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Website: www.goodnewspress.us Spring 2022
Plan of Salvation:
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whoso-
ever shall believe in him should not per-
ish, but have everlasting life.
Romans 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised him
from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

The Significance & Historical Facts of Easter

The biggest celebration with- • Guards were posted to ty and that there were post-
in Christianity may be keep watch over the tomb. crucifixion sightings of Jesus
Christmas, but the most im- because Jesus had physically
portant celebration is Easter.• On the third day, the risen from the dead. This,
The entire basis for the tomb was found to be empty. combined with the apparent
Christian faith is based on His body could not be found, fulfillment of centuries-old
the events that occurred on nor could the Roman or Jew- prophecies contained in the
the first Easter weekend. ish authorities explain what Jewish Scriptures, firmly es-
While Christmas is about had happened to it. tablished the belief that Jesus
how Jesus came to earth as a • Over the next forty days, was God in the flesh and that
baby, Easter is about the rea-his disciples plus hundreds of he had power and authority
son he came. Christians be- other people claimed to have over life and death.
lieve the whole reason he seen Jesus, spoken with him,
came was to die and to rise eaten with him, and listened This belief in the resurrec-
again. tion of Jesus spread rapidly
to his teachings.
throughout the Roman Em-
These disciples (and others) pire and it continues to
Most historians agree on went to their deaths—some spread today. For nearly
these facts, which are the through torture— 2000 years, Christians have
foundational events of Chris- maintaining that their claims placed their faith in this res-
tianity: of seeing a resurrected Jesus urrected Jesus, believing his
were true. promise that he will someday
• Jesus Christ was executed return to take his followers
by crucifixion on the Friday to be with him throughout
during the Jewish Passover. Those are the historical eternity.
• He was buried in a tomb facts. The significance is
owned by Joseph of Arima- found in the interpretation of
those facts. Christians main-
thea. tain that the tomb was emp-

How the Date of Easter is Determined

The day you set
out Easter baskets is the
result of ancient calcula-
tions involving the spring
equinox, the full moon,
and the date of the Jewish
Passover.
Easter always oc-
curs the Sunday after the
first full moon after
March 21. It always falls
between March 22 and April
25. This year, the first
full moon in March 2021
was March 28, which means
the next Sunday is April
4, the date of Easter in
2021.
What does March 21
have to do with it? That
is the date set, for sim-
plicity's sake, by the
church in 325 AD as the
spring equinox. It isn't
actually the same as the
astronomical equinox,
which can occur on differ-
ent days.
What does Easter
have to do with the Passo-
ver? Jesus instituted
Christian communion at the
Jewish ritual meal, the
Seder. Celebrated by Jews
for more than 3,400 years,
the Seder is part of Pass-
over, when Jews celebrate
the Biblical account of
the Israelites' escape
from 400 years of slavery
in Egypt. Easter is in-
tended to be set in ac-
cord, or even be part of
Passover -- called Pesach
in Hebrew and Pascha in
Greek. Most western lan-
guages use a variation of
Pascha as the word for
Easter, but English is an
exception.
Because the Jewish
lunar calendar and the
Christian solar calendar
don't coincide, Easter and
Passover often occur at
about the same time, but
rarely on the exact same
day. In 2021, Passover be-
gan March 27.
The date of Easter
is currently calculated to
the year 2299. It won't be
on April 4 again until
2083.
 Good News Press - Page 2
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What is Good Friday? Joining Together for the Long Haul

