Last spring I had the privilege of speaking at a conference for NFL players put on by Pro Athletes Outreach (PAO), a group which exists to unite a community of pro athletes and couples to grow as disciples of Jesus and positively impact their spheres of influence. They have a fantastic outreach to professional football and baseball athletes and their wives. I’ve seen firsthand the amazing difference they’re making. In the off-season I exchanged emails and texts with dozens of NFL players and cha..Continue reading→
Home
Thoughts
Motherhood Is a Marathon
I wanted to do great things for God. In the spring of my senior year of college, on the brink of embarking upon my own journey into adulthood, my future was undecided and that was simultaneously terrifying and thrilling. As a philosophy major, my path was narrower than I had realized, but I was sure it would take me on some grand and glorious adventure. I knew the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. “Glorify” sounds like such a grand term. It evokes images of battlefie..Continue reading→
1 Peter 5:7–8: How Not to Battle Anxiety
Anxieties attack our faith and torment our peace. The question with anxiety is not whether it will come, but rather, how can I fight it when it does? Watch NowContinue reading→
Is Love of Money Really the Root of All Evils?
Is the love of money the “root of all evils” or only the “root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10)? “All evils” is the formal English equivalent of the original Greek (pantōn tōn kakōn). It is remarkable that all older versions of the Bible translate 1 Timothy 6:10 in the more literal way: “The love of money is the root of all evils” (or all evil). This includes the Wycliffe Bible, Luther Bibel, Geneva Bible, King James Version, Douay-Rheims, Darby Bible, and Revised Standard Version. Bu..Continue reading→
Daily Verses
Ezekiel 7:8 (07-08-16)
"Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee, and accomplish mine anger upon thee: and I will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense thee for all thine abominations."— Ezekiel 7:8 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Because God's people had repeatedly rebelled and chosen to turn an unhearing ear toward his will, God is about to let them face the consequences of their own sinfulness. He is ready to judge them using the harshest of standards because of their entre..Continue reading→
Matthew 7:7-8 (07-07-16)
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.— Matthew 7:7-8 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... God made us to seek after him and find him (Acts 17:27-28). Try to imagine the astounding reality of this truth: the God of the Universe is thrilled to see us when we come home to him! Is it any wonder that he longs for us to see..Continue reading→
Romans 7:6 (07-06-16)
But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.— Romans 7:6 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... We are free from Law! Does that mean anarchy and lawlessness? Absolutely not! No, because the grace that freed us also brought God's HOLY Spirit to live within. He can empower us to do what we could not do on our own. He can help us in our weakness to pray with confidence and ..Continue reading→
Jeremiah 7:5-7 (07-05-16)
For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.— Jeremiah 7:5-7 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... What is the true measure of our character? Certainly it is ..Continue reading→
1 Corinthians 7:4-5 (07-04-16)
The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.— 1 Corinthians 7:4-5 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul told us that our bodies were not our own, but that we had been bought at a..Continue reading→
Daily Wisdom
Matthew 28:18-20
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””Continue reading→
Acts 9:4-5 (09-04-16)
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest ...— Acts 9:4-5 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... When Paul teaches that the Church is the Body of Christ, he isn't being theoretical. The Church is Jesus' presence, his Body in this world. What is done to the Church as a collective group of people is done to Jesus. What is done to individual..Continue reading→
2 Timothy 1:13-14
“What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.”Continue reading→
John 9:3 (09-03-16)
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.— John 9:3 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... Let's ask God to help us view people through the eyes of Jesus so that we will see them as people in whom the work of God needs to be done. And just what is this work of God? Well, Jesus answered that question this way: To believe in the One he has sent! (John 6:28-29) My Prayer... Father, please help..Continue reading→
Prayers
