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NY Jets quarterback Tim Tebow, through talk and prayer, is helping …
Willie James Ashley is a 55-year-old former Air Force man from Miami who had a long career in the cocaine business and once caught a pass from Tim Tebow. He caught a couple of them, actually. The first one Ashley brought down in a crowd, with his thick body and his buzz cut, and his blue, prison-issue uniform, Tebow throwing a Hail Mary to the back row of the bleachers in a crowded gymnasium. The next one came on the gym floor, where Tebow missed him on a timing pattern, then threw one more, a flare pass, which Ashley caught easily. That was almost three years ago, but Willie Ashley hasn’t forgotten the pass, or the man who delivered it, in front of 300 inmates in a hot gym at Lawtey Correctional Institution. -
Giveaway: Free Bible Study DVD Sampler with Margaret Feinberg
We have compiled five video lessons into one great, free DVD sampler, featuring sessions from The Organic God 6-Session Bible Study, The Sacred Echo 6-Session Bible Study, Scouting the Divine 6-Session Bible Study, Pursuing God’s Beauty: Stories from the Gospel of John 6-Session DVD Bible Study, and Pursuing God’s Love: Stories from the Book of Genesis 6-Session DVD Bible Study. To receive your free DVD sampler, email your mailing address to Jessica (at) margaretfeinberg (dot) com. -
Mark Batterson: ‘The Circle Maker’: A New Way to Pray
This past Easter I attended the President’s Easter Prayer Breakfast at the White House along with a couple hundred religious leaders from across the country. Before breakfast, a 76-year-old African-American preacher who served alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in the civil rights movement offered a prayer. I was expecting a perfunctory pre-meal prayer, but it was anything but. He prayed with such a familiarity with the Heavenly Father that I felt like I barely knew God. It was like his words were deep-fried in the faithfulness of God. And he prayed with such authority that my prayers felt like weak sauce by comparison. After he said amen, I turned to the person next to me and said, “I feel like I’ve never prayed before.” -
From a movie theater church, pastor Mark Batterson blends …
Many members of this unusual church are on Capitol Hill for the same reason as their pastor, Mark Batterson, a one-time University of Chicago basketball player who felt God called him from the Midwest to the District in 1995 to “influence the influencers.” Batterson, 42, seems to be doing just that. -
Teaching the Bible with President Jimmy CarterFormer President Jimmy Carter is a man of great faith whose life’s work includes enacting social justice with the Carter Center, building homes with Habitat for Humanity, and uniting Baptists with the New Baptist Covenant. While he has been a part of influential international discussions and has received the Nobel Peace Prize, one of his greatest pleasures is teaching Sunday school every week in Plains, Georgia. Through his latest book ‘NIV Lessons From Life Bible: Personal Reflections with Jimmy Carter’, people all over the world will be able to experience the wisdom he has garnered through his long and accomplished life. I was honored to speak to him about this new book, his views on Scripture, and what he has learned about accomplishing peace and justice in the world.
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Jimmy Carter: Bible Scholar?
Former President Jimmy Carter has a new Bible! One he wrote himself! Partly! The publishing house Zondervan has produced a new study Bible titled the NIV Lessons from Life Bible: Personal Reflections with Jimmy Carter. Get yours today! Or don’t. Actually, let’s go with that: Don’t. Definitely don’t. Not if you want Bible commentary from someone who knows what he’s talking about. -
Jimmy Carter supports same-sex ‘marriage’ as he launches his new Bible
President Carter told Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, senior religion editor of The Huffington Post: Homosexuality was well known in the ancient world, well before Christ was born and Jesus never said a word about homosexuality. In all of his teachings about multiple things – he never said that gay people should be condemned. I personally think it is very fine for gay people to be married in civil ceremonies. -
From Peanuts to Preaching: President Carter Publishes a Bible
Former president Jimmy Carter, once a Georgia peanut farmer, once the leader of the free world, has just published a new bible. Called the Lessons From Life Study Bible, Carter’s new edition combines the NIV (New International Version) with Carter’s own, down-home advice and personal reflections. The Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Zondervan Publishing Company, which released the Lessons From Life Study Bible, expects to sell about 250,000 copies. -
Hal Lindsey gears programming for Holy Week (videos)
On April 6, 2012, Hal Lindsey announced he will focus his programming on “The Week that Changed the World” during Holy Week. The special will air on April 8, 2012 on the Inspiration network and Lindsey will discuss his views regarding Good Friday. Lindsey argues that Christians should celebrate Good Thursday instead. -
Book Scene — ‘A Silence of Mockingbirds’
Best-selling crime writer Ann Rule has said, “‘A Silence of Mockingbirds’ is beautifully written by a very talented investigative journalist. But, even more, this is Karen Zacharias’ own story, too, one of trust betrayed. A tragic book that we should all take to heart. We cannot change the past but we can save children who are in peril now. Spears Zacharias has given us Karly’s legacy, that of a small, bright spirit who loved and was loved. And yet destroyed by heedless caretakers. A must-read. Compelling and heartbreaking.” -
N.T. Wright on the importance of the resurrection to Christianity.