Good Friday is a holiday and down and buried in a By Rev. John B. Sorensen remind us of the power and pro-
celebrated by the Christian tomb belonging to JosephAs Christians, we are encouraged vision of our Heavenly Father.
Church in commemoration of Arimathea. Guards were
to befriend and spend time with
of the day Jesus died on a stationed to watch over the
other believers. Many call this
cross. Christians believe tomb to ensure that no one, Like all relationships, fellowship is
“fellowship.” But true Christian
that the death of Jesus as a especially the disciples, a two-way street. It encourages
willing sacrifice paid the fellowship involves so much more us and builds our faith as we en-
tried to do anything to the
penalty for the sinfulness of body. than simply hanging out and talk- courage, edify, and serve each
humanity. As a result, we ing about the news, sports, and other. Paul tells us in 1 Thessalo-
can receive forgiveness to- weather. True Christian fellow- nians 5 that the Gospel of salva-
day. The Bible reveals that this ship is purposeful in helping us tion is Good News and that we
was all part of God’s plan grow in faith. It’s one of the tools should continue to “encourage
from the beginning. Several God uses to grow us deeper in one another and build each other
Christians around the world Old Testament prophecies Christ. up” (v. 11). This is part of our
consider Jesus to have written centuries earlier ministry.
been God in the flesh—the foretold the crucifixion of
second member of the Trin- Jesus in detail—even be- How does He do that? Well, in Partnership in the Gospel.
essence, fellowship is a partner-
ship based on our shared rela-
tionship with Christ that strives Ultimately, fellowship pushes us
to encourage, edify, and serve to advance the Gospel. We have
one another. Let’s explore that the opportunity to not just en-
further. courage each other to grow in
our faith, but to encourage each
other to share that faith as well.
Shared Relationship. “And let us consider how we may
spur one another on toward love
ity. (The Trinity is the un- fore crucifixion became a and good deeds, not giving up
derstanding that God is one common form of execution. We meet like-minded people meeting together, as some are in
in essence but exists with everyday – in our workplaces, the habit of doing, but encourag-
three centers of person- churches, the gym, community ing one another – all the more as
hood.) Seeing the hope- groups, and even online. Some of you see the Day approach-
So why was the death of
less and sinful condition of Jesus necessary? Accord- these connections become
humanity, he chose to enter ing” (Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV).
ing to Christian teaching, friendships because we share a
into Creation in the form of passion, a goal or an interest. But
the man, Jesus Christ. God is a God of love as
well as a God of justice. His when we meet someone who When we partner together to
love desired to offer for- shares our faith, that connection take the Gospel around the
world, God uses us to change
Arriving as a baby born to a giveness
for its
to all of humanity
sinful rebellion
is richer. We share a relationship
lives for eternity. Isn’t that amaz-
virgin named Mary, Jesus with our Lord and Savior!
grew up among us. At against him. But his justice ing? And that can have an eternal
demanded that wrongs be Christian fellowship goes deeper
about the age of 30, Jesus punished, and the than any friendship. As believers, impact.
punish-
began his public ministry of ment for rebellion against we don’t just share a common
teaching, healing, and pro- God is death. So the solu- faith. We share life together – So here’s the question: Do your
claiming the Kingdom of tion was for God to become the joys and the hardships. “They relationships help you grow in
Heaven. a man and pay the penalty devoted themselves to the your faith? Do they change the
Three years later, the Jew- in our place. apostle’s teaching and to fellow- lives of people around you? God
ish religious leaders (who ship, to the breaking of bread and calls us into true Christian fellow-
felt threatened by Jesus’ to prayer” (Acts 2:42, NIV). ship with other believers around
rising popularity) conspired However, Christians also Sharing testimonies of what us, but not just so we won’t be
against him. The Bible de- recognize that Jesus’ death Christ is doing in and through us lonely. He wants us to join to-
scribes how they paid peo- was only temporary. On the is the foundation for true fellow- gether to share His love with the
ple to give false accusa- ship.
tions against Jesus, imply- third day-the day we know world.
as Easter—his tomb was
ing that Jesus was rebelling found empty. Over the next
_____
against the Roman authori- forty days, hundreds of Source of Encouragement.
ties that were ruling over eyewitnesses reported see- Rev. John B. Sorensen, D.D. is the
Israel at the time. ing Jesus alive. He had President/CEO of Evangelism Explo-
walked with them, taught Fellowship with other believers sion International, headquartered in
Jesus was subsequently them, and eaten with them. helps us grow in our faith. We Arden, N.C. EE has been a leader in
arrested, put on trial, and Their conclusion: Jesus can hold each other accountable equipping Christians to share their
sentenced to execution by had risen from the dead. in spending time reading the Bi- faith for nearly 60 years. For more free
crucifixion. After verifying ble. When we are struggling, our tips and resources, visit evangelismex-
plosion.org or follow John on Twitter
that he was dead by thrust- Christian brothers and sisters can
@JBSorensen.
ing a sword through his come around us and pray. We
side, the Romans allowed are not on this journey alone.
the body to be taken down They are walking beside us and
 Good News Press - Page 3
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The women at the tomb:
Jesus has risen
Very early on Sunday morn-
ing, the women went to Jesus'
tomb, carrying the spices they
had prepared.

They found the stone rolled

away from
the entrance
to the tomb,
so they went
in; but they
did not find
the body of
the Lord Je-
sus.

They
stood there
puzzled
about this,
when sudden-
ly two an-
gels in
bright shining clothes stood by
them. Full of fear, the women
bowed down to the ground as the
angels said to them, "Why are you
looking among the dead for One
who is alive? He is not here; he
has been raised. Remember what he
said to you while he was in Gali-
lee: 'The Son of Man must be
handed over to sinful men, be
crucified, and three days later
rise to life.'"

