Megachurch won’t preach the gospel on Easter? No reference to resurrection, Calvary, or the blood of Jesus

Megachurch-no-Easter

Important Takeaways:

  • Megachurch Won’t Mention ‘Blood of Jesus’ on Easter Sunday Invitations
  • A North Carolina megachurch says they will not mention words like Calvary, resurrection of phrases like “blood of Jesus” to promote Easter Sunday services.
  • “I’m not going to say the word ‘Calvary,’ I’m not going to say the word ‘resurrection.’ I’m not going to say the ‘blood of Jesus.’ Right? I’m not going to say any of these words that makes someone feel like an outsider,” said Nikki Shearer, the digital content creator for Elevation Church. “This is really an important guiding principle.”
  • Elevation Church is pastored by Steven Furtick and has more than 25,000 members attending at multiple locations across the state.
  • Why not just be honest and upfront with people? Let them know what Easter is really about and why it’s important for them to hear the message?
  • I mean at some point Elevation Church does present the Gospel message to their unchurched visitors, right? At some point the non-Christians are told about the resurrection of Christ, right? And at some point, the visitors are made aware that the “blood of Jesus” was the price that was paid for our sins, right?
  • If not, the Elevation Church Easter service is nothing more than a self-help sermon…

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Skip Heitzig discusses “It seems from Scripture that this Antichrist will pose as a substitute Christ – and it’s quite possible he is alive at this moment.”

Important Takeaways:

  • Why It’s Going To Be So Compelling For The World To Worship The Antichrist
  • The Bible predicts there is a false Christ coming. In 1 John 2:18, he is called the Antichrist. Many typically think the Antichrist is somebody who’s against Jesus. But the prefix anti- can just as easily mean instead of. It seems from Scripture that this Antichrist will pose as a substitute Christ—and it’s quite possible he is alive at this moment.
  • In studying this person, it just makes Jesus even more wonderful. Here’s a quick comparison between the two: the Antichrist is called “the man of sin” (2 Thessalonians 2:3), whereas Jesus is the sinless man. In the Old Testament, the Antichrist is called “the idol shepherd” (Zechariah 11:17, KJV); in John 10, Jesus called Himself “the good shepherd” (v. 11).
  • The Antichrist is depicted in Revelation 13:1 as a beast. And throughout the book, Jesus is referred to as the Lamb.
  • The Antichrist’s supposed death (see Revelation 13:3) will be meant to deceive people; Jesus Christ’s death was to save people. Vastly different.
  • And here’s a haunting verse about the Antichrist: “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). Listen, it’s going to be so compelling for the world to worship the Antichrist. The Bible says, “God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:11).
  • “When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28).
  • “Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things.” That escape is what we call the rapture.
  • Is your name written in the Book of Life? I don’t want my name in lights; I want it in the Lamb’s Book of Life. And if yours is not there, or if you’re not sure, be sure today

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Joe Rogan and Aaron Rodgers talk scripture “We do need Jesus” humanity requires guidelines to thrive

Joe Rogan

Important Takeaways:

  • Joe Rogan, host of “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, and Aaron Rodgers, current quarterback for the New York Jets, shared a very vibrant conversation on an episode last week. They covered a lot of ground.
  • He expressed how humanity requires guidelines to thrive. Christianity provides these needed guidelines, unlike woke ideology and ego-centric thinking.
  • Rogan explained how people can be easily led by evil forces and forms when they don’t have the divine spirit to guide them. He highlighted how human beings can sink to depravity when left to their own devices, pointing to the broken moral compasses of some soldiers who participate in the bloodshed and inhumanity of war, then fail to successfully reintegrate back into society.
  • We do need Jesus, of course, not just to soothe the veterans but to heal the moral decay ravaging society. Bloated intellect is only making our problems worse.
  • Just look at the inflated egos of so many in our government, then gather where we are as a nation. Klaus Schwab, Bill Gates, and Anthony Fauci are all exceedingly clever. But are they helping?
  • Power, greed, and control undoubtedly stand in the way of a real solution. There is nothing that humanity will create without Jesus that can solve the core issue, simply because it is his absence that actually is the core issue.
  • Rodgers suggested that many believe that Jesus is coming back imminently. The comment left Rogan to suggest that this might actually be the reason for the frenzy experienced across the world today – the plunge into darkness and uncertainty being a means to get people to wake up to our need for Jesus in our lives.
  • “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword,” Matthew 10:34 (KJV).
  • As Rogan pointed out, it wouldn’t be the first time God allowed our world to fall into darkness to prove his point.
  • Admittedly, neither man claims to be Christian. But nor is either sucked into such a short-sighted, small-minded worldview as to accept answers without questioning them for themselves first. They aren’t indoctrinated or woke.
  • It is the reason so many leftist and establishment media hate Joe Rogan. He thinks for himself. And right now, he thinks that the world needs Jesus … ahead of the 2024 election, too.

