manna?

Smart Money’s On Family by Gary Strauss (USA Today)

Posted by Ed and Lois

Uncle Nino, a little movie about moral values, is finally getting its due.

Principal filming on the movie about a long-lost relative who reunites a troubled family wrapped in 2002. But Uncle Nino, which stars Joe Mantegna and Anne Archer, languished after distributors passed on the $3 million film made outside the studio system, dismissing it as too limited in appeal and marketability.

Nino bounced back onto the industry’s radar after test-market screenings in Grand Rapids, Mich., produced enough word-of-mouth praise to extend an initial two-week run in December 2003 to 56 weeks. Nino has since gained a distributor and is scheduled to roll into major markets in February.

Hollywood, whose concept of family entertainment has evolved from tearjerkers such as National Velvet to costly adventure films such as National Treasure, is taking notice
To some, the timing smacks of knee-jerk Hollywood response to the cultural divide illustrated in red and blue states. To others, the movies are efforts to cash in on the Christian-infused success of The Passion of the Christ. But studios say they’re not pandering to conservatives; they’re simply responding to market forces. And in a nation still squeamish over wardrobe malfunctions and violence, studios are willing to bet that quiet, wholesome entertainment films like Nino will attract multi-generational audiences, especially preteens and the 40-plus crowd, the industry’s fastest-growing demographic.

Full Post:http://www.usatoday.com/life/2004-12-27-pop-main_x.htm

Top Grossing Movies 2004

Posted by Ed and Lois

Mel Gibson’s gamble on “The Passion of the Christ” paid off in a major way, grossing more than $370 million and making the Aussie re-import Forbes’ most powerful celebrity.

1. “Shrek 2” — $436.7 million

2. “Spider-Man 2” — $373.4 million

3. “The Passion of the Christ” — $370.3 million

4. “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” — $249.4 million

5. “The Incredibles” — $232.6 million

6. “The Day After Tomorrow” — $186.7 million

7. “The Bourne Supremacy” — $176.1 million

8. “Shark Tale” — $159.3 million

9. “I, Robot” — $144.8 million

10. “Troy” — $133.3 million

Source: EDI FilmSource, 12/12/04

Why did Jesus Come—Part II

Posted by boyd berends

Some time ago I submitted an article entitled “Why did Jesus Come?”

Since that time I have suffered a stroke and will get to examine all over again some of what I asked?

Previously I asked did Jesus have to suffer as He did? It was always my understanding that Jesus’ death was the act that saved us, or made us right with God. Having come very close to death, I now realize that one does not have to suffer to die. When I watched the “Passion” I asked myself why the suffering Jesus’ bore. Was there a reason?

When I read Isaiah 53 I read that He (Jesus) was to suffer for our sickness, griefs and our sorrows.  Then in Luke I read where Jesus the physician came to heal the sick and then He suffered so that we could be healed. I read where He (Jesus) defeated all the works of the devil, and I sure think sickness is a work of the devil.

Twelve years or so ago, I was told that I had cancer. Now when you are told that you have the BIG C, a lot of thoughts run through your mind, like where do I go first? I went to the Lord and I quickly became convinced that I was to do nothing but trust in His Word.

After really being tested, two or three years later I was told that the tumor had died. Then I was told I had heart problems. Before we could deal woth that problem I went on a scheduled mission trip. I had the opprtunity to teach about healing and to ask the natives to pray for my healing. They did, and I thought I was healed. Then later I saw myself in a vision being wheeled into the operating room and knew that I was to go through with the bypass surgery. I returned to the states and had a quadrupple heart surgery. This took place on Thursday afternoon. I went home the following Sunday, climbed 28 steps and then went to work on Monday. The miracle was in the restoration this time.

Now once again I am faced with a choice to make. Do I believe the Book and what it says, or do I throw in the towel?

In Romans four, I read that Abraham did not waver over the promises and it was counted to him as rightousness. I have to ask myself if I am being tested, and if I pass the test, will it be counted as rightousness for me?

This is a good question for me, but I must always keep in mind that even if I am restored, all healing is but temporary. We will all die, the difference is that for me I know it.

Church Pushes To Shed Some Of Season’s Trappings by Cassondra Kirby (Knight Ridder)

Posted by Ed and Lois

LEXINGTON, KY. - A Kentucky church is approaching Christmas a little differently this year: It’s skipping it.

Crossroads Christian Church in Lexington isn’t suggesting bailing out on the celebration altogether, just the bad parts:

We want to encourage people not to get so caught up in the trappings of the season that they miss the heart of what Christmas is about,” said Fred Turner, a minister at the church. “We are not calling for people not to buy presents or put up trees, but we are trying to turn the focus on the things that matter.”
He said the church got the idea from John Grisham’s book Skipping Christmas, which has been made into a movie, Christmas With the Kranks. The story is about Luther Krank (Tim Allen), who is sick of the high costs of Christmas and persuades his wife to skip the holiday and spend the money on a cruise. When his Peace Corps-bound daughter decides to come home for Christmas, he goes into a frenzy of preparations.

The nondenominational church began weekly discussions earlier this month. The sessions focus on helping the community find simplicity, joy, rest, belonging and Jesus, while skipping the loneliness, obligations and rush that come with the holiday. The last session will be on Christmas Eve.

“We really think this is important because the heart of Christmas needs to be getting back to who Jesus is and why he cares,” Turner said.

Why December 25 by Richard Ostling (AP)

Posted by Ed and Lois

In simultaneous pre-Christmas cover stories, Time and Newsweek magazines sifted with skepticism the narratives of Jesus’ birth in Matthew and Luke, the only accounts we have since no other chroniclers recorded this obscure peasant’s nativity.

It’s far less important than those historical debates, but there’s also a small disagreement about why the church later chose Dec. 25 for Christmas. Two main theories compete

One notes that in A.D. 274, the Roman Emperor Aurelian inaugurated Dec. 25 as the pagan “Birth of the Unconquered Sun” celebration, at the calendar point when daylight began to lengthen. Supposedly, Christians then borrowed the date and devised Christmas to compete with paganism.

William Tighe, a church history specialist at Pennsylvania’s Muhlenberg College, champions the exact opposite theory.
Tighe acknowledged that the first hard evidence of Christmas occurring on Dec. 25 isn’t found until A.D. 336 and the date only became a fixed festival in Constantinople in 379.

However, the definitive “Handbook of Biblical Chronology” by professor Jack Finegan (Hendrickson, 1998 revised edition) cites an important reference in the “Chronicle” written by Hippolytus of Rome three decades before Aurelian launched his festival. Hippolytus said Jesus’ birth “took place eight days before the kalends of January,” that is, Dec. 25.
Tighe said there’s evidence that as early as the second and third centuries, Christians sought to fix the birth date to help determine the time of Jesus’ death and resurrection for the liturgical calendar ---- long before Christmas also became a festival.

Full Post http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/12/23/special_reports/religion/21_50_1412_22_04.txt