The women remembered His

words, returned from the tomb,
and told all of these things to
the disciples and all the rest.

The women were Mary Magda-

lene, Joanna, and Mary, the moth-
er of James. They and the other
women told these things to the
apostles. But the apostles
thought that what they said was
nonsense and they did not believe
them.

Peter got up and ran to the

tomb. He bent down and saw the
grave cloths, but nothing else.
Then he went back home, amazed at
what happened.

From the Good News Bible

 Good News Press - Page 4
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The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry Helps
Ukrainians Escape to Poland During Russian Inva-
sion
BELLMAWR, N.J., -- Since the
start of Russia's invasion of
Ukraine on February 24, 2022,
The Friends of Israel
(FOI, www.foi.org) Gospel Min-
istry has been supplying signifi-
cant funds to aid those impacted
in both Ukraine and Poland. FOI
is working with the Jewish
Agency for Israel to help evacu-
ate Ukrainian Jews to Poland.
Sparing no expense to address
this emergency, FOI has sent
funds to its Polish and Ukrainian
workers who have set up two
housing locations for refugees
and are transporting to safety
Jewish people fleeing Russian
aggression. FOI is also sending
aid to small Jewish community
organizations in Ukraine that are
specifically serving those who
cannot escape.
Said an FOI worker
in Ukraine, "It took
me 30 hours to
drive from Kyiv to
the Ukrainian bor-
der with Poland.
The roads were
blocked by the
Ukrainian military.
We waited at the
border for 3 more
days. The border
crossing is a hu-
manitarian disaster
with a line of cars
for 30 km. I saw
many women and
children walking
across the border on
foot. Monday night,
I crossed the border with two
Jewish families from Kyiv in my
car. Finally, after arriving at the
safe house in Poland and four
sleepless nights, I fell asleep for
the first time."
FOI continues to collect funds
from around the world for its
Eastern European Relief Fund.
Every dollar goes exclusively to
the humanitarian effort to pro-
vide safety, shelter, medical
treatment, and survival equip-
ment to men, women, and chil-
dren coping with the trauma of
fleeing their homes. Dr. Mike
Stallard, director of International
Ministries, shared, "We antici-
pate that Jewish refugees will
flee to other European countries,
as the problem appears to be a
long-term issue. The devastating
impact of this invasion has no
immediate end."
The Friends of Israel Gospel
Ministry is a worldwide evangel-
ical ministry proclaiming biblical
truth about Israel and the Messi-
ah, while bringing physical and
spiritual comfort to the Jewish
people. For more than 84 years,
FOI has lovingly supported those
in need in the name of Christ.
Today it has a presence in more
than 15 countries.
For more information or for de-
tails about FOI's radio program,
"The Friends of Israel Today,"
visit FOI's website
at www.foi.org, its Facebook
page or its Twitter feed,
@FOIGM.
SOURCE The Friends of Israel
Gospel Ministry
Convoy of Hope Deploys Teams & Humanitarian
Aid to Poland, Other Strategic Locations for Dis-
placed Ukrainians
PRINGFIELD, Mo., Through
partners across Europe and teams "It's hard for people to decide if
on the ground, Convoy of Hope is they should stay if there's a bomb-
providing shelter, food, water, ing and hear the shooting, or move
hygiene kits and other necessities here and have your family still
to Ukrainian refugees in Poland behind; your heart is broken," she
and other strategic locations. More said. "When we were leaving, my
than 1.7 million Ukrainians have daughter and I just grabbed one of
fled to bordering countries after everything: jeans, sweater, a coat,
war broke
out more
than a week
ago; the
number of
displaced
persons
could reach
5 million,
according to
the United
Nations.
Photo
Courtesy:
Convoy of
Hope baby formula, diapers. We can
skip food for one, two, or three
"The scenes of Ukrainians seeking days, but our babies need enough
shelter and refuge from the war food to get through day by day.
are truly heartbreaking," said Con- When we crossed, we came here.
voy of Hope President Hal Don- Here the volunteers are helping us
aldson. "Convoy is now calling on and love us. We are safe, we are
its vast experience from disaster warm, and I am so grateful to God
responses to bring much-needed that volunteers dedicate their time
help and hope to people fleeing and open their hearts. It's wonder-
the violence." ful."
A team from Convoy of Hope Many fleeing from Kyiv,
headquarters arrived in Poland lastUkraine's capital, have traveled
Wednesday to facilitate the distri-five days to reach the border. Un-
bution of much-needed aid. Since der normal circumstances, the trip
that time, Convoy has procured a would take less than one day.
warehouse in which to store in- However, traffic jams, fuel short-
coming supplies and organize a ages, and damage to roads have
full-scale response. made the journey out of the war
zone much more difficult. As the
"We've seen thousands and thou- war continues to displace women,
sands of people pulling bags, children and elderly individuals,
looking for shelter for tonight. Convoy of Hope is hard at work to
There are lots of women and chil- bring emergency relief.
dren; the kids look dazed and ex-
hausted...they cry easily," said
Jess Heugel, of Convoy of Hope. About Convoy of Hope
"Parents spend lots of time hold- Convoy of Hope is a faith-based
ing and comforting their kids. One organization with a driving pas-
boy fell asleep under his dad's sion to feed the world. With a long
chair as we spoke to his father." history as an early responder in
times of natural disasters, Convoy
One refugee, Valia, spoke to a of Hope has been a Four Star
member of Convoy's team in Po- Charity as recognized by Charity
land. She fled the Ukraine with Navigator since 2002. Convoy of
her 18-month-old grandson, leav- Hope has served more than 193
ing behind her husband, daughter, million people since it was found-
and other family members who ed in 1994. For more information,
stayed behind to fight, or support please visit convoyofhope.org.
those who were.
 Good News Press - Page 5
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TBN to Launch Nightly Current Events Pro-
gram to Cover Top Headlines From a
Christian Perspective
'Centerpoint' Airs Exclu- tian perspective," said TBN
sively on TBN Beginning president and CEO Matt
Monday, March 28 Crouch. "We like to say that
the Bible is always relevant
LOS ANGELES, -- TBN in any situation we face in
announces a brand new life. And Centerpoint will
nightly news commentary give us the ability to speak
program debuting on March unapologetically into the
28th at 7:30pm ET & PT. Christian worldview. More
The first program of its kind than ever, this news-driven
for the global net- generation deserves to know
work, Centerpoint aims to be where the eternal plumb line
a reliable source for a Bibli- of truth is — and then decide
cal perspective on the trend- for themselves."