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America’s rocky soil has developed Christians with no real depth and faulters with every change of culture: Discipleship is more important than numbers in the seats

Holding-bible

Important Takeaways:

  • The Rise and Fall of Evangelical America
  • In the parable of the sower, Jesus illustrated how the seed of God’s Word flourishes or perishes depending on the kind of ground it falls on. Some seeds fell on a path, and birds ate them. Some fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings. “Other seeds,” said Jesus, “fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.”
  • That rocky soil group aptly describes the rapid rise and decline of evangelicals in America in recent decades. Recently, political scientist Ryan Burge, co-author of The Great Dechurching, explained how, between 1983 and 1993, the share of Americans who identified as evangelicals exploded. In fact, at their height in the early ’90s, nearly a third of Americans called themselves evangelical.
  • Part of the story of what happened is the rise of the “nones,” those who claim no religious affiliation. Between 1991 and today, the percentage of Americans who identify as “nones” skyrocketed from 6% to 29%. Burge calls this “the most significant shift in American society over the last thirty years.”
  • Perhaps, given how quickly the evangelical bubble burst, part of the problem was that it was filled with shallow belief. Or to switch back to Jesus’ metaphor, perhaps some of the seeds that came up so quickly in the final decades of the 20th century—amid chart-topping Christian albums, huge music festivals, and sprouting non-denominational megachurches—lacked deep roots.
  • Jesus never told us that the goal was to get bodies through the doors or bottoms in the chairs. It was to make disciples committed to Christ and His Kingdom—disciples who would in turn “bear much fruit.”
  • This means teaching the Bible as if it is the true account of reality, contrasting a biblical understanding of things with those widely accepted, meeting challenges from the wider culture head-on, answering tough questions about the faith, teaching Christians to take seriously Christ’s sovereignty over all of life, belonging and not merely attending church, and teaching worship as everything we do, not just when we sing.
  • It also means recognizing the role cultural currents play in eroding faith—especially those undermining marriage and the family. As Mary Eberstadt wrote almost 10 years ago in How the West Really Lost God, one of the most powerful forces behind secularization and the rise of the “nones” is the decline of the family
  • That’s why, despite evangelical decline in America, we continue to till the soil and trust the Sower, fully believing He can produce deeper roots than before and fully expecting the hundredfold harvest He described.

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Jesus is revealing himself to the Muslim world through dreams

Muslims-dream-of-Jesus

Important Takeaways:

  • ‘Miracle’: Muslim Men in Gaza Seek Christ After Over 200 Dream of Jesus on Same Night
  • More than 200 Muslim men in Gaza have converted to Christianity after reportedly seeing Jesus in their dreams, said Christian professor Michael Licona.
  • Licona teaches New Testament studies at Houston Christian University…
  • In a recent Facebook post, Licona said he received a report from “underground Christian ministries” in the Middle East that detailed the miraculous conversions.
  • “God is working in the midst of war!” his post began.
  • “Over the past two days, we have ministered to hundreds of fathers who have lost most, if not all, of their children in the war. As we moved these men to safety, we fed them, washed their clothes, and began to read the Bible to them — sharing the way of peace through Jesus.
  • “Then, a big miracle happened. Last night, Jesus appeared to more than 200 of them in their dreams! They have come back to us to learn more from God’s Word and are asking how to follow Jesus,” the report said
  • About a month before the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack, Assemblies of God News reported that Muslims around the world were dreaming of Jesus and converting to Christianity at an unprecedented rate.
  • “I would even say it’s the normal experience,” said Dick Brogden, a missionary for the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal Christian organization. “It would be accurate to say that Muslims are responding to Jesus in levels we have never seen, not in 1,400 years!”
  • “So many Muslims reject Islam, but know that to follow Jesus will cost them everything. Dreams of Jesus encourage them along the way and give them the comfort that Jesus will be with them — though it cost them everything to follow Him.”

