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. DAILY SIGNAL: Kansas Voters
Reject Removing ‘Right’ to Abortion From State
Constitution
“Searle said that when she was 23,
she learned she was pregnant with her third child. Her husband told
her he did not want another child and took her to a Planned Parenthood
in Kansas to have an abortion.
Searle remembers that workers at
the abortion clinic compared the tiny baby in her womb to a feather.
She experienced medical complications and had to have another
procedure at Planned Parenthood a week later to remove the remains of
the baby that were missed during the abortion.
Looking back on her abortion, which
occurred in 1983, Searle said she experienced ‘a lot of pressure …to
get it done with and get moving.’ Searle was told that ‘once you get
past this, everything’s fine,’ she recalled. ‘Not in the long term.’
Searle says she voted for the Value Them Both amendment ‘for the
safety of women.’ If voters had approved it, the Value Them Both
amendment would have allowed for greater regulation of abortion in
Kansas, something that Baumgarden says is necessary.”
2. WNG: A college football coach
takes a stand for life
"University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh sent
shockwaves through the sports world last week as news of his pro-life
advocacy surfaced.
'I believe in having the courage to let the unborn be born,'
he told attendees at a pro-life benefit in Plymouth, Mich. 'I love
life. I believe in having a loving care and respect for life and
death. My faith and my science are what drive these beliefs in me.
Quoting from Jeremiah, ‘Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.
Before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to
the nations.’”
3. FOX NEWS: Former NCAA swimmer
forced to compete with Lia Thomas details 'extreme discomfort' in the
locker room
“‘That's not something we were forewarned about, which I
don't think is right in any means, changing in a locker room with
someone who has different parts," Gaines said. "So not only were we
forced to race against a male, we were forced to change in the locker
room with one… And so then we're sitting there not even knowing who to
talk to, who to complain to, because this kind of all happened behind
the scenes and very discreetly.’
Gaines called out the ‘huge lack of accountability’ between
the NCAA and policymaking sides for not protecting the integrity of
women’s sports.
‘I think people forget that women's sports were a protected
group. The category was made because the playing field was not level
by any means when you have them competing against men,’ Gaines said.
‘And so obviously it was created to ensure that fairness. And now that
we are kind of completely flipping that, it devalues what it was
created for.’”
4. FOX NEWS: UK's rugby leagues
ban transgender players from women's games
"’It was a complex and difficult decision and the policy
change was not taken lightly or without thorough and full research and
consultation.’ the council said in a statement on Friday. . . .
After a two-year review, the governing body voted on a
complete ban on transgender women from women’s rugby in England, a
change from its previous policy. In 2019, the RFU assured transgender
women of their inclusion and issued guidelines to be met by all
transgender players before they could play rugby.
‘The RFU Council has determined that until such time as new
further peer-reviewed science is available, a precautionary approach
is appropriate to ensure fair competition and safety of all
competitors,’ it said.”
5. YOU'RE INVITED: Capital
Community Church presents "A City Set on a Hill: Being a Christian in
a Dark World"
Capital Community Church invites you to join them in Raleigh
on August 27th-28th, to hear from Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker,
the hosts of The Just Thinking podcast. They will discuss and answer
your questions on the issues of Social Justice and the Christian's
Relationship to Government.
 WEEKLY PRAYER: LIFE
LORD, we recognize that you are
Sovereign over all creation. We recognize you made man from the dust,
and in your mercy, you crowned creation with man and woman made in
your image. What a wonder it is that you would bestow upon us this
blessing and responsibility! LORD, may we not take this blessing for
granted. We pray that this great responsibility and dignity may
motivate us to love You, our neighbors, and our families
more.
LORD, may we as a culture truly see
and believe that children are a blessing from the LORD—born or unborn;
able or disabled. All children should have an opportunity to
experience the liberty of life. LORD, make us your vehicle to change
our culture into one that cherishes and protects life. Keep at the
forefront of our minds our responsibilities to respect, cherish, and
serve the youngest and oldest in our society.
Finally, LORD, we pray even further
for our children. Across our state, country, and world, an entire
generation of youth have seen their lives and education ruptured by
the pandemic and its closing of schools. Father, as a result so many
of these children are not only wounded by the quality of their
education, but by a likely onslaught of mental illness brought about
by social isolation. LORD, bring them hope and healing as only You
can.
"At that time the disciples came to
Jesus and asked, 'Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of
heaven?' He called a little child to him, and placed the child among
them. And he said: 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become
like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the
greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child
in my name welcomes me. If anyone causes one of these little
ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them
to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in
the depths of the sea.'" (Matthew 18:1-6)
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.
Sincerely,
North Carolina Values Coalition
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