ing headlines and top news
topics. Audiences can tune in to a
spe-
Hosted by veteran journalist cial Centerpoint roundtable
and former Fox News corre- preview on Friday, March
spondent Doug McKelway 25th, starting at 8pm ET.
alongside TBN host Blynda
Lane, the program will fea-
ture a nightly lineup of news About Trinity Broadcast-
professionals and a ing Network:
roundtable of experts and TBN is the world's most
respected Christian leaders watched faith-and-family
to discuss the issues of the broadcasting network,
day. reaching over 175 nations
"We're at a pivotal time in with inspirational pro-
history, where people are gramming in 14 languages
starving–not for 'your truth' and on 32 global net-
or 'my truth'--but for THE works. TBN, the original
truth," says Doug pioneer of faith-based tele-
McKelway, "That's what we vision, is expanding into
plan to offer." other marketplaces such
as publishing and innova-
Centerpoint has secured re- tive digital content in vari-
nowned news producer Mi- ous formats, all designed
chael Clemente who brings to reach every viewer de-
decades of experience from
working with Fox and ABC mographic with the life-
News and will also feature changing message of hope
host of TBN's The Watch- and grace. To find out
man Erick Stackelback to more about the TBN Net-
serve as a correspondent. works, visit us at tbn.org.
"Our dynamic new nightly
program, Centerpoint, is
poised to reach people every-
where with a fresh take on
current events from a Chris-
 Good News Press - Page 6
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 Good News Press - Page 7
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Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine
Nearing Midnight (Weekly Com- become part of Germany. With- zero after their defeat in World withdrawal from Afghanistan
mentary – in months, all of Czechoslovakia War I and II. Hey, I guess you last summer.
www.raptureready.com) fell under Hitler’s control. can’t have WW III without Ger- After 20 years of war, Putin saw
by Todd Strandberg many. the U.S. abandon Afghanistan
Putin has already taken over again to the Taliban – a with-
When the USSR fell apart in Ukraine territory in the 2014 Since we don’t want to get into a drawal that made the Soviet re-
1992, the nation of Ukraine Crimea invasion. The Republic of nuclear war with Russia, sanc- treat from the same country 30
found itself in possession of Crimea declared its independ- tions are the preferred weapon years earlier look orderly. Biden
thousands of nuclear weapons. ence from Ukraine following a against Putin. In sanctions an- has not been on top of the
To prevent these weapons from disputed referendum, and then nounced last week, the U.S. and Ukraine situation—any more
falling into the hands of terror- Russian Troops moved in. its allies are also targeting than he has been on top of any-
ists, an agreement was arranged The fighting is not going well for “technology exports” in the oil thing. Just last month, he
that all former Soviet states the Russian side. Many of the refining sector, which they say seemed to be saying he would
would hand their nuclear mate- Russian troops appear to be could help the U.S. move toward allow Russia to take a portion of
rial over to Russia for safekeep- poorly trained. Some captured its goal of “degrading Russia’s Ukraine. Two days before Putin
ing. Back in 1994, Ukraine decid- soldiers said they were never status as a leading energy sup- acted, Biden said Putin had de-
ed to give up those weapons in told they were going to invade plier over time.” Money ac- cided to invade its neighbor,
exchange for the U.S., U.K., and another country. By Western counts by Putin and his thug which Putin obviously took as an
Russia guaranteeing the coun- standards, things look bad for underlings have been locked up. open invitation.
try’s security. The agreement is Putin, but I see him using the
known as the Budapest Memo- same tactics he used to win Many companies are taking Former televangelist Pat Robert-
randum. Today, Ukraine’s lead- against Islamic groups in Syria. their own action. Nike and Apple son came out of his retirement
ers probably think they should He will just keep bombing until closed their online stores in Rus- to weigh in on the situation. Ac-
have held on to a few nuclear there is nothing left standing. If sia. The world’s biggest shipping cording to him, Vladimir Putin is
missiles. he loses 10,000 troops, soldiers, lines, MSC and Maersk, sus- being willed by God to conduct
it won’t matter to him one bit. pended container shipping to the invasion as a way of trigger-
The threat to Ukraine from Rus- The fighting has done wonders and from Russia. Airplane giants ing the End Times. I always ex-
sia is not something that just to unify NATO. Member nations Boeing and Airbus have both pect Pat’s theology to mess up,
recently popped up. Vladimir are having a let’s arm Ukraine stopped supplying parts and but in this case, I generally agree
Putin has amassed more than party. The Dutch government is support to Russian airlines. with him. Putin is the perfect
150,000 Russian troops at the sending rocket launchers for air Many booze shops have match for the Gog leader.
Russian border of Ukraine since defense. The Estonians are stopped selling Russian Vodka. Ukraine may make Putin so iso-
last year. The build-up began on sending Javelin antitank mis- Putin has a $650 billion cash lated that he tries to change the
the 90th day of Biden’s presi- siles. The Poles and the Latvians hoard to help him weather the game by launching an attack on
dency, and no one was really are sending Stinger surface-to- sanctions. He also knows that Israel and being joined by a host
paying attention. There was no air missiles. The Czechs are nations still need to buy his oil, of demonically inspired Muslim
alarm at the State Department sending machine guns, sniper which has soared 20% since he nations.
when Putin had no compunction rifles, pistols, and ammunition. invaded Ukraine. Putin recently “For we wrestle not against flesh
about stating that Ukraine sold all of Russia’s U.S. bonds and blood, but against principal-
should not exist at all. And Germany, long allergic to and has accumulated a large ities, against powers, against the
Putin’s strategy is reminiscent of sending weapons into conflict horde of gold. rulers of the darkness of this
Hitler taking over the Sudeten- zones, is sending Stingers as The willingness of Putin to world, against spiritual wicked-
land. Hitler was worried sick well as other shoulder-launched evade Ukraine has to be related ness in high places” (Ephesians
about Germans that lived in are- rockets. Germany has also de- to Joe Biden’s presidency. He 6:12).
as of Czechoslovakia. They were cided to vastly increase its mili- has watched the weakness of –Todd Strandberg –
being pursued by the evil tary budget, which oddly the deteriorating President. He www.raptureready.com
Czechs, and he demanded they enough was reduced to near watched America’s disastrous

