Spring is here! That highly anticipated season that has the Midwest abloom with flowers, spring showers and has us cleaning out our closets, cubbies and corners. For most, the challenge is what to do with all the unwanted or unused items.  What about all those donation boxes popping up everywhere?

By Clint Decker

     “A historical fact which involves a resurrection from the dead is utterly inconceivable” wrote the late Dr. Rudolph Bultmann, an influential New Testament German Theologian.  Presenting an opposing view is Dr. N.T. Wright.  Presently, he is a world’s leading Bible scholar having done extensive research on Jesus’ resurrection.  He says, “Because he is raised from the dead, he is Lord of the world, sovereign over the whole cosmos, the one before whom we bow the knee, believing that in the end every creature will come to do so as well.”

     From the day Jesus’ tomb was found empty until today, the debate over Jesus’ resurrection has been as divisive as ever among scholars.  For the sake of consideration, let us agree with the skeptics who say Jesus’ died but was never resurrected.  This presents at least three major problems.    

It took the combined clout of an actress best known for playing an angel and her big-ratings executive-producer husband, but Roma Downey and Mark Burnett have pulled off the making of a 10-hour epic miniseries, “The Bible,” that gets its premiere Sunday, March 3, on the History cable channel.

For two hours each Sunday night millions of viewers will see the Bible come to life in a way never before seen, with repeats on Wednesday nights.

Freezing Temps Do Not Deter Marchers in Topeka or D.C.

By Lee Hartman

A few days before half a million marchers descended on our nation’s capital, over 2,000 Kansas citizens braved the cold at the annual Rally for Life in Topeka. The local event was held on Tuesday, January 22 – the anniversary date of the infamous U.S. Supreme Court Roe v Wade ruling – and each year the makeup of the crowd trends younger and younger.

By Jerry Newcombe

If you were a casual observer of our culture, you'd assume that the progressives are the ones full of compassion. But is that really the case?

Here we are with our politicians wrangling back and forth on the economy, the deficit, taxes, tax cuts, entitlements and so forth. Much of the debate really gets back to taking care of the less fortunate.

A few years ago, I interviewed Dr. Arthur Brooks, president of American Enterprise Institute and author of the book, "Who Really Cares." He has researched charitable giving for many years.

He told me, "There is one question that answers [how generous you are] far and away better than anything else.

By Dr. John Hawkins

Like most kids, Christmas was my favorite holiday. One reason was because of the long school vacation, but the most important reason was the gifts. Christmas Eve was the longest night of the year. My brothers and I usually started about 4 in the morning asking mom and dad, "Can we get up now?" Only to hear dad yell, "Get back to bed!" Through my elementary years, I had some of the greatest memories of that time of year. However, as great as that time was, I never really understood the real meaning of Christmas.

Renee is mother to 13 children, adopted and biological, founder of the Orphan Justice Center and also full-time staff at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Missouri. She believes that in any city where there are believers in Jesus there should not be unwanted children. The mission of our lives is to restore broken and discarded children through adoption, prayer, worship and the Father’s heart.

By Dan Erickson     

     What is happening to Men?
     It has been said, “So goes the family, so goes the nation.” Governments have been investing billions of dollars in programs that affect children outside the home. But these can only have a limited effect. The family unit is under attack and is, in many cases, fragmented and without purpose. Statistics seem to indicate that one of the main reasons for this is a lack of proper leadership in the home. Maybe it should be said, “So goes the husband and father, so goes the family, so goes the culture and so goes the nation.” If the church is the spiritual thermometer of a nation, then it needs to turn its attention to the condition of the family and its leadership.

By Rick Nichols     

      That non-negotiable command from Jesus quickly came to mind as members and attendees of Woods Chapel United Methodist Church in Lee’s Summit began learning of the damage done by the deadly EF-5 tornado that struck Joplin, Mo. a year ago: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

      The ill-advised question “And who is my neighbor?” was never entertained by anyone, nor did anyone have any second thoughts about the feasibility of following Christ’s second commandment to His disciples.  The decision was already made.  It was simply a matter of responding to that proverbial call from God in a timely manner, setting aside personal cares and interests long enough to help others in need.

Victory on the other side of abortion....my story

An abortion seemed to be the answer for Cherrie Moore, but the despair of shame and regret
nearly devastated her until she found forgiveness and peace in God’s love.

     I didn’t feel shame on the day of my abortion. Fear had a grip on me as I sat there in the waiting room on that hot August day. A dozen or more strangers waited with me. Each of us was there for a common purpose, but still, we were so separate. To look at our faces, no one would have known the enormity of what we were about to do.

Five myths on why young people leave the church

 By Brittney Smith

A revealing look at five myths and realities about young people that walk away from the church was released in a study by a research company that provides resources for churches and non-profits.

The Barna Group recently concluded a five-year study comprising of eight national studies, which was done on teenagers and young adults between the ages of 18 to 29.

What can calamity, like that in Joplin, teach us?

It is natural to try and make sense of out terrible events such as a tornado. Some people will see it as a sign of the end times. That’s always speculative. It would be presumptuous to offer definitive lessons, but there are eternal truths that calamities like this should bring to mind.

It's pretty much a given that the more educated someone becomes, the more likely they are to question their religious beliefs, stop going to church and even abandon their faith entirely.

Or is it?

A University of Nebraska-Lincoln study challenges that age-old notion with findings that show education actually has a positive effect on Americans' churchgoing habits, their devotional practices, their emphasis on religion in daily life and their support for religious leaders to weigh in on the issues of the day.

Dwight Widaman
    You may have missed the speech back in February. It’s not an address that gets much attention. In fact, I didn’t know about it until a local ministry to the incarcerated ––The Shepherd’s Way ––included excerpts from it in their May newsletter.
     It was the annual address by Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice William Ray Price Jr. to the Missouri legislature, and it caught my eye because of the May U.S. Supreme Court ruling forcing the State of California to release 45,000 inmates from that state’s over crowded prison facilities.

BY JOHN-HENRY WESTEN

Martin Sheen

Lifesitenews.com 

 

DUBLIN  – Well-known for his role as President Bartlet in the television drama “The West Wing,” actor Martin Sheen, born Ramon Estevez, has given an interview in which he reveals the startlingly personal reasons for his ‘strong’ anti-abortion stance. In the interview he also discusses his Catholic faith, which he says includes praying the Rosary, belief in trans-substantiation, and the communion of saints.

Sheen, a complex character whose Catholic devotional life and pro-life views have not stopped him from backing the presidency of Barack Obama, was interviewed by Gay Byrne on Irish broadcaster RTE’s website.

Seventy five percent of religious persecution in the world is against Christians, claims a new report by a U.K. Catholic organization.

Examining 33 countries, the British branch of Aid to the Church in Need reported that most of the persecution was occurring in the Middle East, Africa and Asia in its 2011 "Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their faith."

Franklin Graham told students at John Brown University on Tuesday to remain committed in their faith in Jesus Christ and preach the Gospel in spite of the persecution they may face.

The recently released book by Drew Dyck, editorial manager of the ministry team at Christianity Today International, breaks down “leavers” into six categories: postmodern leavers, recoilers, modern leavers, neo-pagans, rebels, and drifters.