(Please note: Because of the Independence Day holiday, PrepareTheWord susbscribers this week will not be receiving their regular Thursday morning Preaching the News email, which will resume next week. Happy Fourth of July! ) As the nation celebrates liberty on Independence Day, the gospel reading for that day features a paralyzed man given the chance to walk freely again and to walk free of his sins. Many Africans once bedridden with AIDS now walk freely in good health thanks to AIDS relief efforts begun by former President George . . .

Jesus sends the disciples out in pairs in this Sunday's gospel, warning any town that does not welcome them that when the time of reckoning comes, "it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.” The heat is nearly intolerable these days for towns across the U.S. Southwest, as triple-digit temperatures become the norm in an extended heat wave. High temperatures brought discomfort to much of the region on Sunday as many parts of the area were coming off several record-breaking heat days and bracing for more sizzling temperatures. The National . . .

"Needless to say there are some terrible things described in many of the documents. Prepare to be shocked."

Only 40 percent of Americans are concerned about climate change, compared with 54 percent for the rest of the world.