It’s Tuesday, April 4th, A.D. 2023. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Kevin Swanson
The persecuted “Mayflower Church” of China
They call themselves the Mayflower Church.
First, members of Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church in China left their homeland in 2019. Then, they tried unsuccessfully to get asylum in South Korea. And now, as of March 30th, they have been stymied in Thailand, reports ChinaAid.
Evidently, China is putting pressure on Thailand to return the 63 members of the church to the communist country.
Christianity Today reported that the congregation noticed one member acting strangely last week. He admitted that he had compromised the group’s location with China’s state security. He was subsequently escorted away by Chinese operatives, without his wife and daughter, and has not been seen since. The rest of the group is presently under arrest in a police station near Bangkok.
Mongolian Christians imprisoned for selling Bibles
Nine Christians have been in prison in Inner Mongolia for almost two years now on charges of selling Bibles, reports Bitter Winter Magazine.
Their trial will take place in April. A 66-year-old woman, named Wong Honglan, is facing a 15-year prison sentence. She’s been a Christian for 42 years.
According to China Aid, these church members have “held a morning prayer meeting every day at 6:00am. The morning prayer meeting never stopped for a single day, regardless of any weather conditions.”
Tornadoes kill 32 people across 8 states
In the providence of God, dozens of violent tornadoes have resulted in at least 32 fatalities over the weekend in Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, Delaware, Indiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, reports ABC News.
This is in addition to the 26 people killed in the Mississippi and Alabama tornadoes just 10 days ago.
So far, there have been 63 deaths caused by tornadoes in the U.S. this year. That compares to a total of 23 deaths for all of 2022, 103 deaths in 2021, and 76 deaths in 2020.
Trump to be arraigned in New York court today
The former president of the United States, Donald Trump, is expected to be arraigned in a Manhattan New York courtroom this morning, on 34 felony charges, reports The Independent. Trump flew into New York from Florida yesterday.
What may be most troubling for Trump is the threat of a gag order following the first hearing.
The Daily Mail claimed sources that have revealed the judge in the case might place a gag order as part of the trial proceedings. If Trump breaks an imposed gag order, he risks a $1,000 fine and as much as 30 days in prison under New York law.
The charges in the case relate to alleged payoffs made to a Proverbs 7-type woman. On Monday, the former president noted on Truth Social that “The Corrupt D.A. has no case. What he does have is a venue where it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to get a Fair Trial … [with] a Trump-Hating Judge, hand selected by the Soros-backed D.A.”
76% of Americans think Trump charges are political
A recent CNN poll found that 76% of Americans believe the charges are politically-motivated while still 60% approve of the indictments.
However, Trump has only increased in popularity among Republican voters of late. Now, a Yahoo News/YouGov Survey found that Trump was leading Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis by 26 percentage points (57% to 31%). That’s quite an improvement from two weeks ago when he was only leading by 8 percentage points. And, back in February, he trailed the Florida governor 45% to 41%.
But let us keep in mind the wise counsel of Psalm 75:7and 8. “God is the Judge: He puts down one, and exalts another. For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red. It is fully mixed, and He pours it out; Surely, the wicked of the earth will drink it down to its very dregs.”
6-year-old shoots teacher
Violence in the classrooms has spread to 6-year-olds now.
A 6-year-old child deliberately shot his teacher in the chest at an elementary school in Newport News, Virginia a month ago. And now, the teacher, Abby Zwerner, will be suing the school administration for $40 million, reports the Associated Press.
“His Only Son” Biblical film took third place
And finally, a just-released Biblical film tells the dramatized story of Abraham’s faith test when called to sacrifice his son to God on Mount Moriah.
The movie called “His Only Son” came in at third place on the U.S. Box Office reports over the weekend, taking in $5.5 million. Watch the trailer through a special link in our transcript today.
The other Christian movie on the silver screen, “Jesus Revolution,” held out at 10th place over the weekend, having taken in $51 million in box office receipts, reports BoxOfficeMojo.
Let’s remember today, that God gave His Son for us, as a sacrifice for our sins. John 3:16 declares, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Tuesday, April 4th in the year of our Lord 2023. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com. Or get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I’m Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.