Local

The story behind the songs at Christmas time

Anitra Parmele
25 Nov 2010
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It’s the moment when the phrase captures you…”O come, O come Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel” as you’re standing in the coffee aisle at the grocery store. It’s the CD where you listen to the whole thing and not just cherry pick your favorites off iTunes because this is Bing Crosby. It’s the neighbor’s little boy dressed up in his dad’s bathrobe as he tilts back his head and belts out We Three Kings. It’s the recognition that regardless of our church attendance record, most of us know the words to Silent Night’s second verse. It’s the realization that the […]

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In Profile: Pastor Larry Thompson

Blackstone Grif
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Durring the busy holidays The Good News was able to catch up with Larry Thompson, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Fort Lauderdale. With all the busyness of Thanksgiving, Christmas and the famous First Baptist Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant he still had time to answer a few questions.   How and when did you come to know the Lord? Although I grew up in church all my life, it wasn’t until I was 19 years old that I realized the difference between being religious and having a true relationship with Jesus. My girlfriend (now my wife) and I were at […]

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Christmas service in 3D

The Good News
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Church by the Glades (CBTG), recently named the 35th fastest growing church in America, has done it once again. Well known for their “wow factor”, CBTG is inviting over a hundred thousand people to witness the ultimate Christmas experience – 20 Christmas services in 3D. “Our December series will consist of three weeks of doctrinal teachings, each with three points. During our Christmas week services we will actually be giving out 3D glasses at all of our campuses and when visitors and members walk in , they will experience the ultimate worship experience in 3D,” shares Pastor Hughes, Lead Pastor […]

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Building hope in South Florida one family at a time

Anitra Parmele
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The following is the first in a series spotlighting Hope South Florida – a unique collaboration of city officials, social agencies and the faith community with a single purpose – to end family homelessness in Broward County. “Eighteen months ago, Stephan Tchividjian of the Christian Community Foundation of South Florida encouraged a group of his pastor friends to start meeting. Soon they agreed to unify around the gospel and to address the critical need of homelessness. They each appointed a staff member to sit on a team with representatives of The Shepherd’s Way and brainstorm how to create solutions that […]

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Churches do missions “in-house”

Bryon Mondok
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How churches do missions is changing. Traditionally, prospective missionaries leave their church families to join mission organizations to execute the vision and tasks of the organizations. But here in South Florida, churches themselves fulfill the role of the mission agency. Calvary Chapel Boynton Beach, First Baptist of Fort Lauderdale, Calvary Church in Jupiter, Grace Fellowship in West Palm Beach Florida, Calvary Chapel Port St. Lucie, and Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale, are planning projects, training missionaries, and staffing their own cross-cultural mission ventures with people from their own church communities. “The possibilities for churches and their missions involvement are endless,” says […]

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Surviving grief: From desperation to healing

The Good News
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When Linder Berman attended a “Calm My Anxious Heart” Bible study years ago, she had no idea that the lessons she learned through that study would soon be put into practice in her own life.  I originally sat down with Linder to write an article about her son Paul’s death three years ago at the age of 22. What I didn’t know was that God had something greater in store. During our hour-long interview, I was able to learn how a Christian, truly grounded in God’s word, dealt with the gamut of emotions that come with the grieving process. In […]

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Prison Fellowship adds Art Camp to its curriculum

Anitra Parmele
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It was a dark day for Chuck Colson, special counsel to President Nixon, when he was sentenced to federal prison on Watergate-related charges. But, just before his sentence began, the light of the Holy Spirit came upon him and Chuck Colson gave his life to the Lord. He publicly proclaimed Jesus by stating that he would “serve the Lord in or out of prison.” Upon his release, Colson told the men who were still incarcerated that he would never forget them – a promise that he has never broken. That promise was the start of Prison Fellowship. Launched by Colson […]

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Domestic violence

The Good News
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Personal Experience Leads to Life Paula Silva’s marriage didn’t turn out quite as she had expected. Raised in a Christian home and married at 21, her perception of marriage was “if you married a Christian man who shared your same beliefs, then everything was going to turn out alright”. A week after her marriage, Paula found this not to be the truth when she got a taste of her husbands abuse after she asked a simple question of him – “Would you please take out the garbage?” He reacted with anger and viciousness and Paula wondered what she said that […]

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A Work-Out Class That’s Just A Ball

Anitra Parmele
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As I dragged myself out of bed on a recent Saturday morning, I mused over the class title – Just A Ball. Was there a sarcastic edge signaling that the class was anything but a ball? Was it said in such a way as to forestall my complaining? Having been friends with Chantel Hobbs, the instructor/trainer, for over twenty years, I had no doubt that the answer was probably more than a little of both. When we met, Chantel was an incredibly gifted singer, an intensely loyal and engaging friend, beautiful in the blonde way that makes other women want […]

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