Thursday, December 08, 2016

• WEEK OF PRAYER: God is 'up to something' in Norway

  by Elaine Gaston, posted Thursday, December 08, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  IMB photo

  SANDEFJORD, Norway (BP) -- International Mission Board church planting catalysts Zack and Jennifer Dove were geared up to plant their lives in Oslo, Norway, in 2013. They had fine-tuned their expectations toward an urban setting, but a few months before landing there, circumstances shifted them a little further south.

  While the couple would still be in Norway, Jennifer noted they went through "almost a grieving process" when they found out they wouldn't be going to Oslo. But they soon embraced their new assignment to work with and minister to Norwegians in Sandefjord. Read More

• CDC report leaves pro-lifers encouraged, cautious

  by Samantha Gobba/WORLD News Service, posted Thursday, December 08, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  ASHEVILLE, N.C. (BP) -- The number of women and girls undergoing abortions in the United States dropped by one-fifth between 2004 and 2013, a new report shows.

  While the report shows the abortion rate is the lowest it's been since 1969 when the government started tracking the procedure, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission urged a bit of caution in its news release, The Weekly. While expressing optimism with the report, they also noted the study relies on information provided voluntarily and is missing reports from three states. Read More

• Holy what? Drop profane TV show title, PTC urges

  by Diana Chandler, posted Thursday, December 08, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  LOS ANGELES (BP) -- The Parents Television Council is urging ABC to drop plans to use profanity in the title of a television comedy series featuring a struggling church and its new pastor.

  "Holy (expletive)," the title of the series currently in development, is not only offensive and inappropriate, but assumes that advertisers want to link their products to "excrement," PTC President Tim Winter told Baptist Press. Read More

• French abortion bill would outlaw 'moral' pressure

  by David Roach, posted Thursday, December 08, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  Image: iStock/License purchase required

  PARIS (BP) -- A bill passed by France's Senate Dec. 7 that bans websites distributing "false information" about abortion could be used, pro-life activists say, to criminalize legitimate attempts to dissuade women from terminating their pregnancies.

  The bill was approved 173-126, according to news reports, and must return to the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, for final approval before advancing to Socialist President Francois Hollande. Read More

• Hospitals' religious liberty & the Supreme Court

  by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, December 08, 2016 (7 years ago)

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court should prevent the government from making the determination if Protestant and Catholic hospitals qualify as faith-based ministries, religious freedom advocates say. Read More

• Bible Study: Dec. 11, 2016

  by Staff/LifeWay Christian Resources, posted Thursday, December 08, 2016 (7 years ago)

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- This weekly Bible study appears in Baptist Press in a partnership with LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Through its Leadership and Adult Publishing team, LifeWay publishes Sunday School curricula and additional resources for all age groups. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: A blank sheet of paper

  by Art Toalston, posted Thursday, December 08, 2016 (7 years ago)

  Sharing your faith can be as simple as starting with a blank sheet of paper, Art Toalston writes, and then relaying what happened to bring you to faith in Christ. It can become a personal tract to be shared as opportunities permit each day. Read More