on October 30, 2009 at 5:00 am
Dear Lord, when we stumble and go astray, let us be quick to return to You. Amen.
on October 29, 2009 at 5:00 am
Lord, prepare our hearts for any trouble ahead, so that nothing is able to shake our faith in You. Amen.
on October 28, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Someone always asks me a question that’s easy to answer about this time of year: Why are all these women — thousands — crowding into the Ford Center?
It’s because Women of Faith 2009 is here … just days away, in fact.
With the theme “A Grand New Day,” the conference will be Friday and Saturday at the Ford Center, 100 W Reno.
Judging from years past, there will indeed be thousands of women flocking to downtown Oklahoma City come Friday.
Women of Faith’s core presenters include Oklahoma native and contemporary Christian recording artist Sandi Patty (at right), Marilyn Meburg, Sheila Walsh, Patsy Clairmont and Luci Swindoll. Lisa Whelchel (pictured below), star of NBC TV’s’1970’s-80’s sitcom “The Facts of Life,” will be one of the guest presenters.
Women from all over Oklahoma and some other states in the region are expected to attend the two-day conference.
See you there …
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
on October 28, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Remind us, dear Lord, that we don’t need to fear when our hope is in You. Amen.
on October 26, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Here’s the latest in concert news:
Contemporary Christian recording artists Natalie Grant (at bottom left), Jeremy Camp (below right) and Bebo Norman are to perform in concert at 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at First Baptist Church of Moore, 301 NE 27 in Moore.
The Speaking Louder Than Before” tour will feature Grant opening for Camp.
Grant has won four consecutive Dove Awards for best female artist for her signature song “Held.” She’s released four albums since 2001, including “Stronger,” “Deeper,” “Awaken,” and “Relentless.”
After finishing the “Make it Matter” tour in July 2009 with Chris Sligh and Meredith Andrews, Grant was invited to open for Camp’s fall tour.
For ticket information, go online to iTickets.com or purchase tickets at the Moore church, Lifeway Christian Store or Mardel. For more information, call 793-2600 .
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
on October 26, 2009 at 10:45 am
It doesn’t surprise me that interest is growing in the Mayan prophecy that says the end of the world is to happen during the year 2012.
I just wanted to let readers know of another book out that also deals with the prophecy. It appears to offer perspective different than the one espoused by local author the Rev. Mark Hitchcock, who wrote “2012: The Bible and the End of The World.”
It’s called “The Book of Destiny: Unlocking the Secrets of the Ancient Mayans and the Prophecy of 2012 (HarperOne, $23.99)” by Carlos Barrios.
Here’s what the publisher has to say about the book: “Anthropologist and Mayan expert Carlos Barrios helps clarify just what the 2012 date means to us, and how we can all best prepare ourselves to meet the coming change the Mayans believe has long been written in the destiny of our planet. Written at the request of the Mayan Elders, “The Book of Destiny” is a tool to help people understand their life purpose and to use this profound knowledge to make the best of their time on earth.
“According to the Sacred Mayan Calendar and its corresponding horoscope, our lives have been predestined, and our better understanding of this often-ignored horoscope helps one use this knowledge to beneficially interact with the world around us.”
Who knows? A follow to Saturday’s story on Hitchcock’s book may be forthcoming.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
on October 26, 2009 at 5:00 am
Lord, help us to trust You more each day, recognizing that our strength comes from You. Amen.
on October 25, 2009 at 5:00 am
Dear Lord, teach us to be patient and kind, so we will not be easily angered. Amen.
on October 24, 2009 at 9:10 am
Hello all,
Here’s more from my interview with the Rev. M
ark Hitchcock, author of the new book “2012: The Bible and the End of the World.”
Hitchcock is pastor of Faith Bible Church in Edmond. The majority of my interview with him is featured in today’s LIFE section of The Oklahoman. His book gives a biblical perspective about a Mayan prophecy that says the end of the world will occur on Dec. 21, 2012. The subject is so compelling and there was just too much to get in print, that we thought we would offer the rest of the interview in this venue:
Q: Should we be looking for signs? Should believers be looking for signs of the end of the world?
Mark Hitchcock: “I think it’s OK. Remember in Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus what is going to be the sign of your coming at the end of the age and Jesus didn’t say don’t worry about that. He gave them signs, so I think we should be looking for things. What I think we should be looking for are things like the regathering of the nation of Israel and the world focus on the Middle East. The whole world is focused on the Middle East. That’s going to be the staging grounds for the events of the End Times. Also globalism. The Bible predicts a one-world economy and a one-world government in the end. Well, we see a move in that direction.
So what I would say is that we can look around in our world and see the stage being set. None of us know when the stage setting is finished, so we don’t know when the Lord’s going to come. But we can see the things that are setting the stage for the events of the End Times that do lead us to believe, I think rightly, that the Lord’s coming could be near.
Jesus, when they asked him about signs, He gave them some. One of the main signs He gave in Matthew 24: 4, he said see to it that noone misleads you or deceives you and I think this 2012 stuff is deception. It’s part of the deception that He said would come.
Really, the whole 2012 phenomona is the New Age eschatology and I like to call it the Mayan Y2K. It’s like
Y2K all over again but I think it’s going to come and go again.
I like to mention that there could be some things that happen in 2012 that are strange and bizarre. I don’t know what’s going to happen that year but it won’t be the second coming of Jesus and it won’t be the end of the world. That I can say with confidence. In my understanding of the End Times, the second coming happens after a seven-year period called the Tribulation. If the second coming is to happen in 2012, the Tribulation would have had to have started in 2005 and we are not in the Tribulation.”
Q: How do you think people are going to respond to the movie “2012″ that is set to premiere in theaters on Nov. 13? You’ve seen the trailer haven’t you?
Mark Hitchcock: “I have seen the trailer. I think there are going to be several diffferent responses. I think some people are going to see it as more just science fiction stuff. It won’t really concern them. I think there will be another group of people at the other end of the spectrum who are really going to start wondering about them. It’s going to cause them a lot of anxiety and they are going to really wonder because we see a lot of things in our world today that are scaring a lot of people. That’s why I think this whole 2012 thing is really going to catch on. People look at our world and they see terrorism. They see hurricanes, volcanos and threats of global pandemics, nuclear weapons and all this kind of stuff. People look out there and see all of this, so it’s not real hard to get people to thinking about the end of the world. It appeals to this fear that people have. There probably will be a majority that will be in the middle. They’ll say, ‘there could be something to this but I’m not really that afraid.’ It will get them thinking about it.
There are a lot of 2012 books out there. The reason that I wrote my book is that I wanted to write a biblical response to 2012.
——————–
Readers, Hitchcock has DVD’s of a two-part presentation regarding the 2012 prophecy that he gave at his Edmond church. Call the church at 340-1000 if you are interested in purchasing a copy.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
on October 24, 2009 at 5:00 am
Lord, give us the strength and patience to endure hard times. Amen.