Sowing Seeds
Passage: Galatians 6:6-10 Prayer: Dear Father, holy unscornable God, Don't let me be deceived, my God, for I know that no one can mock you with impunity. For whatever a person sows that is what the person will reap. Those who sow to the flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but those who sow to the Spirit will reap eternal life. I want to reap eternal life, Father. Help me always to sow to the Spirit! Help me never to tire of doing good, for in your own due season I will reap. Let me never lo..Continue reading→
Daily Prayer for July 10
Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care Psalm 95:6–7, NIV Lord our God, strengthen in us all that comes from you and is eternal, all that is good and right and genuine. Let this shape our outward life and help us triumph over need and death. Help us to wait quietly, even when we don't know the answers to our questions, because we are certain that the outcome will be good and life-giving, to the glory of your Spirit and your name. We entrust ourselves to your hands. Stay with us, that we may receive your calling for our lives. Stay with us, so that in all our work and activity we may be aware of your guiding Spirit at work in our hearts. Amen.Continue reading→
Bearing Each Others’ Burdens
Passage: Galatians 6:1-5 Prayer: Dear Father, lifter of our heavy loads, Fill my heart with love for my brothers and sisters in Christ. If someone is overtaken in some misdeed, help me to assist in restoring that person, in a spirit of gentleness. Let me watch out for myself, lest I also be tempted. Help all of us to bear one another's overloads, and so fulfil the law of Christ. But help us not to deceive ourselves, thinking we are something when we are really nothing. Let each one of us test our ..Continue reading→
The Fruit of the Spirit
Passage: Galatians 5:22-26 Prayer: Dear Father, grower of spiritual fruit,Let the fruit of the Spirit blossom, mature, and ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these. Let me possess them!Since I belong to Christ, I have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Let me live by the Spirit. Let me walk by the Spirit!Let me show no self-conceit, give no provocation, have no envy toward anyone else. ..Continue reading→
Church & Ministries
3 Ways To Be A Better Public Speaker
One of my favorite things to do is to speak to a group. It’s mostly because I am a teacher at heart and I really enjoy helping people understand a new idea, deepen their knowledge about a topic, or help them move from point A to point B about a subject. From a young age I wanted to be a teacher and I have been blessed to be a teacher for most of my career. Similar to leadership, teaching is something that has naturally come with each of my positions. When I’m a manager, I train others how to do..Continue reading→
10 things we can learn about Islam from Nabeel Qureshi
Nabeel Qureshi has announced he has stomach cancer. I was reading apologist Nabeel Qureshi's autobiography Seeking Allah, finding Jesus last week, when I checked Facebook and learned the terrible news that he has been diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer, with a 'grim' prognosis. He's asking Christians to pray and fast for his healing. Nabeel is a former Muslim who is now an inspiring and effective evangelist. As he puts it: I left Islam because I studied Mu..Continue reading→
How to Be a Good Steward of Your Influence
Everything you have is a gift from God – your health, your life, your salvation, your freedom, your friends, your family, your opportunities. God expects you to make the most of the things he gives you. The word for that in the Bible is called “stewardship.” Stewardship is the Old English word for “management.” And just as you manage your time and your money, you also manage your influence. God expects you to use your influence to help other people. What is influence? The Cambridge Dictionary d..Continue reading→
Cardinal stresses Christians and Muslims do not worship the same God: Islamic god ‘is a governor’
(Pixabay) Some people are claiming that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, but Catholic Cardinal Raymond Burke, an American and former head of the highest court at the Vatican, insists this is not true. He said Allah and God are different because the Islamic god "is a governor," while the Sharia law, "which comes from Allah," believes it "must dominate every man eventually." "I hear people saying to me, well, we're all worshipping the same God, we all believe in love," Burke sa..Continue reading→
Hot Topics
The Media, Flyover Country, Betsy DeVos, The New Yorker, And The Truth
