Preacher In A Casket

posted by neechy.com

Certainly, I’m all for illustrated sermons and have grown quite an appreciation for speakers who take the effort to try to truly display the message in this format. Let me know what you think of this rendition for Easter. If you want, you can skip to about 1:03 to get to the good part of the video.

Daily Bread: Resurrection And Life

posted April 25th, 2011 by David Ropper from odb.org

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life”! It’s one thing to make such a bold assertion; it’s another to back it up—and back it up Jesus did by rising from the dead.


“If you believe that the Son of God died and rose again,” writes George MacDonald, “your whole future is full of the dawn of eternal morning, coming up beyond the hills of life, and full of such hope as the highest imagination for the poet has not a glimmer yet.”

The Son of God died and rose again, and His resurrection is the guarantee that God will bring us up and out of the ground: A thinking, feeling, remembering, recognizable person will live forever.

Living forever means living out the thought of eternity that God has placed in our hearts; meeting again one’s believing loved ones lost through separating death; living in a world without sorrow; seeing our Lord who loves us and gave everything to unite us to Him forever.

But I see another meaning. Since we have this life and the next, we don’t have to “have it all” now. We can live in broken and ruined bodies for a time; we can endure poverty and hardship for a while; we can face loneliness, heartache, and pain for a season. Why? There is a second birth—life in heaven forever.

Yes, Christ the Lord is risen,

Has come forth from the grave;

He breaks the chains of death for you

And now has power to save. —Woodruff

 

The resurrection is the foundation of our faith.

Sunday Best Is Coming Back Soon

Gospel Lovers may be in for a treat this July! According to Sunday’s Best facebook page, The acclaimed television competition may be back for a season 4 premiere this July. The show is currently searching for contestants to compete for a chance to become a Gospel Great. In a previous season producers  went all the way to Africa to look for Sunday’s Best so we can only imagine the talent that this season will hold!

Laugh Out Loud....CizzleC - Gangsta Ushers

Steve Harvey Introduces Jesus

Daily Bread Bible Verse

Verse of the day

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”

Romans 1:20 Today's passage is from the King James Version.

Jesus on Trial: Would He be Sentenced to Death Today?

By Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor

Richmond, Virginia (CNN)

If Jesus were tried in Richmond, Virginia, today, would he have been sentenced to death? Or would he have faced life behind bars with no chance for parole?
That’s the choice given to jurors here recently.
During Lent, the Church of the Holy Comforter used Virginia law to retry the sentencing phase of the blasphemy case against Jesus of Nazareth. Church members and guests played the role of the jury.
The trial was the brainchild of Mark Osler, a former U.S. Attorney in Detroit who teaches at the University of St. Thomas Law School in Minneapolis and is friends with a member of the Richmond church.
Osler wanted to hold the trial in part to call attention to the state’s use of capital punishment. Virginia is second only to Texas in the number of executions per state since the mid-1970s, when the U.S. Supreme Court reinstituted the death penalty, according to federal statistics. He held a similar event in Texas a few years ago.
“For many of us our faith, as it relates to policy especially, is often unexamined,” Osler said “We’re surrounded by people who feel the same way, and what we need to do is have it be troubled at least and see if that takes us someplace different.”
The mock sentencing phase was held the night before Palm Sunday.
Osler played the part of Caiaphas, the Jewish high priest in the biblical narrative of the trial. In that account, Jesus had no defense council. But on this night, Osler faced off against Jeanne Bishop, a real-life public defender from Chicago.
“Jesus was indigent,” Bishop said. “And so I think [Osler] wanted a public defender to underscore the point that this is a man with no money, no resources, no position in society.
“Most of the people that I represent fit that description.”
“He also wanted to have a young African-American man play Jesus, and that’s what we have tonight. Most of clients look exactly like this young man who will be sitting beside me,” she said.
The night was bittersweet for Bishop. “My younger sister, her husband and their unborn baby were murdered 21 years ago today, the day before palm Sunday.”
In 1990, Nancy Bishop Langert was killed during a home invasion in Winnetka, Illinois. Her death was part of the reason Jeanne Bishop became a defense attorney and an outspoken opponent of the death penalty.
Even before her sister’s murder, Bishop said, she was against the death penalty. “When my sister and her husband and their baby were killed, my immediate response was, ‘No more killing, no more bloodshed, please let it stop right here.’”

