” One day while driving with her somewhere he asked again and she realized that he was not just asking where Ron’s body went, he wanted more. Seizing on the opportunity she pulled the car over on the highway and told him, “Since he believed in Jesus Christ he went to live with Jesus forever.” She asked if he wanted to know that he was going to heaven too and of Chris and Ivy Lynn Alves By Fred Comella T o those who know me, my love of U.S. history is no secret. I believe whole- heartedly that at least a basic understanding of that history should be citizenship 101 for all Americans. But what some may not know about me, with maybe the exception of my wife, is that I have a great affinity for Judeo/Christian history as well. Putting aside some of the political connections between the two to write this article, I must admit I can get engrossed pretty quickly pictur- ing the ancient times as they relate to my belief system. The trials and tribulation of a holier place and time when survival often hung in the balance when measured against what a man believed in his heart and soul. Sadly, I have much to learn by way of reading more of “the text” more frequently, and with guidance from those more learned than I on the subject. Having said that, the holidays associated with Biblical events are the most intriguing to me, probably because having been born From Russia with Love - Olive Tree Ministries and raised a Roman Catholic, there was always great emphasis on the more recog- nizable and significant celebrations. There remains an obvious and palpable quicken- ing of my heart when I think of Christmas and Easter. I look forward to these anni- versaries with almost childlike anticipation as they give me hope and strength to carry on through the year. Lately though, I find myself wanting to know more. My natural curiosity when it comes to the past is driv- ing me to seek answers beyond what I can find using a simple political perspective or through the “universally” recognized norms. I am becoming anxious to know more of the historical reasons for my faith, as well as all the play- ers and events that have shaped it over thousands of years. With the coming of what I hope will be an early Spring, (unhindered by any March or April snow fall), I think of Pass- over and the bond between two faiths. The first thing that comes to my untrained mind is working as barely a teenager with my older friend and neighbor Steve Kaplan at Temple Sinai in Cranston Rhode Island, cleaning up after services. I knew little of the celebration (or his faith) itself but was paid in cash along with bagels, cream cheese and lox. All was right in the world of a 13 year old Catholic boy who loved to eat and spend time with his friends. I have come to know a great deal more since then, and as we approach another Passover I find myself searching still further. I think it is ironic in every sense of the word, that even as forces are arrayed against personal faith on so many levels these days, I am actually run- ning back to mine as fast as my proverbial feet will carry me. It feels more and more like that faith is all I truly own in this life, and I need to feed it… The “separation” between Jews and Gentiles is something that I am simply not qualified to speak on with any real authority. As has been the case of recent however, my editor is guiding me to those who would help me understand. I had the great privilege to speak with Galinah Kouptsova and her husband Serguei recently at a local coffee Olive tree in The Mount of Olives Serguei and Galinah Kouptsova
Food Idols P. 8 Help Meet P. 9 Jeremy Lin P. 9 NEW Movies P. 12
Chris Alves to Page 5Dr. Lowney to Page 3
And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. - Joel 2:27
Olive Tree to Page 4
FREE
By Judith Ryder
“Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.” Psalm 107:6
“She’s coding,” Dr. Mark Lowney remem-bers thinking as Ash-ley’s heart stopped, necessitating that he give CPR for the first time in twenty years of practice. Earlier that evening, Dr. Lowney had been called to Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River, MA by an associate who needed help with a delivery. While there, he noticed that Ashley Cabral, age 25, his patient of four years, was nearing delivery of her and her boyfriend, Jason Soares’ first child. Dr. Lowney decided to stay to deliver her baby, too. The day before, after her water had broken, and following an uneventful pregnancy, Ashley
Medical Miracle Or God’s Grace?was admitted in early labor. As her labor slowly progressed, she received help to sleep; later, Pitocin assisted her progression into active labor. At 8:36 p. m. on Decem-ber 12, 2011, Dr. Lowney delivered “Jett”,
a healthy, beautiful baby boy. That was the last normal thing that would happen to Ashley for the next two weeks. Immedi-ately after delivery, Ashley began hemor-rhaging severely.
During a two-hour interview, somewhat emotional both for Ashley, as she cradled her nine-week old baby and listened to her doctor describe her recent rendez-vous with death, and for Dr. Lowney, who had borne the heavy
responsibility of directing her treatment. He began by explaining that post-partum
Dr. Mark Lowney, Dr. Lacey LaBarge, and Ashley and Jett Cabral
By Ralph Davis
Here is a quiz (1) What would cause God to stop loving you? (2) What
sin would not be forgiven by God? (3) When approached, whom would Jesus refuse to forgive? If you answered “Noth-ing, none, and nobody,” you are correct! Zowie! For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but will have everlast-ing life.
Some of us may not believe that. We know our hearts and we know our deeds and even though we have been taught different we tend to believe that we are just unforgiv-able; God would never forgive me. Chris-topher Alves of East Providence, RI says “Trust me, based where I have been and what I have done nobody can ever say that they can’t be forgiven. God’s grace is that
Chris Alves Testimonybig!” Of course, some might argue that their sin is the biggest!
Chris, age thirty, is the youngest of four children. He was raised in a Christian home
and his earliest memo-ries are attending Bible studies and church ser-vices with his parents. He said that he was six-years-old when a Bible study leader named Ron died and he persistently asked his mother, “Where did Ron go?” One day while driving with her somewhere he asked again and she realized that he was not just asking where Ron’s body went, he wanted more. Seizing on the
opportunity she pulled the car over on the highway and told him, “Since he believed in Jesus Christ he went to live with Jesus forever.” She asked if he wanted to know that he was going to heaven too and of
Chris and Ivy Lynn Alves
By Fred Comella
To those who know me, my love of U.S. history is no secret. I believe whole-
heartedly that at least a basic understanding of that history should be citizenship 101 for all Americans. But what some may not know about me, with maybe the exception of my wife, is that I have a great affinity for Judeo/Christian history as well. Putting aside some of the political connections between the two to write this article, I must admit I can get engrossed pretty quickly pictur-ing the ancient times as they relate to my belief system. The trials and tribulation of a holier place and time when survival often hung in the balance when measured against what a man believed in his heart and soul. Sadly, I have much to learn by way of reading more of “the text” more frequently, and with guidance from those more learned than I on the subject. Having said that, the holidays associated with Biblical events are the most intriguing to me, probably because having been born
From Russia with Love - Olive Tree Ministriesand raised a Roman Catholic, there was always great emphasis on the more recog-nizable and significant celebrations. There remains an obvious and palpable quicken-
ing of my heart when I think of Christmas and Easter. I look forward to these anni-versaries with almost childlike anticipation as they give me hope and strength to carry on through the year. Lately though, I find myself wanting to know more. My natural
curiosity when it comes to the past is driv-ing me to seek answers beyond what I can find using a simple political perspective or through the “universally” recognized
norms. I am becoming anxious to know more of the historical reasons for my faith, as well as all the play-ers and events that have shaped it over thousands of years.
With the coming of what I hope will be an early Spring, (unhindered by any March or April snow fall), I think of Pass-over and the bond between two faiths. The first thing that comes to my untrained mind
is working as barely a teenager with my older friend and neighbor Steve Kaplan at Temple Sinai in Cranston Rhode Island, cleaning up after services. I knew little of the celebration (or his faith) itself but was paid in cash along with bagels, cream
cheese and lox. All was right in the world of a 13 year old Catholic boy who loved to eat and spend time with his friends. I have come to know a great deal more since then, and as we approach another Passover I find myself searching still further. I think it is ironic in every sense of the word, that even as forces are arrayed against personal faith
on so many levels these days, I am actually run-ning back to mine as fast as my proverbial feet will carry me. It feels more and more like that faith is all I truly own in this life, and I need to feed it…
The “separation” between Jews and Gentiles is
something that I am simply not qualified to speak on with any real authority. As has been the case of recent however, my editor is guiding me to those who would help me understand. I had the great privilege to speak with Galinah Kouptsova and her husband Serguei recently at a local coffee
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Dr. Lowney from Page 1
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hemorrhages are fairly common, but are usually stemmed by medi-cations which help the uterus cramp. However, despite the medications, which did slow down the bleeding, about an hour after delivery it started up again with a vengeance. When medications don’t work, the next step is the Operating Room (OR) for surgery, and it fell to Dr. Lowney to warn family members who had attended the birth that Ashley might need a hysterectomy.
After making the decision to go to the OR, Dr. Lowney called for blood for a transfusion, and also sent out special blood tests to check whether Ashley’s blood was clotting normally. Since two phy-sicians are needed for performing hysterectomies, he also asked for assistance from his new Christian associate, Dr. Lacey LaBarge. An anaesthesiologist and the OR crew were called in. Before the night was over, between twenty and thirty medical professionals would work together to keep Ashley alive. But the night was only just beginning...
The blood tests revealed that due to pregnancy hormones and the bleeding, Ashley was experienc-ing Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC), a potentially fatal condition which occurs when blood is both clotting in certain areas and not clotting in other areas. Ashley’s body had lost its ability to stop bleeding, so surgery was no longer an option --
i. e., Ashley was bleeding to death, but DIC prevented surgery. Dr. Lowney called for help from a hematology specialist, one of the eight physicians who would con-tribute their valuable expertise in the OR that night, who determined that Ashley needed to be trans-fused with blood products to stop the bleeding. Since Charlton Hos-pital had a limited supply of what was necessary, other hospitals in MA and RI were contacted, and couriers sped to Charlton Memo-rial Hospital with whatever blood products were available. While waiting for these, Dr. Lowney temporarily stanched Ashley’s bleeding by packing her uterus.
Likening the worsening situation to the “Perfect Storm”, described in the book and movie of the same name as a rare convergence of multiple hurricanes which beset a fishing vessel at sea, Dr. Lowney chronicled the four life-threatening events which ensued, tsunami-style, each one worse than the last: First, the post-partum hem-orrhage. Second, the diagnosis of DIC, requiring infusion of blood products. Third, a blood clot which formed in Ashley’s pelvic veins, shot into her lung, and caused a pulmonary embolism. Fourth, occurring simultaneously, post-partum cardiomyopathy, which
sent Ashley into heart failure.
Between 10:00 p.m. on 12/12/11, and 3:00 a. m. on 12/13/11, Ash-ley’s life was in great peril. Fol-lowing the uterine packing and the temporary cessation of bleeding, she was given the blood products from the various area hospitals, but during the infusion, suddenly her heart stopped working. That was when Dr. Lowney gave CPR for the first time ever and cried out, “Jesus, I need your help!” Ashley was dying.
Earlier, on the way into the OR, Dr. Lowney had answered a text from his wife, inquiring if he would be returning late. He texted “yes, please pray for me”. As bad as things got subsequently, with Ashley losing her pulse and need-ing immediate CPR, Dr. Lowney remembers feeling strangely at peace. In the presence of some twenty to thirty medical profes-sionals, he remembers saying, “Jesus, don’t let her die.” Although Ashley’s heart rhythm and blood pressure returned, and the bleeding stopped, her condition remained extremely critical, and she needed immediate transfer to the ICU.
At the height of the crisis, Dr. Lowney recalls a nurse suggesting that he ought to inform Ashley’s family about what was transpiring. They were still in Labor Room #6, where some of them had witnessed Jett’s birth and the incipient emergency. So, despite still being heavily involved in working to save Ashley’s life, he scrubbed out and went to speak to them briefly. He was touched to find all the family members on their knees praying, some crying. Dr. Lowney told them that Ashley was critical, might die, and that all they could do was pray. A team of two anesthesiologists, three OB/GYNS, a hematologist, two Physician Assistants from the Heart Team, an internist, and ten or fifteen nurses -- ICU nurses and supervisors -- a total of over twenty highly trained specialists, were all working on their loved one, and no one was panicking. They hoped to stabilize her enough to get her to the ICU.
Dr. Lowney and Ashley’s family spent the rest of the night in the ICU with her. He witnessed every family member -- Mom, Dad, sisters, and the father of the baby -- coming in individually or together to pray for her. Ashley was sedated, a breathing tube rendered her unable to speak, intra-venous lines coiled from her arms and groin, her face was bloated, and she was currently receiving every known blood pressure medi-cation just to keep up her blood pressure. She was also maxed out on the ventilator, meaning that all available medical technology was set at maximum dosages. Even so, they were barely working. At that time, her chances of survival were, according to Dr. Lowney, zero. Dr. Lowney found it surreal to watch family members come in, encour-aging her to live but also trying to say goodbye. Meanwhile, he kept asking the doctor managing the ICU if there was anything further to be done for Ashley, such as per-haps sending her to Boston, but she was too unstable to move.
At 6:00 a. m. on December 13, an ultrasound showed that not only was Ashley’s heart barely beating, but also underneath her heart a huge blood clot had formed. Were it to break off and go to her lungs, it would cause instant death. Both the chief of open heart surgery and the chief of vascular surgery were now called to assess the situation. The heart surgeon said he could do nothing. The vascular surgeon rec-ommended sending her to Boston, but if that was impossible, agreed to try removing the clot. At 7:00 a. m. a change of shift at Charlton brought in an ICU physician, a cardiologist, who evaluated the problem anew. He called Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, secured their agreement to accept her in transfer, but learned it would take them five hours to move other patients around in order to make room for Ashley.
Around 12:00 noon, a Medi Flight helicopter arrived to fly Ashley from Charlton to Brigham and Women’s. The Medi Flight sur-geon, a pregnant woman, took one look at Ashley and said she was too unstable and wouldn’t make it. Dr. Lowney asked her what Ashley’s
chances were. The surgeon replied, “50-50”. Dr. Lowney decided the team of doctors at Brigham and Women’s could give Ashley the best chance at life, so the flight proceeded.
After Ashley arrived in Boston, Dr. Lowney called to speak to her new doctor, Dr. Edelman, who concurred that he had never seen anything like this and would have to call him back. (At this point in our interview, Dr. Lowney, his eyes closed as he vividly remembered more details, recol-lected that at 4:00 a.m., while in Charlton’s ICU, he had texted his pastor, Barr Flynn, of Newport Community Church in Newport, RI and his prayer partner Larry, one of his best friends, asking for prayer. Knowing that both habitu-ally get up early to pray, he was confident they would receive his request. At 6:00 a. m., Larry drove in from Newport and prayed first in Charlton Memorial’s chapel, then in the ICU waiting room, where Ashley’s family had also gathered to pray. Dr. Lowney called his wife to pray, and Ashley’s sister asked for prayer at her church.)
Over the course of the next week, Ashley remained in the forefront of Dr. Lowney ‘s mind. He called Brigham and Women’s several times daily, but Dr. Edelman said that other than inserting a Swan-Ganz heart catheter, they did not do a lot because Ashley continued to be so unstable. Nevertheless, Ashley gradually turned around and, after only two weeks, had healed enough to be released! Dr. Lowney is convinced it simply “wasn’t her time” and, although every physician thought she had no chance, God must have a spe-cial plan for her life. Dr. Lowney believes they all witnessed a
miracle. Since her oxygenation had been so poor -- normal oxy-genation is 90%, but hers was in the 60’s and 70’s -- some doctors feared that even if she did survive, she would be brain dead.
But Dr. Lowney says God showed His mercy and love for Ashley, instead. Two months later, doc-
tors and nurses and Jett’s pediatrician still marvel at her healing. He characterizes what happened to Ashley as like “getting hit by a truck, set on fire, knocked uncon-scious into a body of water, and coming out alive.” Dr. Lowney remembers Ashley saying while being rushed
into the OR: “Dr. Lowney, please don’t let me die.” He had replied, “You’ll be fine; we’ll take good care of you.”
Three days after The Night to Remember, the nurses called a meeting at 6:00 a. m. for a special briefing about what had taken place. One woman, a Christian and a labor room nurse for thirty years, said when she heard Dr. Lowney cry out, “Jesus help me!” she knew that Ashley would make it because of the faith in that room. Dr. Lowney mentioned that his family regularly prays together and Ashley’s name still comes up. On a recent Wednesday night, when ten or twelve of his fellow church members met to give praises to God, Dr. Lowney praised Him for sparing Ashley’s life, thus preventing her baby from being an orphan.
Due to sedation, Ashley remem-bers little of her ordeal except feeling weak, nauseated, and dehydrated while being wheeled from the labor room into the OR. She asked Dr. Lowney for water or ice chips, but he refused, explain-ing that nothing could be in her stomach before surgery.
Dr. Lowney, however, remembers every last detail, believing it was a divine appointment that he was even there. Similarly, Dr. LaBarge, who would have been in Boston that night had her car not refused to start, was available, and driven in by a neighbor. The anesthesi-ologist on call just “happened” to specialize in vein surgery, so could obtain I-V access using his consid-erable skills. The use of the special machine and its parts necessary to transfuse the blood products was facilitated by the nurse on call, who just “happened” to know the exact location in the OR of every-thing necessary. Dr. Lowney who, prior to his conversion to Christ, worked weekends for six years performing abortions at Planned Parenthood, says this experience has deepened his faith and changed his life. He remembers thinking, “Lord, if she makes it through all of this, I’m going to let people know it wasn’t because of me or the other doctors in the room, but all because of You.”
