The Uniqueness of Christianity

What Jesus offers that no religion does

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6IfVnkbmKs

"The New Creation" - Ron Tucker, pastor: Grace Church - St. Louis

Click here to view 30 minute video

GoD and DoG

If God were like some of us -- he would be all business, work and nose-to-the-grindstone efficiency. But thank God -- he is not. A huge part of his creation on earth is devoted to things that might seem inexplicably unnecessary and unimportant to us. Take the vast variety of animals for example. Could it be that each animal is telling us something we need to know about God? Wendy Francisco, who wrote, performed and animated this wonderful video, believes her dog is there to do just that . . .

Jackie Evancho - "To Believe"

We All Need a Friend

Jerusalem The Movie

Jerusalem | Filmed in Imax 3D from JerusalemTheMovie on Vimeo.

The Good-O-Meter

Carrie Underwood and Vince Gill sing, "How Great Thou Art"

If you had been at the 2011 Academy of Country Music Awards a few weeks ago, you would have been in the company of hundreds of the biggest country music stars. You would have heard and seen an incredible lineup of the superstar women of country music. The event was later aired on CBS. But the biggest event of the night turned out to be a rendition of "How Great Thou Art" by Carrie Underwood with Vance Gill. The song drew an unexpected response -- and standing ovation -- moving many of the audience of veteran country performers to tears, Christian and non-Christian alike.

Where's the Line To See Jesus?

Silent Night - by Jackie Evancho, 10 year old opera singer

Count Your Blessings

Oh Holy Night - by Celtic Woman

"Call His Name Jesus" - Phillips, Craig and Dean

Christmas with a capital "C"

Christmas at the mall food court

The Story Of Jonah - Corinth Baptist Church

The story of Jonah from Corinth Baptist Church on Vimeo.

This little girl really gets into her story!

Creation Calls - Are You Listening?

Music by Brian Doerksen - Branch Church

The Seven Wonders of the World

A Dog Prayer

"The Government Can" by Tim Hawkins

Christian History I Never Knew

"Held"

Woodland Hills Church St. Paul, Minnesota Pastor Greg Boyd (42 minutes)

Resurrection Painting

To see a spectacular Resurrection painting video, click here.

Old Barns

In God We Still Trust

Christian group "Truth"

Silent Monks Singing Halleluia

Creative high school students give a great rendition of the Halleluia Chorus

"Where's the Line to See Jesus?"

"Where's the Line to See Jesus?"
(An Original Song)
Performed by father and daughter, Steve Haupt and Becky Kelley
Inspired by grandson, Spencer Reijgers

Recorded at Shock City Studios, Saint Louis, MO
Produced by Chris Loesch

Video by Robbie Haupt and Greg Haupt

The story behind the song, as told by Steve Haupt:
"While at the mall last year, my 4 year old grandson saw kids lined up excitedly to see Santa Claus. Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of God's son, with the innocence of a child, he asked his mom, "where's the line to see Jesus"? If Christmas is Jesus' birthday, why don't we see Him more? As his grandpa, I was so happy that little Spencer understood the meaning of Christmas at such a tender age, and then the words for a song were jotted down in just a few minutes. The song was inspired by my grandson, and the message was inspired by my Savior. Out of the mouths of babes come profound truths that many adults can not understand. Hopefully Spencer's observation and our song will cause people to reflect on the love of Jesus, and the certainty that one day we will all stand in line to see Jesus. Merry Christmas everyone."

Cajun rendition of "Amazing Grace"

"I Am Crucified With Christ" by Phillips, Craig & Dean

Christmas With a Capital "C"

"This Is America" - free flying bald eagle

Music video featuring a special free-flying Bald Eagle named 'Challenger' (in honor of the lost space shuttle crew) cared for by the non-profit American Eagle Foundation (AEF). He's a 'human-socialized' bird accidentally raised by the people who rescued him - after being blown from a wild Louisiana nest in a storm as a baby in the late 1980's. Declared 'non-releasable' by federal and state wildlife authorities, he was trained by the AEF to perform educational free-flight demonstrations at high profile public events.
He's the first Bald Eagle in U.S. History that learned to free-fly into stadiums, arenas and ballrooms during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner. The celebrity eagle has appeared at numerous major sporting events like the World Series, Pro-Bowl, All-Star game, BCS National Championship, Fiesta Bowl, Men's Final Four, etc. Challenger has also flown before 4 U.S. Presidents!

"Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin

"Amazing Grace" by Il Divo

Four beautiful men's voices sung in the Coliseum. Click here.

