Do You Know The Apostle’s Creed?

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

Amen.

Jihadist Websites Declare Democrats Are Their Allies In The War Against America

"Sharia Law"

WorldNetDaily reports that an expert on terrorism is warning the United States that it should be fighting Islamization, which she believes already is under way. Author Brigitte Gabriel points out:

“Lebanon used to be the only majority Christian country in the Middle East,” Gabriel told radio talk show host Andrea Shea King in a recent hour-long interview “Most people today do not know that. We were the majority, the Muslims were the minority, but as the years went by, the Muslims became the majority because of their birth rate, but also because of our open-border policy.

“We welcomed everyone into our country,” Gabriel said, and people didn’t realize that the “minority,” the Muslims in the society, “was not tolerant” and “did not believe all people were equal.”

“They tried to impose their way of thinking on us, and they succeeded,” she said.

Gabriel fears that terrorists believe now is the time to strike at America, while it is distracted by financial tension and election turmoil. “They do not need to fire a single bullet to destroy us,” she said. “They are taking over our country culturally, just like they have taken over Europe.”

WND recently reported that a new study shows U.S. textbooks tell our students that Jesus was a Palestinian and the nation of Israel imposes terrorism on others but is not a victim a terrorism. “The Muslim Council on Education has been busy working with the State Department of Education and America’s top three publishers who …are literally rewriting history,” Gabriel said.

“We are doomed. Our enemies want the Democrats to win. This last election, jihadist websites were playing victory songs and declaring the Democrats are our allies in the war against America,” she said.

Read the entire article here. . . .

Does Your Preacher Honor God?

Preachers must be careful not to alter the gospel by the means they use to proclaim it. Psychological and motivational strategies indicate a lack of trust of the Holy Spirit to bring God’s message to life in the hearts of His people. The results of such spurious conversions are shallow and will not continue to the glory of God. Churches built by men in this way are not spiritually blessed of God. A lukewarm Gospel results in a cultural Christianity that denies the power of God in favor of the world’s treasures. The very concept of “user friendly” produces an un-Biblical focus on man instead of exalting the glory of God. Our churches are full of too many men who wish to be popular, and in so doing, trade the message of God for filling the pews or increasing the offerings.

God’s pulpit is not the place for a Jay Leno monologue. The minister’s dignity bears witness to the dignity, honor, and respect due to the author of our salvation. Too many congregations want a strict time limit on the preaching of the Word in order to give more time to the band, the choir, and the drama team. They have lost respect for Biblical preaching and thus for God’s wisdom and honor. The pews are filled with “needs-driven” people and their needs are a “bottomless pit” distracting the church from its high calling. The Holy Spirit is seeking preachers to call men to repentance; not to elevate their self-esteem.

The Church Engulfed By Irrelevancy

There are some who would accuse people like me of trying to make the church irrelevant because we advocate the preaching of the pure Gospel message. It is not that I think we should ignore the culture or times in which we live, I am simply concerned with the mindset that says “We must make the Gospel relevant to our times.” This is dangerous thinking. Forgetting that the absolute truth of Scripture is relevant to all times and places, people hurry forward to remodel it in the likeness of the society around them. Where this is practiced, we find the church becoming more like the culture rather than conforming culture to the Christian model. This school of thought has become much too influential to the injury of Christian teaching.

The church is now in the habit of relying on the world’s wisdom and employing the world’s methods. There are too many within the “Christian” fold who would sacrifice Biblical doctrine to modern philosophy and psychology. Such churches lose their identity as “Christian Churches” and become little more than institutionalized traditions. In this condition, the church truly finds itself engulfed by irrelevancy. Lord, save us from such an end.