Australian Independent Baptist Newsletter

http://www2.hillsong.com/conferences/hillsong/default.asp?pid=439&hidetitle=yes Sydney, Australia 3rd thru 7th July, 2006 HILLSONG CONFERENCE (Edited by DCB) Hillsong Church is affiliated with the Assembly’s of God, Australia. Three of their speakers at this year’s conference are; Purpose Driven Rick Warren, Willow Creek’s Bill Hybels and Jentezen Franklin, pastor of the Free Chapel, Gainesville, Georgia. Franklin has often been a speaker at Florida’s Brownsville Assembly of God Church. What does the Free Chapel believe? On their web site http://www.freechapel.org/about/beliefs.aspx it states that they believe "¼ in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit with speaking in other tongues, as the Spirit gives the utterance, to be the initial evidence of this experience. We believe in the operation of the nine Gifts of the Spirit and encourage our people to live so that these gifts may be manifest in their lives."

Editor’s Comment: Sadly many independent Baptists are following Warren and Hybels which will lead into similar affiliations. During the Down Grade Controversy Spurgeon wrote that "At any rate, cost what it may, to separate ourselves from those who separate themselves from the truth of God is not alone our liberty, but our duty. I have raised my protest in the only complete way by coming forth, and I shall be content to abide alone until the day when the Lord shall judge the secrets of all hearts; but it will not seem to me a strange thing if others are found faithful, and if others judge that for them also there is no path but that which is painfully apart from the beaten track."

DesMoinesRegister.com Iowa, USA 1 May, 2006 CHURCH MEETS CONGREGATION WITH ANKENY 'SATELLITE' (Edited by DCB) West Des Moines Iowa’s Lutheran Church of Hope has 6,000 members and is the nation’s fastest growing Lutheran Church. Because of that it has "¼ launched its first Ankeny service April 22. NorthBranch, the satellite group, hopes to serve some of the nearly 600 Ankeny-area residents that are part of the church's congregation." What does Lutheran Church of Hope offer people? It offers services that "¼ are designed to be a casual, come-as-you-are experience, featuring alternative music, creative Christ-centered worship and relevant messages." One of the team members helping launch this new work said "We want to create a coffeehouse atmosphere that is trendy and friendly."

Editor’s Comment: Is there a difference between a church and Starbucks?

Daily Telegraph Sydney 26 April 2006 LESBIAN DENIED IVF SUES DOCTORS (Edited by DCB) A California woman "¼ whose doctors refused her infertility treatment because she is a lesbian has sued before California's Supreme Court, her lawyer said¼ " Her lawyer, Jennifer Pizer, said the doctor’s who "...claim a right not to comply with California's civil rights law because they are fundamentalist Christians" "¼ goes against established medical ethics and violates California civil rights law." "An appeals court overturned a trial court decision that Guadalupe Benitez was denied infertility treatment in violation of California law."

Editor’s Comment: Ro 1:26 "For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature."

Agape Press 4 May, 2006 BAEHR CALLS BLASPHEMY, SEXUAL IMMORALITY GOOD REASONS TO MISS DA VINCI CODE (Edited by DCB) Ted Baehr, chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission, "¼ advises Christians to forego seeing the movie screen adaptation of Dan Brown's novel The Da Vinci Code, and he says they should warn others to avoid the film as well." Baehr says the movie should be avoided because it is based on the book that is "¼ just chock full of occultism, Rosicrucianism, Masonic Satanism, et cetera -- I mean, we have a lot of material on all the satanic material, all the sexual material, all the pornographic material."

Editor’s Comment: Our local paper ran an article 2 May, 2006 regarding the Da Vinci Code. It said that "The Da Vinci Code blockbuster book-turned-film might be creating angst internationally but it hasn't ruffled the feathers of Dubbo church leaders." It then quoted the Anglican Bishop, the Catholic priest, and the Presbyterian pastor. The Presbyterian pastor, who would be the more theologically orthodox of the three, said that he found the book "¼ a pretty good read and wouldn't mind seeing the movie."

http://counterterrorismblog.org/ ISLAMISTS’ MESSAGE TO ISRAEL AT NEW YORK CITY RALLY: "THE MUSHROOM CLOUD IS ON ITS WAY!" "Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) Newswire - April 21, 2006: The Queens-based Islamic Thinkers Society (ITS) held a rally yesterday outside of the Israeli Consulate in Manhattan. Members of the Islamic Thinkers Society are easily identified by their Khilafah flags and provocative signs as well as rhetoric against homosexuals, Jews, Christians, Danes and others, depending on the hot button issue at the moment. Yesterday's rally was held in response to Monday’s Tel Aviv bombing that killed 9 and injured scores. While carrying signs including ‘Islam will Dominate’ with a picture of an Islamic flag over the White House, the small but loud group of men chanted threatening slogans."

Daily Telegraph Sydney 8 May, 2006 BUDGET JACKPOT (Edited by DCB) http://dailytelegraph.news. com.au/story/0,20281,19056392-5001022,00.html "MOTHERS will be the big winners in tomorrow's Federal Budget, gaining increased childcare subsidies and higher family tax benefits." "Working mothers will also be winners tomorrow night. Those who need to retrain before going back to work will get higher childcare subsidies." Editor’s Comment: Titus 3-5 "The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Because of Calvary,