Monday, December 09, 2019

• Adoniram Judson's spiritual descendants in Massachusetts

  by Tobin Perry, posted Monday, December 09, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo provided by Worcester Baptist Church

  WORCESTER, Mass. (BP) -- It has been 10 years since a group of refugees from Myanmar (formerly Burma) showed up on the doorsteps of Worcester Baptist Church in Worcester, Mass., wearing traditional Burmese clothing and having very little else. They had shown up at the local Southern Baptist church because they were Baptists and wanted a place to worship. The church welcomed the refugees into their worship service and into their lives over the next decade.

  The refugees knew little about the United States when they arrived, but they knew one name -- a man who had left the state of Massachusetts almost 200 years earlier. Read More

• Supreme Court upholds Kentucky abortion law

  by Mark Maynard and Tom Latek/Kentucky Today, posted Monday, December 09, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo from Kentucky Today/Tom Latek

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- Pro-life supporters in Kentucky were pleased with a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday that left in place a Kentucky law requiring doctors to perform ultrasounds and show fetal images to patients before abortions.

  The justices did not comment in refusing to review an appeals court ruling that upheld the law.

  The American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the law on behalf of Kentucky's lone ... Read More

• Tokyo missionary watches hearts 'slowly soften'

  by Grace Thornton, posted Monday, December 09, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  IMB photo

  TOKYO, Japan (BP) -- Sometimes when Mark Bennett baptizes someone, he makes a normal request -- he asks the new believer's family and friends to come up on stage and stand behind him.

  And then something abnormal happens -- dozens of people do what he asked.

  That may not seem strange, but when the man being baptized is homeless, that crowd is a ... Read More

• SBTC Disaster Relief teams serve Austin's homeless

  by Jane Rodgers/TEXAN, posted Monday, December 09, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo by Ronnie Roark.

  AUSTIN, Texas (BP) -- Residents at Austin's new 5-acre homeless encampment near Austin's international airport may have been uprooted from familiar surroundings under the city's 17 overpasses, but they are not going hungry, thanks to volunteers from various charities and faith-based groups, including Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Disaster Relief.

  Acting on orders from Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Department of Transportation crews began clearing Austin homeless camps in early November, a response to the city's relaxation of ordinances prohibiting sleeping and camping in public spaces. Read More

• CHRISTMAS HYMN: Once in Royal David's city

  by Keith Getty, posted Monday, December 09, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  iStock photo

  NASHVILLE, (BP) -- "Once in Royal David's City" is one of my favorite carols. It's the one that makes me think of home, of Ireland, the most. It was written in the 19th century by Irish poet Cecil Francis Alexander, wife of William Alexander, a bishop in the Church of Ireland.

  While many of Ireland's poets and playwrights promoted anything but Christianity, there is a wonderful legacy of Irish hymn writers, like Cecil Francis, who taught profound biblical truths through their poems, songs and hymns. Cecil Frances is one of my song-writing heroes! Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: 8 ways to turn your church around

  by Jim Elliff, posted Monday, December 09, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  Pastor, author and speaker Jim Elliff, gives eight ways the average church member can help a struggling church. "It is true that just a few can make such a difference," he says. Read More