Monday PrayerCast 2nd May 2022

Monday News and Prayer Update.

It’s Monday morning, 2^nd May 2022, the May Bank Holiday, here in NI, and it’s our weekly News and Prayer Update with a Christian perspective.  

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE

Ok. Let’s start with a quick visit to…

West Belfast.

Where a Roman Catholic priest, has found himself in trouble with the church authorities for speaking out on abortion, according to a headline in the nationalist newspaper, the Irish News. 

Ok, so the priest’s language in his message to his congregation was a little bit, ‘raw’ – but surely there can’t be any objection within that body to a priest asking his congregation not to vote for parties that promote the culture of death. Yet the nationalist newspaper, the Irish News carried a headline that blared, “Catholic Church distances itself from Fr Paddy McCafferty’s call for congregation to vote for Aontú.” As it turned out, in the body of the report, the hierarchy are not objecting to Mr McCafferty’s views on abortion, but to his advice to support a political party, not of their approval.  How the Roman Catholic Church deals with its clergy, is of course, none of my business, but I’ve publicly expressed the opinion that it should be far more vocal in its opposition to the abortion lobby, and it certainly should be giving election advice to its people. Thankfully, it seems that other clergy are supporting Mr McCafferty, and hopefully that will be reflected at the ballot box. Eternity will be uncomfortable in the extreme for those unrepentant voices howling for the death of unborn babies.

oOOo-

The Belfast Marathon.

Taking a completely different tack now, and going over to the subject of Sunday Sport, something which has become more commonplace in recent years. I’m thinking in particular of the Belfast Marathon – an issue that has been addressed on more than one occasion by the Caleb Foundation, an evangelical pressure group speaking out on moral and social issues. I spoke on the phone with Rev Philip Campbell, the secretary of the Caleb Foundation about this issue – But you need to listen to the PODCAST to hear what he said!

-oOOo-

And finally, – a small success, but something to rejoice about,

The Family Sex Show

Which was to begin touring theatres in England has been cancelled, after a huge number of complaints and  an on-line petition. The promotors of the show, which was to include full frontal nudity and explicit sexual activity to an audience as young as five years old, – the promotors complained that the show had been withdrawn because of a ‘hate campaign’ by ‘extremists.’ Was it a ‘hate campaign?’ Perhaps that’s accurate enough, because God hates sin, and we are to hate sin too. Proverbs 8:13 reads, The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Was it an attack by ‘extremists?’ – Well, I for one signed that petition, and, to paraphrase a great preacher of the past, if defending the sexual innocence of  small children makes me an extremist, then may God give me the grace to be an extremist! 

But we need to be vigilant. These people don’t give up easily.  They will try something else.

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Todays Grace Gem is from AW Pink:-

Pink wrote: “Why is it that, today, the masses are so utterly unconcerned about spiritual and eternal things, and that they are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God? Why is it that defiance of God is becoming more open, more blatant, more daring? The answer is, because “There is no fear of God before their eyes!” Romans 3:18.”   Find more inspirational quotes on Gracegems.org. 

Let’s pray…

Our Heavenly Father,  we are grateful for every good gift that you give to us, and especially grateful for the blessing of the Lord’s Day, that day of rest and reflection upon God’s goodness, given to all of mankind at Creation, for our benefit. Help us to properly respect the Lord’s Day, and to properly observe it, to God’s glory. We thank you for small victories in the war against evil in this world, and we know that one day all that is evil will be overthrown.  Until that day, help us to be vigilant and diligent, to put on the whole armour of God, that we may stand against all the wiles of the devil. We pray for our friends and our neighbours, that all may come to a saving knowledge of Christ. Amen

That’s all for now! Links for all these stories are on the website, Semper-hyphen-Reformata.com, and there’s a link to that website in the episode notes. Ccatechism class is tomorrow – Tuesday, and there should be a sermon podcast on Saturday.

Don’t give up, – lift up your head! Don’t be discouraged, – let’s keep watching, and keep praying, and keep believing in our Sovereign Lord, who overrules everything in the universe he created.