“They [His mercies] are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:23
Dr. Lowney is convinced it simply “wasn’t her time” and, although every physician thought she had no chance, God must have a special plan for her life. Dr. Lowney believes they all witnessed a miracle.
The Good News TODAY
4 March 2012
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Some wonder why we bother to serve fresh buttered rolls with our stew. In fact, why even take the time to create a nourishing, tasty stew or soup loaded with vegetables and stock; like “Mother used to make?” Why buy fresh fruit when we can get donations of fruit rejected by markets? Why is the hot chocolate rich tasting and piping hot? Why iced cold water; why not room temp-out of the case? Why do we refuse coats or other items that are stained, torn or with broken zippers? Why do we spend time speaking with intoxicated people; those that are obviously under the influence of alcohol or drugs? Why do we sit and gag on their cigarette smoke, or their poor personal hygiene? Why do we endure their objectionable language?
Why do we seek them out, the broken; the unlovable?Because, they are people just like us.
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house. It was an extraordinarily enlightening two hours. They took me on a journey of faith and devo-tion that left me with a new found appreciation concerning the events of pre and post Soviet Union. This husband and wife team has been tested in ways that would have broken many, but Yeshua, as they refer to Him, the Messiah carried them through.
Serguei was an Orthodox Catho-lic married to Galinah, a Jewish woman. They were educated folks schooled in the performing arts and music, living in a predominantly secular culture in the far reaches of the Siberian sector of the Soviet Union. Through his connections in the music and educational chan-nels, Serguei was able to meet
Evangelicals who had attached themselves to different lecture series’ in and around where they lived. He would eventually find his way to underground churches forbidden by the Communist government, and it was there in 1990 he would be saved. Galinah’s journey would be something very different. The conversion to a Messianic view and acceptance of Yeshua is seen as religious treason to many of the Jewish faithful, and the pressure for Galinah to remain true to her Hebrew ancestry was intense to say the least. Serguei would finally convince her to attend his clandestine adventures to observe, and it was during one of those celebrations that Galinah would find her way.
You see, Bibles were exclusive and expensive as they were somewhat
of a black market commodity at the time. The manner in which these types of articles of faith found their way to the church was emblematic of that period in the Eastern Block. On one particular evening the couple brought along their young daughter Katya, as there was to be a lottery of sorts. The names of around 800 hun-dred spirit hungry folks would be placed in a bin and drawn from to see who would leave with a Bible and a few religious books. The odds were not good, but the need was great. When it came time for the drawing however, Katya was somehow picked from the crowd to draw a winner, and as if only by a miracle drew her mother’s name from nearly 800 pieces of paper. Galinah would never be the same, she was saved and so much more that evening.
In the years that followed Gali-nah and Serguei would use their entertainment notoriety to work with the underground churches and visiting missionaries. This would come to haunt them as the Soviet Union collapsed and their identi-ties went with it. In a race to cast off what they saw as civilian dead weight, the new Russia moved to disavow whomever and whatever they could and establish the quickest appearance of “Democ-racy” they could, albeit lawless is so many ways. Passports were no longer honored, and personal documentation was use-less. It was as if they were being squeezed out of a society which no longer welcomed them. As this type of transitional and socioeconomic chaos often does before a true Constitutional awakening can happen, local bureau-cracies grew out of the ashes of Communism and corruption ruled the day.
As Galinah and Serguei preached of the common bond between Jews and Gentiles, even the Orthodoxy saw this as an intrusion on their human monopoly which had been protected for generations under Soviet rule. The couple were subsequently persecuted to the point of phony arrest and provoca-tion. Sector Police even assaulted young Katya in a police station after one of her father’s arrests in an attempt to provoke him to fight. It took all of his inner strength, but he resisted his natural parental instinct and they were eventually released.
The Christian ministries and churches would eventually move to protect Galinah especially, as she was a bigger target being Jewish. She and Katya were whisked away to the United States, but Serguei remained. The religious persecu-tion continued for the Christian convert and he would eventually lose everything the family owned. On a tip from a neutral observer that he was to be targeted with false accusations of drugs and prostitution at his home, Serguei managed to give away what he could to the church, and flee. Keepsakes and a single family photo album, left the fractured country with Galinah and Katya, but all else was lost to the ages.
Unbelievably, and as a result of the ensuing chaos of the “change for good” going on within the former Soviet Union, it would be nearly nine years before he would see his family again.
Throughout all of the moving from one church safe house to another, and after repeated rejec-tions by everyone from his former countrymen, the church itself, and embassy officials from the U.S. and Great Britain, Serguei would somehow find his way to the United States in 2003 and into the arms of his family once again. The price of freedom is dear, and this family understands that with amazing grace and clarity.
Meanwhile Galinah had been struggling with her heritage and how she could share the Messi-anic message with many Russian Jews who were already in the States. She attended many church celebrations and felt powerless to bridge the man-made divide. It would only come through patience and persistence, combined with a message that was not singular but varied and open. The stereotypical approach of adopting the Jewish celebratory worship and molding
it to worship Christ was shallow and simply would not due. Having been reunited with her love, they both knew it was imperative to provoke non-believers into recog-nizing the root of the Judeo/Chris-tian faith, and to understand that the two were one in the same. I listened intently to Serguei speak with the passion of a man firmly rooted in his belief system. He spoke of how Israel is where it began and where it should remain. He spoke of the undeniable his-tory which tells us we are one people and that our faith must be rooted in ancient Israel and all that occurred there. He and Galinah quoted scripture and text time and again which left no doubt in my mind that the two religions are inexorably linked. They would preach the true Messianic message of unity and a common love and acceptance of Christ as the one true and foretold path to heaven. They would speak of Passover, the third cup of salvation, the “holes” punched into the unleavened bread “matzah”, and real message of the original event as told by Yeshua as he sat for the last time with his disciples.
It would not be easy and many on both sides would do all they could to keep folks from converting. One restaurant event scheduled in con-junction with the anniversary of the birth of modern Israel had to be rescheduled after the original res-taurant cancelled one day before
under pressure from local Jews who threatened a boycott of the business. Some Christians seemed unable to grasp what appeared to fly in the face of everything they had been taught, and some Pastors were unsure of how to preach on the matter. Through it all Galinah would compare it to her marriage to Serguei, “faith in the eventual and certain outcome, patience, the grace to endure, and genuine belief in and love of the message”.
Galinah and Serguei are humble souls for sure and credit many along the way with their successes since those days of trial. They asked that I mention John and Madeline
Carlson, whom they’ve worked with for years and credit with bringing balance to their Ameri-can ministry. Serguei made a point of how the Carlson’s remained in Israel on a religious mission during the first Gulf War, even when all the other Americans heeded the order to flee the incoming Scud mis-siles. True faith in all its varied forms.
There is simply not enough space to tell
the whole story of these amaz-ing people and their journey. I was stunned to learn I actually knew very little about that critical time and place in world history, and how many it affected. I left Galinah and Serguei feeling like a sponge which had just soaked up a tragic yet triumphant human story of faith and hope. In trying to imagine their evangelical plight under such great threat, I was liter-ally unsteady on my feet. I had just stared directly into the eyes of the history I speak of so often.
Galinah did ask that I remind you all about the coming Passover Seder, and that they offer many services relating to it. Between March and May they are available to visit your church and relive the celebration with Messianic Jewish music true to their talents, and celebrate the heritage that joins us. I encourage all of you to hear this message brought to you by some truly passionate souls.
For more information on services please check out their website www.olivetreetemple.org or call them at 978-884-9815. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, who are the natu-ral branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? Romans 11:24
Serguei and Galinah
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Chris Alves from Page 1
Services:Sunday Worship Service 10:00 amChildrens Sunday School 10:45 am
Bible Study Wednesday 7 pm
American Minute with Bill Federer
British Journalist Malcolm Muggeridge explained how
Hitler’s universal healthcare plan eventually led to the Holocaust: “We have been accorded, for those that have eyes to see, an object lesson in what the quest for ‘quality of life’ without reference to ‘sanctity of life’ can involve...The origins of the Holocaus t lay, not in Nazi terrorism...but in pre-Nazi Weimar Germany’s accep-tance of eutha-nasia and mercy-killing as humane and estimable.” Dietrich Bonhoef-fer rebuked German Christians who stood silent while Hitler intimidated church leaders to accept the social-ist, anti-life agenda of the National Socialist Workers Party (NAZI). T h e N e w Yo r k T i m e s r e p o r t e d O c t . 1 0 , 1 9 3 3 : “Nazi Plan to Kill Incurables to End Pain; German Religious Groups
Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his challenge Oppose Move...The Ministry of Justice...explaining the Nazi aims regarding the German penal code, today announced its intentions to authorize physicians to end the suf-ferings of the incurable patient...in the interest of true humanity. The Catholic newspaper Ger-mania hastened to observe: ‘The Catholic faith binds the conscience of its followers not to accept
this method.’...In Lutheran cir-cles, too, life is regarded as some-thing that God alone can take... Euthanasia...has become a widely discussed word in the Reich...No life still valuable
to the State will be wantonly destroyed.”
Bonhoeffer warned Germans not to slip into the cult of Führer (leader) worship, as he could turn out to be a Verführer (mis-leader, seducer). Jimmy Carter, in his book Sources of Strength, 1997, wrote: “Rev. Niebuhr urged Dietrich Bonhoeffer
to remain in America for his own safety. Bonhoeffer refused. He felt he had to be among the other Christians persecuted in Germany. So he returned home, and...in resistance to Hitler...preached pub-licly against Nazism, racism, and anti-Semitism...Bonhoeffer was finally arrested and imprisoned. Born FEBRUARY 4, 1906, he died April 9, 1945, just a few days before the allied armies liberated Germany. He was executed on orders of Heinrich Himmler. He died a disciple and a martyr.” J i m m y C a r t e r c o n c l u d e d : “The same Holy Spirit...that gave Bonhoeffer the strength to stand up against Nazi tyr-anny is available to us today.” As a young man, Bonhoeffer was deeply effected by the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York, where he taught Sunday School and formed a life-long love for African-American spirituals. Bonhoeffer challenged believ-ers: “To endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclu-
sive allegiance to Jesus Christ” In his most widely read book, The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoef-fer wrote: “Cheap grace is the mortal enemy of our church. Our struggle today is for costly grace.” On February 16, 2002, Dr. James Dobson told the National Reli-gious Broadcasters: “Those of you who feel that the church has no responsibility in the cul-
Dietrich Bonhoeffer tural area...What if it were 1943 and you were in Nazi Germany and you knew what Hitler was doing to the Jews...Would you say, ‘We’re not political-that’s somebody else’s problem’?” Dobson concluded: “I thank God Dietrich Bonhoeffer did not give that answer, and he was arrested by the Nazis and hanged in 1945, naked and alone because he said, ‘This is not right.’”
course he did, so he prayed and asked Jesus into His heart right then and there. She taught him John 3:16 and “I learned that the blood of Jesus washed my sins away, and made me clean, and I believed this.”
Despite being inundated with the Word of God at church and at home, the pull of the world, and the desire to be like his peers was greater. Chris said, “The world attracted me and I wanted to find my niche in it.” He went on to say, “I learned what my peers did and I went after it.” Chris began smoking marijuana and using other drugs. He had little interest in school and missed many days. He engaged in some criminal activities and was placed on probation. He dropped out of school in the twelfth grade, his truancy and delinquency had gotten the best of him
His parents were attending New Hope Christian Church in Swan-sea, MA at the time. Pastor Peter Atkins was there and repeatedly reached out to him but to no avail. Despite being surrounded by caring Christians at church and home, he wanted no part of it. Instead, he kept getting deeper and deeper into drug use and in trouble with the law. “Sadly,” he said, “they watched on as I lived a life of drug abuse, emptiness, immoral-ity and rebellion. I remember the
pain in my mother’s eyes as she saw me in my helplessness, refus-ing the care that was offered, but unable to break free from the sinful lifestyle that had me enchained.”
Chris said that one evening after church he stopped at a friend’s house to get high. As he walked home, lost in his hazy thoughts he believes that he distinctly heard God’s voice ask him, “Where are you going?” he mulled, “Where am I going; what am I doing with my life?” This caused him to look about and he found himself in awe of the beauty all around him. He decided to quit his ways and promptly threw his bag of mari-juana into a sewage drain. He had a beautiful girlfriend at the time and she hated it when he used drugs so she would be happy now.
It didn’t last long. He said that his continued drug use and illegal activities caused his world to get darker and darker. His behaviors eventually landed him in jail. He always knew that if he ended up there he would not be able to handle it and would have to take his own life. Using his belt (which should have been taken from him to begin with) he began the process of hanging himself when God’s Word, Jeremiah 29:11, filled his head “For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for
calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
Chris suddenly saw things in a new light: “A plan, God has a plan for me despite all this?” He began to want more and more of God’s Word and he was “consumed with it.”
One can imagine how difficult it is to stay focused, even on such a
loving Father, in such an environ-ment and when he was shipped to another prison, he began to despair. A guard walking by the open door of his cell (he was on suicide watch) said to him, “You know what kid; Jesus will forgive you.” His first response was to think, “Nobody can forgive me; Jesus can’t - nobody. Once again, Scripture entered his mind “… the truth will set you free” John 8:32). The truth in this case, he realized is that Jesus forgave him. Getting to know the guard over time, and how he operated, he realized that when he prompted Chris about Jesus he meant it sarcastically.
In a new cell, his cellmate had a Bible and Chris devoured it. There were church services and he attended them all. He learned that “I could be content with God in the worst of places; even locked up, God is greater. He became an active member of the worship team which was led by Gerald Ready, the prisoner who inspired the January, 2012 Ruth Wilson story. Thinking back about his past Chris said, “Finally I ended up in prison, I had to hit four brick walls in order to stop my recklessness. But God, rich in mercy…saw me on the side of the road that I had taken, dead in my sins, and said to me, Live.” Ezekiel 16:6; “…And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in
thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.”
And now the rest of the story according to Chris. “I was released from Prison Feb ‘09, and found shelter at the Providence Rescue Mission. I preferred a Christian Environment, and I joined the discipleship program, an intense 6 month-1 year Christian-life-
style training pro-gram, with in-depth bible study/classes on Christ ian l i fe every single week-
day morning taught by Godly men and women. I sat under the men-torship/teaching of Pastor Steve Gomes, who treated me as a son. I served on the worship team for a time at his home church, Life Res-urrection Christian Center (then in Pawtucket, now in Lincoln). I graduated from the discipleship program and became a “Resident Assistant” (R/A) at the mission, and enjoyed God’s calling of serving the homeless in Provi-dence. It is an incredible joy to practice what Jesus taught us by His example, that to humble ourselves to serve others is to live the agape love of the Father. Soon thereafter I met Ivy Lynn, and the time came for me to move on from the mission, and finally step out in faith and start this life that God had promised that He had in mind for me. We settled down in East Providence, got rooted in
a solid, Christ-Centered Church, and started a life together. Got married Oct 10, 2010 and recently our son Elijah Xavier was born! I am now in my second year major-ing in Computer Science/Web Development, working toward my Associates at Community College of RI. I have launched my own Graphic/Web Design Business (www.cristocreations.com) and I began attending Zion Gospel Temple and I am active in the wor-ship team there.”
Chris ended with, “Today I live a victorious, forgiven life in Christ Jesus, because of His grace. I am beyond satisfied, living in His will, and my life is more fulfilled, because I am walking in the plans He has for my life. His promise to me that saved my life, that he has plans for me (Jeremiah 29:11), is coming into fruition more and more in my life. He has become my treasure, my reward. I desire to continue walking with Jesus all my life, and serve Him to His glory and praise as He continues His faithful provision and abundant blessing as He has done already; ‘exceeding abundantly above’ all that I could ever ask or think!” (Eph. 3:20) My life verse is Jeremiah 29:11 because God spoke it to me and saved my life. God always calls His Prodigals back home; if we just turn to Him and repent...He is waiting.
Amen!
If you’d like to visit Chris he’s on the worship team at Zion Gospel Temple located at 70 Leonard Avenue in East Providence, RI (www.zgtri.com)
Using his belt he began the process of hanging himself...
The Good News TODAY
6 March 2012
National NewsCranston votes not to appeal prayer banner
case Cranston, RI - A Rhode Island public school district committee has voted not to appeal a federal court decision ordering the removal of a prayer banner displayed in a high school auditorium. The Cranston School Committee voted 5-2 Thursday night, after more than two hours of public hearings. A federal judge last month ruled the prayer banner at Cranston High School West was unconstitutional and ordered it removed in a lawsuit filed on behalf of 16-year-old athe-ist Jessica Ahlquist. Ahlquist is a junior at the school. The banner was put up in 1963. It has been covered since the court ruling. Lawyers for Ahlquist are asking the court to order Cranston to pay $173,000 for legal fees.
New Jersey Legislature Passes Same-Sex
Marriage Bill
(WNS)--The New Jersey legisla-ture passed a bill seeking to make the Garden State the eighth state to pass a same-sex marriage law. “Then it goes to the governor’s desk — and the governor has indicated he will veto the bill,” New Jersey Family Policy Council President Len Deo said. But more than anything, Deo said, marriage advocates need to keep standing up for what’s right. “Obviously we need to pray. We need to be involved,” he said. “We need to push back. It’s not a slam dunk. It’s going to be a difficult road for us here in New Jersey.” New Jersey has had same-sex civil unions since 2007 — a step that has ushered in same-sex marriage in several states.
O b a m a B u d g e t Proposal Eliminates F a m i l y - F r i e n d l y Education Programs
(WNS)--Education advocates cried foul in February when the Obama administration revealed its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2013 — one that cancels all federal funding for a popular school choice program in the Dis-trict of Columbia and abstinence education programs nationwide. The D.C. Opportunity Scholar-ship Program has, since 2003, given low-income children in the District the opportunity to escape the failing public schools to which they’ve been assigned by ZIP code in order to attend the private school of their parents’ choice.
Federal judge allows New York City churches 10 days to
worship in public schools
By Tiffany Owens
(WNS)--A federal judge cleared the way Feb. 16 for churches to continue meeting for worship services at New York City public schools for the next 10 days.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska, on a request for a temporary order while the facts are aired, was the latest development in a 17-year-old legal battle. It came just as the city was beginning to enforce a New York City Board of Education policy that requires no permit be granted “for the purpose of holding religious wor-ship services, or otherwise using a school as a house of worship,” though it does allow community groups, even religious ones, to use its buildings.
Preska said the Bronx Household of Faith, the church requesting the temporary order in district
(WNS)--It’s always big news when tens of thousands of people gather publicly for rallies about one of America’s — if not the world’s — most significant issues. Isn’t it?
Apparently not, given the main-stream-media coverage of the Jan. 21 West Coast Walk for Life in San Francisco and the Jan. 23 March for Life in Washington, D.C. The former drew 50,000 participants, the latter attracted hundreds of thousands, by some estimates. What neither event drew, however, was significant coverage from major media outlets.
“Living in a liberal bubble such as San Francisco has accustomed me to liberal bias in the mainstream media,” said West Coast Walk for Life co-chair Eva Muntean, “but this year’s non-performance sur-prised even me. The Walk for Life
(WNS)--A Kentucky pastor invited to open a budget address in Janu-ary shocked everyone by pray-ing fervently — and specifically — against a gambling expansion bill just moments before Gov. Steven Beshear took the podium to tell legislators why they need to pass it.
As more of the states surrounding Kentucky authorize casinos, the governor is worried about seeing residents’ dollars flowing out of state — and believes a gambling-expansion bill will stop the fiscal bleeding.
“We might as well be backing
WASHINGTON. – Recently in his State of the Union address President Obama called on all states to raise their school compul-sory attendance age to 18, unnec-essarily adding to bureaucratic requirements for homeschoolers. Homeschool advocates at the Home School Legal Defense Asso-ciation (HSLDA) are dedicated to protecting the educational relation-ship between parents and their children. Parents -- not the federal government and certainly not the president -- are the ones who should decide how children are educated and when they’re ready to graduate from high school. But President Obama presump-tively spoke on behalf of parents and the states: “So tonight, I am proposing that every state -- every state -- requires that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18.” Michael Farris, founder and chair-man of HSLDA, expressed the shock felt by homeschoolers: “There appears to be no limit to the president’s desire for power. Car companies, banks, doctors, and now schools and the family. He’s gone way too far this time.” State-mandated attendance has not been the historical norm. In 1642, the Massachusetts Bay Colony stipulated that parents provide religious instruction for their chil-dren. For the next 200 years, most education laws were minimal and
Vermont Introduces Same-Sex Divorce Bill
(WNS)--Twelve years ago, Ver-mont became the first state in the nation to legalize civil unions, granting all the basic rights and privileges of marriage on same-sex couples. It followed up in 2009 by becoming the first state to legalize same-sex marriage without being instructed to do so by a court. As a result, it became a destination spot for same-sex couples look-ing to tie the knot. Now, it could also become the first state to grant same-sex divorces. According to H. 758, which passed the House Judiciary Committee on a 9-2 vote, “there are many same-sex couples who established a civil union or married in Vermont who are no longer together, yet they continue to be legally bound with no recourse other than moving to Vermont and becoming residents.” Under current law, same-sex couples have to live in Vermont for at least six months before they can dissolve their civil unions. H. 758 would expedite the process by allowing them to check a box on their application forms in the future.
Anglican Churches Must Relinquish Property
(WNS)--A Virginia court ordered seven major Anglican congrega-tions to hand their property to Episcopal church hierarchs. The seven congregations had broken away from the mainline Epis-copal church over its departure from Christian orthodoxy. If the ruling stands, 2,000 congregants in historic Falls Church in northern Virginia, for example, will have to turn their church property over to an Episcopal congregation of fewer than 100 members. The congregations haven’t indicated whether they will appeal the deci-sion.
The nation’s first federally funded school choice program, it boasts a 91 percent high school graduation rate, compared to only 70 percent citywide among children with similar backgrounds.
Meanwhile, the president took a 20:1 funding disparity between condom-based sex-education pro-grams and abstinence education programs, and made it 100:0.
“Why would the president want to censor information that helps teens make healthy choices? It just doesn’t make sense!” said Valerie Huber, executive director of the National Abstinence Edu-cation Association. “With nearly 75 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds choosing abstinence, shouldn’t our federal sex education policy rein-force those healthy decisions?”
Virginia Walden Ford, the former executive director of D.C. Parents for School Choice, wrote in a Heri-tage Foundation blog that Obama “has chosen to stand with special interests groups and not with the children who need him to stand for them.”
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Mainstream Media Misses Marchesbrought out approximately 50,000 people, closed down Market Street and caused the rerouting of 18 bus lines. But the coverage consisted of one TV story, one radio segment, and a photo and two sentences in the San Francisco Chronicle.”
“The lack of media coverage is really shameful,” said bestsell-ing author Teresa Tomeo, who attended the March for Life in Washington, D.C., and provided television commentary for the EWTN Catholic network. “The members of the press are supposed to be public servants providing clear information on timely events and topics. The sheer numbers alone — 50 thousand in San Francisco and 300-400 thousand in Washington – should be reason enough for headlines and lead stories on the evening news, not to mention the fact that these rallies and marches deal with crucial, hot-
button issues that are on the minds of most Americans and especially during an election year. Instead, we may get a story here and there; but they are certainly few and far between, and often leaning very much in favor of staunch abortion advocates.”
Many in the crowd have their own tragic stories to tell, but Tomeo was one of the few media members around to hear any of them.
“One of the most appalling aspects of the lack of coverage is ignor-ing the powerful stories of those who suffered from their decisions to either have or help procure an abortion,” she said. “These voices need to be heard — not silenced or neglected — as they raise real concerns about a billion dollar industry and its horrendous treat-ment of women.”
Kentucky Pastor Opens Legislative Session with Controversial Prayertrucks filled with cash up to the Ohio River and dumping that money into the water,” Beshear said in a Jan. 4 speech.
But that’s not how Hershael York, a pastor at Frankfort’s Buck Run Baptist Church, and a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, sees the situation.
After asking God to bless all the legislators and the governor with wisdom, he prayed, “May they never resort to leveraging vice and avarice to pay our bills. Help us to admit we cannot truly love our neighbor has ourselves and
then scheme to get his money by enticing him with vain hope.
“May they not lead this state to share profits from an industry that preys on greed or desperation. Help us to foster salaries, not slot machines, to build cars and enable jobs, not license casinos and seduce the simple into losing what they have. May our greatest concern not be that we get our share of a family’s losses, but that we foster a sense of hope and justice that creates opportunity and leads to success. May the decisions they make and the judgments they render be consistent with Your eternal character and truth.”
Homeschoolers React to State of the Union Education Demandfocused on family-centered edu-cation, giving children the tools to read, write, and do arithmetic, helping them understand what it meant to be virtuous citizens, and allowing them to learn a trade. Ultimately, a formulaic and com-pulsory approach to education fails to instill in children a love of learning or a quality education.
HSLDA President J. Michael Smith confirmed, “HSLDA has consistently protected homeschool families from the harmful effects of compulsory attendance educa-tion in their states, reinforcing the parental right to choose the method and duration of education most fitting to the individual needs and gifts of their children.”
Temporary Reprievecourt, was likely to win its latest challenge to the city regulation on the grounds that the ban violates the First Amendment assurance that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. She also said the church had demonstrated it would suffer irreparable harm if it could not continue to use Public School 15 for Sunday morning worship services.
The appeals court last June over-turned an earlier Preska ruling against the city. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case. The city permitted organizations staging church services to continue to use the schools until last Sunday.
In its ruling last June, the 2nd Cir-cuit noted that while the city policy excludes religious worship from its buildings, it does not exclude “prayer, singing hymns, religious instruction, expression of religious devotion, or the discussion of issues from a religious point of view.”
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his precious people (Isaiah 59:14-19) that they might see and know his hand of wise guidance and arm of loving provision and protection. (Isaiah 40:10,11)
Pray also for the NUBA of Sudan, half a million of whom will soon be dying en masse as the Govern-ment of Sudan’s engineered famine explodes as a ‘weapon of mass destruction’ to effect the genocide of these non-Muslim, non-Arab, predominantly Christian peoples.
World News
E g y p t i a n s m a r k t h e f i r s t anniversary of protests that ousted
a dictator and produced anIslamic parliament
By Jamie Dean
(WNS)--Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians poured into Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Jan. 25 to mark the anniversary of a revolution that began exactly one year ago: The massive protests that began on Jan. 25, 2011, lasted 18 days, eventually drawing as many as 1 million people to the city center and ending the 30-year rule of dictator Hosni Mubarak.
The massive gathering began p e a c e f u l l y , though some worry that sim-mering angst with the ruling military leader-ship could turn peaceful demon-strations into confrontational pro-tests. Police and military camped outside the square—a clear con-cession to those still angered over the deaths of at least 850 protesters last year. Mubarak remains on trial for allegedly ordering the military to kill demonstrators. He denies the charge.
The ruling military party—likely to remain in power until at least the end of presidential elections later this year—made other concessions to demonstrators: They announced they would pardon and release some 2,000 prisoners convicted in military trials.
The released prisoners included Michael Nabil, a Coptic Chris-tian blogger jailed last year for insulting the military in his web postings. Press freedom watchdog
By Elizabeth Kendal
AUSTRALIA (ANS) -- The ‘Arab Spring’ opened the door for long-repressed Sunni Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi forces to rise up and seize power locally and challenge the balance of power regionally. Faced with escalating persecution and decreasing secu-rity, Christians are increasingly opting for flight. The alternative is to exist as dhimmis: subjugated second-class citizens forced to live with crippling inequality and profound insecurity under Islamic domination. In Egypt, Iraq and Syria -- homes to the region’s largest and most ancient Christian communities -- the security situa-tion is critical. Furthermore, the conflict in Syria has the potential to inflame sectarian tensions in neighbouring volatile Lebanon, which is also home to several large and ancient Christian com-munities.
Egypt, which once gave refuge to the Christ-child, is today a tinder-box where anti-Christian hostility is rising to incendiary levels. Not only do those who violently perse-
ISTANBUL (CDN) — Despite some promising developments, Christians in Turkey continue to suffer attacks from private
(WNS)--Chinese authorities arrested nearly 50 members of Bei-jing’s largest unregistered church on Jan. 1 after the congregation decided to continue meeting out-doors for Sunday worship services. Members of Shouwang Church began meeting outdoors last April after Chinese authorities blocked access to their indoor meeting space. Police deemed the outdoor meetings illegal and detained hundreds of church members attempting to assemble each week. Church leaders said they began
Christians Arrested in China2012 by attempting to rent indoor facilities again, but reported that Chinese authorities told landlords to refuse their applications. When a few dozen members gathered at the outdoor meeting place on New Year’s Day, Chinese authorities immediately detained them. Bob Fu of the Texas-based ChinaAid said the Jan. 1 arrests show that Chinese authorities are “deter-mined to continue their crackdown on independent religious groups in the coming year.”
Middle Eastern Christians face bleak futurecute and terrorise Christians do so with absolute impunity, but Islamic ad hoc ‘courts’ and ‘reconciliation sessions’ then compound that per-secution. The victims are denied compensation, expelled from their homes and dispossessed, or they are charged with offending Islam or threatening social cohe-sion. In Iraq, where the Assyrian Church of the East -- the world’s first Christian denomination -- was established, Christians are today the victims of violent Islamic jihad and ethnic cleansing. Over recent years the Christian population of Iraq has halved. In Syria, where followers of Jesus were first called ‘Christians’, radical Sunni Arab fundamentalists are fighting for control of Syria and the regional balance of power. Not only is the Syrian Church imperilled, but so too are the Assyrian-Chaldean Christian refugees who fled the genocide in Iraq for refuge in Syria.
Persecution is escalating in Iran. On Wednesday 8 February, plain-clothed security officers raided a house church gathered for prayer and worship in the southern city
of Shiraz, arresting all ten believ-ers present. One of those arrested, the convert Mojtaba Hosseini, had been arrested previously in May 2008 when aged only 21. Iranian sources think the authorities have had Mojtaba under surveillance for some time. The whereabouts of these believers are unknown. Several other believers incarcer-ated over Christmas remain in prison. Regarded as traitors, spies and sources of ‘fitna’ (anything that could threaten the faith of a Muslim), all Iran’s Christian prisoners are subjected to harsh conditions and cruel treatment.
Western powers pursuing eco-nomic and geo-strategic gain seem to regard the Christians of the Middle East as inconvenient peoples who may be sacrificed for greater ends such as oil and power. Needless to say, God does not see his imperilled children that way. Indeed, he suffers with them. ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my broth-ers, you did it to me. . . . Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ (From Matthew
Turkish Christians Subject to Discrimination, Attacks, Report Says
25:40,45 ESV) The Church must stand up for the Middle East’s imperilled Christians.
Please pray specifically that god will use this catastrophe to draw all Christians closer to him and to each other; as conflict and terror abound, may the LORD deliver to that ‘faintly burning wick’ -- the besieged Church -- fresh oxygen not only for life, strength and hope, but for revival. (Isaiah 42:3) Also, that he will intervene on behalf of
Egypt One Year Latergroup Reporters Without Borders reports that Egyptian officials con-tinue to harass citizens critical of the government, adding that press freedom in Egypt is worse now than it was last year.
Meanwhile, the first freely elected parliament in decades held its first session on Jan. 23, marking a dramatic change in Egyptian government: Though secular youth started the revolution last year, Islamic politicians dominated post-revolution elections, winning nearly 70 percent of the seats in parliament.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s Free-dom and Justice Party won nearly
44 percent of t h o s e s e a t s , while hard-line Salafi politi-c ians gained nearly 20 per-cent. Salifists advocate strict
adherence to Islamic law in gov-ernment.
Though the military remains in power, the Islamic-led parliament will appoint a commission to draft a new constitution—a process that could shape Egypt’s future for decades. Egyptian citizens are set to vote on a constitutional refer-endum later this year, along with selecting a new president.
The first session of parliament showed that steep challenges remain: Arguments over selecting a speaker devolved into shouting matches, and minority secular-ist politicians objected to Salafi members amending their oaths of office, with some of the members including pledges of loyalty to Islamic law.
