Category: Faith

Faith: Verse of the Day for Saturday, March 4

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing Saturday, March 4 Romans 10:8-15 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” 12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it…

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Family Action Council of Tennessee’s David Fowler: Religious Liberty Defeat Result of Changing Moral Code

Wendy Wilson

David Fowler, president of the Family Action Council of Tennessee, is making a unique comparison between the recent defeat for religious liberty in an LGBT case in Washington state and a case more than 100 years ago in which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law punishing polygamy. In both cases, courts upheld an underlying moral code, Fowler says. The difference between then and now is that the moral code has changed “What has changed – and it explains why polygamy could be banned in 1879 and why it will not be able to be banned in the coming years – is the religious beliefs that informed our laws back then. We no longer believe that God has imposed any laws on the social order that all must recognize, including those who make our civil laws,” Fowler wrote in his blog. In 1879 in Reynolds v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against George Reynolds, a Mormon and resident of Utah territory who argued that marrying more than one woman was integral to his religious faith. The high court said that allowing it would make an individual’s religious belief superior to the law of the land. Last month, the…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Tuesday, February 28

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing Tuesday, February 28 Psalm 34:4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. Philippians 4:6-7 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Monday, February 27

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing. Monday, February 27 Mark 16:15-18 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.” Matthew 10:6-8 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Sunday, February 26

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing. Happy Sunday. February 26 Matthew 7:15-20 A Tree and Its Fruit Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

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Texas Megachurch Withholds Funds From Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission Over Russell Moore Controversy

Wendy Wilson
Russell Moore, Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

A Texas megachurch has decided to at least temporarily withhold funds from the Southern Baptist Convention over concerns about the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), one of its component organizations. Prestonwood Baptist Church is a 41,000-member congregation in Plano. In a statement to the Baptist Message, Executive Pastor Mike Buster spoke of “various significant positions taken by the leadership of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission that do not reflect the values of many in the Southern Baptist Convention.” The Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, “a network of 50,000 cooperating churches and church-type missions banded together to make an impact on God’s Kingdome,” is located in Nashville, Tennessee. The decision impacts $1 million the church would give to Southern Baptist state and national causes, according to the Baptist Message. The church will escrow the funds while further discussing the matter. Russell Moore, president of the ERLC, created a controversy by signing a friend of the court brief supporting construction of a New Jersey mosque involved in a zoning dispute. The Tennessee Star reported previously that a large church in East Tennessee has also decided to escrow funds while considering future support of the ministry program that funds the ERLC.…

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Some Evangelicals Object to Refugee Restrictions

Wendy Wilson

A group of 100 evangelical leaders and pastors published a full-page ad in The Washington Post on Wednesday objecting to President Trump’s executive order on refugees. The ad featured an open letter to President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence and criticized the moratorium placed on the national refugee program and reduction in the number of refugees to be allowed into the U.S. this year. Parts of the order, which also temporarily blocks visas from seven Muslim-majority countries, are held up in court, but the yearly cap on refugees is not affected. World Relief, a national Christian refugee resettlement agency with a large presence in  Nashville, coordinated the letter. Signatories included nationally known writers and ministers such as Tim and Kathy Keller, Bill and Lynne Hybels, Ed Stetzer, Ann Voskamp and Max Lucado. Scott Sauls, pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, also signed the ad. Sauls previously served under Tim Keller at a church in New York City. Christ Presbyterian is affiliated with the conservative Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). “As Christians, we have a historic call expressed over two thousand years, to serve the suffering,” the letter said. “We cannot abandon this call now. We live in a dangerous…

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Archaeologists get set to dig at Masada, after 11-year hiatus

Tennessee Star Staff

Tel Aviv University Team will excavate rebel dwellings, Herod’s gardens in month-long expedition at UNESCO heritage site By Ilan Ben Zion Aerial view of Masada (Andrew Shiva/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA) For the first time in over a decade, archaeologists are commencing new excavations atop Masada, studying previously untouched areas of the legendary desert mountain fortress, including the residences…

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Dana Hunsinger Gill Named Faith Editor of The Tennessee Star

Tennessee Star Staff

Dana Hunsinger Gill has been named Faith Editor of The Tennessee Star, managing editor Christina Botteri announced on Monday. Dana is national co-chair of Lift the Vote (www.liftthevote.org) and co-founded 4LOVE Magazine, a Christ centered Christian Lifestyle publication, for which she served as Senior Editor until the publication was sold. She has worked extensively with Christian organizations across the country and with major advertisers and donors to those organizations. As Faith Editor, Gill will work to build a network of Faith Commentary Contributors to The Tennessee Star. In addition, she will coordinate with local churches and synagogues to promote their sermon series and specific community events.      

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Baptist Pastor Resigns From Board Over Mosque Dispute

Wendy Wilson

The pastor of a large church near Knoxville has resigned from the board of a Southern Baptist missionary agency because of the board’s support for the construction of a New Jersey mosque involved in a legal dispute. Dean Haun, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Morristown resigned in November from the International Mission Board (IMB), on which he had served as a trustee. Haun objected to the IMB joining a friend of the court brief last May supporting the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, N.J., in a religious discrimination lawsuit. Haun told the Baptist Press that Southern Baptists and Muslims advocate different doctrines and that Scripture forbids “unholy alliances.” “I understand the religious liberty aspect of the entire argument. But I do not understand why the International Mission Board, with our mission to reach the world for Christ, would have to jump into the fray of a mosque being built in New Jersey,” Haun said. In December, a judge ruled that a local planning board violated federal law by requiring the mosque to include more parking than is required for churches and synagogues. The township, which is considering an appeal, maintained that more parking was needed because of the mosque’s unique…

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Religious Savagery Must Not Go Unchecked

Tennessee Star Staff

February 5, 2017 Reprinted with permission from the personal blog of Mateen Elass, Random thoughts from an Arab, Reformed theologion By Mateen Elass News of the recent heinous attack on a Muslim house of worship in Quebec City, Canada, was reported around the world. The perpetrator has been arrested and charged with five counts of murder and six counts of attempted murder. As yet, nothing about Alexandre Bissonnette’s motives has been released to the public. It’s a bit surprising that he has not been charged with any terrorism-related crimes at this point, but there is much to which the public is not privy for now. What we do know is that hundreds of lives are now shrouded with grief and anger over this hateful attack. Our prayers are important — may God grant the families and friends of the victims comfort and peace. Unfortunately, this attack is not the only violence against worshipers in the month of January. About two weeks ago, in a largely Muslim community, another house of worship was attacked during evening prayers, this time by a mob of about 90. They broke into the building, cornered roughly half the worshipers who had not been able to…

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