Jeanne Bishop questions a witness at the trial of Jesus in Richmond, Virginia
Osler is also against the death penalty. It was a decision he said he reached as a prosecutor while sitting in church one Sunday.
“They read John 8, about stoning the adulteress, and I’m like everyone else - when I hear a story like that, I put myself in the role of Jesus. A lot of prosecutors who are Christians who talk about that will say, ‘Jesus said go and sin no more.’ And what I came to eventually is, ‘I’m not Jesus. I’m part of the mob. I’m somebody with a stone in my hand.’
“I think that story is very direct that we don’t have the moral authority” to execute prisoners, Osler said.
Playing the role of prosecutor and asking jurors to condemn Jesus to death was difficult for Osler.
“It’s very dark to have the prosecutor in me go to war with the faith [in me]. There’s a cynicism you need to be a good prosecutor,” he said. “It’s been in some ways a troubling enterprise, and I didn’t see that coming.”
“We don’t have a script,” Osler said shortly before taking the stage at the Church of the Holy Comforter. “We’re approaching this the way trial lawyers would. I haven’t known what her theory of the case is or what her arguments will be, and she doesn’t know mine. That’s the way it really works. It’s not a play. It really is a trial in that sense.”

Mark Osler waits to take the stage at the trial of Jesus
As the audience took their seats, Bishop leaned over and whispered to her client, a teenager from the church who sat beside her in a dark blazer and khaki pants.
William G. Broaddus played the role of the judge. He was Virginia’s attorney general for six months after his predecessor stepped down to run for governor. During that time, five defendants were executed in Virginia.
“We will now call the case of the Commonwealth of Virginia versus Jesus of Nazareth,” Broaddus bellowed from the pulpit. “I will remind you this man has already been found guilty of the criminal charge of blasphemy.
“Tonight it is your duty to determine the proper punishment,” he told the jurors.
The attorneys each called two witnesses. The prosecution called Peter, one of Jesus closest disciples, and a rich young ruler whom Jesus urged to sell all of his possessions and give the money to the poor. The defense called a centurion whose slave Jesus had healed, as well as Malchus, a high priest's slave whose ear was cut off by Peter then reattached by Jesus.
The sentencing trial followed the rhythms of a standard criminal case. Bishop spoke gently yet firmly as she questioned the witnesses, her line of questioning seeking to emphasize Jesus' acts of compassion and mercy.
Osler was forceful and tried to paint Jesus as a rebel who sought to rend the fabric of society. He also played heavily on the issue of slavery in his questioning.
Richmond was an international slave port prior to the Civil War - a fact not lost on members of the audience, who quietly bristled or frowned when Osler brought it up. He repeatedly reminded them that while Jesus healed the centurion and high priest’s slaves, he did not set them free.
In her closing argument, Bishop told the jury that Jesus loved his enemies. “A man who showed such compassion is at least deserving of your compassion at this moment,” she said.
Osler rebutted that Jesus had “poked a hole in the fabric of society. Are you going to let it tear or are your going to keep it a small hole?” he asked as he tore a hole in his own pressed, white button-down shirt to gasps in the crowd.
After the closing arguments, the audience broke into several juries of 12. Following the Virginia state statutes, they had two votes to consider. First: “Do you find that there is a probability that, if not executed, the defendant would commit criminal acts that would constitute a continuing serious threat to society?”
If they answered yes to that question, they were instructed to move on to the second: “In the light of all mitigation, is a death sentence warranted?” Both questions required a unanimous vote.
In one of the juries, 11 members quickly agreed the answer to the first question was yes, but there was one holdout. The other jury members began to press her in favor of the prosecution. Eventually they were successful.
“I think he's convincing," an older woman on the panel said of Osler, adding, “I didn't like myself for thinking that."
As the judge told the crowd they had just five minutes left to deliberate, the noise in the sanctuary grew louder and more heated.
The votes were taken and the jury forms passed forward.
The judge stepped forward and read the verdict.
“Jesus please stand,” he said.
He read the first question aloud and said, “The majority of the juries have found that should be answered in the affirmative.”
It meant the juries thought Jesus would blaspheme again if not executed.
“Turning then to the next question,” he said. “The majority of the juries voting on that issue found that the death sentence is not warranted.”
There was applause from the audience.
“The defendant is remanded to the jailer for the rest of your natural life.”
And with that the trial ended.