Along the way, however, as Mayer illustrates yet again why people ignored her class in this election, she also illustrated how utterly disdainful they are toward what they really do regard as “flyover country”—that great swath of the U.S. between Manhattan and Santa Barbara—but also how utterly disinterested they are in the truth. Mayer knows her job: to reinforce what her readers already believe to be true. So insulated is she that, when confronted by evidence to the contrary about basic facts ..Continue reading→
Reflections on 25 Years of Ordained Ministry
Preaching the Word of God is a great privilege, while being an immense responsibility. Even though I would like people to be in God’s Word every day, the reality is that most people are not. The primary way that too many people receive the Word of God into their lives is through your preaching. Preaching is what earns me credibility for all the other tasks, ministries, and skills that pastors are called upon to perform. Your preaching will set the tone for the rest of the church. If you preach m..Continue reading→
Why Evangelicals Must Care About Church Renewal
Affirming same-sex relationships and fluid gender identity are the cultural issues challenging the church in America. Influential Evangelical Christian authors and bloggers like Jen Hatmaker are embracing a new morality. Another popular Christian author and “Momastery” blogger isn’t just affirming, she’s in an open same-sex relationship. On November 13, Glennon Doyle Melton announced in a Facebook post that she is dating retired U.S. female soccer star Abby Wambach. Although Melton is a member o..Continue reading→
Why Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill Made Christian History in Cuba
(UPDATED) ISIS persecution of Christians prompts first meeting between Catholic and Orthodox primates since 1054. Update (Feb. 12): World Watch Monitor offers a summary of the history-making meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill in Cuba's Havana airport. Gathering for the first time in nearly 1,000 years to jointly address the record levels of modern-day persecution of Christians, the leaders of Roman Catholicism and Russian Eastern Orthodoxy wrote: In our determination to un..Continue reading→
Life & Society
U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Decide Whether Govt. Can Require School to Let Girl in Boys’ Restroom
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Virginia school board’s appeal of a ruling siding with the Obama administration’s demand that it allow a female student who identifies as male to use the boys’ restroom. The decision will affect public schools nationwide. The eight justices said on Friday that the case will be heard and decided in 2017. It will be one of the most major decisions of the year. The appeal will be limited to the following two questions from the school board’..Continue reading→
Roy Moore, Attorney Walk Out Over Objections to Using Retired Rather Than Sitting Judges for Appeal
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Suspended Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore and his attorney walked out of the state Supreme Court on Thursday in objection to officials ignoring their motion to recuse Acting Chief Justice Lynn Stuart and others from participating in the selection of judges for Moore’s appeal, and that the judges be active and not retired. “We have a motion pending to continue this procedure because of the methodology that was set by justices that should have recused in this sealed case,” atto..Continue reading→
Want To Get Those Over-60s Into Church? Seek Them Out At The Gym And In The Political Parties
Getting exercise: an older person and their companionPixabay Churches that want to grow their congregations should consider targeting older people who work out at a gym or who campaign for a political party, new research shows. People aged over 60 who join a gym are more likely to join a church, the report says. The finding also applies to mosques and synagogues, even when factoring in the trend in older people becoming more active, according to new analysis of the English Longitudinal Study ..Continue reading→
Third Way: Do You Have to Vote On Election Day?
Must you vote this election? What if one voted for neither Hillary nor Trump? According to a recent report by CBN, many Millennials (the generation aged roughly 18-34) are apathetic, angry and disappointed, and may stay at home on election day. This may be even more the case for Christian Millenials, who feel morally uncomfortable with both Clinton and Trump. CBN quotes Kirsten Haglund, who says of Millennials: "I think what you can say generally is that they are just so disturbed about their ..Continue reading→
Movies
COMMON BRINGS GLORY TO THE GRAMMYS (AND THE OSCARS): An Interview
