Prayer Requests and Praises, March 2013

As we at Answers in Genesis proclaim the authority of God’s Word and the gospel of Jesus Christ, we daily face all kinds of resistance. Some people even express their hatred for us openly because of the truth we uphold. But this kind of hostility to biblical Christians is certainly not new. The early church was violently persecuted, and believers throughout the ages have faced harsh opposition and martyrdom.

Why should we expect anything less, when the Lord Jesus “endured such hostility from sinners against Himself” (Hebrews 12:3)? Yet Christ set for us the ultimate example of true love by dying for sinners who had rejected and rebelled against Him (Romans 5:6–10). This same Jesus taught His followers, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44, emphasis added).

As you pray for AiG, please also remember to pray for the atheists and other unbelievers who publically oppose and attack us—that God would enlighten their hearts to the gospel, bringing them to repentance and faith in Christ.

Praises and Requests

Research Department

Praise the Lord that Dr. Georgia Purdom and Dr. Andrew Snelling have been able to revise, improve, and submit their research paper for inclusion in the program of the Seventh International Conference on Creationism this August.

We also praise the Lord for the completion and submission of the manuscript for the technical book Grappling with the Chronology of the Flood, coedited by Dr. Snelling and Dr. Steven Boyd, professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at the Master’s College. The book reports on four years of research, discussing the linguistic and textual issues of the Hebrew account that are relevant to deciphering a coherent chronology of the Flood. It also addresses the implications for the geology, geophysics, and paleontology of the Flood. We ask you to pray now for the publication process to go smoothly so the book can be released by late spring.

Also, please pray for ongoing research and writing projects being undertaken by Dr. Danny Faulkner on various issues in astronomy and by Dr. Snelling on the radioisotope dating of meteorites and on several geologic case studies on radiohalos. Pray for Dr. Faulkner as he is also working on a new planetarium program.

Children’s Ministry Conference

This week, people from across the country will gather at our Children’s Ministry Conference to receive hands-on training in biblical apologetics to reach the next generation. Please pray that the speakers will be able to give their presentations clearly and that those in attendance will be encouraged and equipped to continue ministering to young people in their families and churches.

Answers Magazine

Our popular, information-packed Answers magazine goes out each quarter to over 75,000 readers, providing biblical answers to a wide variety of relevant issues. To produce that much top-quality, award-winning content, the magazine staff is always under deadline pressure. They continually need grace, energy, and creativity to meet the steady demand.

Please pray for staff members who are involved with Answers magazine to have wisdom in crafting articles that will accurately and clearly represent the heart of the ministry that God has entrusted to Answers in Genesis.

Also, pray that God will give them wisdom to deal with authors from outside AiG, so that staff members may represent the Lord and AiG well. And finally, please pray that these staff members can extend grace to each other as they work together under pressure.

UK Speaking Tour

Please pray for Steve Ham’s two-week visit to the UK this month. Ask the Lord to grant safe journeying, bold preaching, and increased interest in the ministry as a result of the pastors’ breakfasts that will be held.

Advancement Team

Please pray for the Advancement team as the staff members travel and coordinate several Ark Encounter fund-raising events across the country. Pray that the Lord would continue to bless the Ark with the necessary funding.

And in case you haven’t heard yet, we are praising God for the strong year-end giving that allowed us to sign the contract and begin applying for all of the permits necessary to begin excavation and construction.