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
Three Causes of Controlling Behavior
These are helpful observations for understanding how such traits can develop, and should increase our compassion and understanding for such sufferers. However, as Christians with Calvin’s spectacles, we have to go further in three ways. First, we have to say that even if the causes have parental or genetic components, we must believe that the Word of God and the Holy Spirit have a necessary and important role to play in conditioning how we react to our parental or genetic inheritance. Yesterday..Continue reading→
William Gurnall on Singing Imprecatory Psalms
1. Take heed thou dost not make thy private particular enemies the object of thy imprecation. We have no warrant, when any wrong us, presently to go and call for fire from heaven upon them. Ames mentioned this but not with as much detail as Gurnall does here. One of the misunderstandings people have about the imprecations is that we don’t like our teacher at school or a person who cut us off on the freeway and so we take up the curses of the Psalms against them. But Gurnall reminds us that it’s..Continue reading→
The Wonder of Work
Insomuch as we build on the foundation of Christ – following His ways, loving His truth, sharing His gospel – we build with heavenly materials. As the Spirit transforms our minds and awakens our hearts, we are being made into the image of Christ. We walk in His ways. We obey His commands. We speak His words of truth. Whatever our calling – lawyer, doctor, teacher, stay at home mother, pastor, banker –we build for eternity as we build in accordance with the foundation, Jesus Christ. My children ..Continue reading→
The Flood Of 2016: Southeast Louisiana And The Consequences Of Real Community
Rather than reward that with aid and bringing the full force of our collective national attention to examples of what resilient and strong American communities look like when challenged…these communities are ignored and left to fend for themselves…simply because they can. The consequence of being a strong community is that your tragedy is not mentioned in national news, your strength uncelebrated, and your needs unmet unless they can be met through your own resilience. Humility and selflessly he..Continue reading→
Music
About A Mile Preps For New Tour, Album With Video
About A Mile's frontman Adam Klutinoty is getting very real and personal, revealing for the first time his bout with drug addiction, lust and more, and how he has received healing and has learned to 'trust God all the way.' In the video below, Adam talks about these things and how they all led to the band's full-length sophomore album, Trust You All The Way, releasing globally Oct. 28 from Radiate Music, and the tour of the same name which launches tonight (October 14) in Blu..Continue reading→
Lauren Daigle’s AMA Nominations, Dove Wins Make for a Big Week
Centricity Music artist Lauren Daigle continues to build momentum with unprecedented record sales, multiple award wins/nominations and a sold out concert tour. Daigle received her first American Music Award nomination this week for "Favorite Artist Contemporary/Inspirational," in great company with Hillsong UNITED and Chris Tomlin. She also took top honors at the Gospel Music Association's (GMA) 47th Annual Dove Awards as the frontrunner of award wins with three for the evening, making this..Continue reading→
DcTalk Reunites Onstage for Surprise Performance
There was a buzz among artists traveling the red carpet at the Gospel Music Association's 47th annual Dove Awards Tuesday night that Christian music superstar TobyMac's performance would be something unforgettable. And they were right. For the first time in more than a decade, TobyMac got the band back together, as he, Michael Tait (currently of Newsboys) and Kevin Max reunited as dcTalk, performing the song "Love Feels Like" live to an astonished crowd.Continue reading→
Bake Sale – EP by Applejaxx
Track Listing 01. Love You Better 02. Trapazoid 03. Blueberry Muffins 04. Budget (feat. Mr. Coldstone) Continue reading→
Only Jesus by Austin Stone Worship
A new kids worship from Austin Stone Worship. Track Listing 01. Jesus Forever 02. King Of Everything 03. Only Jesus 04. You Made Everything 05. Rescue For My Soul 06. Center My Life 07. I Found A Treasure 08. Tell The World 09. Trust 10. We Are One Continue reading→
Lone / Grey by Comrades
Comrades have joined the Facedown Family and are set to release their Facedown debut full length "Lone/Grey" on October 7, 2016. From their beginnings as an instrumental post-rock band, Comrades has consistently created music that is both aggressive, ambient, complex, and emotional. Drawing from their diverse musical backgrounds, band members Ben Trussell (drums/vocals), Laura McElroy (bass/vocals), and Joseph McElroy (guitar) create music that they feel passionately about, and draft a space for the listener to take part in. Their passion and energy continues into their intense and sometimes chaotic live show. As a part of the DIY touring community since 2009,[...]Continue reading→
Now I Understand EP by Bro Ken
Worshipful rock songs from singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, BroKen. Track Listing 01. Now I Understnad 02. Your Love Is All That I Need 03. To My Wife 04. Oh Lord My God 05. Battles Of The Heart Continue reading→
Campfire II: Simplicity by Rend Collective
Irish worship band Rend Collective has announced Campfire II: Simplicity, set to release this November. The album will feature brand new tracks, a cover of Hillsong UNITED's hit "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)", along with favorites from The Art Of Celebration and chart-topping As Family We Go. "The vision behind this project is so near to our hearts," the band shared. "We long to see outsiders invited in, hope restored to the hopeless, rest for the cynics and revival for God's people. We can't wait to share these songs with you. We're praying they encourage, equip and speak life to all[...]Continue reading→
Your Mercy by Paul Baloche
Track Listing 01. Psalm 92 (It Is Good) 02. Once For All 03. Found In You 04. I Will Worship You 05. Your Mercy 06. Songs of the People 07. We Come to You Jesus 08. God Evermore 09. Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus (We Turn) 10. To The Cross I Come 11. More Than I Deserve 12. Peace On Earth Continue reading→
American
Heartbreaking Video Shows You What 58 Million Babies Killed in Abortion Looks Like
Pro-lifers are nothing if not creative. Over the decades, they have produced thousands upon thousands of “visual aids,” from the simplest black and white one-sheeter to full-blown movies—and everything in-between. The common denominator is—to adapt a cliché—to help the public get its collective head around both the humanity we share with the unborn child and the sheer magnitude of the loss of lives since January 22, 1973. Although I scribble for a living, I really do believe a picture–or in th..
Good Deed of the Month
Kim Norvell: JOHNSTON, Iowa — An anonymous donor has paid off lunch debts for 148 Johnston elementary school students whose accounts were in the red by $10 or more. The donation, totaling $13,250, was made Jan. 9. It benefited students in kindergarten through fifth grade in all five Johnston elementary schools, said Laura Sprague, director of communications. “This donation is quite critical for families who need some extra help,” she said. ” … When the belly is full, the kids can have a much bet..
World Vision Letter to President Trump
Dear President Trump and Vice President Pence, As evangelical Christians, we are guided by the Bible to be particularly concerned for the plight of refugees, individuals who have been forced to flee their countries because of the threat of persecution. Evangelical churches and ministries have long played a key role in welcoming, resettling, and assisting in the integration of refugees from various parts of the world. As such, we are troubled by the recent executive order temporarily halting refu..
Why Be Anglican: Prayers of the People
No question about it, but in many churches there is not a designated time for the people to pray. Some churches are just too big for that, and even too big for a pastoral prayer. Others are so focused on the sermon that there is not time left for what we Anglicans call the “prayers of the people.” In our liturgy, every Sunday, we have a time where we are led by a lay person in prayer. It’s called “intercession” or “intercessory prayers” when we pray for others, and when we do it in public it nee..
Entertainment
Watch the Trailer for ‘When The Game Stands Tall’
When the Game Stands Tall opens in theaters everywhere Friday.
Zach Bates Is Engaged!
Man, has it been a busy fall for relationships with kids from huge reality TV families! Jessa Duggar is the first Duggar daughter to enter courtship, which means she should be getting engaged fairly soon unless something major happens, and Erin Bates and Chad Paine are getting hitched in November. But Erin isn’t the only Bates kid settling down – her brother Zach Bates just proposed to his girlfriend Whitney. As is typical with the Bates clan, mom Kelly Bates announced the big news on the family..
US
Gift ideas: Reading Romans with Luther
Let’s start a series of posts on ideas for Christmas presents! Here is a good one: Reading Romans with Luther. It’s by R. J. Grunewald, a sometime commenter here at the Cranach blog. Luther’s greatest theological works are his commentaries on Scripture, such was his concern to adhere closely to the text of God’s Word. One of his greatest works is his commentary on Romans, the epistle in which St. Paul explores the Gospel of salvation through the work of Christ in its depths. Here is the Law & Go..
Problems with the EXXON CEO as Secretary of State
(3) The appearance of plutocracy. There are people on both the left and the right who say that our democracy is a sham because our country is really run by the big corporations. Trump’s packing his cabinet with billionaires, Wall Street tycoons, and corporation CEOs plays right into that.Trump hammered Hillary Clinton for giving speeches to Goldman-Sachs. But he has appointed three Goldman-Sachs executives to his administration. He owes his election to blue-collar workers the Democrats have igno..
Update on Ohio’s anti-abortion bills
The Ohio state legislature has passed two abortion bills that Gov. John Kasich has now acted on. He refused to sign the “heartbeat bill,” which would have banned abortion after the developing child’s heart begins to beat. That can be as early as six weeks, which is before many women even realize they are pregnant. Kasich said that bill would certainly have been struck down by the courts. That’s probably right, but that the child develops such a universal sign of life so early should surely tell ..
Hotels without Gideon Bibles
The Gideons do great work in distributing Bibles. For many decades, virtually every hotel room had a Gideon Bible on the nightstand or in a drawer. But today, less than half do. A survey has found that only 46% of American hotel rooms include religious material. Ten years ago, nearly three-quarters did. Of course, what the Christian Gideons did, representatives of other religions did. Hotels that have Bibles in the rooms often also have Books of Mormon. I suspect that the decline of hotel Bibles..