What 2015 Grammy moment moved you? Kanye West’s cut in on Beck’s acceptance speech for “Album of the Year” garnered most of the headlines. How sad to a stunt overshadow Annie Lennox’s rousing rendition of “I Put a Spell On You” with Hozier. Pharrell reimagined his sunny single, “Happy,” into an intriguing protest echoing the “Hands up/Don’t shoot” posture that accompanied events in Ferguson, Missouri. Prince slipped in the best one-liner of the night, “Albums still matter. Just like books and bl..Continue reading→
Diablo Cody Tweets About Rescuing Jinger Duggar
Her new movie, Paradise, is all about religion. In the movie, which was originally titled Lamb of God, a young religious woman (Julianne Hough) is in a terrible accident, which causes her to question G-d and run off to Las Vegas to see what sin feels like. Well, it looks like screenwriter/director Diablo Cody had some pretty specific pop-culture inspirations for the movie: The Duggars. Particularly Jinger. Diablo recently tweeted that if Jinger ever wants to run away from her family, she can com..Continue reading→
Music
As We Ascend Releases First Single Wash Away to iTunes
As We Ascend's first single "Wash Away" is now available on iTunes, six days before the completion of their PledgeMusic campaign to fund the full length album Farewell to Midnight. In addition to being available on iTunes, "Wash Away" is also going for adds at radio. The PledgeMusic campaign is currently at 95% of its goal. You can listen to "Wash Away" below. As We Ascend, formed by former members of We As Human, launched their PledgeMusic campaign with the unique invitation to fans to "..Continue reading→
Bizzle Petitions for Financial Support of New Project
The recent release of Bizzle's new project Crowns & Crosses has sparked a conversation about the realities of being an artist with his God Over Money fans. In a recent newsletter, Bizzle details the shocking differences between a fan purchasing a physical or digital copy of any GOM release versus streaming through the likes of Spotify or Apple Music. He begins with the staggering reality that it takes 1,500 streams to equal that of one album sale. For example, if 100,000 fans stream the en..Continue reading→
John Mark McMillan Launches Pre-order for ‘Mercury & Lightning’
John Mark McMillan has launched a pre-order for his upcoming album Mercury & Lightning through PledgeMusic. The album has been preceded by the release of "Wilderlove" and "No Country." The PledgeMusic pre-order gives fans the chance to purchase a wide range of merch packages, with each one providing access to exclusive behind-the-scenes information approaching the album's release. The pre-order was launched in part due to the overwhelmingly positive response to the single "Wilderlove," re..Continue reading→
Sho Baraka’s ‘The Narrative’ Debuts at No. 6 on iTunes Hip Hop Chart and No. 26 on iTunes Overall
Critically acclaimed hip hop artist Sho Baraka unleashed The Narrative last week, and it was well received by fans and critics alike as it peaked at No. 6 on iTunes Hip Hop Chart and No. 26 on iTunes Overall Albums Chart. Created with the intention to generate a discussion among each other about the social issues we face today and throughout history, Sho Baraka is doing just that as shown by the critics below "Sho Baraka gives us conscious hip hop that makes us think. It is not intended for eas..Continue reading→
MercyMe’s ‘Welcome To The New’ Receives RIAA Gold Certification
GRAMMY® Nominated MercyMe's Welcome To The New (2014) has been honored with RIAA Gold Certification, marking the sixth gold album for the band in addition to a double platinum album and a platinum video. Welcome To The New earned two GRAMMY® nods, multiple GMA Dove Award honors and an American Music Award nomination. In addition, the album boasts three No. 1 singles with "Greater," "Flawless" and "Dear Younger Me," and one Top 5 single with "Shake." MercyMe is planning to unveil a new recor..Continue reading→
Deraj Drops A New Single
Deraj blessed both the genre and Reflection Music Group (RMG) fans worldwide with a new banger for the car on "Know That's Me," featuring KYNG. Listeners can purchase not only the track, but also the instrumental backing and an acapella version of the track. The three versions of this project may be purchased here, or streamed on Spotify. Visuals for the project debuted under the direction of Joe Desantis. The video may be viewed below. RMG has been quite the productive label as of late..Continue reading→
Live in Chicago: The Looking for America Tour by Switchfoot
Track Listing 01. Holy Water 02. Meant To Live 03. Bull In A China Shop 04. Where The Light Shines Through 05. I Won't Let You Go 06. Love Alone Is Worth The Fight 07. Hello Hurricane 08. If The House Burns Down Tonight 09. Float 10. Live it Well Continue reading→
Courtney Orlando Releases New Single, Wait On You
