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
“Doctor Strange:” Marvel goes magic
When “Iron Man” debuted in 2008, some wondered just how much leeway the public would give Marvel before things got too weird. Sure, Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America weren’t that hard to see as possible hits; despite their bizarre origins, they were basically just action heroes with a comic book gloss. But at that time, audiences wanted things grounded and gritty, and the farther one delves into the Marvel universe, the deeper they go into a mythology that includes intergalactic adventures, mys..Continue reading→
Our first look at the modern-day Jesus in The Shack
There have been quite a few movies about Jesus this year, and the genre shows no signs of letting up. Next year will bring us The Star and Mary Magdalene, both of which are set in the first century — but first it will bring us The Shack, an adaptation of William P. Young’s novel, set in the present day, about a grief-stricken father who is met by all three persons of the Trinity, including God the Son, i.e. Jesus. One of the noteworthy things about this film is that the actor playing Jesus, Aviv..Continue reading→
Mel Gibson says The Resurrection will be “like an acid trip”
Mel Gibson is still talking about The Resurrection, his proposed sequel to The Passion of the Christ. Two months ago, he said it will have flashbacks to the Old Testament, and earlier this week, he said it might follow Jesus into Hades. Now he’s made a few more comments about the film, in a public interview with Raymond Arroyo. Commenting on the fact that his film won’t simply be a chronological retelling of the events described in the gospels, Gibson said: It’s not the Burnett version, you know..Continue reading→
Will there be demons in Mel Gibson’s Resurrection movie?
Mel Gibson has been making the rounds this week to promote Hacksaw Ridge, and last night Stephen Colbert asked him about his rumoured sequel to The Passion of the Christ. Gibson replied that the film, currently titled The Resurrection, is “probably about three years off,” and he dropped a few other hints about it as well. Colbert, who is Catholic, noted that there’s less “action” in the biblical version of the story — meaning not that there is less violence of the sort that one often finds in Gi..Continue reading→
Box office: Tyler Perry says Boo! to Tom Hanks’s Inferno
Last week Tyler Perry beat Tom Cruise. This week he beat Tom Hanks. Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween earned an estimated $16.7 million in its second week at the North American box office. That represents a drop of 41.5% since last week, but the film — to many people’s surprise — was still #1 at the box office, thanks to the fact that Inferno was a much bigger flop than anyone expected. Inferno was the only new wide release this week, and it was a follow-up to two big hits, so it arguably sho..Continue reading→
Watch: Mel Gibson dedicates Hacksaw Ridge to the veterans
Hacksaw Ridge is, among other things, a comeback film for Mel Gibson, an Oscar-winning director who also used to be one of the world’s biggest movie stars. It’s the first film he has directed in ten years — a hiatus that began with a couple of scandals that made him persona non grata in Hollywood — and when the poster and trailer came out in July, you could sense that the distributor wasn’t quite sure how prominent Gibson should be in the film’s ad campaign; as many people noted at the time, bot..Continue reading→
Newsbites: Methuselah! Samson and Delilah!
Two quick new items via Deadline, both of which happen to concern Oscar-nominated foreign-film makers who are now going to direct films with a biblical element. 1. Joachim Rønning, who co-directed Kon-Tiki (nominated in 2013; it lost to Amour) and is currently in post-production on the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, has signed on to direct Tom Cruise in Methuselah, a “biblical epic” being produced by David Heyman of Harry Potter fame. I last wrote about this film two years ago, before Cru..Continue reading→
Prophet Joseph — episodes forty-three to forty-five
Synopsis. The sons of Jacob prepare to go to Egypt. Jacob dictates a letter to the Egyptian governor, who unbeknownst to him is his son Joseph. Meanwhile, in Egypt, Akhenaten visits Joseph’s house and decrees that Zuleikha must marry Joseph. Joseph speaks to a crowd — many of whom have become technically enslaved to the Pharaoh in exchange for wheat — and declares that everyone in Egypt is free now, except for those who owned slaves and exploited the poor before the famine. Joseph’s brothers arr..Continue reading→
“The Case for Christ” Lee Strobel drama announced for Spring 2017 theatrical release
An atheist reporter’s surprising road to faith comes to life on film In 1980, Lee Strobel’s award-winning investigative reporting earned him a promotion to legal editor at the Chicago Tribune. Things at home weren’t going nearly as well. His wife Leslie’s newfound faith in Christ compels Lee to utilize his journalistic and legal training to disprove the claims of Christianity—pitting his ..Continue reading→
Music
Guy Penrod To Be Featured At Inaugural Celebration
GRAMMY® and Dove Award-winning vocalist Guy Penrod will be a featured performer at the Faith Freedom & Future Inaugural Ball Friday evening, following the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump, it has been announced. Presented by Family Research Council, the black-tie gala will also include performances from best-selling comedian Chonda Pierce and acclaimed husband/wife duo Aaron & Amanda Crabb, among other special guests. RELATED Aaron & Amanda Crabb To Join Inaugural Festivities "Every p..Continue reading→
JUCE TV’s Premiere To Feature Emcees Davis Absolute and Lawren
Davis Absolute and Lawren are set to appear on JUCE TV's JUCELIVE season two premiere afterparty on Friday, January 27. A Christian youth network designed for the 12-30 age group demographic, JUCE TV is a weekly one-hour live program featuring musical performances, interviews, spoken word and more. The network desires to give back into the lives of its viewers by giving them programming that is not only entertaining, but also builds up the viewer both individually and together as a communi..Continue reading→
CANON Releases New Single
