Children Burned Alive in Horrific Boko Haram Attack; 86 People Slaughtered

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Children Burned Alive in Horrific Boko Haram Attack; 86 People Slaughtered

Christian Post Report – Women and children rescued from Boko Haram ariving at the IDC camp in Yola, Adamawa State in this undated photo.

A number of children were burned alive in Boko Haram’s latest horrific attack in Dalori village in Nigeria, with officials saying that 86 people were killed.

The Associated Press reported on Monday that charred corpses and bodies with bullet wounds littered the streets in the Northeastern village, which is hosting up to 25,000 refugees who have fled the Islamic militants.

One survivor said he hid in a tree and heard the screams of children being burned alive.as Boko Haram militants torched huts.

The distraught man told the AP in a telephone call that several members of his family were killed or wounded in the attack, which occurred Saturday evening.

Militants reportedly burned and shot to death civilians, while three female suicide bombers blew themselves up among people fleeing to the neighboring Gamori village.

Nigerian army troops arrived at the scene and clashed with the militants, but a soldier who spoke on condition of anonymity said the army was defeated because the terrorists were better armed.

One resident, identified as Kulo Sheriff by CNN, said that the attack began right after some in the community had finished village prayers.

“We had just finished evening prayers when the gunmen came to our village and indiscriminately opened fire and set fire to homes,” Sheriff said.

“They detonated two bombs, which added to our fright and confusion. Everybody fled into the bush from where we saw our homes burning.”

Resident Adamu Kyari‎ added: “We slept in the bush with no blankets despite the chilling weather. We could hear soldiers battling with the Boko Haram attackers. It was terrifying.”

A state emergency agency official said that workers examining the scene of the attack found 12 bodies that were burned beyond recognition.

“We can’t even pick those ones, they were seriously burned,” the official said, according to Reuters.

Just last week Boko Haram carried out another series of suicide bombing attacks on the town of Chibok, killing 16 people in the process.

Boko Haram, which now refers to itself as the Islamic State’s West Africa Province, has killed well over 20,000 people since it began its insurgency in Nigeria in 2009, and has driven over 2.3 million people from their homes.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has been criticized by some in the country’s media, including the Premium Times, for suggesting in December that Boko Haram had been “technically defeated.”

The publication said on Monday that while it is true that Boko Haram no longer controls large towns and is not governing large territory, it pointed out that the insurgency remains deadly and that the conflict is “far from over.”

Buhari insisted yet again on Sunday that Boko Haram has “lost the war,” however, and are now “seeking ways and means to gradually find their way back into society.”

“I urge all citizens wherever they live to own the war against terror and to be part of the fight because it is the only way we can finish the remaining work that needs to be done to make our country safe again,” the Nigerian president said, according to TheCable, adding that the militants are “so desperate to embarrass the government and the people that they have no qualms attacking isolated communities and markets.”

Source : Christian Post

D.A. Carson on What Matters Most: Faith or Christ

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D.A. Carson on What Matters Most: Faith or Christ

Christian Post Report – D.A. Carson speaking at Bethlehem 2016 Conference for Pastors and Church Leaders in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Theologian D.A. Carson, president of The Gospel Coalition, explored the ground of all human assurances before God, tackling the question in a message about which matters more, the intensity of faith or its object.

Speaking at the Bethlehem 2016 Conference for Pastors and Church Leaders in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Carson asked listeners to picture two Jews by the names of Smith and Brown.

“The day before the first Passover, having a little discussion in the Land of Goshen, Smith says to Brown, ‘Boy, you’re a little nervous about what’s gonna happen tonight?'” Carson, a research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, said in the message titled, “How Long, O Lord? Steadying Our Soul in the Midst of the Storm.”

“‘Brown says, ‘Well, God told us what to do through His servant Moses. You don’t have to be nervous,'” Carson continued. Brown then asks Smith if he hadn’t slaughtered the lamb, put the blood on the doorposts, suggesting that that’s all he needed to do before eating the Passover meal.

“Of course, I’ve done that; I’m not stupid, but still, pretty scary when you think of all the things that have happened around here recently, you know,” Smith responds, referring to incidents recorded in the Bible like river turning into blood. “Pretty awful. And now, there’s a threat of the first born being killed, you know,” Smith adds. “It’s alright for you, you’ve got three sons, I’ve only got one … and the angel of death is passing through tonight, you know. … I’ll be glad when this night is over.’

Brown responds by saying, “Bring it on. I trust the promises of God.”

“That night, the angel of death swept through the land,” Carson continued, and then asked the listeners, “Which one lost his son?” After a long pause, he said, “Neither.”

“Because death doesn’t pass over them on the ground of the intensity or the clarity of the faith exercised, but on the ground of the blood of the lamb,” Carson explained. “That’s what silences the accuser.”

We don’t need to offer any excuses, that we tried hard, Carson added. It is enough that Jesus died, that He for me, he said. “That’s the ground for all human assurance before God.”

We are so fickle when it comes to the intensity of our faith, but the ground of overcoming the evil one is the object of our faith, “the ground of the blood the Lamb,” he concluded.

Source : Christian Post

Leonardo DiCaprio Meets Pope Francis, Promises to Pray for Him

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Leonardo DiCaprio Meets Pope Francis, Promises to Pray for Him

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio met with Pope Francis at the Vatican last week where the two exchanged environment-message gifts.

 Vatican Radio noted that DiCaprio, who has been an outspoken activist for the environment, gave the pontiff an art book from Dutch Renaissance painter Hieronymus Bosch, alongside a check for his charity.

DiCaprio kissed the pope’s ring during the encounter, which was shown on video, and opened up a page of the book depicting the famous “The Garden of Earthly Delights” triptych, which he said hung over his crib as a child.

“As a child I didn’t quite understand what it all meant, but through my child’s eyes it represented a planet, the utopia we had been given, the overpopulation, excesses, and the third panel we see a blackened sky that represents so much to me of what’s going in in the environment,” DiCaprio told the Vatican leader.

Francis in turn gave “The Revenant” actor a copy of his encyclical, “Laudato Si,'” or “Praise Be to You,” which contains some of the Roman Catholic Church leader’s strongest statements on mankind’s responsibility toward the planet.

“The urgent challenge to protect our common home includes a concern to bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change. The Creator does not abandon us; He never forsakes His loving plan or repents of having created us,” Francis wrote in it.

At the end of their encounter, Francis asked DiCaprio to keep him in his prayers, and the actor promised to do so.

DiCaprio, who earlier in January spoke out against corporate greed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, later described his meeting with Francis as an “‘incredible honor.”

“He’s been inspiring and revolutionary, to come out and be outspoken about the issue of climate change and endorse the scientific community,” DiCaprio said backstage at the Screen Actors Guild awards on Saturday, according to USA Today.

”We have 99 percent of the scientific community now saying climate change exists and it’s caused by mankind. Anyone who doesn’t believe in climate change doesn’t believe in science. So the fact that he has come out as the spiritual leader endorsing the scientific movement is unprecedented, and it was an incredible honor to meet him,” he added.

The actor also praised Francis’ encyclical, calling it “one of the most important things in climate change history. Basically, it’s spreading the Gospel that we should care about the planet we live in.”

“It’s a sin to destroy our planet,” he said.

The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, established in 1998, has been engaged in pressing environmental issues throughout the years, which the actor has often spoken out about, including protecting biodiversity, oceans conservation, wildlands conservation, and tackling climate change.

 Source : Christian Post

‘The Finest Hours’ Movie Highlights Hope, Faith, and Fate of Epic Sea Rescue

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‘The Finest Hours’ Movie Highlights Hope, Faith, and Fate of Epic Sea Rescue

“The Finest Hours,” released nationwide Friday, is a Walt Disney Pictures film with a plot taken right from the history books. In the true story of the U.S. Coast Guard’s famous rescue, the Hollywood film showcases the hope and faith of the brave men out at sea.

In 1952, a massive winter storm split an oil tanker in two, off the coast of Cape Cod, trapping more than 30 sailors on board. The Coast Guard heard about the ship in distress and set out on a daring rescue attempt in which mostly every man on board was rescued. The heroic event is now a movie based on a book by the same name.

“The Finest Hours” stars Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster, Holliday Grainger, John Ortiz and Eric Bana.

The following is an edited transcript of an interview with the film’s producer, Jim Whittaker, in which he discusses the deep faith of the men who risked their lives on the historical Coast Guard rescue mission.

The Christian Post: “The Finest Hours” was a lovely film. The themes throughout the entire movie were inspiring and faith was noticeably a big factor. Can you tell us about how faith played a role in the lives of these men?