Courtney Orlando released his latest single "Wait on You" on October 10. You can download the track for free on SoundCloud here. Orlando describes the new track as an open conversation between him and God. No future plans of a full length project have been released at this time. The artist formally known as J.R. dug his roots into the hip-hop genre over a decade ago with his debut release Metamorphosis in 2005. Fittingly, change has followed him in the area of style, depth and even branding a..Continue reading→
The Narrative by Sho Baraka
Track Listing 01. Foreward, 1619 02. Soul, 1971 03. Kanye, 2009 (feat. Jackie Hill Perry) 04. Love, 1959 05. Here, 2016 (feat. Lecrae) 06. 30 & Up, 1986 (feat. Courtney Orlando) 07. Profhet, 1968 (feat. James Portier) 08. Maybe Both, 1865 (feat. James Portier) Purchase 09. Excellent, 2017 Purchase 10. Road to Humble, 1979 Purchase 11. Myhood, U.S.A., 1937 (feat. Vanessa Hill) 12. Words, 2006 13. Fathers, 2004 Purchase 14. Piano Break, 33 A.D. Continue reading→
World
Wise Decision-Making in God’s Economy
How do we know that we are pleasing God in all that we do? Who will be our next president? It’s a question that is on everyone’s mind. In light of the upcoming presidential election, economic questions like, “Should we trade with China?” or “How do we pay for our debt?” are swirling in the minds of Americans. Questions like these are important, but they are also overwhelming and seem to best belong with pundits and academics. The reality is, the average American has little impact on the econom..Continue reading→
The Purge: Election Year
The opportunity for biting social critique gets swept away in a torrent of bloody destruction. Few, if any, of CT's readers probably ought to see (or bother seeing) The Purge: Election Year. Like its predecessors (The Purge and The Purge: Anarchy), its world is drawn thinly in ways that don't actually help the very interesting concept of the plot: that in an alternate universe very close to our own, the U.S. is ruled by the NFFA—the New Founding Fathers of America, a party of apparent..Continue reading→
The BFG
Fairy tales need real dragons. Roald Dahl weaves strange yarns for kids, mixing imagination and whimsy with a distinct strand of menace. The enduring popularity of his stories—Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was published in 1964!—depends on all those threads, menace included. What good is Matilda without the criminally neglectful parents or abusive Agatha Trunchbull? Or James and the Giant Peach without the cruel aunts? Or Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator without the Vermicious Knids?Continue reading→
Issues in the Future of Evangelicalism
The future of evangelicalism includes harsh realities for churches. The enduring question for the church is this: how do we fulfill the Great Commission in a rapidly changing world? We—the church of the West—receive no exception from the question. But it appears that despite our best efforts to keep up with the ever-morphing values and circumstances of Western cultures, the answer eludes us. For many , the answer is not to adapt or change at all, but merely to maintain as if by some force of..Continue reading→
American
Woman Complains About Body Image Issues After Late-Term Abortion of Girl With Spina Bifida
Missouri mom Jessica McCoy had a late-term abortion a few months ago after learning that her unborn daughter had spina bifida and a chromosomal abnormality. The mother of three born children has been sharing about her abortion publicly, both describing her grief at the loss of her daughter and justifying her decision to have her unborn daughter killed because of the girl’s disabilities. Several women’s publications picked up McCoy’s story this week after she posted photos on Instagram describi..
Texas Lawmakers Initially Approve Bill to Ban Abortions on Babies Just Because of Their Race or Gender
Today, the Texas Senate passed Senate Bill 415, the Dismemberment Abortion Ban, on second reading. The bill was preliminarily approved by the Senate on a bipartisan 22-9 vote. In addition to every Republican of the Senate supporting the measure, two Democrats – Senators Eddie Lucio Jr. (D-Brownsville) and Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) – voted for the life-saving measure. Senate Bill 415 and House Bill 844, the Dismemberment Abortion Ban, outlaw the barbaric and inhumane procedure that ends the li..
More Patients in Quebec Killed in Assisted Suicide as Hundreds Request Lethal Drugs
CBC news reported (March 14) that the number of euthanasia deaths in Québec significantly increased in the second half of 2016. According to the CBC news report: A total of 461 patients were granted doctor-assisted death during the first year of Quebec’s medical aid in dying law, according to data obtained by CBC’s French-language service, Radio-Canada. The number of requests increased significantly in the second half of 2016. From December 2015 to end of June 2016, 253 patients requested the ..
