Weekly briefing: Christians decry Ahmaud Arbery killing, contraceptive mandate hearing, prayer campaigns

We've compiled the top stories of the week. Here's what you need to know:

Christians condemn Ahmaud Arbery killing: ‘We can’t ignore this’

Many Christians joined the outcry against the killing of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot while jogging in Brunswick, Georgia, by a white former police officer and his son in February. A video of the shooting was posted this week.

Gregory McMichael and his son, Travis McMichael, were arrested Thursday and charged with murder and aggravated assault.

“Under any Christian vision of justice, there is no situation in which the mob murder of a person can be morally right, nor grounds for a person to be chased down and shot by private citizens.” — Russell Moore, president of ERLC

Supreme Court hears arguments on contraceptives mandate exemption

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments over the phone Wednesday regarding the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptives mandate and the Trump administration’s rule expanding religious and moral exemptions to groups opposed to the mandate.

As some reports said the justices seemed divided, Becket Law’s Diana Verm, which helped represent the Little Sisters of the Poor, is optimistic the court will rule in their favor.

“No one had an argument, none of the justices and none of the counsels for Pennsylvania had a good argument for why that exemption shouldn’t apply to the Little Sisters.” — Diana Verm

Christians in US, world engage in prayer campaigns

Tens of thousands of people joined the National Day of Prayer online this week, as many others kicked off other prayer campaigns amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"Perhaps in our day, God is using the COVID-19 pandemic in the world as a precursor, as a forerunner for a great revival that is coming to the Earth.” — William Wilson, president of Oral Roberts University

Other prayer campaigns include Pastor Robert Jeffress’ 4:01 Challenge, where Christians are urged to pray for 40 days for an end to the pandemic; the “War Room” prayer event on Friday; and Go2020, a global 30-day prayer and fasting initiative in which Christians are encouraged to share the Gospel every day throughout May.

Some churches reopen with caution

Some churches, including the popular Fellowship Church in Texas, reopened this past weekend and allowed a limited number of attendees.

Worshipers had to wear masks and reserve their seats ahead of time before attending Fellowship. Champion Church in Yuma, Arizona, also resumed in-person services. Life.Church, one of the nation’s largest churches, will be reopening its campuses this weekend with reduced capacity.

Most pastors plan to resume in-person services in June or later, according to a Barna survey.

Meanwhile, some continue to fight state bans on church gatherings. Nearly 200 pastors in Virginia have petitioned their governor to allow for weekly gatherings. In California, a federal judge ruled against Cross Culture Christian Center in its fight to be allowed to meet for services.

Check out CP’s podcast

Hope amid a pandemic: Hearing God in crazy times

In case you missed it

Singer Charles Billingsley details battle with COVID-19, how it affected his faith

Pastors Henry, Alex Seeley say quarantining is revealing foundation marriage was built on

Pray for

Christians at Xingguang Church who were injured in a raid

New releases

Albums:

The Lost Demos EP by TobyMac (May 8)

God Finds Us by Jason Upton (May 8)

Books:

Fields of Joy by Ruth Chou Simons (April 28)

The Truth about Us: The Very Good News about How Very Bad We Are by Brant Hansen (April 21)

Excellence with Integrity: Four Reasons Why How You Do Your Job Matters

Throughout Scripture, it’s clear that how you do your job matters; the Bible has a lot to say about the importance of work and how Christians should conduct ourselves while performing in the workplace.

Colossians 3:23 reads, “Whatever you do, work at it with all of your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,” and Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

But holding down a 9-5 job isn’t always an easy task. Whatever your vocation, each and every one of us at some point deals with the inevitable difficulties of work. Between frustrating coworkers, demanding bosses, and hectic schedules, maintaining a positive attitude in the workplace can sometimes seem impossible.

As Christians, we are called to exhibit faith, integrity and excellence in the workplace even in the face of adversity. In essence, we are to distinguish ourselves from the world by modeling Christ through a job well done.

Whether you’re a bus driver or beautician, lawyer or doctor, how you do your job matters to God. Here are four things to keep in mind as you strive to demonstrate excellence with integrity in the workplace.

1. God Created Us to Work

In Genesis 1, it is revealed that God worked six days to create the world and all of its inhabitants — and created mankind in His image: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27). After God worked, He delighted in His creation: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.”

As image bearers of God, then, we too are created to work.

Tom Nelson, senior pastor of Christ Community Church in Leawood, Kansas, explains: “Being an image-bearer means many things, yet an essential aspect of image-bearing is expressed in and through the work we do each day... The foundation of our creation design and calling is to be productive in our work. This truth is reinforced when Adam is placed in the garden with a twofold vocational job description: to ‘work it and keep it’ (Gen. 2:15). When we work, we live into God’s design as his image-bearers.”

Psalm 19 says that God reveals Himself to the world by His work; thus, understanding that we are made in God’s image helps us to see the purpose for our life and work.

2. The Bible Calls Us to be Enthusiastic in Our Work

According to a new Gallup study on the American workplace, of the country’s approximately 100 million full-time employees, 51 percent aren’t engaged at work, feel no real connection to their jobs, and tend to do the bare minimum. The study found that another 16 percent are “actively disengaged” — they resent their jobs, tend to gripe to co-workers and drag down office morale as a result.... Read More