Egyptians seek justice on one year anniversary.
citizens, discrimination by lower-level government officials and vilification in both school textbooks and news media, according to
a study by a Protestant group. In its annual “Report on Human Rights Violations,” released in January, the country’s Association of Protestant Churches notes mixed indicators of improvement but states that there is a “root of intolerance” in Turkish society toward adherents of non-Islamic faiths. “The removal of this root of intolerance is an urgent problem that still awaits to be dealt with,” the report states. “There is still a lot of room for improvement,” said Mine Yildirim, a member of the legal committee for the association. “These problems have not been solved in some time.” The report documented 12 attacks against Christians in 2011, including incidents in which individuals were beaten in Istanbul for sharing their faith, church members were threatened and church buildings attacked. None of the attackers have been charged. In some of the attacks, the victims declined to bring charges against the assailants. In some places in Turkey, some church leaders have to “live under some sort of police protection,” the report reads. “There are at least five church leaders who have bodyguards, and at least two have a direct phone line to a police protection unit,” the report states. “Several churches have police protection during worship services.” Yildirim said attacks have increased since the previous year, and that much of the problem lies in the fact that the Turkish government won’t admit there is a problem. The state routinely characterizes attacks on Christians as isolated acts of violence rather than the result of intolerance within elements across Turkish society. “I think it has to be identified as a problem by the state, initially,” Yildirim
said. “It is a problem that nothing is being done about at all.” There are an estimated 120,000 Christians in Turkey, of which 3,000 are Protestants. Sunni Muslims make up close to 99 percent of the country’s 75 million people, according to United Nations’ population figures. Attacks against Christians come from those who, at a minimum, question the “Turkishness” of Christian nationals or who, at the extreme, view Christians as spies out to destroy the country from within. Many of the more horrific attacks, such as the 2007 torture and killing of three Christians in Malatya, have been linked to members of nationalist movements. The criminal case into the murders continues without a court ruling thus far. Along with attacks, Christians in Turkey continue to have problems establishing places of worship. The worst incident in that regard last year was on Dec. 23, when the local government of Istanbul’s Sancaktepe district sealed the entrance to the floor of a building rented by the Istanbul Family Life Association, allegedly because of licensing issues. “When individuals went to the municipality to inquire about the situation, they were told there would not be any activity by the association allowed in that area and that the seal would not be removed,” the report states. “In the same building there are bars and cafes that continue their work along with other businesses. It is only the church association activities that are being banned; they are targets of hate speech and open favoritism of others.” The report also identifies state policies that single out Christian children for harassment or vilification. A civics book, “The History of the Turkish Republic’s Reforms and ‘Ataturkism,’”
taught to eighth-grade students, continues to characterize “missionary activities” as a national threat. The Ministry of Education ignored the association’s efforts to change the language, according to the association’s report. “This example vividly shows that prejudice and intolerance has been built up by the Ministry of Education and has been worked into the thinking of others,” the report states. Along with the government, the association points a finger squarely at Turkish news media for perceived bigotry toward Turkish Christians. “The increase in the slanderous and misinformation-filled and subjective reporting with regard to Christians in 2011 is a worrisome development,” the report states. Being a Christian is often characterized in the news media as a negative thing, according to the study, and many legal activities of church bodies were portrayed as if they were illegal or a liability to society. Some church groups were falsely linked to at least one terrorist group. Despite all the problems, Christian Turkish nationals are still faring better than their regional counterparts in countries such as Iran, Iraq and Egypt. The report notes some positive developments in Turkey over the past year, including school administrators being more responsive to the rights of non-Muslim students to opt out of state-mandated Islamic education. In addition, due to a court order, Turkish citizens are allowed to leave the religious affiliation space blank on their state-issued identification cards. The association noted that some government agencies have been more responsive to concerns about the rights of the Christian minority. Yildirim declined to speculate on the future of Christians in Turkey but concluded, “Change can happen in Turkey; it just needs to be a priority.”
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Around 300,000 organic farmers think that Monsanto, the biotech giant known for genetically modi-fying Mother Nature’s handiwork for profit and pushing over the little guys all the while, is pretty seedy. Now a judge in New York is debating if Monsanto’s ques-tionable methods will go before a jury.
Judge Naomi Buchwald of the Southern District Cour t o f New York says she will have a decision on March 31 in regards to whether a lawsuit waged against the mega-corporation Mon-santo should make it to trial.
Last year, 270,000 organic farm-ers from around 60 family farms tried to take Monsanto to court over issues pertaining to a geneti-cally-modified seed masterminded by the corporation. Not only were the smaller farms concerned over how the manufactured seeds had been carried by wind and creature alike onto their own plantations, but the biggest problem perhaps was that Monsanto was filing lawsuits themselves against farm-ers. Monsanto went after hundreds of farmers for infringing on their patented seed after audits revealed that their farms had contained their product — as a result of routine pollination by animals and acts of nature. Unable to afford a proper defense, competing small farms have been bought out by the com-pany in droves. As a result, Mon-santo saw their profits increase by the hundreds of millions over the last few years as a result. Between 1997 and 2010, Monsanto tackled 144 organic farms with lawsuits and investigated roughly 500 plan-
The Food IdolLove not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.– 1 John
2:15-16
By Jimmy Page
This summer I had the oppor-tunity to go on a mission
trip to Haiti with a group from my church. While the trip was an outstand-ing time of ministry and connection with God, I did have one challenge: the food. It wasn’t even close to my normal diet!
After several days of defaulting to peanut butter and jelly as a way of filling my stomach, I selfishly found myself craving familiar foods that I was used to eating. Since our family eats primarily whole grains, lean meats and organic produce, I was almost dreaming about food, which is unusual for me as I rarely even think about it when I’m at home.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case for thousands of men and women, especially in the United States. Food literally consumes the thoughts of those who have become accustomed to using it as a way of coping with stress, cov-ering up emotional pain, or even celebrating (which they find ways of doing regularly).
If we’re honest, we have become “food-users,” meaning we use it as a way of trying to fill a void, fix a problem or find pleasure. In these cases, food actually becomes an idol.
This problem isn’t new. In Philip-pians 3:18-19, the Apostle Paul
By Jonathan Benson, staff writer (NaturalNews) First humans, then dogs, now shrimp? Though crustaceans are not actually taking antidepressant drugs because of a prescription, research out of the University of Portsmouth in the U.K. has found that pharmaceutical waste runoff, and par-ticularly that of antidepressant drugs like Prozac, is causing shrimp and other exposed crus-taceans to change their behavior in ways that are causing many more of them than usual to die off. According to the study, shrimp exposed to antidepressants from waste runoff are five times more likely to swim towards light, which means they are far more likely to encounter fishermen’s nets and birds that are hungry for a meal. While they would normally stay in more protected areas, these drug-induced sea creatures are basically committing suicide by gravitating towards situations that end up resulting in their early demise. “Crustaceans are crucial to the
Pharmaceutical waste runoff causing shrimp, other marine life to commit suicide
addressed it by stating, “For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction; their god is their stomach; their glory is in their shame. They are focused on earthly things…”
People tell me all the time that the primary reason they exercise is so they can eat whatever they want. They love food and view work-ing out as permission to indulge. Unfortunately, when these folks give in to their cravings thinking they are satisfying their appe-tites, they find that their cravings
aren’t satisfied but intensified. In the end, they c h e a t t h e m -selves by offset-
ting the health benefits of exercise with unhealthy eating habits.
Like all idols, food makes promises it can’t keep. It may be enjoyable at the moment, but it never pro-vides lasting satisfaction. When I got back from Haiti, I immedi-ately tried to satisfy my hunger but found that the items I thought I couldn’t live without weren’t as good as I thought they’d be. They over-promised and under-delivered.
All idols—food or otherwise—do three things: distract us from God, drain our resources and drive our behavior. If food is an idol, our attention and actions will become aligned behind it. We’ll think about it often and spend a lot of time pursuing it and indulging in it. Ultimately, it gets expensive in terms of time, energy and money.
Food becomes an idol in our lives when we ask it to give us things that only God can give. If we expect it to provide a sense of belonging or heal relational pain, it will fail. If we want it to offer lasting pleasure, we will be dissatisfied within an hour. If we expect it to fix our problems, take away our loneliness or make us feel loved, we’ll always be disap-pointed. Only God can do those things, and idols distract us from our desire for Him, making us seek love from outside sources.
When we get disconnected from the Lord, we start searching for substitutes. And until we reconnect with Him and allow Him to fill our life with identity, security, love and acceptance, the only thing our little idols will do is temporarily fill us up and tear us down.
Thankfully there’s good news. All idols in our lives can be defeated when we reconnect with God,
r e n e w o u r w a l k w i t h Him, and let Him begin to increasingly sat isfy the
longings of our heart. If we do that, all other substitutes, like food, will start to look a lot less attractive and satisfying. We’ll discover that only God can truly satisfy our deepest needs and desires.
The next time you find your-self craving food for something other than nourishment, consider whether or not it has taken on the form of a personal idol. While there are circumstances in which food can be enjoyed in celebration, it should never be something we use for fulfillment. That’s God’s role. He alone can satisfy our longings, and the best part is that He will if we let Him.
Live a fit life. C’mon, you can do this!
300k farmers hope for lawsuit against Monsanto
tations annually during that span with a so-called “seed police.”
Farmers have been concerned that unless Monsanto is stopped, their reign over the world’s agriculture will surpass anything imaginable. They are seeking pre-emptive protection from those questionable lawsuits and next month Judge Buchwald will weigh in on if the matter should go to trial. Her honor
recently listened to oral arguments on Monsanto’s Motion to Dis-m i s s , w h i c h the corporation hopes to win to cease the charges being brought by
a total of 83 plaintiffs representing now over 300,000 organic farm-affiliated businesses. The legal team for the small-time farmers also offered their arguments.
“Monsanto’s threats and abuse of family farmers stops here,” says Jim Gerritsen, president of the Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association. “Monsanto’s genetic contamination of organic seed and organic crops ends now. Ameri-cans have the right to choice in the marketplace — to decide what kind of food they will feed their families — and we are taking this action on their behalf to protect that right to choose.”
Elizabeth Archerd, the director of a Minneapolis food co-op, adds in support of the farmers to the New York Times, “Pollen and DNA do not play by the USDA’s rules.” Although hundreds of thousands of farmers feel the same way, it’ll take a judge to decide the next step in the case. From there though, things could get dirty. Michael Taylor, a former attorney for the US Department of Agriculture and lobbyist for Monsanto was recently appointed to a federal role as the deputy commissioner for foods at the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since then, the FDA has refused requests to label geneti-cally modified products as such despite demands from consumer protection groups.
food chain. And if shrimps’ natu-ral behavior is being changed because of antidepressant levels in the sea, this could seriously upset the natural balance of the ecosystem,” said Alex Ford, lead researcher of the study, in a press
release. “Much of what humans consume you can detect in the water in some concentra-
tion. It’s no surprise that what we get from the phar-
macy will also be contaminat-ing the country’s waterways.” Back in 2008, it was discovered that the water supplies of 24 major metropolitan cities in the U.S. were contaminated with drug residues, even after having been filtered using typical treatment methods. Included in the mix were anti-seizure and anti-inflam-matory medications, painkillers, caffeine, and antidepressants. Even earlier than that, a 2004 study conducted in the U.K. found that both sewage and drinking water supplies were riddled with pharmaceutical waste runoff.
The filtering technology used at most water treatment plants is not capable of capturing drug residues, which end up flushing untold levels of drug residue mixtures into rivers, streams, and ultimately the world’s oceans. Most wastewater treatment plants do not even test for pharmaceuti-cals, in fact, because it is typically not a requirement under local and state laws. And while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at least now admits that drugs are persistent in water sup-plies, the agency insists there is no evidence they cause human harm. Numerous scientific studies, including the shrimp study, how-ever, indicate otherwise.
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By Good News Today staff“It is not good that the man
should be alone”(Genesis 2:18b)
“Be a Man?” In recent years men have been given a lot of mixed messages as to what it means to be a man, husband or father. Men hate mixed messages. Just tell us like it is (or should be) without all of the extra verbiage. That’s exactly what Mike Pearl does in eliminating the conflicting messages and getting to the meat of the matter.
Discover God’s design for a man and how you can find joy doing what you were designed to do. Learn what your responsibility as
This faith-filled son of Taiwan-ese immigrants was given little chance in the NBA. Only weeks ago, he was sleeping on other people’s couches as he struggled to make his start in New York. But after shutting down the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and leading the New York Knicks to six straight victories, many of his doubters now believe.
“This is a miracle from God,” Lin says, about his improbable rise in basketball. “I don’t think anybody expected this to happen.”
On February 14th, the undefeated point guard had the greatest moment of his career by hitting a three-pointer with one second left as the Knicks overcame a 17-point def-icit to defeat the Toronto Raptors, 90-87.
Much of Lin’s meteoric rise is about the Lord’s providence. “Anytime something like this hap-pens, a lot of stuff has to be put into place, and a lot of it is out of my control,” Lin said before the Toronto game. “If you look back at my story, it doesn’t matter where you look, but God’s fingerprints are all over the place.”
“There have been a lot of things that had to happen that I couldn’t control,” he continued. “You can try to call it coincidence, but at the end of the day, there are 20, 30 things when you combine them all that had to happen at the right time in order for me to be here. That’s why I call it a miracle.”
Lin’s parents are no taller than five feet six inches, so his six feet, three inches and 200 pounds are a marvel within the family. He received no offers for an athletic scholarship out of Palo Alto High School, even though he led his team to a state championship. He aced the SAT test in math, which helped win him a place at Harvard, then became the first player in the history of the Ivy League to score 1,450 points. Lin graduated with a degree in economics and a 3.1 average. No Harvard grad has played in the NBA since 1954, until now.
After he graduated, Lin went
Created To Need A Help Meet A Marriage Guide for Mena man/husband/father is, and what it is not. Learn how to love your wife “even as Christ also loved the church”.
As always, Mike’s presentation is direct with no holds barred and he is not afraid to hurt your feelings. With his over 50 years of Bible study he presents God’s perspec-tive on the subject and his over 40 years of marriage bears witness to its effectiveness. His wife, Debi Pearl, weighs in to add grace to
Mike’s to-the-point writing style. Man Up! Get a copy today.
Created To Need A Help Meet , Mike’s new book, can he lp men understand how to be the husband that God created them to be. Pre-paring To Be A Help Meet, writ-ten by his wife Debbie Pearl, has helped countless women to under-
stand and fulfill their role as a wife.
Jeremy Lin, the ‘Tebow’ of basketball, shakes up New Yorkunselected in the NBA draft, but was picked up on a two-year contract by his home team, the Golden State Warriors. With the Bay Area’s large Asian-American population, he attained a large fol-lowing, even though he had little playing time and averaged only 2.6 points per game in his rookie season. Part of that season was spent on the Warrior’s D-league team.
His D-league experience tested his walk with God. “When things weren’t going well my first year, I found a way to lose hope, lose trust in God,” he said, in a testi-mony recorded at River of Life Church in Santa Clara, California last June. “I tried to remind myself of my story and how I got there,” he said.
A Scripture grabbed his heart at that crucial juncture in the D-leagues, 1st Corinthians 9: 24-25. “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. �5 Everyone who competes in the games exer-cises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a per-ishable wreath, but we an imper-ishable.”
Lin realized he had been playing with the wrong motives. “The prize I was playing for at that time was a perishable wreath,” he admitted. “I was playing for great games, great stats, getting the call to the Warriors, getting the next year of my contract, living up to everyone’s expectations. I was playing for those things, for myself, and for my glory.”
During this period of reflection, Lin’s pastor urged him to spend an hour a day with God, something Lin never considered before but decided to try. As he studied the Scripture one day, Philippians 3:14
resonated: “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
“The prize is the blessings and rewards we get when we get to heaven,” Lin realized, “the eternal fellowship we can have with Jesus Christ.” Suddenly he recognized a new way to approach sports – and life. “Our true reward – something I learned I need to strive for – is in
heaven, not on earth.”
Lin also happened to be reading John Piper’s book at the time, “Don’t Waste your Life.” Pip-er’s quote, “God created us to live with a single passion to joyfully dis-play his supreme excel-lence in all the spheres of life,” also struck a chord.
“When Paul wrote in Philippians to press
on for an upward prize, he was living for that, and it made his life meaningful,” Lin observed. “And I realized I had to learn to do the same. I had to learn to stop chasing the perishable prizes of this earth, I had to stop chasing personal glory.
Win or lose, he knew he could rely on God. “I had to learn how to give my best effort to God and trust him with the results. I have to learn to have enough faith to trust in his grace and to trust in his sovereign and perfect plan. I had to submit my will, my desires, my dreams — give it all up to God and say, “Look, I am going to give my best effort, go on the court and play every day for you, and I’m going to let you take care of the rest.”
Lin admitted this is not easy – it’s still a daily struggle. “Playing for great stats is nice, but that satis-faction — that happiness — is only from game to game. It’s very temporary.” Both the Warriors and the Houston Rockets cut Lin from their rosters in 2011 to make way for other players they considered more talented, a blow to Lin’s pride, but he kept trusting God.
The New York Knicks picked up Lin on December 27 as a third-string backup after an injury to guard Iman Shumpert. Then they bounced him down to the D-league Erie BayHawks, but he surprised everyone on January 20th by scor-
ing a triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists in the BayHawks’ 122–113 victory over the Maine Red Claws.
Three days later, he got the call from the Knicks to rejoin the A-team. Due to an injury and the fact that the team had been play-ing poorly, Coach Mike D’Antoni decided to give Lin a chance. On February 4th, Lin scored 25 points, made five rebounds, and seven assists in a 99–92 Knicks win over the New Jersey Nets.
In the next game, his first career start, he scored 28 points against the Utah Jazz. Then he scored his first double-double against the Washington Wizards, with 23 points and 10 assists. Still, he was regularly stopped by the Knicks’ security people who wondered if he was a team trainer.
On February 10th, he shocked the basketball world by scoring a career-high 38 points as he led his team to a 92-85 victory over the
Los Angeles Lakers. He outscored Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who had 34 points.
Bryant appeared somewhat stunned after the game. “Players playing that well don’t usually come out of nowhere,” he remarked. “It seems like they come out of nowhere, but if you can go back and take a look, his skill level was probably there from the beginning. It probably just went unnoticed.”
“Linsanity” began to grip New York, as the Knicks hustled to sell copies of Lin’s No. 17 jerseys and t-shirts. Sales on their online store increased more than 3,000% and Lin’s jersey has been the bestseller in the NBA since February 4th.
Lin would like to be a pastor some day or head a non-profit organiza-tion, at home or overseas. “Your talent and your ability to play basketball is a gift from God,” Lin said. “You have to use that for God’s glory.”
Jeremy Lin drives past Kobe Bryant
You can order these books and learn more about Debbie and Mike Pearls ministry at www.
nogreaterjoy.org. The books are also available at Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com.
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Warrenton, Mo - This year marks the 75th anniversary of Child Evangelism Fellowship, the larg-est ministry to children in the world. Established during the Great Depression in Berkley, California, by the tireless efforts of Mr. Jesse I. Overholtzer, a farmer and one-time Plymouth Brethren pastor, CEF now has a presence in 176 countries and reaches millions of children each year thanks to 2700 CEF workers. The burden for children that took hold of Mr. Overholtzer, affection-ately known as “Mr. O,” was no doubt influenced by his own child-hood experiences in California. At the age of 12, he had many impor-tant questions about the nature of man, sin and guilt, and his relationship with God. His ques-tions went unanswered because
(Somerset, MA) “FOOTPRINTS – Angels are real. Some even have fur.” will be released on DVD March 1st. Special pre-release pricing is being offered exclu-sively from New Shepherd Films until March 1st through www.footprintsmovie.com or by calling New Shepherd Films directly at (508) 536-3188.
Based on the true events from “Memoirs of an Angel” by Jim Huggins, “FOOTPRINTS” is a storyabout the power of love to change lives and overcome the challenges we face everyday. The movie fol-lows a young boy named David and the struggles he faces into his adult years. As aboy, we see him dealing with a harsh father. David’s mother loves and nurtures him but, when tragedy strikes, she’s taken away from him. At the tender of age of six, he finds himself orphaned and alone.
As a young man, the unconditional love of animals has David caring for German Shepherds noone else wants. Abused and con-sidered worthless, David identifies with these dogs better than most. When a special dog named Cadie comes into his life, in addition to a new wife named Hope and a step-daughter named Shelby, David
75th Anniversary of Child Evangelism Fellowshiphe was considered too young to understand theology, a commonly held view at the time. Years later, after a rebellious youth and his adult conversion to Christianity, he happened to read a quote by the great British preacher, Charles Spurgeon, who said, “A child five if properly instructed, can as read-ily believe and be regenerated as anyone.” Captivated by this notion, he decided to test it. He found that by explaining the gospel clearly in terms children could understand many came to faith. Of those children, the positive changes in their behavior and character even led some of their parents to Christ. Spurred on by these results, Mr. O began telling others of his experi-ment and soon had a group of college students and mothers who were eager to share the gospel with children. Mr. O developed an informal training school and
lessons for them, which included classes on Bible, doctrine and the best methods for teaching children. It was in Oakland, California, at a religious supply depot that he found a little book of colors for telling the gospel story. The Wordless Book is used to this day by CEF workers all around the world. Concerned with the barriers denomination-a l i s m c a n pose and the inability of the Bay area churches to hold the number of neighborhood children, Mr. O came up with the idea of interdenomi-national Bible classes for children taught by his new teachers that would meet in people’s homes. For Mr. O Berkley, California, was only the beginning. He wanted to tell children all over the world about the love of Christ. Traveling from one major city to another in the United States and Canada, in 1936, Mr. O met with local Chris-tian leaders and convinced them to organize committees which would set up Bible classes for children based on his Berkley program. Soon the classes which became known as Good News Clubs were meeting all over the U.S. and Canada. In 1937, the national organization was incorporated as Child Evangelism Fellowship. Proper training for teachers was critical to Mr. O who worked hard to make his training manu-als available. He wanted to take advantage of the multiplication effect of training teachers: by training additional teachers, many more children could be reached. He accomplished this at first through teacher training manuals that circulated around the grow-ing CEF community and through a monthly magazine called, Child Evangelism, which included sec-tions on teacher training and a visualized lesson to use with chil-dren. Then in 1945, Mr. O’s dream of a formal training school was realized. The Child Evangelism Institute was founded in Dallas, Texas, for the purpose of training teachers to go all over the world to share the gospel with children. By the time of Mr. O’s death, Child Evangelism Fellowship had 150 overseas workers operat-ing in 60 countries and hundreds working in the U.S. and Canada. Today, under the direction of Mr. Reese Kauffman, CEF has contin-ued the mission of Mr. O: to evan-gelize boys and girls, disciple and establish them in a local church. “Our goal,” said Mr. Kauffman in reference to the CEF slogan, “is ‘Every Child, Every Nation, Every Day.’ In other words, we want to reach every child in every nation with the hope and prayer that they will commit to Christ and sustain their faith with the habit of reading the Word of God every day.” CEF is working to establish a presence in every nation by 2017. By its count it has only 32 nations and territories to go. Last year alone, CEF shared the gospel with almost 11 million children around the world. In the
Inspirational ‘FOOTPRINTS’ coming to DVD in March
finally has a chance to live the kind of life he’s longed for.
Even so, he continues to face chal-lenges along the way but learns that God uses many different tools to help him through life. As one character in the movie puts it, “Cadie ‘really is an angel in a fur coat!’”.
Filmed with the help of over 500 volunteer cast and crew through-out the Southcoast ofMassachusetts and portions of Rhode Island, “FOOTPRINTS” has gained crit ical acclaim amongviewers and film critics alike. Audi-ences everywhere have embraced its compelling portrayal of hope, love, and redemption. As one cast member put it “this is a story that needed to be told.”
In addition to outstanding talent and a compelling story, the film features a wonderful musical score including the title song “FOOT-PRINTS” by Andrew Finn and Jim Huggins featuring Joel Pinson.
Heralded as “a wonderful story”, the Dove Foundation awarded “FOOTPRINTS” 4 Doves andurges people to “Catch this one!” Finally, a family movie the WHOLE family can enjoy!
U.S., CEF has a presence in over 3500 public schools where Good News Clubs meet after school, thanks to the 2001 Supreme Court case which ruled the GNCs must be accorded the same facility access as any other non-school related group. According to Mr. Tom Levanos, executive director of CEF operations, the organiza-tion is working to increase its
outreach by 15 percent every year. “This
would put us on track to reach 100 million children each year by 2027.
And we will do it the same way
we always have by training, equipping and
supporting teachers to evangelize children.” For each of the last seven years, CEF has experienced strong growth, training 250,000 teach-ers annually around the world. CEF is positioning itself to train even more by placing its teacher training courses on the inter-net at www.online.cefcmi.com. Once trained, the teachers are equipped by CEF with the litera-ture they will need to teach chil-dren, such as Bible lessons, visual aids and devotionals. Finally, CEF tries to provide the financial sup-port necessary for its workers. “The reality is we have an abun-dance of workers but they need
financial support to survive. In most countries around the world, just 300 to 500 dollars each month will support one of our workers. Right now we can support some 400 workers but we would like to increase that number to 1000 in the next few years,” said Mr. Levanos. He pointed to the Middle East where CEF workers are in need of significant support, especially in countries where it is illegal to share the gospel. Further driving up the expenses for the CEF workers in this region is the location of the Arab teacher training institute in a neutral country in a different region of the world. The institute could not be located in the Middle East because of the political tensions among the Arab nations, and the resulting difficulties some citizens have in getting visas to neighbor-ing countries. No such difficulties exist for these citizens in obtain-ing visas to the neutral country. “As we reflect on our 75th anni-versary,” concluded Mr. Levanos, “we are grateful for all of the workers, volunteers, donors and prayers that have contributed to the success of the CEF mission. It is humbling to see the sacrifices people are willing to make, even to the point of risking their lives, to share the gospel with children.” Local contacts for CEF RI can be found at PO Box 245, Ashaway, Rhode Island 02804
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NORTH STONINGTONCHRISTIAN ACADEMYServing families in SE Connecticut and Southern RI
Programs for all ages, Preschool through Grade 12
• Affordable Tuition
• Association of Christian Schools International Member
• Academic Excellence, Cultural Diversity
• Founded in 1981
• A Ministry of Second Baptist Church
Now Enrolling for 2012/2013(Also open enrollment for 2011/2012)
“Educating for Eternity”
Visit us at www.northstoningtonchristianacademy.orgFor more information call 860-599-5071
what my friends think I do
what I actually dowhat I think I dowhat society thinks I do
what the media thinks I dowhat my kids think I do
STANDTRUE.COM | ABORTIONWIKI.ORG
by Ralph Davis
I attended the opening event and was saddened by the fact that
this “Soup Kitchen” which will be open from 3-4 PM each week will only serve PB&J sandwiches, chips, apples and juice; hardly worth the arduous trek up Capital Hill.
The goal of these weekly events in the minds behind the RI Home-less Advocacy Program (RIHAP) who organized it is to “ let the decision makers at the state house know some of Rhode Island’s homeless by name and experience what they already know, they are much like the rest of us.” They also wanted the state’s politi-cians to be reminded weekly of the ramifications of the decisions that they make.
SojournCommunityChurch
New Radio Show Targets The
SouthCoast
Somerset, MA – On Sunday, Janu-ary 29, 2012 Sojourn Community Church will be broadcasting its first radio show called “Sojourn Radio” on 1480 AM, WSAR from 8:30-9:00 A.M. airing weekly on Sunday mornings.
“The purpose in taking on a radio show is to have another outlet where we can proclaim the glori-ous good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” says Senior Pastor Matt Belanger.
“Sojourn Community Church is a unique church in the Somer-set, Massachusetts area,” claims Belanger, “because of its openness and belief in the authority of the Bible. We teach that the Bible is the Word of God and that salvation comes to those who commit their lives to following Jesus Christ.”
In MA contact CEF of Mas-sachusetts, 20 SW Main Street, Douglas, Massachusetts 01516 You can email Tim Beachell at [email protected] or call (888) 628-1814.
For further information on the history of CEF and its 75th anni-versary visit cefonline.com
State House Soup Kitchen Press Conference And Grand Opening
When I left about 20 needy individ-uals had stopped by; none looked too pleased with the “First meal” served. There were four speakers including one “constituent” (aka homeless person). The thrust of the
talk very appropriately dealt with the need for affordable housing. Lots of news media were there.
Although I think that it was a
worthy effort and of course believe that there should be far more allo-cated for the many needs of the downtrodden in this state, I was saddened by all of the continued reliance on the government, fund-ing, agencies, etc.
Lacking in all of this is the bibli-cal mandate, in fact paramount
enough to our Lord Jesus Christ to be included in the “Greatest Com-mandment,” that we love others as ourselves. The homeless situation and the like are not caused by Obama, the wealthy or any other worldly force. It is the responsibility of each person who con-siders themselves to be Christian (followers of Christ) to reach out to those around them. Some
blame it on the lack of the churches response; I say rather, it is the individual’s response to the trag-edy around them.
FEBRUARY 9, �01� 3-4 PM
out its growing pains, however our conviction and methodol-ogy for believing in the author-ity and strength of God’s Word have remained unchanged,” says Belanger. “We’ve just undergone a renovation of our church website and church blog site to accom-modate the increased traffic that we’ve seen in recent weeks. These modifications have also been part of anticipated growth that we expect as a result of going to the air waves. Things are really look-ing up!” Sojourn church’s website can be visited at www.sojourn.cc and their blog site is http://blog.sojourn.cc.
Pastor Belanger says that he’s thankful to work with the great staff of WSAR. “They are an extremely accommodating and encouraging bunch. Everyone I’ve worked with has been very helpful.” Belanger is hoping to increase church attendance and welcome new folks into their growing body in Somerset. He says that all are welcome and encouraged to bring their friends and family. “We’ve got a great church and a team of leaders whose joy it is to serve others and the local community. We are committed to this work and col-lectively consider it a privilege to do what we do.”
About Sojourn
Sojourn Community Church (www.sojourn.cc) began in December 2009 in Somerset, Massachu-
setts. Sojourn is pastored by Matt Belanger and is denominationally a Southern Baptist Convention church with a reformed theological bent. Sojourn meets on Sundays from 11AM to 12PM with several other events occurring during the week. Matt’s blog can be viewed at http://blog.sojourn.cc.
We will never be able to rely on institutions to cure our social ills; since the Lord created our world this idea has proven to be fool-hardy. Perhaps He will touch the hearts of more and more people
who profess to align with Him as Christians to reach out in a big way to others in their own sphere, forget about blaming the rich and the government and ACT.
Join Us…You are cordially invited to the celebration of the 10th Anniversary of
the founding of Faith Bible Chapel
Saturday, March 10th, �01�From
6:30 to 8:00 p.m.This tremendous milestone is one upon which we look back in thankfulness and appreciation to God who has led us over the years.It would be an honor for you to attend and share this blessing with us. We stand believing that God will help us to continue being faithful to
His call to service.
“A Place of New Beginnings”Faith Bible Chapel 115 Ashaway Rd. Westerly, RI 02891
The Good News TODAY
1� March 2012
Enter tainment
By The Good News Today StaffKirk Cameron’s documentary “Monumental” is one of his most personal projects. The father of six children wondered what was in store for his children... with America’s future looking scary - Kirk retraced the footsteps of the pilgrims (then called separatists) and attempts to understand who they were and what drove them to a mission that would sacrifice their lives to establish the free and wealthy nation we live in....and what we need to do to restore America back to its greatness.
Kirk Cameron, the television and film actor noted for his work in the 2008 inspirational hit Fireproof as well as memorable roles on ABC’s Growing Pains recently said of his new project, “It seems like yesterday my pouffy mullet and parachute pants were all the rage and Prince had a #1 hit on the radio. Now I’m married to the most beautiful woman, raising six children and living the American dream. But each day as I look around, I’m left with a sinking feeling that America is losing her way. Big time. My thoughts go straight to my children. I want them to have a bright and wonder-
By BP Staff
NEW YORK (BP) -– “The Vow,” the true story of a woman who lost all memory of her husband following an automobile accident, has opened at No. 1 on The New York Times bestseller list in its first week of re-release.
Published by B&H Publish-ing Group, the book is the true story behind the film of the same name. The film was produced apart from interaction with B&H. The book is No. 1 on The Times’ paperback nonfiction list. The book tells the story of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter, who made national news in the 1990s when an auto accident left Krickitt with no memory of her husband or their marriage. Initially released in 2000, the book tells the true story of the couple’s commit-ment to their wedding vows, the rekindling of their romance and their strong faith in God. “This story is not about me, and it’s not about Krickitt,” husband Kim writes in the book. “It’s about the Lord and how He brought my wife and me through a ter-
By Dan Wooding
HOLLYWOOD, CA (ANS) -- “King James” and a bunch of “Courageous” Cops, were among the winners at the 20th Annual Movieguide® Faith and Values Gala in Hol-l y w o o d , California, on Fr iday, February 10, 2012.
Winne r o f the $100,000 E p i p h a n y P r i z e f o r Most Inspir-ing TV Pro-gram of 2011, supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, was KJB: The Book That Changed The World from BBC Two, the extraordinary story behind the most extraordinary of books.
In the movie, directed by veteran British filmmaker, Norman Stone, acclaimed actor John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones) leads the viewer back into a darker time to discover this fascinating tale of saints and sinners, power and passion. The greatest transla-tion of the Bible -- The King James Bible -- emerged into a world and culture that would never be quite the same again.
Stone, who is not as well known in the U.S. as he is in the UK, was like myself, a founder member of the Arts Centre Group in London, and has directed and produced TV and film since 1975.
Employed as the BBC’s young-est producer/director. He estab-lished his career in 1984 when he invented, developed and directed Shadowlands (about the relation-ship of C.S. Lewis with divorced American poet Joy Gresham and her young son Douglas) for BBC1. This gained him two Bafta awards,
MONUMENTAL: Our Families Are Worth Fighting For
ful future, but what will life be like for them when I’m gone? The soul of our country is sick, and history shows me we are headed for disas-ter if we don’t change course now. Here’s my hunch: Could it be that we have simply forgotten what made us such a great nation in the first place? So many people are waiting around for our leaders to come up with a grand plan to save our nation. But is that really how America got started? What if things actually work the other way around? What if real change doesn’t start at the top but at the bottom? What if the best place to begin transforming our country is not the Oval Office but the dinner table? Monumental is my journey to find answers to these questions. I’m retracing the footsteps of our Founders from England to Amer-ica in the hope of rediscovering our true ‘national treasure’ so that we can use it to restore our country.” When asked why he decided to make the film, Cameron said, “This is one of the most impor-tant journeys of my life. America is worth fighting for, and so are our families. We can still be a “city upon a hill.” But we need to work together. With God’s help, we can turn this thing around. Someone once said, “Footprints in history are not made sitting down.” I couldn’t agree more. So, I’m asking every American to stand with me in this monumental moment to rediscover America’s true national treasure. Our children and our children’s children will thank us for it.”
