Author: Pilgrim

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First there was American Idol, now American Pastor?

New Life Church recently held auditions for their next pastor. That’s right… “auditions.” Would you expect more from the church in America today? Check out this news video clip to see for yourself. The pastor in my previous post said there was no blueprint in the Bible about how a church should be. According to New Life Church, I guess there’s no blueprint in the Bible about selecting a shepherd of a church either.

Another very interesting morsel I found in the news clip was that after the former pastor fell from grace, (i.e. paying for sex with a homosexual prostitute and using methamphetamine), membership in the church dropped by 20% and contributions to the church dropped by 10%. Now I’m no math whiz, but something here doesn’t add up.

And by the way, in case you were wondering, the church website has officially announced that they’ve selected the pastor in the news clip as their new pastor to head their 14,000 member church. Maybe next time they can select a pastor by putting all the candidates on an island and putting them through rigorous tests, then allowing them to vote each other off the island.

P.S. For those of you wondering where Ted Haggard, the previous pastor of this church is today, click here.

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“There’s no blueprint in the Bible about what Church should be.”

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Bloodtipped Spears featured this video on their blog. Although the pastor’s comment that has received the most attention is “We are gonna have Adam and Eve with a Hummer and blinged out driving through the Garden of Eden,” I think there’s other comments he made in the video that were a little more intriguing. Like this little morsel: “There’s no blueprint in the Bible about what Church should be.“

Really? Well according to the news video the pastor is a very busy man. Perhaps he needs to spend more time reading his Bible and less time giving interviews, doing sound checks and cutting ribbons. Just a suggestion. What do you think?

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The sex and lust peddling “prophet” finally snaps: beating his “prophetess” wife.

The Denver Post is reporting that Juanita Bynum, the televangelist who has won a national following with sermons about women’s empowerment, was badly bruised in a fight with her estranged husband “Bishop” Thomas Weeks. Watch the Fox 5 News video below:

This deviant behavior doesn’t surprise me when you find out what this false prophet and prophetess are all about. Since their televised wedding on the apostate cable channel TBN in 2002, they have peddled lust and sex in their seminars all under the guise of Christianity. Think I’m being too harsh? Check out the following videos and see for yourself. But I caution you, parental discretion is advised as the subject matter these “prophets” are peddling is not suitable for children.

Junaita Bynum the “Dr. Ruth of Christendom.”

“Bishop” Thomas W. Weeks and the vulgar “Christian” Newlywed Game.

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3 NASB)

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An intense video that asks: Are you willing to die for your faith?

You’ll never see this video in your local seeker-friendly, purpose-driven, entertainment-driven, Mega-Church.

Allow me to preface this video so you get the most out of it: A man and his wife pick up a hitchhiker and it doesn’t take long for the hitchhiker to figure out that they are Christians. But halfway through the long drive where they talk about the weather, the traffic, sports . . .  everything but Jesus Christ, the hitchhiker pulls out a gun and the video picks up from there.

(This video can also be found on God Tube).

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Conversation with a nun in the unlikeliest of places.

My family and I attended the state fair last night and stumbled upon a Roman Catholic booth manned by four nuns. This was an unlikely place to find such a display, but their booth was set up with numerous other vendors selling everything from cookware to sunglasses for dogs. This Catholic booth fit in perfectly with the other booths that were hawking anything and everything for a buck. The Nuns were overseeing a smorgasbord of idolatry. Here you could buy your statues of every saint under the sun, rosaries of every kind and color, and trinkets galore. Most predominantly though, was the plethora of Mary paraphernalia. She was everywhere. In contrast I saw our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ prominently displayed in only two capacities: As a helpless infant and as a dead man hanging on a cross.

I made myself available for approach by whichever nun the Spirit led. (I’m confident that meeting was ordained before the earth was even formed). Of the four nuns, the youngest, (possibly in her mid twenties), began the conversation with me over the “beauty” of a piece of artwork of none other than . . . you guessed it, the Virgin Mary. This is how the conversation began and for over the next hour I got to witness to her and share the gospel with her. I truly grieved for how they put so many “things” between us and Jesus, including Mary herself.

We discussed many things but here’s a synopsis of just some of the points this nun expressed about her Church:

* Her denomination (or sect) of Roman Catholicism doesn’t agree with the modern Catholic Church that began making compromises to their faith in the 1960’s. I could relate to that; the compromises in evangelical churches began long before the 1960’s.

