By Christy Barritt Church Faces Charges in Mock Kidnapping A Middletown, Pennsylvania Assem-bly of God congregation was accused in a mock kidnapping of a youth group and charged by local authorities with false imprisonment and simple assault. The church and its youth minister staged the event in March as a lesson in religious persecution. […]
By Jacqueline J. Holness One of my favorite movies is Forrest Gump, because in some ways, I’ve always felt like the underdog—partly because I was known as a geek in my childhood. (Don’t worry. I won’t be discussing my “inner child.”) Forrest Gump, a slow-witted man played adeptly by Tom Hanks, is the quintessential example […]
By Sam E. Stone In last week’s lesson Luke introduced Stephen (Acts 6:8-15; 7:1, 2a, 22, 44a, 45b-49). Today’s text follows that passage immediately. After summarizing key parts of the Jews’ history, Stephen confronted his accusers with what they had done to the Messiah. Rather than defending himself against their accusations, he warned […]
By David Faust C. S. Lewis wisely counseled, “Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say ‘infinitely’ when you mean ‘very’; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite.” It’s no exaggeration, however, to speak of the Lord as an infinitely just God. He always […]
By Christy Barritt Mystery Guests Rank Churches Faith Perceptions, a church research and marketing firm, partnered with church leaders and sent out mystery guests to rate first-time visits at churches across the country. The guests found that churches with 300 to 500 attendees gave the best first impressions, while their experiences at megachurches and […]
