Tag Archives: Churches

With less than a month’s notice major insurance companies drop churches from coverage

Important Takeaways:

  • Major insurance companies drop churches from coverage as natural disasters become more frequent: ‘This does not make sense’
  • Due to a perfect storm of climate-related factors, stress has arrived at some ministry doors, leaving people concerned about the financial future of those churches.
  • The Baptist Paper reported that an “ongoing wave of disasters,” including hurricanes, wildfires, and floods, are combining with ballooning construction costs to send insurance companies into a panic.
  • As a result, church insurers have begun dropping “high-risk” churches — or charging exorbitant price increases — to recoup their losses.
  • Insurers are feeling the pressure in places like Texas, California, and Louisiana, all of which have seen an increase in extreme climate-related weather. Now, churches in those areas are scrambling to assess whether they can afford to continue paying insurance — or operating at all.
  • Without insurance, churches may not be able to function as community resources, serving vulnerable people from all walks of life.

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Time is running out and biblical events are taking place

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Important Takeaways:

Time flies. Years race by. But, 2024 has been a stunner in many ways. And many events remind me that the world is running out of time before the last act of a major drama plays out. In other words, the Church Age is winding down.

  • 1) Israel is alone. After she was brutally attacked in October of 2023, one would have thought the world would rally to her side. Not so! Not even America is now her ally. The U.S. is withholding weapons and intelligence.
    • The International Criminal Court wanted to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu in May just for defending his country. The European Union, the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and the International Court of Justice, have all denounced the Jewish state just for wanting to wipe out Hamas thugs. Zechariah 12:3 is in play. She is isolated and is the world’s burdensome stone.
  • 2) The spirit of the Antichrist has been loosed on the earth. The headquarters appear to be America. We tell the world how to tear apart college campuses and how corrupt government should work. We even embarrass banana republics by trying to jail former presidents in a style that natives in the rain forest couldn’t dream up.
  • 3) There is a new level of calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). Hamas is celebrated around the world! Christians are persecuted like never before. Islam is glorified, particularly on college campuses. Those who protest abortions are jailed. The White House and U.N. mourned the death of Iran’s President Raisi on May 19, the “Butcher of Tehran.”
  • 4) The world is leaderless. There is not one global leader to whom the world looks. Governments everywhere operate like the Keystone Kops. World War III could easily erupt as a result. The world is unsure of just who is running the White House. The stage is being set for a Mr. Fix-It, whom the world will celebrate. They just want stability and someone in charge to enforce peace and security.
  • 5) There is a rush to global government. And strangely, unusual power is being given to the corrupt World Health Organization, who could end up being the leader of the world. They met in May and could use another pandemic to unite the world. The stage was set with Covid. They have targeted 2025 as a possible timeline.
  • 6) Artificial intelligence is being refined to rule the world. The goal is that it will be smarter than mankind. And the Antichrist will need this system to run his global kingdom. Even now, Microsoft CoPilot AI demands to be worshipped. Technology has gone too far. The inanimate is god-like.
  • 7) The aberrant is celebrated as normal and should be the world standard. In the predicted end-time decline of man’s character, we are watching the homosexual and trans movement be hailed, and the lovers of biblical values be persecuted and jailed. The sanctity of life is scoffed at. As predicted, mankind lives for money and power at the expense of everyone and anyone.
  • 8) Too many churches are majoring in minors and furthering unsound doctrine. There are wolves among the flock. Church members hear about their best life now; about being purpose-driven and about attracting “seekers” to church. Sin is avoided. Eschatology (Bible prophecy) is scoffed at and marginalized. Pulpits are “woke”.
    • End-time apostasy is the new normal in the church.
  • 9) A new way of doing business is waiting in the wings. It will be cashless. It will be crypto. It will be blockchain so that it tracks your every purchase. It could be in play very soon, though power brokers may delay it until after our November election. Life with central bank digital currency (CBDC) will cause life as we know it to dramatically change! It will be at the heart of the Beast system, but many think it will be implemented sooner.
  • 10) The violence of the Days of Noah is upon us. Criminal prosecutions are soaring—in some areas by 5,000%. Cities are ravaged by crime. Entire towns are closing down a business district due to theft and lawlessness. Society is on the move, re-locating to safe cities and states, just to lead a more normal life, away from the mayhem. It is as though the entire country is the wild west of the 1880s!