* There is no assurance of salvation and one can only hope to be in Heaven one day if they’ve done good enough. This in spite of the fact that the Bible says whoever calls on the name of the Lord WILL be saved (Romans 10:13), if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, you WILL be saved (Romans 10:9) that whoever has the Son has life, and that the Apostle John wrote to the brethren so that they may KNOW that they have eternal life (1 John 5:12-13).

* Mary remained a virgin her whole life. In spite of Matthew 1:25, Luke 2:7, Luke 8:19-21, among other verses, that contradict this teaching.

* Mary never sinned! That’s right. According to this nun, Mary was sinless. This in spite of the fact that all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and that Mary even brought the required sacrifice to the temple as an offering for sin (Luke 2:21-24 as per the Law in Leviticus 12:6-8).

* Mary is above the rest of mankind, but Jesus is above her. In spite of the fact that even Jesus said there’s none greater born among women than John the Baptist (Matthew 11:11). You’d think their emphasis would be on John the Baptist, not Mary.

* Mary is our mediator between man and Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is our mediator between Mary and God the Father. This in spite of the clear teaching in 1 Timothy 2:5 that says there is only ONE mediator between GOD and MAN and that is the man Christ Jesus.

* Jesus Christ comes down from Heaven during every Mass in every Catholic Church to be sacrificed again, and again, and again. This in spite of Hebrews 10:12 that says He offered ONE sacrifice for sins for ALL TIME and then sat down at the right hand of the Father.

I was grieved to see how Mary was elevated as she was. And regardless of how much the nun said Mary was not above Jesus in her life, and that she didn’t worship Mary, her actions spoke louder than her words. I even pointed out how whenever she spoke of the Savior she would refer to Him as “Jesus,” or “Jesus Christ,” however, when she spoke of Mary she uttered the mantra “the Blessed Virgin.” The very words that flowed from her tongue betrayed her, for out of the abundance of her heart her mouth spoke. She had more reverence for Mary than for Jesus Christ, evidenced by her own words.

Of all the topics we touched on during our conversation, there was only one that stopped her in her tracks. Only one topic that penetrated the veil of deception that so heavily cloaked here eyes. Ephesians 2:8-9. The very idea that salvation is a free GIFT from God through our FAITH alone by His GRACE alone seemed to visibly minister to her heart.

Finally, at the end of our conversation, she asked me if there would ever be a circumstance in which I’d pray to the “Blessed Virgin Mother.” I assured her that there would be no circumstance that I would. She then asked me to pray to God, seeking His answer on whether or not I should pray to Mary (a petition familiar to those who’ve studied Mormonism because this is the same thing they tell you to do about the Book of Mormon). I kindly told the nun I don’t need to pray to God about whether or not it’s permissible to pray to Mary any more than I need to pray to God to see if it’s permissible or not to commit adultery. She responded with the fact that I don’t have to pray about adultery because adultery is already declared to be wrong in the Bible. Exactly! And thus I would never need to ask God if it was okay to pray to the dead because he’s already declared it detestable. Praying to the dead is called necromancy and is already forbidden by God in Leviticus 18:10-14.

She gave me a card with the Rosary prayer on it which afforded me the opportunity to give her a tract entitled The Execution. We shook hands and said we’d pray for one another. I hope to run into her again one day and get the opportunity to water those seeds. Or perhaps someone reading this will run into her in the future and have the opportunity to water those seeds. Please join with me in praying for her salvation.

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Quotes (2)

ryle.jpg But if you really are in earnest about your soul, if your religion is something more than a mere fashionable Sunday cloak, if you are determined to live by the Bible, if you are resolved to be a New Testament Christian, then, I repeat, you will soon find you must carry a cross.

– J.C. Ryle

1816 – 1900

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Must-see video.

If you have not seen this video yet, I encourage you to do so. I cannot watch this skit without being moved emotionally, every time I see it. I know, I know, I’ll be the first to agree that the Christian faith is not all about emotion. In fact too many people today seek one emotional experience after another to keep them going in their “faith.” Hence we have the weekly faith-healing, weekly demon-casting, Charismatic Pentecostal movement of today. But I digress. This powerful skit has been duplicated at this church, and also at this church among many others. There’s even a dramatized production made of this skit.

This video shows the incredible love of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and how it sets us free from the sins that enslave us (even those who don’t think they’re slaves to sin). However, I urge you to look further than that and consider what His sacrifice meant for us eternally. His sacrifice that–for those who trust in Him–keep us from suffering the wrath of God on Judgment Day and being cast into hell for our sins.

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Who Said That? (2)

question-mark.jpg   It’s time to play Who Said That?

Interviewer: Do you think there’s a form of purgatory … for people who never heard the name of Christ?

