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→
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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 Wisdom
Ephesians 2:19
“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household,”Continue reading→
Mark 8:29 (08-29-16)
And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.— Mark 8:29 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... The sweetest confession we will ever make is this: I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and I want him to be Lord of my life. Let's say it again, out loud, to the glory of God the father. Then, let's commit that before the year ends, we're going to help someone else come to say it for the first tim..Continue reading→
Galatians 3:28
“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”Continue reading→
Romans 8:28 (08-28-16)
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.— Romans 8:28 (KJV) Thoughts on Today's Verse... The real issue in our lives is not God's faithfulness, but ours. The history of God's faithfulness to Israel and to his promises is found in the Scriptures. We can depend and rely on him to do what he promises, despite the apparent circumstances of our lives. The real issue is whether or not we choose..Continue reading→
Prayers
One with Christ
Passage: Galatians 3:15-29 Prayer: Dear Father, Thank you, Father, for giving your holy law to Moses and for the role it played in bringing people to Christ. Thank you even more that Christ has come as our real teacher and that we have been delivered to him, that we might be justified by faith. Thank you for making us your sons through faith, for making it possible to put on Christ by our baptism into Christ. Thank you that in him there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but that..Continue reading→
Church & Ministries
5 Values for a Healthy and Unified Team
At Saddleback Church we say we are One Church Many Locations and in Saddleback Worship we place the idea of functioning as one team as one of our top team values. The transformative powers of a healthy and united team are unmatched. Here are some sweet points to help us remember what being one team is all about. Unconditional Love “Let love be your highest goal.” 1 Corinthians 14:1 A healthy team begins and ends with love. Unconditional love means that every team member is wanted and valued. ..Continue reading→
Church, parents urged to help kids believe in God more after study shows ‘crisis in faith’ among younger generation
The youth are the hope of the Church, with their young minds serving as a blank canvas for the promotion of the Christian faith. A new study, however, revealed that some of those from the young generation are taking the wrong turn in terms of their spiritual life, giving Christian parents a greater role in keeping their kids' faith now more than ever. Research conducted by Dr. Mark Gray, a senior research associate at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetow..Continue reading→
Perry Noble: Alcohol treatment was ‘one of the most difficult things I’ve experienced’
Perry Noble has said treatment for alcohol abuse was "the hardest thing he'd experienced". Perry Noble, the former pastor of the Newspring megachurch fired over alcohol problems who checked into a 30-day rehab programme, has said his period in an Arizona treatment facility was "one of the most difficult things I've ever experienced". Noble was dismissed by his church's board of directors in July. They said in a statement he had "made some unfortunate choices and decisions that h..Continue reading→
Few evangelical churches led by a woman
A woman raises her hand in prayer during a Joel Osteen ministry event at Yankee Stadium in New York. White men still dominate leadership of evangelical ministries, according to a survey by Religion News Service. Just one of 33 ministries contacted was led by a woman and just three by non-white men. Reporter Steve Rabey, who carried out the survey with support from the Fund for Investigative Journalism, found that more than half of the ministries contacted declined to answer questions a..Continue reading→
Hot Topics
Happy Wife. Happy Life.
Since the world streams into our homes electronically, it’s pretty easy to see that setting the world’s concerns aside means shutting the online door. This should be common sense. But recognize that this is God’s direction. He teaches us how to have a happy home. Dedicated time away from the world is his formula to equip us for strong relationships when the time is right for us to engage the world with vigor. The beeps. The buzzes. The vibrations. The earbuds. The squinting eyes. The bluish glo..Continue reading→
Progressive Christians to “Take Back Their Faith” After Election
Astute observers realize that this is more about being properly positioned and seen as against manufactured evils – how “moral” and “religious” they look to other like-minded people choosing ‘love’ over ‘hate’ – rather than genuine concern for the people/groups these “evils,” it’s claimed, negatively effect. It’s self-congratulatory virtue vanity, it’s empty, and it violates Jesus’ admonition against practicing one’s righteousness before men instead of calling those they claim to represent to a ..Continue reading→
The Whole Church Showing Up in Your Quiet Time
When I sit down to read my Bible, I remember that I am not alone. The Scripture is not alone either. I’m not only depending on the Spirit to work in me for that moment; I know that he has been working in the church universal through the centuries, preserving an orthodox profession and testifying to the truth of God’s Word. I know he is working in my local church, participating in this retrieval and Reformation, looking back to the church universal and “translat[ing] it into our new cultural cont..Continue reading→