Woman Was About to Have an Abortion When Something Incredible Happened to Save Her Baby’s Life
Two volunteers at the 40 Days for Life vigil in Pensacola spoke to a deeply troubled young woman who had conceived a child as the result of a sexual assault. “She was hurting and felt that abortion was her only solution to the recent trauma she had experienced,” said Ernie, the local coordinator. Counselors offered encouragement, assistance, prayers and tears. But still, she believed abortion was her only option … and she went inside the abortion center. The volunteers kept praying – and trust..
Australia
Bringing them up in the Lord
BIBLE SOCIETY NEWS Wednesday 21 December 2016 About 60 million children in China are “left behind” in their home villages, to be looked after by their grandparents or relatives because their parents are trying to find work in cities. This enormous group of neglected children – more than a quarter of the 215 million children in China – is in great need of hope, encouragement and care. These “left-behind” children are highly vulnerable to serious crimes such as sexual abuse and assault and suff..
Back where it all began
BIBLE SOCIETY NEWS Saturday 20 December 2016 Next year is a special year. Bible Society Australia will be celebrating its bicentenary, but 2017 is not only about thanking God for all he’s done in the past through his word. Bible Society Australia is calling upon you, your church and your community groups to help us continue the legacy of equipping our people with the life-giving word of God. Get The Word Out (GTWO) is Bible Society Australia’s year-long focus on providing one nation on earth ..
Everything you helped us achieve in 2016
BIBLE SOCIETY NEWS | Greg Clarke Monday 19 December 2016 Bible Society Australia isn’t about any one person. From the very start we’ve been a Society. Bible Society is the thousands of supporters and volunteers like you. And it’s through your generosity this year we’ve been able to: Train 30 literacy teachers in South Sudan under Professor Twong Yolong – so thousands of Collo people, traumatised by war, can read and write Translated the scriptures to the Tay, Nung and Muong people in Vietnam –..
Egyptian Christians killed in bomb attack on church
A bomb blast in St Peter’s church in Cairo on Sunday killed 25 people and wounded 49, mostly women and children. The bombing during morning mass was the deadliest attack on Egypt’s Christians since a 2011 bombing killed 21 people at a church in Alexandria. The Sunday bombing is the latest indication of how challenging it is for Christians living in Egypt, who account for about 10 per cent of Egypt’s 92 million people. The Bible Society of Egypt has requested prayers f..
Law & Government
Men With Scabies Arrested After Committing Homosexual Sex Act on Display Bed at Bed Bath & Beyond
(NorthJersey.com) – Two men were arrested and charged with engaging in lewd behavior on a display bed at Bed Bath & Beyond during regular business hours. Police officers responded to the Route 3 Riverfront shopping center at 5 p.m. Monday on a report from a witness that two men were engaged in a sex act, records show. Police arrested two 28-year-old men, one from Nutley and the other from North Carolina. Both were charged with lewdness, criminal mischief and possession of marijuana, according ..
Alabama Man Charged With Capital Murder for Killing Unborn Child in Beating Girlfriend
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama man has been charged with capital murder for allegedly killing his unborn child while beating his girlfriend. According to reports, Reginald Sharp, 27, knocked his girlfriend to the ground in a domestic incident last July and then beat her with his fists and a belt. She was 26 weeks (six months) pregnant. The woman was transported to St. Vincent’s Hospital, where her baby was stillborn the next day. The county coroner listed the child’s death as “intrauterine feta..
Trump Mocks Schwarzenegger, Jokingly Asks for ‘Prayer’ for ‘Apprentice’ Ratings at National Prayer Breakfast
(ABC News) — President Trump jokingly requested prayer for Arnold Schwarzenegger as he addressed attendees at this morning’s National Prayer Breakfast. “They hired a big movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to take my place, and we know how that turned out,” Trump said at the top of his remarks. He continued, “The ratings went right down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster. And Mark [Burnett] will never, ever bet against Trump again, and I want to just pray for Arnold, if we can, for those rat..
Boy Scouts to Allow Girls Who Identify as Boys
(New York Times) — Reversing its stance of more than a century, the Boy Scouts of America said on Monday that the group would begin accepting members based on the gender listed on their application, paving the way for transgender boys to join the organization. “For more than 100 years, the Boy Scouts of America, along with schools, youth sports and other youth organizations, have ultimately deferred to the information on an individual’s birth certificate to determine eligibility for our single-..
Entertainment
Martin Scorsese talks Spirituality and Silence
Comment countSilence was one of the most provocative, moving bits of cinema I saw last year. It’s complex and murky and inspiring and troubling and beautiful–all of which, in a way, reflects how I interact with faith itself. Perhaps, when we attempt to understand and embrace the transcendent, it can be no other way. The movie is arguably one of Martin Scorsese’s most overtly religious works. But as many have noted, almost every movie that Scorsese has ever done is about, in some way, faith. Scor..
Why Silence Deserved Oscar’s Love
Comment countAndrew Garfield and Yōsuke Kubozuka in Silence, photo courtesy Paramount PicturesWhen Academy Award nominees earlier this week, plenty of Oscar’s snubs made headlines. No Amy Adams? No Sully? Where’s Hugh Grant? But the Academy reserved its biggest oversight for one of Hollywood’s most acclaimed directors: Martin Scorsese. Silence, the film that Scorsese spent 26 years planning and making, earned just a single nomination—for Rodrigo Prieto’s gorgeous cinematography. Nothing for Andr..
The Story of God: Is There Anybody Out There?
Comment countMorgan Freeman from National Geographic’s The Story of GodFor two seasons, National Geographic’s The Story of God With Morgan Freeman has taken us behind the curtain to see the world’s religions, both great and small, at work. This Monday in the second season finale, Freeman and his crew tackle the biggest question of all: Is there a reason for all this religion? In other words, is there a God? But proof of God, as Oxford Theoretical Physicist Ard Louis says on the show, is impossib..
The Story of God: Finding Heaven in Hell
Comment countMorgan Freeman from National Geographic’s The Story of God.What is heaven? What is hell? And how do they impact how we live right now? “Heaven and Hell,” the latest episode of The Story of God With Morgan Freeman (airing Jan. 23) grapples with those questions. They’re questions that have fascinated me, too. They always have, ever since I was a little boy. In the episode, Freeman and others take an interfaith trip through the Good Place and Bad Place. The show takes us to a cave in T..
Health and Science
Is Genesis History? New Film Affirms Truthfulness of Biblical Record
A soon-to-be-released documentary-style film, featuring footage from around the U.S. and interviews with over a dozen scholars and scientists, will provide visual evidence and scientific arguments for the Bible’s accounts of Creation and the Flood. On February 23, hundreds of movie theaters across the U.S. will participate in a one-night showing of the film “Is Genesis History?” The film, produced by Compass Cinema and structured as a documentary, features interviews with respected Christian sc..
Researchers Experiment Creation of Human-Pig ‘Chimera Embryos’ to Address Shortage of Donor Organs
LA JOLLA, Calif. — A team of biologists at the Salk Institute in California has reportedly created the first-ever human-pig chimeras in an effort to test the idea of growing organs in animals that can later be used in human transplants. “This biomedical advance has long been a dream and a quandary for scientists hoping to address a critical shortage of donor organs,” National Geographic writes. “Every ten minutes, a person is added to the national waiting list for organ transplants. And every d..
Why Our Body Destroys Itself
The science and spirituality behind the latest Nobel Prize in medicine. With every patient I treat, I hear myself echo the same sentiment: I know this hurts. I’m sorry. It will be over soon. In the emergency department, healing rarely comes without pain. It may be the wrenching of a joint back into place, the lancing of an abscess, or the administering of antibiotics through the business end of a large needle. But with the exception of the few who decide at the first flash of my scalpel that pe..