What are your thoughts? Post your comments.

Song of the Day - Mississippi Mass New Single- God Made Me

Daily Bread...A Family in Trouble

Many of America’s 30 million white-tailed deer find themselves endangered not by guns, but by the cars of our expanding suburbs. I was reminded of their plight when a mature doe dashed through traffic just ahead of me. As I watched, I wondered what had driven her to take such a chance, and why she then stopped on the other side and looked back over her shoulder. As I drove by her, I turned to follow her gaze and saw two small fawns looking helplessly at their mother across the busy street. Instead of following, they turned and walked back into the woods.
This family is not alone. We too can find ourselves in circumstances of separation and danger we did not anticipate. Reading Malachi and Matthew reminds us that we are troubled children of troubled parents who desperately need the help of our Father in heaven. Sometimes we need His help to see and avoid repeating the sins of our fathers (Neh. 9:2-3). Sometimes we need His help to turn back to the example and care of loving parents (Luke 15:18).
Only from our heavenly Father can we find the perfect forgiveness, example, and inner grace we need. He knows we are all fallen children of fallen parents, and even now He offers us the help of His Spirit and the rescue of His Son.

Each day we learn from yesterdayOf God’s great love and care;And every burden we must faceHe’ll surely help us bear. —D. De Haan


It’s never too soon to turn back to God.

How Church Helped sign Jackie Robinson to Brooklyn Dodgers

By Jamie Crawford, CNN Washington (CNN)

Sometimes, matters of faith have a quiet yet powerful way of influencing history. Take, for example, the behind-the-scenes story that preceded the entry of the first African-American player to major league baseball more than six decades ago. That player, of course, was the legendary Jackie Robinson, who shattered the big-league color barrier when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. The story of faith belongs to the baseball executive who signed Robinson, the equally legendary Branch Rickey, and to a New York minister who played a quiet role in a major decision. And the telling of that story spans generations and families, from the minister’s wife, who wrote it down, to the couple’s granddaughter who uncovered it many years later among her late grandmother’s writings. “I had no idea that I would find a story that linked my grandfather to a part of U.S. history,” the granddaughter, Donnali Fifield, told CNN. “But as soon as I read it, I knew it was historically significant.” What Fifield read was an account by June Fifield of her husband, the Rev. Dr. L. Wendell Fifield, and his encounter with Rickey as history was about to be made. Fifield, who was pastor of the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims in Brooklyn in the 1940s, counted Rickey, then general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, as one of his parishioners. A century earlier, that church had played a part in American history through its first pastor and anti-slavery activist, Henry Ward Beecher, and his connections to the fabled “underground railroad,” the secretive network that helped escaped slaves flee safely to northern states and to Canada. Fifield’s historical footnote of faith was more passive. In a paper titled “Branch Rickey’s ‘Day of Decision’,” June Fifield wrote about a visit Rickey paid to her husband’s office at the church just before his decision to sign Robinson. “Don’t let me interrupt, I can’t talk with you,” Rickey said as he walked into the minister’s office, according to the paper. “I just want to be here. Do you mind?” The two men passed the time without words – the minister going about his work; Richey frenetically pacing the floor, stopping only occasionally to peer out the window on the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood that surrounded the church. Amid ongoing silence, more pacing, more stopping, more pacing, more stopping from Rickey for some 45 minutes, according to the article. Finally, Rickey didn’t just break the silence, he shattered it. “I’ve got it,” Rickey yelled emphatically as he banged his fist on the desk. “Got what, Branch?” Fifield asked. “Wendell,” Rickey said, “I’ve decided to sign Jackie Robinson!” June Fifield wrote that as Rickey regained his composure he sank into a chair and told her husband, “This was a decision so complex, so far-reaching, fraught with so many pitfalls but filled with so much good, if it was right, that I just had to work it out in this room with you. I had to talk to God about it and be sure what he wanted me to do. I hope you don’t mind.” The article continues that as Rickey straightened his bow tie and donned his worn hat, he offered, “Bless you, Wendell,” then left the room. In her essay, June Fifield wrote that her husband kept the story of the encounter to himself for most of his life, but eventually came to realize that Jackie Robinson, and the rest of the world, should hear of it after Rickey died, and so he told it to his wife. June Fifield wrote the essay in 1966, and it was eventually published in the Plymouth church bulletin, but otherwise seemingly forgotten as the years went on. The decision and discipline to keep such a secret astonished many of those who knew Rev. Fifield, as well as those who have followed in his footsteps. “As a baseball fan, I would have wanted to tell everybody,” the Rev. David Fisher, the current pastor of Plymouth Church, said of his predecessor to CNN in a recent interview conducted in the same office as the encounter between Fifield and Rickey. “Not only that Branch Rickey was a member of my church, but that this monumental event happened in my presence, and for him (Fifield) to have kept it quiet his whole life is magnificent.” While the story was unknown until now to Rickey’s namesake and grandson, Branch Rickey III, it fit with image he already had of his grandfather, who died in 1965. “It certainly would not be a surprise in anybody that lived around my grandfather,” Rickey told CNN, “that he would have sought that kind of guidance for any kind of significant decision that he was pursuing.” The younger Rickey, who followed his grandfather and father, Branch Rickey, Jr. into professional baseball, is president of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. In an interview at the ballpark of the Round Rock Express team near Austin, Texas, he said he could see a spiritual aspect to his grandfather’s historic decision, based on anecdotes relayed to him over the years. When a well-known journalist of the era told the Dodgers general manager that he thought “all hell would break loose” the next day with Robinson due to take the field for the first time as a Brooklyn Dodger, Rickey disagreed. “My grandfather immediately responded to him, ‘I believe tomorrow all heaven will rejoice,’” the younger Rickey said. Jackie Robinson died in 1972 at the age of 53. His widow, Rachel – also unaware of Rickey’s encounter with his pastor before signing her husband – told CNN the story “reinforces my view of him (Rickey) and my experiences with him.” “I believe he was very thoughtful about making this decision,” Rachel Robinson said in her New York office at the Jackie Robinson Foundation, adding, “He knew he was going to be pretty well isolated in making it, so that he needed all the strength he could summon up, to be able to take the step.” Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, who spent many years researching the history of baseball – much of it focusing on Jackie Robinson’s historic role in the game – had never heard about Fifield’s quiet role in Rickey’s decision to sign Robinson. But Burns said he could see a strong sense of faith in Rickey that guided him to Fifield’s office before making a decision that went against the grain of American society of the time. “It was the right thing to do,” Burns said in an interview with CNN in the sanctuary of the Plymouth church. Rickey “already understood that from his lifetime experience, but he sort of had to square it with God, I think.”

"A life is not important," Jackie Robinson said, "except in the impact it has on other lives."Great Story. Watch video....post your comments!!

