- Created on 06 March 2013
Midway Missionary Baptist Church Celebrates Its Annual Women's Day
Midway Missionary Baptist Church, located at 2280 Godby Road in College Park, will celebrate its annual Women's Day Worship Service on Sunday, March 10, beginning at 10 a.m. The pubic is cordially invited to attend.
The guest preacher will be Evangelist Laura Pickett, co-pastor of Destiny Faith Church in Atlanta. The celebratory worship service will be preceded by the annual Women's Day Breakfast on Saturday, March 9 at 9:30 a.m. in the church's Fellowship Hall. The guest preacher for the breakfast will be Rev. Stacie Alexander, co-pastor of Restoration Christian Fellowship Center in College Park.
For more information and directions, please call the church office at 404-768-5648.
- Created on 05 March 2013
Marvin Sapp and 'Real Housewife' Kandi Burruss Respond To 'Stay Prayed Up' Controversy
Marvin Sapp and Kandi Burruss have been surrounded by heated controversy over a song.
The controversy surrounding the song has been at fever pitch the last few weeks.
Pastor Sapp took to his Facebook page to answer fans concerns. He was explicitly clear:
Please read my only response to the song "Stay Prayed Up"
A fan sent in the below note Mr Sapp,
I was a big fan of yours however as a Christian I'm a bit confused about your motivation to record the record prayed up. I intentionally watched you on the HOA and was taken back by your conversation with Kandi at the studio. You continued to tell her not to try to explain herself, and that she didn't have to apologize etc. I'm just wondering is this the watered down version of the word you are teaching in your church? The bible says "my people perish because of a lack of knowledge." It also says "GOD would rather that we be hot or cold." Not trying to come off as judgmental but this is the type of thing that makes the church look no different than the world. So fed up with this new concept of stooping to the worlds standards to reach souls Jesus hung out in places with sinners to reach them but HE never comprised GIS standards nor GOD's word. Kandi is motivated by money just wondering what's your motivation? [sic]
Marvin responded:
Usually I don't respond to people about things like this however I must this time. The problem with many in the church is 1.) that we major in minors and 2.) ignorant (not well studied) of scripture. Lets deal with the first, This woman who was an ex R&B singer that sells sex toys and live with her man decided on a show that reaches 10 million viewers per showing (believers and unbelievers) to sing about,,,, Not sex toys, drugs or living with a man but PRAYER!!!!!! and the saints are upset. The lyric says, "I stay prayed up, that gets me by, that how I made it through my darkest time, see I'm a sinner and thats no lie, but thank God my prayers are heard because he knows I try" Wow!!!!! nothing elicit or comprising about the lyric.... So lets look at how Jesus dealt with the sinner..... From my study of scripture the only people he checked was the church (religious people of that day) however the sinner he consistently showed COMPASSION!!!!!!! Examples...... Woman caught in the ACT of adultery Also the Woman at the well....... Never exposed them publicly, dealt with them privately. We as believer major in minors...... So caught up in the messenger that we are missing the message "Staying Prayed UP". Now I close with this...Everyone that God used in scripture was flawed and or had struggles.... Let me call the roll..... Moses was a murderer, Rahab was a harlet (whore), David was a murder/adulter and still considered a man after Gods own heart, Peter was a cutting cusser however was in the inner circle of Jesus, Paul was a murderer and made many blaspheme against God however wrote 2/3 of the NT, He spoke through a Donkey and if we decide to be quite rocks will cry out... We say we are christians which means being Christ-like but question peoples motives that model his behavior....The bible speaks about witnessing and that you need to be wise to win souls and Paul says I became all things to all men that I might win some.... Compromise was never done here nor do I condone her life style or life choices and keeping 100 you don't know the off camera conversation we had. Again big picture 10 million people at 1 time were challenged to PRAY in difficult times WOW!!!! Thats Awesome and Ministy..... PS Didn't spell check because I'm late to a meeting.... Be Blessed [sic]
- Created on 01 March 2013
Faith-Focused TV to be Launched by Bob Johnson and Tracey Edmonds
Robert L. Johnson, founder and chairman of The RLJ Companies, and Tracey E. Edmonds, president and CEO of Alright TV, recently announced the new programming slate of upcoming family-oriented and faith-friendly content developed for the channel created in collaboration with YouTube.
Alright TV will launch on Easter Sunday, March 31 and will appeal to the aspirational and inspirational goals of consumers of all ages with buzz-worthy comedies, talk, reality, music, and online streaming of Sunday church services from around the country.
"I am very excited about the launch of Alright TV and the broad array of diversified producer-generated content that has been produced and made available through the channel," said Johnson.
"Tracey is an award-winning producer, and I am confident that viewers will enjoy the new digital series that she and her team have developed featuring well-known artists and personalities from the faith-based, reality, sports and entertainment industries.
Alright TV's content and collaboration with YouTube represents the spectrum of new and exciting opportunities for consumers and advertisers," he concluded.
"Alright TV is a groundbreaking channel that will revolutionize faith-friendly content viewing and will feature premiere talent along with rising stars," said Edmonds. "There has been, and for some time, a lack of availability of faith-based, family friendly programming on television. Alright TV, in collaboration with YouTube's global platform, fills this gap by making the genre available to everyone."
The new platform will tap the resources of Johnson's and Edmonds', Our Stories Films, the first African-American-owned film production studio that produces theatrical motion pictures. Founded in 2006, Our Stories Films, in collaboration with TriStar, a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, produced and released "Jumping the Broom," which debuted as the number one comedy during the opening box office weekend.
Alright TV will offer what it calls "the best in feel-good, value-based entertainment, which will inspire and motivate." For more about Alright TV, visit www.youtube.com/alrighttv or www.alrighttv.com.
- Created on 04 March 2013
8 Steps To True Forgiveness
As we approach a season of rebirth, lets take a look at fresh clean starts and good decisions.
One of those decisions could surround forgiveness. The dictionary defines forgiveness as the process of concluding resentment, indignation or anger as a result of a perceived offense, difference or mistake, and/or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution. Giving forgiveness can take work.
Here are 8 steps to get started.
1- Define your emotion. Know exactly how you feel about what happened and be able to articulate what about the situation is not OK.
2- Decide your action. Make a commitment to yourself to do what you have to do to feel better. Forgiveness is for you and not for anyone else.
3- Know that forgiving is not condoning.Forgiveness does not necessarily mean reconciliation with the person that hurt you, or condoning of their action. What you are after is to find peace. Forgiveness can be defined as the "peace and understanding that come from blaming that which has hurt you less, taking the life experience less personally, and changing your grievance story."
4- Understand what is happening or has happened. Get the right perspective on what is happening. Recognize that your primary distress is coming from the hurt feelings, thoughts and physical upset you are suffering now, not what offended you or hurt you two minutes – or ten years – ago. Forgiveness helps to heal those hurt feelings.
5- Manage your reaction. At the moment you feel upset practice a simple stress management technique to soothe your body's flight or fight response.
6- Understand that you can control only you. Give up expecting things from other people, or your life, that they do not choose to give you. Recognize the "unenforceable rules" you have for your health or how you or other people must behave. Remind yourself that you can hope for health, love, peace and prosperity and work hard to get them.
7-Stop replaying it in your mind. Put your energy into looking for another way to get your positive goals met than through the experience that has hurt you. Instead of mentally replaying your hurt seek out new ways to get what you want.
8- Move forward in life and not dwell on the past. Remember that a life well lived is your best revenge. Instead of focusing on your wounded feelings, and thereby giving the person who caused you pain power over you, learn to look for the love, beauty and kindness around you. Forgiveness is about personal power.
Remember if you are looking ahead you can see where you are going.
- Created on 28 February 2013
On Last Day as Pope, Benedict XVI Pledges 'Unconditional Obedience' to New Vatican Leader
(CNN) -- When night falls Thursday over Vatican City, there will be no pope in residence.
After nearly eight tumultuous years at the head of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, Benedict XVI has made the almost unprecedented decision to stand down.
That resignation, which takes effect at 8 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET), opens up the prospect of unforeseen opportunities and challenges for the Roman Catholic Church.
As Benedict closes the door behind him, many are wondering whether a new pontiff will choose to lead the church in a different direction -- and can lift it out of the mire of scandal that has bogged down this pope's time in office.
Even as Benedict's final week began, Vatican officials were trying to swat down unsavory claims by Italian publications of an episode involving gay priests, male prostitutes and blackmail. Then the news broke that Benedict had moved up the resignation of a Scottish archbishop linked over the weekend by a British newspaper to inappropriate relationships with priests.
Last year, leaks of secret documents from the pope's private apartment -- which revealed claims of corruption within the Vatican -- prompted a high-profile trial of his butler and a behind-doors investigation by three cardinals. Their report, its contents known so far only to Benedict, will be handed to his successor to deal with, the Vatican said.
At the same time, the church faces continued anger about what many see as its failure to deal with child sex abuse by priests.
So, when Benedict announced on February 11 that he would step down, becoming the first living pope to resign in 598 years, there was inevitable speculation that his move was in some way linked to the brewing scandals.
The danger for the Vatican is that the furor risks overshadowing what others see as Benedict's real legacy to the church: his teaching and writings, including three papal encyclicals.
Proof of the Vatican's irritation came with a stinging statement Saturday complaining of "unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories," even suggesting the media is trying to influence the election of the next pope.
The constant buffeting by scandal will doubtless also have taken a toll on an 85-year-old man whose interests lie in scholarly study and prayer rather than damage control.
Benedict suggested as much at his final general audience Wednesday, when in front of cheering crowds in St. Peter's Square he spoke of steering the church through sometimes choppy waters.
There had been "many days of sunshine," he said, but also "times when the water was rough ... and the Lord seemed to sleep."
Putting scandal aside, the pope's last day in office has been carefully mapped out by Vatican aides who've had to make up the rules over the past two weeks.
In contrast to the public focus of his final general audience and meetings with foreign dignitaries Wednesday, Benedict spent Thursday in a quiet, more intimate manner.
He met in the morning with the cardinals who've made their way to Rome to take part in the election of a new pontiff. Benedict told the cardinals it was a"joy to walk with you" during his eight years as pope.
During the meeting, Benedict pledged his "unconditional obedience" to the next pope.
"I will continue to serve you in prayer, in particular in the coming days" as the cardinals work to select a new pontiff, he said.
The cardinals gave Benedict a standing ovation, and then one by one each met the pope to say a final few words.
Later, senior Vatican officials and a detachment of the Swiss Guards, who by tradition protect the pope, will gather to bid him farewell as his helicopter takes off from Vatican City bound for the summer papal residence, Castel Gandolfo.
Once at Castel Gandolfo, where he will spend the next few weeks before moving to a small monastery within the Vatican grounds, Benedict will make one last public appearance on the balcony.
Having greeted those gathered below, he will step back inside and begin his life of seclusion.
At 8 p.m., the Swiss Guards will ceremonially leave the residence's gate -- and the process of transition to a new pope will begin.
The Vatican has said it wants to have the next pontiff in place in time for the week of services leading up to Easter Sunday on March 31.
In his final public address in St. Peter's Square, the pope called for a renewal of faith, and for the prayers of Catholics around the world both for him and his successor.
His departure leaves the church facing many questions, not least who will take the reins.
But Benedict suggested that its future, "at a time when many speak of its decline," lies in seeing it as a community of many people united in a love of Christ, rather than as an organization.
In what may be the last word on his @Pontifex Twitter account, the pope said Wednesday: "If only everyone could experience the joy of being Christian, being loved by God who gave his Son for us!"