“Anyone who is in any sense a Christian cannot with any consistency believe that Jesus stayed dead. I have friends and colleagues who I know to be praying Christians who worship regularly and lead lives of practical Christian love and service but who really struggle with the bodily resurrection. I would say that looks like a muddled Christian who needs to be put straight. Of course some of them would say exactly that about me! But if you say Jesus died and nothing happened but the disciples had some interesting ideas, then you have cut off the branch on which all classic Christianity is sitting. This generation needs to wake up, smell the coffee and realise serious Christianity begins when Jesus comes out of the tomb on Easter morning. This is not a nice optional extra for those who like believing in funny things.” -
Vital Remnants: The God of men-and of Elves: How C. S. Lewis became a Christian
An essential part of the classical Christian education that held sway in schools from the Middle Ages until fairly recent times was a familiarity with Greek and Roman mythology, a mastery of the history of these great civilizations, and an immersion in their literature. Medieval philosophers and theologians drank deeply from the well of philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle in their quest to make intellectual sense of and to articulate Christian truths. And Christian thinkers since then have not only availed themselves liberally of the classical heritage in history and literature, but have been on the vanguard of classical learning. There are many examples of contemporary Christian thinkers who have professed a debt to the learning of the ancients, but none is more well known than C. S. Lewis. -
Humanitarian encourages Liberty University students to get involved
After graduating from Wheaton College, Zacharias worked for Coca-Cola in her hometown of Atlanta, Ga. She realized quickly that working in sales often left her unhappy and stressed. As a result, she decided to work for her father in Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Dr. Ravi Zacharias is a well-known speaker and author. During this time she took an internship at the White House in the Office of Public Liaison. -
Christian Publisher Zondervan to Release Jeremy Lin Bio ‘Linspired’
A biography of Jeremy Lin is due out this April from Christian Publishing Company Zondervan. Both an adult and youth version of the book will be released, and are due to hit shelves in April of this year. -
Zondervan Hopes to Ride the Lin Craze
As publishers buzz around Jeremy Lin, he apparently continues to turn down book deals to focus on his playing. Nonetheless, at least five unauthorized e-book bios are already on the market. One publisher hoping to be the first with a print book is Zondervan, which is publishing Linspired: The Remarkable Rise of Jeremy Lin in both adult and children’s versions in April. -
Author draws on mother’s experience for new book
Drawing inspiration from her mother’s experiences and her own life, Carolyn Ann Wharton, of Altavista, has written an inspirational novel that mirrors social issues still being debated today. -
Technology and the Bible-Not an Oxymoron Says PlanBible Author Jeff Swanson Recently on FoxNews
It seems like everything is going mobile these days: Facebook, Twitter and now, even the Bible is going mobile. Jeff Swanson has developed a new organization of the Bible for eBook, which is suitable for reading on Kindle and other electronic devices. -
Interview: Rachel Coker, author of ‘Interrupted: Life Beyond Words’
Rachel Coker’s debut novel, Interrupted: Life Beyond Words, is a coming-of-age romance set in the 1940s. Oh, and Rachel is 16. -
The Story, the Best Selling book that is Sparking a National Phenomenon, Wins Two Regional Silver ADDY AwardsZondervan’s The Story, NIV: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People, with over 300K copies sold, has been awarded two regional Silver ADDY Awards by the American Advertising Federation of West Michigan. The awards went to the design team at Extra Credit Projects in the categories of Cover and Photography, Digitally Enhanced.
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How Zondervan struck a deal with rival Thomas Nelson to combine Christian bestsellers
Deal was in works before parent company HarperCollins made the publishers corporate siblings. -
When Christian Bookstores Ban Female Body Parts
” Is It a Sin to Look Your Age? | Mike Daisey, Apple, and Our Culture’s Crisis in Truth-Telling ” When Christian Bookstores Ban Fema… -
Researcher studies why teens leave the faith and what can be done about it
A 2007 LifeWay Research study found that 70 percent of young adults who attended church in high school subsequently stopped attending church for at least a year during their college years. Perhaps just as alarming, only 20 percent of those who left the church had planned on doing so while in high school. For most, the decision was not considered far in advance. The Baptist Courier provides a vital link to the work of Southern Baptists who labor in His Name, encouraging all to be doers and not just hearers of the Word. -
Glo Bible & Zondervan team up to launch Glo Bible for iPhone
This week the award-winning Glo Bible added the iPhone to the roster of free app download… -
A Man Among (Tiki) Gods
A Man Among (Tiki) Gods Audria Larsen | Thursday, March 22, 2012 Anthony Carpenter brings the modern past to the present with his illustr… -
He descended into Hell, and on the third day rose again
A few thoughts at Easter… I read an interesting article Saturday that posed the question, what Christ did on Saturday (see: What did Je… -
The Story, Teen Curriculum: Finding Your Place in the Story of God
I’ve been a fan of Michael Novelli’s storying method of teaching the Bible for years. I’ve used it with our junior high students in the past, and I was very excited to see the new material in The Story to help supplement what he already has created. There are many positives to this curriculum: I love that this is a very different way of teaching the Bible than what most of us are used to seeing in a curriculum. It does a good job of getting students involved instead of sitting and listening to a talking head up front with all the answers. Moreover, it engages visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners every session, which is not an easy feat! The art clips are amazing and easy to get lost in; they move fast, but they are a welcome addition and helpful in this culture. They are so good we are using them in our Easter service this year! -
Words of faith
West Michigan native David Staal provides a guide to sharing what he believes we should teach our children based on faith. The author feels the key is teaching with a balance. “A balance of valuing yourself and valuing others, of appreciating those who serve you while you serve as well, of learning what’s unimportant and what has consequences, of finding your fit while learning you can fail.” -
The Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Revised Edition (Matthew …The Expositor’s Bible Commentary – (The Revised Edition) – of the Gospel of Matthew & Mark written by Temper Longman III & edited by David E. Garland is a monumental Commentary to say the least. D. A. Carson contributed material…
Zondervan Authors in the News 