It’s Monday, September 12th, A.D. 2022. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus.
By Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
Indonesian church denied permit to build – again
On September 9th, authorities in the Muslim-majority nation of Indonesia denied a Protestant church’s building permit application in Cilegon city, Indonesia, reports International Christian Concern.
Christian leaders in the area have been swift to condemn the decision, saying it goes against the Indonesian government’s professed desire for interreligious tolerance and religious freedom.
The opposition to the construction of Maranatha Church came from a September 7 protest organized by a group of Muslims. They met with the mayor of Cilegon, Helldy Agustian, and pressured him to refuse the building permit. A video of this incident went viral on social media.
Founded in 1999, Maranatha Church has 3,903 members but still does not have its own venue. The church leaders said, “The lack of a church building is a serious problem for us. The congregation’s spiritual formation cannot be carried out properly. We all believe that a place of worship is the central and strategic venue to educate worshippers properly and to grow the children’s faith.”
Indonesia is the 28th worst country in the world for the persecution of Christians, according to Open Doors. 86% of Indonesians are Muslim.
9/11 remembered
Twenty-one years ago yesterday, Muslim terrorists attacked the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The co-anchors of New York Good Day were already talking about the hijacked 767 commercial jet airplane which had crashed into the north tower at 8:45 a.m.
MALE: “It appeared to bank sharply and smash directly, perhaps purposefully, into … Woaa. Oh my goodness, there’s another one. Oh my goodness, there’s another one.”
FEMALE: “This seems to be on purpose.”
MALE: “Oh my goodness.”
THIRD PERSON: “Is that a plane?”
MALE: “Now it’s obvious, I think, that there is a second plane that just crashed into the World Trade Center. I think we have a terrorist act of proportions that we cannot begin to imagine at this juncture.”
The time was 9:03 a.m. And the south tower had just been hit by a second hijacked airplane flown by Muslim terrorists.
Dr. Dobson: Ask God to heal our land
Dr. James Dobson, the host of Family Talk heard on 1,300 Christian radio stations, said, “On September 11, 2001, our nation stood still and watched a horrific terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC, and learned that yet another commercial aircraft had crashed in a field. What made this tragedy different was that it wasn’t a military battle, but a devastating assault on our civilian population. It was an attack on our people, our nation, financial well-being, and emotional health.
“We all struggled for weeks to comprehend what had happened. Our skyscrapers that stood so tall and majestic had turned to dust and rubble, with thousands of people who died as the buildings went down. The pain of those events still resonates deep within the heart of every American who watched. For many who survived, the memory remains traumatic. Those who lost loved ones continue to weep.”
Dr. Dobson concluded by saying, “The tragedy of September 11 unified our country for a short time. Let us use this day to come together again and ask God to heal our land, to encourage those who survived, and to comfort those who grieve.”
In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God says, “If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Russians retreat, raise white flag & abandon Izium, Ukraine
Russian soldiers raised a white flag as they fled a lightning Ukrainian advance that has reclaimed large swathes of territory, reports The Sun.
The offensive demolished Russian lines and allowed Ukrainian soldiers to retake 30 towns in a key part of their country as Putin’s troops abandoned a crucial city.
It enabled President Volodymyr Zelensky’s heroes to advance as much as 30 miles south of Kharkiv.
Vitaly Ganchev, head of the Russian-backed administration in the Kharkiv region, all-but admitted that large tracts of its front line had crumbled there.
The advances led CIA director William Burns to brand Putin’s invasion as “already a failure”.
In a major humiliation for Vladimir Putin, the Russian defense ministry admitted its troops have been forced to withdraw from Izium in the face of the onslaught.
Sweet Hour of Prayer hymn anniversary
And finally, this week marks the anniversary of when the lyrics to “Sweet Hour of Prayer,” a classic and widely-beloved hymn, were originally published on September 13, 1845.
The words were composed by a blind English preacher named William W. Walford, and then published in the New York Observer after a friend of his submitted the new hymn.
Listen to the second half of the first verse.
“Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
that calls me from a world of care,
and bids me at my Father’s throne
make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief,
my soul has often found relief,
and oft escaped the tempter’s snare
by Thy return, sweet hour of prayer!”
Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
Called on to preach from time to time in a rural English church, William Walford composed sermons in his head to deliver on Sundays. Plus, he memorized a huge amount of the Bible which he quoted verbatim in his sermons.
You can listen to the whole song through a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.
Close
And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Monday, September 12th, in the year of our Lord 2022. 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.