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Pope Leo XIV: Build the Church on the solid foundations of Christ, not on worldly criteria

At the Basilica of St. John Lateran on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV urged Christians to build the Church on “solid foundations” rooted in Christ rather than on “worldly criteria” that demand immediate results and overlook the value of patience and humility.

Celebrating Mass for the solemnity of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica — the cathedral of the bishop of Rome and the oldest church in the city — the pope reflected in his homily on the meaning of this feast and on the Church as a living temple built of “living stones.”

“The millennial history of the Church teaches us that with God’s help, a true community of faith can only be built with humility and patience,” he said. “Such a community is capable of spreading charity, promoting mission, proclaiming, celebrating, and serving the apostolic magisterium of which this temple is the first seat.”

The pope drew on the image of the basilica’s physical foundations to speak about the spiritual foundations of the Church. “If the builders had not dug deep enough to find a solid base on which to construct the rest, the entire building would have collapsed long ago,” he said. “As laborers in the living Church, we too must first dig deep within ourselves and around ourselves before we can build impressive structures. We must remove any unstable material that would prevent us from reaching the solid rock of Christ.”


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That's the same message promoted by Bishop Sheen.
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Mass celebrated again at ancient St. Maron’s Shrine in Syria after 15-year silence

For the first time in over 15 years, the Maronite Church in Syria celebrated a solemn Mass at the ancient shrine of St. Maron in the village of Brad, northwest of Aleppo.

A pilgrimage to the site, organized by the Maronite Scouts, drew more than 80 participants, young and old, reviving one of the most sacred Christian sites in the region known as the “Dead Cities.”

Father Ghandi Mahanna, who led the liturgy, reminded worshippers that “the true presence of God is found in every human heart,” urging them to live faith through love.

The group also visited the nearby ruins of St. Simeon the Stylite’s Church and the cave chapel once home to the hermit Toufic Ajib, which suffered partial damage during the war.

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Two witnesses before God and Christ

Noah was a builder of the Ark but

Jesus is the one and only Mediator that saves

Abraham was a friend of God but

Jesus is the Son of God

Moses was an ambassador of the Law but

Jesus is the fulfilment of the Law

Gideon was a valiant warrior but

Jesus is the commander of heavenly hosts

David was a man after God’s own heart but

Jesus is the anointed King of kings

Isaiah was a herald of the coming Messiah but

Jesus is the long awaited Christ

Ezekiel was a man beholding God’s glory but

Jesus is the glory of God

John was an apostle of love but

Jesus is love


Enoch was a man walking with God but

Jesus is the only begotten of the Father

Job was a blessed man but

Jesus is the fullness of all heavenly riches

Joseph was a representative of Pharaoh but

Jesus is the exact imprint of God

Samuel was a judge of Israel but

Jesus is the everlasting Judge of all

Solomon was a man of wisdom but

Jesus is the real wisdom incarnate

Elijah was a powerful prophet but

Jesus is the Prophet promised of old

Jeremiah was an announcer of woes but

Jesus is the suffering servant

John was a man baptising with water but

Jesus is the God-man full of the Holy Spirit


We love God by loving Jesus

We love Jesus by drawing people unto Him


It was rare to behold God directly or to be delegated by God in the past

Now, in Christ Jesus, Christians get to have both in heaven

The revelation of Jesus Christ

Eternal Son of God

Alpha and Omega

Who is and who was who is to come

The Almighty

The first and the last

The living One

He was dead

And alive forevermore

He has the keys of death

And of Hades

Jesus, the Christ

The God of the seven stars

And seven golden lampstands

Blessed be the Lord

Blessed be the Lord indeed

Rick Warren shares 7 purposes of communion and the Bible's warning

SEOUL, South Korea — Pastor Rick Warren says believers often miss the connection between partaking of the Lord’s Supper and Christ’s commission.

Closing out what he described as a historic global gathering of Christians on the final evening of the World Evangelical Alliance’s General Assembly at SaRang Church, Warren delved into the scriptures to guide churchgoers and delegates in understanding the significance of communion and how it’s linked to God’s assignment for their lives.

“Our communion feeds and fuels our commission. Our worship feeds and empowers our witness,” Warren said, reflecting on the strength and comfort derived from the gathering of Christians in worship and communion before going out individually to the four corners of the world to share the Good News.

“Communion — also called the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist — is one of the most sacred practices in the Christian faith,” added the world-renowned evangelist and author of The Purpose Driven Life. “It was instituted by Jesus Christ on the night before His crucifixion, when He took bread and wine, gave thanks, and shared them with His disciples, saying, ‘Do this in remembrance of Me’” (Luke 22:19).

Before listing the seven purposes of communion, Warren homed in on a grave warning about participation found in 1 Corinthians 11:27-29, which says:

“So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.”

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US Factory Boom Disproportionately Favors Poorer Counties

The biggest winners of Biden’s green climate policies? Republicans.

The Inflation Reduction Act, which contained the largest climate investment in US history, would “throw money at woke climate and social programs that won’t work — including over $350 billion for ‘Green New Deal’ initiatives,” Hudson said in a statement after IRA’s passage.

LINK
The face of a new era in American manufacturing is here, just off Interstate 75, tucked into this northwest corner of Georgia.
That’s where you’ll find the Qcells plant that pumps out 32,000 solar panels a day and has a total panel production capacity of 5.1 gigawatts. For context, officials note, the peak capacity of the Hoover Dam is roughly 2 gigawatts.

The biggest losers of Trump’s trade policies? Republicans.

A South Korean solar company [Qcells] says it will temporarily reduce pay and working hours for about 1,000 of its 3,000 employees in Georgia because U.S. customs officials have been detaining imported components needed to make solar panels.
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Blind Christian in Pakistan Charged With Blasphemy, Which Is Punishable by Death

LAHORE, Pakistan (Christian Daily InternationalMorning Star News) – A 49-year-old blind Christian in Pakistan has been arrested and charged with blasphemy, punishable by death, after a Muslim accused him of insulting Islam’s prophet, his mother said.

Martha Yousaf, the nearly 80-year-old mother of Nadeem Masih, said that Waqas Mazhar and other Muslims often harassed her son, sometimes extorting money from him and other times throwing water on him or calling him names.

Mazhar works in the Model Town Park in Lahore as a parking contractor, where Masih also earned a meager income providing a weighing scale for petty merchants.

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12-Time Olympic Medalist Ryan Lochte Shares He Got Baptized

Twelve-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte revealed on Instagram this week that he had gotten baptized and rededicated his life to Jesus. The news comes amid the Olympic swimmer’s divorce and months after he revealed he had gone to rehab and was staying sober.

“I love sharing my life with my fans/followers. In this season of growing, I have learned that the only thing that truly matters is what God thinks of me,” said Lochte in the caption of his Nov. 2 post. “I made the decision to rededicate my life to Jesus and today I was baptized!”

“My heart is full of so much love and happiness and I’m just so thankful for everything God is doing and going to do in my life,” he said. “Thank you for all those who have loved and supported me throughout my life, you mean so much to me!”

In his post, Lochte tagged Canvas Churchin Alachua, Florida.

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Rabbi Jason Sobel Shares He Led a ‘Last Supper’ for ‘The Chosen’ Cast—Including Jesus—Prior to Them Filming It

Rabbi Jason Sobel is one of the advisors on the acclaimed series “The Chosen” and, as such, gives input regarding the Jewish context of the show. In a recent interview with ChurchLeaders, Sobel shared that he led a Passover Seder meal for the cast prior to them filming the Last Supper scene for Season 5.

“I got to do a Last Supper for all of the cast of ‘The Chosen’ before they filmed it,” said Sobel. “Jonathan [Roumie], who plays Jesus, a friend of mine, he would come to my house to learn about the Jewish holidays. He was at my house for Passover—the Last Supper was a Passover Seder.”