Whittaker: The hero of the film, Bernie Webber, was the son of a Baptist minister and struggled with his commitment to faith. All of that changed on February 18th, 1952, when he was sent out to rescue what turned out to be 33 men on the back half of an oil tanker that had split in half. It was in the middle of this rescue, which Bernie described as Divine Providence, that played the strongest hand in him continuing forward to rescue any survivors and ultimately succeeding. He felt that God had provided a guiding hand for him on his journey that night and it made him realize that his real calling was to be a Coast Guard rescue man rather than travel in the footsteps of his father, a Baptist minister. In dire times of survival it’s not uncommon for people to turn to their faith and that was also true for the men on the oil tanker Pendleton, which was cut in half by 60-foot waves during the hurricane.

CP: Bernie Webber was a man of integrity and urged the men on the boat to keep hope when there seemed to be none. Do you know why he held so closely to his values?

Whittaker: By all accounts Bernie was an incredible man of great integrity. He was humble, sincere and always did the right thing no matter what the circumstances. When he was called upon as the leader of the C-Team, the only ones left in the station to go out to perform a rescue under suicidal circumstances, he answered the call. He held out hope at every turn but it was in the midst of his most challenging circumstances, that he felt the guiding hand of God urging him to continue.  And he never lost faith or hope in his quest.  These are some of the many qualities he held and we felt privileged to be able to show that in the film.

CP: Throughout the entire film Ray Sybert kept saying that he did not believe in luck. Why was that such an important point to make in this movie?

Whittaker: The film is ultimately about hope, faith and fate. Bernie had great faith and came to believe that it was his fate to rescue the men. By showing Sybert as a person who didn’t believe in luck, it served to highlight the role that fate played in these two men’s lives. In a certain sense Sybert came to realize that maybe his life was made up of more than just luck but fate as well.

CP: The romantic aspect of the film was classic and traditional, what are you hoping people take away from that?

Whittaker: What I loved about the romance is that Miriam was a telephone operator who fell in love with Bernie when she overheard him turning down another woman for a blind date because he had to go out and perform a rescue at sea. She knew Bernie was the man for her, not because he was a Coast Guardsman, but because of the kind and gentle way in which he turned this other woman down. A modern woman in the 1950’s, she was determined to marry Bernie and in fact she was the one who proposed to him. I love the idealism rooted in integrity of character that turned out to be the right thing for both of them. They were married for 58 years until Bernie’s death at the age of 81.

CP: What else can you add concerning the faith or family aspect of the film?

Whittaker: I recently took my 10-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter to see the film and they loved it. In part because they admired the characters and they loved the adventure. Notwithstanding my role as their father, they kept saying “Dad I really like it, I really liked it” and I knew they did because they kept repeating it the next day when they woke up. I think it’s a great film for families and in particular families of faith.

 Find out more information visit  – fandango.com/thefinesthours

Source : Christian Post

How Evangelist Dave Sterrett Would Sway Christians Who Support Abortion

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How Evangelist Dave Sterrett Would Sway Christians Who Support Abortion

It’s a little bit of show and tell if you ask him about his strategy to change the minds of pro-choice Christians, but it also involves asking philosophical questions like, “What does it mean to be human?”

Dave Sterrett, Christian evangelist and founder of Disruptive Truth, an organization dedicated to proclaiming “the disruptive truths of Jesus until the whole world hears,” thought about the question for just a little while when this reporter asked him: “What would you say to Christians who are pro-choice?”

He had just finished talking about his organization’s new campaign launched this month called We Choose Life that he hopes will disrupt the conversation on abortion by providing a small group, one-day, training and discussion guide on the issue.

It will be available as a free download along with short films that feature pro-life training and biblical hope from Sterrett as well as true stories from pro-life leaders such as Lila Rose, founder of Live Action. Sterrett has also written a companion book, We Choose Life released this month by Hendrickson Publishers to help the cause.

His aim is to train and equip 500,000 high school and college students to be able to give “an answer to the abortion issue with clarity, compassion and conviction, offering real answers, real stories and real hope to a new generation.”

“How do we answer the questions? We know that Planned Parenthood is focused, targeting minorities and university students. That’s where they often have their abortion facilities,” he said.

