Dear Jack,


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 towards our work producing these Friday Fives and fighting for your values on the public square!

1. NC VALUES: Early Voting Has Begun


Yesterday was the first day you had the opportunity to vote in person and help determine whether we elect officials to office who advance your values, or oppose them. To help you save time, vote wisely, and prayerfully select the best candidates, we’ve put together a number of election-related resources, which you can find here on our 2024 NC Values Voter Toolkit.


As in years past, we have partnered with iVoterGuide to rate candidates for North Carolina elections from a Biblical pro-values worldview. In addition to containing our sponsored iVoterGuide, the toolkit also lets you lookup important election dates, review our legislative scorecard, access our endorsed candidates list, view our new 2024 party platform comparison, and includes a number of other pro-voter tools designed to save you time and equip you to vote wisely.


We hope you find these tools useful, and we strongly encourage you to get out today and vote early. You just never know what can happen on election day.


Read more: https://ncvalues.org/early-voting-has-begun/

2. NC VALUES: Thank You For Celebrating With Us Yesterday


Yesterday we had the distinguished honor of hosting our Celebration of NC Values event. We were joined by over 350 champions of Christian Values who came together to lift up and celebrate the gifts of life, family, and freedom. In addition to having a great time and eating some great food, we got to hear Dr. Rosaria Butterfield's amazing story. Rosaria is a former tenured professor of English and women’s studies at Syracuse University, where she experienced a profound spiritual transformation.


The memories of Thursday will be with us for a long time, and we’re sincerely touched, as we have been ever since our founding nearly fifteen years ago, by the generosity and support for North Carolina Values Coalition’s mission from friends and supporters like you.


This year we are honored to have a generous matching gift of $60,000. Every new donation or increased donation will be matched dollar for dollar. I hope you will be a part of the tremendous work we are doing here at NC Values by making a Celebration donation today.


Donate: https://secure.anedot.com/nc-values-coalition/celebration-online

3. CAROLINA JOURNAL: Stein (Democrat Candidate for Governor) Argues at 4th Circuit Against NC Abortion Pill Restrictions


“North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is making his case against North Carolina’s abortion pill restrictions at the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals.”


“‘North Carolina possesses the sovereign authority to protect the health and welfare of its citizens. Yet the district court issued a sweeping decision declaring that state ‘safety-related restrictions’ on high-risk abortion drugs are impliedly preempted because they pose an obstacle to a ‘comprehensive regulatory system’ set by the federal government,’ wrote lawyers representing state lawmakers. The Washington, DC-based Alliance Defending Freedom makes up part of legislative leaders’ legal team.


The NC Values Institute, American Center for Law and Justice, Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, Heartbeat International, and Advancing American Freedom filed briefs in August supporting state mifepristone restrictions.”


Read more: https://www.carolinajournal.com/stein-argues-at-4th-circuit-against-nc-abortion-pill-restrictions/

4. AP DILLON: Robinson Files $50M Defamation Lawsuit Against CNN


"North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate for governor, has filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN and a former adult video store employee.


The lawsuit includes two counts of defamation and defamation per se against Louis Love Money and CNN, respectively. It seeks compensatory, special and punitive damages, as well as discharge of any income the defendants have made from their alleged defamatory statements."


Read more: https://nsjonline.com/article/2024/10/robinson-files-50m-defamation-lawsuit-against-cnn/

5. FILED: Our Sister Organization, the NC Values Institute, Filed Another Important Amicus Brief


Our sister 501(c)(3) organization, the NC Values Institute), filed an important pro-parental rights amicus brief this month in the Supreme Court’s U.S. v. Skrmetti case. The brief sides with Tennessee law and urges the Court to affirm the Sixth Circuit's decision, arguing that the law preserves the fundamental right of parents to the care, custody, and control of their minor children—including medical decisions. Check out the brief for yourself below.


Read more: https://ncvalues.org/u-s-v-skrmetti-amicus-brief/

Weekly Prayer: Freedom


LORD, you have blessed us with a spiritual liberty that is so wonderful and beyond description, that it can only be understood through experiencing a life-giving relationship with Christ. However, we also recognize that in your grace, you have blessed our country with a political liberty that enables us to openly proclaim the experience of a life lived in the freedom of the Gospel.


LORD, as individuals and as a nation, may we never take the inalienable right of religious freedom for granted. Right now our country has faced a rapid increase in the number of attacks made against this cherished right. We have seen groups across our public arena increase in boldness and frequency their smears against religious liberty. They claim it is bigotry, when we know it is the security of the greatest of all possible loves.


Be with your people and our country as it continues to protect the constitutional right protected by our nation’s Founders. Be with legislators and the Supreme Court, as they determine through their actions the protection of this particular and fundamental freedom. 


“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)


“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13)


“Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God.” (1 Peter 2:16)


Amen