comments
1

Televangelist Joel Osteen is focus of “Oprah’s Next Chapter” episode

Posted by
on January 5, 2012 at 11:38 am

Joel Osteen, whose Houston megachurch Lakewood Church has about 13,000 members, will be featured on the next episode of “Oprah’s Next Chpater” Sunday, Jan. 8 on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network.

The televangelist will be the focus of a one-hour interview by Winfrey .

Winfrey traveled to Houston to meet Osteen (pictured) and observe his service at Lakewood, an OWN news release stated.

Winfrey then joined Osteen and his wife, Victoria, for lunch at their home, marking the first time they have opened their home to outside cameras, the news release said.

“Oprah spoke to them about faith, marriage, power and ego,” the release said.

Here’s a sneak peek at the upcoming episode: Oprah interviews Joel Osteen

Check your local listings to see what time the show airs in your area.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor 

#Newsok

comments
5

12 Days of Christmas: Christmas quiz

Posted by
on December 23, 2010 at 5:57 pm

Just how did Mary and Joseph make their famous trip to Bethlehem?

 
What did an innkeeper tell Mary and Joseph once they reached the crowded city?
 
The Rev. Joe Alsay, rector of St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church, asked his congregation these and other questions during Dec. 19 services at the Oklahoma City church, 14700 N May.
Instead of a traditional sermon, Alsay surprised the church with a “Christmas IQ Quiz.”
The quiz drew some good-natured consternation as folks tried to answer questions about the traditional Christmas story. The short test also drew lots of laughter as Alsay proceeded to answer the questions.
“It certianly caught their attention,” Alsay said.
“What it also did is make people wonder. They say ‘I go to church on Christmas I know the story. I hear it every year.’ Well, Scripture itself does not say a lot about these things.”
For instance, Alsay said Scripture does not mention an innkeeper although it may be safe to assume that there was one who spoke to Mary and Joseph about ‘no room in the inn.”
Did Mary ride to Bethlehem on a donkey? Alsay said people historically traveled in caravans during biblical times so it is just as likely that she traveled by caravan.
“You wouldn’t want to make that trip by yourself,” he said. “Maybe she and Joseph had to foot it. We don’t know that there was a donkey. We can hope.”
Alsay said he got the quiz questions from a a list of such questions compiled by a professor. He said it’s interesting to see how people have filled in the empty blanks over the years.
Alsay said most importantly he likes to introduce different things like the quiz because it may spur people to go home and read their Bibles.
Also he said looking at the Christmas story with new, fresh eyes may spark a new and fresh relationship with Jesus.
“I hope that Christ can be born again in our hearts.”
And he said we may never know the answers to some of the questions. And that’s OK.
“Somethings we don’t know and that’s probably the beauty of it,” Alsay said. “That’s when faith comes in.”  
—– 

OK, if you are curious, you can take the quiz here. The answers are posted below the quiz.

—— 

Christmas I.Q. Test

 

  1. As Long as Christmas has been celebrated, it has been on December 25. (True or False)
  2. Joseph was from:

(A) Bethlehem  (B) Jerusalem  (C) Nazareth  

(D) Egypt  (E) Minnesota (F) None of the above

3.How did Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem?

(A) Camel (B) Donkey (C) Walked  (D)  Volkswagen (E)  Joseph walked, Mary rode a donkey

(F)  Who knows

4. Mary and Joseph were married when Mary became pregnant (True or False)

5. Mary and Joseph were married when Jesus was born (True or False)

6. Mary was a virgin when she delivered Jesus (True or False)

7. What did the innkeeper tell Mary and Joseph?

(A)“There is no room in the inn.” (B) “I have a stable you can use.” (C) “Come back after the Christmas rush and I should have some vacancies.”( D)  Both A and B (E)  None of the above

8. Jesus was born in a: (A) Stable  (B) Manger  (C) Cave   (D) Barn  (E) Unknown

9. A “manger” is a: (A) Stable for domestic animals (B)  Wooden hay storage bin (C)  Feeding trough  (D) Barn

10. Which animals does the Bible say were present at Jesus’ birth? (A). Cows, sheep and goats (B). Cows, donkeys and sheep (C)  Miscellaneous barnyard animals (D)  Sheep and goats (E)  Lions, tiger and bears (F)  None of the above

11. Who saw the “star in the East.”(A)  Shepherds (B)  Mary and Joseph (C)  The Magi                              (D)  Both A and C (E)  None of the above

12. What “sign” did the angels tell the shepherds to look for? (A) “This way to baby Jesus”                            (B)  A star over Bethlehem (C)  A baby that doesn’t cry (D)  A house with a Christmas tree (E)  A baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger (F)  None of the above