“Conscience” by Naselli and Crowley (A Review)
I wish the authors would have related justification to the conscience and Christian liberty. Sadly, the doctrine of justification was not discussed in this book. In reality, Christian liberty is an “appendage of justification,” as Calvin said; certainly justification has everything to do with our conscience and Christian liberty (see Gal. 5:1 & Westminster Confession of Faith ch. 20). The Reformation had a lot to say about justification, liberty, and conscience! This book would have been even be..Continue reading→
Life & Society
C of E’s First Woman Bishop Questions Appointment Of ‘Wonder Woman’ As UN Ambassador
Bishop of Stockport Libby Lane, pictured here with the Archbishop of Canterbury after her consecration as the Church of England's first woman bishop, delivered the Temple lecture last night.Reuters The Church of England's first woman bishop has questioned the appointment of the comic book character "Wonder Woman" as an honorary ambassador for the United Nations. Bishop of Stockport Libby Lane said: "We live in a world where there are women who are everyday heroes in all walks of life..Continue reading→
Persecution ‘All Too Familiar’ As World Marks International Religious Freedom Day
Western Christians have become immune to those suffering religious persecution, Bishop Angaelos, the head bishop of the Coptic Church in the UK, warned on Thursday. In a statement to mark International Religious Freedom Day 2016, Angaelos said the oppression of faith minorities has become "an all-too familiar occurrence". But despite the importance of freedom of belief many have become "desensitised or disheartened" by the struggle. Christians abandon their homes in Iraq to escape violence fro..Continue reading→
The More People Have Benefits Stopped, The More They Turn To Food Banks
Reuters New research from Christian-based charity the Trussell Trust suggests that taking away benefits from people as a punishment means they end up using foodbanks. The study, carried out with researchers from Oxford University, said that 'sanctions', which see the withdrawal of benefits for breaking the rules, lead to an increase in the use of food banks, which are often hosted by churches. The sanctions regime has been criticizsd for being too harsh, with people sanctioned for m..Continue reading→
‘You Don’t Have to Like Her’: Oprah Winfrey Endorses Clinton for President on T.D. Jakes Show
Talk show host Oprah Winfrey recently appeared on the “T.D. Jakes Show,” where she urged viewers to vote for Hillary Clinton, stating that “you don’t have to like her” to vote for her. During the broadcast, Jakes, leader of the Potter’s House megachurch in Dallas, Texas, asked Winfrey how the country can be unified rather than divided. “We have focused so much on what divides us, rather than what unites us,” he said. “You brought all types of people together that normally would not be. How are..Continue reading→
Movies
The Star — the first major-studio animated feature based on the New Testament — has a plot synopsis now
Every now and then, I like to check in on the Sony Pictures Animation website to see if there’s any new information about The Star, the animated Nativity movie coming out in eleven months. Today I noticed that the website now has more story details. Here is the current plot synopsis: In Sony Pictures Animation’s THE STAR, a small but brave donkey named Bo yearns for a life beyond his daily grind at the village mill. One day he finds the courage to break free, and finally goes on the adventure of..Continue reading→
The Nativity Story marks its 10th anniversary today
Today marks the tenth anniversary of the theatrical release of The Nativity Story — the first attempt by a big-ish Hollywood studio to replicate the box-office success that Mel Gibson had found two years earlier with The Passion of the Christ. As we now know, things didn’t quite turn out the way the studio hoped, but the film had its merits, and a few of the people involved went on to bigger and better things — notably director Catherine Hardwicke, who went on to direct the first film in the Twi..Continue reading→
Watch: Sam Worthington gets a visit from the three persons of the Trinity in the first trailer for The Shack
First it was coming out in August, then it was coming out in November. But now the film version of William P. Young’s The Shack is set to come out in March — on March 3, to be precise — and today we finally have our first trailer for the film. Here is the trailer: Coincidentally, there is another movie coming out soon that features a grieving father who is visited by three supernatural beings. In this case, the movie is Collateral Beauty, and the beings in question are Death, Time and Love: It..Continue reading→
Watch: The making of the sea-galley sequence in Ben-Hur
The chariot race isn’t the only big action sequence in Ben-Hur. The story also includes a naval battle that has played a big part in nearly all dramatic versions of the story. And now, to promote the newest film’s Digital HD release, we have a clip from one of the new featurettes that looks at how the sea-galley sequence was put together. Here is the clip, courtesy of Nerd Reactor: The film is out on Digital HD now and comes to DVD and Blu-Ray on December 13. Check out earlier trailers and othe..Continue reading→
Watch: The stars of Ben-Hur (now on Digital HD) talk about the dangers of chariot driving — including gassy horses
Timur Bekmambetov’s remake of Ben-Hur came out on iTunes, Google Play and other digital platforms today. I’m still waiting for the Blu-Ray, so I won’t be able to check out the bonus features until then, but for now, USA Today has a clip from one of the making-of featurettes that focuses on — what else? — the chariot race. Here is the clip, which features soundbites from producer Roma Downey and co-stars Jack Huston (who plays Judah Ben-Hur) and Toby Kebbell (Messala): The film will be out on DVD..Continue reading→
Box office: Moana sails to the top of the charts
Disney added another film to its growing list of box-office hits this week. Moana, an animated film about a Polynesian princess who teams up with a demigod to save her island, earned an estimated $55.5 million between Friday and Sunday and an estimated $81.1 million in total since opening on Tuesday night. That’s the second-best opening of any film released over the American Thanksgiving, behind the $93.6 million that Frozen earned in its first five days in 2013. It is also the best opening of a..Continue reading→
“A Muppet Family Christmas”: Christmas with old friends
Welcome to a new, fun series I’m doing this holiday season. From now until December 25, I’ll be writing about some Christmas-themed pop culture I love, whether that’s movies, TV specials, music or just holiday experiences. Sometimes these will be short, fun pieces. Other times, they’ll be a bit longer and more introspective. I hope you have fun, share your own memories and have a happy season! So much of our enjoyment of the Christmas season comes from nostalgia. We gravitate toward the traditi..Continue reading→
Watch: The trailer for Martin Scorsese’s Silence, about the persecution of Catholic converts in 17th-century Japan
One of the last movies to enter this year’s awards race is a film that has been brewing for decades. Martin Scorsese first read Shūsaku Endō’s 1966 novel Silence, which concerns the persecution of Catholic converts in 17th-century Japan, nearly 30 years ago, and he has wanted to make a movie version of it ever since. Now, at last, his adaptation is complete, and it looks like it could be a powerful film indeed. Here is the trailer that Paramount released last night: The film stars Andrew Garfie..Continue reading→
New pictures: Aviv Alush as Jesus in The Shack, Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus with Rooney Mara in Mary Magdalene
Jesus will be on the big screen in at least two movies next year, and if you want to get a sense of what he will look like, we now have new pictures from both films. First, from The Shack, Aviv Alush recently posted the following image of himself as Jesus wearing a modern-day carpenter’s clothes: Octavia Spencer also posted an image of herself as “Papa” a.k.a. God the Father with Alush as Jesus and Sumire Matsubara as “Sarayu” a.k.a. the Holy Spirit: We saw earlier images of Alush and Spencer in..Continue reading→
Music
Danny Gokey’s ‘Rise’ Debuts At #1 On Billboard’s Top Christian’Gospel Albums Chart
Danny Gokey's RISE debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top Christian/Gospel Albums Chart, #9 on the Top Current Albums Chart and #32 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. His fourth studio album, RISE (January 13, BMG) follows Danny's latest studio album Hope In Front Of Me which also debuted at #1 and crossed 50 million cumulative U.S. streams today. Drawing from his own experiences with grief and adversity, RISE offers a powerful message of hope and triumph. The title track has already hit #..Continue reading→
Zach Williams’ ‘Chain Breaker’ Continues To Top Radio Charts
As 2016 came to a close, Essential Records' artist Zach Williams was wrapping up an astounding year. Not only did he receive his first GRAMMY® nomination, he was also featured on numerous best of 2016 lists while also topping their sales charts with outlets such as iTunes and Amazon (for the "Chain Breaker" single and EP). Apple Music also named Williams their New Artist Of The Week, where editors handpick the hottest emerging acts on the rise. RELATED Grammy Nominated Zach Williams Drops..Continue reading→
Random Hero Releases New Song Mirror Mirror
Random Hero has released a new song and lyric video, titled "Mirror Mirror." The song is the first release from their upcoming double EP release, funded through PledgeMusic. RELATED Random Hero Nears End of Crowdfunding Campaign "Mirror Mirror" offers fans a preview of what they can expect from the dual EPs, The Gift & the Curse and The Light & The Covering. The EPs were entirely fan-funded, with the campaign exceeding its goal. The projects follow up Oceans of Change, which released in 2014. ..Continue reading→
Jonah by KJ-52
KJ's 11th studio album and first independent release, Jonah, will come January 20, 2017. KJ's real name, Jonah Sorrentino, serves as the inspiration for what he describes as his "most transparent/humorous/serious/entertaining and poignant tracks" to date. "The grind of life can really wear on your creativity but this newest project that I've been working on could be the most powerful stuff I've done since the beginning of my career," he wrote. "The new record was inspired by my real name and reflects the transparency of how I've been feeling in my current writing."[...]Continue reading→
Brooklyn and Courtney by Collingsworth Family
