News

No Benefits Money for Same-Sex Partners

Congress has ordered the president’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to find a way to pay for the $63 million a year in new spending for benefits of same-sex partners of federal employees. John Berry, director of the OPM, announced the decision last year to extend the benefits. In a hearing before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said, “…it’s been five months and we’re still waiting for those offsets, which…is preventing the bill from being taken up on the Senate floor.” Family advocates explain that it doesn’t matter whether there’s enough money because it violates the Defense […]

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No Benefits Money for Same-Sex Partners

Congress has ordered the president’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to find a way to pay for the $63 million a year in new spending for benefits of same-sex partners of federal employees. John Berry, director of the OPM, announced the decision last year to extend the benefits. In a hearing before a Senate appropriations subcommittee, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said, “…it’s been five months and we’re still waiting for those offsets, which…is preventing the bill from being taken up on the Senate floor.” Family advocates explain that it doesn’t matter whether there’s enough money because it violates the Defense […]

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States opt out of paying for abortion in health care

Concern over federal funding of abortion in the health care reform law has prompted several states to move toward opting out. Tennessee is the first state to get a bill to its governor. It prohibits taxpayers from funding abortion. Lawmakers in Georgia, Oklahoma, Virginia and Louisiana are all considering similar measures. Mary Harned, staff counsel with Americans United for Life, said AUL has model legislation ready for states to use, and many are taking advantage. “There are currently 15 states that are actively working toward getting this done,” she said, “and at least another 11 that we know of who […]

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Teen Birth Rates Down, Abstinence Credited

Teen birth rates in the U.S. have recently declined after increasing in 2006 and 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The 2008 numbers show the rate declined by two percent among girls 15-19. The largest decline occurred among 18- and 19-year-olds, at four percent. Valerie Huber, executive director with The National Abstinence Education Association, said, “A positive trend begun a decade ago can continue.  We should redouble our efforts to help teens avoid all the consequences of sexual activity, including teen childbearing.” President Obama eliminated all funding for abstinence-centered education in his 2011 budget. However, due largely to […]

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We are all tools in the hands of God

There is a most curious incident recorded in the seventh chapter of Mark’s gospel. Jesus, we are told, “left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to Him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Him to place His hand on the man” (7:31-32, NIV). Mark then records that “with a deep sigh” Jesus healed the man’s affliction and “commanded them not to tell anyone” (vs. 33-36a). Not heeding Jesus’ command, we discover that the more Jesus […]

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Contentment

We live in a materialistic, consumption-oriented society that operates on the two assumptions that more is always better, and happiness is based on the acquisition of possessions.  The danger of buying into this philosophy is that it is totally contradictory to the life that we are called to live as Christians.  The fact of the matter is that Christians are called in Hebrews 13:5 to “keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”  Let’s take a look at […]

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The true towering tomb

(Scroll down to leave a comment on what Christ’s tomb means to you) The oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Great Pyramid of Giza, has amazed and astonished experts to this day.  Rising over 450 feet into the air and constructed on a base whose area is more than 750 square feet, the pyramid covers an area of over 12 acres with nearly 2 ½ million blocks of stone, each weighing over 2 ½ tons.  The total mass of the pyramid is estimated at 5.9 million tons.  Based on these estimates, building this structure in 20 […]

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Teaching about difficulty

In the Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”, we get to follow the adult trials and the childhood experiences of George.  Each time he faced a difficult situation he asked himself the same question: “What would Dad do?”  Somehow George picked up lessons from his dad that helped him navigate life and become a community hero. What about our children?  What are they learning from us? Times are different right now and different times require a different approach to life.  But different, even difficult times, offer parents an incredible training opportunity. Everyone will go through their own difficulties in life.  […]

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11 years of going and growing

WOW! Eleven years. It seems like just last year it was ten years. It has been my blessing working with local churches, ministries, businesses, volunteers and people in South Florida and Southwest Florida over the last 11 years. We love helping and hearing from the community, we actually thrive on it. It’s why we are here … to help our community. What makes The Good News great is the addition of News, events and content contributed by local churches and ministries. Without the community, we would be just a blank sheet of paper each month. Over the years, we have […]

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Food For The Poor organizes releases

As a child cries from hunger, desperate parents painfully search for food to save their children from death. If caught stealing a chicken to feed their family, parents in developing countries such as Haiti will be imprisoned, without first appearing before a judge or receiving a prison sentence. Sometimes by the time they are tried, they have spent years longer in jail than their prison sentence requires. Food For The Poor will help release approximately 73 nonviolent offenders in developing countries in time to spend Holy Week with their families. The prisoners were incarcerated due to their inability to pay […]

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