To learn more about Monumental or to purchase tickets for this Live One Night Event on March 27th in your area visit www.monumental-movie.com.
‘The Vow’ book hits No. 1 on NYT listrible time to a life that is greater than we could have ever imag-ined. It’s about a commitment to the Lord and to each other.” Married just 10 weeks in Novem-ber 1993, the Carpenters survived an auto accident that left Kim criti-
cally injured and Krickitt in a coma. When she awoke, head trauma suffered in the wreck claimed 18 months of her memories includ-ing all recollection of meeting, dating and marrying Kim. With Kim committed to his wedding vows and Krickitt maintaining her
strong Christian faith, the couple began a long road to rebuild their relationship, including a second marriage ceremony and renewal of vows almost three years later. It is not the only B&H book on The New York Times’ bestseller list. “The Resolution for Men,” “The Resolution for Women” and “The Love Dare” are Nos. 10, 12 and 13, respectively, on The Times’ paperback advice list. “The phenomenal success of these books -- each dealing with the importance of faith and com-mitment in the family -- shows the great hunger for encour-aging and inspiring messages today,” said Selma Wilson, B&H Publishing Group president. The movie is rated PG-13 and contains content some viewers may find objectionable. It’s gotten mixed reviews among Christian websites. Reviewer Paul Asay of Focus on the Family’s Plugged In website said the film is “stripped of its real-life Christian core.” “It loses sight of its own title and,
in so doing, fails to talk about another side of love: the hard side of love, the love we choose to cling to even when neither we nor our partner is very lovable at all,” Asay wrote of the film. (Read the full review at PluggedIn.com).
‘King James’ and a group of ‘Courageous’ cops honored at the �0th Annual Movieguide® Faith and Values Gala
an International Emmy, and the Prague D’Or for Best Director.
Winner of the $100,000 Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring Movie of 2011, ALSO supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foun-
dation, was Courageous from Affirm Films/Provi-d e n t / S o n y P i c t u r e s E n t e r t a i n -ment.
S h e r w o o d P i c t u r e s production, Courageous,
tells the story of four men, with one calling: To serve and protect. As law enforcement officers, who are confident and focused, stand-ing up to the worst the streets have to offer. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle, fatherhood. When tragedy strikes home these men are left wrestling with their hopes, fears, faith and fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God and to their children? Protecting the streets is second nature, but can they raise their children in a God-honoring way?
Many celebrities gathered at the Uni-versal City Hilton, close to the heart of Hollywood, for a very special evening and also enjoyed entertainment pro-vided by Pat Boone, B.J. Thomas, Juli-ana Zobrist, Natalie Grant, as well as from Ace Young and Diana Degarmo, both American Idol finalists.
Host for the evening was Dean Cain, who is most widely known for his role as Clark Kent/Super-man in the popular American television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman. During a Red Carpet interview, he gave me the quote of the evening when I asked him if he was embar-rassed about playing Superman and he said, “Not really apart from wearing the tights and red knickers.”
A highlight of the evening was when media expert, Dr. Ted Baehr, told the audience in his Annual Report to the Entertainment Industry that an analysis that his advocacy group Movieguide® has done, showed that the most family-friendly movies aver-aged more than $40.7 million per movie in 2011 in America and Canada, but that the least family-friendly movies with the most offensive, obscene, or anti-family and immoral content averaged only about $19.8 million.
Baehr said that the most family-friendly movies with the most inspiring, cleanest content earn more money at the box office and on home video. The study exten-sively studied the content of the top movies released by the major studios in Hollywood earning $750,000 or more, including the major independent studios. “The evidence is abundantly clear,” said Baehr, founder and publisher of Movieguide®. “Moviegoers greatly prefer family-friendly movies.”
He noted that the Annual Report, now in its 20th year, doesn’t just examine family movies and cartoons for children, but family-friendly movies with the cleanest, most inspiring, and least offensive content.
“Most people want to see Good conquer evil, Truth triumph over falsehood, Justice prevail over injustice, Liberty conquer tyranny, and Beauty overcome ugliness,” he added. “They also would like to take their whole family, including their grandparents, to the movies more often.”
The Winners
W i n n e r o f t h e $100,000 Epiphany Prize for Most Inspir-ing Movie of 2011, supported by a grant from the John Tem-pleton Foundation: Courageous f rom Affirm Films/Provi-dent/Sony Pictures Entertainment.
O the r nominees : Justin Bieber: Never Say Never - MTV/Paramount, Of Gods
and Men - Sony Picture Classics, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – Disney, Seven Days in Utopia - Visio Entertainment, Soul Surfer – Sony, The Tree of Life - Fox Search-light
Winner of the $100,000 Epiphany Prize for Most Inspiring TV Program of 2011, supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation: KJB: The Book That Changed the World from BBC Two.
Other Nominees: Buck Denver Asks - Why Do We Call It Christmas – EMI, A Christmas Wish - The Hallmark Channel, The Lost Valentine - Hall-mark Hall of Fame Productions, Love Begins - The Hallmark Channel, Mitch Albom’s Have A Little Faith - Hall-mark Hall of Fame Productions.
The Ten Best 2011 Movies for Fami-lies: 1. Hugo 2. Soul Surfer 3. The Muppets 4. The Adventures Of Tintin 5. Courageous, 6. Mars Needs Moms 7. Justin Bieber: Never Say Never 8. Puss In Boots 9. Mr. Popper’s Pen-guins 10. Cars 2
The Ten Best 2011 Movies for Mature Audiences: 1. Pirates Of The Carib-bean: On Stranger Tides 2. Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close 3. Captain America: The First Avenger 4. Mis-sion: Impossible - Ghost Protocol 5. The Tree Of Life 6. The Artist 7. Seven Days In Utopia 8. Sarah’s Key 9. Thor 10. The Way
If you who would like to see the full Winners List and nominees, sponsored by the Christian Film & Television Commission®, please visit www.movieguide.org.
Dr, Ted Baehr and Norman Stone share a humorous moment with Dan Wooding on the Red Carpet (Photo: Peter Wooding)
Cover of exclusive collector’s edition DVD
The Good News TODAY
13www.thegoodnewstoday.org
Editorials / Commentary / Letters to the Editor
By Bill Wilson - www.dailyjot.com
There is an ancient proverb that says “When the righteous are
in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.” As a nation that can freely choose its leadership, the fallen state of the populace has not kept a proper watch over those who would be elected to lead. Now there is a cadre of leaders in Congress, the judicial system and at the White House who are sys-tematically destroying the nation, the American way of life, and placing the entirety of America’s future in jeopardy of becoming an afterthought. This is particularly important to the rest of the world, as America traditionally has been viewed as a beacon of freedom.
John Bunyan & “The Pilgrim’s
Progress”By American Minute
with Bill Federer
The Pilgrim’s Progress was in FEBRUARY of 1678. An
allegory of a pilgrim’s journey to the Celestial City, it was written by John Bunyan, born in Bedford, England. At age 29, Bunyan became a Baptist minister and was imprisoned for over 12 years for preaching without a license. While in jail, he supported his family by making shoelaces. His book, found in nearly every colonial New England home, was the world’s best-seller for centuries. Benjamin Franklin wrote in his Autobiography: “From a child I was fond of read-ing, and all the little money that came into my hands was ever laid out in books. Pleased with the Pilgrim’s Progress, my first collection was of John Bunyan’s works in separate little volumes.” Franklin continued: “My old favorite author, Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress...has been translated into most of the languages of Europe, and suppose it has been more generally read than any other book, except perhaps the Bible.” In it, John Bunyan wrote: “Chris-tian ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending, and upon that place stood a cross...So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back.”
In Part II of The Pilgrim’s Progress, 1678, “Shepherd Boy’s Song,” John Bunyan wrote: “My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can get it. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me, that I have fought His battles who now will be my rewarder.”
By Marvin Olasky
(WNS)--Looking ahead at the next bubble to burst: higher education. Costs keep going up at tradi-tional four-year colleges, in part because—with the notable excep-tion of some Christian colleges and a few others that are student-oriented—professors do not make teaching their prime activity.
Examples are numerous. Here’s one: This past year the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP) released a study showing that 80 percent of the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin receive full-time pay for teaching an average of 63 students per year, the equivalent of three classes per year of 21 students each.
The joke used to be that tenured professors with too much time on their hands sold real estate on the side, but this past year a New Jersey physics professor went to extremes. Police arrested him, along with a distinguished former president of the University of New Mexico, for allegedly running an online prostitution ring.
Most professors, of course, spend time in other pursuits. The Pope Center for Higher Education Policy in North Carolina recently asked whether an English profes-sor who teaches Shakespeare will advance his career more by (1) Closely rereading the major plays of Shakespeare and their most
Ruling: Medical technology takes
precedence By Charlie Butts
(OneNewsNow) - A wrongful death case in Alabama calls into question Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion.
In February the Alabama Supreme Court issued a landmark deci-sion, according to Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel, because it allows an individual mother to bring a wrongful death com-plaint on behalf of her unborn child -- even though the baby could not have lived outside the womb at the time the infant died. “... The concurring opinion by Justice Tom Parker goes through the historical as well as the legal precedent to show that Roe v. Wade’s viability standard is ill-conceived and ultimately does not apply, but should eventually also be overturned,” the Lib-erty Counsel founder explains. Parker wrote that “Roe’s viabil-ity rule was based on inaccurate history and was mostly unsup-ported by legal precedent. Medical advances since Roe have conclu-sively demonstrated that an unborn child is a unique human being at every stage of development.” That is significant, says Staver. “It clearly shows that viability -- the ability to live outside the womb -- is just a medical, technological issue and has nothing to do with the dignity of the human being,” states the attorney. “[It says] that the human being is a human being from the moment of conception and should be treated as such through all stages of development.” February’s Alabama Supreme Court ruling in Hamilton v. Scott was unanimous. Three other jus-tices joined Judge Parker in the concurring opinion.
On February 9, Boston Globe columnist Erika Christakis
wrote a piece titled “Fair-trade Pornography” that encouraged so-called “ethically sourced por-nography.” She goes so far as to say that society’s attraction to pornography is a “primitive - but relatively harmless” impulse. Maureen Vacca, MFI’s Direc-tor of Public Policy, wrote a letter in response to this column, and the Boston Globe ran it on Tuesday, February 14. Her letter follows in its entirety;
A clear prophetic warning to the citizens of AmericaAmerica’s leaders seek war after war after war in the name of liberating mostly Islamic peoples to the benefits of democracy. In turn, these grateful people choose Islamic Sharia as their law, and become more oppressed than before, exalting evil leaders who wish to impose their brand of reli-gion and government on the rest of the world. Additionally, America through its foreign policy actions has made the world a far less safer place. In particular, the only true ally of the United States in the Middle East, Israel, is increasingly being surrounded by extremists as a result of the American actions. This foreign policy has exacted a political, economical and physical toll on every American citizen.
America’s leadership has col-lectively borrowed and printed money it doesn’t have. It has instituted policies and programs that redistribute the earnings of those who work hard to those who do not work at all. America’s leaders have corrupted our chil-dren by teaching perversion in the public schools. They have abused their power in passing many laws that would never hold up under the Constitution save an honest judiciary. They move to remove Christian religion from the public square. They refuse to secure the nation’s borders, even to the point of arming drug lords from Mexico with assault weapons. They have demolished the American dream of home ownership. These
are just a few of the problems. Sadly, the two party system has no checks and balances because both parties say what they need to say to get elected, and they act the same as the ruling class. The government of the people now knows better than the people. As the Apostle Peter says “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of Yah (God).” You see, those who know the Truth of Yeshua (Jesus) should be over-coming evil with good. If 80% of Americans claim to be Christian, why doesn’t America’s leadership reflect those values? Unless Amer-icans take seriously their spiritual obligation and act responsibility as citizens, there will be no new dawn, but there will be a great mourning.
College BubbleAdvice for many students and parents:
Explore non-college optionsimportant critiques, reading about Elizabethan history, preparing for lectures, and correcting written grammar when grading papers, or (2) Writing the one-millionth academic article on Shakespeare, “with an emphasis on cross-dress-ing, food, or some other obscure topic.”
The answer: Number 2. And thus taxpayers spend thousands of dollars to subsidize conference papers that perhaps half a dozen people read, out of obligation. If you have a free half hour, visit the Postmodernism Generator (elsewhere.org/promo) and make up amusing titles of the kind that fill research journals and allow professors to pretend that they are productive. Examples include “The semiotic paradigm of context in the works of Madonna” or “The capitalist paradigm of expression in the works of Fellini.”
While students write poorly, pro-fessors prattle instead of teach. Meanwhile, parents pay tuition because it’s socially the thing to do—and they’ve also bought the talk that college graduates earn much more than non-graduates. That’s true, but Richard Vedder, an education economic expert, estimates that two-thirds of supe-rior earning comes from the intel-ligence and character of the earner rather than the degree itself.
That raises another question: Do colleges help or hurt character formation? Some students work hard, particularly when they add a part-time, bill-paying job to their classes, and some colleges demand hard work, but many students have an implicit deal with many profes-sors: Neither will work hard.
The blog Gonzo Town describes college years, with some hyper-bole, as a “four-year window in
which to master the fine art of drinking beer,” with “cheap tickets to Division I football and basket-ball games and their fantastic after parties ... a bottomless trough of free time to play computer games in your apartment, eat pizza, [con-sume] lots of beers, drugs, sports, parties, games, sex.”
Gonzo Town has a good sugges-tion: “Go to community college for two years. By doing this you have the following advantages over your mostly deluded elite coun-terparts at a four-year university. You will have no debt, you can earn money, perhaps live at home and save money, get more or less the same curriculum the university college offers—at a fraction of the cost.” Drawbacks, though, include fewer parties, and “you have to put up with your parents for a while longer.”
Some students can then transfer to a college, but Gonzo Town also offers a second option: “Learn a trade and become a ‘skilled worker.’ Here is a truly revolution-ary concept, so radical in fact, the entire U.S. and European modern economies were built upon it. Question: Who earns more than a lawyer, a resident physician, or most company directors? Answer: a plumber.”
I’m not at all suggesting that those called to be lawyers, doctors, pro-fessors, etc., should not go to col-lege. I am suggesting that work as an electrician, landscaper, or X-ray technician, or in hundreds of other occupations that don’t require a four-year college degree, also glo-rifies God and should be honored by all of us. Many high-school graduates should spend their time that way instead of incurring huge loans for the opportunity to be unemployed and resentful.
Marvin Olasky is the editor-in-chief of WORLD Magazine, where this article first appeared.
MFI responds to Globe column endorsing pornography
“Fa i r-Trade Pornography” (02/09/12) could have been writ-ten as a promotion piece for the pornography industry. The Op-Ed panders to the ill-advised concept that porn is a fact of life so just get used to it. Rape is a fact of life so should I as a woman just get used to it? Pedophilia is a fact of life so should our innocent children just get used to it? I hope not! Politically correct labels be darned, porn in any form communicates that women are objects, or worse, simply pleasure giving machines
to be discarded after they are exploited. Porn destroys inti-mate relationships and families. It permanently corrupts the minds of children and teaches some to molest younger children. Porn promotes “the rape myth,” that when women say no, they really mean yes, resulting in more rape.
FBI statistics show that 80% of serial murderers are addicted to pornography. The only way to slow the spread of this vile cancer is active enforcement of obscenity laws, with officials cooperating at the national, state and local level. Let it begin with the Justice Depart-ment doing their job and prosecut-ing major commercial distributors
of hardcore adult pornography. M a u r e e n V a c c a Di rec to r o f Publ ic Po l icy Massachusetts Family Institute
The Good News TODAY
14 March 2012
Inspiration
Reason for writing:
___ I have just prayed to receive Christ___ I have renewed my commitment to the Lord___ I am in need of a church___ Send Bible or literature___ Other:____________________________________________ ____________________________________________Mail to: Good News Outreach PO Box 161 • Little Compton, RI 0�837Name: _____________________________________________Address: _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________Phone: _____________________________________________Email: _____________________________________________
The Good News TODAY(401) 619-0418
By Jerry White
The eternal Son of God left the infinite bliss of heaven
to fulfill God’s perfect will on earth. His finished work was for our full salvation so that the Father in Heaven would be satis-fied and glorified. Anyone born by His Spirit can confidently and gladly confess:
I am God’s child through new birth and faith in Jesus Christ. I am redeemed from sin and death through Christ’s shed blood, death and resurrection. I am for-given for all my sin and declared righteous before God by God Himself. I am set apart by God to be a holy child who lives righ-teously before Him. I am to be pure as He is pure and therefore will pursue purity in thought, word and deed. I am sealed by the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption. I am in Christ and therefore have all His fullness available to me every moment. I am the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives within me. I am cre-ated, redeemed and called for a unique purpose in God’s plan. I am loved and treasured by my Father far beyond my compre-hension. I am one with Jesus Christ and thus possess all the benefits of His life and death for me. I am a bondservant of the Lord Jesus with no rights of my own. I am wholly the Lord’s to do with me whatever He wills. I am purposed to know Jesus Christ, love Him, please Him, and to make Him known. I am set on the wondrous path to become like Jesus Christ so that I reflect His beauty. I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ. I am a vital part of His Body on earth that functions with Him as Head. I am a member of His redeemed
By Tim Suttle Pastor, writer, musician
Pastors and churches spend hundreds of millions of dollars
each year attending conferences, buying books, hiring consultants, advertisers and marketers, all to try and accomplish one thing: to increase attendance -- to be a bigger church.
I’m absolutely convinced this is the wrong tack.
Success is a slippery subject when it comes to the Church. That our ultimate picture of success is a cru-cified Messiah means any conver-sation about success will be incom-patible with a “bigger is better” mentality. Yet, bigger and better is exactly what most churches seem to be pursuing these days: a pursuit which typically comes in the form of sentimentality and pragmatism. Sentimentality and pragmatism are the one-two punch which has the American Church on the ropes, while a generation of church leaders acquiesces to the demands of our consumer cul-ture. The demands are simple: tell me something that will make me feel better (sentimentality for the churchgoer), and tell me some-thing that will work (pragmatism for the church leader). Yet it is not clear how either one of those are part of what it means to be the church.
Sentimentality is mother’s milk to the church which has ceased to believe our faith should really make a difference in the way we live our lives. Instead of proclaim-ing resurrection, the sentimental church will devote their entire Sunday worship service to Moth-er’s/Father’s Day -- or worse yet, Valentine’s Day. Not that we don’t appreciate our parents and sweet-hearts, but the yielding of precious worship time to the celebration of greeting card companies signals a much deeper problem: we have lost track of the story of God. Yet, for a church to grow bigger, losing track of the story is precisely what is required.
Instead of pursuing faithfulness the sen-timental church must provide a place where people can come to hear a comforting message from an effusive pastor spout-ing fervent one-liners which are intended only to make us feel good about the deci-sions we’ve already made with our lives. If our beliefs aren’t actu-ally, really true then at least we can have a Hallmark moment, right? Above all the sentimental church must never teach us that in the kingdom of God, up is down, in is out, and nothing short of dying to ourselves and each other can help us truly live.
Perhaps more than sentimental-ity, pragmatism is ravaging the church. Pragmatism has led to a fairly new niche industry I call
Touch and Feel Art MINISTRY TIP
By Rev. Doug Forbes
All my grandchildren love to read. The younger ones especially enjoy books that have material glued onto the pages that they can touch and feel. This material could include leather, cotton, wool, feathers, cloth, fur or bark.
To make touch and feel art you need: Bibles, Bible concordances, 8 ½ x11-inch poster board, cray-ons, tacky glue, cotton, feathers, tree bark, sand, and dry or artificial flowers.
Begin your class with a discussion about nature in the Bible. You could discuss bodies of water, deserts, fields, animals, or the sky. Instruct your students to use their Bibles and concordances to find interesting stories that include natural things, and allow time for them to share their findings.
Ask the students to select a story that they can illustrate using the items you have gathered. Have them start by drawing out their story on the poster board using crayons. Next, tell the young people to glue material onto their drawing to enhance it. This will provide a 3D effect and will give a special feel to each work of art. Encourage the children to think creatively. For instance, cotton could be used for clouds or animal fur, feathers could be glued onto drawings of birds, bark could be used for tree trunks, and sand can be used to create a desert scene.
Instruct your students to turn to Matthew 18:10-14 and ask for volunteers to read one verse each. Explain that Jesus is the good Shepherd and that He loves us and will care for us. When we are lost or in trouble He will come find us He will help and rescue us. Remind your students that God is only a prayer away.
Confessions to Ponderfamily that spans the centuries and the globe. I am a living stone fit together with others to be His temple. I am a part of the Lord’s bride being prepared for His wedding day in heaven. I am an eternal worshiper of Jesus Christ, my sovereign Lord. I am an unworthy servant even if I do all I am supposed to do.
If you can not confidently con-fess these truths, perhaps its time to ponder a confession of your own. The bible tells us, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:9 Only believe and you will be saved. Say a simple prayer something like this: Jesus, please forgive my unbelief. I know that I’ve been living as if you don’t exist. I haven’t done everything that I should in my life and I regret it. I know that you died for me and that you have a plan for my life. Please teach me your ways and help me to live my life for you, free from the fears of this world and the next. I want to be ready for eternity with you. Amen
Congratulations, if you have prayed this prayer, from your heart, the Bible says, “ Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17)
If you’ve prayed this prayer for the first time or are renewing your commitment to the Lord, please let us know so that we can pray for you as you start your new life with Jesus.
How to Shrink Your Churchthe Church Leadership Culture. Taking their cues from business, church leadership manuals are more than willing to instruct the interested pastor in how to gain market share. I once heard church consultant and leadership guru Don Cousins say that you can grow a church without God if you have good preaching, great music, killer children’s ministry, and an engag-ing youth minister. Cousins should know. He helped build Willow Creek Community Church and the church leadership culture. In the pragmatic church, there is only one question that matters, “What will work to grow my church?”
The fundamental problem with the one-two punch of sentimental-ity and pragmatism is, of course, the church’s job is not to affirm people’s lives, but to allow the gospel to continually call our lives into question. The church’s job is not to grow -- not even to survive. The church’s job is to die -- con-tinually -- on behalf of the world, believing that with every death there is a resurrection. God’s part is to grow whatever God wishes to grow. Growing a church isn’t hard ... being faithful as the church, that’s a different story.
I’m the pastor of a church called Redemption Church in Olathe, KS. Our church was planted in 2003 and founded upon church leadership principles that worked like a charm. We grew from 2 families to around 200 families in the first three years. We planted another church in a nearby town and continued to grow. But, when we decided to reject sentimental-ity and pragmatism and chase faithfulness instead we really began to grow ... smaller that is. I don’t know for sure because we no longer count, but my best guess is that we have decreased by more than half. If pressed about my church’s growth strategy, I usually say it is to get smaller and die; to continually decrease the amount of time, resources and energy we spend trying to have the ultimate church experience, and to spend more time actually being faithful. Nowadays, faithfulness -- not suc-cess -- is our only metric. Success
is about “doing.” Faithfulness is about “being,” and it’s really hard to measure.
Convincing the church she does not exist for the benefit of her members, but for the life of the world is a bad church growth strategy. It’s also exactly what the
church must do. It’s a tough sell because crucifixion seems like a losing strategy unless you believe in the resurrection. Faithfulness seems like a losing strategy unless
you believe that the power of the gospel trumps our ability to come up with all the right answers to all the right questions.
So, God save us from the success-ful church. Give us churches who shun sentimentality and p ragmat i sm and aren’t afraid to face the inevitable shrink-age which comes as a result of following Jesus. God save us from church leader-ship strategies. After all, it takes zero faith to follow a strategy,
but incredible faith to pursue the kingdom of God and leave the rest in God’s hands. If I’ve learned anything as a pastor, it is this: faithfulness flies in the face of sentimentality and pragmatism, and if you pursue it you have to expect small numbers.
“Your Works”By Donna Teixeira
Your works are far too manyAnd too wonderful to name.The ancients heard about
You Long before You came.
You walked and talked with Enoch,
With Job, and Eve and Adam.
Noah witnessed Your Great Flood
And Abraham fled Sodom.Moses parted the Red Sea
And David knew Your Heart.Even Esther, Ruth and
MaryWere given their own part!You left Your Majesty above
To come to Earth to beOur Teacher, Friend and
Healer -The blind could finally see!You died upon a cross for
usTo pay for every sin;
And when that work was finished
You arose againTo sit beside The FatherAs You prepare a place
For every believerTo receive Your Love and
Grace.Now, we have Your Holy
SpiritOn Whom we can depend.
Your Works…They are Eternal,
No beginning and no end…
(Inspired by Ps. 145:5)
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15www.thegoodnewstoday.org
Soul Food
Rhode Island Men of Hope
Reaching Men for ChristDo you have a Men’s Ministry?Also we now are doing “Men’s Fraternity” www.mensfraternity.org at Medium, Maximum,& High security at the ACI Dept of Corrections for the thrid year. Also started at 6 am at the Bayside YMCA in Barrington RI.
• Commercial & Residential• Interior/Exterior Painting• Small Plastering Repairs
• Insurance Claim Specialist
• General Contractor
• All Types of Wall Coverings
• Carpet and Flooring“For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand.” Deut. 2:7
HELP!Volunteer(s)
needed to deliver this paper to the
Westerly area
401.619.0418
t h e g o o d n e w s t o d a y .
o r g
Mini ha-ha’sDid you hear about the two radio antennas that got married? The wedding was terrible, but the
One year, I decided to buy my mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift...The next year, I didn’t buy her a gift. When she asked me why, I replied, “Well, you still haven’t used the gift I bought you last year!” And that’s how the fight started.....
My wife and I were sitting at a table at her school reunion, and she kept staring at a drunken man swigging his drink as he sat alone at a nearby table. I asked her, “Do you know him?” “Yes”, she sighed, “He’s my old boyfriend. I under-stand he took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear he hasn’t been sober since.” “My Goodness!” I said, “Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?” And
The Look of Love
A kindergarten teacher was observ-ing her classroom of children while They were drawing. She would occasionally walk around to see each child’s work. As she got to one little girl who was work-ing diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied, “I’m drawing God.” The teacher paused and said, “But no one knows what God looks like.” Without missing a beat, or looking up from her draw-ing, the girl replied, “They will in a minute.”
Real Punishment
An irritated father complained to his golf buddy, “When I was a kid, my parents sent me to my room without supper if I misbehaved. But my son has his own TV, telephone, computer, and every computer game and CD player in his room!” “So how do you handle it?” his friend asked. “I send him to MY room!”
When God is Busy
A professor - an atheist - was teaching a college class and he told the class that he was going to prove that there is no a God. He said, “God if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I’ll give you 15 min-utes!” Ten minutes went by. He kept taunting God, saying, “Here I am God, I’m still waiting” He got down to the last couple of minutes and a BIG 240 pound football player happened to walk by the door and heard about what the professor said. The football player walked in the classroom and in the last minute, he walked up, hit the professor full force, and sent him flying off the platform. The profes-sor got up, obviously shaken and said, “Where did you come from, and why did you do that?” The football player replied, “God was busy. He sent me.”
God is Left Handed?
Little Bobby was spending the weekend with his grandmother after a particularly trying week in kinder-garten. His grandmother decided to take him to the park on Saturday morning. It had been snowing all night and everything was beauti-ful. His grandmother remarked, “Doesn’t it look like an artist painted this scenery? Did you know God painted this just for you?” Bobby said, “Yes, God did it and he did it left handed.” This confused his grandmother a bit, and she asked him “What makes you say God did this with his left hand?” “Well,” said Bobby, “we learned at Sunday School last week that Jesus sits on God’s right hand.”
10. “You know you’re the only one for me!” 9. “Do you come here often?” 8. “Trust me, this was meant to be!” 7. “Look around, baby. All the other guys around here are animals!” 6. “I already feel like you’re a part of me!” 5.”Honey, you were made for me!” 4. “Why don’t you come over to my place and we can name some animals?” 3. “You’re the girl of my dreams!” (Gen. 2:21) 2. “I like a girl who doesn’t mind being ribbed!” And the number one pick up line from Adam is:
“You’re the apple of my eye!”
I realize the Bible says that Adam and Eve ate of the “fruit,” not “apple,” but gee guys, apple is funnier!
reception was excellent! ~ Do pie companies have a lot of turnovers? ~ Don’t worry about old age - it doesn’t last that long. ~ Driving home one night I accidentally hit a turkey. It flew off my car and landed on the car behind me, which happened to be a police car. He pulled me over and gave me a ticket for flipping him the bird. ~ Duct tape does not fix stupid. ~ False hope is nicer than no hope at all. ~ He ate so much over the holidays that he decided to quit cold turkey. ~ Holding a grudge is letting someone live rent-free in your head. ~ How come when people fill out applications, under “Emergency Contact,” nobody ever puts “911”? ~ I am not as good as I should be. I am not as good as I could be. But thank God I’m better than I used to be!
Internet Dating 101
A young lady signed up on an Internet dating service. She got to the section of the application that asked “What exactly are you look-ing for?” This was her description: “He needs to be good-looking, polite, humorous, sporty, knowl-edgeable, good at singing and dancing. Willing to accompany me the whole day at home if I don’t go out. Be able to tell me interesting stories when I need a companion for conversation and be silent when I want to rest.” In a matter of moments, the results were returned to the woman: “Buy a television.”
That’s How the Fight started or 7 Reasons to Attend a Marriage Seminar
then the fight started...
When our lawn mower broke and wouldn’t run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed. But, somehow I always had something else to take care of first, the shed, the boat, making rootbeer... Always something more important to me. Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point. When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said, “When you finish cutting the grass, you might as well sweep the driveway.” The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.
My wife sat down next to me as I was flipping channels. She asked, “What’s on TV?” I said, “Dust.” And then the fight started...
My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary. She said, “I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 150 in about 3 seconds.” I bought her a bathroom scale. And then the fight started......
My wife was standing nude, look-ing in the bedroom mirror. She was not happy with what she saw and said to me, “I feel horrible; I look old, fat and ugly. I really
need you to pay me a compliment.’ I replied, “Your eyesight’s darn near perfect.” And then the fight started...
I rear-ended a car this morning...the start of a REALLY bad day! The driver got out of the other car, and he was a DWARF!! He looked up at me and said ‘I am NOT Happy!’ So I said, ‘Well, which one ARE you then?’ That’s how the fight started.
TOP TEN PICKUP LINES USED BY
ADAM
The Good News TODAY
16 March 2012
Apostolic Pentecostal Church of RIAnd Ye Shall Know The Truth537 Elm Street • Woonsocket, RI 0�895401-534-017� • acts�[email protected] Times Sunday Morning: 10:00 amTuesday Evening Prayer: 6:30 pmTuesday Evening Interactive Bible Study: 7:30 pmThursday Evening: 7:30 pm
Faith Bible Chapel115 Ashaway Rd (Rt 3)Westerly, RI 0�891(401) 348-9637
Pastor Bernie NormanSunday services:Adult Sunday School 9:00 amSunday Worship service: 10:30 am
~ Clayville Assembly ~7 Plainfield Pike - Foster, Rhode Island
www.clayvilleassembly.com
(508) 999-5683651 Orchard St Suite 302New Bedford, MA 02744
• His Love Reaching •CHURCH
Rev LJ Andrews, Pastor
Sunday Christian Education: 9:30Sunday Worship: 10:30 am
HIS PRESENCE CHURCHHoldiay Inn Express Hotel & Suites194 Fortin DriveWoonsocket, RI 02895(401) 762-4463www.hispresencechurch.orgRev. Al Berja - Senior Pastor
Matt. 28:18-20
Conquerors For Christ Church 972 Reed Road • North Dartmouth, MA 02747 Tel: (508) 999-1669 • Fax: 508-999-2314
Serviços em Português Domingos às 11:00 AMLouvor e Adoração Terças-feiras às 7:00 PMReunião de Oração Quintas-feiras às 7:00 PMEstudos Biblicos
English Services Sundays 9:00 AMPraise and Worship Service Wednesdays 7:00 PMPrayer and Bible Study Fridays 7:00 PMYouth Service
www.conquerorsforchrist.org
Abundant Blessing Church (ABC)A “house of prayer for all nations.” (Is. 56:7)
825 Mineral Spring AvenuePawtucket, RI 02860Church Phone (401) 727-0311Prayer Line (401) 481-8004Sunday Worship Service - 9 am
Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International
Grace Community Baptist ChurchA Reformed Baptist Church
Preaching God’s Word, Living God’s Truth, All for God’s Glory! 621 Woonasquatucket AvenueNorth Providence, RI 02911
401 826 3121 • www.gcbcri .com
Service Times9:30 AM - Sunday School • 11:00 AM - Morning Worship • 3:00 PM - Afternoon Worship
(2nd and 4th Sundays of the month following the fellowship dinner)6:00 PM - Evening Worship (1st, 3rd, and 5th Sundays of the month)
M A R C H
A safe place to socialize, have fun and grow spiritually. Check us out and become a member.