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2011/04/14/henry.faith.in.robinson.cnn

Song of the Day...Mary Mary - Walking

Daily Bread......Sin Hurts

Sooner or later we all feel the painful effects of sin. Sometimes it’s the weight of our own sin and the shame and embarrassment of having failed miserably. At other times, it’s the load of someone else’s sin that weighs us down—someone who betrayed, deceived, abandoned, ridiculed, cheated, or made a fool of us.
Think about a time when the weight of that guilt or pain was so heavy that you couldn’t pull yourself out of bed. Now try to imagine the heaviness of the combined grief that everyone’s sin has caused your family, your church, your neighborhood. Add to that all the suffering sin has caused everyone in your city, state, nation, and the world. Now try to imagine the accumulated grief that sin has caused throughout the centuries since creation.
Is it any wonder that the weight of all this sin began squeezing the life out of Jesus on the night He was called to bear it? (Matt. 26:36-44). The next day, even His beloved Father would forsake Him. No other suffering can compare.
Sin put Jesus to the ultimate test. But His love endured it, His strength bore it, and His power overcame it. Thanks to Jesus’ death and resurrection, we know beyond a doubt that sin will not and cannot win.

Is God aloof from human painThat ravages our mortal frame?Oh, no, Christ felt our agonyWhen sin and death He overcame! —D. De Haan


Christ’s empty tomb guarantees our victory over sin and death.

Video of the Day: Broken but I'm Healed-BYRON CAGE

Enjoy today's Song/Video of the Day. The clip is of a mime performance by The Chosen One to Byron Cage's popular single. Please enjoy and be sure to leave a comment on this post or any other. We want to hear from you.

Does American Media Show President Obama the Respect?

The President of the United States of America, it's a huge title and office to hold. Yet and still it seems that some media outlets are satisfied with disrespecting the office of the President. Some media have even called him Mr. Obama rather than President Obama. The disrespect has been subtle and simple as that. It has also been as blatant as the following examples. A noted government officials writing articles which oppose the president's authority, even the recent "piping" of the President's candid conversation into a room full of reporters. Just as President Obama has announced that he will run again for a second term, the campaign trail must resume once again. What does American Media have up their sleeves the election? Take a look at the CNN clip below and post a comment. Why do some of America's media continue to disrespect President Obama?

Get Fit Tip: Healthy Fats and Cholesterol

Choose healthy fats, limit saturated fat, and avoid trans fat.

The total amount of fat you eat, whether high or low, isn't really linked with disease. What really matters is the type of fat you eat.

The "bad" fats—saturated and trans fats—increase the risk for certain diseases. The "good" fats—monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats—lower disease risk. The key to a healthy diet is to substitute good fats for bad fats—and to avoid trans fats.

Although it is still important to limit the amount of cholesterol you eat, especially if you have diabetes, dietary cholesterol isn't nearly the villain it's been portrayed to be. Cholesterol in the bloodstream is what's most important. And the biggest influence on blood cholesterol level is the mix of fats in your diet—not the amount of cholesterol you eat from food.

1. Use liquid plant oils for cooking and baking. Olive, canola, and other plant-based oils are rich in heart-healthy unsaturated fats. Try dressing up a salad or spring vegetables with a delicious, olive oil-based vinaigrette, such as this recipe forfresh mint vinaigrette.

2. Ditch the trans fat. In the supermarket, read the label to find foods that are trans free. In restaurants, steer clear of fried foods, biscuits, and other baked goods, unless you know that the restaurant has eliminated trans fat. Read more about how to spot trans fats—and how to avoid them.

3. Switch from butter to soft tub margarine. Choose a product that has zero grams of trans fat, and scan the ingredient list to make sure it does not contain partially hydrogenated oils.

4. Eat at least one good source of omega-3 fats each day. Fatty fish, walnuts, and canola oil all provide omega-3 fatty acids. Read more about omega-3 fatty acids and why they are so important to good health.

