Abortions Illegal in 14 States, ‘Bomb Cyclone’ & New Mexico Church Majors on Prayer

Most abortions are banned in 14 states as the overturning of Roe v. Wade continues to impact state laws protecting life in the nation.

In the latest pro-life ruling, the Idaho Supreme Court rejected a challenge from Planned Parenthood and ruled on Jan. 5 that the state constitution includes no implicit abortion protections. In the 3-2 ruling, the court upheld the constitutionality of three state laws restricting abortion.

The procedure remains widely available in 24 states, is banned as early as 15 weeks in two states, and is banned after 22 weeks in as many as five states.
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Heavy rains continue to pound California.

Mike Bivins, director of disaster relief and camping ministries for the California Southern Baptist Convention, told Baptist Press despite all of the damage from the storms, there currently are not any “unmet needs” among churches from either the earthquakes or recent heavy rains.

“We’ve weathered the current storms and our teams remain on standby to provide assistance,” Bivins said.

The recent disasters have affected churches in several local Baptist associations, including Rio Dell Baptist Church in the North Coast Baptist Association.

The church is continuing to recover from being affected by a 6.4 magnitiude earthquake back in mid-December.
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Good News for Today is made possible through our friends at The Voice of the Martyrs, a nonprofit organization that serves persecuted Christians around the world. Founded in 1967 by Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, VOM is dedicated to inspiring believers to deepen their commitment to Christ and to fulfill His Great Commission — no matter the cost. Find out more and sign up for their free monthly magazine at vom.org/goodnews.
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Are you prone to sit in the same place at church week in and week out? Do you know the people sitting near you? Have you ever thought about intentionally praying for them during the week?

First Baptist Church of Aztec, New Mexico utilizes what they call “Worship Center Intercessors,” (WCI) developed by Pastor Mike Napier, each intercessor has a section in the 250-seat worship center. At some point during the week WCIs come individually to the church and pray over their section. They pray over their section again before the worship service starts Sunday morning and after it, engage with people they do not yet know who sit in their section.

The WCIs are trained to approach people they do not know and engage them with three simple questions before the Sunday service begins and then look for an opportunity pray for them on the spot.

You can learn more about the ministry and the church’s outreach in the full story at Baptist Press.

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