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→
Hot Topics
Military’s Highest Court Denies Marine’s Religious Liberty Claim
In the majority opinion, the judges noted that because Sterling did not indicate until during her trial that the signs had any religious significance to her, the words on the signs could have been interpreted as being “combative in tone.” They concluded the order to remove the signs was valid and did not place a “substantial burden” on her exercise of religion. But in a dissenting opinion, Judge Kevin A. Ohlson argued that, in its decision, the CAAF went far beyond what was necessary to decide S..Continue reading→
This Republican Mayor Has An Incredibly Simple Idea To Help The Homeless. And It Seems To Be Working
In partnership with a local nonprofit that serves the homeless population, a van is dispatched around the city to pick up panhandlers who are interested in working. The job pays $9 an hour, which is above minimum wage, and provides a lunch. At the end of the shift, the participants are offered overnight shelter as needed. Republican Mayor Richard Berry was driving around Albuquerque last year when he saw a man on a street corner holding a sign that read: “Want a Job. Anything Helps.” Throughou..Continue reading→
How Much Should a Christian Olympian Give Up for Gold?
Three-time gold medalist Josh Davis and Rio correspondent Tim Ellsworth on picking between evangelism and family, the athlete’s faith community, and what the Games have in common with missions trips. Did you see the Americans’ sweep the hurdles last night? Do you go to bed at night still thinking about Katie Ledecky breaking her own world records? Do you have dozens of hours of unwatched pool play handball games on your DVR? We have a podcast for you. Two-time Olympian Josh Davis—who swam wit..Continue reading→
Whose Hate? Which Victims?
“So what do victim impact statements and the concept of hate crime have in common? They both point to an evaluation of the moral significance of criminal acts, and of victimhood, that prioritizes the psychological and the subjective.” One of the great problems in today’s world is that hate is rather limited in scope. For society to flourish, we really need more hate—or at least a broader understanding of what hate is. Confused? Well, bear with me a moment while I explain. Last week The Spectat..Continue reading→
Life & Society
Do You Live Like Your Story Matters?
Because of our natural human fixation on “the seen,” we tend to think only of the impact of our story in this brief season of our existence: the here and now. Although that impact is not unimportant, as immortal beings we should be far more concerned with how our story will sound when it is told there and then, in that next season of existence that will extend through all eternity. Unfortunately, for many Christians, the goal is simply to get across the finish line after surviving this earthly ..Continue reading→
Preschooler Made to Care about LGBT Agenda in Colorado
According to The Denver Post, a 4-year-old Aurora, Colorado girl was “kicked out” of a preschool last month when her parents raised questions about books read in her class, including ones that told stories about same-sex couples and worms unsure about their gender. The girl returned home from school one day concerned that her daddy might not like girls anymore–and her mommy is a girl. Montview Community Preschool & Kindergarten in Denver — run as a private, parent cooperative — used the stories ..Continue reading→
Disney Demands Georgia Let Go of Religious Freedom
We should have seen this coming. After all it was a Disney / Pixar film that captured the mantra of the secular Progressives: “We scare because we care.” Just as we describe in You Will Be Made to Care, Disney has joined the NFL and other compassionate bullies to try to shut down even stripped-down religious freedom protection in Georgia under the auspices of opposing discrimination. They are threatening to take their Marvel movie-making magic somewhere else if Georgia passes HB 757 to protect r..Continue reading→
Republican Convention Rules: It Takes a Majority
It takes a majority. It takes a majority of delegates to win the Republican nomination for President. It is not complicated. It is not new. These rules have been basically the same since the founding of the Party. A majority of the delegates to the convention must vote for a candidate if he or she is to become the Party’s nominee. Yet Trump and his fans are demanding the rules be changed to accommodate him. They are demanding that the Establishment (whatever that is anymore) rip up the rules and..Continue reading→
Music
Canton Junction Releases ‘A Canton Christmas’
A Canton Christmas, the highly anticipated full-length holiday debut from Dove Award-winning quartet Canton Junction, bows October 21. Produced by Garry Jones (Ivan Parker, Brian Free & Assurance), the Difference Media/Capitol Christian Distribution release features 10 arrangements of classic carols and timeless favorites. Drawing from Canton Junction's range of influences--including Southern Gospel, country and Texas swi..Continue reading→