“We want to provide answers because there’s many young people and adults who say, well, I’m pro-life. But you ask them the tough questions, ‘what about cases of rape? What about incest? What about if the mother’s life is in danger? How do you answer those questions?” he asked.

The Church, he said, has been silent on the issue of abortion and has been pouring much more effort into bringing attention other causes such as deaths from AIDS, heart disease, lack of clean drinking water and so on, which collectively do not amount to the 40 million who die annually on a global scale as a result of abortion.

“If the church and other believers are bringing attention to these other causes, my question is why is the church so silent about abortion?” Sterrett asked.

“Worldwide, we talk about justice, there’s a lot of things my generation, for example, is passionate about. Sex trafficking, exposing the darkness of that,” he continued. “If we really wanted to shut down sex trafficking here in the United States, one of the things that’s something closely related to that is abortion, because these young girls get pregnant and where do the sex traffickers take them? They take them to the abortion facilities.”

“We know from Lila Rose, who is in our video, her undercover work at Live Action has exposed that Planned Parenthood has not reported sex trafficking, they have not reported statutory rape. In fact, Planned Parenthood knows that they’ll make money off abortions, so Planned Parenthood does not oppose it. … We need to be concerned about all these other causes.”

The Church has come a long way on the issue of abortion, he said, but there is still a lot more work to do.
“During the time of Roe v. Wade most Protestants were in favor of abortion. We were silent,” Sterrett said.

“Though there were a lot of things happening with the Jesus movement, people were being saved but the Protestants, the Evangelicals were quiet about abortion. My particular denomination at the time — Southern Baptist — was in favor of abortion,” he noted. “And thankfully in the late ’70s the Southern Baptist, the Assembly of God and many of the Evangelical denominations changed … and took a pro-life stance, but we still have a long way to go.”

Indeed, although the Resolution on Abortion, adopted at the Southern Baptist Convention in June 1971 — two years before the landmark Roe v. Wade decision — charged that society had a responsibility to affirm the sanctity of human life, it still allowed abortion under a set of circumstances open to broad interpretation.

“Be it further RESOLVED, That we call upon Southern Baptists to work for legislation that will allow the possibility of abortion under such conditions as rape, incest, clear evidence of severe fetal deformity, and carefully ascertained evidence of the likelihood of damage to the emotional, mental, and physical health of the mother,” the document notes, in part.

Sterrett argued that this is not something widely known.

So, with so much left to do in the Church, this CP reporter asked him the question: “What would you say to Christians who are pro-choice?”

He thought for a little.

“I would want to listen to them and ask them why they are pro-choice and then I would try to understand what are the reasons they are and then I would begin to ask them questions like, very simple questions that would allow them to think,” he began. “Ask them, you know, ‘what is a pregnancy? Are they in favor of all abortions or some? What does it mean to be human?’ I would ask them what do they mean by abortion.”

And after asking and telling. There might have to be some showing.

“You have some people who are pro-choice, they have no idea what an abortion is … they have no idea,” Sterrett said.

“And so, what we do in this video, as difficult as it is, we talk about the abortion procedure. And once individuals begin to see what abortion is and what does it mean to be human, they begin to change their minds,” he noted.

“And one of the guys that helped with the video, he considered himself pro-life but he wasn’t really sure, and one of the things that actually changed his position was seeing this image that we show of what an abortion is. And that changed his mind.”

Source : Christian Post

John Piper on Six Ways Christians Should Respond to Cultural Exclusion, Hostility

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John Piper on Six Ways Christians Should Respond to Cultural Exclusion, Hostility

Christian Post Report – Christian minister John Piper is seen in this photo shared publicly in 2012 by his Desiring God ministry on Facebook.

Theologian John Piper explained how the church in America is living with “cultural indifference or derision or exclusion or hostility,” and why this is not strange but normal, and how Christians are called to respond to it according to the Bible.

Speaking at the Bethlehem 2016 Conference for Pastors and Church Leaders in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Piper quoted Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research, as saying that Christianity in America is becoming “less nominal, more defined, and more outside of the mainstream of American culture.”

“More outside of the mainstream of American culture” is not the same as saying true Christianity is declining in numbers or faithfulness, clarified Piper, founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary.

The theme of the three-day conference, which concluded Wednesday, was: “Think It Not Strange: Fiery Trials and the Testimony of Christ.”

The forces that are making it desirable for nominal Christians to become non-Christians are the same forces that are making our culture increasingly inhospitable to true Christianity, Piper explained, referring to the rise of the “nones.”

