Ultrasound Placements, Billingsley Album, & Revelation

The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) presented a gift of $228,000 to the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission for the placement of six ultrasound machines at pregnancy resource centers in the state.

The grant was made to the Psalm 139 Project, that provides ultrasound technology to pregnancy centers and trains staff members in its use. The donation will cover the placement of the six machines, as well as staff training. Locations for three of the machines already have been selected, according to the ERLC.

Including the three pregnancy resource centers already chosen in Texas, the ERLC has now placed or committed to centers to place 36 ultrasound machines toward its goal of 50 placements between December 2020 and January 2023. The 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion throughout the United States will be Jan. 22 of next year.

Charles Billingsley, teaching pastor and acclaimed worship leader, has released a brand-new album “The Shadow of Your Smile,” which represents a new chapter in his musical career.

The album, released May 13, contains a blend of well-known songs from a variety of genres including Broadway classics, big band hits and light jazz.

Billingsley currently serves as a teaching pastor and worship leader at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va., and though the record is not a worship album, he said he hopes the music will help him reach an expanded audience.

Billingsley performed the full-length album, accompanied by the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra, on May 13 at the Academy Center of the Arts in Lynchburg to celebrate its release.

He also recently performed for Kentucky Baptist Convention leaders and disaster relief workers earlier this week at a conference in Gilbertsville, Ky.

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Tradition says John was the only apostle not martyred for his faith. But late in his life, around A.D. 95, he lived on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, just off the coast of Asia Minor (Revelation 1:9). He was exiled there because of his bold ministry for Christ, primarily in the city of Ephesus.

It was on the island that he received the book of Revelation. Jesus’ words to the church in Smyrna ended the same way His earlier message to the church in Ephesus did: “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches” (v. 11). He wanted the churches to not just hear the words but take them to heart. They were to act on the instruction they had just received.