Matthew Parker Releases New Album ‘Adventure’
Electronic Pop artist, Matthew Parker releases his second studio project, Adventure. His first single, "Adventure" recently debuted on the Billboard Christian Hot AC CHR chart at No. 27 and is currently No. 4 on the Hot CHR chart and No. 12 on the Australian Christian Chart. The project was produced by Parker and features various guest vocalists ranging from Spencer Kane to Rapture Ruckus. "I'm incredibly excited about my new..Continue reading→
Ginny Owens Releases ‘Love Be The Loudest’ Nov. 18
Award-winning singer-songwriter Ginny Owens releases her ninth studio album, Love Be The Loudest, Nov. 18 on her indie label, Chick Power Music, with The Fuel Music distribution. Prior to the release, two brand new Apple Music and Spotify SuperSingle tracks from the album, the reimagined version of Owens' No. 1 hit song "If You Want Me To" and "The Loudest Voice," will be available beginning today (Oct. 21). The full pre-order of the album is to begin Nov. 4. After more than a million albu..Continue reading→
NRT EXCLUSIVE Love & The Outcome’s Jodi Premiers Cooking Video
NRT has an exclusive video premiere of Love & The Outcome's Jodi's first cooking video. "In The Kitchen With Jodi" shows Jodi teaching how to make Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies with just a few simple ingredients. Using her 'prized possession' red KitchenAid Mixer from her grandma, she mixes dark chocolate, almond flour, honey, coconut oil, vanilla, sea salt and baking powder to create these delicious looking cookies. Continue reading→
Chrildren of God Acoustic Sessions by Phil Wickham
Track Listing 01. Better Than Life (Acoustic) 02. The Secret Place (Acoustic) 03. Divine / Sailing / Time / Hymn (Acoustic) 04. Your Love Awakens Me (Acoustic) 05. My All In All (Acoustic) 06. Starmaker (High Above the Earth) [Acoustic] 07. At the Foot of the Cross (Acoustic) 08. Spirit of God (Acoustic) 09. As It Is in Heaven (Acoustic) 10. Here With Me (Acoustic) 11. Children of God (Acoustic) 12. Doxology / Amen (Acoustic) 13. Wide Awake (Acoustic) 14. Body Mind & Soul (Acoustic) 15. Stand in Awe (Acoustic) Continue reading→
Newsong Heralds The Holidays With Christmas Recording and Tour
The Best Christmas Ever!, the third full-length holiday release from GRAMMY®-nominated NewSong, is set to bow October 21 from HHM Records/Word Distribution. Featuring 10 favorites from the group's best-selling projects The Christmas Shoes (2001) and The Christmas Hope (2006), The Best Christmas Ever! also showcases five newly recorded songs the title-cut and lead single (co-witten by NewSong's Eddie Carswell and Matthew West), a duet with Love & The Outcome's Jodi King; "This Chri..Continue reading→
HeeSun Lee Releases Third Project ‘Beauty For Ashes’
HeeSun Lee dropped Beauty For Ashes on October 14, her first release since 2014. You can purchase the new album here. This time around was personal for HeeSun Lee, with the meaning behind the tracks reopening the doors to females to stand strong within the hiphop genre. She stated, "Everyone has changes that they go through in life that can either make them or break them. I'm showing the world, through my lyrics, that the changes that went on in my life have made me into a stronger, more i..Continue reading→
Dee-1 and Sallie Mae Partnership Spawns Tour and Giveaway
The Knowledge for College Tour began on October 10th in Cincinnati Ohio, sponsored by Sallie Mae. With each school tour stop, Dee-1 is blessing one student in attendance with a $5,000 scholarship check towards their collegiate studies. This tour has also opened other doors and opportunities. Per the Washington Post publication, Dee-1 has collaborated with the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to help train and educate students to manage student loan repayment effectively. He has tra..Continue reading→
let there be light. by Hillsong Worship
let there be light is Hillsong's Worship 25th live album. The theme of the album is centred on Genesis 1:3, featuring some of its internationally recognised worship pastors including Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston, Ben Fielding, Dave Ware and Annie Garratt. Track Listing 01. Behold (Then Sings My Soul) 02. Love So Great 03. Look To The Son 04. Crowns 05. What A Beautiful Name 06. Your Word 07. Let There Be Light 08. In Control 09. Grace To Grace 10. Elohim 11. I Will Boast In Christ 12. As It Is (In Heaven) Continue reading→
American
Disgusting Teen Vogue Article: “11 Thoughtful Gifts Your Friend Who Had an Abortion Would Appreciate”
Disguised as a compassionate way to help a friend, Teen Vogue pushed its pro-abortion agenda on vulnerable young teens again this week. Its latest piece encourages teen girls to support a friend’s decision to abort her unborn baby by giving her gifts. Certainly, a pregnant teenager deserves a lot of support and encouragement, but the only support that Teen Vogue suggests is through abortion. Author Witney Bell wrote: So your friend is about to have an abortion. Of course you want to be there ..
Senate Confirms Pro-Life Rep. Tom Price as HHS Secretary Despite Planned Parenthood’s Objections
Early Friday morning, the US Senate confirmed pro-life Congressman Tom Price as the next secretary of the Health and Human Services department. The vote came despite objections from the Planned Parenthood abortion business and other top abortion advocates — which had launched an all-out campaign in an attempt to stop his nomination. Price was confirmed early Friday, 52-47 after surviving yet another Democratic filibuster against a Trump nomination. An orthopedic surgeon by trade, Price was conf..
Pro-Lifers Will Protest at Planned Parenthood in 218 Cities in 45 States: Defund Planned Parenthood Now
As the fight to strip the nation’s largest abortion chain of its federal funding turns red-hot, the pro-life grassroots is stepping up to do its part. On February 11, “Defund Planned Parenthood” rallies will be held at Planned Parenthood locations throughout the United States to support the defunding effort and confront Planned Parenthood’s propaganda machine. The rallies are being organized by the #ProtestPP Coalition, of which the Pro-Life Action League is a primary co-sponsor, in concert wit..
ACLU Fights to Keep Dismemberment Abortions Legal That Tear Off Babies’ Limbs
Arkansas soon could see a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the state ban on brutal dismemberment abortions, according to Newsweek. The state branch of the pro-abortion legal group said it plans to sue “as soon as practically possible” to stop the law from going into effect. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed the law, the Arkansas Unborn Child Protection From Dismemberment Abortion Act, at the end of January. The legislation prohibits dismemberment abortions, a commo..
Australia
Going back for more of the same
The all-female remake of Ghostbusters, the latest dose of Star Trek and another version of Tarzan. This month, cinemas are again loaded with specific characters or storylines we’ve seen before. Films frequently must be part of a franchise, either as a sequel, prequel, remake, reboot or novel adaptation. Many of us lament such repetition. We complain that movie-makers have no new ideas. Box office results, though, suggest we are creatures of a..
This run club is running for a higher purpose
There are five people inducted into the BT Run Club’s “Hall of Pain”. They’re people who’ve truly encapsulated the club’s motto: “Run with endurance”, and they’re presented the award at the annual “Black Toenail” ceremony (black toe nails are a rather nasty sounding, common running injury). Running is hard, says the club’s founder Simon Elliot. But it’s a great metaphor for the Christian life. And that’s fitting, because the BT Run Cl..
Help China’s poor don God’s armour
The rise of false teaching and heresies in China underlines the need for greater access to affordable Bibles for China’s poor. Chinese Christians recognise that the Bible is the key basis from which to grow in faith and draw wisdom for their daily life. God’s word is also the bedrock of their strength in resisting false teachings and heresies, which are problems in the Chinese church. But so many Christians cannot afford to buy a Bible for themselves, much le..
US evangelicals’ support for Trump soars
Over the protests of some leaders, United States evangelical Christians are flocking to Trump, supporting him in higher numbers than the last Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Fully 78 per cent of white evangelicals (which includes pentecostals) say they would vote for Trump if the election was held today, according to a survey by the Pew Research centre. Recent local polls show that Trump is gaining on Clinton in crucial “swing” states.
Entertainment
WATCH: Patheos Exclusive Sneak Peak of ‘The Magnificent Seven’
“Scripture quotin’ and axe totin'” seems to be the best description for Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), one of the colorful characters in director Antoine Fuqua’s adaptation of the classic western, The Magnificent Seven (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures). With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople, employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns, Sam Chis..
WATCH: Patheos Exclusive Sneak Peek of ‘The Magnificent Seven’
“Scripture quotin’ and axe totin'” seems to be the best description for Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), one of the colorful characters in director Antoine Fuqua’s adaptation of the classic western, The Magnificent Seven (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures). With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople, employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns, Sam Chis..
Forget Judah: Ben-Hur is All About Messala
The 1959 version of Ben-Hur is a triumph of filmmaking—one that won 11 Oscars, boasts Charlton Heston at his prime and features one of the most iconic action sequences in cinematic history. The 2016 version of Ben-Hur is … serviceable. The chariot scene is a dynamic blend of live-action and CGI. A sea-based battle, captured almost completely inside the dark, dungeon-like recesses of a Roman warship, feels gritty and powerful. And the movie was clearly made with a faith-based audienc..
Ben-Hur Opens Today! Star Jack Huston Shares What Drew Him to the Movie
It’s opening day for the highly-anticipated new Ben-Hur movie and if Thursday night’s preview numbers are any indication, millions of movie-goers will be lining up to see Judah Ben-Hur’s epic journey this weekend. British actor Jack Huston (Boardwalk, American Hustle), who plays the film’s leading role of Judah Ben-Hur, shared what drew him to this film at a recent press interview in Los Angeles: The lovely thing about this film is that it’s for everybody — faith or no faith. If you’re looking a..
US
Martin Scorsese on vocation
Renowned film director Martin Scorsese talks about vocation in a recent interview. He didn’t make it through seminary but started to realize that you don’t have to be a priest to have a vocation. I have noticed more and more Catholics who have started understanding vocation in Lutheran terms. Scorsese also discusses his new film Silence, based on Shusaku Endo’s classic novel about the persecution of Jesuit missionaries in Japan in the 17th century. Currently in limited release, the movie is bein..
“Positive propaganda as the main theme”
Russia does it with RT. Arabs do it with Al Jazeera. Now, as of New Year’s Day, China has launched the China Global Television Network. I am impressed with how honest the still-Communist regime is in explaining its purpose: to promote “positive propaganda as the main theme.” Watch for CGTN on your cable or satellite TV system. And watch for Americans to swallow it whole. Having grown up during the Cold War, I find it hard to imagine a Communist propaganda network on our televisions, but then aga..
Top 10 Cranach posts of 2016
I know you are sick of holidays and want to get back to normality, but I can’t resist New Years retrospectives. Other blogs are looking back at their top posts of last year, based on the number of page views, so I did too. The most popular posts are from years ago, but somehow they got into Google’s algorithm. Now, if anybody in the whole world wonders, “Why do some people say ‘Merry Christmas’ and others say ‘Happy Christmas’?” Google takes them to Cranach. The same with St. Patrick’s prayer. A..
The Eighth Day
The Gospel reading for yesterday, commemorating the Circumcision and Name of Jesus, was Luke 2:21, the shortest text in the Lectionary. (See our recent post on the subject.) In the course of an excellent sermon that explored the depths of this one verse of the Bible, our pastor cited the significance of “the eighth day.” God created the universe in six days and on the seventh, He rested. Then on the eighth day, the creation began to unfold. Jesus rose from the dead on the day after the Sabbath; ..
Church & Theology
5 Christmas Gifts Every Christian Parent Can Give
Every mom and dad knows that one of the best things about being a parent is giving to your children. Parents delight in sacrificing to meet their children’s needs and to bring them happiness. That’s one of the reasons Christmas can be a stressful time of year for parents who are struggling financially. The best gifts you can give your children, however, are not tangible. Regardless of what wrapped presents you may or may not be able to give, here are five gifts every Christian parent can (and s..
My 5 Favorite Books of 2016
Follow @BrandonSmith85 For the last few years, I’ve posted a list of my five favorite books of the year. Only my 2015 list has survived, as the others were on my now-defunct personal site. There are a few reasons why I compile these lists. First, I love reading and I love to share what I’m reading. Second, I’m also always encouraged by others’ thoughts and their lists often help me pick out a few last books for my Christmas wish list. Third, I get a lot of books from publishers, and while I don’..
7 Tips for Effective Follow Up
This past weekend—Saturday and Sunday evening—was our annual Christmas musical at Lancaster Baptist Church. The amount of work put into these projections is staggering—not just in the thousands of hours given by the choir, orchestra, and drama teams, but also the thousands of invitations given out all across our community in the weeks preceding the musical. I think our church often enters this weekend a little exhausted. Yet, the exhaustion gives way to joy for all of us as we see people respon..
Growth Points 73: Preparing Gospel-Focused Christmas Messages
With just eight days between now and Christmas, I’ve counted seven Christmas services yet remaining before I sit down for Christmas dinner with my family. It’s a blessing throughout the month of December to focus on Christ’s birth and what He means to us. And yet, it’s a challenge to keep every one of those services unique and effective for the gospel. In this Growth Points video, I’d like to share a few thoughts that I hope will be helpful as you head into the final stretch of the Christmas se..