The 8-year CHH veteran CANON released his latest single, titled "Fighters," on Friday, January 13. RELATED Canon Returns to the Stage After Accident The way CANON takes his art seriously is quite evident throughout the self-produced single. The talented wordsmith has his label, Reflection Music Group (RMG), always in his corner as one of his most vocal supporters. Released from the trap music trend, the "boom-bap" vibe is pleasing to the listener's ears as 2017 begins. CANON had this to ..Continue reading→
Former Flyleaf Guitarist Teams Up With Wife To Release New EP
Formerly of platinum selling rock band Flyleaf, founding member/songwriter/guitarist Jared Hartmann has teamed up with his wife Kat to create their first EP, "Kat&Jared." The couple that spent the first eight years of their marriage on the road traveling with Flyleaf describes their new project as a collection of worship songs that "chronicle the journey they have been on over the years" and invite listeners "into the presence of Christ to discover what life is really about." The Hartmann..Continue reading→
Only The Lonely by Colony House
Colony House's second studio album, Only The Lonely, is set to be released on January 13, 2017. The two singles released off the album are titled "You Know It" and "You I."[...]Continue reading→
Walk by Grayson Reed
Besides the amazing talents of Mike Grayson (Mikeschair) and Molly Reed (City Harbor), numerous producers took part in creating this project including Justin Ebach, Ben Glover, Jeff Pardo and Seth Mosley. Grayson|Reed co-wrote all the original material, including their new single, "Fight For You," that is already No. 14 on Billboard's Soft AC chart. The song honestly faces the issues of being married, and how leaning on God helps couples get through the rough parts. I'm gonna fight for you/Nothing's ever gonna burn this down/I'm gonna fight for you/Til the breath in my lungs runs out/Our love is something I[...]Continue reading→
Still: Volume 1 by Rivers & Robots
Integrity Music announces the January 13 release of Still: Volume 1, the debut album in a new instrumental series that will feature guest "artist-producers," giving each project its own unique aesthetic. Guest producers for Still: Volume 1, which was recorded in various locations in the UK and mastered at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, are the acclaimed Manchester, UK-based independent band Rivers Robots. Still is emotive and reminiscent of a film score, combining strings, brass elements and electronic instrumentation, making it an ideal backdrop for moments of prayer and meditation for individuals and churches. The tracklist includes new interpretations[...]Continue reading→
American
Five Principles for Approaching the Bible after Genome Science
Adam and the Genome Books are officially available tomorrow. Clips from the first chapter in the second half of the book. Principle 1: A text out of context is a pretext. Every statement about Adam and Eve in the Old Testament, in Jewish literature, and in the New Testament is a statement made from a context and into a context. Furthermore, some of the statements about Adam and Eve in all of this literature are designed to speak against that context. That is, those statements are polemics and ap..
The Parable of the Good Deplorable
The Parable of the Good Deplorable, by Jason Micheli In front of a crowd of 70 (Or 140, who’s to say how big the crowd really was?) this lawyer tries to trap Jesus by turning the scriptures against him: “Who is my neighbor?” he presses. It’s the kind of bible question they could’ve debated for weeks. Read one part of Leviticus and God’s policy is Israel First; your neighbor is just your fellow Jew. Read another part of Leviticus and your neighbor includes the illegal immigrants and refugees in y..
Epiphany Prayer
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. BCP
In the News: The Fate of Refugees
Nation states have chosen and encoded in law their boundaries and what it takes to get in and out of those boundaries. I don’t get to walk into Canada without going through an officer’s inspection, and Canadians don’t get to enter the USA without inspection. Such laws seem reasonable to most of us. Even so, what about refugees? In the Ancient Near East nations by law insisted in international treaties that refugee slaves be returned to their masters. One of the more remarkable counter-cultural l..
US
Democrats lost because they raised religious liberty fears
The reason the Democrats lost, argues David Bernstein in the Washington Post, is that their words, actions, and policies made large numbers of Christians afraid that their religious liberty is in jeopardy. So even though they had major qualms about Donald Trump, they voted for him in large enough numbers to give him the victory. Bernstein’s point, I believe, is that Democrats wouldn’t have to threaten religious liberty to meet their major policy goals. The country could have gay marriage without..
Macy’s drops Planned Parenthood
Macy’s department store no longer funds or matches contributions to Planned Parenthood. Neither do AT&T, Coca-Cola, Ford, and Xerox. For a list of big corporations that still do fund the abortion provider, click the link after the jump. We’ll see if the biggest funder of Planned Parenthood has a similar change of heart: namely, the United States government. From Macy’s: We No Longer Donate to Planned Parenthood Abortion Business | LifeNews.com: Another large corporation has decided to cease dona..
“Even if they are fools, they shall not go astray”
More prophecies of the coming of Christ for our Advent contemplation: Isaiah 35, yesterday’s Old Testament reading. I give the chapter after the jump. It’s about how God “will come and save you,” and what this will mean for “the redeemed,” those “ransomed by the Lord.” This includes those who are weak, infirm, and “anxious.” I take special comfort from verse 8: “even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.” The Ransomed Shall Return35 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the dese..
CIA says Russia helped Trump
The CIA says that Russia deliberately interfered in the American election in order to help elect DonalTrump. Russian hackers broke into e-mails of both the Democratic and the Republican national committees, but turned over only the Democratic batch to Wikileaks. The correspondence between Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta and various Democratic operatives proved highly embarrassing to her campaign and likely cost her some votes. Trump and his people are denying the Russian involve..