Ask the Expert: Are there any tax advantages to owning a home?
There can be all
sorts of financial ad-
vantages to home owner-
ship and some tax ad-
vantages, too.
The primary finan-
cial advantage of home-
ownership, as opposed to
renting, is that the
housing payment never
changes. So your mort-
gage will stay the same
for 30 years, but your
rent is very likely to
go up. Every mortgage
payment you make is a
bonus for you, not a
landlord. It's even pos-
sible that your mortgage
payment will be signifi-
cantly less than monthly
rent.
Meanwhile, if the
house is well main-
tained, its value is
likely go up with time.
Your home investment is
less likely to be af-
fected by inflation.
Of course, there
are many other ad-
vantages that are not
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and can make it look the
way you want while with-
out worrying about a
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At tax time, sev-
eral deductions may give
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- Mortgage inter-
est, a portion of your
mortgage payment, is in-
terest and that can be
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each year telling how
much interest you paid.
- Property taxes.
These are often included
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You can deduct up to
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es each year.
- Home office de-
duction. Self-employed
people can take a deduc-
tion for a percentage of
their housing expenses.
- Mortgage points.
If you paid points on a
mortgage, these can
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- As you pay off your
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So, when you need to make
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pay.
 Good News Press - Page 8
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New Study Reveals: Most Americans are open or
very open to talking about Faith.
In a new study, Lifeway Re-
search Group, in partnership
with Evangelism Explosion In-
ternational, interviewed more
than 1,000 Americans to find
out how open they are to talk-
ing about their faith. They
found that 66% were open or
very open to having a conversa-
tion about faith with a friend.
When the question changed
from friend to stranger, 51%
were still open to that conver-
sation.
The study also asked questions
to gauge the availability that
Americans have to the Gospel
through personal connections.
It found that six out of ten peo-
ple say that many of their
friends who claim to be Chris-
tians rarely talk about their
faith. Also, it found that 40%
say they wouldn’t think about
faith on their own if a friend or
family member did not bring it
up. Males aged 18-34 were the
most likely to agree to that
statement.
those materials were intro-
duced. Conversely, when the
conversation was personal,
Americans were more interest-
ed. When meeting someone
new, 69% say they are open or
very open to hearing their life
story if it includes faith.
“Our mission at EE is to equip
Christians to have the confi-
dence to share the Gospel natu-
rally, lovingly, and intentionally
with family, friends, and yes,
even strangers,” says Sorensen.
“We imagine a world where
every believer is a witness for
Christ to His Glory.”
Evangelism Explosion Interna-
tional, founded sixty years ago,
trains Christians how to share
their faith by asking two diag-
nostic questions as a start to a
conversation about faith:
Do you know for certain
that if you were to die
tonight you would be
with God in Heaven?

