Here is a neat animation of the sun from The Big Picture. Depending on your connection speed, it might take a minute to load and start spinning for you.

“An animation of the sun, seen by NASA’s Extreme ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) over the course of 6 days, starting June 27, 2005.” (Courtesy of SOHO/EIT consortium)

“In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.” (Psalm 19:4-6)

Visit The Big Picture for more amazing pictures of the Sun.

Related post: The Size of the Earth Compared to Other Objects in Space

In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the New International Version Bible, Bible publisher Zondervan has launched a massive 90-city, 44-state tour called Bible Across America. You can track tour stops and real time blog updates at the Bible Across America website.

I remember getting my first NIV Bible back in 1978. It was one of those brown, hardcover editions. It opened up a whole new world of Bible reading and memory for me and pretty much changed my life. So happy 30th anniversary to you, NIV! You can swing that bus by my house anytime.

• Lawsuit against God dismissed. “A judge has thrown out a Nebraska legislator’s lawsuit against God, saying the Almighty wasn’t properly served, because of his unlisted home address.”
• Trek Alert! SlashFilm has photos from the new Star Trek movie. The bridge looks awesome. My son asked, “Why does the technology look cooler when you’re actually going back earlier in time?” I guess the Star Wars prequels had the same problem.
• Free Christian Film Festival. If you are in central Florida, check out the Greater Orlando Christian Film Festival, which kicks off today at Regal Cinemas in Orlando. The festival is sponsored by Christian Film Festivals of America and is evangelistic in purpose.
• Mystery Worshipers. The Wall Street Journal reports on churches hiring professional “mystery worshipers” to evaluate their church. “To try to keep their flocks, churches are turning to undercover inspectors, who note water stains, dull sermons and poor hospitality.”
• Q-Drum. Check out the Q-Drum, a low cost rollable water container for developing countries. Looks like someone re-invented the wheel, but in a good sense this time!

  

The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding has put together a new guide to help teens evaluate the media in their lives. The guide is called: How To Use Your Head To Guard Your Heart: A 3(D) Guide To Making Responsible Media Choices.

The 3(D) Guide allows you to teach your students how to move from being “mindless consumers” of media, to an approach of “mindful critique” as they learn how to filter all media through the lens of a Christian worldview. Because teenagers are at a developmental stage where intellectual and cognitive abilities are taking shape, the 3(D) Guide is a tool that allows adults to walk alongside students as they begin to develop the ability to think for themselves.

The 3(D) Guide teaches students 3 Media Evaluation Steps:

1. Discover: Discover the message and worldview communicated in the piece of media.
2. Discern: Evaluate attitudes, values, behaviors, beliefs and worldview elements in light of God’s Word.
3. Decide: Make God-honoring decisions regarding their media use, consumption, and habits.

This looks like great material for youth groups, small groups or youth retreats. The cost is $15 for a pack of 10. You can download a free leaders guide here. You can also download a free media survey to get a handle on how your teens utilize media in their lives.

HT: Stand to Reason

Related posts: Taming Technology in the Home series

Dr. Albert Mohler explains why there can be no middle ground when it comes to the issue of abortion:

One side defines the issue in terms of a woman’s right to control her own destiny … The other side … bases its assumptions on the claim that a human being, at any stage of development, has an intrinsic right to life that must be respected by all humanity …

For the better part of four decades, some have attempted to find a middle ground between these two positions, but to no avail. The reason quickly becomes clear. If abortion is to be understood as a fundamental right, no woman can be denied the exercise of that right. If abortion is the taking of innocent human life, no justification can be offered for abortion as a means of ending an unwanted pregnancy — none at all. Middle ground would be possible only if we can assume that the right to abortion is not fundamental, but merely provisional, and that the unborn child does not have an intrinsic right to life, but only a provisional right. Efforts to frame the issue in this way fail because neither of these assumptions can [be] qualified in this way and remain coherent.

Dr. Mohler also points to a recent essay by Professor Robert P. George of Princeton University detailing Sen. Barack Obama’s views on abortion. George states at the outset of his essay:

Sen. Barack Obama’s views on life issues ranging from abortion to embryonic stem cell research mark him as not merely a pro-choice politician, but rather as the most extreme pro-abortion candidate to have ever run on a major party ticket.

I know this is a hot button issue, but how important is the abortion issue to you in the upcoming election? Will the candidates’ views on abortion influence your vote?

Click here for more abortion related posts.

The GE Healthcare Timeline of Fetal Growth illustrates the development of a fetus from week 6 until birth as viewed through ultrasound. The timeline highlights important developments in the fetus over time accompanied by stunning 4D ultrasound images of the baby in the womb. (You can click on the images to see a larger version.)

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:13-14)

HT: Stand to Reason

Justin Taylor wrote an excellent article on Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem complete with striking illustrations from the newly released ESV Study Bible. Here is just one snippet from this fascinating article.

Now to get a sense of how massive this was, take a look at the illustration below, showing the entire Temple Mount. According to many scholars, the corner closest to you is the “pinnacle of the Temple” where Satan tempted Jesus — a frighteningly high point that created a 450-foot drop down to the valley below (essentially equivalent to standing on top of a 45-story building and being dared to jump). It was probably near this place — in front of the Royal Stoa — that Jesus cleansed the Temple from moneychangers who were turning a place of prayer into a den of thieves.

                                    (Click image to enlarge)

Yesterday’s message was called Christian Finances in Troubled Times, taken from various scriptures. The main idea of the message was how we should handle our finances as Christians during troubled times. Here is a brief outline of the message:

I. Be joyful in God. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)
    A. Though the future looks bleak
    B. Though the present disappoints
    C. Though your past reserves are spent

II. Practice good Christian stewardship.
    A. Give faithfully. (Matthew 6:19-21; 1 Corinthians 16:2)
    B. Spend carefully. (Luke 12:15)
    C. Save wisely. (Genesis 41:28-38; Proverbs 6:6-8)

III. Trust God to meet your needs.
    A. Ask God’s help. (James 4:2; Philippians 4:6-7)
    B. Don’t confuse wants with needs. (Philippians 4:19)
    C. Trust God’s promises. (Hebrews 13:5-6)

Note: Click on the Sermons tab at the top of the blog for this and other messages.

Here’s some good advice from James MacDonald of Harvest Bible Fellowship at Straight Up, a new blog by pastors for pastors. Question: Should a sermon resolve every issue in the text? (Visit the link for the video clip.)

I don’t think that the sermon needs to resolve every single tension and answer every question that the text raises. I think that I will say that my intellectual curiosity greatly exceeds my people’s capacity to listen, and it grieves me when I hear preaching and teaching that tries to nail down every single corner, answer every issue.

I love commentaries like that, and I love to study and answer all the questions that are in mind so that I can preach with confidence. But I think a lot of times I refer to this as not preaching your homework. And you need to know what it says, and you need to have it all nailed down according to the dictates of your own conscience, but then you need to carve out of that the fillet part which is what the people need for their own souls.

I do actually struggle with preaching that overly intellectualizes the text rather than forming it into a meal that actually will feed the souls of the people.

Gov. Palin released her 2006 and 2007 tax returns last week. Paul Caron over at the TaxProf compiles the main information from all four candidates onto one handy chart.

There seems to be a fairly wide spectrum in both reported income and charitable giving.

Related posts:

• Click here for Obama’s Tax Returns
• Click here for Hillary Clinton’s Tax Returns
• Click here for Britney Spears’ Budget.
• Click here for more posts on politics.

Andreas Köstenberger reports on the Berlin Declaration, which addresses the issue of the uniqueness of Christ and Jewish evangelism.

An international task force of the Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) met on the issue of the uniqueness of Christ and Jewish evangelism in Berlin, Germany, from August 18-22, 2008 to consider how the Christian community might express genuine love for the Jewish people, especially in Europe. Participants included Christians from Germany and Messianic Jews.

You can read the full document at the World Evangelical Alliance site. The document ends with the following call for action:

Therefore, as Christians concerned for the well being and salvation of the Jewish people, we call for:

• Respect for religious conviction and liberty that allows frank discussion of religious claims
• Repentance from all expressions of anti-Semitism and all other forms of genocide, prejudice and discrimination
• Recognition of the uniqueness of Christ as the crucified, resurrected and divine Messiah who alone can save from death and bring eternal life
• Reconciliation and unity amongst believers in Jesus
• Renewed commitment to the task of Jewish evangelism

Related post: The Gospel and the Jewish People

I first heard this fun, frolicking, alliterative version of “The Parable of the Prodigal Son” back in the 1980′s when Jack Hayford read it out loud on his radio program. I was living in California at the time and really enjoyed Hayford’s preaching. I happened to tape the show and wrote the words down later. With Tim Keller’s new book about to be released (The Prodigal God), I thought it would be fun to unfurl it here. Be sure to read it out loud for maximum effect!

MELODY IN F – Author unknown

Feeling footloose and frisky, a feather-brained fellow forced his fond father to fork over the farthings, and flew far to foreign fields and frittered his fortune feasting fabulously with faithless friends.

Fleeced by his fellows in folly, and facing famine, he found himself a feed flinger in a filthy farmyard. Fairly famishing, he fain would have filled his frame with foraged food from fodder fragments. “Fooey, my father’s flunkies fare far finer,” the frazzled fugitive forlornly fumbled, frankly facing facts.

Frustrated by failure, and filled with foreboding, he fled forthwith to his family. Falling at his father’s feet, he forlornly fumbled, “Father, I’ve flunked, and fruitlessly forfeited family favor.” The far-sighted father, forestalling further flinching, frantically flagged the flunkies to fetch a fatling from the flock and fix a feast.

The fugitive’s fault-finding brother frowned on fickle forgiveness of former folderol. But the faithful father figured, “Filial fidelity is fine, but the fugitive is found! What forbids fervent festivity? Let flags be un-furled! Let fanfares flare!” Father’s forgiveness formed the foundation for the former fugitive’s future fortitude.

Note: See Luke 15:11-32 for the original version.

Related post: Parable of the Prodigal Puppy