Saturday, December 29, 2012
Urbana 2012: David Platt Warns That Christians Have 'Reduced Jesus to Puny Savior'
ST. LOUIS – Author and pastor David Platt gave an impassioned plea to thousands of mostly college-age students to commit their lives to Jesus Christ regardless of the cost to their lives while preaching during Urbana 2012, a triennial student missions conference. Platt warned that many Christians have reduced the eternal significance of Jesus.
"Jesus is the alpha and the omega. He is the beginning and the end. He is the first and the last. He is the final amen … Christ our Creator, our deliverer, our everlasting father, He is God," said Platt from the stage inside the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis before an estimated 16,000. "Jesus is the very word of God made flesh … Jesus is all of these things and [yet] we have reduced Him to a poor, puny savior who is just begging for us to accept Him into our hearts."Platt, who is the lead pastor at The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Ala., made the point that people (believers and nonbelievers) need Jesus more than they realize.
"Your heart is beating at this moment because Jesus is giving it rhythm and if He were to stop, so would you," he said. "For far too long and in far too many ways we have minimized the majesty of Jesus in the church and we have deluded what it means to be His disciple in the world."
Earlier in the day, during an Urbana press conference, Platt said that he wanted to convey to his audience that "Jesus is worthy of our trust."
He explained, "He's worthy of our plans and dreams. He's worthy of our affections. When we see His worth for who He really is then we will eagerly, willingly and gladly give our lives, even lose them if necessary to make His glory known to the ends of the earth."
TX rep. introduces 'Merry Christmas Bill'
Though it didn't affect this year's events, a Texas state legislator is introducing a measure he hopes will protect teachers and school administrators who want to refer to Christmas as Christmas.
Texas state Rep. Dwayne Bohac (R) says he has discovered that the teachers and administrators at his son's school are afraid of mentioning Christmas or Hanukkah during the holidays.
"The district chooses to call the break a 'holiday break' or a 'holiday party,' then the teachers kind of follow the lead, and they do the same thing when, in fact, they should have the freedom and liberty to express these religious winter celebrations form Hanukkah, to Christmas, to you name it," Bohac contends.
So, he is introducing what he calls the "Merry Christmas Bill" to ensure that teachers and school administrators can freely express Christmas and other holiday wishes without fear.
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Prayer List: Need for Missionaries
In Matthew chapter 9 we read that Jesus had compassion for the crowds
of people that were coming to him to be healed and to hear him preach.
Then Jesus told his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the
laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to
send out laborers into his harvest." - Matthew 9:37-38
During the next few days the Holy Spirit may convict numerous college students attending the Urbana Student Missions Conference to becomes missionaries or church planters. These students could play a role in harvesting a large number of souls
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During the next few days the Holy Spirit may convict numerous college students attending the Urbana Student Missions Conference to becomes missionaries or church planters. These students could play a role in harvesting a large number of souls
READ MORE
Top 100 Christian Movies on CFDb for 2012!
hese are the Top 100 Most Looked at Films on CFDb for the Year 2012!
The Number after the Movie Title are the Page Views according to Google Analytics.
100 – Joyful Noise – 1190
99 – Doonby – 1191
98 – Dragons in our Midst – 1196
97 – There Be Dragons – 1205
96 – A Thousand Tomorrows – 1223
95 – The Frontier Boys – 1226
94 – Anna’s Choice – 1229
93 – Machine Gun Preacher – 1230
92 – Thief in the Night V – Battle of Armageddon – 1233
91 – Elephant Sighs – 1238
90 – Trade of Innocents – 1241
89 – My Last Day Without You – 1282
88 – A Beautiful Soul – 1284
87 – Saint Rita (Rita da Cascia) – 1288
86 – Belle and the Beast – 1298
85 – The Letter Writer – 1303
84 – Running Inside Out – 1303
83 – The American Bible Challenge Game Show – 1312
82 – Genesis – 1318
81 – Lukewarm – 1349
80 – Thee Blind Saints – 1368
Open Doors Founder Brother Andrew to Speak at Church Event
DC Area Program Will Highlight Information About Persecuted Christians around the World
SANTA ANA, Calif.,
Dec. 27, 2012
/Christian Newswire/ -- In Algeria, a pastor was threatened
by four men and was told they would burn down his church. Another
continent away in India, a pastor and two other Christians were attacked
and kidnapped by Hindu extremists. They were later set free. In
Nigeria, more than 800 people -- mostly Christians -- have been killed
by the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram this year, including 12 on
Christmas eve.
There have been numerous incidents of Christians facing persecution around the world this year. Many Christians in the West who are not persecuted wonder how these believers maintain their faith under such circumstances.
Open Doors USA, International Mission Board (IMB) and B&H Publishing Group will host a special one-night event featuring a rare United States appearance by Brother Andrew, founder of Open Doors and one of the heroes of the faith. He and others will talk about what Christianity is like in restricted countries such as Somalia, North Korea and Iran. Open Doors is an international Christian ministry which has been supporting and strengthening persecuted Christians for almost 58 years.
The program will be held Tuesday, Jan. 8, at 7 p.m. at Riverdale Baptist Church, 1177 Largo Rd., Upper Marlboro, MD 20774. For more information call 301-249-7001 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 301-249-7001 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
"Millions who claim to follow Christ live under daily persecution throughout the world," says Open Doors USA Interim CEO/President Steve Ridgway. "These precious ones are our family and we as Christians are not complete or whole or healthy without knowing them and without knowing their stories. On January 8 we will have an opportunity to take a step toward being whole by hearing their stories."
Brother Andrew is the author of the worldwide best-selling autobiography God's Smuggler. He has been traveling on behalf of suffering Christians since 1955. He has visited an estimated 128 nations.
Other guest speakers are Nik Ripken, author of the soon-to-be released (Jan. 1, 2013) book The Insanity of God (B&H 2013) and Ron Boyd-MacMillan, chief strategy officer for Open Doors. They will celebrate the faith of persecuted Christians from around the world through sharing their stories and prayers in hopes of encouraging listeners to join the celebration and support their brothers and sisters living under persecution.
The event will highlight the Open Doors 2013 World Watch List, which highlights the top 50 countries where Christians face the worst persecution. For more information on The Insanity of God, go to www.nikripken.com.
An estimated 100 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with millions more facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors supports and strengthens believers in the world's most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers. To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (888-524-2535 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 888-524-2535 end_of_the_skype_highlighting) or go to www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.
(For more information or to set up an interview, contact Jerry Dykstra at 616-915-4117 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 616-915-4117 end_of_the_skype_highlighting and email jerryd@odusa.org or Emily Fuentes at 949-413-6721 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 949-413-6721 end_of_the_skype_highlighting and emilyf@odusa.org.)
Christian Newswire
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