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Obama Uses Scripture to Justify Same-Sex Marriage Stance
The dust has hardly settled on President Obama’s move to support same-sex marriage. Indeed, it’s an issue that’s likely to linger on through the 2012 presidential elections and beyond.
The Assemblies of God is voicing its dissent and objection. George O. Wood, AG general superintendent, says the denomination is in complete disagreement with the president’s new position and takes exception to Obama taking Scripture out of context to defend his position.
“[Michelle and I] we are both practicing Christians and obviously this position may be considered to put us at odds with the views of others. But, you know, when we think about our faith, the thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but it’s also the Golden Rule, you know, treat others the way you would want to be treated.
“And I think that’s what we try to impart to our kids and that’s what motivates me as president and I figure the most consistent I can be in being true to those precepts, the better I’ll be as a dad and a husband and, hopefully, the better I’ll be as president,” Obama told ABC News.
The power of the Church truly to bless rests on intercession—asking and receiving heavenly gifts to carry to men.
“As prayer meetings fail in a congregation, so will the ministrations of the pastor become unfruitful, the preaching of the word fail to convert sinners and promote holiness in the professors of religion.”
The Prayer Meeting and Its History, J. B. Johnston
By Andy Johnson | 5.2.2012 What if you spent years faithfully and earnestly praying for revival to come to your community, and then one day, seemingly out of the blue, God dramatically answered your prayers?
All across your city, every day people begin crowding into the church to hear the gospel from God’s Word. On the streets, in their workplaces, in classrooms and homes all over town, previously timid church members are faithfully declaring the gospel and fruit is coming fast. Lives are transformed, marriages are saved, and most of all, one after another God’s enemies are laying down the weapons of their rebellion and are taking refuge in his glorious and merciful Son.
What if all this happened in your own town, right in front of your eyes, in that other guy’s church, just a few blocks down the street from yours?
I suspect we all know what we ought to say in response, but the words of praise and joy are likely to get caught in the backs of our throats.
This has happened before. In 1839 Robert Murray M’Cheyne learned that a great revival had broken out in his church under a guest preacher while he was away on a months-long mission trip. When the Spirit of God seems to bless the ministry of others rather than our own, some pretty important things about the real nature of our loves become glaringly visible.
“DIOTREPHES, WHO LOVES TO BE FIRST”
Of course, this battle between envy and rejoicing is nothing new. The Apostle John writes about the issue in his third letter (3 John). There, in verses five to eleven, he introduces us to two men: Gaius and Diotrephes.
Gaius loves to welcome and support faithful missionaries sent out from other churches because he loves Jesus (vv. 5-8).
Diotrephes, well…not so much. Diotrephes refuses to welcome these workers from other churches for one simple reason: John tells us plainly that Diotrephes “loves to be first” (v. 9). He has no desire to see gospel work done unless he does it. He will rejoice in no fruit unless it’s his fruit. He will tolerate no competition. Diotrephes’ actions and attitudes are, John bluntly says, “evil” (v. 11).
Evil—that’s a strong word. And frankly what frightens me most about Diotrephes is that we’re not told of any lack of doctrinal orthodoxy to justify that label. There is no mention of heresy or inadequate views of Christ. For all we know, Diotrephes’ theology looked just right on paper. But his competitive spirit exposed his supposed love for the gospel as merely love for his own group, his own ministry—ultimately love for himself. Just like any other pagan.
THE NOT-SO-SUBTLE POINT
So here comes the not-so-subtle point of this article: Do not be like Diotrephes! Instead, imitate what is good, meaning the gospel-exalting, non-competitive spirit of Gaius.
But why is this such a big deal? Because not only your heart but the very worth of the gospel in the eyes of the world is at stake.
Listen, you can talk all day about how you praise God for the blessings of gospel prosperity in your church—and you should, to some extent. And yet there will always be a lingering scent of self-interest; it’s your church, after all.
But what if you genuinely praise God for the gospel prosperity in some other church, whether in another country or even (gulp) right across town? What if you demonstrate the same delight to see Jesus’ work held up and delighted in as a result of someone else’s ministry? If you do, that shows that you love Jesus and his gospel and his glory—not just your group, your club, your ministry, your church.
That’s why it’s so important that we cultivate an attitude like Gaius’ in our hearts and in our church members’ hearts. Our love for Jesus and for his glory may never shine brighter than when we rejoice in the progress of the gospel even when there isn’t the slightest chance of us getting any of the credit.
HOW TO CULTIVATE THE SPIRIT OF GAIUS
How can you cultivate this kind of spirit in your church and in your own heart? Here are a few ways.
1. Pray and Read
First, pray and read. Start by reflecting on passages like 3 John that show the unique glory of what we might call a “disinterested delight” in the prosperity of the gospel. And pray that God would grow in you a heart that loves to encourage gospel progress, wherever it happens and whoever it happens through. Why? Because you love to see Jesus glorified.