"Amazing Grace" by Maureen McGovern

"Very Special Love" by Maureen McGovern

"Love's Grown Deep" by Kenny Nolan

"Longer Than" by Dan Fogelberg

"GoD and DoG" by W J Francisco

GoD and DoG Thoughts by Wendy Francisco "I look up and I see GoD"
The one thing that bugged me about this line is that I don't really think of God as being "up" in a directional sense. He's everywhere and even inside people who invite Him to be there. But he's a higher being, so in that way, when you look up in your heart, when you think about better things, you ultimately conclude God...at least I do.

"I look down and see my dog."
I hope that the first two lines of the song conveys that people are in the middle, between two kinds of sincere devotion.

"Simple spelling G O D, Same word backwards, D O G."
In the English language, this is an amusing reality. It doesn't hold true for other languages, but is simply one of those linguistic coincidences that poets capitalize on. It just happens that the inverted spelling of these two words fits my song beautifully. I don't believe there is any cosmic signifigance in this, but when I meet God in person someday perhaps I will be corrected.

"They would stay with me all day."
The main reason I wrote God and Dog is that much of organized religion has portrayed God as someone he is not. I believe he has a love for all people, that he knows us deeply and yearns for a relationship with every one of us.

"I'm the one who walks away."
Everytime I leave my dog to go do something "important", he gives me a look that says, "I wish I could be with you". Many people believe they have failed God and that God has left them. That's because we don't realize how BIG God's forgiveness is. How silly to think that the cummulative mistakes of any person could outweigh the forgiveness of the God of the universe.

"But both of them just wait for me and dance at my return with glee."
My dog has a party when I return even if I have been gone only 10 minutes. The prodigal son left home and squandered everything his father had given him. The father didn't follow his son and hurl judgements and insults. He just waited. When his son returned, the dad didn't say a thing about what his son had done. He was so thrilled to have him back that he threw a big party.

"Both love me no matter what, divine God and canine mutt. "
We know how forgiving our dogs are. Their relationship to us is not based on a scorecard. Well many people think that God loves you based on how good you are. If this were true then it would be impossible to have an authentic friendship with him. We would all either be intolerably proud, or we'd be disfuctionally humiliated. This is why dead religion is often made of of intolerably proud people telling disfunctionally humiliated people what to do.

"I take it hard each time I fail but God forgives, Dog wags his tail".
What Jesus did was supposed to be a gift, not a guilt trip. If you don't believe that God's forgiveness is a huge aspect of who he is, you won't be able to forgive yourself... or anybody else either. God "remembers our sins no more".

"God thought up and made the dog, dog reflects a part of God".
I don't think of dogs as gods. I don't think that every dog is a total picture of God. I am not into fundamental creationism but I don't think that darwinism (or most anything that ends with "ism") is the complete answer. I think God created the universe and the creatures on earth. The order of creation in Genesis loosely reflects what science is telling us. This is utterly fascinating to me. My favorite things to read are the Bible, and books on particle physics, astrophysics, biochemistry, etc. People can shout about creationism versus science all they want... I wasn't there at the beginning of the world, so I don't know. But however the details were done, I think God expressed himself in the things we see around us.

"I've seen love from both sides now, it's everywhere, amen, bow wow."
When I treat my animals with respect, I gain a relational trust that is one of the most rewarding things in life. I think God encoded his entire creation with this truth - that when you love another being and give it room to be itself, you lift it's head, you draw it out, and you earn it's love. When you force and control an animal, something deep inside it retreats and you miss out. Do that enough and your life becomes silent, lonely, and cold. It's the same with our relationships to each other. When people control people, something deep in the spirit retreats and goes cold, physical health begins to decline, things unravel.

Some people think that God is a manipulator and a controller. To me it looks like God created this universe to flourish in the presence of love and freedom. True love is a result of the gift of freedom, it cannot be forced. God has shown in his creation, that love brings health and life. He is the originator of these things and these things reflect who He is. In my life I have seen miracles like crippled bones straightening out before my eyes after prayer... but that is not why I believe in God. I believe there is a God because I see the results of love and freedom, versus the results of control and manipulation on people and animals. I have become convinced He is there because this song plays over and over all throughout creation.

"I look up and I see God, I look down and see my dog
And in my human frailty, I can't match their love for me."

This is the humbling part. GoD and DoG love me unwaveringly and I can't match it. But I am learning...

Other thoughts...
I had been told by some that is isn't right to compare God to a dog. But Jesus said that he wanted to gather people like a hen gathers her chicks. I have a hen with chicks at the moment and she is so gentle and dedicated. It is a beautiful analogy. So I figure it's ok to point to the enthusiastic devotion of a dog and comment that God is at least that enthusiastic about us... and much more. Dogs are tangible and Jesus used comparasins to many tangible things to try and illustrate what God was like.

I had someone say my song was blasphemy. Oh well. Ya can't please everybody. I think people who have really loved a dog or any animal will understand the song and those who have not simply need to walk a few more miles.

"Wrap Me In Your Arms" by Michael Gungor

"Find Your Wings" - Mark Harris

"The Prayer" - Bocelli and Dion

Do You See Jesus?

A photographer for a major worldwide news service had seen everything. He had traveled the globe to many crisis situations of war, civil uprisings, plane crashes, natural disasters, every form of human suffering. He had developed a very callous nature toward the many upsetting events which he was assigned to photograph.
Throughout much of his early life, this man had no desire to even consider there being a God, much less any wish to know about Jesus Christ, a reported Son of God. If there was a God, how could He allow all the things this man had witnessed? The world was in such a mess, it was inconceivable that a “good” God has created it.
But still - as he grew older, deep within his being, he felt a drawing, a calling, toward an understanding of God. He could not shake the feeling that there was a higher purpose for man than what he had seen. He hesitantly began to look in the Bible. He studied what was written about the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ for all mankind. He began to consider that what he was reading might be true.
But how could he know? This business of “faith” seemed beyond him. He believed in what he could see, hear, taste, feel and touch. He was an educated, scientific minded man who had a problem with “spiritual” concepts. How could he really know the existence of God? He needed some proof of the Jesus Christ saga of the Bible.
As he wrestled in his mind about God, he decided on a solution. He wanted a SIGN! After all, if God really existed and wanted to show Himself, then God should give some physical sign. He reasoned that something obviously of God that he could contact with the senses would convince him.
About that time, world events began to demand more of his time and he traveled extensively in his picture-taking assignments. God ideas kind of got put on the back-burner in the heat of his work.
Then a very severe earthquake took place in Alaska. There was much damage and loss of life, and he was assigned to cover the story in pictures.
On the last leg of his flight into Anchorage, Alaska, he was looking out the plane window at the frozen terrain below. There were patches of snow and areas of exposed dark ground. Nothing spectacular, he was thinking.Suddenly, a message flashed into his mind
“Take a picture! Take a picture!”
He heard the words so clearly that it was as if someone right beside him had said it. He looked down again, but the scenery had not changed. All he saw was just light and dark patches - no people, no buildings, nothing exciting - just snow and earth.
“Why take a picture?” he thought. “Nothing here.” But the message had been so clear and insistent, that he got out his camera and snapped what he could see out the window.
He flew into Anchorage and took many pictures of the destruction. Again, God was far from his mind.
After he returned to his home office, all of the rolls of film were developed and returned to him. He had so many pictures to sort through that he had forgotten about that single picture from the plane.
And then it happened! He came to that picture, and stopped in his tracks. What he saw in the picture immediately reminded him of his request that God show him a sign. There, in the black and white of the landscape, was the FACE OF CHRIST! It was unmistakable to him. As he fell on his knees, he heard and recognized that same voice which had said to take a picture speaking again:
“You have certainly been a hard nut to crack. I have been dealing with you all of your life, but you have been anchored to the world tighter than most. For some people, subtle hints of Me do the trick. For others, it takes a steady revelation by Me to gain their understanding. But for the stubborn like you, sometimes the only thing that works is a SIGN! I am not really into physical signs, but I love you so much that I‘ll do ‘whatever turns you on!’
Accept My Son, Jesus Christ, that you see in the snow. Know Him as your Savior and pledge to make Him the Lord of your life. And with this, I will give you a new birth as a child in My Family.
Jesus said, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are they that have not seen, AND YET HAVE BELIEVED.’ (John 20:29)

"Amazing Grace" - by a 2 year old

"In Better Hands Now" - Natalie Grant

"Only You" - by MLC

"Give Thanks" - Maranatha Singers

"How Great Thou Art" - by Elvis Presley

"Our Father's Eyes" - Amy Grant

"Above All" - Lenny LeBlanc

"Amazing Grace" - Hayley Westenra

"Jesus Take the Wheel" - Carrie Underwood

"You Raise Me Up" - Celtic Woman

Footprints

"He Didn't Die In Vain"

"Salvation Army Band" - Phil Keaggy

"You Reign" - by MercyMe

"God Will Make a Way"

"Awesome God" by Michael W. Smith

"This Is Love" by Steve Bell

Movie clips of Jesus (played by Bruce Marchiano) teamed with the song "This Is Love" by Steve Bell.