-NEWS UPDATES/ Abiding Word Ministries/ Spring 2013
-The Vine and Branches/-Editor:David R. Barnhart ~
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-LAW SUIT FILED TO GET GOD OFF OUR CURRENCY-

The Freedom From Religion Foundation mounted a lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury Department and other government officials this week, claiming that they are discriminating against nonbelievers by including the phrase "In God We Trust" on the nation's currency.

Such lawsuits have been attempted before and lost, but in the present climate, one has to take such matters seriously.

"Our government is prohibited from endorsing one religion over another but also prohibited from endorsing religion over non-religion. The placement of a monotheistic ideal on our nation's currency violates this stricture and is therefore unconstitutional," said FFRF Co-President Dan Barker. Along with 19 other plaintiffs, the FFRF argues in the lawsuit that they "are forced to proselytize--by an Act of Congress-- for a deity they don't believe in whenever they handle money."
---From: Huffington Post 3/13/13 ~
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--"THE INSIDER MOVEMENT"=CHRISLAM=How Missionaries are promoting an Islamized Gospel

-Can you be a Christian and remain part of another religion?

An article in Christianity Today, January 2013, describes how people are being converted to Christianity, yet told they may continue in their old religions--Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism. Such beliefs and methods are described as "The Insider Moverment," a nonbiblical theological position held by many missionaries and clergy in today's evangelical and mainline churches.

"Where is the outcry of pastors in America because of this? Nobody is challenging these methods, and it boggles my mind that churches subscribe to this," said Elijah Abraham, a born-again Christian who was raised a Muslim in Iraq, and today is the founder and director of 'Living Oasis Ministires, reaching Muslims with the Gospel'.

-Information from 'Stand Up for Truth and Christianity Today.'
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--STANFORD HIRES ATHEIST CHAPLAIN

The Humanist Community at Stanford University has hired atheist John Figdor to care for the needs of students who profess no faith. However, Figdor is officially recognized by Stanford's Office of Religious Life, which has 17 other chaplains of various faiths to minister to students' needs.

Figdor is a graduate of Harvard Divinity School. His more recent project at Stanford was to offer a program called "The Heathen's Guide to Holidays," in which he suggested alternate activities during such times. Among the options was singing John Lennon's "Imagine."

Interestingly, when Stanford was founded in 1885, the founders called for the school to teach students "doctrines of immortality of the soul, the existence of an all-wise and benevolent Creator, and that obedience to His laws is the highest duty of man." Jane Stanford, who donated the money for the school's Memorial Church, had the first minister fired a few months after he started, "because his Christian theological teachings were too liberal." ~~

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As Christians living in an upside-down world, we need to pray for holy boldness to let our light shine brightly and give a clear witness of God's truth. For that to happen we need to diligently study the Scriptures daily, showing
oursleves "approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). Above all, let us follow Paul's wise counsel and "put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to resist the evil day, and having done all to stand, STAND!" (Ephesians 6:13).

NEWS UPDATES/ AWM/ Winter 2013-/-
--[Abiding Word Ministries/ The Vine and Branches~~]

--UPDATE ON CHURCHES LEAVING ELCA -
[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]~

**First St. Paul Lutheran Church, Hastings, NE, 2,202 baptized members, passed their first vote to leave the ELCA, October 13, 2013. There were 264 votes in favor and 117 votes opposed.

**Bethel Lutheran Church, Bemidji, MN, baptized membership 269, passed their second vote to leave the ELCA, Sunday September 8, 2013. There were 75 votes in favor and 17 votes opposed. They also voted to join the North American Lutheran Church.

**St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Logan, OH, failed to pass their vote to leave the ELCA on May 19, 2013. But they held another vote June 9 to approve holding dual affiliation with the ELCA and the North American Lutheran Church. That vote passed 99 in favor, 24 opposed. They are among a couple of dozen ELCA congregations that presently hold dual membership, a practice which has gotten several ELCA churches expelled. ~~
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-NEW LUTHERAN ARCHBISHOP OF
SWEDEN TAKES AS HER MOTTO--
"ALLAHU AKBAR" ==
-[Antje Jackelen]

~~The newly elected archbishop of the Lutheran Church in Sweden, who will preside over 6.5 million Lutherans in Sweden, has chosen as her motto the Islamic definition of God, "Allahu Akbar," "God is greater." When Archbishop Jackelen was pressed to say whether Jesus or Muhammad offered the best understanding of God, she refused to answer.

Between the new archbishop's motto and her unwillingness to make a distinction between Jesus and Muhammad, a number of clergy have said they will leave the Church of Sweden. Also alarming to many were her comments to a reporter that the virgin birth of Christ must be understood methaphorically, hell does not exist and the Biblical texts must not be taken as truth.

