An elderly survivor of a Soviet-era concentration camp was among the seven convicted this month for blocking access to an abortion clinic in a northern suburb of Detroit.

In a press release published Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that 89-year-old Eva Edl and six other defendants were found guilty for their involvement on Aug. 27 in a “blockade of a reproductive health care clinic in Sterling Heights, Michigan.”

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Edl was forced into a concentration camp as a child in the 1940s by Yugoslavian dictator Josip Broz Tito, a communist, before ultimately fleeing to the United States.

The defendants were convicted of a felony conspiracy against rights — a statute originally intended to be used against the vigilantism of the Ku Klux Klan — and a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. A sentencing hearing is forthcoming.

In addition to Edl, the jury convicted Chester Gallagher, Heather Idoni, Joel Curry, Justin Phillips, Cal Zastrow as well as his daughter, Eva Zastrow. The conspiracy charge alone could result in a 10-and-a-half-year prison sentence for each defendant.

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The charges against the seven defendants were born out of a peaceful protest, where the group stood outside the Northland Family Planning Clinic in Sterling Heights, Michigan, alongside other pro-lifers. Edl and Idoni were additionally convicted for their participation in a pro-life protest at the Women’s Health Clinic in Saginaw, Michigan.

Edl credited her faith in God for giving her the strength to endure the trial and noted that suffering for Jesus’ sake is spiritually refining her.

To read the full story, visit our content partners at Faithwire.

Reprinted with permission from faithwire.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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From chicken strips to streaming flicks, Chick-fil-A is adding original content to its menu.

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The Atlanta-based restaurant chain is reportedly in conversation with a number of major production companies, including studios that make family-friendly content, according to Deadline.

Among the studios purportedly being considered is Glassman Media, the company behind the NBC show “The Wall,” and Sugar23, which is behind Netflix series “13 Reasons Why.” Chick-fil-A is interested in creating a 10-episode gameshow.

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While Deadline is reporting the streaming platform could launch sometime this year, a Chick-fil-A spokesperson told Axios it did not have “any news to share at this time.”

To read the full story, visit our content partners at Faithwire.

Reprinted with permission from faithwire.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo is behind bars for something many do every day: he posted on Facebook.

Abdo, a Yemini asylum seeker, has been in prison for two-and-a-half years because — after converting from Islam to Christianity — he began discussing theological matters in a private Facebook group with other recent converts to Christianity.

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This week, the Alliance Defending Freedom International, the religious liberty advocacy group representing Abdo, announced the persecuted believer has declared a hunger strike in a recent letter sent to his wife and family.

Abdo was reportedly arrested by Egyptian authorities in 2021 for participating in a Facebook group, answering questions for and fostering conversations with people who had converted from Islam to Christianity. All of this happened as Abdo was living in Egypt after registering with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as an asylum seeker who fled Yemen after becoming a Christian.

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The bogus charges the 54-year-old believer is facing, according to Amnesty International, include “joining a terrorist group” and “defamation of the Islamic religion.”

In the letter, originally written in Arabic before being translated into English by ADF, Abdo expressed how much he loves and misses his wife and family, writing, “I pray to God that he will protect you and make you successful in all your situation[s] of your life. And my prayer is that God will unite us together soon.”

He went on to inform his loved ones that he has started a hunger strike over the persecution he’s facing.

To read the full story, visit our content partners at Faithwire.

Reprinted with permission from faithwire.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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Country superstar Carrie Underwood lent her vocal chops to a church in Franklin, Tennessee, over the weekend, where she helped lead a local congregation in worship.

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The “Cowboy Casanova” singer-songwriter joined the worship team at Rolling Hills Community Church on Sunday as they sang “Goodness of God” by Bethel Music and well-known worship leader Jenn Johnson.

A portion of Underwood’s surprise appearance was posted by fan accounts on Instagram.

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A post shared by Jennifer ❤️ 𝓑𝓮𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓵𝓜𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓬𝓑𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼 (@bethelmusicbelievers)

Underwood, 41, has been outspoken about her Christian faith ever since her song, “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” topped music charts in 2005. She has recorded several faith-themed songs in the years since, including “Temporary Home” and the Grammy-winning “Something in the Water” in 2014. Then, in 2021, the country star released “My Savior,” an album of Christian hymns.

To read the full story, visit our content partners at Faithwire.

Reprinted with permission from faithwire.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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Joel Chernoff went to sleep in Israel on Oct. 6 of last year and woke up to a war.

As the executive director of the Joseph Project International, one of the largest non-governmental organizations aiding the Jewish state, Chernoff immediately went to work.

In the months since the terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel, the JPI has provided tens of thousands of meals, equipment for the Israeli military, and other resources to the country. There’s one major threat, though, facing Israel, and it isn’t earning a great deal of media attention: the possibility of an attack to the country’s power grid.

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That concern has been heightened by the looming threat of war with Iran and its terrorist group proxies, like Hezbollah, according to reporting from CBN News. In late June, one senior state electricity official, Shaul Goldstein, claimed — with some pushback — a cyberattack to Israel’s power grid could cripple the small nation in just a matter of days, according to The Times of Israel.

It’s important to note there have been some reports suggesting Iran has supplied Hezbollah with electromagnetic pulse weapons, or EMPs. Those alleged weapons, should they be deployed, “could destroy all communications systems, including the electricity infrastructure,” in Israel, Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida reported after hearing from an unnamed Iranian source.

If that happens, such an attack could potentially “incapacitate the country,” Chernoff told CBN News.

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“That threat has been leveled — it’s been pushed out there — and so the Joseph Project International … has been ramping up and purchasing generators that can be positioned around the country … so that there’s a plan B for many of these communities around the country,” he explained, noting providing generators in key locations throughout Israel would help “keep things moving operationally” if a cyberattack occurred.

Each generator comes with a roughly $10,000 price tag and is capable of propping up “essential services,” Chernoff added, further explaining the JPI has a strategically located warehouse in Jerusalem and a vast network of delivery vehicles throughout the country, all ready to distribute generators and other supplies as needed.

As a humanitarian organization with messianic interests, the Joseph Project International is concerned with more than just supplying for Israelis’ physical needs. The JPI, Chernoff said, has become a supplier of goods and resources to messianic groups in the country.

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He went on to explain that, while Israel has strict laws against proselytizing, workers with those organizations don’t shy away from sharing the Gospel when they are asked about it.

To read the full story, visit our content partners at Faithwire.com.

Reprinted with permission from faithwire.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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Matthiew Stavkovy — a 13-year-old boy known for his dedication to his faith — was memorizing Revelation 21 when his life was tragically taken in a robbery of a camera.

Prosecutors said Matthiew was killed July 16, when he and his 15-year-old sister and an underage friend went to Turnkey Park in Kent, Washington, to sell a camera and its accompanying equipment, according to the Kent Reporter. The sale was arranged through the online marketplace OfferUP.

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Over the weekend, a memorial service was held at Way to Salvation Church to remember Matthiew’s life.

“On July 16, 2024, at the age of 13, Matthiew’s heart stopped beating after a tragic event took place at a park where someone decided to put a bullet through his back,” said Michael Stavkovy, Matthiew’s 18-year-old brother, who later added, “Everything he did, he did to the best of his ability. From serving God, to his schoolwork, playing sports and everything else in between.”

The elder Stavkovy son said Matthiew was “very involved in church and making sure his life was solely devoted to living for the glory of God,” telling those attending the service that his brother’s too-short life “reflected the bright light that Jesus Christ is.”

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“Matthiew was a young preacher of the Good News of Jesus Christ,” he said with tears in his eyes. “He loved to sing with his family. He also sang in the kids’ choir and was eagerly waiting until he could start singing in youth choir this fall. Matthiew played many instruments, starting with piano, guitar and trumpet with his band at church. He also memorized chapters in the Bible and would say it at church.”

Michael Stavkovy said Matthiew was in the midst of memorizing Revelation 21 when he was fatally shot. The passage in the final book of the Bible addresses a new heaven and earth.

“Right before he passed to be with the Lord, he was memorizing Revelation Chapter 21 and was planning to say it in church,” Michael Stavkovy said. “Matthiew is now in heaven not only reading about all the wonders of heaven, but seeing it with his own eyes.”

Matthiew was baptized at just 6 years old and was faithful in his pursuit of his faith, according to his brother.

To read the full story, visit our content partners at Faithwire.com.

Reprinted with permission from Faithwire.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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Close to four years after he stepped down as president of Liberty University in Central Virginia, Jerry Falwell, Jr., and the college’s board of trustees reached a settlement on all pending legal matters.

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In a statement, Liberty executives and Falwell said they “sincerely regret” the lengthy and difficult legal process that has followed the former president’s tumultuous exit from the university in August 2020, which came amid fallout over reports of a years-long sexual tryst that involved Falwell, his wife, Becki, and a Miami-based pool assistant named Giancarlo Granda.

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“The university appreciates and acknowledges the many contributions of Jerry Falwell, Jr., during more than three decades of service to the university in various capacities, including his 13 years as president and agree that he was instrumental in building Liberty into the world-class Christian institution it is today,” Liberty said in a press release, according to WSET-TV.

Both parties said they “have reached a global resolution agreement settling all outstanding disputes on both legal and personal matters,” adding, “This agreement is grounded in a firm commitment to protecting and preserving Liberty’s original mission of developing Christ-centered men and women with the values, knowledge, and skills essential to impact the world.”

To read the full story, visit our content partners at Faithwire.com.

Reprinted with permission from faithwire.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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Christian celebrity Candace Cameron Bure took to her Instagram account this week to condemn what she described as the “disgusting” performance in which drag queens depicted a real-life representation of Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic “Last Supper” painting.

“To watch such an incredible and wonderful event that’s gonna take place over the next two weeks and see the opening ceremonies completely blaspheme and mock the Christian faith with their interpretation of the ‘Last Supper’ was disgusting,” she said in the post. “And it made me so sad.”

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While she acknowledged that the depiction angered her, Bure said she was more so grieved for the “souls” who have not entered into a relationship with Jesus.

Bure referenced Galatians 6:7-8, in which the apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (ESV).

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“So, what do we do with this?” the Great American Media executive asked. “I want to continue, believers, with what Paul is saying here. He continues and says, ‘Let us not get tired of doing good. For we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.’”

To read the full story, visit our content partners at Faithwire.com.

Reprinted with permission from faithwire.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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An Ohio man who went missing in the Red River Gorge area of Kentucky was found alive Saturday after 14 days—and 12 days without any food or water.

Scott Hern’s rescue came one day after Wolfe County Search and Rescue team member Eric Wolterman, who described himself as “not a very religious person,” felt compelled to pray for the 48-year-old man, who had been missing for 14 days and had gone without food or water for 12 days.

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“I am not a very religious person, but, yesterday morning, I woke up and said a prayer for Scott Hern and his family,” Wolterman said in a statement shared by the search and rescue team. “To be honest, praying isn’t something that I do too often. We were working on this operation since Tuesday, and most of the team went into the day pretty much with the thought that this was going to be a recovery mission. So I said a prayer knowing the family would probably be getting some very sad news that day.”

As the searcher recalled, Saturday was going to be the team’s last day looking for Hern, regardless of what they found—or didn’t find.

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The area they searched, Wolterman said, was the “roughest terrain” in a “very dangerous” part of the Daniel Boone National Forest. It was during the last-ditch search effort that the team found footprints in mud they had not seen before.

“We stopped to regroup, and one of the people on the team heard a very faint noise,” Wolterman wrote. “We paused and we shouted, ‘Who is that?’ Thinking it was another search team. I then heard, ‘Help.’ We took off in the direction. As we got closer, [we] asked what his name was and he [said], ‘Scott Hern.’ I have never moved faster up hill in my entire life.”

Wolterman hurried ahead of the search and rescue team. As soon as he reached Hern, he remembered saying, “My name is Eric. I’m with Wolfe County Search and Rescue. You are safe. We are going to get you out of here.”

To read the full story, visit our content partners at Faithwire.com.

Reprinted with permission from faithwire.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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A street preacher in Waunakee, Wisconsin, is claiming a Subway employee refused to serve him this week after he walked into the sandwich shop wearing a T-shirt with brightly colored text describing homosexuality as “sin.”

Rich Penkoski, the leader of an online organization called Warriors for Christ, explained to The Christian Post he is considering a lawsuit against the Connecticut-based restaurant chain after he was allegedly refused service, based on video footage circulating on X.

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In the video, the Subway staffer admitted she was denying service to Penkoski over “a personal matter.”

Penkoski said when he and and the three men with him—each wearing a different T-shirt emblazoned with provocative wording about spiritual salvation, sexuality and abortion—the employee at the quick-service eatery said she is “not serving these guys.”

“And there was a customer in front of us, and she said to him, ‘Are you with these gentlemen?’” Penkoski recalled. “He looked back at us and goes, ‘I’m not sure these are gentlemen.’ So I took out my phone and I told the pastor sitting next to me, I said, ‘They just refused service to us!’”

The Subway worker apparently stated it was because of Penkoski’s T-shirt that she denied him service. The shirt bore the words, “Homo sex is sin,” with a reference to Romans 1 beneath the neon yellow lettering.

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The T-shirt was likely a reference to Romans 1:24-27, in which the Apostle Paul wrote:

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. (NIV)

To read the full story, visit our content partners at Faithwire.com.

Reprinted with permission from faithwire.com. Copyright © 2024 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.

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