Dr. Mark Creech writes on the duty of pastors to apply the Word of God to the culture. He says, "What seems glaringly scarce are genuine prophets. The prophets of old were God’s spokesman for their day. They interpreted the times according to the revelation of God. There is a sense in which every pastor must play the role of the prophet." He later writes, "Our hope, in large degree, is dependent on whether we have prophets of God willing to pay any price to deliver his message. But where are the prophets?"
Omaha's board of education has approved a change to sex education standards after months of debate. The board voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the new standards in elementary and middle schools. For the high school standards, one board member opposed. The new standards include discussions of sexual orientation and gender roles, as well as abortion and emergency contraception.
Male athletes should be able to participate in the women's competitions—and vice versa—without undergoing sex reassignment surgery, say new guidelines adopted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Under the previous IOC guidelines, athletes who wanted to compete alongside the opposite sex were required to have reassignment surgery followed by at least two years of hormone therapy in order to be eligible.
In a recent study, Barna Group asked Americans many questions about sex—including what they thought about traditional sexual ethics—and discovered that there is no broadly shared consensus among American adults. Half of U.S. adults (50%) agreed strongly that "choosing not to have sex outside of marriage is healthy." Practicing Christians (72%) were almost twice as likely as adults of no faith (38%) to agree with this view.
Democrats in the Arizona Legislature want to strike a law from the books that favors married couples in adoptions. The legislation introduced in both the Senate and House removes current language giving preferences to a husband and wife over others in adoptions. Backers of the bill claim the Supreme Court's Obergefell ruling warrants the law's removal. Whether the Senate version of the bill will make it to a hearing is questionable.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rep. Dan Bishop has promised to fight a dangerous proposed bathroom ordinance for Charlotte. “A small group of far-out progressives should not presume to decide for us all that a cross-dresser’s liberty to express his gender non-conformity trumps the right of women and girls to peace of mind in the intimate setting of a public bathroom or shower,” Bishop, who represents Mecklenburg County, said.
A Georgia lawmaker says religious adoption agencies, schools and other nonprofits should be able to refuse service to same-sex couples; months after the U.S. Supreme Court purported to redefine marriage nationwide. State Sen. Greg Kirk introduced a bill to accomplish that goal on Thursday. About 30 senators' signatures were visible on a version of the bill that Kirk held up at a press conference.
After the recent Supreme Court Decision to redefine marriage, Dr. Corey Abney preached this 46-minute sermon on what the response of the church should be. The sermon was well-grounded in the Scriptures, starting with the creation account in Genesis and ending with the marriage supper of the Lamb in Revelation, which is what marriage is really about.
Yesterday, David Fowler, an attorney with the Constitutional Government Defense Fund, filed a lawsuit in Williamson County, Tennessee, on behalf of a number of ministers and concerned citizens over purely legal, constitutional issues created by the United States Supreme Court’s Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. "These courageous citizens have asked our state court system to ‘declare’ what the law is after Obergefell," Fowler said.
CINCINNATI, Ohio – On Monday, Liberty Counsel filed a reply brief to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of Kim Davis, the county clerk who was jailed for following her conscience. The brief asks the court to reverse the contempt order that sent Davis to jail. “Liberty Counsel will continue to fight to protect the free exercise of religion. We will never give up,” Mat Staver, a lawyer for Davis, said.
Lawyers for a group made famous by the TV show "Sister Wives" are set to ask a federal appeals court on Thursday to uphold a ruling that "decriminalized" polygamy in Utah. The case is scheduled to come before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver after the Utah Attorney General appealed the ruling that purported to "strike down" key parts of the state law banning polygamy.
A bill seeking to block the Obergefell ruling in Tennessee was rejected by a subcommittee of the state House on Wednesday over concerns about nullifying federal rulings. The Civil Justice Subcommittee voted 4-1 against the "Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act" sponsored by Rep. Mark Pody, who argued that the ruling should not supersede an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as between a man and a woman.
Despite criticism from the mainstream media, supporters of Alabama Chief Justice Moore aren't going away. Last week, congressional candidate Dean Young helped organize a counter-protest in Montgomery at the same time a "Remove Roy Moore" rally was underway. "All Judge Moore did was quote the federal courts that said Obergefell did not apply to Alabama because Alabama wasn't a part of the Obergefell decision." Young said.
Idaho lawmakers have once again introduced an 'Add the Words' bill into the Idaho legislature. The bill was read Tuesday in the Senate by Sen. Grant Burgoyne and Sen. Cherie Buckner-Webb. The bill aims to add the words "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the Idaho Human Rights Act, which would then prohibit discrimination against homosexuals and transvestites in housing and employment.
In advance of a House committee's plans to discuss a bill drafted by Rep. Mark Pody that would counteract the U.S. Supreme Court's Obergefell ruling, more than 100 people gathered at the Tennessee State Capitol on Tuesday in support of the bill, which is known as the "Tennessee Natural Marriage Defense Act." On Wednesday at 3 p.m., a subcommittee consisting of two Democrats and three Republicans will consider Pody's bill.
RALEIGH, North Carolina — A petition has been launched urging the Wake County Public School System to allow students to use the restroom of their choice regardless of their gender. The petition asks “for a change in [Wake County Public School] policy to specifically protect transgender student’s right to use a restroom congruent with their internal identity and protect them from bullying and harassment from students and faculty.”
President Obama has declared that Roy Moore's stand for the U.S. Constitution will fail. He said, "The fact that an Alabama judge is resisting is just a temporary gesture by this judge that will be rapidly overturned. It violates what’s called the supremacy clause – when the Constitution speaks, everybody has to abide by it, and state laws, and state judges, can’t overturn it. So you shouldn’t be worried about that.”
Commenting on the worldwide Anglican Communion’s decision to suspend the U.S. Episcopal Church because of their unbiblical views on marriage, Franklin Graham said the decision was necessary. “I hope this will cause the Episcopal Church here in America to realize the seriousness of the steps they’ve taken contrary to the Bible and cause them to turn back to following what God’s Word tells us,” Graham said.
Dr. Michael Brown refers to several stories of homosexuals who have reformed but then gone back to the homosexual lifestyle. He asks the question, "Do these significant failures demonstrate that change in sexual orientation is impossible?" He then gives six reasons why they don't.
Idaho senators are trying to hammer out the details of compromise legislation that would prohibit discrimination based on "sexual orientation" or "gender identity" in housing and employment. “We’re working with the Democrats, too,” Senate President Pro Tempore Brent Hill said. "And, so, hopefully, we’ll have a bill that we can both support." On Saturday, a crowd of 400 gathered at the Statehouse to promote adding "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" to the Idaho Human Rights Act.
Public debate is raging in Omaha as board members are considering an "update" of the school district's sex education curriculum. As initially proposed, the updates would add discussion of "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" in the 7th and 8th grades, and discussion of abortion in the 10th grade. In a January 4 meeting, more than 40 people addressed the school board, with opponents outnumbering supporters roughly 2-1.
Delegate Mark Cole has proposed legislation to the Virginia House of Delegates to keep school restrooms gender-differentiated. The bill would call for school boards to only allow students to use the restroom of their gender. Critics have asked how a student's gender could be confirmed without physical inspection. “If needed, gender could be verified by looking up student registration information or a birth certificate," Cole replied.
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The Rutherford County Commission approved an amended resolution Thursday before a crowd of red-clad protesters. The County Commission voted 15-6 for an amended resolution that deleted previous mention of the U.S. Supreme Court. The amended version simply asks the Tennessee General Assembly to defend the state's rights "by upholding the Tennessee and United States constitutions."
Anglican leaders on Thursday temporarily restricted the role of the U.S. Episcopal Church in their global fellowship as a sanction over the American church's acceptance of "gay marriage." Episcopalians have been barred for three years from any policy-setting positions in the Anglican Communion while a task force is formed that will try to reconcile conflicting views over sexuality. The Episcopal Church is the Anglican body in the U.S.
The owners of a wedding venue in New York who were fined $13,000 fro refusing to host a lesbian "wedding" had their appeal rejected by a state court on Thursday. Robert and Cynthia Gifford cited their conservative Christian beliefs in refusing to host the 2013 "wedding" of two women at Liberty Ridge Farm. They appealed a ruling from the state's Division of Human Rights, asserting their rights to free speech and religious exercise.