Today's Christian articles from September 2007

Today's Christian archives from September 2007

Gridiron grace.(The FinePrint)
September 1, 2007... "I want to thank God for giving us this victory!" Do you recoil or rejoice when you hear that kind of statement after a televised sporting event? For me, I guess, it depends on who's saying it. When the big linebacker who was just...

Rub it in.(Kids oftheKingdom)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... After my 5-year-old daughter said her prayers, I kissed her goodnight but was a little sad when she began wiping my kisses from her cheek. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Danielle," I said, "are you wiping away my kisses?" "Oh no,...

Divine marketing?(Kids oftheKingdom)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... As the children's pastor at my former church, I taught on the subject of creation. One Sunday we reviewed our lessons, and I asked the kids "Why did God create people?" None of the children could remember the answer. But one brave 10-year-old...

Splitting hairs.(Kids oftheKingdom)(child's view on her father's hair)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... Recently, I had the following exchange with my 7-year-old daughter Carolyn: "Daddy, why do you have such hairy arms?" "I don't know, honey. I guess God just wanted to give me a lot of hair on my arms." "Well, He sure didn't do...

Seeing spots.(Kids oftheKingdom)(Brief article)
September 1, 2007... While waiting to have my glasses adjusted at the optician's office, I struck up a conversation with a charming little boy. We played with a few games and talked about his preschool adventures. When his mother came over to say they were...

Small church, global reach.(Quick Takes)(West Covington Baptist helps Kalkidan Tessema)
September 1, 2007... In this age of overflowing megachurches and high-profile Christian ministries, can a tiny congregation hidden in the middle of America make a difference? [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Consider West Covington Baptist. Kalkidan Tessema, a...

The Trojan effect.(Quick Takes)(interview with Randy Alcorn)(Interview)
September 1, 2007... Randy Alcorn inspires readers with bestselling books like Heaven and his latest novel, Deception. He recently chatted with TC. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] You're the founder of Eternal Perspectives Ministries. What's that? Our...

"In Christ Alone": in Christ alone my hope is found; he is my light, my strength, my song.(Story BehindTheSong)
September 1, 2007... Irish composers and artists Keith and Kristyn Getty are on a mission--to revive the art of hymnody. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Thirty-two-year-old Keith Getty grew up in Belfast, Ireland, where his father was the church organist and his...

Ashes to ashes?(Everyday Theology)
September 1, 2007... Q. My cousin died of cancer a few months ago. She said she wanted to be cremated, which really upset me. What does the Bible teach about this? --Mary Ann Thomas, Lake City, Florida After we die, is it okay to donate our organs or...

Banishing bad thoughts.(Everyday Theology)
September 1, 2007... Q. It worries me that sometimes I think bad thoughts about God--even though I believe in Him. Maybe it's because I had a traumatic brain injury when I was child. God understands me, right? --Maribel, via e-mail A. God does understand...

The reel Bible.(Bible IQ)(film stories taken from the Bible)
September 1, 2007... How often have you admitted, "I liked the movie, but the book was better"? In the case of movies based on the Bible, the Book is definitely superior, although some truly superb films have been based on the Bible, doing credit not only to the...

Gentle warrior: they said a coach had to yell, scream, and provoke his players to win in the NFL. Tony Dungy believed God was calling him to do it another way--and he was right.
September 1, 2007... A lone security guard escorted Tony Dungy to his office at One Buccaneer Place, headquarters of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Once inside, he quietly sorted through six years' worth of memories--photographs, notebooks,...

Leap of faith: Trish Porter's passion for high jumping led to a spot on the 1988 Olympic team. Now, as a fortysomething wife and mother, she's competing again--and showing others that you're never too old to dream.
September 1, 2007... Trish Porter's dream of making the U.S. Olympic team started on a fourth-place platform at the 1980 California state high school track and field championships. Fourth place might not inspire some people to reach for Olympic gold, but it was...

Lessons from children's church: great spiritual truth can be learned while sitting in a pew--or in a tiny plastic chair.
September 1, 2007... When I began volunteering in children's church many years ago, I did it out of a sense of duty I figured by giving up one Sunday a month to tend to everyone else's kids, I would gain three Sundays in church without my own. I envisioned myself...

Black, white, tan: singer Nicole C. Mullen's family and career reflect her conviction that God's love comes in all colors.
September 1, 2007... When Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Nicole C. Mullen looks around her dinner table, she sees a rainbow of colors. She is an African American woman married to "Caucasian" (as she puts it) producer and songwriter David Mullen, and their...

Racism vs gracism: in a nation still fractured by race and inequality, one pastor has a radical remedy for our social ills. An interview with David A. Anderson.(Interview)
September 1, 2007... Recent headlines, like the Don Imus controversy or the Supreme Court ruling on school diversity, remind us that race is still a dividing point in our nation. In his new book, Gracism: The Art of Inclusion, David A. Anderson explains how a...

"Look at the children!" I traded a lucrative cabinetmaking business for a bunch of kids in the roughest part of town--and a chance to remake a community.(Cleveland Arms apartments in Jacksonville, Florida)
September 1, 2007... I stared through the darkness at the apartments across the street, my .357 Magnum beside me in the pickup bed. It was nine o'clock, and I was keeping watch outside my plant while employees finished an order due the next day [ILLUSTRATION...

Ethiopia: from persecution to praise.(Persecution Report)(murder convict Mohammed Ahmed's conversion to Christianity)
September 1, 2007... God has a way of turning the deepest pain into victory. Today, because Ethiopian Christians faithfully ministered to a convicted murderer in jail, God brought salvation to Mohammed Ahmed, who was convicted of killing an evangelist named Tulu...

The last laugh.(Cartoon)
September 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]