Zondervan Blog

Vatican: Knights Templar Hid the Shroud of Turin

According to the Vatican, the Knights Templar hid the Shroud of Turin, which disappeared during the sacking of Constantinople in 1204 during the fourth crusade only to reappear in the middle of the fourteenth century. This appears to solve the mystery of what happened to the Shroud during this period. Read the entire article from The London Times here.

For other articles that discuss archeological evidence surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus, including an article about the Shroud of Turin, visit the special Archaeological Study Bible Easter page.

Enjoy!

Keith

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Technorati tags: Easter, Shroud of Turin, Knights Templar, Archaeological Study Bible, Zondervan

Bible Experience Actress Nominated for an Academy Award

Taraji Henson, who reads Psalm 53 and 55 in The Bible Experience, has been nominated for an Academy Award for her role in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. To download a free clip of Psalm 55, go to www.BibleExperience.com and use download code PS55OSCHEN.

 

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Technorati tags: Bible Experience, Audio Bible, MP3 Bible, iPod Bible, Taraji Henson, Benjamin Button, Academy Awards, Oscars, Hollywood, Zondervan

Pastor Rick Warren's Inauguration Prayer

Pastor Rick Warren delivered the opening prayer at President Barack Obama's inauguration. If you missed the prayer, here it is in full. What are your thoughts?

Rick Warren to Deliver Inauguration Invocation

Rick Warren, pastor and author of The Purpose Driven Life, has been selected by Barack Obama to deliver the invocation at his inauguration. Read More

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Technorati tags: Rick Warren, Purpose Driven Life, Barack Obama, inauguration, Zondervan

Lynne Hybels Appeals for Help for Crisis in Congo

Comparing the gravity of the situation in Congo to the Rwandan Genocide, author Lynne Hybels is calling upon the Church to get involved before it's too late. More Information

Rick Warren to Interview Presidential Candidates on National Television This Saturday

Rick Warren, bestselling author of The Purpose Driven Life and pastor of Saddleback church, will be interviewing Barak Obama and John McCain on the nationally televised Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency Saturday, August 16, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. PST.

“This will be an historic event. Never have the two candidates been interviewed by a pastor in a church. It will be a great day for all churches, showing the importance of the local church being at the civil table,” said Warren in an email sent to fellow pastors.

Warren confirmed that, at the candidates’ request, this two-hour event will be held in a non-debate format and open to all media. Questions will be posed exclusively by Warren, and each candidate will converse separately with Warren for approximately one hour, beginning with Senator Obama as determined by a coin toss. This historic forum will be the only joint campaign event prior to each party’s national convention.

For more information, visit the Saddleback Civil Forum website (www.saddlebackcivilforum.com).

Is the American Church In Crisis?

According to an article by David T. Olson in the March/April 2008 issue of Rev! magazine, research by the American Church Research Project (TACRP) shows that church attendance from 1990 to 2006 hasn’t come anywhere near to keeping up with population growth. Only 17.3 percent of the population regularly attending worship services today, a far cry from the 40 percent figure we’re used to seeing.

So how can churches reverse the trend? Olson says that churches need to adapt to cultural change, help established churches become healthy, start more well-conceived new churches, learn to share Jesus in a firsthand manner, and recover the message and mission of Jesus. For details, pick up a copy of Olson’s new book, The American Church in Crisis, now available in stores everywhere.

The Evangelical Covenant Church also recently wrote an article about The American Church in Crisis that you can read at this link.

HIV/AIDS: What Would Jesus Do?

Here are two great opportunities to learn how the church can better engage the world as Jesus did in the battle against AIDS.

Global Summit on AIDS & The Church, November 28-30, Saddleback Church, Lake Forest, California. From the Website: “What is faith without action? This summit will provide you with the information and tools you need to discover how your congregation, organization, or agency can start to make a positive change.” Speakers include Rick Warren, Kay Warren, John Ortberg, John Thomas, Lynne Hybels, Dennis Rainey, Bruce Sonnenberg, and Her Excellency, Mrs. Jeannette Kagame, First Lady of Rwanda.


HIV/AIDS Youth Summit, a free event (for those with CCN satellite equipment) put on by CCN. From the Website: The world has never seen a greater humanitarian crisis than the current AIDS pandemic. But the world has also never seen a generation of students like today’s teenagers!” Speakers include Rick Warren, Kay Warren, Jenna Bush, and Francis Chan.

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Christianity, God, Rick Warren, AIDS, Saddleback, Zondervan, Bible, HIV, Youth, Kay Warren, Jesus

Zondervan Is Honored

We've won several awards at the 2007 International Christian Retail Show in Atlanta. Read the news and celebrate with us! :)

Fire at The Simple Way

This news comes from Shane Claiborne, author of The Irresistible Revolution:

This morning, a 7-alarm fire consumed an abandoned warehouse in our Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. The Simple Way Community Center at 3200 Potter Street was destroyed as well as at least eight of our neighbors' homes. Over 100 people were evacuated from their homes, and 400 families are currently without power. Despite this tragedy, we are incredibly thankful to share that all of our community members and every one of our neighbors is safely out of harm's way....

Read more about this and how you can help...