....When God is removed from the equation, something must fill that void, and for many people that is politics.  It is their “something greater” than themselves. 

Prenatal testing is changing who gets born and who doesn’t. This is just the beginning.

....COVID-19 hit, and we were left trying to figure out how to make Sundays normal when they are anything but normal.

....The Bible teaches that the husband-wife relationship is unique among human relationships. No other human relationship is described as two becoming one. No other human relationship is given the divine blessing for the fulfillment of our God-given sexuality.

....As much as we grieve what the pandemic has cost us, I also see ways God has blessed us during this trial. Below are six ways I’ve seen the Lord at work in our church and its members.

....Many Christians have given more thought to religious freedom this year than perhaps ever before. What has this pandemic taught us about religious freedom in America?

....I want to draw our attention to the attitude of believers under a dictatorial regime. You cannot vote. You cannot take legal action...You cannot protest...You cannot change "the system." Such matters are out of your hands. But you can do something much more powerful. You can spread the gospel.

...large numbers of “evangelicals” now reject the very basic doctrinal beliefs that would supposedly make them “evangelical” in the first place. If you believe that Jesus sinned while He was on Earth, then according to you He could not have possibly been the sinless sacrifice needed to pay for your sins. But apparently that is exactly what 43 percent of evangelicals now believe.

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that Tennessee can begin outlawing abortions because of a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, as well prohibit the procedure if it's based on the race or gender of the fetus.

Public health officials in Los Angeles have lifted all outbreak-related requirements and restrictions on Grace Community Church, which were put in place last month after three cases were confirmed.

More than 120 church leaders are taking legal action against the U.K. government for its “unlawful” decision to ban worship services during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown. The leaders of various denominations are demanding a judicial review of the government's decision, arguing that the "measures involve a direct and serious interference with the independence of religious organizations and freedoms of religious people."

...."We measure change in a society through fertility...there is a close correlation between a fertility rate of a particular society or nation and the level of religious involvement or participation in that society."

...One trend that’s common in the church is an expert/amateur divide. The divide between the “experts” and “amateurs” is easily seen when the experts—those employed by the church—think their job is to do ministry for the saints, not with the saints.

France’s interior minister Gérald Darmanin has threatened Catholic demonstrators with a police crackdown if they do not desist protesting a ban on Masses.

During Sunday’s broadcast of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Ron Klain, former Vice President Joe Biden’s pick to be White House chief of staff, signaled a nationwide mask mandate would be forthcoming in a new Biden administration.

....True Christian liberty, unlike the various “freedom” or “liberation” movements of the secular world, is not a matter of demanding the “rights” we have...Only when we recognize that we do not deserve our “rights” can we properly exercise them as privileges.

COVID has clearly been devastating. But our reaction has turned a bad pandemic into an unrivaled self-inflicted national disaster.

....Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the architects of the country’s ongoing nightmare, suggested Thanksgiving dinner could be a fatal event. Fauci, 79, and his wife won’t be with their three daughters but instead will celebrate online. “Well, I’m an elderly person,” Fauci said during one of his nonstop media interviews. “My wife and I are going to have dinner together, a quiet dinner. We’re going to get on Zoom. And we’re going to talk and smile and laugh and drink and eat with our children, who are doing it distantly and virtually.” Fauci this week warned Americans to “do what you’re told.”

....Most Protestant pastors say giving has been at or below 2019 levels, as well as at or below their budget for this year.

....“It pains me to say this, but in certain quarters, religious liberty is fast becoming a disfavored right,” said Alito, who is Catholic. The pandemic, he bemoaned, “has resulted in previously unimaginable restrictions on individual liberty....”

.....church attendance is vital for spiritual life....when people stay out, they risk degrading their spiritual lives. Sometimes I’ve seen people use a seemingly legitimate excuse (like a health crisis) to stay away, when the fact is that some other problem is really behind it....Whatever the reason, staying away can mean withering away.

A California judge ordered San Diego to reopen strip clubs even as local officials crack down on churches.

What if our worst fears are realized? What if years of pro-life progress are undone? What if our religious liberties are really attacked? What if the nation lurches towards an anti-God socialism? What if our policies prove disastrous for Israel and the Middle East?

Nearly half of Protestant pastors say that the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic is negatively impacting their churches, but only a small fraction of them say the impact has been “very” negative, according to a new survey. 

It’s out of your hands. If you’re not a lawyer, an investigator, or a witness — or maybe someone who can encourage a witness to speak out — your influence on this election is down to just two things. You can speak out to encourage those who are in the fight. And you can pray. Otherwise, you’re stuck with whatever happens. It’s out of your control. And here’s what I’ve learned: Out of control isn’t always such a bad place to be, if you trust God with it.

....The life of the church may feel more natural and organic in church without formal membership—but it’s the organic relationships of a commune, not a family. Communes are just people who happen to live near one another, but a family is a web of organic relationships that develop within defined commitments and roles. If you want the church to be a family, commit to formal church membership.

....I know that the word “revival” scares people today. We do not need revivalism. We do not need a neat little formula that produces a predictable result. We need to truly repent of sin and turn to God. We need a Haggai 1 type response to truth.

This is not simply because many of us voted for Trump. The hostility was there long before he came on the scene, and it will be there long after he is gone.

It is because we hope in an eternal savior that we joyfully continue our daily lives. We don't need a week off of classes or work to mourn an election. Our daily joys have suffered no loss of meaning.

....“The policy basically says that it’s normal for a baby with Down syndrome to be terminated right up until birth.”

....In an interview with The Arab American News two weeks ago, Kamala Harris explicitly stated that she was committed to creating a Palestinian state inside the borders of Israel with its capital in Jerusalem while limiting the number of Jews permitted to live in Judea and Samaria.

Hillsong has fired Carl Lentz, the pastor of its New York City branch.