Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.This, the first listed freedom, is no longer applicable in Los Angeles County.

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The city of Los Angeles, through a cease and desist letter, has threatened Grace Community Church and Pastor John MacArthur with a daily fine of $1000 or arrest.

The church is under attack after they decided to defy orders not to hold indoor worship services and not to sing.

Todd Starnes predicted attacks on evangelical churches in his explosive book, “Culture Jihad: How to Stop the Left From Killing a Nation.” Click here to get a copy.”

In response to the Democrats who control Los Angeles, the nationally-known pastor has acquired the legal services of The Thomas More Society.

Jenna Ellis, the senior legal adviser of the Trump 2020 presidential campaign, and constitutional law attorney Charles LiMandri will head up the church’s legal team.

“Grace Community Church has every right to assemble without impossible and unreasonable infringement from the state, and the state has absolutely no power to impose the restrictions it is demanding,” Ellis said. “Church is essential, and the government has no power to arbitrate whether religious organizations are essential. This is not about health and safety; it is about targeting churches.”

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Even though he may be facing possible jail time, Pastor MacArthur said he will not be swayed.

“This is not the first time we as Christ’s church have stood for Truth. We will continue to stand firm for the Truth today like we have every prior day in our 63-year history and as the biblical New Testament Church has done for more than 2000 years,” MacArthur said. “We stand firm to continue fulfilling our biblical mandate from Christ to proclaim the Gospel and assemble together, and I earnestly hope that our stance will encourage other pastors, churches, and the general public across America and the world to also stand firm for biblical Truth. Church is essential.”

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Acts 5:29

Pastor MacArthur responds to the Fascist bastards.

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VICTORY! California Judge Says John MacArthur Can Hold Indoor Church

A California judge today ruled that Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church can hold indoor church services and they can even sing songs.

It proves a point I made in my new book, “Culture Jihad” — when people of faith take a stand and engage their rights we can win the day.

“An historic win,” said Jenna Ellis, the church’s attorney. She pointed out it was the first time a California court recognized that church is essential.

Los Angeles County was hoping the judge would slap Pastor MacArthur with a temporary restraining order forcing him to cease holding indoor services.

“This is a huge vindication for Pastor John and the Board of Elders at Grace Community Church, who have simply asked for their right to worship the Lord together in church to be acknowledged and protected,” Ellis told the Todd Starnes Show.

The full hearing is set for September 4.

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https://www.toddstarnes.com/faith/victor...27s1yu4iP7oaMVE

It's not a question of being "essential". It's a question of our God given rights.

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The California Court of Appeal issued a late-night ruling that upholds a ban on churches holding indoor services.

The ruling sets aside a lower court’s decision on Friday that would have allowed Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church to hold an indoor services.

The Court of Appeal said immediate action was necessary because MacArthur planned to conduct worship services on Sunday morning.

“As between the harm that flows from the heightened risk of transmitting COVID-19 and the harm that flows from having to conduct religious services outdoors instead of indoors, the balance at this early stage favors issuance of a stay,” the three-judge panel wrote.

The judges said Los Angeles County had the right to ban “indoor religious activity.”

Los Angeles County issued a statement praising the court’s crackdown on church services.

Government leaders said they will permit Christians to worship — but only outdoors.

“Participants must wear cloth face coverings and maintain six feet of diacnes from each other unless they live in the same household,” they wrote.

Let me be clear – every church in California must rise up and defy the court’s ruling. We cannot and we must not allow government leaders to dictate how, when and where we can practice our faith.

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https://www.toddstarnes.com/values/late-...B_f1HI4jQ4e4LUA

I am sure Pastor MacArthur knows scripture better than I and will learn a lesson from Nehemiah and his enemies Tobiah and Sanballat.

"progressives" are a vindictive lot.

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Grace Community Church and its pastor, John MacArthur, have chosen to defy an unconstitutional order banning indoor church services in the name of fighting the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. Los Angeles County has engaged in ridiculous court shenanigans to force the church to shut its doors but to no avail. So on Friday, the county’s Department of Public Works unilaterally decided to cancel the church’s lease agreement for a large portion of the church’s parking lot.

“Los Angeles County is retaliating against Grace Community Church for simply exercising their constitutionally protected right to hold church and challenging an unreasonable, unlawful health order,” Jenna Ellis, who is representing MacArthur and the church, and is a personal lawyer for President Donald Trump, said in a statement. “In America, we have a judicial system to ensure that the executive branch does not abuse its power, and Grace Community Church has every right to be heard without fear of reprisal.”

“The Democrats’ message to Americans is clear—if you don’t bow to every whim of tyranny, the government will come after you,” Ellis added. “The Church has peacefully held this lease for 45 years and the only reason the County is attempting eviction is because John MacArthur stood up to their unconstitutional power grab. This is harassment, abusive, and unconscionable.”

The lease concerns a large portion of the church’s parking lot, and has been in place since 1975. Under the terms of the rental agreement, either the church or the county can terminate the agreement if it gives 30-days notice. While the Department of Public Works letter giving the church notice does not cite a reason for the lease’s termination, it seems virtually certain that the move is a form of retaliation amid the religious freedom battle.

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https://pjmedia.com/culture/tyler-o-neil...BtSKf7szgEfvOt0

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A Los Angeles Superior Court judge issued an order banning Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church from conducting, participating in or attending any indoor worship services.

It is a stunning blow to religious liberty.

“In an inexplicable ruling, the judge said the ‘scale tipped in favor of the county.’ 1/100th of 1% of Californians with a virus apparently wins over the U.S. Constitution and religious freedom for all,” Pastor MacArthur said in a statement to The Todd Starnes Radio Show. “That is not what our founders said. Nor is that what God says, who gave us our rights that our government—including the judicial branch—is supposed to protect. The scale should always tip in favor of liberty, especially for churches.”

The order prohibits the church from “conducting, participating in, or attending any indoor worship services” and also bans outdoor worship unless onerous restrictions are followed in a heavy-handed move against the internationally known preacher and his congregation.

MacArthur and Grace Community Church’s attorneys from the Thomas More Society said the judge refused to consider their important separation of powers arguments “in any meaningful fashion” and essentially “ducked the issue.”

“The County’s argument was basically ‘because we can,’ which is the very definition of tyranny,” attorney Jenna Ellis told the Todd Starnes Radio Show. “Without limiting government’s power in favor of freedom and protected rights, we have no liberty. We will fight for religious freedom, as our founders did when they wrote the First Amendment.”

“We plan to appeal this ruling to ultimately vindicate our clients’ constitutionally protected right to free exercise of religion,” Special Counsel Charles LiMandri said.

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https://www.toddstarnes.com/politics/jud...0QufUQoRlZuHgwg

These requirements would cause the Church to close.

And that is what they are meant to do.

If only other churches in CA would follow Pastor MacArthur's lead in defying these modern Nebuchadnezzars and the worship they exact. Mass disobedience is not only legitimate, but demanded by God and the Constitution.