“The worldview and the moral convictions of mainstream American culture are increasingly at odds with the worldview and the moral convictions taught in the Bible,” he said, adding, “The condition of unbelieving culture is not the report card of the church.”

Piper said the aim of the conference is “to strengthen your settled and peaceful conviction that living with cultural indifference or derision or exclusion or hostility is not strange but normal, that God calls in those many sorrows to live a life of overflowing and Christ-exalting joy and love.”

He quoted 1 Peter 4:12–19, which he said, tells us what is coming upon the Christians in this life and how they should respond.

The sufferings of Christ stand before the believers as a summary of what they can expect, he said. “When these kinds of things happen to you as Christians, they are not strange. This is normal.”

“…In God’s wisdom, He has planned that the sufferings of Christ save us from the sufferings of punishment, not the sufferings of purification. They save us from the fires of hell, not from the fires of refining,” Piper explained.

Peter calls for six responses, he shared.

One, do not be surprised, Piper said. Peter is saying, he explained, “Settle it in your sober mind, and in your heart — suffering is not strange. That’s where we start. We start with truth. Revealed truth about God and the way he runs the world. He is telling us: I do it this way. So don’t be surprised.”

Two, entrust your soul to a faithful Creator. Jesus showed how to suffer without retaliation, even when being treated so unjustly, Piper said. “We entrust the justice of our cause, and we entrust our souls to a faithful creator.”

Three, do not be ashamed. “Christianity is founded on a shamed Christ,” Piper said. “We have come to a rejected Christ. Thrown out. Despised. Hated. Slandered. Spit on. Mocked. Stripped. Nailed like a piece of meat to pole. And taunted. This is our forerunner.”

He added, “This is what Peter is calling us to be in our day: unashamed of Christ! Unashamed of ridicule, sarcasm, mockery, snubbing, abandonment, suffering. Objectively shamed, and subjectively unashamed.”

Four, Rejoice. “It was an utterly pervasive teaching of the early church: the Christian response to suffering is joy,” Piper said.

“If there is someone in your church clamoring for you to show them from the Bible how they have a right to carry a gun to save themselves and their family from suffering and death, by all means spend ten cents of your labor on that. And then spend a million dollars on this. You don’t need the Bible or the Holy Spirit to persuade human beings to protect themselves. But to bring into being a church of people who rejoice when they are treated unjustly — that is a miracle that you should give your whole life to,” he added.

Five, overflow in good deeds. “Suffering. Entrusting your soul to God. Unashamed. Rejoicing. Doing good. This is not a mere private morality of avoidance — not doing bad things. This is a public morality overflowing with good works that help other people,” Piper explained.

Six, glorify God. “If, when you suffer, you are not surprised and you trust God, and despise shame and rejoice in your suffering, and overflow in good deeds, and you show that your treasure is not in this world but is in God, you show that He is glorious — gloriously satisfying,” Piper said.

He concluded: “Therefore, in whatever trials come don’t be surprised, entrust your soul to your faithful Creator, don’t be ashamed of Christ, rejoice in hope, fill your life with good deeds. And show the world that God is gloriously satisfying.”

Source : Christian Post

Silent Film ‘Providence’ Tells Old-Fashioned Love Story With a Modern Twist

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Silent Film ‘Providence’ Tells Old-Fashioned Love Story With a Modern Twist
AMC theaters across the U.S. will be showing a limited theatrical release of “Providence,” a modern day retelling of an old-fashioned love story that is sure to warm hearts this Valentine’s Day weekend.

The silent cinematic feature tells a love story that spans four decades and reveals how a lifetime of choices, mixed with chance encounters and divine intervention, leads one to their destiny.

The storyline follows the lives of two characters named Rachel and Mitchell, two people who grow up together in the small town of Providence, Tennessee. Throughout their lives their paths keep intersecting, but misunderstandings pull them apart until tragedy brings them back together.

The faith-based flick features three actors who portray each phase of the two lead characters’ lives: Emily Knapp and Chase Anderson (“Where Hope Grows”) are Rachel and Mitchell as children; Stacey Bradshaw (“Touched by Grace”) and Josh Allen play the teen counterparts; and Rich Swingle (“Beyond the Mask”) and Juli Tapken portray the adult sweethearts. Other cast members include Irene Santiago (“High School Musical”), who plays Rachel’s mother, and Jenn Gotzon (“Frost” and “Nixon”) has a cameo role.

Film critic Kirk Fernwood of One Film Fan said: “‘Providence’ is a charming, artistic, attractive, earnest, and innocently simple film with a deep, heartfelt message.”

Husband and wife duo, Fred and Sharon Wilharm of Main Street Productions, teamed up to make the romantic film. The silent film “Providence” is not a first for them, in 2014 the couple released a multi-award winning silent cinema movie called “The Good Book.”

For “Providence,” Sharon served as the writer/director and Fred as the producer, cinematographer and editor.

“Without dialogue, the movie is able to speak to people in a very personal way,” Sharon said in a statement to The Christian Post. “Each person interprets the scenes and hears in their mind dialogue that makes sense to them.”

“Providence” was the winner of “Best Story,” “Best Directing” and “Best Lyrical Music” at Faith Film Fest 2015 and has been selected to screen at other film festivals.

“‘Providence’ is about true love and connecting with your soulmate,” Fred Wilharm added. “We wanted to let people know it’s never too late to find true love and that true love is worth the wait.”

“Providence” is set to release in Atlanta, Tulsa, Los Angeles, New York City, Destin, Charlotte and Jacksonville on Feb. 12.  For more information, visit providencemovie.com.

Source : Christian Post

Rick Warren Reveals Secret on How to Find Happiness

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Christian Post Report – Pastor Rick Warren delivers the final message to Mars Hill congregation, Dec. 28, 2014.

To find happiness, Christians must stop worrying about inconsequential things and find relaxation in the grace of God, Pastor Rick Warren shared in a recent devotional.

Warren, who heads Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, writes in his “Daily Devotional” that Christians need to stop worrying about God’s approval, and rather relax knowing that God loves all of his children unconditionally.

“You can’t earn God’s approval. You can’t earn his love. You can’t earn his recognition. God is love, and he loves you unconditionally. If you want to be a happy person, you need to relax in God’s grace every day,” Warren writes.

Warren goes on to suggest that a dangerous way to lose happiness is by constantly trying to prove that you are worthy of God’s love. Such an attitude can result in judgment and feelings of guilt, subsequently removing the happiness from the special relationship a Christian shares with God.

“When you finally realize there’s nothing you can do to make God love you more, it is one of the most liberating feelings in the world. And, it is a key to happiness. Every day, remind yourself of the grace of God, and relax in it,” Warren writes.

Another important ingredient to maintaining happiness is to know what truly matters in life, as it is so easy to lose joy over minor, unimportant things, like gaining weight or being cut off on the freeway, the megachurch pastor writes.

Warren references Philippians 3:7, when Paul realizes that all of his earthly worries proved inconsequential when he found the love of God.

The best way to avoid letting the sorrows of daily life get you down is to avoid being consumed by pop culture, Warren writes, adding that focusing on the eternal will help Christians shake America’s obsession with consumerism and fads.

“America is on trivial pursuit. We’re living for things that don’t really matter. So to be counter culture, you’ve got to focus not on what’s current but what’s eternal. When you live in light of eternity, you realize that the small things you’re worrying about aren’t going to matter in eternity, and instead of stressing out, you can be a happier person,” Warren writes.

Pastor Greg Laurie of Harvest Church in California has also spoken on the importance of maintaining joy in times of struggle, referencing Paul in Philippians and how he had an ongoing attitude of joy despite facing possibly being beheaded.

“Even when Paul thought about his potential death, he was still full of joy. In verse 21 of Philippians 1 he said, ‘For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better,'” Laurie said in a recent sermon reported by The Christian Post.

“Then Paul got down to the bottom line of it all when he said in chapter 4, verse 4, ‘Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!'” Laurie added.

Source : Christian Post

‘Bringing Up Bates’ Sneak Peek at New Episode: Michaella and Brandon’s Wedding

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‘Bringing Up Bates’ Sneak Peek at New Episode: Michaella and Brandon’s Wedding

Christian Post Report – “Bringing up Bates” episode 304, The last few moments before Michaella walks down the isle, 2016.

The “Bringing Up Bates” series is back with all-new episodes on UPtv and in an exclusive clip given to The Christian Post, viewers are given a glimpse into Brandon and Michaella’s wedding bliss.

