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Politics-AB-AI

08 Nov

I was reading about events leading up to the Civil War where they proposed a compromise to allow new States to vote on whether they wanted to allow slavery or not. The current federal legislation allowed slavery below the Mason-Dixon line but the new States were territory gained from Mexico who had outlawed slavery. The liberal politicians fought it because they wanted to keep the current law. It showed their duplicity. They wanted their States to determine if they allowed slavery or nor and felt the federal government should not tell them whether to have slaves because they were afraid the federal government would abolish slavery, yet they felt the federal government should determine whether the new States had slavery because they were afraid the States might abolish slavery in their borders. In other words, they didn’t care about State’s rights, all they cared about was protecting slavery from which they profited. They felt the slaves were not capable of taking care of themselves and needed the plantation owners to care for them.

 

 
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Posted in Politics, Sanctity of life

 

Eleventh Sunday of Kingdomtide, Nov 10

07 Nov

Support the Weak-B-Remember those who are wandering. The church needs to be aware of those who may stop coming regularly or leave altogether. It may indicate an illness or other problem that may prevent them from attending. Often it indicates that they may carry burdens that are overwhelming them or feel that they are isolated and don’t feel a part of the church. They need to be visited and ministered to so they can overcome what is separating them from the church and return to full fellowship with the body of Christ. It is difficult on Sunday morning to keep track of who is there and who isn’t. People may begin missing occasionally and not be noticed.  Some churches have ushers scan the church to see if someone may be missing but if someone begins missing occasionally, they may not be missed right away when they finally break with the church.  Every member needs to be a part of a small group so they can be ministered to regularly. In addition, the small group will recognize signs of depression and discouragement that may not be noticed in the Sunday service and may indicate the person or family may drop out of church. In addition, the small group can help build a sense of belonging that may not develop in the Sunday service.

 
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Posted in Body Ministry

 

Politics-AB-AH

07 Nov

Voters have short memories but are not as unaware as liberals think. They were fed up with the policies of President Obama and voted in Donald Trump. Democrats did everything they  could to win, including making false charges against him of colluding with the Russians. They were shocked to find that the voters still voted in Donald Trump because they remembered the problems caused by Obamacare. The cost of medical insurance skyrocketed and many were forced to get government insurance. They continued to smear his reputation and impeached him twice after one-sided hearings where he was not allowed to defend himself, in spite of the fact that the evidence all proved he was innocent. Unfortunately, voters failed to recognize the prosperity around them that resulted from President Trump’s policies and believed the media’s story that the economy was failing. They had forgotten all the problems caused by President Obama and elected Joe Biden who had participated in President Obama’s medical insurance fiasco. Democrats continued to smear Donald Trump with false charges and tie him up with court cases to prevent him from campaigning, but the voters recognized the terrible state the economy is in and reelected Donald Trump, much to the surprise of Democrats. It seems that voters recognize when things are going bad but fail to recognize when they are going well. However, Trump cannot do it alone. It looks like he will have support from the Senate and hopefully the House which he did not have in his first term. President Trump recognizes the limits of the office of President and does not recklessly ignore the Constitution and the rule of law as President Obama and President Biden did. Unlike President Obama and President Biden, President Trump did not violate the Constitution by making laws and authorizing expenditures, but left it to Congress where the Constitution places that authority. That limited what he could do in his first term because he did not have the support of the Senate and House and they didn’t make the laws and authorize the expenditures he needed.

 

 

 
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Posted in Politics

 

Politics-AB-AG

07 Nov

AB-AG Ohio voters just rejected an issue to create an appointed redistricting commission which would not be elected or subject to removal by voters in spite of a great campaign of lies and distortions. It didn’t empower voters but would have created a group which was not accountable to citizens. It would consist of fifteen members, which would include Republicans, Democrats, and Independents with a mix of geographical and demographical representatives which sounds good but would depend on who chose them. There would be five of each group but would be chosen through a complex process. They would be chosen by retired judges, a hiring firm, and committee members but citizens had no choice over the selection. It was funded by a group of liberals seeking to weaponize ballot issues and force more progressive candidates It would have repealed constitutional protections against gerrymandering approved by almost 3/4 of voters in Statewide elections in 2015 and 2018 and eliminate the ability of voters to hold representatives accountable. The 2015 bill created a commission to draw State house districts and promised it would protect against gerrymandering by requiring a consensus of the group. The 2018 bill added congressional districts. Critics claimed the current system had failed and wanted to create an independent body of average citizens which sounds good but would  depend on who chose them. Former politicians, and lobbyists would not be eligible which sounds good. They said it puts citizens in charge but it was a power grab funded by dark money, most of it from out of State. They would be free to divide any county, city, or town into as many sections as needed.  It could divide minority districts in cities like in Detroit.  It would have given them unlimited spending power and an unlimited legal defense fund. Supporters of the bill said the present system is the most gerrymandered in the country, and they said the ballot language was false and misleading and didn’t represent the true amendment, but the ballot language is the basis of what people voted on.  Liberals are pushing bills all over the country that sound good to get voter approval but contain sections that allow all kinds of dangerous programs like legalizing a lottery, marijuana, and abortion.

 

 

 
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Posted in Politics, Voting

 

Tenth Sunday of Kingdomtide, Nov 3

03 Nov

Support the Weak-A-Remember those who are sick or elderly. Few churches keep track of those who become too feeble to continue attending and many churches drop them from their active rolls. Many shut-ins need visitation and ministry more than ever before because they are no longer able to get to church. Without the support and encouragement of the church body, they can easily be overcome with discouragement, especially as physical deterioration makes life more difficult. Lack of  interaction with the church may cause them to feel the church no longer cares. If they have no family nearby, and a growing number do not, they may become isolated. Regular visits from members are important not only to help them feel a part of the church, but more important, for their emotional and spiritual well-being. Isolation can create depression and mental deterioration due to lack of social interaction.  In addition, they may have needs that the church can help with. They may need help with lawn mowing, leak raking, or snow shoveling. If they live alone, they may fall or become ill and no one would know. Elderly people have been known to lay for days after a fall or illness before they were discovered, and by then it may be too late to save them. Someone should call at least once a day and better yet, both morning and night to check on them. Some of the churches I served had a Communion service every three months. I would always go out and serve Communion to the shut-ins following each communion service. It meant a great deal to them because Communion had always been an important part of their church experience.