When asked if they would want Suppose you were

to hear why someone thinks standing before God and
their faith helps with a core hu- he were to ask you why
man need, 69% of Americans should I let you into my
said, yes. Heaven what would you
say?
“Now, perhaps more than ever,
people are open to conversa- When asked those two ques-
tions about faith, yet few Chris- tions, Lifeway found that 80%
tians actually take the oppor- of Americans say that it is im-
tunity to engage in personal portant to have certainty, while
evangelism,” says Dr. John B. only 38% said it is because of
Sorensen, President and CEO of their trust in Jesus Christ alone.
Evangelism Explosion Interna-
tional. Then He said to His disciples,
“The harvest truly is plentiful,
Interestingly, the study asked but the laborers are few. There-
about various methods of evan- fore pray to the Lord of the har-
gelism. Social media, pam- vest to send out laborers into
phlets, and apps were all deter- His harvest.” -Matthew 9:37-38
rents in conversations about (NKJV)
faith. About one in three people
were less interested when
 Good News Press - Page 9
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Get the most out of Easter ham with easy

ham and beans
If you've got a pile of leftover ham after
your Easter feast and you're not in the mood to eat
ham sandwiches for a solid week, try a pot of ham and
beans. This filling, flavorful dish reheats well,
keeps in the refrigerator for several days and can be
frozen to be eaten later. Don't be afraid to experi-
ment with flavors or add in extra vegetables or meats
that you want to use up.

Ingredients
1 pound dry great northern beans
About 6 ounces bacon, diced
1/2 pound (or more) cooked ham, diced
2 to 3 fresh sausage links (optional)
1 small onion, chopped
2 to 3 carrots, chopped
1 to 1-1/2 quarts of stock (use less for a thicker
soup)
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon pepper (or more to taste)
2 to 3 sprigs of fresh thyme (or about a teaspoon
dried)
Scant 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Optional: 1/4 teaspoon (or more) cayenne pepper

Rinse dried beans, then soak overnight in salted water

(at least eight hours). In a medium-hot pot or Dutch
oven, render bacon and then remove as much fat as you
want, but keep some. If you're adding sausage, drop
sausages into hot fat and brown (leave them whole dur-
ing the cooking process), then add onion and carrots.
When the onions are translucent and the carrots have
softened slightly, add the beans and diced ham and
stir to distribute the rendered fat. Add stock and
stir, then add spices. Heat until bubbling, then re-
duce heat, cover and simmer for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, or
until beans are tender. Remove thyme sprigs, bay
leaves and sausages. Slice the sausages and add back
to the pot, discard the bay leaves and thyme. Add more
pepper if desired -- you likely won't need more salt.
Serve hot.

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What Secret Rapture?

by RR@admin2 Category: tians hold in the workplace.
Pretribulation Rap- Many businesses will be para-
ture, Todd Strandberg lyzed by the loss of key per-
sonnel; the economy will suf-
Many Christians in the pro- fer a devastating blow; and
phetic realm today believe millions of people, who had
that when the rapture takes friends and family members
place, very few individuals raptured, will be terrified. The
left behind will understand rapture will create a media
the true reason for its occur- event that will rival any
rence. The common reasoning breaking news event from the
portrays the people left be- past. If you turned on your
hind as being stunned at first, television, you would find 24-
but then quickly developing hour-coverage on every chan-
some sort of amnesia. The nel. The President would be
idea that no one will pay any calling emergency meeting
lasting attention to what after emergency meeting, and
would have to be a cataclys- churches would be filled to
mic event seems hard to be- overflowing.
lieve. This is especially true
since so much information
about the rapture has already How the Devil Will Deceive
been disseminated in the form the World
of millions of books, radio or Right after the rapture, mil-
TV broadcasts, and even in lions of people will find
the form of bumper stickers: “religion,” repenting of every
“In Case Of Rapture This Car sin they have committed–and
Will Be Unmanned.” of some they haven’t. The
prophecy section in all Chris-
tian bookstores will be
How the Idea of a Secret Rap- cleaned out, and you may
ture Became Predominant need reservations to attend
Most Christian writings, Sunday church services. Well,
when it comes to the world’s maybe not at all churches.
reaction regarding the rapture,
paint a picture of total igno- The world will be in a state of
rance of what has happened. supreme chaos, and out of
The common understanding this mess will arise the man
is, in order to have the Anti- who will have an answer to
christ come to power, a blan- every question. This man, the
ket of ignorance needs to be Antichrist, has been repeated-
thrown over all tribulation ly mentioned in the New Tes-
events. The unsaved typically tament. Paul the Apostle
say, “Where did everyone spoke of him frequently. The
go?” This thought process has Antichrist will be the greatest
dominated rapture writings salesman in history because
for the past 25 years. I believe he will sell the people the big-
the whole purpose of the rap- gest lie ever. Satan will be so
ture is to get people’s atten- impressed with him that he
tion. In contrast to what some will give this man his full
authors think, information power. Paul also stated that
about the rapture permeates because the people will have
society, so much so that the no pleasure in the truth, God
occurrence of the rapture will will send them strong delu-
likely cause a good deal of sion that they may be
weeping and wailing. damned. Exactly what that
delusion is, we can only
Will the World Take Notice guess. What methodology the
of the Rapture? Antichrist will use to explain
The world will most certainly away the rapture, I have no
take notice when the rapture idea. Some say he will cite
occurs. If the Statue of Liber- space aliens as the reason,
ty suddenly vanished from and some say the explanation
New York Harbor, ABC, will be that they went into
NBC, CBS, and CNN would another dimension to receive
break from regular program- better understanding. If we
ming to cover this marvel. To are truly grounded in the
have millions of people disap- Word of God, no lie, no mat-
pear without a trace, the me- ter how beguiling, will be
dia storm cannot be imagined. able to shake us loose from
If one car or airplane crashed the truth.
without a driver or pilot, it
would be a major news item.
After the rapture, the media
will have thousands of exam-
ples to choose from. Think of
the vital positions that Chris-

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Waiting in the Wings :: By Jan Markell
Gog is stirring, and evil is rising.
The bear has always been wicked,
but now it is as though Mr. Putin is
possessed. He is showing aggres-
sion not seen in decades. Observers
say he has transformed recently into
ultimate evil, and with the images
playing out in front of us, that is
obvious.
Nuclear forces are now alerted in
Russia. Talk about perilous
times (II Timothy). Israel is on alert
because we know Vladimir Putin
will not stop with Ukraine. Much
more territory is in his sights, and
he longs for the spoil (wealth)
stored up in Israel (Ezekiel 38-39).
Society became fear-based two
years ago with the pandemic, which
opened the door for government
overreach. More and more, the
world longs for a leader, a Mr. Fix-
It. Right now, such a person is not
prominent. He may be obscure at
this time, but he is waiting in the
wings.
The Church will never know who
the Antichrist is, and the leader of
the Russian invasion is not the An-
tichrist. But Vladimir Putin is
“Gog-esque.” His ultimate goal
could be “the mountains of Israel”
(Ezekiel 38:8). Thanks to this blun-
dering invasion, more than ever, he
needs the natural resources and oth-
er “wealth” of Israel.
The conflict in Ukraine is an end-
time turning point. It is much more
than “wars and rumors of wars”
predicted in the Bible for the end-
of-days. It is further destabilizing a
world that is already groaning, fear-
ful and weary.
It is impossible to keep up with the
signs of the times. But the world
lacks a strong, forceful leader. You
cannot point to a capital in the
world today that reflects leadership.
Good News Press - 11
And that’s when tyrants rise.
One wonders if it is 1942 or 2022.
Watching refugees on the run, hav-
ing left possessions, people and
even pets behind, tears at the
heart. One day they had a normal,
prosperous life, and the next, they
were being hunted. The strong, and
particularly bullies, always want to
destroy the weak.
Is this a temporary catastrophe, or
is it leading to WWIII? How does it
fit into biblical prophecy? When
will this man who is waiting in the
wings announce his arrival? We
have more questions than answers.
We just know that God is allowing
much to happen so that all things
fall into place.
The globalist cabal must keep stir-
ring things up with pandemics,
wars, economic peril, uncertainty,
and more. To reset the world to
their New World Order plan, the
old must be riddled with confusion
and chaos.
The wars of this Church Age pale
in significance to the mayhem and
trauma of the Tribulation. You
want no one you love left behind.
Signs are a harbinger of His return.
We are seeing such events happen
closer together, in real-time, just as
the Bible predicted. You can almost
hear the hoofbeats of the Four
Horsemen, which means the disap-
pearance of the Church via the Rap-
ture is imminent.
Are you ready for the Rapture?
“For whoever calls on the Name of
the Lord Jesus Christ, will be
saved” (Romans 10:13).
Awaiting His Return,
Jan Markell
Olive Tree Ministries
olivetreeviews.org
www.raptureready.com
Good news at sale.
tax time on If you meet these
three tests, you can exclude
your home up to $250,000 in profit
sale from your taxable income.
If you are married and filing
Here are three words a joint return, you can ex-
you don't hear everyday: clude up to $500,000 in
profit. At least one spouse
Tax-free money.
must have lived in the home
for two of the five years pri-
There aren't too
or to the sale.
many things you can say
that about, but for many
homeowners that sell, it is The tax rules also
true since profits on most allow for some special cir-
cumstances.
home sales are excluded
from taxable income.
If your spouse dies
According to Turbo- and you have not remarried,
you can count the period
Tax, most home sellers don't
even have to report home that the deceased spouse
owned and used the proper-
sales to the IRS.
ty as the test for use. Mili-
tary or foreign service per-
You exclude home
sonnel can often get an ex-
sale profit from your taxable
ception to the use test. There
income with three tests:
are also some exceptions in
case of divorce or separa-
1. Ownership: You tion.
owned the home as your
main residence for at least
Of course, if you are
two years of the five years
lucky enough to make more
prior to sale.
than $250,000 (or $500,000
if you are married and filing
2. Use: The home jointly), the situation chang-
was your main residence for es. These profits are consid-
at least two years of the five ered capital gains and are
years prior to the sale. So if taxed. Depending on your
you lived in a house for 10 income, they can be taxed
years and then rented it out from 0 to 20 percent.
for two years before you
sold, you would qualify for Retirees who show
this exclusion. this kind of profit on a home
sale should speak to a finan-
3. Timing: You did cial advisor, since profits
not sell another house and that large could increase in-
exclude profit from that sale come and Medicare premi-
within two years prior to the ums.
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Romans Road To Salvation

unto righteousness; and with
Romans 3:23 "For all have the mouth confession is made
sinned, and come short of the unto salvation."
glory of God."
Romans 10:13 "For whosoev-
Romans 6:23a "For the wages er shall call upon the name of
of sin is death, but the gift of the Lord shall be saved."
God is eternal life through Je-
sus Christ our Lord." Pray this Prayer: if you want
to be Saved: Lord Jesus, for-
Romans 5:8, "But God com- give me for all of my sins. I be-
mendeth his love toward us, lieve that you died on the
in that, while we were yet sin- cross. And that you were bur-
ners, Christ died for us." ied, and on the third day, God
the father raised you from the
Romans 10:9,10 "That if thou dead. And I ask that you come
shalt confess with thy mouth into my heart and be me
the Lord Jesus, and shalt be- Lord and Savior. Thank You
lieve in thine heart that God Jesus for Saving me. Amen.
hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved. For
with the heart man believeth

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