When you attend a Collingsworth Family concert, it's more than singing. Of course they are known for their beautiful lush harmonies, but they are also known for their superior instrumental work. Both Phil and Kim Collingsworth have recorded award-winning instrumental tracks, but now it is time for the next generation to shine as StowTown Records and The Collingsworth Family present Brooklyn and Courtney. Both sisters are well versed as violinists, and fans have been asking for a full-length feature for years. Classics, hymns, Classical numbers and popular songs can all be found in this grand effort. From the epic arrangement[...]Continue reading→
Jaci Velasquez To Release First New Album In Five Years
Bilingual, multi-Platinum selling recording artist and actress Jaci Velasquez will release her first, full-length studio album in over five years. The highly-anticipated recording, both the English-language version, Trust, and Spanish-language Confío, will release globally to over 160 nations March 31 from Integrity Music. A Billboard Latin Music Award winner with five Spanish albums to her credit, this marks the first time for Velasquez to simultaneously release an album in both languages. REL..Continue reading→
Ellie Holcomb Premieres New Music Video For ‘Find You Here’
Singer songwriter Ellie Holcomb will release her sophomore album, Red Sea Road, next week on January 27. In anticipation of her forthcoming release, today Billboard.com premiered her music video for the single "Find You Here," which is also the new album's current radio single. Click below to view Holcomb's video taped in the Appalachian Mountains over a 48 hour girls' road trip. The video can also be viewed here courtesy of Billboard online. RELATED Ellie Holcomb To Release Sop..Continue reading→
American
NFL Player Ben Watson Tells March for Life: “We Must End the Unthinkable Practice of Abortion”
Joining hundreds of thousands of people at the March for Life today is NFL star Ben Watson. The Baltimore Ravens tight end has been using his fame not to speak for himself but to speak up for the most vulnerable lives in America – babies in the womb. “Abortion will not end until men stand up” for women and babies in the womb, Watson challenged the crowd during the 44th annual March for Life in Washington, D.C. “We must end the unthinkable practice of abortion in the United States of America.” ..
March for Life President: The Only Number I Care About Is The 58 Million Babies Killed By Abortion
While the theme of this year’s March for Life was “The Power of One,” March President Jeanne Mancini seemed keen to take the focus off of crowd numbers and overall statistics and focus on the big picture: 58 million babies have been aborted in the United States since 1973. Mancini immediately dismissed any comparison to last week’s Women’s March on Washington, saying that the organizers were not concerned with crowd size or likes on social networks. Instead, Mancini said that the only number th..
Trump Advisor Kellyanne Conway Tells March for Life: President Donald Trump “Stands With You”
Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to President Donald Trump, told hundreds of thousands of people at the March for Life that the president stands with them in their battle against abortion. “Steps away from here in the White House, a president and a vice president sit at their desks and make decisions for the nation,” Conway told the crowd. “As they sit there, they stand here with you.” “Their impassioned defense of life as presidential candidates showed a nation that courage and commitment can ..
Kingdom Roots with Dennis Venema, Genomist
Please listen to this to hear Dennis Venema’s story about changing toward evolution.
US
The Christmas wars throughout history
A new book by Gerry Bowler entitled Christmas in the Crosshairs: Two Thousand Years of Denouncing and Defending the World’s Most Celebrated Holiday points out that the “Christmas wars”–the conflict between secular and religious observances of Christmas–have been going on throughout the history of Christianity. The Bishop of Amasea complained in 400 A.D. about how Christmas presents make children greedy. St. Augustine complained about the commercialization of Christmas. And Christians have long c..
Person of the Year
Time Magazine’s Person of the Year is Donald Trump. Of course it was. Who else could it be? One of our end-of-the-year customs here at the Cranach blog–along with making predictions and checking last year’s predictions–is to make our own proposals for Person of the Year. Trump is clearly, in the words of Time’s criteria, “the person who had the greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year.” Feel free to comment on whether you think his influence will be “for better or worse..
Ancient scientists helping modern scientists
Contrary to the stereotypes about ancient and medieval knowledge and totally contradicting Mark Twain’s depiction in Connecticut Yankee of King Arthur’s court panicking over an eclipse, the scientists of yore were keen observers of the heavens. They kept meticulous records of things like eclipses and analyzed them mathematically. Now astronomers from 2016 A.D. are using data recorded by the Babylonians in 136 B.C. to determine that the earth’s rate of rotation has slowed down. They are also maki..
From “the most humiliating year in our history” to victory
Today is the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Daily Oklahoman has a fascinating and moving feature looking not only at the coverage of that event but of its anniversary through the war years and beyond. We often forget that the first year of the war we were losing. The editorial for December 7, 1942, called it “the bitterest and most humiliating year in our history.” The next year’s paper was sober but more upbeat. Then we see optimism. In 1945 we see the exuberance–and relief..