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jfdvd“It is the timeless story of the most beloved – and yet the most controversial – figure ever to walk the earth. Experience the most watched film in history based on the world’s bestselling book, the Bible.

After 35 years, 6 billion viewings, 1,200 language translations and countless numbers of transformed lives, this classic film taken directly from the book of Luke has been re-mastered in high-definition with a new musical score in Dolby 5.1 surround sound and special bonus features to bring the person of Jesus to viewers like never before.”

From the official press release: During the film’s restoration, each of its 173,000 frames were individually and painstakingly re-touched and re-colored, and new sound effects were added. The quality of the re-mastered, high-definition version of “The JESUS Film” is equal, if not greater, to other re-released classic films from similar eras, including “The Ten Commandments.”

“Unlike other religious films, which contain graphic violence or do not adhere to Scripture, ‘The JESUS Film’ script is taken directly from the Bible and shown in a cinematic style suitable for all ages,” Schenkel said. “The new greatly enhanced video and sound quality elevates the emotional viewing experience of this 35-year-old film to a new level, making it fresh and appealing to a generation that may not be aware of who Jesus is.”

The re-released movie trailer:

Details of the Blu-Ray release (from Amazon.com):
The disc includes The JESUS Film in a total of eight languages English, Spanish, Mandarin, French, Vietnamese, German, Korean and Arabic.
Bonus Features:
The Making of ‘The JESUS Film’ – A documentary that highlights the attention to historical and Biblical detail in the making of the 1979 film, JESUS.
The Impact of ‘The JESUS Film – A ten minute celebration of what God has done through the film JESUS over the last 35 years.
Historical Notes – A quick overview that sets the context for the time and place of Jesus ministry.

The Blu-Ray is available for pre-order right now on Amazon.com – http://bit.ly/jesusbluray
The DVD is available for pre-order on Amazon.com as well – http://bit.ly/jesusdvd

Bible Minded

1.27.2014 — Leave a comment

The American Bible Society recently released its research on The Most and Least Bible-Minded Cities in America.

A brief glance at the statistics gives insight that Shippensburg is geographically located midway between the #21 and #32 LEAST Bible-minded cities in the U.S. (Hagerstown, MD and Harrisburg, PA).

This new data only alerts me further to the needs of my community and challenges me to involve our small congregation in things like the Community Bible Experience that we’re jumping into with our entire denomination this Lent.

bible-knowledge

2660795085f911e3a5dd1267b18550af_8For the past two years I’ve had the privilege of joining my father and the Men’s Ministry at Port Ann Wesleyan Church (where my dad pastors) for their annual rabbit hunt. This year nearly 30-men split up in teams of 4, 5, and 6 and took off to various locations around Snyder County, PA for a day of fellowship and hunting. We all reconvened back at the church by 2PM to share our stories and crown the team with the most bagged game.

Last year our team of four got skunked without even a shot fired to our team. This year thankfully, we fared a bit better with three rabbits and a squirrel among our team of six. That amount, however, pales in comparison to the winning-team this year who brought home 11-rabbits and 2-squirrels to win for the second year in a row. I’m still not convinced that one of their team members doesn’t have a well-stocked rabbit pen that they visit each year. :)

I carried my chest-mounted GoPro this year and captured a couple hours of crawling-through-the-brush footage with only a few highlights to account for the almost 6-hours we were in the woods. Here is an almost 3-minute video from the hunt:

Thanks, Port Ann Wesleyan for inviting this out-of-county-er to come and join in the hunt! I’m already looking forward to next year!
2014-01-25 14.17.22

bamhBabies are Murdered Here” is a new 54-minute film that was just released on YouTube by Crown Rights Media.

I watched it early this morning, the day-after our nation celebrated the 41st anniversary of legalizing abortion via the Rowe v. Wade legislation.

I believe this film serves as a powerful reminder to the Pro-Life-by-label community of the often-overlooked reality of what continues to take place right under our noses in the abortion mills in communities like ours.

Abortion is Murder. This should not be a taboo sentence that Christians are afraid of admitting. This is the stark reality that we’re becoming less-and-less willing to admit for sake of offending. The political correctness mindset has infiltrated the Church and we need to take notice.

Please set aside the 54-minutes required to view this film:

My two favorite quotes from RC Sproul Jr in the movie come near the end and I think are part of what sets this film apart from others like it:

“Now, can Jesus atone for this sin? For all those who repent and turn to Him – most assuredly he can. It doesn’t change what happened. Doesn’t change the nature of the crime. It doesn’t even change what would happen with a just legal system, but it does change the eternity of the person who commits the sin.

It’s a mistake to think that because Jesus can forgive this it’s not a big deal. And it’s a mistake to think that it’s such a big deal that Jesus can’t forgive.”

“It is not just an ordinary murder . . . it’s a wicked, wicked, vile thing, and we need to say so without diminishing the depth and scope and power of the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Find out more about the film and how to advance its effectiveness at crownrights.org/babies

About the opportunity and responsibility we have to speak out against the reality and horrors of abortion I choose to remember – in the words of one of my favorite hip-hop theologians: Heath McNease, “I’m too alive to be idle.

Love this new project from my buddy Scott Greene and his wonderful family!

Get some more information on Little People Matter at their fundraising website (and help share this unique vision!) – littlepeoplematter.com