2. Model and Teach
“The evangelization of the world in this generation depends first of all upon a revival of prayer.”
by Joe Carter
College to Student Group: Drop ‘Personal Commitment to Jesus’ from Your Bylaws
The Story: According to the Christian Post, a Christian student group at Vanderbilt University has been told by the school’s administration that it will lose its recognized status on campus unless the group removes its requirement that its leaders have a “personal commitment to Jesus Christ.”
The Background: The Christian Legal Society says that a recent email from the university’s administration stated the Christian group’s application to keep its recognition was deficient because the group’s constitution states the following:
Criteria for officer selection will include level and quality of past involvement, personal commitment to Jesus Christ, commitment to the organization, and demonstrated leadership ability.
In order to retain recognition, the group was told it must eliminate the sentence requiring that leaders have a “personal commitment to Jesus Christ.”
Vanderbilt has previously claimed that the issue was not about religious freedom. As Beth Fortune, vice chancellor for public affairs at the university, previously told told the Washington Post “This debate is about nondiscrimination, not religious freedom, and we stand behind our policy.”
Why It Matters: “By mandating the elimination of a Christian group’s standard of ‘personal commitment to Jesus Christ,’ Vanderbilt requires students to abandon their religious integrity and undermines their religious freedoms,” says the Christian Legal Society. “Leadership is crucial to the direction of any organization. Eliminating the requirement of a commitment to Jesus Christ in leaders takes away the group’s ability to effectively fulfill its purpose and continue its ministry.”
(Joe Carter is an editor for The Gospel Coalition and the co-author of How to Argue Like Jesus: Learning Persuasion from History’s Greatest Communicator).
By Michael Gryboski , Christian Post Reporter
April 13, 2012
While pro-lifers are often seen running prayer campaigns to stop abortions, one California group affiliated with Planned Parenthood has launched its own 40-day prayer in defense of abortions.
Started by the Humboldt County Clergy for Choice, a committee of the Six Rivers Planned Parenthood of Eureka, “40 Days of Prayer and Contemplation: Supporting Women Everywhere” has participants praying for “an end to the stigma perpetrated against women who have abortions” and giving “thanks … that abortion is still safe and legal.”
The prayers for the 40 Days event come from the St. Louis based pro-choice organization Faith Aloud. The Rev. Rebecca Turner, executive director of Faith Aloud and author of the prayers, told The Christian Post that these prayers have been used by others before.
“The prayers were written more than four years ago and have been used by women’s groups and clinics around the country throughout that time,” said Turner.
Liberty Counsel, a pro-life organization, has taken issue with the merit of the 40 Days campaign that SRPP is overseeing. In a statement Tuesday, LC referred to the campaign as being offensive and a funding effort.
“Planned Parenthood is making another desperate attempt to regain positive attention and funding, as both have been slipping through their fingers,” it stated…
By the Prayer First team
Dana Olson, Jerry and Dee Sheveland, Bryan Moak, Tannie and Wally Eshenaur, Dennis and Barb Erickson, Carol Madison
As a Prayer First team, we are committed to our simple mission statement: Calling the church to the extraordinary importance of prayer.
We talk often of our desire for all Converge Worldwide churches to be “praying churches.” Although on the one hand that may be a given, the reality is that it takes great effort and intentionality to keep prayer at the forefront of all we do. We all agree on the necessity of prayer, but is there a benchmark to help determine if your church is hitting the mark of being identified as a “praying church”?
The Prayer First team has discussed the definition of a praying church, made lots of revisions, and finally landed on a description we believe is broad enough to be adaptable by any church. You might want to introduce this to your leadership and your prayer ministry as a encouragement to dream and envision a culture of prayer in your church.
A Praying Church
1) A praying church is humble, desperate, and hopeful in prayer – worshipping Jesus Christ and praying Kingdom-minded prayers.
2) A praying church establishes a rhythm of prayer first:
- First thing each day we seek God first.
- First day each week we model meaningful corporate prayer as churches.
- First week each month we set aside a day for prayer and fasting.
- First month each year we emphasize the priority of prevailing prayer.
3) A praying church is led by a praying pastor, who is supported by praying people.
4) A praying church encourages its members to establish personal and family prayer times.
5) A praying church teaches its members Scriptural prayer principles.
Room to Grow
Obviously within this definition there is opportunity for much creativity and direction to take your prayer ministry. This is a great place to put that prayer into practice by taking time to seek the Lord as to the specifics of how you can encourage your congregation to grow.
Prayer is so extraordinarily important, and our hope is for a movement of churches that practices the simple principle of prayer first.
“The man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history.”
Because revival speeds up the advance of Christ’s kingdom!
(Byron Paulus, Executive Director of Life Action Ministries, quoted in Revive magazine, Winter 2012, 3).
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