Response: That’s a debate that’s going on, especially in England at the moment. But I think that uh, I don’t have any thoughts on that because I don’t know. I don’t think the Bible teaches one way or the other.

A. Bill Hybels

B. Billy Graham

C. Pope Benedict

D. Mother Theresa

E. Rick Warren

ANSWER

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A Distant Thunder.

buttons_up_011.jpg My wife and I just watched the movie A Distant Thunder. When it ended we were both kind of speechless. Partly because it was powerful and partly because we were lost. When it ended, we knew something big had just happened, but we weren’t quite sure what it was. It wasn’t until after we perused the directors commentary that we better understood the film. It is a short movie that in 35 minute covers a courtroom drama, a prosecutor dealing with uncontrollable visions, partial birth abortion and then it’s all wrapped up with a twist in the end. I recommend this movie but with a caution. The movie should be viewed by mature audiences only due to the subject matter and intensity of some scenes.

The DVD allows two viewing options: The edited and unedited version. I recommend the edited version for everyone, especially for younger viewers and those who wish to lead pure lives. One of the two scenes removed from the edited version includes a shower scene where the frosted silhouette of a nude female is observed. There is no actual nudity and the scene is not essential to the plot of the movie so missing it won’t change the impact of the film. Viewing the edited version is my suggestion. Furthermore, neither version contains any profanity but there are moments throughout the movie (i.e. the main character’s visions) that can be frightening to younger viewers.

In all, it was a profound film that reveals the horrors partial birth abortion. I give it three out of five stars.

If anyone has seen this movie, please feel free to comment on it. I’d love to hear your opinions. If you want to view the trailer, click here.

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Amnesty International says no amnesty for the unborn!

malachicard1.jpg Amnesty International has decided to make a stand on the abortion issue. And take a wild guess which side they’ve taken? Here’s a hint: They won’t be fighting for amnesty for the most defenseless of all people groups; the unborn. I guess for their simple crime of being “inconvenient,” these children don’t deserve protection from this organization. According to this article “The human rights group will campaign for woman to have access to abortion in cases including rape and incest.” Never mentioning, of course, the child they are campaigning against is also human. The article goes on to say “But Amnesty’s international council – meeting in Mexico – has overwhelmingly supported the decision, insisting it was upholding the ability of women to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights free from coercion and violence.” Apparently the child involved doesn’t get to exercise his or her right to be born free from coercion and violence. So what exactly is this “human rights” organization supporting? Click here to see.

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Apostasy before your very eyes & ears (video)

Carlton Pearson has not only denied the existence of hell, (and believes everyone is going to heaven), but he is also teaching the “gospel of inclusion”. So what is the “gospel of inclusion?” It’s a buzz word meaning, all sin is accepted… that is of course all sin except the “sin” of saying any sin is not acceptable. You do the math. It’s the same mindset that gave us “we’re tolerant of everyone except those who aren’t tolerant of everyone.” And who could forget “I’m absolutely positive that there is no such thing as absolute truth.”

In this five minute video from CNN* watch as Carlton Pearson justifies his pro-homosexual stance and claims that you can’t take what the Bible says literally. So how did he come to begin teaching this heresy? A friend of his told him that he was gay. So Carlton Pearson came to this conclusion: Since his friend was “spiritual,” “loved the Lord,” “loved gospel music,” “was a physician,” went “through med school” and was “part of our family” Carlton Pearson couldn’t see sending him to hell. So in one fell swoop Carlton Pearson threw out the eternal word of God that shall never pass away to excuse a sin that God calls an abomination (Leviticus 18:22). So according to Carlton Pearson’s theology, you too can live a life of sin as long as you are spiritual, have a taste for gospel music and graduate from med school. Read more about this at Apprising.

Thank God that His word not only does not pass away, but warns us about people like Carlton Pearson. 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

*On a side note, this CNN clip tries to make it seem that Carlton Pearson lost his church, his income and all his support because of his stance on homosexuality, when in reality it came because of his heretical teaching on hell. The “gay thing” was just a natural digression from there.

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The Pilgrim for The Pilgrim

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I wanted to share with you what has been a source of growth, learning and inspiration for me through the last few years. Pilgrim Radio has proven to be invaluable to my growth with great teachings and great music. If you’re tired of the be-bop, hip-hop, entertainment-driven “christian” radio stations that flood the airwaves and the internet streaming waves, then this station is for you. Sound Biblical teachings and God honoring music. Check them out by clicking on the above picture. You can listen live on your computer from anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day 7 days a week.