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Year in Review: 2014

Mindy Belz
31 Dec 2014
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Now 14 years into a new millennium, the year jerked us back to a past we thought we’d left behind: Beheadings, race riots, Soviet-style conflict, and runaway epidemics. In the subterranean reaches of ancient churches in Mosul, Iraq — turned suddenly and in broad daylight to ISIS shrines — the captives of the 21st century met an abyss of medieval-minded militants and the unenlightened dawn of a new dark age.  The year turned on regifting. Like the stiff-necked aunt who keeps handing out fruitcake after all the relatives say, “Enough!” 2014 gave us ample taste of old and familiar history […]

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Operation Lift HOPE Targets Solutions to Homelessness

Shelly Pond
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Since the City of Fort Lauderdale passed a controversial ordinance restricting feeding the homeless in public places outdoors in October, Mayor Jack Sieler has been criticized by many for the city’s decision to stop 95-year-old Arnold Abbot and others, who defied the ordinance by feeding the homeless in public parks and at the beach. The story went viral on social media and Fort Lauderdale leaders, depicted as heartless bureaucrats, have been the butt of jokes by many, including the Colbert Report. However, hope is rising behind the scenes as a team of community leaders from the government, private and social […]

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Nick Vujicic to Share the “Power of Becoming” at Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast

Shelly Pond
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mayor's prayer breakfast

Picture a man who has no arms or legs balancing on a surf board as he cuts through the waves with a grin from ear to ear, and you will catch a glimpse into the zest for life that exudes from Nick Vujicic, an inspirational speaker and international evangelist who is capturing the hearts of youth and adults worldwide. Questions about Nick Vujicic “People say to me, ‘How can you smile?’ Then they realize there’s got to be more to life than meets the eye if a guy without arms and legs is living a fuller life than I am,” […]

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Sunday in the Middle East

Dr. Susan Michael
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“When Saturday is gone, one will find Sunday,” is an old, Christian Arab proverb that expresses their fear of sharing the terrible fate that has befallen the Jews. In other words, “When the Jews are persecuted, it is as inevitable that the Christians’ turn will come next, as it is that Sunday will follow Saturday.” This proverb has also been used to threaten both Jews and Christians, such as on the eve of the 1967 Six Day War with Israel when Muslims chanted “First the Saturday people, then the Sunday people.” A prophecy fulfilled There is no longer a need […]

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Goals and Resolutions

Jeff Masters
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Nearly half of Americans make New Year’s resolutions each year. Of those, only eight percent are likely to succeed. That’s according to a study conducted by the University of Scranton and published in December in the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Losing weight was the number-one commitment reported, followed by getting organized and spending less (or saving more). Others in the top 10 include “enjoying life to the fullest,” quitting smoking and spending more time with family. This dismal success rate might lead some to conclude that making New Year’s resolutions is actually counterproductive. After all, who wants to begin the […]

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It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year

The Good News
26 Nov 2014
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Several local pastors share a glimpse into their homes at Christmas telling how they celebrate family and bring significance to the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. Fidel Gomez, Associate Pastor, Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale About 3 weeks before Christmas all of us, as a family, jump into the back of a pickup truck and go to Home Depot to buy our Christmas tree. We’ve been doing this as far back as I can remember. All of us put on the traditional red Christmas stocking cap and sing Christmas carols as we drive to Home Depot. We all playfully disagree […]

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Beyond Prison Walls – Sharing God’s Love with the Children Left Behind

Melissa Presser
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It’s something we rarely think about: a population of children who have parents that are incarcerated — who spend their holidays without a mom or dad. Many times they are overlooked and forgotten. This is the ministry of Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree — the only nationwide, year round ministry that reaches out and caters exclusively to meet the needs of the 2.7 million children in America whose mother or father are incarcerated. And although their Angel Tree program garners much of the church community’s attention during the Christmas season, it is the heartfelt intent of Prison Fellowship to provide for […]

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The Best Technology Gift: Wisdom

Brody Howell
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What’s on your kids Christmas list this year? What technology will be under the tree? Will you place phones, tablets and computers all tucked away under the twinkling lights? Are you feeling overwhelmed with keeping up?. Mike Gault is an owner and operator of several Verizon Wireless stores in South Florida, and according to Mike, “the hot item this year is the iPhone 6.” We are completely dependent on technology. Kids have a wealth of educational information and healthy resources available to them to learn, dream and achieve greatness. But, when it comes to devices and technology, how much is […]

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Naughty Or Nice?

John Hawkins, Sr
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Do you remember hearing “Santa Claus is coming and he only brings toys to nice boys and girls. If you are naughty all you will get is a lump of coal.” Naughty or nice, does God work like Santa Claus? God or Santa As Christmas approaches how about you, have you been naughty or nice? As adults Santa is no longer the concern. What does God think of you? Does he see you as naughty or nice? Many think God has a negative view of them. Is that true of you? Christmas is such a magical time of the year. […]

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The Year of Bible Films And What’s Next

Stanley Goldenberg
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Many of us have complained about the worldly Hollywood movies. But as the saying goes, “It’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” The year of 2014 experienced a record number of faith-based (i.e., Bible-based, Christian) films in theaters, many of which delivered powerful, life-changing messages — truly “lights in a dark place.” Even Hollywood and the secular press called 2014 the “Year of the Bible films.” Many of these films were successful at the box office such as “Son of God” (budget $22M, gross $60M), “God’s Not Dead” (budget $2M, gross $61M), “Noah” (budget $125M, gross $101M […]

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