Free Republic

The settlement with Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, which also includes another $400,000 from the state — avoids further litigation over the matter at a time when the U.S. Supreme Court's conservative majority has signaled that rights to religious practice indoors outweigh the interests of the state to compel places of worship to adhere to public health orders.. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Aug. 31, approved a $400,000 settlement with a San Fernando Valley church that had defied the county’s health order through the thick of the pandemic. The settlement with Grace Community Church in...

“Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Matthew 11:11-15 What a strange time to be alive....

Cancel culture just proved itself more powerful than the devil in Prada herself, Anna Wintour. Years-old tweets you made as a foolish, ignorant teen, and later profusely apologized for, mean you can’t be trusted as editor of . . . Teen Vogue. Alexi McCammond, deemed in 2019 the emerging journalist of the year by the National Association of Black Journalists and supported by Wintour and the rest of top Condé Nast management for the Teen Vogue job, won’t be starting next week as editor-in-chief of the fashion and lifestyle magazine after a staff rebellion over offensive remarks posted in 2011....

In Bible interpretation, it has become clear that a proper foundation must be laid in order to get at the truth that is sought. Otherwise, one will snatch out verses here and there that fit the person’s preconceived idea. It seems to be the problem behind every deviation from the whole counsel of God, and that last thought is a staggering reality that often shows up. In all relationship issues between God and man, the truth is this: Man has the knowledge of good and evil, and it doesn’t take a lot of searching and pondering over the Scriptures to...

John 14:6; “Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” (any emphasis mine) Acts 4:12; “And there is Salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved.” Romans 8:1; “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:4-5; “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ;...

And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. ( Luke 14:15)The Parable of the Great Feast in Luke 14 is all about the danger of presuming on God’s Love. Jesus is at a Sabbath feast, having been invited by one of the Pharisees. As he observed the other guests taking their seating, as close to the host of the feast as possible, He warned them about presuming upon their own status. In Jewish culture in the 1st century,...

A parable... Not long after they got married, two newlyweds got into an argument. In the heat of the moment the husband slapped the wife. Horrified over what he had done, he dropped to his knees and begged forgiveness. His wife accepted his apology, they kissed and made up. He never raised a hand against her again. Over the years they had a happy, if not perfect marriage. They raised children, went on trips, bought a home. The husband worked hard to provide for his wife and family. Occasionally the wife would request something and, if the husband hesitated, she...

California's Grace Community Church announced that Los Angeles County health officials have cleared the congregation of causing a COVID outbreak this summer. "We are glad to announce that we received a notice from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health on Thursday, November 12, saying that we have been cleared of COVID-19 outbreak," the church said on its website. "After a thorough investigation, Public Health officials have decided to rescind all outbreak-related requirements and restrictions on Grace Community Church."The Los Angeles Times targeted Pastor MacArthur's church in a recent article, condemning his congregation for causing a coronavirus "outbreak". According...

Fox News host Laura Ingraham has a message for President Donald Trump: If you lose the election, you should accept defeat with "grace and composure." Following Joe Biden's speech Friday night, Ingraham appeared to prepare her viewers for Mr. Trump's loss and give counsel directly to the president himself. In a shift in messaging, the longtime supporter and early endorser of the president advised him to focus on the future of the country, not the potential defeat.

rethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. ( Romans 10:1-4)The Apostle Paul’s heart for his kinsmen, Israel , has always touched me in the depths of my spirit. Perhaps because of Him and of course because...

“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”(Galatians 2:21)There is a rapidly growing movement, which springs out of Orthodox Judaism, Apostate Messianic Christianity, and other streams of neo Judaistic sects within and on the fringes of Christianity, which is called the Noahide movement. It is not new, of course, in fact it predates the coming of Jesus our Lord, into this world. The problem it addresses is for those who are not Jewish, and who do not seek to fully convert to Judaism, but yet who are...

"Rosalind Goforth was a well-known missionary to China who, along with her husband Jonathan, enjoyed an illustrious career and ministry. ` But for many years even having labored for the Lord in China, Rosalind often felt oppressed by a burden of sin. She felt guilty and dirty, nursing an inward sense of spiritual failure. Finally one evening when all was quiet, she settled at her desk with Bible and concordance, determined to find out God's attitude toward the failures, the faults, the sins of his children. She put these words at the top of the page: What God Does With...

Monday, June 1, 2020 MEMORIAL OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH JOHN 19:25-34 Friends, today we celebrate the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church. We recall that, from the cross, Jesus pronounced this word to St. John: "Behold, your mother." In saying this, he was giving Mary not only to John, but through John to the whole Church. Mary would be the mother of all the beloved disciples of Jesus up and down the centuries. Then we recall that, at the Annunciation, the angel declared to the maiden of Nazareth: "The holy Spirit...

The movie is free at the link until June 2.

Prayer to the Mother of the Lord for all mothers Mary, on this day when we honor all mothers, we turn to you. We thank the Lord whom you serve for the great gift of motherhood. Never has it been known that anyone who sought your intercession was left unaided by grace. Dear Mother, thank you for your "Yes" to the invitation of the angel which brought heaven to earth and changed human history. You opened yourself to God's word and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Dear mother, intercede for all of our mothers. Ask your...

In this day in which society is traveling at EXPONENTIAL speeds, man's EXPONENTIAL advances in technology, abounding resources and abundance for the majority of the common man have advanced EXPONENTIALLY! The majority of Americans today think that they have no need for the ETERNAL things that their Creator offers them in RIGHTEOUSNESS and have deceived themselves into believing that their dead works are sufficient for the redemption of their souls (Rom. 3:23, 6:23, 10:2-4, Eph. 2:8-9, Rev. 3:14-22) Today's EXPERIENTIAL advances have opened wide the door for apostate Christian Americans and the West to gorge themselves on their basest desires,...

Why would I, a Christian preacher, take the time to expound on the Ten Commandments, when we live in a new dispensation, the New Testament ? This is a valid and fair question that more than one have raised since I started this series. The following is an example of this kind of query, from a forum I frequently post on, (Free Republic). … nowhere under the New Covenant of grace are we told our ministry is the condemnation and death of the law. That is the work of the world, the flesh, and the devil who do a very...

The Last Eight Days

What is the faith we proclaim? Christ died for our sins and rose again. Who is Christ? He is God's only begotten Son, the Chosen One, the Anointed. What is the one road to Heaven? Christ alone through faith alone. The road to Heaven is Christ Himself (Jn. 14:6).  There is no other way (Jn. 3:18, 3:36; 8:24; 10:9; Acts 4:12; 16:30–31; Rm. 6:23; 1 Tim. 2:5–6; 1 Jn. 5:11–12; cf. Mt. 7:13–14; 11:27).  The only reason you can have eternal life is because Christ died for your sins and rose again.  And that atonement is applied to your...

The average Christian, reading his Bible in happy devotion, stumbles across this passage: Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church… (Col 1:24) The passage is particularly disturbing for a certain strain of Protestant thought that emphasizes Christ’s sufficiency for all things. Christ has accomplished all things necessary to our salvation and we are thus able to “rest” in His completed work. For many, this is at the heart of grace. God has done for...