Christian Recreational Youth Center
95 Hartford Ave, Providence RI 0�909Tel 401-��8-8915
Open Mon-Thr 1-9pm Fri 1-10pmwebsite: www.jubileochristianclub.com • e-mail: [email protected]
Partners in Christ - Sharing the Good NewsDirectory of Churches & Ministries
Call today and become a Partner in sharing the Good News! The churches and ministries listed below have already partnered with us helping to make this publication possible. You’ll find the latest copy of The Good News Today at over 500 churches and 200 business locations. Share it with your loved ones, and spread The Good News.
March 2 • 7p.m. ~ “The Call” in concert featuring Siloam Free con-cert New Life Church. 1 Beaver Bog Rd.New Fairfield, CT 06812. More Info 203-470-7632
March 9 •7p.m.~ “Laugh All Night” Comedy concert with David Dean. Free event/Love offering will be re-ceived. Faith Christian Center 95 Sagamore Rd, Seekonk. MA
March 9-11 • “Weekend th Remember” Make your Marriage stronger & healthier. Hyatt Regency. 1 Goat Island. Newport, RI 02840 Discount group price:$159.00/plus Hotel accommodations. 1-800-Fl-today or FamilyLife.com/weekend Check discount code & Ad on Page 19 of The Good News Today
March 15-25 • Today in Bible Prophecy trip/tour of the Holy Land. Call for tour itinerary. 774-888-8025 or call Harvey at Christian Holy Land tours toll free 1-800 2-Israel (800-247-7235)
March 15 • 7pm ~ “Come To The Well” Tour featuring:Casting Crowns with Matthew West, Royal Taylor, and Lindsay McCaul. Lowell Memorial Auditorium, 50 East Merrimack St, Lowell, MA Doors: 6pm For tickets call 978-346-4577 or www.thesoulstore.com
March 17 • 8:30am -1pm ~ Sons of the Master Men’s Conference Christian Fellowship Center, 822 Church St. New Bedford $10 donation:includes Continental Breakfast and Lunch. Call 508.99.9996 to register or email [email protected] for information.
March 21 • 7p.m. Boston Teen Challenge Men’s choir and Sharing Testimonies at New Hope Christian Church, 1436 G.A.R. Highway Swansea, MA. or www.newhopecc.tv (508)-324-4500
March 23-25 • “Weekend th Remember” Boston Ma ~ Make your Marriage stronger & healthier. The Westin Waltham. Discount group price:$159.00/plus Hotel accommodations. 1-800-Fl-today or FamilyLife.com/weekend.Check discount code & Ad on Page 19 of The Good News Today
March 23 • 7pm ~ Tenth Avenue North with The Wrecking at Grace Chapel, 59 Worthen Rd Lexington, MA. $20.00. For tickets call 978-346-4577 www.thesoulstore.com
March 30 • 8p.m. Andrew Peterson in concert $20. Community Coffeehouse 7 Madison Ave. Danbury,CT www.1heartonline.org 203-748-4972
1 Thursday
7-9p.m. ~ Bible Study/Prayer Meet-ing every thursday at Abundant Blessing Church 825 Minerial Spring Ave, RI Phone 401-727-0311
2 Friday
7-9p.m. ~ Recovery Class every Friday at New Hope Christian Church, 1436 G.A.R. Highway Swansea, MA.(508)-324-4500 www.newhopecc.tv
7p.m. ~ Ground Zero Youth Service with Teen-Led Worship and Relevant Bible-Teaching. Every Friday New Life Worship Center, 915 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI. 401-232-5200
3 Saturday
7p.m. ~ “Kevin Sharpe” Gospel music. The Upper Room. 1221 Main St, West Warwick, RI. 401-823-5330 www.theupperroomri.org
5 Monday 6-7p.m. ~ Fasting and Prayer every Mon at Abundant Blessing Church 825 Minerial Spring Ave, RI Phone 401-727-0311
6 Tuesday
9a.m. ~ M.O.P.S meets every Tues at Christian Hill Community Church. 56 Tiogue Avenue, West Warwick,RI, www.christian-hill.com 401-823-0285
10a.m. ~ Women’s Bible Study, meets every Tuesday at New Hope Christian Church, 1436 G.A.R. Highway Swansea, MA. or www.newhopecc.tv (508)-324-4500
7p.m. - Daniel & Kathryn The LaChance Family - “Jesus Movement” Christian/Contemporary worship every Tuesday. The Upper Room 1221 Main St. W. Warwick RI 401-823-5330
7 Wednesday
12–1p.m. ~ Full Gospel Businessmen’s Luncheon. Full gospel/ fellowship. . (2nd Wed of month at this Location) Wyndham Hotel, (New name) Providence, RI (exit 3, Gano St... off 195) call Jim 401-821-8750
6 - 8:00pm ~Christian Hill Youth Group-Leading teens to Christ. Wed’s at Christian Hill Community Church 56 Tiogue Avenue, West Warwick, RI, 02893 contact 401-823-0285 www.christianhill.com
7p.m. ~ Prayer & Bible study every Wed’s. Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. 262 Acad-emy Ave. Providence, RI 401-351-2347
8 Thursday
9:30a.m. ~ M.O.P.S Group meets every 2nd & 3rd Thursday of every month; call holiday weeks for reschedule. New Hope Christian Center. 1436 GAR Highway, Swansea, MA (508) 324-4500 or www.newhopecc.tv
9 Friday
6p.m. - 10p.m. ~ Mary-Jo Joyce at Worship Cafe’ Contemporary Rock/Pop Christian and Worship New Hope Christian Church.1436 G.A.R Highway.Swansea, Massachusetts 02777 Church office: phone (508) 324-4500 7:30p.m. ~ Mt. Pleasant Coffeehouse “Troy Bourne” at Mt Pleasant Baptist Church 262 Academy Ave, Providence RI 401-351-2347
10 Saturday
7p.m. ~ “Power Mountain” - Bluegrass. The Upper Room. 1221 Main St, West Warwick, RI. 401-823-5330 www.theupperroomri.org
11 Sunday
Daylight Savings Time Begins
15 Thursday
9:30a.m. ~ M.O.P.S Group meets every 2nd & 3rd Thursday of every month; call holiday weeks for reschedule. New Hope Christian Center. 1436 GAR Highway, Swansea, MA (508) 324-4500 or www.newhopecc.tv
10a.m. ~ Senior Saint Bible Study (65 & older) 3rd Thursday of the month at New Hope Christian Church, 1436 G.A.R. High-way Swansea, MA. (508)-324-4500 www.newhopecc.tv
16 Friday
7-9p.m. ~ Recovery Class every Friday at New Hope Christian Church, 1436 G.A.R. Highway Swansea, MA.(508)-324-4500
The Good News TODAY
17www.thegoodnewstoday.org
Pentecostal Assembly�15 Sawyer Street
New Bedford, MA
508-996-9865
Quidnick Baptist Church 484 Fairview Avenue
Coventry 8�1-�465
Sunday Worship Service 10:00 amChildrens Sunday School 10:45 am
Bible Study Wednesday 7 pm
New Hope Christian Church1436 G.A.R. Highway (Route 6)Swansea, MA 0�777508-3�4-4500www.newhopecc.tvService Times:Sunday Morning: 9:00 & 11:00 a.m.Wednesday Evenings: 7:00 p.m.Prayer begins at 6:15
Hosanna LighthouseMinistries, Inc.Christian Counseling offices in Ma & RI
Jan Shepard, Director (401) 765-4364
632 River St. Woonsocket, RI 02895
tel 508.993.8484fax 508.961.1137
The “International” Church of the Nazarene
�78 Pleasant Street, New Bedford, MA 0�745Rev. Manuel J. Chavier J. R.
Let us help your church build men for ministryCall us if interested in having a “Vibrant Men’s Ministry.”
Call: 401-383-9967www.menofhope.org
266 Smith Street • PO Box 28285 • Providence, RI 02908
401.521.1860
www.rirtl.org
C A L E N D A R
Lighthouse Christian ChurchBuilding Faith, Family and Friends322 Eddie Dowling Hwy.North Smithfield, RI 02896401-729-1603 • www.lfwc.orgSunday- Coffee Hour 8:30-9:30AMSunday- Worship Service 10AMThursday- Bible Study/Worship- 7:00PMChildren and Teen ProgramsReverend James Prior-Senior Pastor
Sunday: School 9 AM Service 10 AMWednesday: Morning Prayer 5:30 – 6:30 AMWednesday: Evening Service for all ages 7-8:30 PM
ASSEMBLY OF GOD 100 BROADWAY PAWTUCKET RI 0�860401-7�3-�039
LIVING HOPE
Trinity Assembly of God �119 Hartford Avenue Johnston, RI 0�919 Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am(401) 934-0�0�www.trinityri.org
Sunday Service 10:45 AM
Wednesday Prayer and Bible Study 7:00 PM
Sunday Morning Worship 10 AMAll Are welcome!
Services are Child Friendly & Sunday School is OfferedHandicapped Accessible
www.peoplesbaptistchurchri.org
PEOPLE’S BAPTIST CHURCH1�75 Elmwood Avenue • Cranston, RI 0�907
401-467-8��0
Providence Rescue Mission627 Cranston Street
Providence, Rhode Island 02907-2813
401-�74-8861401-751-7592 - fax
401-648-6849 - Volunteer Center Phone Line
Serving Christ . . . Serving the Homeless and Poor of Our Community Since 1999
www.providencerescuemission.org
401 847-5801www.neccas.webs.com/
New England Christian College7 Central Avenue, Newport, RI 02840
New England Christian College& Seminary
Sunday Services: 10amTuesdays: Prayer Meeting 7pm-9pmFridays: Bible study 7pm-9pmYMCA Peter T. Pastore Youth Center155 Gansett Avenue, Cranston RI 02910Telephone 401-569-4327
Bringing light to the world through the power of the word of God and revelation of the Holy Spirit.
KINGDOM LIGHTHOUSE CHURCH
475 School Street • N. Kingston, RI 02852(West Bay Christ ian Academy)
North Stonington Christian Academy12 Stillman Rd., North Stonington, CT 06359
U “Educating for Eternity” UPrograms for All Ages, Preschool through Grade 12
Visit us on the web at northstoningtonchristianacademy.org
Call 860-599-5071 for additional information
Isaiah 40:31
Now Accepting Fall 2012 Enrollment
764 Hathaway Rd, New Bedford, MA 02740508-99�-7944
www.ncacademy.org
Member of Association of Christian Schools International
“Excellence in Education in a Christ Centered
Environment”
LAUGH ALL NIGHT
April Highlights
April 14 • “Restoring the Feminine Heart” Women’s Conference. Christian Fellowship Center, 822 Church Street, New Bedford, Ma. Contact Tina Sorel at [email protected] for information.
April 20 • Haiti Missions Benefit - featuring Beyond Muzic- Time TBA Christian Fellowship Center, 822 Church Street, New Bedford, Ma.
April 27 • 6p.m. ~ Rest Stop Coffee House in Borrows Hall at Christian Fellowship Center, 822 Church Street, New Bedford, Food served at 6:00 P.M. followed by a Christian Band TBA at 7:00.
April 27 • 7p.m. ~ “We Cry Out Tour” with Jeremy Camp, Francesca Battistelli & Adam Cappa $25. Faith Christian Center 95 Sagamore Rd, Seekonk MA www.thelighthouseevents.com
April 28 • 8p.m. ~ Jason Gray in concert with special guest Melanie Penn Community Coffeehouse 7 Madison Ave.Danbury, CT 203-748-4972
April 29- May 1 • “Southern New England Reformation Conference” with Albert N. Martin a counselor, Pastor and Preacher. Free of Charge. Grace Community Church 621 Woonasquatucket Ave. North Providence RI. Please call with a head count. 401-826-3121 or email [email protected]
“Excellence in Education in a Christ Centered Environment”
Member of Association of Christian Schools International
Now AcceptingFall 2012 Enrollment
764 Hathaway Rd
New Bedford, MA 02740508-99�-7944
www.ncacademy.org
7p.m. ~ Ground Zero Youth Service with Teen-Led Worship and Relevant Bible-Teaching. Every Friday New Life Worship Center, 915 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, RI. 401-232-5200
17 Saturday
7p.m. ~ “Crimson Rain” - Contemporary Christian. The Upper Room. 1221 Main St, West Warwick, RI. 401-823-5330 www.theupperroomri.org
20 Tuesday First Day of Spring
9a.m. ~ M.O.P.S meets every Tues at Christian Hill Community Church. 56 Tiogue Avenue, West Warwick,RI, www.christian-hill.com 401-823-0285
10a.m. ~ Women’s Bible Study, meets every Tuesday at New Hope Christian Church, 1436 G.A.R. Highway Swansea, MA. or www.newhopecc.tv (508)-324-4500
22 Thursday
5-6p.m. ~ Victory Cafe’ Soup Kitchen Free meal 4th Thursday of the month. Vic-tory Assembly of God. 321 Veazie St, Prov-idence RI 401.455.0060
23 Friday
7-9p.m. ~ Recovery Class every Friday at New Hope Christian Church, 1436 G.A.R. Highway Swansea, MA.(508)-324-4500 www.newhopecc.tv
24 Saturday 7p.m. “Tapestry Worship Jazz Ensem-ble” Gospel, Latin, Jazz, Contemporary Christian -The Upper Room. 1221 Main St, West Warwick, RI 401-823-5330 www.the-upperroomri.org
26 Monday
6-7p.m. ~ Fasting and Prayer every Mon at Abundant Blessing Church 825 Minerial Spring Ave, RI Phone 401-727-0311ewYear
27 Tuesday
9a.m. ~ M.O.P.S meets every Tues at
Christian Hill Community Church. 56 Tiogue Avenue, West Warwick,RI, www.christianhill.com 401-823-0285
3-5p.m. - Mt. Pleasant Food Bank. 4th Tuesday of the month. Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. 262 Academy Ave. Provi-dence, RI 401-351-2347
6:00 p.m. ~ Rest Stop Coffee House - Christian Band. Borrows Hall/Christian Fellowship Center, 822 Church St, New Bedford. 6pm Food served, 7p.m. Chris-tian Band performs/TBA .
31 Saturday
7p.m. ~ “Faith Baptist Worship Team” - Contemporary Christian. The Upper Room. 1221 Main St, West Warwick, RI. 401-823-5330 www.theupperroomri.org
The Good News TODAY
18 March 2012
CareNet-RI. Free pregnancy testing. 433 Elmwood Avenue, Providence, RI 941-4357
Garments of Love - Free Clothing and baby equipment. S. Attleboro Assembly of God 1052 Newport Ave, South Attleboro, MA 508-761-7334 Wednesday and Saturday 10 AM - 1 PM.
PROVIDENCE Rescue Mission. 627 Cranston Street, Providence. 274-8861. Making Disciples.
Precision Auto. A Total Collision Repair Center 100 South Street Johnston Tel: 231-8520. 24 Hour Towing. Now accepting all Major Credit Cards.
Want to reach the Christian Community? How about passing out 16,000 copies of your business card to over 400 churches and 200 businesses? We can do that for you for only $25. per month. Run it for a year and it’s only $20. per month plus we’ll do a story about your business or ministry. Call today at 401-619-0418 or email [email protected] for information.
MINISTRIES
Fine Jewelry, Diamonds, Watches and more.
Rute & Ezequiel CordeiroOwners
149� Pleasant StreetPO Box 4173Fall River , MA 0�7�3Phone/Fax 508-674-9633
INTERNATIONAL JEWELERS
Serving customers since 1970
SERVICES
R e s a l e S t o r e869 Charles Street
North Providence RI 0�9087��-5570
Tuesday – Saturday 11 AM - 6 PMWe sell New and Used Women’s
Children and Men’s Clothing We also have Accessories, Nic Nacs,
Household Goods and many more items 10% senior discount
Emilia’s Blessings
Joseph DeChristofaroReal Estate Broker
· Residential, REO and Commercial Sales
· Foreclosure Prevention and Short Sales
· Seller and Buyer Representation
· Property Management and Rentals
· RI and MA
· Residential, REO and Commercial Sales
· Foreclosure Prevention and Short Sales
· Seller and Buyer Representation
· Property Management and Rentals
· RI and MA
1910 Smith StreetNorth Providence, RI 02911(401) 837-1976 - Cell Mt. 6:33
A $25.00 non-refundable deposit is required to secure your space.Cancellation Insurance is also available for $10.00 per person.
Tour Includes:• Round Trip Motor Coach Transportation• Dinner at Plain and Fancy• Reserved Seating for “Jonah” at the Sight & Sound Theater• One Night at the Country Inn of Lancaster• Full Buffet Breakfast• Sunday Sightseeing
