It’s Friday, June 21st, A.D. 2024. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)
By Adam McManus
Armenian Christian man received 10-year prison sentence in Iran
After losing a court appeal in early June, Armenian Hakop Gochymayan received a 10-year prison sentence for allegedly participating in Christian activities in Iran, reports International Christian Concern.
Gochymayan and his wife, Elisa, who is of Iranian descent and has family in Iran, were detained near Tehran in August 2023.
In a report from Barnabas Aid, the couple was “placed in solitary confinement and subjected to intense psychological torture.”
Hebrews 13:3 says, “Don’t forget those who are in prison. Remember them as though you were in prison with them. And don’t forget those who are suffering. Remember them as though you were suffering with them.”
Authorities in Pardis, Iran, arrested the couple, who were in the country visiting friends and family as they dined at an acquaintance’s home. Reportedly, the Armenian man had several copies of the New Testament, written in the Persian language of Farsi, and had attended multiple churches during his stay.
In an attempt to dissuade conversions, it is illegal in Iran to speak to non-Christians about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to have Bibles written in Farsi, which is the nation’s official language.
According to Open Doors, Iran is the ninth most difficult country worldwide in which to be a Christian.
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un sign pact in China’s shadow
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a new pact Wednesday that includes a pledge of mutual defense if either is attacked, reports NBC News.
The agreement was sealed at a summit in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, during a rare visit by Putin to the reclusive nuclear-armed state as both countries face growing confrontations with the West.
The BBC noted that the real power in the region was not in Pyongyang, nor did it want to be. Putin and Kim were bonding on China’s doorstep.
While North Korean artillery would be a shot in the arm for Putin’s war effort, swapping missile technology for it would not exactly be a great deal.
And Putin might realize it’s not worth annoying China, which buys Russian oil and gas, and remains a crucial ally in a world that has isolated him.
Pyongyang needs China even more. It’s the only other country Kim Jong Un visits. Anywhere between a quarter to a half of North Korea’s oil comes from Russia, but at least 80% of its business is with China.
Megachurch pastor Robert Morris resigns over moral failure
Megachurch pastor Robert Morris, the 62-year-old founder of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, resigned after Cindy Clemishire accused him of sexually abusing her over multiple years in the 1980s beginning when she was 12, reports The Christian Post.
Morris had admitted that he had engaged in “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady” while he was a pastor at another church in his early 20s. But he did not name his accuser or disclose her age at the time the abuse began.
1 Timothy 3:2 and 7 says, “Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach. … He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.”
In the announcement of Morris’ resignation, Gateway Church elders said they have retained the law firm of Haynes & Boone, LLP, to “conduct an independent, thorough, and professional review of the report of past abuse to ensure we have a complete understanding of the events from 1982-1987.”
In their statement, the elders wrote, “Regretfully, prior to Friday, June 14, the elders did not have all the facts of the inappropriate relationship between Morris and the victim, including her age at the time and the length of the abuse. The elders’ prior understanding was that Morris’s extramarital relationship, which he had discussed many times throughout his ministry, was with ‘a young lady’ and not abuse of a 12-year-old child.”
However, Cindy Clemishire claims that in 2007 “at least one elder had specific notice that I was sexually abused beginning when I was 12 years old.”
One ripple effect is that the Texas-based Daystar Television Network, one of the largest Christian television networks in the world, has removed all programming featuring Robert Morris.
German shot put athlete gives glory to God
German athlete Yemisi Ogunleye won the bronze medal in the shot put competition at the European Athletics Championships in Rome with a throw of 61 feet, reports Evangelical Focus.
After winning the silver medal at the World Championships in Glasgow in March 2024, she has become one of the leading names in her discipline.
After competing, she said, “I gave it my all.” In addition to her sporting career, the athlete also openly talks about her Christian faith and participates in a Gospel choir.
On social media she wrote, “Thank you for the many prayers. Is God good? All the time!”
Psalm 29:2 says, “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness.”
8 Worldview listeners donated $3,390
And finally, toward our $63,000 goal by this Saturday, June 22nd – the three-week mark of our month-long fundraiser, 8 Worldview listeners stepped up to the plate to help fund our 6-member team for another fiscal year.
Our thanks to Robert in Annandale, Virginia and Augustine in Auburn, California – both of whom gave $25.
We appreciate Chad in Moriarty, New Mexico who pledged $20/month for 12 months for a gift of $240 as well as Richard in Wyoming, Delaware, Michael in Houston, Texas, and Bill in Thibodaux, Louisiana – each of whom pledged $25/month for 12 months for a gift of $300 each.
And we’re grateful to God for Bill in Castle Rock, Colorado who gave $1,000 as well as a husband and wife in Louisiana who donated $1,200.
Those 8 donors gave $3,390. Ready for our new grand total? Drum roll please. (sound effect of drum roll) $51,845.16 (audience cheering)
Toward this Saturday’s goal of $63,000, we need to raise $11,154.84.
That means we need to need 5 people to pledge $100 per month for 12 months, 4 people to pledge $50 per month for 12 months, and 8 people to pledge $25/month for 12 months.
Will you step up to the plate? Please go to TheWorldview.com, click on “Give,” select the dollar amount you’d like to donate, and click on the recurring monthly tab if that’s your wish.
Ask God what He wants you to give to this newscast that proclaims Jesus Christ as our standard for Truth.
Close
And that’s The Worldview on this Friday, June 21st, in the year of our Lord 2024. 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.