Dear Friend,
Welcome to the Friday Five! Every Friday we share our top five articles, stories, and quotes for you to read and share with your friends and church families.
We would be very grateful if you could make a donation of $100, $50, $25, or $10 today <[link removed]> towards our work producing these Friday Fives and fighting for your values on the public square!
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1. NC VALUES: We wish you all a Happy New Year
We wanted to wish all of you a very happy New Year. We are grateful for all that you have helped us accomplish this year (which was a lot). As we turn a page to a new year, we look forward to what we can accomplish together in 2024.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6).
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2. CAROLINA JOURNAL: The gift of religious freedom
"As we remember all that we’re grateful for this Christmas, whether our families, jobs, homes, or comforts, we should consider our right to worship how we please near the top of the list. It may seem an obvious arrangement to us, but it only became so after centuries of bloodshed."
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3. NORTH STATE JOURNAL: Recapping the 2023 General Assembly long session
"The North Carolina General Assembly had a busy year on Jones Street. Over the course of the 2023 session, 704 bills were introduced in the Senate and 895 in the House with 402 making the crossover filing deadline. As of the end of November, 151 bills had become law, including hot topics such as a 12-week limit on abortion, universal school choice expansion and Medicaid Expansion. One of the most significant dates in this year’s session came on Thursday, April 5."
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4. THEDAILYSIGNAL: When Marriage Becomes a Countercultural Phenomenon
"Unfortunately, marriage these days is something of a countercultural phenomenon. According to a 2020 Pew Research survey, the percentage of 23- to 38-year-old Americans who are married steadily decreases by generation: 81% for the Silent Generation, 61% for baby boomers, 53% for Generation X, and 44% for millennials. The percentage of unmarried Americans 15 years or older has risen from 23% in 1950 to 34% in 2022. No one should expect Gen Z to stem the tide, either. According to a Thriving Center of Psychology survey, 41% of Gen Z men and a whopping 52% of Gen Z women believe that marriage is an 'outdated tradition.' Alas, what else would we expect from a generation hopelessly addicted to Chinese TikTok spyware and indoctrinated by left-wing activist teachers to think of the nuclear family as 'patriarchal' and 'repressive'?"
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5. CAROLINA JOURNAL: Parties have a week to resolve key piece of federal election law dispute
"A federal judge has given parties in two North Carolina election law disputes one week to work out a deal that could avoid a possible court order. US District Judge Thomas Schroeder set the seven-day deadline during a hearing Thursday in Winston-Salem. Both suits target provisions within Senate Bill 747. The election reform legislation became law when the Republican-led General Assembly overrode Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto in October."
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Weekly Prayer: NC Officials
LORD, you also have instructed us to pray for our governing officials, and we come to you in the spirit of this petition. We pray for our state government and its executive, legislative, and judicial servants. May they indeed be servants unto the people, and govern in a manner that protects liberty and virtue. In the same spirit, we pray for public servants across our local governments. May they all heed your mandate in Romans 13:4 to be in positions of authority as "God's servant" and for the "good" of the public. They govern in what we confess are difficult times. May they plead with you to give them wisdom, and may your grace to govern wisely be poured out on them.
Protect us from the oppression and loss of freedoms that other countries have experienced, and help us to value and preserve freedom, which we know comes only from You.
"I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free." Acts 7:34
Amen
Will you chip in $100, $50, $25, or even $10 to help the NC Values Coalition continue to fight for your rights? You can donate by clicking here. <[link removed]> <[link removed]>
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Sincerely,
Tami & Team
NC Values
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NC Values Coalition - 9650 Strickland Rd, Suite 103-226, Raleigh, NC 27615-1902, United States
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