Perplexed Scientists Think C-Sections During Childbirth Are Affecting Human Evolution
Photo Credit: Lisa EspinosaWhy is obstructed labor such a common complication during human childbirth? A team of evolutionary scientists thinks recent human evolution and the modern practice of childbirth via C-section contribute to the problem. Obstructed labor happens when a baby is unable to smoothly pass from the mother’s womb through the birth canal. A major cause of both maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality, obstructed labor is especially common in poorer countries and results in ..
US
The Superbowl and vocation
The Superbowl is this weekend, time for the obligatory polls about whether or not God gets involved in the outcome of sporting events. One-quarter of Americans believe that he does. About a half believe that God rewards faithful athletes with health and success. Certainly, the easy answer is that of course God doesn’t care about a sporting event because He has much more important things to do. But if God attends to the fall of a sparrow, why wouldn’t He attend to the fall of a pigskin? The real ..
The anti-Trump “resistance”
French Resistance fighters, 1944 Democrats have gone into full resistance mode, with Democratic Senators boycotting confirmation hearings to prevent a vote on President Trump’s candidates. (Republicans suspended the rules and approved Treasury Secretary candidate Steven Mnuchin and HHS Secretary candidate Tom Price anyway. See this.) Meanwhile, a self-described “alternative left” has emerged that is pressuring Democratic elected officials not to co-operate with the Republicans. Notice how the us..
Trump’s Supreme Court nominee
President Donald Trump has nominated Colorado appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the late Antonin Scalia. Reportedly, Judge Gorsuch is from that same mold: eloquent, learned, articulate, and an “originalist” when it comes to interpreting the Constitution. He is the author of a book against euthanasia and supported Hobby Lobby in its suit against the Obamacare birth control mandate. An Anglican, he would be the only Protestant on the bench, joining the 5 Ca..
“Pregnant people”
The British Medical Association has issued guidelines saying that to avoid offending the transgendered, health workers should not refer to “pregnant women.” Rather, say, “pregnant people.” After all, a biological female–no, that wording is forbidden too; we must say “assigned female”–who identifies as a man can have a baby. And since we must go by self-identification, that means that men can be pregnant. The Transgender movement has at least destroyed feminism. Now that men can claim the identit..
Church & Theology
“Enlightenment” and True Freedom
“I think, therefore I am.” René Descartes penned this popular line in his 1637 treatise, Discourse on the Method, and it’s a good summary of the book itself. Heralding the importance of scientific discoveries and the necessity of doubting one’s own view of the world, Descartes’s work is often considered the first domino to fall in what is now called the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment, with its explosion of scientific discoveries and philosophical arguments, had one task:..
New Book — Rooted: Theology For Growing Christians
As you may know, my friend Jeff Medders and I wrote a short, accessible book on the most important doctrines of the Christian faith. It’s called Rooted: Theology for Growing Christians, and it released this weekend from Rainer Publishing. As two men who’ve served in church leadership in various ways, we kept running into laypeople who were accidental Universalists, Arians, mystics, and even worse. We’ve found that it’s often not their fault; rather, they spent most of thei..
Church Grammar: Theology as the Language of Christianity
If you’re anything like me, you’ve had your favorite dinnertime evangelists, the local Jehovah’s Witnesses, show up at your door. They’re kind. They smile. And they even tuck in their shirts. To top it all off, they speak Christianese pretty well. Or do they? Though they sound like Christians, they come bearing bad news–an anti-gospel that denies the divinity of Jesus and only offers the possibility of Heaven for a select few people. Their gospel sounds so close to the bib..
Jesus Hanging Out with Wild Animals
The Temptations of Christ, 12th century mosaic at St Mark’s Basilica, Venice. On a recent episode of Word Matters, Trevin Wax and I discussed Mark’s rendering of Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness, particularly the unique insertion of the phrase, “He was with the wild animals” (Mark 1:13, HCSB). After discussing the prominent views of this passage throughout church history, Trevin and I both landed at the same conclusion: Mark is recapitulating the temptation scene of Ge..