Sobel mentioned, laughing, “And my son turns to me and says, ‘Dad, it’s really weird that Jesus is at the table and you’re leading the Passover.’”

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Pastor warned John 3:16 Bible verse display may violate ‘hate speech’ law

A British pastor was warned by a police officer that a Bible verse displayed on the back of his campervan could be considered “hate speech” if reported. The conversation occurred at a petrol station and was described as advisory.

Mick Fleming, 59, a former drug dealer-turned-pastor who now lives in his van, had John 3:16 prominently displayed on the vehicle. The verse reads, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

The incident took place late last month in Burnley, a town in Lancashire, where Fleming was approached by a police officer who tapped him on the shoulder and offered what the pastor described as a friendly warning, The Telegraphreported.

The officer reportedly told him, “A bit of advice — the writing could be seen as hate speech in the wrong context. I am just giving you a heads up.” Fleming said the officer emphasized that the warning was not part of an investigation or arrest but was intended to alert him that the display might lead to a police inquiry if someone filed a complaint.

Fleming recounted the exchange on his YouTube channel and posed the question to his audience about whether a Bible verse such as John 3:16 could reasonably be considered offensive.

Continued below.
Here’s a link to his YouTube channel for anyone who wants to support him.

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‘He Empowers You To Lay Down [Your] Flaws’—Korn’s Brian ‘Head’ Welch on Religion Versus Relationship

On Sunday (Nov. 2), Korn guitarist Brian “Head” Welch shared a two-minute video to over a million of his social media followers explaining the difference between religion and a relationship with Jesus.

Formed in 1993, Korn is one of the world’s best-known nu metal bands and has received multiple awards, including two Grammys.

“Religion and religious people will pile on you loads and loads of guilt,” said Welch. “They tower over you with their self righteousness to make you feel that you are way beneath them, in order to keep you in that spirit of control over your life.”

Welch shared that he has seen it “countless times” and described religion as a “cancer to spirituality,” saying that it “chases so many people away from even the thought of relationship with Christ.”

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Sept 23rd Rapture

I follow Watchman River, and he has a point. ^^ Every time I open any of his videos, literally at least 6-7 articles which prove end times point. ^^ So yeah, The Great Frying is coming soon. ^^
I stopped watching him a few years ago as he was part of the problem pushing rapture dates. But the world is definitely getting closer in what looks like the trib will start soon. I believe the great falling away has already happened and the chess pieces are moving into position. Personally, I think it'll be at some point after Trumps term in office because it looks like all the wrong people are getting into power right now.
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‘God Is in the Details’—Rabbi Jason Sobel Explains How Understanding the Jewishness of the Bible Can Change Our Lives

What do you think of when you think of waving palm branches on Palm Sunday, a day that commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey? The images likely evoke the ideas of a humble king coming in peace.

However, if you were knowledgeable about the Jewish culture of the time, you would recognize that the palm branches had quite a different meaning for the people who welcomed Jesus.

“It’s exactly the exact opposite,” said Rabbi Jason Sobel, who joined ChurchLeaders for an interview about his new book, “Transformed by the Messiah: How Old and New Testament Jesus Connections Reveal God’s Intentional Story for Your Life,” which is out now.

“Historically, when you look at Second Temple Judaism, when you read the works of Josephus, or you read about the story of the Maccabees, which Hanukkah is about,” said Sobel, “really, the palm branch became a sign of Israel’s national independence that they won after military victories.”

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Christian History in 15 minutes

How quickly it became an unfruitful olive tree

Nonsense. The only unfruitful aspect is the enduring schisms which began with Byzantine and Frankish politics and which were exacerbated by later corruption in the Roman church leading to the Reformation and Counter-Reformation (nothing like that has ever happened in the Christian East, which are neither Reformed nor counter-Reformed, because the constant fruit of martyrs we bear under Islamic and Communist persecution results in us not having the time for schism and heresy).
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