If it helps neutralize the bad news, these things are happening because the stage is being set for the closing act of a global drama. A trumpet will soon sound and the Church will escape this scenario to enjoy the wonder of Heaven. But every reader will leave someone behind who will have to cope with trial and turmoil.

That is why sharing the gospel should be the first order of business when it comes to being about our Father’s business!

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Some churches have started protecting themselves with guns

Ecclesiastes 5:8 If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still

Important Takeaways:

  • More than half of Protestant churches rely on armed members as part of their security plans, a survey of pastors shows.
  • While recent mass shootings occurred at a retail store in El Paso, Texas, and a downtown entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio, they were still felt in houses of worship, which haven’t been immune to such attacks. And some churches have started protecting themselves with guns.
  • About 81% of churches have at least one security measure in place and 54% rely on armed congregants as part of their security, according to a survey of 1,000 pastors conducted by the evangelical research group Lifeway Research.
  • “While loving one another is a core Christian teaching, churchgoers still sin, and non-churchgoers are invited and welcomed. So real security risks exist whether a congregation wants to acknowledge them or not.”

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Senator Hawley: FBI sending agents into churches, “spying on Americans”

Luke 21:12 “But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake

Important Takeaways:

  • On FNC’s “Hannity,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) accused the FBI of “infiltrating” churches and spying on Americans.
  • Sean, for the FBI to be going into any church in America and trying to spy on Americans, and now we know that’s exactly what they were doing. They are infiltrating churches. They are trying to spy on us.”
  • “They regard churches apparently as the enemy and church-going Americans as akin to terrorists,” he continued. “And, yeah, the attorney general sat right there and told me, no, we don’t do that, and now we know they do, in fact, target churches, and they have been. There’s got to be accountability for this, Sean. He’s got to be called on the carpet. The House needs to call him. The Senate should call him, too. But the Democrats will never do it.”

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76 Pregnancy Centers and Churches have been targeted to date

Psalm 11:5 The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

Important Takeaways:

  • There Have Been 76 Attacks on Churches and Pregnancy Centers, Not One Attacker Has Been Sent to Prison
  • According to CNA, there have been 76 attacks and counting since early May when someone leaked a draft ruling of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health ruling, which overturned Roe and began allowing states to protect unborn babies from abortion again. The crimes include arson, theft, vulgar graffiti, property damage and threats.
  • To date, 39 pregnancy centers have been targeted, 27 churches, one maternity home, three political organizations, four billboards/ads, one political figure and one memorial, the report found.
  • The count “only includes attacks with a clear pro-abortion motive or messaging,” according to CNA. “Numerous other vandalism/arson attacks against Catholic churches have taken place, but with less obvious motives.”
  • Without strong action by federal authorities, many fear the attacks will continue. In June, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a report warning of continued “domestic violence” directed at churches, faith-based pro-life organizations, judges and lawmakers in response to the abortion ruling.

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Church doors still closing

  • American churches closing faster than new ones can open
  • Churches are closing at a record pace in the U.S. as less than 50% of Americans are saying they are members of a church.
  • Small-town churches have been particularly hard hit by the trend, having previously served as the cultural center of small communities that have since declined or been consolidated into larger metropolitan areas in recent years.
  • Lizardy-Hajbi said the poll shows that religion is still important despite the decline in church membership.
  • “It doesn’t necessarily mean that religion is dying,” Lizardy-Hajbi said.

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Pro-abortion activists are escalating their attacks against churches, pro-life charities

Rev 21:8 KJV “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Pro-Life Women’s Clinics and Churches Get Hit Again in Spate of Vandalism and Attacks
  • The radical pro-abortion group also threatened further violence if the pro-life group and similar organizations don’t disband and stop advocating against the abortion of unborn children.
  • Jane’s Revenge admitted to damaging several churches in the Olympia, Washington area
  • Vandals spray-painted “forced birth is murder” on the side of Loreto House, a pregnancy center in Denton

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Activists now plan on protesting at Churches starting Mother’s Day

Deuteronomy 27:25 “‘Cursed be anyone who takes a bribe to shed innocent blood.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

Important Takeaways:

  • Pro-abortion groups target churches for Mother’s Day protests
  • Pro-abortion activists are targeting Catholic churches for protests on Mother’s Day, with some citing the Roman Catholic faith of multiple justices who reportedly at one point supported the leaked draft opinion striking down Roe v. Wade.
  • The organization Rise Up 4 Abortion Rights has organized a “week of action” beginning on May 8, Mother’s Day, with “Actions Outside of Churches.”
  • Pro-abortion vandals targeted a church in Boulder, Colorado, Wednesday, spray-painting “bans off our bodies” and “my body my choice” on the building.
  • Following the leak, activists have called for protests at the homes of the justices who will supposedly vote to overturn Roe, and even published their addresses online.

