Welcome to the Friday Five! Every Friday we share our top five articles, stories, and quotes for you to read and share with your friends and church families.

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1. VOTE: Over 1 Million Ballots Cast in North Carolina after Four Days of Early Voting

“In 2020, registered Democrats made up nearly half the voters who cast ballots in the first four days of early voting in North Carolina. This year, Democrats are running about even with Republicans and only a bit ahead of unaffiliated voters so far. ‘We’re just not used to seeing that in the early voting numbers,’ said Western Carolina University political scientist Chris Cooper. ‘Usually, Republicans wait until Election Day to turn out. It’s not true in 2024.'”

Read more: https://www.wral.com/story/early-voter-turnout-regular-campaign-visits-demonstrate-nc-importance-in-national-election/21683193/

To check out the iVoterGuide and lookup your ballot, click here.

In addition to the iVoterGuide, our NC Values Voter Toolkit includes a number of pro-voter tools designed to save you time and equip you to vote wisely.

Finally, watch this pro-life election ad from our 501c3 sister organization, the NC Values Institute.

2. NC VALUES: Dan Bishop’s Attorney General Race is Critical

The Attorney General’s race is one of the most critical in this year’s election, with a sharp contrast between the two candidates.

NC Values’ endorsed candidate Congressman Dan Bishop is running for Attorney General against Planned Parenthood’s candidate Congressman Jeff Jackson, an extreme liberal who has helped to destroy law and order with his woke policies. In this election, North Carolina Christians can be the deciding vote on who should be our chief legal officer at the helm of the Department of Justice.

Read more: https://ncvalues.org/bishops-attorney-general-race-is-critical/

3. WATCH: Democrat’s Hug With Child Molester Featured In Statewide Ad Campaign

“A North Carolina Republican is attacking his Democratic opponent using a Daily Wire story that exposed Rep. Jeff Jackson hugging a convicted sex offender after receiving an LGBTQ award in 2022.”

“Tami Fitzgerald, the executive director of the North Carolina Values Coalition, argued earlier this month that Jackson would certainly have known who Turner was, saying that his background was ‘common knowledge’ in North Carolina political circles. ‘This was common knowledge at the legislature, where Jackson served and carried water for Turner’s issues,’ Fitzgerald told The Daily Wire. ‘It was also common knowledge and received widespread media attention in Jackson and Turner’s hometown of Charlotte. It is inconceivable that Jeff Jackson did not know.'”

Read more: https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-hug-with-child-molester-featured-in-statewide-ad-campaign

4. NC VALUES: Photo Gallery of this Year’s Celebration of Carolina Values Event in Raleigh

Last week, we had the distinguished honor of hosting our Celebration of NC Values event. We were joined by over 350 champions of Christian Values who came together to lift up and celebrate the gifts of life, family, and freedom. In addition to having a great time and eating some great food, we got to hear Dr. Rosaria Butterfield’s amazing story. Rosaria is a former tenured professor of English and women’s studies at Syracuse University, where she experienced a profound spiritual transformation.

Check out our event video and photo gallery from the event here: https://ncvalues.org/photos-celebration-of-carolina-values-event-in-raleigh-2024/

5. NEW YORK POST: Woke Doctor Refused to Publish $10 Million Trans Kids Study that Showed Puberty Blockers Didn’t Help Mental Health

“A prominent doctor and trans rights advocate admitted she deliberately withheld publication of a $10 million taxpayer-funded study on the effect of puberty blockers on American children — after finding no evidence that they improve patients’ mental health.

Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy told the New York Times that she believes the study would be ‘weaponized’ by critics of transgender care for kids, and that the research could one day be used in court to argue ‘we shouldn’t use blockers.’”

Read more: https://nypost.com/2024/10/23/us-news/doctor-refused-to-publish-trans-kids-study-that-showed-puberty-blockers-didnt-help-mental-health/

weekly prayer: officials

LORD, you also have instructed us to pray for our governing officials, and we come to you in the spirit of this petition. We pray for our state government and its executive, legislative, and judicial servants. May they indeed be servants unto the people, and govern in a manner that protects liberty and virtue. In the same spirit, we pray for public servants across our local governments. May they all heed your mandate in Romans 13:4 to be in positions of authority as “God’s servant” and for the “good” of the public. They govern in what we confess are difficult times. May they plead with you to give them wisdom, and may your grace to govern wisely be poured out on them.

Protect us from the oppression and loss of freedoms that other countries have experienced, and help us to value and preserve freedom, which we know comes only from You.

“I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt.  I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free.” Acts 7:34

Amen