Leaders of the Lutheran World Federation praised Jackelen's election as archbishop of the largest church body in their membership, calling her election an affirmation of diversity. Between the ELCA and the Church of Sweden, the Lutheran World Federation is now one of the supreme influences promoting heresy and apostasy throughout the world. Hopefully, more conservative Lutheran bodies will reconsider their membership in the LWF.~~
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--"A truly moral nation enacts policies that encourage personal responsibility and discourage self-destructive behavior by not subsidizing people who live irresponsibly and make poor choices."
--Dr. Ben Carson ~~
-Abiding Word Ministries
-Pastor David Barnhart

--News Updates/AWM/ Continued/ Winter 2013

--AIR FORCE ACADEMY
ASKED TO DROP "SO HELP
ME GOD" FROM HONOR OATH~~
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A complaint filed by Mikey Weinstein of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) against the honor oath taken by cadets at the Air Force Academy in Colorado prompted the academy's honor review committee to evaluate the oath. The oath, which is required of all cadets asks them to declare: "We will not lie, steal or cheat nor tolerate among us anyone who does. Furthermore, I resolve to do my duty and live honorably, so help me God." After due deliberation, the committee announced the words "so help me God" will me made optional for those who object to them.

Ron Crews, executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty told Fox News 'removing the mention of God in the oath "expresses hostility toward religion. Further, it removes the solemnity and gravity of the oath, particularly for the many cadets who come from a faith tradition.'"

--Information from: Fox News ~~
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--DEAN OF WASHINGTON NATIONAL
CATHEDRAL "IT'S A SIN TO OPPOSE
HOMOSEXUALITY" ~~
[Gary Hall]

At a worship service to honor youthful homosexuals, held in the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, Dean Gary Hall lashed out at those who oppose homosexuality, calling it a sin.

"We must now have the courage to take the final step and call homophobia and heterosexism what they are. They are sin. Heterosexism is a sin. Shaming people for who they love is a sin," Hall asserted. "Only when all our churches say that clearly and boldly and courageously will our 'LGBT' youth be free to grow up in a culture that totally embraces them fully as they are." He further claimed that churches that opposes homosexuality produce a culture that is harmful to children. ~~

--Information from: The Layman, 10/24/13
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-- "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." [Galatians 6:7]
--New American Standard Bible (NASB)
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-The Vine and Branches/AWM
-Pastor David Barnhart~~
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--BIBLE DOCTRINE MATTERS ~~-

--FROM PRIDE TO DOCTRINES OF DEMONS~
By: David Barnhart-/ Abiding Word Ministries

--Standing on the Foundational Truths of the Bible~
-By: David Barnhart-[Abiding Word Ministries/ The Vine and the Branches]~~

-Today theologians and church leaders are filled with such hubris and arrogance they think they have the right to set aside the divinely inspired words of Scripture or rewrite them in order to construct teachings and doctrines that stem from their vain imaginations. The Bible describes their teachings as the "doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1).

For example, 'The Voice', one of the newest Bibles on the market today and published by Thomas Nelson, eliminates the word "Christ" from the text. Not one time in 'The Voice' is our Savior called "Jesus Christ." 'The Voice' also eliminated other words as well, including "apostle" and "angel."

All Christians have a responsibility to oppose false teachers and guard against false doctrines. To successfully accomplish this, we must know the Bible well enough to discern the truth from a lie when we hear it. Furthermore, God directs Christians to separate themselves from false teachings and teachers. Such separation assures that our testimony will not be marred and that we will not become participants in evil (2 Corinthians 6:14-17). You may be certain, however, that false teachers will not react meekly when their sacred alters are being attacked. Therefore, we must stand fast against the compromising forces of our day.

Paul gave proper counsel and directive to our present generation: "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which you have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple" (Romans 16:17-18).

The strongest warning in the Bible against tolerating false teachers and teachings also comes Paul:
"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed. As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!" (Galatians 1:6-9)~~

--"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." He never changes, nor should we. [Hebrews 13:8]
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--JESUS UPHELD TRUTHS THAT
MODERN THEOLOGIANS DENY ~~

--Psalm 138:2 declares, "For You have exalted above all things Your Word and Your Name!" Throughout His ministry Jesus exalted the Word of God. He identified Moses as the author of Scripture. He acknowledged the words of the prophets as being divinely inspired, including the prophet Daniel who so many modern theologians claim was a mythological figure. Furthermore, Jesus believed and taught that Adam and Eve were created by God (Matthew 19:4); He taught that Noah was real and the flood was literal (Matthew 24:37-38).

Jesus gave unqualified testimony that the biblical account of Jonah is true and to be taken literally--"For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40)

--By: David R. Barnhart~~
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