In episode 304 of the hit show, the big day that Michaella and Brandon have waited for arrives. After months of planning the Bates family are faced with the bittersweet reality that their daughter will soon be leaving home.

Confronted with having to accommodate 800 guests at the wedding, the Bates clan get everything ready. In the emotional episode set to air on Feb. 4, Michaella and Brandon say “I do” and finally share their first kiss.

Watch below for an exclusive clip of the moments before Michaella walks down the aisle:

Michaela, 24, the eldest Bates daughter still at home, and Brandon, a college student, were engaged last April following their formal courtship. As seen on the show, Brandon surprised his bride-to-be with clues at seven different locations, culminating in the long-awaited proposal at Great Falls, Virginia, just outside Washington D.C.

Since the series first premiered on New Year’s Day in 2015, “Bringing Up Bates” has become the highest-rated series in UP’s history. The reality series takes a fresh look on the ever-changing family dynamics of Gil and Kelly Jo Bates and their 19 children, aged 2 to 26, and three grandchildren, including the newest addition, baby Carson.

In upcoming episodes, viewers will get to see Michaella and Brandon’s wedding and honeymoon destination, and watch Erin and Lawson’s budding music careers.

For more information visit TheBatesFamily.com

Source : Christian Post

Christian Music Festival ‘Winter Jam’ Hits Theaters Nationwide in ‘This Is Winter Jam’

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Christian Music Festival ‘Winter Jam’ Hits Theaters Nationwide in ‘This Is Winter Jam’

Christian Post Report – The legendary Winter Jam festival is not only touring cities around the country this year, but a film featuring a behind the scenes tour will be in theaters in April.

The concert event will be featured in select movie theaters and will give fans a behind the scenes look at the biggest annual Christian music festival.

Over 600,000 people attended Winter Jam’s 47 shows last year, breaking previous attendance records over the past 20 years.

For those who can’t attend one of the 2016 concert events in-person, Fathom Events is giving Christian music lovers an opportunity to watch their favorite artists on the big screen and enjoy performances by Jeremy Camp, Francesca Battistelli, for KING & COUNTRY, NewSong, Family Force 5, and Building 429.

Eddie Carswell, the NewSong founder who also created Winter Jam, credits God for allowing the tour to utilize another platform that can reach more people.

“We are thrilled to partner with Fathom Events and WORD Entertainment to bring our story, our ministry, and a whole new perspective on our tour to the big screen for current and new fans alike,” Carswell said in a statement shared with The Christian Post.

“We continue to be humbled and awestruck to witness God’s redeeming story through this tour. Only He can take the credit and the glory for Winter Jam’s platform and its phenomenal growth.”

Kymberli Frueh, Fathom Events vice president of programming, spoke about the unique opportunity to bring some of the biggest names in Christian music to the big screen.

“[The film] ‘This Is Winter Jam’ is a can’t-miss opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the biggest names in Christian music on tour,” Frueh said in a statement. “Fathom is looking forward to bringing this content to theater audiences.”

The film offers content that even those who attended the tour would enjoy. Aside from performances, “This Is Winter Jam” will offer backstage access and interviews with the top billing entertainers in the Christian music industry.

While the film will focus on the tour, it also sheds light on Christian rock duo for KING & COUNTRY. In the film, the pair will debut their “Priceless” music video and scenes from their own first feature film, “Priceless.”

The Grammy award-winning brothers, Joel and Luke Smallbone, will act as supervising producers in the upcoming film that tells a redemptive love story set in the world of human trafficking. After touring the world and being welcomed into the ears of countless Christian pop music fans, viewers will witness Joel’s big screen debut in the fall.

Joel will transform into a man named James Stevenson on the silver screen. There he will fight for the heart of a woman who is caught up in a human trafficking.

In a newsletter sent to fans, for KING & COUNTRY detailed the premise of the film which was filmed in New Mexico.

“It’s a story of James Stevenson, a man of extremes, who gets thrown into the dark world of human trafficking,” the message reads. “Can the love, strength, and faith of a woman redefine his past and change the course of his future? This unlikely hero must risk it all to shut down the trafficking ring and save the girl he’s falling in love with.”

For more information about the “This Is Winter Jam” film that will feature for KING & COUNTRY along with previews of their “Priceless” film that will be in theaters this fall, visit http://2016.jamtour.com/movie.

Source : Christian Post

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