Church Giving ‘Great Sex’ Sermons Might Get Booted

A church giving sermons about sex may have to find a new home. Brevard Public School District’s risk-management department has threatened to boot New Hope Church out of Sherwood Elementary because of a worship series titled “Great Sex for You.”

Church leaders mailed 25,000 fliers, asking residents “Is Your Sex Life A Bore?” The three-week program kicked off inside the school auditorium. Pastor Bruce Cadle had said the Christian church has been “shamefully silent” on the taboo topic.

Mark Langdorf, the director of risk management, says the mailers generated complaints, were not appropriate for elementary school children and shouldn’t be used to advertise the sermon in the school.

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Billy Graham Ministry To Focus On End Time – Return of Jesus Christ

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will focus on the return of Jesus Christ and help prepare believers for life in the last days in 2009, according to a recent announcement.

Writing in one of the several resources that the ministry is providing on the End Times, Rev. Billy Graham said, “People ask me, ‘Do you really believe that Jesus Christ is going to come back to this earth again?”

“Yes, I do,” he continues. “The Bible teaches that Jesus is coming again. And I don’t see any other hope, because we’re heading toward a catastrophe in our world.

“The most important question, however, is this: Are you ready for Christ’s return?”

Towards this end, the ministry has compiled a number of End Times resources including a message delivered by Graham in 1998, a 2008 message from BGEA president and CEO Franklin Graham, an article adapted from a message delivered by Anne Graham Lotz in 1996, an End Times article on the basics of the Second Coming, and a couple of Q&As with Billy Graham that includes a question on whether the world will end in 2009, according to news reports.

Through its compilation of resources on the Second Coming of Christ, the BGEA hopes that believers will learn how they can fulfill God’s plan for their life, increase their love for the Savior and grow their faith during these times.

The world renowned evangelist also reminds believers that regardless of when Christ returns, the end of the world does come for each and every single person – the moment that they die.

“[A]nd that could be at any time for any of us. We never know,” Graham states.

Billy Graham ministry focuses on end times – The Christian Messenger

Russia Positions Itself In Middle East

Until Russia can revitalize its naval forces to a much larger degree, its deployments to the Mediterranean contribute more to symbolic and diplomatic activity than being a viable military counterweight to NATO in the region. Yet the Black Sea Fleet in the Med is a significant show of force and a diplomatic irritant and a potential threat to shipping in the Suez Canal and to America’s ally Israel.

The increased Russian naval presence in the region means that the Kremlin is seeking to cultivate Syria as a close regional ally, and is looking to secure additional bases for the Black Sea Fleet besides its current base in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol.

In addition, Russia would also be able to deploy electronic intelligence-gathering ships that could then improve its monitoring capabilities against NATO forces and Syria’s ability to monitor NATO and Israeli transmissions, expanding the previous naval intelligence engagement during the Balkan wars.

Finally, Russian naval forces could deter or disrupt Israeli naval or air assets deployed in wartime against Syria or Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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Syria Says There May Be Possibility of Peace With Israel

Syrian President Bashar Assad said Tuesday that indirect negotiations with Israel have brought “the possibility of peace,” though the two countries still have quite a way to go toward that goal.

Syria’s foreign minister said last week that the talks had not made enough headway for the two sides to hold direct negotiations. In an interview with France-3 television, Assad said officials were working to make them happen.

“Today there is a possibility of peace,” Assad said. “But nonetheless, we cannot say that we are close to achieving peace. We are preparing for direct negotiations. When we reach that step, we will be able to say that we are approaching peace.

“Today, we can only say that we have opened the door to peace,” he said, in remarks in Arabic that were dubbed over in French.

Turkey has mediated a series of indirect negotiations between Syria and Israel in a bid to get the sides to meet face-to-face and end their decades-old enmity. Assad said that direct talks in the future could happen with U.S., French and Turkish backing.

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