President Obama Meets Pope Francis for the First Time

 During his recent European trip United States President Barack Obama made a stop at the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis. The encounter occurred as President Obama sought strategic responses to Russia's invasion of Crimea.

It was the first such meeting between the President and the Pontiff.During the 50-minute meeting, The Vatican Press Office reports the two world leaders discussed issues ranging from income inequality, the exercise of the rights to religious freedom, life and conscientious objection, the eradication of human trafficking, as well as the issue of immigration reform

The Faith - Grace - Certainty Connection by John Piper

For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,  (as it is written, "A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU") in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.  In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE."  Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb;  yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,  and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.Let's start  with the promise that Abraham and his descendants - that is, all who have the faith of Abraham (Jews and Gentiles) - will be heirs of the world.  "The promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world. . ." This was the summary and implication of all God's promises to Abraham: he and his descendants would inherit the world - or as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:21, "All things belong to you . . . and you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God." I closed with four exhortations: Rejoice in this great hope; be secure in all your affliction; venture something a little bit crazy for Christ; give God the glory. Some of you did that this past week, and some radical choices were made that will change the rest of your life.Now today it only gets better. Paul is so serious and so eager for you to bank your hope on the promise of being an heir of all things - and for you to live your life with the kind of radical abandon for Christ that will make people see and wonder and give glory to God - that he now labors to show what God has done to make the promise guaranteed and certain. So the question you should have in your mind during the message today is: What has God done to make sure and certain and firm and guaranteed the promise that his people will inherit the world?

Jokes for the day

A sermon about lying

A minister told his congregation, "Next week I plan to preach about the sin of lying. To help you understand my sermon, I want you all to read Mark 17." The following Sunday, as he prepared to deliver his sermon, the minister asked for a show of hands. He wanted to know how many had read Mark 17. Every hand went up. The minister smiled and said, "Mark has only sixteen chapters. I will now proceed with my sermon on the sin of lying." 

Are we supposed to obey our pastors?

The verse that speaks the most directly to this question is Hebrews 13:17, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”Pastors are hurt deeply to see people ignore the counsel of God they share in messages or Bible lessons. Some people “blow off” the Word of God, doing so not only to their own hurt but also to the hurt of those who are around them. Young people especially have the tendency to ignore the counsel of those older than they, making the mistake of trusting their own wisdom as well as their own heart. God states that a godly pastor shares precepts from God’s Word because he desires not only to serve God but to feed the flock the spiritual food that will result in their experiencing the abundant life Jesus promised (John 10:10b).

Jokes for the day

Lightning just struck

As Bill was approaching mid-life, physically he was a mess. Not only was he going bald, but years of office work had given him a large pot belly. The last straw came when he asked a woman co-worker out on a date, and she all but laughed at him. That does it, he decided. I'm going to start a whole new regimen. He began attending aerobics classes. He started working out with weights. He changed his diet. And he got an expensivehair transplant. In six months, he was a different man. Again, he asked his female co-worker out, and this time she accepted. There he was, all dressed up for the date, looking better than he ever had. He stood poised to ring the woman's doorbell, when a bolt of lightning struck him and knocked him off his feet. As he lay there dying, he turned his eyes toward the heavens and said, "Why, God, why now? After all I've been through, how could you do this to me?" From up above, there came a voice, "Sorry. I didn't not recoginize you."

Christian School Rebukes 8-Year-Old Girl for Looking Too "Boyish"

Eight-year old Sunnie Kahle recently left her private Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia after the administration complained that her appearance was not sufficiently female. Sunnie has a short haircut and enjoys wearing t-shirts and jeans; the administration believes that this confuses other children and does not coincide with the “biblical lifestyle” the school promotes.

Timberlake Christian Schools elementary principal Becky Bowman sent Kahle’s great-grandmother and legal guardian Doris Thompson a letter stating the school’s religious beliefs and included Bible passages referencing sexual immorality.

'Bishop of Bling' Expelled from Post After Construction of $41.3 Million Home

Pope Francis has asked German bishop Monsignor Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst of Limburg to leave his post since the cost of his personal mansion have gone public. The bishop had been suspended in October pending investigation. 

Gunmen Open Fire in Kenyan Church, Kill 3

Unbelievable!Terrorist attack again,Who says end time isn't here? At least three people were killed Sunday after a pair of gunmen burst into a Kenyan church and opened fire.According to reports from the USA Today, the Kenyan church was packed when the shooters arrived."Both carried big guns and began shooting all over the place. I fell to the ground and could hear screams," Lilian Omondi, who was leading a prayer meeting at the time, says.Three children were among the wounded.The attack happened in Likoni, which is near to Mombasa.

Jokes for the day

At the construction job

There's this cathedral that's still being worked on, and the workers have rigged a "cage elevator" inside so they can get material up and down to the upper floors. A characteristic of these "cage elevators" is that the doors (gate) must be closed manually for them to be "called" to another floor.
One day one of the workers, Peter by name, takes the elevator to the top floor, and it is subsequently needed on the first floor by the sexton. Unfortunately, Peter forgot and left the door open. After the sexton rings for the elevator a couple times, to no avail, he yells up for the worker to send the lift back down. Visitors to the cathedral were treated to this sight: The sexton of the cathedral, head tipped up, yelling up to the heavens:

"Peter! CLOSE THE GATES!!!" 

Testimony - Rianne

 

In this life (20 years as of 2013), by God's grace, He bought me out of the depths of my own sin and loneliness, and gave me joy, a new life, and the greatest companionship ever imagined - the companionship of His son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit!As a child, I had attended church approximately every time we had visited my Gran in the countryside.  My first experience of God's grace, and my first answered prayer was at the age of five. I had been being bullied at school by a fellow classmate, and wrote a letter to God, asking Him to stop the bullying.  God answered this prayer in an amazing way.  The girl who had been bullying me became my first childhood best friend! Isn't God good!Throughout my childhood, I had a lot of ups and downs.  There was never a  loving, caring father figure around so when my earthly father visited out of the blue when I was eight, I was astounded - having not seen him since I was two.Being eight, I was ecstatic -- particularly when he said he would return the next day!  Sadly though he didn't come.After this I went downhill.  I was angry.  I was hurt and hard-hearted.  I started stealing and lying and acting up.This generally got a lot worse with me by the age of 12.