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(CNN)You would have to be made of stone to not be moved by President Obama's address on the 50th anniversary of the march on Selma last Saturday. His tribute to the "plain and humble people...coming together to shape their country's course" was poetic and principled, timely and true -- a fitting way to honor those who marched in support of voting rights in 1965. But perhaps the most striking lines from this historic speech concerned the inherent patriotism of righteous protest: "What greater expression of faith in the American experiment than this, what greater form of patriotism is there than...

March 16, 2015Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent    Reading 1 Is 65:17-21 Thus says the LORD:Lo, I am about to create new heavensand a new earth;The things of the past shall not be rememberedor come to mind.Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happinessin what I create;For I create Jerusalem to be a joyand its people to be a delight;I will rejoice in Jerusalemand exult in my people.No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,or the sound of crying;No longer shall there be in itan infant who lives but a few days,or an old man...

YORBA LINDA — Walk into Mark Hanson’s church and nobody will greet you. The guys hanging around the foyer might even make fun of what you’re wearing, or your haircut. A sign over the entrance reads, “Grab a seat in the back and shut up. Nobody cares what you think.” Welcome to Jerk Church. “You know these guys,” says Hanson, the pastor and founder. “They sit with their arms folded the whole time, leave during the altar call, criticize the pastor, snort when other people state their opinions and never create lasting bonds of friendship. Their wives are always really...

Background while you get ready for church

March 15, 2015 - Fourth Sunday of LentFourth Sunday of Lent    Reading 1 2 Chr 36:14-16, 19-23 In those days, all the princes of Judah, the priests, and the people added infidelity to infidelity, practicing all the abominations of the nations and polluting the LORD’s temple which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. Early and often did the LORD, the God of their fathers, send his messengers to them, for he had compassion on his people and his dwelling place.But they mocked the messengers of God, despised his warnings, and scoffed at his prophets, until the anger of the...

March 14, 2015Saturday of the Third Week of Lent    Reading 1 Hos 6:1-6 “Come, let us return to the LORD,it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.He will revive us after two days;on the third day he will raise us up,to live in his presence.Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;as certain as the dawn is his coming,and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!He will come to us like the rain,like spring rain that waters the earth.” What can I...

ATLANTA (AP) — The ministry of a prominent Georgia megachurch pastor and evangelist who teaches that God wants to bless the faithful with earthly riches is seeking donations to buy a luxury jet valued at more than $65 million.

Majesty unspeakable, my soul desires to behold Thee. I cry to Thee from the dust. Yet when I inquire after Thy name it is secret. Thou art hidden in the light which no man can approach unto. What Thou art cannot be thought or uttered, for Thy glory is ineffable. Still, prophet and psalmist, apostle and saint have encouraged me to believe that I may in some measure know Thee. Therefore, I pray, whatever of Thyself Thou hast been pleased to disclose, help me to search out as treasure more precious than rubies or the merchandise of fine gold: for...

A CHRISTIAN IS ONE WHO BELIEVES on Jesus Christ as Lord. With this statement every evangelical agrees. Indeed there would appear to be nothing else to do, since the New Testament is crystal clear about the matter. This first acknowledgment of Christ as Lord and Saviour is usually followed by baptism and membership in a Protestant church, the one because it satisfies a craving for fellowship with others of like mind. A few Christians shy away from organized religion, but the vast majority, while they recognize the imperfections of the churches, nevertheless feel that they can serve their Lord better...

Whenever the word "nations" is mentioned in the Bible, one should understand where God is coming from when He speaks of them. The Nations of the Earth were: - Conceived in a concerted, godless rebellion (Gen 11:1-9, Rev. 17:5, Acts 17:26). - Born (brought forth) in divine judgment (Gen 10, 11:1-9, Rev 17:5, Acts 17:26). - Reared (raised) in godless unbelief and ignorance (Acts 17:26 -30, Rom 1:18-32, Eph. 2:1-3,11,4:17). - Lived out in carelessness, depravity and violence (Matt 6:6, Acts 14:14-16, Rom 1:24-32, Eph. 2:11,4:17, 1 Thess. 4:5, 1 Peter 4:3, Rev 6:4-8, 13:1-10, 18:23-24). - Terminated in vanity,...

1.) The King James Bible and/or Protestant Bible contains 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books. Roman Catholics include all of these books within their sacred canon, with the addition of other books not included within the Protestant Canon. The Coptic Bible contains more books than all of the aforementioned (including the 27/39) and books that Roman Catholics believe to be canonical - and some other books. 2.) The First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD issued the Nicene Creed, adhered to by almost all Christians (Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Protestants and Coptics) with the exception of a...

Christian theology in the American Church has seen no greater evolution than in the last 10 years. In fact, what the American Church has faced, particularly the Mainline Church, has probably been best described as a devolution or deconstruction of the “faith once received.” Another first, the culture has followed the American Mainline, particularly the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Episcopal Church (TEC) in redefining human relationship, sexuality, and marriage. Dr. Del Jacobson, retired professor from Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, MN long ago outlined what the evolution of ideas or movements look like in Church and...

March 13, 2015Friday of the Third Week of Lent    Reading 1 Hos 14:2-10 Thus says the LORD:Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;you have collapsed through your guilt.Take with you words,and return to the LORD;Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,and receive what is good, that we may renderas offerings the bullocks from our stalls.Assyria will not save us,nor shall we have horses to mount;We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’to the work of our hands;for in you the orphan finds compassion.” I will heal their defection, says the LORD,I will love them freely;for my wrath is turned...

Do you feel guilty? What about ashamed and down? I’ve got some good news from Romans 8:31-39 for you. It’s all good news…and only good news. God is in control. The good news of God’s government. “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). God is the sovereign Ruler of the universe and I work for him. That’s why you don’t hear me whining. That’s why I don’t beg for Jesus. That’s why I don’t manipulate or put guilt trips on people. I just do what he told...

Pope Francis has appointed Thomas Daly as the new Catholic Bishop of Spokane. The announcement was made early Thursday. Details will be released during a 9 a.m. press conference. Daly, 54, succeeds Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich, who left Spokane last fall to lead the nation’s third largest diocese. Daly comes to Spokane from San Jose, where he served as auxiliary bishop. He was born in San Francisco and was ordained as a priest in 1987.

How Reliable Is Roman Catholic History?An Example in a Recent Edition of This Rock Magazine   By James White Roman Catholic apologists are going about the land presenting seminars and talks in parish halls and church buildings, all designed to 1) confirm the faithful in their allegiance to Rome and the Papacy, and 2) invite the "separated brethren home to Mother Church." While the number of RC apologists has grown exponentially over the past decade, the one gentleman who has been out-front, or maybe better, in light of the article we will be reviewing, "up-front," the longest, is Karl Keating,...

Evolution of a Creation Scientist by Jeffrey Tomkins, Ph.D. * Unlike many researchers working in the field of creation science, I was not raised in a strong Christian background. The occasional trip to some nominal church with my parents—my father, a successful research chemist for a large corporation, and my mother, a school teacher—was simply something we did to round out our social experience. For the most part, my secular upbringing was steeped in evolutionary science and philosophy. During high school in Vancouver, Washington, I became very interested in biology and especially plant science. My school had an excellent two-year...

Full Title: My Funeral is Back On. For reason of sin, I wanted no funeral. I didn’t want people standing up to testify to what a great guy I was ___________________________________________________ I am painfully aware of the inclinations of my heart. I know how the word of God I preach has beamed a spotlight into my soul, exposing my sin, making me wonder, who am I to be calling others to account? Paul writes my biography in Romans 7. I find great solace in his summation: “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?...

March 12, 2015Thursday of the Third Week of Lent Reading 1 Jer 7:23-28 Thus says the LORD: This is what I commanded my people:Listen to my voice;then I will be your God and you shall be my people.Walk in all the ways that I command you,so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.They walked in the hardness of their evil heartsand turned their backs, not their faces, to me.From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day,I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets.Yet they...

GOD BEING WHO HE is must always be sought for Himself, never as a means toward something else. Whoever seeks other objects and not God is on his own; he may obtain those objects if he is able, but he will never have God. God is never found accidentally. "Ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:13) . Whoever seeks God as a means toward desired ends will not find God. The mighty God, the maker of heaven and earth, will not be one of many treasures, not even...