Tottenham star Christian Eriksen close to agreeing new four-and-a-half-year deal

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Tottenham star Christian Eriksen close to agreeing new four-and-a-half-year deal

Daily Mail report – Christian Eriksen is close to agreeing a new Tottenham contract following his heroics at Manchester City.

The Denmark international scored the winner at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday as Spurs underlined their title credentials.

And Eriksen is set to hand the White Hart Lane a further boost by penning a new long-term deal worth in the region of £80,000 a week.

Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen is closing in on a new deal at White Hart Lane

Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen is closing in on a new deal at White Hart Lane

The Denmark midfielder notched a vital winner away at Manchester City on his 24th birthdayThe Denmark midfielder notched a vital winner away at Manchester City on his 24th birthday

 

Talks over fresh terms are under way; a proposed four-and-a-half-year deal is understood to be on the table.

Eriksen has two and a half years to run on his current contract and can see the direction they are headed under Mauricio Pochettino and wants to remain part of it.

‘We’re still talking about the contract. It’s all positive,’ Eriksen said. ‘I think everyone can see that I can fulfil my ambitions here.

‘We’re doing a really, really good job. I’m just enjoying the moment.’

The Argentine boss views Eriksen as a central figure to his plans and wants his long-term future secured.

The move to tie the attacking midfielder down to a new deal comes as part of a contract renewal drive at Tottenham.

Dele Alli, Mousa Dembele and Josh Onomah have all put pen to paper on fresh deals in recent weeks.

Plans are also in place to extend the contracts of prolific striker Harry Kane and defender Jan Vertonghen.

Pochettino has smartly rotated his squad and Tottenham’s charge shows no signs of abating after eight wins from 10.

Depth has been a problem in the past but Eriksen insists they have enough to battle on three fronts ahead of this week’s Europa League trip to Fiorentina.

‘We’re still not there, we’re still far from winning the league. There are a lot of games to go. We need to be really sharp and continue what we’re doing. If it’s a plus or minus that we’re going under the radar I don’t know.

‘The last few times we had to travel a lot in the Europa League. This time it is only in Italy, it’s not that far. With the travelling and everything else around it I think it’ll give us a good feeling going into the next few games.

‘We have a lot of good players, even on the bench. The players were brought on are top, top quality. The players who are not playing are doing a really good job. It is to keep everyone sharp.

‘We always believe in scoring goals. We are relaxed. We know when we need to go forward and when we need to stay calm. When the opportunity is there you need to go forward.’

 …Read more

Texas Megachurch Transforms Once Popular Bar Into New Church Campus

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Texas Megachurch Transforms Once Popular Bar Into New Church Campus

Stonegate (Photo: JSA Architects)

Christian Post Report – An artist’s rendering of what the future Odessa campus for Stonegate Fellowship Church of Midland, Texas, will look like. Construction on the new site is scheduled to be completed by Christmas 2016.

A once popular Texas bar is being transformed into the newest campus of a Texas-based non-denominational megachurch.

Stonegate Fellowship Church, based in Midland, purchased the former Graham Central Station last month and is in the process of demolishing the former structure to make way for the space to become the new site for its Odessa congregation.

David McReynolds, pastor of church operations at Stonegate Fellowship, told The Christian Post that the church “had our eye on the property for quite a while.”

“It is in a great location and is the right size building that we were planning to build. The property is well known in the area and is somewhat of a landmark,” said McReynolds.

Stonegate Fellowship finalized its purchase of the property on Feb. 18, with the former bar having a price tag of $3 million.

McReynolds also told CP that demolition of the space began last week and will continue throughout the month, with construction scheduled to begin in April and the space hopefully being ready by Christmas.

“We will be completely renovating the space by removing all interior walls and building back the spaces that we need. This will include a large worship auditorium, children’s ministry space and some adult meeting space,” continued McReynolds.

Graham Central Station (Photo: David McReynolds)

Graham Central Station, a former nightclub and concert venue in Odessa, Texas, that will be turned into a campus for Stonegate Fellowship Church.

“We will completely change the outside of the building as well. It has a very distinct look that worked for the way it was used as a bar. We will completely transform the exterior to look similar to our Midland location.”

Founded in August of 1999, Stonegate’s website lists Bonham Junior High as the worship space for its Odessa campus.

Last April, Graham Central Station announced that due to financial losses it was switching from being a full-time nightclub to a concert-only venue.

During an interview with local media station Odessa American, campus Pastor Chad Bullard explained that regarding the building the “whole thing will look totally different.”

“We’re hoping for growth. We’re hoping that (the church) does grow,” continued Bullard, whose campus currently draws about 400 attendees on average.

Source : Christian Post

Human Rights Group Calls on Egypt to Stop Sending Christian Children Accused of Blasphemy to Prison

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Human Rights Group Calls on Egypt to Stop Sending Christian Children Accused of Blasphemy to Prison

Egyptian Coptic Christians (Photo: Reuters/Asmaa Waguih)

Christian Post Report – Relatives and neighbours of Egyptian Coptic men killed in Libya chant pro-army slogans during a protest while carrying crosses in al-Our village, in Minya governorate, south of Cairo, February 16, 2015. Thousands of traumatized mourners gathered on Monday at the Coptic church in al-Our village south of Cairo, struggling to come to terms with the fate of compatriots who paid a gruesome price for simply seeking work in Libya. Thirteen of 21 Egyptians beheaded by Islamic State came from the impoverished dirt lanes of al-Our, violence that prompted the Egyptian military to launch an air strike on Islamic State militant targets in Libya.

A human rights group has called on Egypt to drop charges against four Christian teenagers and their teacher who were accused of blasphemy for making a private video that mocks the Islamic State terror group.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement Sunday calling on Egyptian authorities to “quash blasphemy sentences handed down to four Christian boys and their teacher over a video mocking ISIS They should also revoke the penal code article that authorities use to prosecute blasphemy.”

Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director for the group, added in a statement that the four children sentenced were only playing an immature joke.

“These children shouldn’t face prison for expressing themselves, even with an immature joke,” Houry said. “The continued prosecution of blasphemy cases in Egypt goes against the government’s claim to be promoting a more inclusive vision of religion.”

Houry added that “Mocking ISIS, or any religious group, with a childish joke is not a crime,” suggesting that “Instead of giving in to retrograde views on blasphemy, Egyptian authorities should protect freedom of expression.”

Three of the teenagers, Mueller Edward, 17, Bassem Hanna, 16, and Alber Ashraf, 16, were sentenced in February in Egypt’s Minya province to five years imprisonment for participating in a video that shows them reciting verses from the Quran and mocking IS militants by pretending to behead each other.

A fourth boy, Clinton Yousef, 17, was sentenced to a juvenile facility for his involvement in the video, and the boys’ teacher was sentenced to three years in a separate trial.

Maher Naguib, the teen’ defense lawyer, has already indicated his plans to appeal the harsh ruling, telling the AFP that “the judge didn’t show any mercy. He handed down the maximum punishment.”

Along with Human Rights Watch, other activist groups have also spoken out against the ruling, including the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms.

As Mueller Edward’s father told Human Rights Watch, the boys made the video in January 2015 as a way of dealing with the horrific persecution of Christians in the Middle East.

“They were psychologically troubled by the killings of Coptic Christians in Libya and went for entertainment. They didn’t deliberately intend any offense. … How can you try someone for mocking ISIS,” the father questioned.

As ABC News reports, there have been other recent cases involving Egypt’s strict blasphemy law.

Last week, Justice Minister Ahmed el-Zind was removed from his post after he suggested he would imprison the Islamic prophet Muhammad if he were a criminal.

While el-Zind argued his comments were made off-the-cuff, Islamic groups in the country argued he had committed blasphemy by speaking against the religious icon.

Ahmed Mussa, a television host in the country, said after el-Zind’s firing that “It is a sad day for justice in Egypt.”

“It is a big mistake on the part of the prime minister and the president,” he continued. “Regrettably, a bad end awaits anyone who works for the interest of the nation. It’s much better to stand aside and shut up.”

Source : Christian Post

Human Rights Group Calls on Egypt to Stop Sending Children Accused of Blasphemy to Prison

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Human Rights Group Calls on Egypt to Stop Sending Children Accused of Blasphemy to Prison

Egyptian Coptic Christians (Photo: Reuters/Asmaa Waguih)

Christian Post Report – Relatives and neighbours of Egyptian Coptic men killed in Libya chant pro-army slogans during a protest while carrying crosses in al-Our village, in Minya governorate, south of Cairo, February 16, 2015. Thousands of traumatized mourners gathered on Monday at the Coptic church in al-Our village south of Cairo, struggling to come to terms with the fate of compatriots who paid a gruesome price for simply seeking work in Libya. Thirteen of 21 Egyptians beheaded by Islamic State came from the impoverished dirt lanes of al-Our, violence that prompted the Egyptian military to launch an air strike on Islamic State militant targets in Libya.

A human rights group has called on Egypt to drop charges against four Christian teenagers and their teacher who were accused of blasphemy for making a private video that mocks the Islamic State terror group.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement Sunday calling on Egyptian authorities to “quash blasphemy sentences handed down to four Christian boys and their teacher over a video mocking ISIS They should also revoke the penal code article that authorities use to prosecute blasphemy.”

Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director for the group, added in a statement that the four children sentenced were only playing an immature joke.

“These children shouldn’t face prison for expressing themselves, even with an immature joke,” Houry said. “The continued prosecution of blasphemy cases in Egypt goes against the government’s claim to be promoting a more inclusive vision of religion.”

Houry added that “Mocking ISIS, or any religious group, with a childish joke is not a crime,” suggesting that “Instead of giving in to retrograde views on blasphemy, Egyptian authorities should protect freedom of expression.”

Three of the teenagers, Mueller Edward, 17, Bassem Hanna, 16, and Alber Ashraf, 16, were sentenced in February in Egypt’s Minya province to five years imprisonment for participating in a video that shows them reciting verses from the Quran and mocking IS militants by pretending to behead each other.

A fourth boy, Clinton Yousef, 17, was sentenced to a juvenile facility for his involvement in the video, and the boys’ teacher was sentenced to three years in a separate trial.

Maher Naguib, the teen’ defense lawyer, has already indicated his plans to appeal the harsh ruling, telling the AFP that “the judge didn’t show any mercy. He handed down the maximum punishment.”

Along with Human Rights Watch, other activist groups have also spoken out against the ruling, including the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms.

As Mueller Edward’s father told Human Rights Watch, the boys made the video in January 2015 as a way of dealing with the horrific persecution of Christians in the Middle East.

“They were psychologically troubled by the killings of Coptic Christians in Libya and went for entertainment. They didn’t deliberately intend any offense. … How can you try someone for mocking ISIS,” the father questioned.

As ABC News reports, there have been other recent cases involving Egypt’s strict blasphemy law.

Last week, Justice Minister Ahmed el-Zind was removed from his post after he suggested he would imprison the Islamic prophet Muhammad if he were a criminal.

While el-Zind argued his comments were made off-the-cuff, Islamic groups in the country argued he had committed blasphemy by speaking against the religious icon.

Ahmed Mussa, a television host in the country, said after el-Zind’s firing that “It is a sad day for justice in Egypt.”

“It is a big mistake on the part of the prime minister and the president,” he continued. “Regrettably, a bad end awaits anyone who works for the interest of the nation. It’s much better to stand aside and shut up.”

Source : Christian Post

Syrian Women Risk Their Lives to Expose Shocking Horrors of Daily Life Under ISIS Rule

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Syrian Women Risk Their Lives to Expose Shocking Horrors of Daily Life Under ISIS Rule

ISIS (Photo: Reuters/Stringer)

Christian Post Report – Militant Islamist fighters wave flags as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria’s northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic “caliphate” after the group captured territory in neighboring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from cars and holding guns in the air, the SITE monitoring service said.

Two courageous women in the Islamic State’s stronghold of Raqqa risked their lives in order to record undercover footage that documents the heinous and oppressive realities of life under IS’ rule.

As it has been nearly two years since IS took control of Raqqa, the group’s de-facto capital, much is known about the horrific human rights abuses that the group commits against residents in the town, but little is known about what day-to-day life is like for the people who live in Raqqa and have to abide by the terror group’s strict brand of Shariah law.

On behalf of CNN’s Swedish affiliate, Expressen TV, two female Raqqa residents using the pseudonyms Oum Mohammed and Om Omran, who both had well-paying jobs before IS arrived, recorded candid footage of life on the Raqqa streets to capture many of the injustices that women and others face under IS’ rule.

As women in IS’ stronghold are heavily punished if they show their face in public, the two women took to the street in very conservative niqabs that only showed their eyes.

One of the first scenes in the 13-minute video shows one of the female media activists going into a beauty supply store. She focuses her camera toward a box of hair dye and notes the woman’s face on the box is scratched over with pen because of IS’ opposition to a woman’s face being shown in public.

“All women like to show their face. We’ve lost that option. We’ve lost our femininity,” Mohammed explained.

The documentary narrator explains that women in IS-controlled Raqqa are not allowed to go out in public alone. They are allowed to go out with another female companion or with their male “guardian.”

The women then catch a taxi cab, where they talk with the taxi driver about his experiences living under IS.

“Oh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, you instill fear into the enemy,” plays an Arabic anthem in the cab. “The women of paradise are calling. I volunteer for martyrdom.”

While riding in the cab, one of the women points out that since it is against IS law for women to go out alone, a taxi driver could be punished with up to 30 lashes by the religious police if he is caught giving a ride to a lone woman. The authorities would also punish the woman.

The driver also explained that one time he and his daughter were out in public and an IS official approached him to ask why his daughter was not wearing a niqab and threatened to physically punish his daughter.

The father refused to let the IS officer punish his daughter. Then the officer threatened to fine the father, to which the father said he would rather pay a fine then let another man assault his daughter.

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Source : Christian Post

Pope Francis: Palestinian Ex Refugee Winner of $1M Global Teacher Award

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Pope Francis: Palestinian Ex Refugee Winner of $1M Global Teacher Award

Pope Francis (Photo: REUTERS/Edgard Garrido)

Christian Post Report – Pope Francis waves to the crowd while arriving to celebrate Mass in San Cristobal de las Casas, February 15, 2016.

Pope Francis announced this week that a Palestinian teacher has been named the recipient of the $1 million Global Teacher Award.

The pontiff made the announcement via video on Sunday, saying Hanan al-Hroub, a school teacher in the city of al-Bireh, located on the West Bank, would be receiving the prize for her dedication to teaching refugee children.

Al-Hroub grew up in a refugee camp herself, and has expressed her commitment to providing children with similar upbringings the chance to learn in a non-violent environment.

Pope Francis said in a statement that he “would like to congratulate the teacher Hanan al-Hroub for winning this prestigious prize due to the importance she gives to the role of play in a child’s education.”

 “A child has the right to play,” the pope continued, adding “part of education is to teach children how to play, because you learn how to be social though games, and you learn the joy of life.”

Francis said during his speech that people like al-Hroub encourage growth for younger generations.

“A population that is not well educated because of wars, or by other reasons that exist in order not to get any education, is a population that decays,” the pope said. “That is why I would like to highlight the noble profession of a teacher.”

Al-Hroub told the Associated Press that she is still amazed she won the award.

“I feel amazing and I still can’t believe that the Pope said my name,” al-Hroub said. “For an Arab, Palestinian teacher to talk to the world today and to reach the highest peak in teaching could be an example for teachers around the world.”

Al-Hroub added that she is planning to use her $1 million reward money to start a scholarship fund for refugee children.

In her acceptance speech, the teacher reiterated her goal to teach refugee children the importance of non-violence. She often employs play scenarios with her children to encourage them to find peaceful solutions to conflict.

“I am proud to be a Palestinian female teacher standing on this stage,” al-Hroub told the audience at the awards’ ceremony in Dubai on Sunday. “We can teach children to be effective and inventive through various contexts which include entertainment, drawing and movement.”

“We need to help children with questioning, dialogue, thinking and feeling to help them express themselves,” al-Hroub added after accepting her prize.

According to the AFP, the awards’ ceremony including video broadcast messages from Prince William, Vice President Joe Biden, and Microsoft’s Bill Gates, among others.

This marks the second Global Teacher Prize to be awarded by the Varkey Foundation, a nonprofit group dedicated to improving education for children around the world.

Sunny Varkey, the philanthropist behind the organization, said in a statement that he hopes al-Hroub’s dedication “will inspire those looking to enter the teaching profession and also shine a powerful spotlight on the incredible work teachers do all over Palestine and throughout the world every day.”

Varkey added to BBC that the purpose of the awards’ ceremony was to shine a light on the importance of teachers.

“My hope is that children from around the world will watch Sunday’s ceremony and think about what their own teachers do for them,” Varkey said.

Source : Christian Post

ISIS Burns Hundreds of Christian Textbooks in Cultural Cleansing of Christianity

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ISIS Burns Hundreds of Christian Textbooks in Cultural Cleansing of Christianity

Christian Post Report – An Islamic State militant tosses Christian textbooks into a bonfire on the grounds that they are the “books of infidels” on March, 10 2016.

In its continued assault against Christianity and the religion’s history, the Islamic State has released a video that shows its jihadis burning hundreds of Christian books last week in the Iraqi city of Mosul on the grounds that they are the “books of infidels.”

The terror group, which conquered Mosul and much of the Nineveh Plains during the summer of 2014, published a video through the affiliated Amaq news agency, showing IS militants in its largest Iraqi stronghold tossing hundreds of Christian textbooks into a large bonfire.

The video was obtained by media activists and posted to YouTube by an Assyrian Christian media group so that it could be circulated as additional proof of IS’ attempt to destroy Christianity and other religions in Iraq and Syria.

According to the the Kurdish media outlet ARA News, the militants’ reasoning for burning the books, which had crosses on their covers, was because they belonged to “infidels.”

Media activist Abdullah al-Mulla said in an interview with ARA that the militants had collected the books from churches and schools throughout the city.

“The militants have also collected a lot of Christian textbooks from the Dawassa district near the Martyrs’ Park and publically burned them,” Mulla added.

This is not the first time that IS has targeted books for destruction. In February 2015, IS fighters ransacked a central Mosul library and burned over 100,000 different books and manuscripts.

After the February burning, the director general of the U.N.’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Irina Bokova said that it was “one of the most devastating acts of destruction of library collections in human history.”

“This destruction marks a new phase in the cultural cleansing perpetrated in regions controlled by armed extremists in Iraq,” Bokova said at the time. “It adds to the systematic destruction of heritage and the persecution of minorities that seeks to wipe out the cultural diversity that is the soul of the Iraqi people.”

While IS has taken up the habit of burning textbooks and other forms of literature that contradicts its own vision of history and the world, it has also published its own textbooks.

According to Heavy.com, the group released scanned pages of an IS mathematics books. One page obtained by Heavy.com reveals that the jihadis are teaching children inside the self-proclaimed caliphate to add and subtract by having them add and subtract images of military tanks, handguns and AK-47 automatic assault rifles.

Other than destroying books and replacing them with their own, IS has also degraded and destroyed much of the region’s Christian roots. The militant group has leveled a few ancient monasteries and destroyed numerous Christian artifacts.

Earlier this year, satellite images confirmed that the group destroyed Iraq’s oldest Christian monastery. St Elijah’s monastery lasted as a place for worship for over 1,400 years before the militants reduced the 27,000-square-foot stone and mortar structure to nothing but rubble.

“Bulldozers, heavy equipment, sledgehammers, possibly explosives turned those stone walls into this field of grey-white dust. They destroyed it completely,” imagery analyst Stephen Wood, who pinpointed the destruction, told The Guardian.

Additionally, IS has destroyed or condemned most of the Christian churches and shiite mosques inside its strongholds in Iraq and Syria.

A number of intenatinoal institutions, including the European Union and the United State Commission on International Religious Freedom, have called what IS is doing to Christians and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria a “genocide.”

Although a number of human rights groups and over 200 members of Congress agree that IS’ persecution of religious minorities qualifies as a “genocide,” The United States government has delayed calling it “genocide.” The U.S. State Department will have until March 17 to make the decision as to whether or not it will call the situation with IS a a genocide.

Last week, the Knights of Columbus and In Defense of Christians released a nearly 280-page report chronicling IS’ atrocities against Iraqi and Syrian Christians.

“For the United State government to stand alone in denying that is genocide would be shameful abdication not just of leadership but cooperation in common sense,” Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson said at a press conference last Thursday.

Source : Christian Post

Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Appoints Rob Pacienza as New Pastor After Tullian Tchividjian Resignation

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Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Appoints Rob Pacienza as New Pastor After Tullian Tchividjian Resignation

b>Christian Post Report – Senior Pastor Tullian Tchividjian preaches on Sunday, Aug. 22, 2010 at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The megachurch stopped offering separate contemporary and traditional worship services on Sundays and currently holds only one service to unite the congregation.

About a year after Billy Graham’s grandson Tullian Tchividjian resigned as the pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Florida after admitting to an affair, the congregation has appointed Rob Pacienza, who has been on staff, to serve as its next lead pastor.

“After a comprehensive and exhaustive search, we are pleased to announce that we found the best candidate right underneath our noses,” Rod Hayes, chairman of the church’s Pulpit Search Committee, announced Sunday. “Rob brings a unique mix of appreciation for the history and tradition of Coral Ridge as well as a burning desire to capture the hearts of our city of Fort Lauderdale with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are excited about welcoming Rob to his new position of leadership at Coral Ridge and look forward to how God will use him in our midst.”

Pacienza, who has been on staff of Coral Ridge for the past seven years and previously served as executive pastor, said he was “humbled and honored” by the congregation’s decision.

He said the members have expressed their trust in him “to shepherd them through this next stage of what I believe will be an exciting time of faithful and fruitful ministry.” He added that the church “is ‘home’ to me, and I cannot think of a congregation I would rather pastor.”

The new pastor sensed God’s calling about 20 years ago when Coral Ridge’s first Pastor, the Rev. D. James Kennedy, asked him, “Have you ever considered the ministry?” His first job was pulling cable for the cameras on Sunday mornings at Coral Ridge.

He attended Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, and continued to intern with the Coral Ridge student ministry during his summers. After graduating with a degree in religion, Pacienza got married and began serving as Student Minister at Rio Vista Community Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where he eventually became executive pastor in 2007. In 2009, he returned to Coral Ridge, first serving as the inreach pastor and eventually as the executive pastor.

Tchividjian resigned last June, saying, “As many of you know, I returned from a trip a few months back and discovered that my wife was having an affair. Heartbroken and devastated, I informed our church leadership and requested a sabbatical to focus exclusively on my marriage and family,” according to The Washington Post. “As her affair continued, we separated. Sadly and embarrassingly, I subsequently sought comfort in a friend and developed an inappropriate relationship myself. Last week I was approached by our church leaders and they asked me about my own affair. I admitted to it and it was decided that the best course of action would be for me to resign.”

After Tchividjian’s resignation, Pacienza said that he and the other church leadership were disappointed. “We are saddened by this news, but are working with and assisting Pastor Tullian and his family to help them through this difficult time, and asking people to join us in praying that God will bring restoration through this process and healing to all involved.”

Last August, Tchividjian petitioned for divorce from his wife, Kimberly Tchividjian.

In an interview with The Christian Post in 2011, Tchividjian, the middle of seven children, shared his past struggles while growing up.

“Being the middle child, I couldn’t figure out where I fit in the home. I couldn’t figure out whether I was the youngest of the older three or the oldest of the younger three. You know, when you don’t know where you fit inside the home and you’re young and you’re desperate to fit in somewhere, I’d figured where I would fit outside the home. So I made some obviously bad decisions about who I hung out with and the things that I did,” he said.

“All of that culminated at the age of 16 when I dropped out of high school, got kicked out of the house. My lifestyle got so disruptive to my family that my parents had no choice but to say, ‘You can’t live here any longer if you’re going to live this way.’ So, I was thrilled about it – thrilled! No teachers breathing down my neck, no parents looking over my shoulder.

“I’m finally free to do whatever I wanted to do. All that was great fun until I was 21 years old. It wasn’t one particular event or one particular crisis, it was just culminating sense of there’s got to be more to life than what I’m experiencing, there’s got to be more to life than what the world is telling me. And that’s when God, the hound of heaven, tracked me down, wrestled me to the ground and raised me back from death to life.”

Source : Christian Post

Rick Warren Reflects on Son’s Suicide as He Prepares for Most ‘Important, Life Changing Series I’ve Ever Taught’

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Rick Warren Reflects on Son’s Suicide as He Prepares for Most ‘Important, Life Changing Series I’ve Ever Taught’

Christian Post Report – Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California in an Easter message video posted on March 13, 2016.

Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church says he’s preparing for the most “important and life-changing” series he’s ever taught, which will focus on God’s mercy, as he reflects on the darkest day of his life nearly three years ago when his 27-year-old son took his own life.

“Easter has become particularly personal and poignant to me in the past three years, because five days after Easter three years ago, my 27-year-old son ended his own life,” Warren said in a video posted on Facebook Sunday, talking about his son, Matthew.

“He had battled mental illness since childhood, and despite all the best doctors and the best medicine, therapy, and prayers, and love, he lost his battle for hope on Easter week. And Our family was devastated. The day Matthew gave into despair was the worst day of my life,” the pastor added.

Warren said that he and his wife, Kay, have since talked with hundreds of other families also facing deep depression, but said that whenever people ask him how his family continues to pull through, he turns to God’s mercy.

“God’s mercy has sustained me, and my wife Kay, and our entire family through the darkest days,” he said.

He revealed that the upcoming Easter events at Saddleback will mark part one of a new sermon series he is embarking on, titled “The Miracle of Mercy.”

“It may be the most important, the most life-changing series I have ever taught. And I hope you will join me as I honestly share how to get through the worst days of your life, by depending on the mercy of God.”

Warren reflected on the three days of Easter, noting that Friday and Saturday are characterized by pain, misery and confusion, but Sunday is a day of joy and celebration.

He said that people face such cycles throughout their lives, and often ask three fundamental questions: “What do I do in my days of pain? How do I get through my days of doubt and confusion? How do I get to the days of joy and victory?”

The megachurch leader said that the answer to all three questions is by “receiving God’s mercy.”

He shared that there would be no fewer than 57 Easter services across Saddleback’s numerous churches in California and across the world, and is inviting people to come visit, noting that there will also be live streaming online for those who live too far away.

Warren has talked openly about his grief and struggles over his son’s suicide on a number of occasions, sharing earlier this year that he still grieves about it every day.

“Suicide is a permanent, irreversible attempt to solve a temporary problem. It is not a wise solution. You don’t have to die to end your pain,” Warren said back in February, comparing the act of suicide to “using a nuclear bomb to wipe out a nest of mosquitoes.”

“It’s irreversible and it’ll do far more damage than you possibly realize and it will affect many other people besides yourself.”

Source : Christian Post