It’s Tuesday, July 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
Samuel Adams: “Let His kingdom come!”
On this day in history, 247 years ago, the United States Declaration of Independence was approved by the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia.
Largely due to the tireless work of Samuel Adams, who was successful in lobbying seven of the 13 colonies to endorse the plan, independence was made possible for the United States of America in 1776.
Upon the signing of the Declaration, Adams declared, “We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven and from the rising to the setting sun, let His kingdom come.”
Chinese Communists fine pastor $55,000
The Chinese Communists fined Pastor Yang Xibo and his wife, Wang Xiaofei $55,000 for refusing to close the church they lead.
Pastor Xibo, a fourth generation pastor, leads Xunsiding Church, the largest house church in Xiamen province. The pastor and his wife steadfastly refuse to pay the fine.
On social media, he wrote, “Thank God for allowing us to have a part in His affliction, and especially thankful that on Earth we have no property for the court-enforced implementation, which is definitely a great grace of God.”
The communist authorities have been raiding the church meetings since 2019, demolishing private property and forcing members to send their children to public schools, according to China Aid.com. Pray for more freedom for churches and homeschooling families in China.
The good and the bad of “Pride” month
Pride month is over, thankfully. And it does appear that the proudest of the proud were humbled a bit last month, after the fall out with Budweiser and Target.
On June 2nd of this year, Newsweek reported that The North Face, Lego, and Miller Lite had not yet carried “supportive messages” as they did on June 1st of 2022.
Plus, only Kohl’s and PetSmart had posted Pride Month content.
While some businesses which affirmed sexual perversion faced boycotts, there was a significant uptick in social media followers of “Pride” accounts.
Proverbs 11:2 says, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.”
Elevation Church, which has female preachers, leaves Southern Baptists
Another liberal church that promotes women preachers has left the Southern Baptist Convention.
With a reported 26,000 congregants, Elevation Church, led by Stephen Furtick, a popular singer, is the seventh largest church in America. The letter posted on BaptistPress.com gave no reasons for the separation.
This follows the ouster of the second largest church in America, California-based Saddleback Church, last month. Saddleback promoted female pastors. The delegates voted 9,437-1,212 to reject the appeal put forward by Founding Pastor Rick Warren.
Deeds of the flesh across America
The deeds of the flesh are evident which are hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath … envy, murders. (Galatians 5:19-21) Is this sinful anger and outbursts of wrath on the rise in the U.S.?
There were at least six mass shootings over the weekend across the country. In Baltimore, Maryland, 2 are dead and 28 wounded and, at least, 9 wounded in a Wichita, Kansas nightclub.
A study by Northeastern University and the Associated Press indicates record numbers of incidents and victims in these mass killings this year, especially over the last two months.
America’s $851 billion debt increase
The U.S. National Debt spiked by $851 billion in a single month! That’s the largest single month increase since the Trump years.
Currently, the World Population Review places the U.S. as the 12th highest debtor nation in the world by Debt-to-GDP ratio, next to Venezuela, Sudan, Libya, Portugal, Singapore, and Bahrain.
Inflated stock prices of Apple and Tesla
Are these stocks way overpriced?
Apple Computer’s stock has hit $3 trillion market cap with stock prices around $194 — a 5-fold increase in just four years. And that would be a 3 fold increase on stock price-to-sales ratio over the historical average.
Tesla stock’s hit $280 with a market cap of $850 billion. That’s a 20-fold increase in four years, and a 175-fold increase on stock price-to-sales ratio since 2019.
Proverbs 28:20 reminds us that “A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.”
Sound of Freedom film tells story of trafficked kids
Angel Studios releases Sound of Freedom, a new film, in theaters today around the country.
Principal actor Jim Caviezel, who portrayed Jesus in The Passion of the Christ, is pushing for 2,000,000 Americans to view the film which dramatizes the plight of trafficked children and the rescue operations that are happening and need to happen.
Listen to Caviezel’s urgent appeal.
CAVIEZEL: “Sound of Freedom is based on a true story about real life heroes saving kids from the dark world to child trafficking. We know this is heartbreaking and it hurts to look at. But the first step in helping these children is hearing their story. Not enough people know this problem exists, and even fewer people are willing to do anything about it.
“Our goal is to inspire 2 million people to attend the film’s opening weekend to represent the 2 million trafficked children around the world. To spread the word, Angel Studio set up a Pay-It-Forward program where you can pay for someone else’s ticket who might not otherwise see it. If the ticket price is stopping you from attending, claim your free ticket at www.angel.com/freedom.
“Sound of Freedom opens the week of July 4. Every parent, every adult, and every teenager in America should be there to see it. If millions of us come together today and see this film, we could propel the movement to help save millions of children around the world. And you can send the message that God’s children are no longer for sale.”
Watch the trailer and get tickets through a special link in our transcript today at www.TheWorldview.com.
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And that’s The Worldview on this Independence Day, July 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.