5. Go lean on meat and milk. Beef, pork, lamb, and dairy products are high in saturated fat. Choose low-fat milk, and savor full-fat cheeses in small amounts; also, choose lean cuts of meat.

Read the full article by clicking the link below.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-full-story/index.html

Daily Bible Verse

35 "Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." -John 6:35

Today's passage is from the New International Version, ©2011.

A Pastor's New Theory-What If There's No Hell?

Recently the Time Magazine released a new copy with the above title, "What if there's no hell?" It has sparked some controversy as a well known pastor proclaims his new theory on who is let into Heaven and if Hell really exists. All of his teachings are found in his newly released book. Many people love to discuss the more racy side of religion in order to get a rise out of people. What do you think this pastor's true motives are? Is he really trying to persuade his parishioners or just trying to make the best seller's list? Take a look at the CNN clip below and be sure to leave a comment.

Get Fit Tip: 10 Ways to Cut Salt

Cutting Back on Salt

Ten ways to eat well without it.

Ask anyone about salt and they'll tell you it's bad for you. Well, they're wrong. Salt is not bad for you. Your body needs it to function properly. What's bad for you is excessive salt, or actually, the sodium part of salt. Americans consume an estimated 4,000-4,500 mg salt a day. We only need 500 mg a day, and it's recommended we get no more than 2,400 mg a day--about the amount in 1 teaspoon of salt. Look for that number to go down: Nutrition experts are expected to change that recommendation to 1500 mg a day, which is under 2/3 teaspoon.

Why lower the sodium recommendation? You probably know of sodium's close connection with high blood pressure. But studies also find high sodium intake can lead to heart and kidney problems, as well as osteoporosis and other bone disorders.

Surprising fact: Only 25 percent of your daily supply of salt comes from the saltshaker. Most of the rest comes from processed and packaged foods. Manufacturers add loads of sodium to food, both for flavor and to keep it fresh. Even non-salty foods like cereal are loaded with sodium. So the best way to do battle against salt is to cut back on packaged or prepared foods. In addition, try these tips for making your food taste great without all that shaking going on.

1. Stock up on lemon pepper. This seasoning adds wonderful flavor, not sodium, to your vegetables, meats, and starches. Use it freely as a salt substitute.

2. Mix low-sodium foods with regular foods to start you on the path of less sodium intake. Mix no-salt peanuts with regular peanuts, unsalted peanut butter with regular peanut butter, or lite salt with regular salt, suggests Lila Ojeda, R.D., a bionutritionist at Oregon Health Sciences University. Slowly increase the amount of the salt-free product as you decrease the amount of the real thing until you're eating only the salt-free version.

3. Pick chips over pretzels--but only if salt is the main issue in your diet.Pretzels can have four times the salt per serving as potato or tortilla chips. But that's because chips get much of their flavor from being cooked in oil, making them much fattier and higher in calories. Pretzels are baked and contain far less fat, so much of their flavor comes from the salt. The better choice for a crunchy snack: baked potato or tortilla chips, which are relatively low in both fat and sodium.(An even better choice would be an apple or a carrot.)

4. Skip artificial flavorings in chips. That is, say no to barbecue flavor, ranch style, or those sour-cream-and-onion potato chip varieties. Also say no to those fancy flavored corn chips. Those extra flavorings are largely extra salt, and typically double the amount of sodium in a serving.

5. Switch to kosher salt. Because it's coarser, there's less per unit volume. So 1 teaspoon kosher salt has nearly half the sodium of 1 teaspoon table salt. Plus, it's got none of the additives (anticaking agents, whiteners, and iodine).

6. Keep your table salt in a small bowl, and use a tiny spoon or a pinch of your fingers to season your food. You'll find that you use far less of it. Cover it with a snug lid or some plastic wrap to keep it dry (and make it less accessible).

