It’s Friday, January 15th, A.D. 2021. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard at www.TheWorldview.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com)

By Jonathan Clark

Nigeria joins North Korea in “top 10” of 2021 World Watch List

Open Doors released their 2021 World Watch List of countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.

One in eight Christians, or 340 million people, experience high levels of persecution around the world.

Communist North Korea tops the list once again. Sudan moved off the top 10 worst countries, while Nigeria joined the top ten. China moved into the top 20 worst countries for the first time in a decade.

An estimated 4,761 believers were killed for their faith last year, up from about 3,000 in 2019. Over 90 percent of the killings occurred in Africa. The dominant source of persecution is Islamic oppression.

Open Doors CEO David Curry said the coronavirus pandemic exposed higher levels of persecution against Christians.

CURRY: “This past year, 2020, has been a year of uncertainty and fear. We’ve been all fighting a virus that we cannot see with the naked eye. Less known but equally as viral is the discrimination, isolation, and violence against Christians using COVID-19 as a leverage and as justification.”

1 Corinthians 12:26 says, “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it.”

U.S. sends strong message to China on religious forced labor camps

The U.S. banned cotton and tomato products from China’s Xinjiang region this week. The ban affects over $9 billion worth of products.

It’s a region where China is known to keep ethnic and religious minorities in re-education and forced labor camps. The communist regime also engages in forced abortions and sterilization there.

Supreme Court unhappy with Nevada Gov’s COVID Tyranny

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered Nevada’s Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak to respond to a lawsuit by Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley.

The suit argues that the state’s coronavirus restrictions violate the church’s constitutional rights. A December ruling by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Nevada’s 50-person limit on churches. However, services are still limited to 25-percent capacity unlike businesses that the state deems essential.

Supreme Court: No abortion pills by mail

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled women cannot obtain abortion pills through the mail.

The ruling reinstates a Food and Drug Administration regulation requiring women to see a doctor to obtain the killing drug.

Planned Parenthood complained on Twitter that women will have to endanger themselves by risking coronavirus exposure to continue to get abortion pills in-person instead of through the mail. Apparently, endangering unborn babies by trying to kill them is just fine.

Isaiah 59:7 says, “Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood.”

Divided States of America

Americans are very divided, especially along political lines following the 2020 presidential election.

A poll by Just the News and Scott Rasmussen found 25 percent of American voters support dividing the U.S. into separate countries based on political leaning. Sixty-two percent oppose the idea.

Sermons less likely to cite hell, persecution, or repentance 

Faithlife released their 2020 Year-End Song & Sermon Report.

The most popular song used in worship was “Way Maker” written by Nigerian gospel singer Sinach and released in 2015.

SINACH: “Way maker, Miracle worker, Promise keeper, Light in the darkness, My God, That is Who you are.”

The other top 10 songs were also contemporary music. The oldest song on the list was “In Christ Alone” from 2002.

GETTY: “In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand.”

The report also found the most common sermon topics were God, Jesus, love, faith, power, and glory. Topics that garnered much less popularity included mission, hell, persecution, discipleship, and repentance.

The most popular sermon text was John 3:16-17. Other top 10 verses included passages from Romans, Matthew, Philippians, Ephesians, and Acts. None of the top sermon text verses were from the Old Testament.

Paul said in Act 20:27-28, “I have not hesitated to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

Facebook and Twitter lost $51 billion after censoring President Trump

Facebook and Twitter lost over $51 billion in combined market value this week.

The loss follows Big Tech censorship of President Donald Trump as well as other conservative voices deemed harmful by the tech companies.

Meanwhile, conservative social media users are finding alternatives to the mainstream platforms. Messaging apps Signal and Telegram saw over 33 million combined downloads this past week.

Cancer rate dropped 2.4%

And finally, the American Cancer Society reports the death rate from cancer dropped 2.4 percent from 2017 to 2018. It’s the largest single-year drop on record.

Overall, the death rate from cancer has fallen 31 percent from its peak in 1991.

Close

And that’s The Worldview in 5 Minutes on this Friday, January 15th, in the year of our Lord 2021. 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.

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Christian businessman needs pardon from President Trump

Phillip Zodhiates, a Christian father and businessman, who helped a mother and her daughter escape the U.S. back in 2009, has been imprisoned on misguided kidnapping charges.

Zodhiates was helping the mother, who became a Christian out of a lesbian lifestyle, escape from her previous lesbian partner.

The Zodhiates Family has asked believers to pray for a pardon from President Trump.

You can watch a 12-minute-long video and send an email to the White House.

(And for additional written information, click here.)