The trio, Joshua, Daniel and Jesse Wagner, will face off against the Sisters of Mary and the Girls of Grace.

The brothers and their friends and family are planning to watch the finale together at the Oral Roberts University student center. Jesse and Joshua are students at ORU.

They are competing for a grand prize of $100,000, which would bring their total winnings on the Game Show Network show to $140,000. The prize money will benefit their family ministry Wagner Ministries International.

Gospel recording artists Mary Mary will perform a song during tonight’s show. It is set to air at 8 p.m.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

1. Who was king when Jesus was born? 

1. Pilot
2. Herod
3. Caesar
4. Barnabas

2. God created man in his own

1. Time

2. Image

3. Way

4. Workshop

3. How many books does the Bible contain?

1 35

2. 48

3. 66

4. 78

4. Mark 9:23: If you can believe, all things are:

1. For sale

2. Expensive

3. Okay

4. Possible

5. Psalms 46:10: Be still and know that I am

1. Here

2. Yours

3. God

4. Gone

OK, I heard from some readers who thought my questions were a little tougher than those provided by the game show. Here are the answers to the questions I shared:

6.  Who wrote the Book of Revelation? the Apostle John

7.  Who did the Lord send to aid Saul of Tarsus in Damascus? The Lord sent Ananias to Saul. Ananias laid hands on Saul and restored his sight. Saul would become the Apostle Paul. 

8.  What was the name of the queen the king of Persia banished before he found Esther and made her his queen? Queen Vashti

9. What was the name of the container used to measure the manna from heaven that the Lord provided Moses and the Israelites in the wilderness and about how much could it contain? According to Exodus chapter 16, the omer was a container used to measure the manna from heaven provided by the Lord. It held between 2. 5 to  3.7 quarts, according to which Bible scholars you talk to. 

10. A verse in the Book of Proverbs says wisdom is more profitable and more precious than

1. investments, gold

2. silver, rubies

3.  land, family

Look for future stories about “The American Bible Challenge” and future quizzes in The Oklahoman.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

Apparently, numerous viewers watched last night’s segment of the 10-hour miniseries and thought the actor portraying the devil bore more than a slight resemblance to Obama, as in President Barack Obama.

The producers of the hit series, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, were just in Oklahoma City and I had a chance to interview them. If I’d seen last night’s show before the interview, would I have asked them if they purposely chose to depict Satan to resemble the president? You bet I would have.

Read on for stories about this latest development:

Reuters: “‘The Bible’ producers dismiss devil character’s resemblance to Obama”

Yahoo TV:  ”Actor who portrays the devil on History’s ‘The Bible’ looks like Obama”

Los Angeles Times: “‘The Bible’ producers deny Satan meant to look like President Obama” 

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

For folks who haven’t been keeping up with the pope watch, black smoke means that the Roman Catholic cardinals have not yet elected a new pope.

While that was going on I was interviewing Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, executive producers of “The Bible” series. The 10-hour series continues through Easter Sunday on The History Channel. I was pretty pleased to be invited to talk with the couple briefly because the series is one of the hot topics right now.  I’ve discussed several aspects of the series myself since it’s premiere two Sundays ago.

Anyway, there is an abundance of commentary on the Web about the series. I’m sharing a few that I thought were interesting and provocative:

Huffington Post: “The Bible Series: An Invitation to Change the World”

Christian Post  Entertainment: “Was the historical Samson black?”

Comcast: “The Bible on TV”

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor 

Young, whose latest faith-inspired book “Cross Roads” is on the New York Times best sellers list, will give a presentation at the Mabee Center on the campus of Oral Roberts University, 7777 S Lewis.

All proceeds from the event will benefit the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in northeast Oklahoma.

I had an opportunity to interview Young right before his last visit to Tulsa in 2009. We talked about the phenomenal popularity — and controversy — that followed  that his best-selling book “The Shack.”