7. Put a big X on your calendar for six weeks from today. Unlike our preference for sugar, which we're born with, salt is an acquired taste, learned from habit. So it takes time to “unlearn” your preference--about six weeks, to be exact. Slowly reduce your intake of salt between now and then, focusing on food categories where the salt will be missed the least, such as cereals, breads, and dessert items. As long as you know you aren't going to stop wanting salty food overnight, you won't get discouraged.

8. Look out for non-salt sources of sodium. Here's what to watch out for on food labels: sodium, Na, monosodium glutamate or MSG, sodium citrate, baking soda, baking powder, and sodium bicarbonate. They're all forms of--you guessed it!--sodium.

9. Say no to sports drinks. Research does indicate that endurance athletes need higher levels of sodium and far more to drink than everyday folk. Drinks like gatorade deliver on both--they are rich in salt, which not only provides needed sodium but also stokes continued thirst. For the rest of us, the extra salt provides no benefit at all. Even if you exercise regularly, unless you are testing your body's physical limits for extended periods, water should do fine to quench your thirst.

10. Replace salt in the saltshaker with a salt-free mixture. This way you can still use the shaker, but hold off on the salt, says Jennifer Leslie, R.D., a clinical dietitian at the Clarian Heart Failure Clinic in Indianapolis. Mix garlic powder, black pepper, onion powder, and oregano together. Grind the mix fine enough for it to come out the shaker's holes, or buy a Parmesan cheese shaker from a kitchen supply store. Another fun mixture is garlic, onion and chili powder, cumin, dried oregano, and a touch of red pepper flakes.

---

From Reader's Digest Stealth Health. Buy this and other books at the Reader's Digest Store.

Should 11-Year-Olds Be Allowed To Pick Up Condoms & Get It in?

Post by Yolanda Adams in Elev8 Health

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health is giving out a million free condoms, and the recipients are between the ages of 11 and 19 years old! You may be asking yourself, why are they handing out condoms to children and where are their parents?


Well, according to the latest statistics from the PDOH, Philadelphia has the highest rate of sexually active teens younger than 13 years old.

The website home page of the Take Control Philly campaign asks the question, “Having sex? Protect yourself from chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, syphilis. Get free condoms!”

The site tells 11 to 19 year olds where they can find free condoms near their homes. It also has a mail order free condom offer along with videos such as the one below that teaches the youngsters how to wear condoms.

So the big question is, should condoms should be available to 11 year olds? Or should we teach our children that abstinence is the best choice at their age?

Clearly health officials are trying to prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. If these children are going to have sex, they have the RIGHT to know how to protect themselves. But some believe that handing out free condoms just do more damage to the situation, promoting a message to teens that it’s cool to have sex, as long as it’s protected.

It’s rather disturbing to think that 11 year olds can stop by their nearest health center, pick up some free condoms, and then go have sex in a school yard or public bathroom. Why not just teach these children to value their bodies and avoid taking the risk in the first place?  

What do you think?

Gospel Song of The Day: All I Need

Posted by jc in Inspirational on Apr 15, 2011-Praisedc.com

New World Music artist Brian Courtney Wilson “All I  Need ” points at the fact that  all the things in our life are  the simple. We need  prayer. We live in a world that sends confusing messages every day and makes us struggle and fall.   It is when we get up from those falls that  we are stronger. Learning that sometimes we need to step out on faith is usually the hardest thing that any of us must to do.  I know that we all have heard that time and time again. It is our life that makes it the best possible.

The lyrics:No one else can do the things you do/ Take the wrong in my life and make it right/
All I need is a touch from you



How can you not take courage with words like that. Anything is possible
Brian Courtney Wilson is inspirational man who took the jump..” Wilson, a University of Illinois graduate, began singing formally in the university’s black chorus, then continued singing on his own time while working as a pharmaceutical salesman for seven years. Then, in a leap of faith, he walked away from his job and became the music director at St. John’s Downtown Church in Houston, where he was mentored by and became friends with Rudy Rasmus.
All things can be done if you just believe!