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Dr. David Jerimiah shares Signs that indicate Jesus’ return is drawing near

Church-Cross-Storm

Important Takeaways:

  • When we read the headlines, it is not hard to see that our world is on a downward slide. Political tensions, natural disasters, and disease outbreaks are escalating. More and more professed believers seem to be falling away from the faith. It has caused many people to wonder whether these events are part of biblical prophecy
  • The Sign of Deception
    • As we move toward the Last Days, Jesus said there would be an increasing danger of deception by false teachers. “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” (Matthew 24:4-5). More and more people will search for leaders to deliver them, and they will seek mystics and religious leaders who claim to have deeper knowledge.
    • Our society is characterized by a culture of toleration that works for everybody but Christians. There is great acceptance and understanding for all sorts of immoral behavior, yet the world considers it unacceptable to speak of absolute Truth. In response, some churches and pastors have departed from sound doctrine. This isn’t just another trend. It is a spirit of deception taking hold of our culture.
    • In John 14:6, He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Through Him, we “shall know the truth, and the truth shall make [us] free” (John 8:32).
  • The Sign of Disputes Among Nations
    • (Matthew 24:6,7). As dissension escalates, we can view it as a sign of the times. The book of Revelation tells us that conflict—ceaseless, unending, terrible war—will fill the Tribulation period, and it will escalate until the entire world is involved.
  • The Sign of Devastation
    • Jesus warned of “famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places” (Matthew 24:7). We live in a day when we can scarcely turn on the TV without seeing someone trying to raise money to feed the hungry. Even though God has blessed us with a fruitful, abundant planet, millions of people in the world face food insecurity and scarcity.
  • The Sign of Deliverance Into Tribulation
    • In the Last Days, there will be an explosion of antagonism toward God’s people: “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9).
  • The Olivet Discourse is one of the most comprehensive outlines of prophecy in Scripture. Jesus shared this information so that we could see and understand the times. In Matthew 24:6, He told His disciples, “See to it that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass.”

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Why is Revelation ignored by much of the Church to whom it was written?

Church-Steeple

Important Takeaways:

  • Jesus Unveiled Bible Prophecy, So Why Are Only 2% of US Churches Teaching it?
  • In a recent Lifeway poll they found only 2% of churches in the USA teach Bible prophecy. This is an amazing latter-days stat for several reasons:
    • Roughly 30% of the Bible is prophetic. They’re ignoring almost 1/3 of the scriptures.
    • 100% accuracy in past prophecies fulfilled literally separates the Bible from every other book on the planet. It not only claims to be written by God, it proves it by predicting the future.
    • The entire Book of Revelation was prophetic when written. Today everything from Revelation 6 forward is still in the future and likely to be fulfilled within the next 7-14 years.
    • The Book of Revelation is the only book that promises Believers a special blessing for even trying to read and understand it.
  • Revelation 1:3 KJV – “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”
  • In the Book of Daniel, it says to “seal up” the words until the end of the Times of the Gentiles. In the Book of Revelation, which dovetails with Daniel, John is told to “seal NOT the words for the time is at hand”… meaning the Church Age.
  • And God promises through Amos that He WOULD reveal to us what is going on.
  • Amos 3:7 KJV – “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.”
  • And from Jeremiah:
  • Jeremiah 30:24 KJV – “The fierce anger of the Lord shall not return, until he hath done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.”
  • Yet only 2% of churches even attempt to try to understand the thrust of the Bible’s teaching in hundreds of Bible prophecy verses.
  • I know one thing, Satan sure doesn’t want Believers to study prophecy because it gives people hope.

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‘It’s Blasphemy’: Halloween Decor Features Beheaded Jesus

Halloween-Beheaded-Jesus

Important Takeaways:

  • A Louisiana man in the Bucktown area of New Orleans is in hot water with his neighbors due to his extremely bloody Halloween decorations.
  • The decorations appear to show a beheaded Jesus, whose head is in the hands of Satan, looming over the yard while nuns and a priest stand nearby.
  • One neighbor called it “appalling,” while another resident said, “In a word, it’s blasphemy,”
  • According to Miorana, the display caused people to threaten his girlfriend about losing her job, so the pair eventually broke up.
  • Despite the controversy, Miorana refuses to take down the decorations, per the ABC report.

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AI Jesus trending with 35,000 followers

Revelations 13:14 “…by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth…”

Important Takeaways:

  • Thousands flock to ‘AI Jesus’ for gaming, relationship advice
  • A chatbot designed to resemble an ‘AI Jesus’ has attracted hundreds of Twitch users seeking gaming and relationship advice.
  • The device, created by a Berlin tech collective, shows a bearded white man with a bright white halo who gestures as he answers questions having been “trained after Jesus and the teachings of the Bible.”
  • Its “ask_jesus” livestream attracted over 35,000 followers and allowed viewers to ask questions.
  • Asked to share views on topics such as abortion and gay rights, AI Jesus was found to provide vague, non-partisan replies, such as advising the user to look at the issues from legal and ethical perspectives.
  • “Whether you’re seeking spiritual guidance, looking for a friend, or simply want someone to talk to, you can join on the journey through life and discover the power of faith, hope, and love,” said the bio for the “ask_jesus” Twitch page.

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Michael Snyder: Jesus Is Your Only Hope

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

  • Our society trains us not to think about the things that really matter. Instead, we are constantly directed to think about whatever is going to make us happy in the moment, and if we don’t know what that is society certainly has a lot of suggestions for us.  Of course all of the things that bring a bit of temporary happiness can never fill the deep hole of emptiness and pain that most people carry around with them.  Surveys tell us that people have never been more depressed than they are right now, suicide rates have never been higher, and both legal and illegal drugs are being abused at levels that are absolutely unprecedented.  Even though we are literally surrounded by things that are supposed to make us happy, our society has never been unhappier than it is at this moment.
  • But even though so many of us are so incredibly unhappy, hearts are extremely hard.
  • Have you ever felt like you are talking to a brick wall when you are trying to share the truth with someone?
  • I certainly have.
  • So many people appear to be entirely convinced that they already have all the answers, and so they refuse to be open to anyone that is trying to help them.
  • This is one of the reasons why I write the way that I do.
  • In a society that is full of hardened hearts, you have got to find a way to shake people up and break through to them emotionally.
  • Our society has a way of getting us to only focus on the present, and it is constantly assuring all of us that everything is going to be okay.
  • But everything is not going to be okay.
  • In my articles I talk about some really hard things, and the goal is to shock people out of their slumber.
  • Because if people do not understand the danger that they are facing, they will not be interested in the solution.
  • No matter how indestructible you may feel at this moment, the truth is that your time is limited.
  • And for much of the global population, the end is going to come a whole lot quicker than they ever anticipated.
  • People call me “the king of doom and gloom” because I am constantly making statements like that, but I am not here to bring you doom and gloom.
  • I am here to give you hope.
  • If you are looking to fill the deep hole of emptiness and pain that is relentlessly gnawing at you, the answer is Jesus.
  • He can give you a brand new life, and He can give you a future that is brighter than you can even imagine right now.
  • No matter what you have been through, God can take the broken pieces of your life and turn them into a beautiful thing.
  • If you give your life to Jesus, your sins will be forgiven, you will be “born again”, and you will have eternal life.
  • Is there anything that our society can offer you that is more valuable than eternal life?
  • Times are going to get really, really hard in the years ahead.
  • Most of the world will plunge into despair because they have no hope.
  • That is why we must bring hope to as many people as we can while we still have the opportunity to do so.
  • No matter what anyone is going through, Jesus is the answer.
  • He is the beginning, He is the end, and He is our only hope.

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