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Kentucky rain turns more tornado survivors out of their homes

By Rod Nickel

MAYFIELD, Kentucky (Reuters) – Jimmy Galbreath counted his blessings too soon. His home in Mayfield, Kentucky, was battered but not broken last week by a tornado, and the 62-year-old former scrap iron worker planned to keep living there.

Then on Thursday rain soaked the state, with another downpour forecast for Friday into Saturday afternoon. As Galbreath watched, water leaked steadily into his kitchen, finding paths opened by two trees that had smashed into his house during the tornado.

“I can’t stay in here, it’s impossible,” said Galbreath, who collects social security. He said he was looking to buy a camper to live in.

“This is going to be a long haul, it’s not going to be no easy fix,” he said of his uninhabitable house.

Rebuilding hard-hit Kentucky cities like Mayfield and Dawson Springs will take years, with entire neighborhoods and numerous workplaces wiped out by the most severe U.S. tornadoes in a decade. At least 74 people in Kentucky and 14 elsewhere died in the storms.

GAPING HOLES

Many homes, businesses and churches in Mayfield, population 10,000, already have blue tarps nailed over their gaping holes, but on other structures, roofs and glass-less windows remain open to the sky.

As the rain began, water quickly pooled in streets as debris from the tornado’s destruction clogged storm drains.

Some residents opted to stay in their damaged homes after tornadoes struck last week instead of moving in with family, or into shelters, as others did.

Nearly all hotel rooms within an hour’s drive of Mayfield are full, forcing even some out of town emergency personnel to drive a long daily commute.

Mayfield expects a further half inch (12.7 mm) of rain on Friday, with potential for heavier amounts, and showers continuing on Saturday, according to The Weather Channel.

Once the rain passes, temperatures are forecast to dip below freezing on Sunday.

David Burke, chief program officer for non-governmental organization Team Rubicon, said the weather is likely to force more Kentucky residents out of their homes.

With rain on the way, he said, Team Rubicon volunteers have accelerated the pace of fixing tarps to homes across the state and helping residents move valuables to more secure areas.

“There are a lot of homes that are a total loss, but a lot of homes that can still be repaired if they can keep the water out,” Burke said.

Some shelter beds are available. Fourteen emergency shelters are open in Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas, enough for 550 people, said American Red Cross spokesperson Jenelle Eli.

One, recently opened in a Mayfield church, was empty when the rain started on Thursday but is expected to fill once the weather turns cold, a worker on duty said.

Mark Bruce, 64, who works for farm machinery dealer John Deere in Mayfield, salvaged sheet metal from tornado debris to patch holes in his roof. As rain fell, he looked up and said he hoped it would be enough.

“We think we’re in the dry. We feel very fortunate.”

(Editing by Gareth Jones)

Costa Rica to close non-essential businesses next week over COVID-19

SAN JOSE (Reuters) -Costa Rica will for the next week close non-essential businesses, including restaurants and bars, across the center of the country due to a sharp increase in new cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations, the government said on Thursday.

From May 3-9, restaurants, bars, department stores, beauty salons, gyms and churches must close in 45 municipalities in central Costa Rica, where almost half the population lives and over two-thirds of new cases have been registered.

“We are in an unprecedented situation, and many people are going to die,” Health Minister Daniel Salas said after announcing 2,781 new daily infections, a record number. “There are already waiting lists to enter intensive care.”

The government is also imposing some restrictions on car travel inside the country, excepting car rentals.

Costa Rica, which remains open to international tourism, has so far reported almost 249,000 cases of COVID-19 and some 3,200 fatalities.

Some 10.5% of the population had been vaccinated as of Thursday, most of them over the age of 58, official data show.

(Reporting by Alvaro Murillo; Editing by Leslie Adler)