Religion Today Summaries - March 1, 2006

In today's edition:

• Dr. Henry Morris Is Home with the Lord

• Blackaby Challenges N.C. Baptists to Answer God's Call

• New International Inter-Agency Website for North Korea Launched

• Communication Resources Launches 'The Wired Word' to Help Bible Study Leaders Link Headlines to Relevant Scripture

Dr. Henry Morris Is Home with the Lord

After a series of minor strokes in recent weeks, Dr. Henry Morris, founder and president of the Institute for Creation Research was peacefully ushered into the presence of his Creator, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Saturday, February 25, around 6:30 p.m.  He was 87 years old. Henry Morris was considered the "father of the Modern Creation Movement," authoring well over sixty books on Biblical Creationism, Scientific Creationism and commentaries on the Bible.  His most recent work was the New Defenders Study Bible (released last month) which contained several thousand additional annotations. Dr. Morris was a brilliant scholar and theologian who was used by God in many marvelous ways to launch and encourage the Modern Creation Movement on a global scale.  But for those who had the privilege of working with Henry Morris, he was a gentle, humble and faithful servant of God who modeled what it means to finish well as he consistently looked unto Jesus and ran with patience the race that was set before him (Hebrews 12:1-2). Plans for a memorial service are being arranged for Thursday, March 2 at Shadow Mountain Community Church.

Blackaby Challenges N.C. Baptists to Answer God's Call

Henry Blackaby, author of Experiencing God, spoke with characteristic certainty about what it means to be called of God during the North Carolina Baptist Men annual convention and missions conference February 24-25. According to the Biblical Recorder, Blackaby focused on John 15:16: "You did not choose God, but God chose you." Blackaby said Christians should not seek to "discuss things" with God when sensing His call, but to simply obey, remembering that God is God and they are not. Thousands have "cancelled the call of God in their lives because things didn't work out," Blackaby said. God knows all the circumstances of our lives, and may even cause some of them for the purpose of bringing us to Him, Blackaby said, citing several personal experiences. In a second sermon, Blackaby said a significant prayer life is essential for those who want to be more like Jesus. "The average Christian is trying to be like Jesus, but we can't do that," he said. Christ must live out His own life in us, thus our job is to let Christ live in us, not just try to be like Jesus. That must come through prayer, he said. Prayer has significance beyond our own lives, Blackaby said. Whatever happens in the nation will be the direct result of the prayers of its people, he said. If we don't see our prayers answered, it is evidence that we have departed from God.

New International Inter-Agency Website for North Korea Launched

A new website dedicated to mobilizing and facilitating prayer for North Korea has been launched. The website, www.prayfornorthkorea.org, was launched as part of the Global Week of Prayer for North Korea which will run from 19 - 25 June 2006. The week is an inter-agency initiative designed to focus the worldwide Church's attention on the need to pray for the desperate plight of the country's 22 million people. 'North Korea has long been shrouded in secrecy, masking it from the interest and prayers of the outside world,' said CSW's International Advocate, Elizabeth Batha, who has pioneered the Global Week of Prayer, 'but in recent years information on the terrible oppression, statewide enforced idolatry and utterly brutal persecution of the Christians has become available to all. The level of brutality and the suppression of the gospel should make this a key prayer focus for the worldwide Church. The Global Week of Prayer for North Korea is a call for all of us to recognize and respond to the seriousness of this situation.' Numerous resources have been created and made accessible through the website to enable prayer and facilitate the running of meetings, including include a video and self-running PowerPoint presentation, as well as a plethora of written materials to enable even those with no previous knowledge to run a prayer meeting for North Korea.

Communication Resources Launches 'The Wired Word' to Help Bible Study Leaders Link Headlines to Relevant Scripture

Communication Resources, a leading publisher of communication materials for churches, announces the launch of The Wired Word, a weekly e-mailed Bible study discussion guide focusing on a wide variety of current events — from new movies, TV programs and contemporary culture to natural disasters, war and much more. The service is designed to help adult Sunday school teachers and small group leaders prepare stimulating lessons and discussions that link Scripture passages to topics in the news, with minimal preparation time. Each Thursday, a weekly discussion guide arrives in the recipient’s e-mail inbox, providing a brief summary of a topic in the news that week — sometimes even the same day — along with links to additional information. Then, a “big question” is put forth, challenging participants to ponder the relationship between the news event and relevant Scripture. Several Scripture verses drawn from both testaments help participants see how the news fits into a biblical context. Additional questions for consideration, along with a closing prayer, provide the discussion leader with everything needed to prepare for and conduct lively, engaging Bible study sessions that appeal to a wide variety of age groups.