 

 
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Posted in Body Ministry, Church ministry, Kingdomtide

 

Sermon-Why Celebrate Kingdomtide

28 Oct

 
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Posted in holidays, Kingdomtide, sermon, Videos

 

Politics-AB-AF

27 Oct

I have never seen such a bold attempt to buy an election in my life. President Biden has continued to promote student loan forgiveness even though the Supreme Court has ruled that it is unconstitutional  three times already. The President does not have the authority to authorize the expending of billions of dollars without an act of Congress. Younger voters already favor Democrats because of the widespread welfare and social programs. By his continuous promotion of student loan forgiveness, he is cultivating favor with young voters who are piling  up thousands of dollars in student loans. Whether he ever gets to fulfill that promise makes no difference as long as it gets him the votes to push Kamala Harris into the White House to continue pushing his liberal policies. In addition, he is trying to buy the votes of Seniors  by pushing the cost of living raise for Social Security up before the election, although so far it seems to be going mainly to those on Social Security disability. Those of us on regular Social Security have not seen any raise yet. He also suppressed criticism of the reductions in Medicare payments that Democrats pushed through Congress which will force providers to increase the cost of Medicare Advantage plans to Seniors or reduce the services they provide. When he realized that those increases would come before the election, he authorized billions of dollars in payments to providers to get them to hold off on increases until after the election so it would not alienate Senior voters. Again, he has no authority to authorize expenditures without an act of Congress. He seems to feel that Congress is not needed, and he can authorize whatever he wants. This is still a democracy, but he acts like he is a dictator with unlimited authority. He continues to add billions to the national debt with the stroke of a pen. Republicans are afraid to protest too loudly for fear of alienating young voters and Seniors.

 

 
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Posted in Economics, Politics

 

Politics-AB-AE

26 Oct

We often hear about the Council on Foreign Relations and I always assumed it was a group within our State dept. Especially after Hillary Clinton stated that they directed her on decisions relating to foreign affairs. However, I was shocked to learn that it is really a group of business, financial, and government officials who advise American and world leaders on foreign relations. Their website states that they provide forums and information on important topics of foreign relations to business and government leaders as well as to State and local governments, journalists, and students. It is scary to think that they have such far-flung influence over governments and journalists around the world and that Hillary Clinton, as the head of our State dept. was making decisions based on information from an unelected group outside our government. Judging from the decisions she made while Secretary of State, they are heavily interested in the establishment of one world government and their members include some Republicans as well as many Democrats. It explains why she ordered American security forces to stand down and not go to the defense of our embassy when it was under attack. She would rather sacrifice American personnel than to offend an Arab government. It also explains why she and President Obama continually assured the American people that it was only a peaceful demonstration that got out of hand rather than admit that it was a planned military assault on an American embassy. The assault was made with military grade weapons they brought with them and not with stones and bottles they picked up off the street.

 

 

 
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Posted in Politics

 

Ninth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 27

25 Oct

Volunteer in Social Services -Until recently, most social service work was done by the church and more recently by Christian social service agencies. Volunteer work with the agencies was seen as part of the church’s ministry and members frequently volunteered. Until recently churches supported Christian social service agencies directly and members had close contact with the agencies through regular reports but churches have increasingly withdrawn their support leaving the agencies to depend on  community-wide funding campaigns and many church members no longer have contact with them. As a result, members no longer see social service work as ministry and rarely volunteer anymore.  Since the 1930’s, the government has taken over the majority of social service work. In the past, many members learned to minister to others through specialized positions in the church, such as deacons and deaconesses that ministered to members and those in the community in need. Few churches have such positions any more or they do little more than provide meals for sick members or at funerals and weddings, since most such work is done by government and Christian Social Service agencies. Government agencies are well funded with tax dollars but Christian social service agencies must depend on donations. As a result, Christian Social Service agencies are often tight on funds and so cannot afford adequate staff. Therefore, they must depend on volunteers to help. Volunteering provides an excellent way for members to learn to minister to others because the agencies often provide training and supervision while they learn. Some enjoy the work so much that they go to school and get training to work in Social services.

 
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Posted in Church ministry, Kingdomtide

 

Health Care-K

21 Oct

There are far more Pro-life pregnancy centers than abortion centers and those centers provide a lot of  health services for women. Pro-life centers provide health screenings and pre-natal care. They also provide counseling to help the woman find the best choice for her. Unlike Planned Parenthood, they encourage the woman to keep the baby if she is able as well as assisting with adoptions for women who do not feel they can keep the baby. Pro-life centers provide nutrition and clothes to the mothers before delivery and provide nutrition, clothes, diapers, and furniture for the baby, if they choose to keep it.  In addition, they provide classes on child care to help the women care for the child, since many have had no experience in caring for children. They also provide post-abortion trauma counseling for those who have previously gone through abortions. Such counseling is not provided by abortion centers who claim it is not needed. They don’t know of the need since they do not follow up on women who have had abortions, and the women do not come back to them unless they are in need of another abortion. Women would lose a lot of health care without pro-life centers. It makes far more sense to fund pro-life centers than to fund abortion clinics.

 

 
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Posted in Health Care, Sanctity of life

 
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