If I had faked the Resurrection by Josh McDowell

If Josh McDowell Had Faked the Resurrection  Josh McDowell, author of the highly popular Evidence That Demands a Verdict, says as a young man he set out to debunk Christianity. "I met a young Christian woman who challenged me to intellectually examine the evidence for Christianity, and I accepted her challenge," he recalls. "I aimed to show her—and everyone—that Christianity was nonsense. I thought it would be easy. I thought a careful investigation of the facts would expose Christianity as a lie and its followers as dupes."  Yet as he began to examine the claims of Christianity, he kept running into the evidence. "And one of the most convincing categories of evidence I confronted was this: The resurrection accounts found in the Gospels are not the stuff of fable, forgery or fabrication."  As he examined the accounts of Jesus' resurrection, McDowell says, "I had to admit that if I had been some first-century propagandist trying to fake the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I would have done a number of things differently." In light of this, he listed the following conclusions that helped lead him all the more to belief:  I would wait a prudent period after the events before "publishing" my account. I would publish my account far from the venue where it supposedly happened. I would select my "witnesses" very carefully. I would surround the event with impressive supernatural displays and omens. I would painstakingly correlate my account with others I knew, embellishing the legend only where I could be confident of not being contradicted. I would portray myself and any co-conspirators sympathetically, even heroically. I would disguise the location of the tomb or spectacularly destroy it in my account. I would try to squelch inquiry or investigation. I would not preach a message of repentance in light of the resurrection. I would stop short of dying for my lie. SOURCE: For the full story, see "If I Had Faked the Resurrection" by Josh McDowell (and Bob Hostetler).

Holy Week leading to Easter

This is "Holy Week."  This past Sunday we celebrated Palm Sunday with our church waving their palm leaves as we sang "Hosanna" and gave testimony to the wondrous works of God.  Then we celebrated the Lord's Supper in a powerful way.

This Sunday is Resurrection Sunday and I will be preaching "Is It Morning Yet?" from Psalm 30: 5 "Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning."

I would like to invite you to worship with us Sunday at 10:15.  Our LIFE Groups begin at 8:45.

Mason Jett Cofield

Mason Jett Cofield was born Thursday, March 14, 2013 at 10:18 a.m. at Jacksonville Hospital to Kevin and Tammy Cofield.  Proud big brother is Cayden O'Neal.

Mason weighed seven pounds and twelve ounces and was 21.5 inches long.

Oh, the blessings of our God to bring this sweet boy into our lives.

Duck Dynasty Commander Shares Testimony

Duck Dynasty is a series on A&E that shows the lives of the Robertson family, a Louisiana clan who became wealthy from their family-operated duck call business. 

The patriarch, Phil Roberston, is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Long before he appeared on the hit A&E series, patriarch Phil Robertson was considered the "Billy Graham of duck hunting." His first public-speaking opportunity came in the early 1990s when he was asked to give a duck-calling seminar at the Superdome in New Orleans before a 1,000 people. After talking about duck calls and hunting, Robertson reached into his bag and pulled out his Bible. "Folks, while I'm here," he said, "I think I'm gonna preach you a little sermon." Afterwards, he received other opportunities to speak and preach and was soon booked years in advance to talk to churches and other organizations.

Here is his testimony in his own words:

Sunday Sermon March 3, 2013 "Grace Uproots Bitterness"

I preached Sunday, March 3, 2013 "Grace Uproots Bitterness" from Hebrews 12:15 at CrossRoads Baptist Church, Rogersville, AL

Here is the audio: