Cincinnati Bengals Wives Form Weekly Bible Study Support Group

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Cincinnati Bengals Wives Form Weekly Bible Study Support Group
Christian Post Report – Cincinnati Bengals outside linebacker Vontaze Burfict (55) hits Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown (84) during the fourth quarter in the AFC Wild Card playoff football game at Paul Brown Stadium. Burfict was called for a personal foul on the play, Cincinnati, Ohio, January 9, 2016.

When Cincinnati Bengals players are putting their bodies on the line on game days, some of their wives are in Bible study praying for their safety.

“We’re always praying for health; we are always praying for strength, for keeping them; obviously keeping them protected on the field,” Megan Crawford, the wife of Bengals Chaplain LaMorris Crawford, told local station WKRC on Friday. “That’s always our first and foremost. And then on top of that, any victory that we can give praise to Jesus, of course. You want that as well.”

Sarah Zeitler, the wife of Bengals guard Kevin Zeitler, believes there’s a benefit in praying with other NFL wives.

“It’s so nice to have a group of girls that you know are praying over your husband, and the power of prayer is just an incredible thing,” she told WKRC.

Hagar Elgendy Peerman, the pregnant wife of Bengals running back Cedric Peerman, also receives support from the Bible study group that pray with her when she’s away from the soon-to-be father of her first child.

Last year, the Peermans served as guest speakers during the Faith and Culture Lecture Series at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. There, the football star revealed that he uses the NFL as a platform to get closer to Christ.

“God has used this silly game [football] to conform me to the image of Christ,” he said.

The RB was a part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes organization in college, and became a licensed minister in 2008.

“I didn’t wake up one morning and say to myself ‘I want to be a minister,'” he said in a Baltimore Ravens report. “It was more so of a journey across the course of my life.”

He previously shared his testimony about an injury in 2007 bringing him closer to God while he questioned the future of his career.

“I didn’t know if I was going to be able to even play football again,” he said. “If I was ever going to be the same type of player that I was able to be before. [God] brought me through all that stuff, and I give Him all the glory. … I play football to glorify God.”

Source : Christian Post

Rainbow Appears After Tyler Perry Prays

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Rainbow Appears After Tyler Perry Prays
Christian Post Report – Tyler Perry speaks on stage during the 45th NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena, California February 22, 2014.

In the book of Genesis, God used a rainbow to represent his covenant with mankind and now movie mogul Tyler Perry is revealing how the same colorful symbol appeared in the sky after he prayed.

“On New Year’s Day, I had just finished praying and thanking God for all that He had done for me over all these years. I was so full as I came out of the room,” the 46-year-old film and television powerhouse revealed on Facebook last week. “I was thanking Him and praying for a great 2016, and then I saw this right off the balcony!”

A rainbow appeared in Genesis 9:13 as what God called “a token of a covenant between me and the Earth,” (KJV). While Ezekiel 1:28 refers to the symbol as “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.” In his Facebook post last Wednesday, Perry told his more than 12 million followers that he was praying for everybody to have their own rainbow experience.

“My prayer is that God puts a rainbow in your 2016.” he wrote. “I hope this new year brings you the life you’ve always imagined, and I pray that it carries away any and everything that will try to keep you from it. God bless!”

Perry has used his platform to share his faith with others on many occasions, including with his popular film franchise character Madea.

“What I found in plays is that this character — as irreverent as she is — is very disarming. She makes you very comfortable. So what I’ve used her as is as a tool to get people to laugh and relax so that I can talk about God, talk about faith, mention the name Jesus in my films,” Perry told CBN in a previous interview. “And it has worked; it’s served its purpose very well. I’ve seen lots of people who don’t go to church, who have no concept of God, who have never really thought about it, begin to change their lives because of something that was said in the film or something the character invited them to see.”

In March, the playwright, producer, director and actor will be presenting another faith-based project to the world in the form of a modern day Passion Play re-telling of the story of Jesus of Nazareth and the major events in His life that were written about in the Bible.

Perry will serve as a host and narrator for the “The Passion” musical on Fox and expressed his excitement for the project. “I’m excited to host and narrate #ThePassionLive, a musical event that airs live March 20 on Fox,” he tweeted.

Source : Christian Post

In Fulfilling Prophesy, Ed Newton Appointed New Community Bible Church Lead Pastor

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In Fulfilling Prophesy, Ed Newton Appointed New Community Bible Church Lead Pastor
Christian Post Report – Ed Newton, 40, is the new lead pastor at Community Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas.

When he was just 8 years old, an elderly Christian woman prophesied that God was going to use him greatly.

And on Sunday, Ed Newton, 40, took the stage of Community Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas, as the church’s new lead pastor.

The son of two deaf parents, Newton will replace Robert Emmitt, the church’s founder and lead pastor over the next several months as he transitions into the less demanding role of Pastor Emeritus.

In presenting Newton in his new capacity to the church, attended by 27,000 people each week on Sunday, Emmitt said “Ed has been a friend of CBC for five years. He’s preached at our mancations, he’s preached for me a bunch of times … he’s not an unknown, so that’s the cool thing about it.”

He called the move “one of those divine appointments” before saying the Lord has made it so unmistakably clear that this is the right man in the right time. There’s no red flags, no hesitations, no challenges.”

Emmitt then handed the pulpit to Newton who articulated a moving story about his journey to the congregation.

“The reality of the moment began when I was 8 years old,” began Newton. “I was at a McDonald’s, I was interpreting for my parents. Both my parents are deaf. I have no brothers or sisters. It’s broken, it’s bitter. I had just ordered for my parents, I took a step back and all of a sudden someone grabbed my shoulder.”

That someone was the old woman who gave him the prophecy.

“It was a senior African-American woman that I had never met in my entire life and she began to stoop down and asked me this question. She said, ‘Young man, do you do that every place you go with your parents?’ I said ‘yes ma’am.’

“She said, ‘I want you to look at me.’ I said ‘ma’am, I don’t know you.’ She said, ‘I’m a follower of Jesus Christ. One day, God’s gonna greatly use you young man.’ And she spoke prophetically in my life. She had no idea that I was seeking and searching for something to satisfy my soul,” explained Newton, who went on to discuss the rest of his story in a recording posted on YouTube.

In a statement from the church on Monday, Newton affirmed his calling and thanked Emmitt for staying on as a “guiding presence.”

“As a follower of Jesus, husband and father of four, He has called me to serve as a Bible communicator with a shepherd’s heart to lead a multi-cultural and multi-generational community of faith that seeks to change the world,” Newton said in the statement announcing his new role.

“Pastor Emmitt has given all of himself in service to God for so long, so it is not surprising that he has chosen this as his next step. I am thankful that he will continue to be a guiding presence in the CBC community,” he added.

WATCH THE COMPLETE TRANSITION SERVICE BELOW:



Contact: [email protected]; follow me on Twitter @leoblair

Source : Christian Post

Colton Dixon Weds Longtime Girlfriend in Disney-Inspired Wedding

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Colton Dixon Weds Longtime Girlfriend in Disney-Inspired Wedding

Christian Post Report – 1’s “American Idol” finalist Colton Dixon wed his longtime girlfriend, Annie Coggeshall, Saturday evening in a romantic ceremony in Nashville.

Dixon, 24, proposed to Annie Coggeshall, 27, at Disney World in Florida last September and the happy couple took to social media on the big day to share photos of their weekend reception.

With the hashtag #Coltannwedding several photos of the bride and groom can be seen, such as one featuring the two wearing Mickey and Minnie hats. To top it off, at the end of the celebration the Dixons rode off into the night in a Cinderella-inspired horse and carriage.

The young star live tweeted throughout the special day, giving fans a glimpse into how he felt before, during and after.

“Sitting in the groom’s room getting ready for one of the biggest and best decisions of my life. Love you @AnnieCog,” he wrote before the ceremony.

The next day he wrote, “Married my best friend last night. I love you @anniecog. What a great night with family and friends!”

Dixon wasn’t able to keep his composure during the marriage ceremony and reception, according to his twitter page, where he shared that he cried more than four times throughout the night.

“She was glowing and it was unbelievable how beautiful she was. I absolutely lost it. Audible tears. And I’m not a good-looking crier either!” he told People magazine.

Coggeshall was equally excited, posting a bunch of her own photos.

“I’m marrying him today,” she wrote on Instagram the day of. “It has been a busy couple of weeks! There has been much to do but through all of it the love people have shown us is remarkable. We have the best people alongside us for the beginning of this new chapter.”

In an after the wedding photo, Coggeshall revealed that the newlyweds are now celebrating their honeymoon in Tahiti. To see photos of the illustrious wedding, search #Coltannwedding.

Source : Christian Post

60-Y-O Pastor Speaks for First Time About Life Sentence in North Korean Prison

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60-Y-O Pastor Speaks for First Time About Life Sentence in North Korean Prison
Christian Post Report – Hyeon Soo Lim, a Canadian megachurch pastor originally from South Korea, gives an interview with CNN in January 2016, while serving a life sentence in North Korea that includes regular hard labor.

A 60-year-old Canadian megachurch pastor imprisoned in North Korea is being forced to work eight hours a day, six days a week in a labor camp while under the constant watch of guards.

The Rev. Hyeon Soo Lim, pastor of the 3,000-member Light Presbyterian Church located in the Toronto area, was interviewed by CNN at an undisclosed hotel in Pyongyang last week.

Close-shaven and wearing a gray uniform, Lim spoke to Will Ripley of CNN, telling him in Korean that he is getting medical treatment and regular meals while working hard labor.

“Lim has been held in a labor camp. He appears to be the only inmate. He has not seen any other prisoners. Lim works eight hours a day, six days a week, with rest breaks, digging holes for the planting of apple trees in the prison orchard,” CNN reported on Sunday.

Hyeon Soo Lim (Photo: Reuters/KCNA)

South Korea-born Canadian Pastor Hyeon Soo Lim stands during his trial at a North Korean court in this undated photo released by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang, December 16, 2015.

“There are always two guards watching over him. He is serving a life sentence of hard labor. He has no contact with the outside world.”

In late January of 2015, Lim went on a mission trip for humanitarian purposes to North Korea, entering the isolated Communist nation through the People’s Republic of China.

By the end of the month family and members of Light Presbyterian Church had lost contact with Lim, believing that he was detained by North Korean officials.

Lisa Pak, official spokesperson for the Lim family and the church, told The Christian Post in an interview last March that Lim had been to North Korea over 100 times before “on similar trips,” and added that he’s “an experienced traveler” who “knows the language and how to navigate the politics and culture wisely.”

It was later revealed that the North Korean government had in fact detained Lim and sentenced him to life in prison with hard labor.

The government-controlled KCNA media station stated that Lim was guilty of “[committing] anti-DPRK religious activities, [conducting] false propaganda among overseas Koreans, and [taking] active part in the operation of the U.S. and (a South Korean) conservative group to lure and abduct DPRK citizens […] in their programs for ‘aiding defectors from the North.'”

In December, about 1,000 people held a prayer vigil for the imprisoned pastor at Light Presbyterian Church, with Canadian officials working to get his release.

According to the persecution watchdog group Open Doors USA, North Korea consistently ranks as their worst nation to be a Christian.

“There is no other country in the world where Christians are so fiercely persecuted because of their faith. Like other North Koreans, Christians live under one of the most oppressive regimes in recent history,” stated Open Doors back in 2014.

“They have to deal with corrupt officials, horrific policies, natural disasters, diseases, and starvation. On top of all this, they must hide their decision to follow Christ.”

Source : Christian Post

State Of The Union 2016 Address Live Stream Free: Watch Obama SOTU Speech Online (White House Video)

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State Of The Union 2016 Address Live Stream Free: Watch Obama SOTU Speech Online (White House Video)
Christian Post Report – U.S. President Barack Obama pauses while speaking about the shooting attacks in Paris, from the White House in Washington, November 13, 2015.

President Barack Obama will give his final State of the Union address on Tuesday night, and many analysts are predicting that the president will try to convince an uncertain electorate about the progress he has made during his two terms in office, as well as lay out the final things he proposes accomplishing over the coming year.

The 2016 State of the Union address will be aired on a variety of networks including CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox. The address will also be available to watch online through live stream (details below).

A lot of attention this New Year has been focused on the presidential primaries coming up in Iowa and New Hampshire, and the amount of media attention on the elections will only ramp up further from here.

That may mean that this is a final chance for Obama to grab the attention of the nation before election season really and truly ramps up and the focus switches more to who will replace him in the Oval Office.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest spoke of the SOTU address as “this one moment where the country sort of acknowledges that the president gets an hour to assess the condition of the country and to offer up a prescription for confronting the challenges and capitalizing on the opportunities.”

Obama aides have insisted that this year’s State of the Union address will not be like others before it, and that it will have a “non traditional” feel to it.

However, just how “non traditional” the address will be remains to be seen, as most believe Obama will have to spend a substantial amount of time addresses issues that are clearly dividing the nation; including gun control policies, immigration reform, how the administration is tackling ISIS, as well as numerous Middle East issues and the global climate pact signed in Paris.

This divide is clearly shown simply among the guests that Democrats and Republicans are inviting to the address. First Lady Michelle Obama has 23 guests in her reserved section, which includes a Syrian refugee, and one of the plaintiffs from the lawsuit that sparked the legalization of gay marriage across the United States in June 2015.

Meanwhile, Republicans have invited Kim Davis, a clerk from Rowan County, Ky. who was sent to jail after refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, insisting that she was unable to act against her faith and beliefs.

Tonight’s State of the Union address 2016 can be watched online through live stream from 9 p.m. ET by clicking here.

Source : Christian Post

Wealthy Man Donates $17 Million to Eagle Brook Church to Pay Off Mortgage 15 Years Early

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Wealthy Man Donates $17 Million to Eagle Brook Church to Pay Off Mortgage 15 Years Early
Christian Post Report – Eagle Brook Church in Lino Lakes, Minnesota.

A wealthy financial industry executive has donated over $17 million to a Minnesota megachurch to help the congregation pay off the mortgage for a campus that was built over 10 years ago.

Pastor Bob Merritt of Eagle Brook Church, which has over 21,000 weekly worshipers and six locations across the Twin Cities area, announced to his congregation last month that he was blessed to receive notice that the mortgage for the Eagle Brook campus in Lino Lakes was officially paid off, thanks one unnamed donor who paid off the final $17 million of the mortgage over the span of four years.

After Eagle Brook opened its Lino Lakes campus in December of 2005, the church fell into millions of dollars in debt. In an attempt to help the church pay off the mortgage for the new campus, Merritt started a funding campaign years ago and called on donors to help foot the bill for the church.

Merritt explained to his congregation back in December that four years ago he met for lunch in Minneapolis with a wealthy financial services executive in hopes of getting him to contribute to the campaign. Instead of making just a contribution to the campaign, the donor told Merritt that he would simply pay off the entire debt for the church.

“I began my pitch and about halfway through he interrupted me. I thought I heard him say ‘Bob, forget about that. I think I am going to pay the debt,'” Merritt recalled. “I didn’t know if I had heard him correctly because there was noise in the restaurant and I said, ‘What did you say?’ He said, ‘I am going to pay off the Lino Lakes debt. What is it, $17 million or so? I am going to take care of that.'”

“My jaw dropped. People have said things like that to me before. I was guarded,” Merritt added. “That was four years ago. I don’t know how to tell all of you this. This is fairly emotional for me, but as of this weekend, on the 10th anniversary of Lino Lakes campus, this individual and his wife sent the final check for $1.7 million and today, Lino Lakes is completely debt free. It’s unbelievable — 15 years early, debt free.”

Along with the check for $1.7 million, the donor sent Merritt a letter, which he read aloud to his congregation.

“Why did I do it? I wanted to honor God for the many blessings he has bestowed on my life,” the man’s letter stated, as quoted by Merritt. “Giving to this church seemed an appropriate way to honor God. My wife and I love the way Eagle Brook has transformed so many lives in such deeply fundamental ways. Our devotion to God and Eagle Brook has become the bedrock of our marriage and our life.”

One of the reasons that the man felt compelled to pay the remaining $17 million left on the mortgage was because he considered it to be “sacrificial giving” and added that his palms were sweating when he committed to pay off the mortgage.

“The financial blessings God has given me has enabled me to help people who need it,” the man’s letter states. “When they ask me how they can repay me, I tell them to pay it forward, to help somebody else who can’t repay them. With this letter, I am asking the great people of Eagle Brook to pay it forward.”

“To the people of Eagle Brook, please follow my lead. Step out in faith,” the letter continued. “If you are giving to church today, please increase it a lot. Make your palms sweat. If you are not giving today, please start. Developing the habit of giving will reach other people like God has reached you.”

According to Outreach magazine, Eagle Brook’s 21,000-plus weekly worshipers made it the the 11th largest megachurch in the U.S. in 2015.

“My take on this is to be very grateful,” Andy Peterson, who has been a member of the church since 2008, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “The biggest thank you we can give a person like that is to have a ripple effect in the whole community. He is challenging us to pay it forward.”

Source : Christian Post

ISIS Kills 10, Injures 15 in Istanbul Suicide Bombing, Turkish Gov’t Confirms

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ISIS Kills 10, Injures 15 in Istanbul Suicide Bombing, Turkish Gov’t Confirms
Christian Post Report – 10 killed in the Tuesday morning attack, nine have been identified as German tourists. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu contacted German Chancellor Angela Merkel to give his sympathies for the German lives lost.

Other international tourists were also injured in the attack, including 59-year-old Norwegian tourist Jostein Nielsen, who is being treated after shrapnel from the explosion became lodged in his knee.

“I first heard a bang that I think is what detonated the bomb,” he recalled to Norway’s TV2, adding, “After that came the real bang. I felt that my knee stopped working. It was a great shock. The doctors believe that I will be able to walk again. I appreciate that.”

President Erdogan said in a statement to BBC News that the city of Istanbul has been a “top target for all terrorist groups in the region.”

Erdogan added that Turkey is “fighting against all of them equally.”

Although IS has yet to claim responsibility for the attack, Turkish government leaders are maintaining that the man responsible has ties to the radical jihadi group.

According to CNN, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said in a statement that the terrorist is not one of the thousands being tracked by the Turkish government for extremist behavior, adding that the suspect recently entered Turkey from Syria and therefore had not been vetted.

Prime Minister Davutoglu added in a public statement that such attacks will not deter Turkey’s intent in defeating the terrorist organization.

“We will continue our fight against terror (with) the same firm attitude,” Davutoglu said, adding that the country “will never compromise, even one single inch.”

Davutoglu also called on the international community to stand in solidarity against the IS following the attack, pointing to the solidarity shown by the international community following the Paris terror attack in November that claimed Christian Post Report – 130 lives.

“We should display the same solidarity, stand side by side, shoulder to shoulder, in the aftermath of the Istanbul attacks as well,” the prime minister said.

Source : Christian Post

Hundreds Arrested in Germany in Anti-Islamisation Clashes Over Refugee Sex Assaults

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Hundreds Arrested in Germany in Anti-Islamisation Clashes Over Refugee Sex Assaults
Christian Post Report – Members of LEGIDA, the Leipzig arm of the anti-Islam movement Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West (PEGIDA), hold a placard showing German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R) as they take part in a rally in Leipzig, Germany, January 11, 2016.

Over 200 people were arrested on Monday at a large anti-Islamisation protest in the German city of Leipzig, clashing with police over the mass sex assault attacks carried out by suspected refugees on New Year’s Eve.

BBC News reported that close to 2,000 supporters of the Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamization of the West movement (Pegida) marched through Legida in protest against Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door refugee policy, which saw Germany welcome in close to 1.1 million asylum seekers in 2015.

The nation was rocked by news of mass sexual assaults in Cologne and other cities over New Year’s Eve when thousands of suspects believed to be from Arab and North African backgrounds groped, assaulted, and in some cases raped women out on the streets. Well over 500 cases of assault were reported in Cologne, sparking protest marches in several cities.

Police in Leipzig said that 211 Pegida followers were arrested on Monday for vandalism, smashing windows and burning vehicles. Tensions also rose due to counter protests by left-wing activists, who themselves vandalized a bus that had been hired by Pegida supporters.

The Pegida movement rose up in the late stages of 2014, aimed at countering what it sees as Islam’s growing influence on Western culture.

CNN noted that 40 percent of the 553 criminal complaints reported in Cologne were of sexual assault, and so far at least 31 people, most from North African or Middle Eastern countries, have been charged with the crimes.

Cologne police Chief Wolfgang Albers was fired in the aftermath of the attacks following public criticism against the city’s handling of the assaults, admitting that his department failed to report on the incidents in a timely manner.

Mayor Henriette Reker has also been criticized for advising women to keep “more than an arm’s length” away from unknown men on the streets, though later claimed that her remarks were taken out of context.

German politicians have urged for calm, and promised that those responsible for the Cologne attacks will be brought to justice.

The government has announced that changes will be made to allow for an easier process when it comes to deporting foreign criminals and sex attackers of refugee status, with Justice Minister Heiko Maas declaring that no one is above the law.

“We will tighten criminal law to make deportation easier,” Maas said, but insisted that should not mean that asylum-seekers are to be held under extra scrutiny.

Merkel has insisted that Germany will not start closing off its borders to refugees, but also promised tough action for those responsible for such attacks on women.

“The right to asylum can be lost if someone is convicted, on probation or jailed,” the German Chancellor said earlier this week.

“Serial offenders who repeatedly rob or repeatedly affront women must feel the full force of the law,” she added.

“The events of New Year’s Eve have dramatically exposed the challenge we’re facing, revealing a new facet that we haven’t yet seen.”

Source : Christian Post

PC(USA) Event Claims John 3:16 Verse ‘Used for Hate, Intimidation and Fear’

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PC(USA) Event Claims John 3:16 Verse ‘Used for Hate, Intimidation and Fear’

Christian Post Report – The national office for the mainline denomination Presbyterian Church (USA), located in Louisville, Kentucky.

An organizer for the PC(USA)’s annual Montreat College Conference in North Carolina has claimed that the Bible verse John 3:16 has been “used for hate, intimidation and fear.”

Montreat Director of Programs, the Rev. Katie Cashwell, told Presbyterian News Service in an interview last week that the theme for the four-day event, “Reclaim John 3:16,” focused on her belief that the verse has been misused in the recent past.

“Our focus was to reclaim the well-known Bible verse in John 3:16 as a message of love and welcome,” said Cashwell, according to the Presbyterian News Service. “Too often it’s been used for hate, intimidation and fear.”

When The Christian Post contacted PC(USA) and Montreat for clarification about the John 3:16 declaration and information regarding incidents in which the verse had been used for hate, PC(USA) directed this reporter to Montreat, which declined to comment.

Similarly, in a promotional video posted to YouTube months before the conference was held last week, organizers did not specify incidents in which the verse was used for hateful purposes.

Instead, the 67-second ad for the youth event showed specific examples of how ubiquoutious the verse is in popular culture, including a brief showing of the verse citation painted under Tim Tebow’s eyes.

“It seems to be the verse that is quoted a lot. We see it everywhere —T-shirts, billboards, homemade roadside signs, jewelry, tattoos. … It’s also a verse that has been used in damaging ways and ways of exclusion,” according to the conference website, which states the purpose of centering the event around John 3:16 was to look at efforts to evangelize in a diverse religious environment, such as a college campus. But again, no examples were povided to show hateful use of the verse.

“So how can we take it back?” the site continues. “Or start thinking about what it means for our lives? What did Jesus really mean when he said that? It is actually a text about a God that loves and gives. It is a text that invites us to life.”

Ginna Bairby, managing editor of Unbound and associate for Young Adult Social Witness at PC(USA), was a featured speaker at one of the event’s workshops, titled: “A Gospel of Dirt,” and asked the question: “What if we really acted like we believed that God loves the world? That God became flesh and dwelt among us? What might we approach — differently?”

The conference has been held annually since 2007, and this year’s event at the Montreat Conference Center broke an attendance record with approximately 1,100 attendees.

YouTube/Montreat Conference Center
An ad for the 2016 College Conference, which brought 1,100+ youth to the Presbyterian Church (USA) event.

Source : Christian Post

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