13. What did the angels sing? (A)  “Joy to the World,” (B)  “Alleluia” (C)  “Unto us a child is born”          (D) “Glory to God in the highest. . . . “ (E)  “My Sweet Lord”( F)  “ Glory to the Newborn King”

14. There was snow that first Christmas (True or False)

15.  The baby Jesus cried (A) When the doctor slapped him on the behind (B)  Just like other babies (C)  When the little drummer boy played his drum (D)  He never cried

16. What is frankincense?(A)  A precious metal (B)  A precious fabric                                                                      (C)  A precious sap used in perfume (D)  An Eastern monster story (E)  None of the above

17. What is myrrh? (A)  An easily shaped metal (B)  A spice used for burial (C)  A drink                                           (D)  An after-shave lotion (E)  None of the above

18. How many “Magi”  does the Bible say came to see Jesus  ______________

19. The Magi found Jesus in a: (A) Manger (B)  Stable (C)  House (D)  Holiday Inn (E)  Good Mood

20. Where do you find the Christmas story in order to check on all these ridiculous questions?

(A)  Matthew’s Gospel (B) Mark’s Gospel  (C) Luke’s Gospel  (D) John’s Gospel  (E) All of the above      (F)  Only A and B  (G)  Only A and C  (H)  Only A, B and C

 

ANSWERS:

1. false
2. a
3.f
4.false
5.true
6.true
7.e
8.e
9.c
10.f
11.c
12.e
13.d
14.false
15.b
16.c
17.b
18.??? we know more than 1 could have been two, three, four
19.c
20.g

NOTE: Father Alsay wanted me to be sure to invite all my readers to St. Augustine’s Christmas Eve services set for 5:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. Dec. 24. The church’s regular services are at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Sundays.   

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

comments
2

Survey: Six of every 10 Protestant pastors disapprove of Obama

Posted by
on October 25, 2010 at 5:23 pm

 This just in from the Religion News  Service:  Six out of every 10 Protestant pastors say they disapprove of President Obama’s job performance.

The RNS based this report on a recent LifeWay Research survey.

LifeWay researchers said of the 61 percent who disapprove of Obama’s work, 47 percent disapprove strongly.

The RNS reported that the survey’s findings were released Oct. 21. The survey found that 30 percent of pastors approve of the president’s performance (including 14 percent who strongly approve). Nine percent were undecided.

According to the RNS, when the Southern Baptist-affiliated research group surveyed Protestant pastors about their voting intentions just before the 2008 elections, 20 percent indicated they planned to vote for Obama, compared to 55 percent who planned to vote for GOP candidate John McCain.

“If voting intentions and job approval measure similar things, the president hasn’t made many friends in the pulpits of America’s churches throughout the first year-and-a-half of his presidency,” Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research, told the RNS.

The new research was based on interviews with 1,000 Protestant clergy Oct. 7-14 and had an overall margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

The  Religion News Service said researchers also found that 84 percent of Protestant pastors disagreed with the idea of pastors endorsing political candidates from the pulpit.

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

comments
0

A sermon to make you squirm …

Posted by
on January 27, 2009 at 5:13 pm

sermoncontest.jpgHow many of us have heard sermons that made us squirm uncomfortably?I’m talking about those sermons that challenge the way we do things or those that force us to confront our apathy on certain issues.

Geez magazine is sponsoring a contest for pastors who preach those sermons that make people squirm.

It’s called the Daringly Awkward Sermon Contest.

The 2009 contest builds upon last year’s “”30 Sermons You’d Never Hear in Church Contest.”

“The world needs bold voices of spiritual depth,” Geez publisher Aiden Enns said in a news release.

 ”But maybe the message can have an element of holy mischief, a smirk instead of a furrowed brow, and, at the same time, more connection to the pressing issues of the day.”

The Daringly Awkward Sermon Contest invites entries that explore the aspects of social change that make folks squirm, things like privilege, the drunk stranger in the back pew, guilt feelings, or litter in the poor part of town.

The leaders at the magazine said constructing a more fair and compassionate world involves awkward people, pauses and topics, and “we want to find the wisdom in the awkwardness.”

The top three sermons will receive $400 each. The winners plus a selection of other entries will be published in the Spring 2009 issue of Geez. Deadline for entries is February 28, 2009. Word limit is 800.

Enter the contest at contest@geezmagazine.org.

Incidentally, the Winnipeg, Canada-based Geez Magazine is a self-described ”quarterly magazine of spirit and social action.”  

Go online to www.geezmagazine.org to see what else the magazine is up to.

(Photo above was taken from the Geez Magazine Web site)

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor