Free Republic

Please join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media.1 Timothy 2:1-2 I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.Religion Forum threads labeled “Prayer” are closed to debate of any kind.

The church set up by Mica Miller's disgraced pastor husband has a total value of properties worth at least $5.59million, DailyMail.com can reveal. And it has its own plane, a $430,000 four-seater, supposedly to be used for missionary work, but which flight records show has only made two trips all year. Scrutiny has been mounting on Solid Rock Ministries in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, after it was revealed that church leaders plan to allow John-Paul Miller back to the pulpit following allegations of 'sexual encounters' with underage girls. Last Sunday the congregation was only around 30 people including children The...

Has the definition of Premillennialism changed in the past few decades? I ask this because during the past several years, a few pastors told me they were Premillennial, but they didn’t adhere to a futuristic interpretation of the book of Revelation or the restoration of a kingdom to Israel. For me, Premillennialism has always signified a belief in Jesus’ return to earth after a literal seven-year Tribulation at which time He will setup His thousand-year rule over the nations of the earth, which certainly includes a gloriously restored Israel. What’s causing the shift away from these beliefs that were a...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland: Catholics will never attain true unity if it’s not grounded in ChristOn this week's two-part episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, Bishop Joseph Strickland discusses abiding in God's love, his pastoral letter on obedience, and unity in Christ. Bishop Joseph Strickland returns for this week’s episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, in which he discusses abiding in God’s love, respect for authority, and unity in Christ.Strickland begins the first part of the show with a commentary on part of the Last Supper Discourse from St. John’s Gospel. The bishop says Christ’s statement that if we keep...

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. "As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. "And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." John 17 1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Fernández: With new norms it will be easier to decide on MedjugorjeThe Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith responds to journalists about the "Medjugorje case" during the press conference presenting the new norms for discerning presumed supernatural phenomena."Regarding Medjugorje, no conclusion has been reached yet, but with these guidelines, we believe it will be easier to proceed and reach a conclusion," said Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, during the press conference presenting the new norms for discerning presumed supernatural phenomena. Responding to a journalist's...

Almost five years after hiring The Rev. Tony Lowden as its first black lead pastor, Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, where former President Jimmy Carter is a member, has hired The Rev. Ashley Guthas as its first woman pastor. The 2023 McAfee School of Theology graduate, whose hiring was first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, previously served as associate minister to families with children and youth at Northside Drive Baptist Church in Atlanta. She is a divorcee who says she still feels "uneasy labeling myself as a pastor." Northside Drive Baptist Church announced her hiring last August, highlighting her...

Sunday 19 May 2024 PentecostSt. Dunstan Catholic Church, Millbrae, CAReadings at MassLiturgical Colour: Red. Year: B(II).These readings are for the extended-form Vigil Mass on the evening before the feast.These readings are for the simple-form Vigil Mass on the evening before the feast.These readings are for the day of the feast itself.These readings are for the extended-form Vigil Mass on the evening before the feast.First readingGenesis 11:1-9 ©The tower of BabelThroughout the earth men spoke the same language, with the same vocabulary. Now as they moved eastwards they found a plain in the land of Shinar where they settled. They...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis says ‘conservative’ bishops have ‘suicidal attitude’ during 60 Minutes interviewCertain of the U.S. episcopate have been notable in defending elements of Catholic teaching, often in seeming juxtaposition to Francis’ own stance – including such men as Bishop Joseph Strickland and Cardinal Raymond Burke.Pope Francis with Norah O'Donnell.Pope Francis has described “conservative” bishops as having a “suicidal attitude” due to being closed “inside a dogmatic box.”“A Conservative is one who clings to something and does not want to see beyond that,” Francis said in response to a question about “conservative bishops in the United States” the CBS...

LINK TO NEW VIDEOLINK TO BIBLEart CHANNEL

Daily Readings from the USCCBJesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” John 20:21–23Happy Pentecost! Today, throughout the world, our Church celebrates the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ first followers and upon all of us. Why do we need the Holy Spirit in our lives? This is an important question to ponder. Today, as...

Pray For The Peace of Jerusalem (5/19/24)[Prayer]The Names and Titles of God (Captain of Salvation) Hebrews 2:1010 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.King James Version________________________God Bless America.ML/LTOS

“But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation” (1 Peter 4:13). We should rejoice in trials and persecutions, not for their own sake, but for the benefits that result. The late D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, in his classic book Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, made the following careful distinction on what it means to rejoice in persecution: “The Christian is, in a sense, one who must feel his heart breaking at the effect of sin in others that makes...

Join with fellow FREEPERS to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, and the Media. I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Religion Forum threads labeled “Prayer” are closed to debate of any kind.

Pentecost is a very important feast in the liturgical life of the Church, and it has its own vigil. Not only so, but the Readings for the Vigil are particularly rich. I cannot think of another that has such a wide variety of options, for example, for the First Reading. Even though only one First Reading will be proclaimed in any given Mass, it is well worth pondering them all, in order to come to understand the significance of Pentecost more deeply: The First Reading Options for the Vigil: 1. Genesis 11:1-9, the Tower of Babel: The whole world spoke...

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). We can be certain of God’s love for us, no matter how unexpected or difficult any trial might be. Reassuring words are vital as we strive to deal in a godly fashion with trials and sufferings in our Christian lives. In today’s verse, Peter opens with a pastoral term (“beloved”) that conveys tenderness, love, and concern for his audience. It reinforces in a single word the concepts of fervent love...

Pentecost, a radiant jewel in the liturgical crown of the Catholic Church, illuminates our faith with the fiery descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and disciples gathered in Jerusalem. Celebrated fifty days after Easter, Pentecost ignites our hearts with the timeless message of Divine empowerment, unity, and evangelization. The Acts of the Apostles transports us to that momentous day when the apostles, previously cloistered in fear, were filled with heavenly courage as tongues of fire settled upon them. The Holy Spirit, in His boundless wisdom and grace, bestowed upon them the gift of tongues, enabling them to proclaim...

Let's discuss the Readings for Pentecost Sunday Mass during the Day.First Reading: Acts 2:1-111When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. 2And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. 3Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. 5Now there were devout Jews from...

In James 1:27, the apostle James gives us insight into what pleases God: “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (NASB). The word for “undefiled” is translated “faultless” in the NIV. When interpreting any verse in the Bible, including James 1:27, we should always look at its context to get an idea of what the verse means within the surrounding verses. In this case, we can look at what comes immediately before James 1:27 and get some...

In an exclusive interview, Matt Fradd, Byzantine Catholic author and host of the Pints with Aquinas podcast, sat down with Live Action founder and president Lila Rose to discuss pornography, sex, and how the perversion of sex has affected the world. Fradd says he was first exposed to pornography at age eight. By age 13, his friend’s mother was buying he and his friend pornography and supplying them with alcohol. Looking back on the behavior, he called it sexual abuse — and said it led him down a dark path. When he later became a Christian and worked to remove...