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Pentecost Sunday-May 19

17 May

The Holy Spirit cleanses our hearts like a fire refines gold. As a kid, my brother and I collected the lead tire balances that fell off cars along the road and would melt them in our furnace downstairs. After the lead melted, the impurities floated to the top. We then waited until the impurities burst into flames and burned off so that we would have pure lead before pouring it into molds. In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps cleanse our lives of those things that will hinder our witness through the trials and troubles we experience, and our changed life will witness to the Holy Spirit within us. One day, believers will stand before God and their works will be tried as with fire and those works that bore no fruit will be destroyed, though the believer will be saved. Only those works that produce fruit will remain.

 

 

Video-The Meaning of Pentecost-Seasonal Intro

17 May

 

Gay Rights-VI-Q

17 May

VI-J Our society continues to  face a constant threat from Gay Rights groups. Though President Trump repealed the Obama pro-transgender decree, Gay Rights groups continue to threaten schools to get them to implement it. In addition, many liberal school boards are implementing them on their own in order to confuse and corrupt our children. Parents are being ignored by schools that promote transgenderism without telling them and do not tell them when their child begins to explore it. In fact, schools and children’s services are often hostile to parents who try to interfere. Teachers who refuse to implement the programs or even use the child’s preferred pronoun face severe punishment, including being fired. In addition, children are being deliberately confused as to their sexual identity through the programs being promoted through the schools and libraries in order to recruit them for the Gay life style. As free Americans, we have the ballot box to elect public officials who will resist such pressure and we can refuse to approve tax levies if they continue to promote the Gay lifestyle. We also have the right to protest and petition to oppose such things. If we do not use those tools now, we will lose them in the future. It is important for concerned citizens to stop this now.

 

 
 

Gay Rights-V-G

17 May

The most serious threat comes from those who are transitioning. Chemical transitioning is expensive. Since it adds chemicals to the body which are foreign to its makeup, it creates problems with the body’s functions, as well as opening the person up to all kinds of physical ailments which would hamper their combat readiness and require costly medical treatment. Soldiers are given a physical to determine if they are physically able to handle training and combat, and it is foolish to enable them to undergo treatment that would jeopardize that capability. Sex adjustment surgery is an elective surgery and is very expensive. In addition, it does not change who the person is. A woman may change to look like a man but it does not change her muscle or bone structure which are not as adapted for strength as are those of a man, leaving her at a disadvantage in a combat situation. While proponents claim that it is necessary to prevent them from committing suicide, studies show it does not reduce the risk of suicide and may actually increase the likelihood of them committing suicide. The White House continues to push the Dept of Health and Human Services to increase efforts to ban conversion therapy (helping confused kids sort out their sexual feelings) and increase access to transgenders, including children, for sex therapy including sex blockers and adjustment surgeries. Kids who faced that confusion in the past usually worked out their confusion over time on their own or with professional help but today they are pushed to transition with no attempt to help them sort out their confusion. As a result, transitioning often does not solve their confusion, it often compounds it.

 

 
 

Gay Rights-V-F

17 May

Government officials have gotten out of control and many no longer care what their constituents want, they are intent on satisfying the backers that finance their election campaigns. The Canadian legislature passed the “Youth and Family Act” in 2017 that added sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of things judges can consider in determining if parents are abusive. Indiana introduced a bill where a judge could charge parents with child abuse if parents opposed their child’s sexual orientation or gender identity,  and could take the child away. While that sounds far-fetched to many, an Ohio judge did take a child from its parents in 2018 and granted custody to the grandparents because the parents did not approve of their child’s gender identity. Child protection agencies are becoming increasingly hostile to parental rights and are giving more power to children to determine their future when they are too young to make such decisions. Planned Parenthood pushed an amendment to the State constitution through a State-wide vote. The amendment contained a small clause  buried in it which makes it illegal for anyone, including parents of a minor, from interfering with their child’s decision to obtain medical care, to prevent interference if the child wants to have an abortion and the law can be used to prevent interference in the child obtaining gender transition drugs and surgeries as well.

 

 
 

Ascension Sunday-May 12

08 May

Sunday before Pentecost- Focus on mission-Ascension Sunday reminds us of Christ’s ascent to heaven and is the prelude to Pentecost when the church should be launching its summer evangelistic efforts. Before it starts, the church should be clear on it’s mission. After Jesus rose from the dead and showed Himself to His disciples, He appeared to them in Galilee-Matt. 28: 16-20 He gathered them and told them to go and make disciples of all nations, and to teach them all that He commanded them. During Pentecost, we concentrate on winning the lost. We are to seek the lost and lead them to the Lord. Once they receive Christ, we are to baptize them, symbolically illustrating their death and resurrection in Christ. During Kingdomtide we will focus on making disciples when we seek to teach them to do all that Christ has commanded us. That involves active training, not the passive attendance which is common in many churches today. Now is a good time to finalize plans for a summer campaign to reach those who do not know Christ. Every church board should open every meeting with the questions “What can we do to win souls?”.

 

 

Schools-5-A

08 May

In 2018, Missouri passed a law to allow schools to use instruction hours instead of days of school to allow flexible schedules including four day weeks. They claim it will help retain teachers and save money though no proof has been given to support those assertions. Parents have strongly resisted it because it would force them to get daycare for their children on the fifth day because most parents have to work five days a week.  While some companies are experimenting with flexible work schedules for employees, most working parents do not have the option of flexible scheduling. The main problem lies in the increasing number of single parent families and families where both parents work. While other States have discussed changing the school schedules, such as going to school all year. None have gained much traction

 
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Schools-2R

08 May

  There has been an ongoing fight since the voucher program began about whether public funds should go to private schools. The issue hinges on whether the State should support religious schools. Opponents claim religious schools should not get vouchers because the State cannot support religious instruction but if that is the case, they cannot support the public schools either because they teach Humanism which is really a religion because it meets all the criteria for a religion. The fact that most opponents and supporters miss is that it is not supporting the schools as such, it is providing funds for the student to go to the school of their choice. To say they cannot use it for religious schools is to discriminate against Christians. Parents should be free to send their children to the school of their choice. The Supreme Court has ruled that the government cannot bar Christian schools from receiving government funds simply because they are Christian.  Public schools are paid for from public taxes while Christian schools must depend on tuition from students and donations from supporters. Those who send their kids to Christian schools must not only pay taxes to support public schools, but tuition for their children as well. As a result, many church members cannot afford to send their kids to Christian schools so Christian schools cannot compete with the public schools. Vouchers given to parents to take to the school of their choice would level the playing field and enable more church members to send their kids to Christian schools. By giving each student, a voucher for a certain amount, parents can choose the school that is best for their child. If parents want to send their child to a more expensive school, they can pay extra, but many Christian schools actually cost less than public schools. (see “Truly in the World But, Not of it” part B, published by Lulu Press under “Education” for a full discussion of vouchers.)

 

 
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Health Care-H

06 May

A majority of coverage in the United states is still private insurance but Obamacare has increased the shift to government covered care. Canada is  now illustrating the natural progression many European countries have already experienced. As health care cost continue to rise and more companies fold, the government gains a monopoly and costs continue to rise. While insurance companies have to keep costs down to keep premiums affordable so they don’t lose customers to other providers, they have  to pay health care providers enough that they will continue to accept the insurance. They may not pay for services which they don’t feel are necessary but have to approve enough to insure the patient gets the care they need to keep them as a customer. The government doesn’t have to worry about its customers leaving because there is no other affordable policies for their client. We are already seeing many healthcare providers who refuse to accept Medicare and Medicaid because they don’t get reimbursed enough and have high costs for paperwork involved in getting paid. Service providers will often drop out due to the long delays in getting paid. That will result in long delays in getting care from the remaining providers. As costs increase, the government has to restrict services to control escalating costs. Government workers charged with approving payments are pressured to deny services which they don’t feel will be cost effective, which means those who are elderly or mentally challenged, as well as those with severe or life threatening injuries or illnesses.  Some patients will die without care while others will be encouraged to accept having their life terminated. Assisted suicides are spiraling out of control in Canada and in European countries. In addition, physicians will be encouraged to terminate the patient’s life without consulting them.

 

 
 

Health Care-G

06 May

President Biden’s deep state is again taking the law into their own hands. The Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress to provide Affordable health care to those who could not afford it but the administration is using it to promote their agenda. The Department of Health and Human Services has taken it upon themselves to rewrite the Affordable Care Act without the approval of Congress. They have added a provision requiring people of faith to fund elective abortions and transgender surgeries through their health insurance plans, ignoring the fact that Congress included a provision which prevents health care providers from funding abortions.  This will not only require people of faith to fund these practices against their conscience and in violation of the law, it will also force the insurance companies to increase their costs to pay for them putting an increased burden on those who can barely afford insurance. That will force some of them to drop their private insurance and go with government sponsored and controlled health care plans, subsidized by taxpayer funds. President Biden and his government agencies seem to feel  they are above the law and can ignore it when they see fit. We need to elect a president this November that will appoint agency directors who will obey the law.