That same year, I interviewed Christians who loved the book as well as those who had some serious concerns about the way some aspects of Christian theology were represented in the book. Either way, lots of people were talking about “The Shack” for a long, long time.

According to advance information about Young’s visit, the author will share stories about “Cross Roads” and “The Shack” with  the Tulsa audience.

For more information and tickets, go to www.mabeecenter.com.

Franklin’s fans might be a little disappoint, OK a lot disappointed by that. There are probably many fans who would like to hear Franklin and his crew belt out some of his hits like “I Smile” or “Give M,e” to name a few.

However, I spoke with him on Monday morning and he said he is on a mission of a different sort.

Franklin will be speaking on behalf of the American Heart Association to promote a healthy heart message during the 10:45 a.m. service on Sunday, Jan. 13 at St. John Missionary Baptist Church, 5700 N Kelley in Oklahoma City.

He said he is honored to use the platform he has through his reputation as an award-winning recording artist. He’s very passionate about getting the word out to the community, particularly the black community, about the importance of healthy lifestyles and prevention of stroke.

Now, that’s something to smile about.

Watch for more from my interview with Franklin in an upcoming edition of The Oklahoman’s Life section.   

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

I thought folks in the faith community might be interested in this story about Notre Dame and how Catholicism and football merge tonight.

At the heart of Notre Dame’s legendary football program is a careworn balancing act. The team is unapologetically Catholic,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Read the entire article for yourself: 

Wall Street Journal: “Notre Dame’s Holy Line”

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

The contemporary Christian band will perform Christmas songs acoustic style along with Sanctus Real and Dara Maclean at 7 p.m. at Bethany First Church of the Nazarene, 6789 NW 39th Expressway. 

Dave Frey with Sidewalk Prophets said a Christmas tour is something that the band has always wanted to do. He said it helps that the tour brings the band alongside Sanctus Real and Maclean.

Frey, 30, said Thursday’s concert will feature the acoustic style music that the band started out playing in coffee houses and other small venues years ago. Concertgoers will be treated to the sounds of harmonicas, a glockenspiel, a dobro, a stand up bass and, of course, ”lots of jingle bells and all sorts of guitars.”  

Frey said the musical style will set the atmosphere for an intimate evening of Christmas music.

“It’s almost like being in a living room,” he said. “We hope people will feel like they are coming in our house.”

He said Sidewalk Prophetsjust released a new Christmas album “Because It’s Christmas” and the band will perform some of the songs from that compilation, including the title track.

Frey said it’s an upbeat song written to remind listeners of the reason Christmas is celebrated.

“It’s a fun song,” he said.

“We run to the mall on Black Friday and we often neglect to celebrate the season and slow it down and celebrate Jesus’ birth. The song kind of reminds us because it’s Christmas , let’s take some time to celebrate Jesus.”  

Another holiday favorite from the band, “Hope Was Born This Night,” also will be performed. 

Tickets to the concert are $15 per person in advance and $20 at the door.

For more information, go to www.acousticchristmastour.com

Young is the author of the bestselling fiction book “The Shack.”

Hachette Book Group, the book’s publisher, says the book is set for Nov. 13 release. They are launching an extensive marketing campaign for the book that will include national print, television, radio and online advertising, plus outreach to churches.

The publisher’s recent news release said ”Crossroads” tells the story of a driven man who falls into a coma and experiences relational entanglements that allow him to revisit choices he made during his life. 

Young’s previous book “The Shack” resonated with many Oklahomans a few years ago. I talked to church groups both here in the metro and in the Tulsa area that were using the book as a focal point for sermon series, book club and Bible study gatherings. Young visited the state to speak about the book — attending a special event in Tulsa and one a Southern Baptist church in Enid.

As popular as the book was, I have to meantion that it also drew sharp criticism from some folks, including some in Oklahoma, who said the theology within its pages wasn’t sound.

I plan to start reading it tonight. It will be interesting to see how it compares to Young’s “Shack” and whether it also will draw both people who love it and people who feel just the opposite.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor