For those of us who love Africa, here are 30 quick visual tours

Ray and Jill Davis visit a village in South Sudan

Some great photos by an awesome communications team puts many parts of Africa in your hands within seconds.

30 Instant Trips to Africa

 

Will these 14 predictions for American Churches come true?

Thom Rainer has stuck his neck out - way out, and on the basis of his research, and that of others, is predicting several trends in American churches.

See how many of these you agree with and how many you disagree with. If you want the whole article, click here

1. Larger churches will acquire smaller ones as the cost of keeping small churches going meets the ceiling of giving in older congregations.
2. Denominational structures will become smaller as declining giving comes from shrinking churches.
3. Many new members will be transferring in from other churches, not coming from evangelism.
4. The trend will be towards more mega-churches.
5. Worship styles will become more, not less, unified.
6. High-expectation churches, where members are asked to make significant contributions to the work of the congregation, will become more numerous.
7.. It will become more difficult for churches to build and acquire land.
8. More large churches will function as mini-denominations, with multiple locations and their own missions programs and literature.
9. Worship centers will be smaller, as people seek greater intimacy in church life.
10. Small groups will become more significant.
11. Pastors will stay at their churches longer.
12. Local churches will increase their role in training ministers.
13. Church members will find new ways to take their faith to their community
14. Churches will have more communicators on their staffs.

Paul in Cenchrea and Nicoplis - 35 photos

This canal links the Aegean Sea with the city of Corinth

An amazing story emerges from a remote place...the port city of Cenchrea. Paul's visit to Nicopolis was also historic, another little known part of his travels.

Cenchrea is rarely visited, but it was important in the scriptures. Paul mentions Phoebe in Romans 16:1, the first person's name in that long list of "fellow servants". 

Phoebe was a remarkable woman, serving the Lord through hospitality in amazing ways.

Reading about Phoebe reminds me of some of our Turkish students and their trip through Greece. One memorable comment sticks in my mind: "I was brought up by my grandmother to hate the Greek people. Everything about them was despicable. However, we went to Greece on a tour, following the footsteps of Paul. In every place, for two weeks, we stayed with Christians. They washed our clothes, gave us meals, gave up their beds so we could sleep well and even provided tour guides in the historical locations like Philippi. I came back home completely rebuked. I had been taught to hate, but their hospitality taught me to love. I came back with love in my heart for the Greek people."

That, dear friends, is how early Christians overcame the "unstoppable opposition from the Greco-Roman world" in the First Century. Love, warm hospitality and kind gestures - this isn't a program, or something fake. Phoebe was that kind of person in Cenchrea.
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A blind/autistic boy and the Kingdom of God - What do you teach someone like this?

This may have been the kind of bush that Moses saw burning

This video shows what an autistic and blind boy can do.

It should give us hope for those in our neighborhoods who have difficulties, and encourage care givers, too. 

Remember Moses at the burning bush? (The photo shows a bush in the dessert where he may have walked.)

Moses exclaimed, "Lord, I'm a person with stumbling, mumbling lips. I can't speak to the Pharaoh! I can't fulfill to let your people go!" (i.e. "How can I possibly be successful?)

And what did the Lord Almighty say ? "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight of makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD! Now, go! I will help you speak and will teach you what to say."

A prayer: "God, let me remember Christopher singing at the head of a 40 voice choir the next time I have a chance to chat with a disadvantaged person."

Click here


 

"Half the Sky" - African girls - The Esther Generation Risking it for Stolen girls

The blog you will click on, if you want to be profoundly challenged to understand the plight of African girls, is one of the most moving Cathie and I have ever encountered.

Click here

We hope you will set aside five minutes to let the message sink in, to be captivated by the love for African girls behind the photos, and to seek your own ways to be a blessing to girls in a continent all to often know for cruelty, rape, abuse and hurt towards "Half the Sky".

 

Paul in Corinth - 58 photos in a photo essay

The location of Corinth beside the Bay of Corinth

When Paul visited Corinth, he entered one of the most complex societies of the ancient world. The message he brought was going to shake the understanding of both Jews and Gentiles, leading them to a whole new way of thinking.

The two letters Paul wrote to the church in Corinth (he wrote three, or four letters, but we read two of them in our Bibles) enter into specific issues relating to the Body of Christ, Resurrection, Christians going to court against each other, marriage, sexuality, gifts of the Holy Spirit and other issues in a unique way.



The Water Fountain was at the center of the city

Not only did the geographical location of Corinth and the cultural life of the city impact the church; customs clashed there. Eastern and Western Mediterranean ways of life came together with surprizing results.

The location of Paul's appearance before the city's magistrates is there for every visitor.

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One interesting factor is that a Biblical reference to the governor of the region coincides precisely with the archeological evidence, giving us an exact date for Paul's trips.

Sensuality and temple prostitution was openly practised. On top of the mountain close by (you can climb it , but give yourself two hours to get up to the top) was a temple dedicated to the goddess of love, with 2,000 "sacred" prostitutes.

These photos may be used personally or shared with others.