Thursday, May 8, 2025
Michael W. Smith: Beyond The Far Horizon Tour
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May 24, 2025
Multi-Platinum singer-songwriter, Michael W. Smith, is excited to come to the Moonlight with his BEYOND THE FAR HORIZON TOUR. Michael is bringing a whole new dimension to this tour with a reimagined live show, featuring brand new music that ventures into new creative ground, while still resonating with long-time fans through beloved hits and uplifting worship moments.
Michael W. Smith has been releasing music and performing around the world to sold-out crowds for the last 40+ years. During his storied career, he’s written and recorded over 36 No. 1 songs, been awarded three Grammys, more than 45 Dove Awards, an American Music Award, was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and has sold more than 15 million albums. More than just an outstanding songwriter and performer, Smith has given back to the global community throughout his career by raising funds to battle AIDS in Africa, opened a safe haven for young people in Tennessee, and has helped more than 70,000 children through Compassion International. In 2021, he released a re-envisioned live version of his #1 highest-selling album of all time, Worship, in honor of its 20th anniversary. Don’t miss an inspiring night of music with Michael W. Smith.
Tickets: $45 - $75
Gates open at 6 P.M., show begins at 7:30 P.M.
On-site parking at the Moonlight is always free. Outside food and non-alcoholic beverages are allowed in the venue and lawn chairs are provided with all lawn tickets. Plus, Bread & Cheese will be operating during all shows with two bars serving wine, beer, seltzer, and more!
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Exposing the Christian Nationalist Network
The New Evangelicals is an inclusive, Jesus-centered community
that holds space for those marginalized by the evangelical church
through building community, exploring faith and advocating for systemic
change.
BEGINNING TO PRAY
T.W.: What was your nationality?
Bloom: Up until 1937 I was stateless, but in 1937 I applied for French nationality and I have kept it right until now. So technically I am French, but I belong to that generation which is Russian at heart. By education, culture and so on I can't feel that I belong completely to one side or the other. In Russia I feel Russian because it's my language, it's my country - yet I don't belong to it because I am an émigré. Abroad I am much too Russian to be able to melt completely into the milieu around me.
T.W.: When did you become a Christian? Was there any particular turning point?
Bloom: It came in several stages. Up to my middle teens I was an unbeliever and very aggressively anti-church. I knew no God; I wasn't interested and hated everything that connected with the idea of God.
T.W.: In spite of your father?
Bloom: Yes, because up to the age of 15 life had been very hard, we had no common roof and I was at boarding school which was rough and violent. All the members of my family lived in different corners of Paris. It was only when I was about 14 that we all gathered under a common roof and that was real happiness and bliss - it is odd to think that in a suburban house in Paris one could discover perfect happiness but it was so. This was the first time that we had had a home since the revolution. But before that I ought to say that I had met something which puzzled me a great deal. I was sent to a boy's summer camp when I was about eleven years old and there I met a priest who must have been about thirty. Something about him struck me - he had love to spare for everyone and his love wasn't conditioned on whether we were good and it never changed when we were bad. It was an unconditional ability to love. I had never met this in my life before. I had been loved at home, but I found it natural. I had friends too and that was natural, but I had never met this kind of love. At the time I didn't trace it to anything, I just found this man extremely puzzling and extremely lovable. Only years later, when I had already discovered the Gospel, did it occur to me that he loved with a love that was beyond him. He shared out divine love to us, or if you prefer, his human love was of such depth and had such scope and scale that he could include all of us, either through joy or pain, but still within one love. This experience I think was the first deep spiritual experience I had.
T.W.: What happened after this?
Bloom: Nothing. I went back to boarding school and everything went on as before until we all found ourselves under the same roof. When I found myself confronted with perfect happiness, a quite unexpected thing happened. I suddenly discovered that if happiness is aimless, it's unbearable. I could not accept aimless happiness. Hardships and suffering had to be overcome, there was always something beyond them. But because it had no further meaning and because I believed in nothing, happiness seemed to be stale. So I decided I would give myself a year to see whether life had any meaning. If in the course of that year I could not find any meaning, I decided I would not live, I would commit suicide.
T.W.: How did you get out of this aimless happiness?
Bloom: I began to look for a meaning in life other than what I could find through purposefulness. Studying and making oneself useful for life didn't convince me at all. All my life up to now had been concentrated on immediate goals, and suddenly these became empty. I felt something immensely dramatic inside myself, and everything around me seemed small and meaningless.
Months passed and no meaning appeared on the horizon. One day - it was during Lent, and I was then a member of one of the Russian youth organisations in Paris - one of the leaders came up to me and said, 'We have invited a priest to talk to you, come.' I answered with violent indignation that I would not. I had no use for the Church. I did not believe in God. I did not want to waste any of my time. The leader was subtle - he explained that everyone who belonged to my group had reacted in exactly the same way, and if no one came we would all be put to shame because the priest had come and we would be disgraced if no one attended his talk. 'Don't listen' the leader said, 'I don't care, but just sit and be a physical presence.' That much loyalty I was prepared to give to my youth organisation, so I sat through the lecture. I didn't intend to listen. But my ears pricked up. I became more and more indignant. I saw a vision of Christ and Christianity that was profoundly repulsive to me. When the lecture was over I hurried home in order to check the truth of what he had been saying. I asked my mother whether she had a book of the Gospel, because I wanted to know whether the Gospel would support the monstrous impression I had derived from his talk. I expected nothing good from my reading, so I counted the chapters of the four Gospels to be sure I read the shortest, not to waste time unnecessarily. I started to read St. Mark's Gospel.
While I was reading the beginning of St. Mark's Gospel, before I reached the third chapter, I suddenly became aware that on the other side of my desk there was a presence. And the certainty was so strong that it was Christ standing there that it has never left me. This was the real turning point. Because Christ was alive and I had been in his presence I could say with certainty that what the Gospel said about the crucifixion of the prophet of Galilee was true, and the centurion was right when he said, 'Truly he is the Son of God'. It was in the light of the Resurrection that I could read with certainty the story of the Gospel, knowing that everything was true in it because the impossible event of the Resurrection was to me more certain than any event of history. History I had to believe, the Resurrection I knew for a fact. I did not discover, as you see, the Gospel beginning with its first message of the Annunciation, and it did not unfold for me as a story which one can believe or disbelieve. It began as an event that left all problems of disbelief behind because it was a direct and personal experience.
T. W.: And this conviction has stayed with you all through your life? There have been no times when you have doubted your faith?
Bloom: I became absolutely certain within myself that Christ is alive and that certain things existed. I didn't have all the answers, but having touched that experience, I was.........
About ANTHONY BLOOM
Metropolitan of Sourozh, was born in Lausanne, June 19, 1914. His childhood was
spent in Russia and Persia, his father being a member of the Russian Imperial
Diplomatic Corps. His mother was the sister of Alexander Scriabin the
composer. The family had to leave Persia during the Revolution and came to
Paris where Archbishop Anthony was educated, graduating in Physics, Chemistry,
and Biology, and taking his doctorate in Medicine, at the University of Paris.
During World War II he served as an officer in the French Army until the fall
of France and then worked as a surgeon in one of the Paris hospitals and also
took part in the Resistance. In 1943 he professed monastic vows while
practising as a physician in Paris. In 1948 he was ordained to the priesthood
and in 1949 came to England as Orthodox Chaplain to the Fellowship of St Alban
and St Sergius; and in 1950 was appointed Vicar of the Russian Patriarchal
Parish in London. In 1958 he was consecrated Bishop, and Archbishop in 1962, in
charge of the Russian Church in Great Britain and Ireland. In 1963 he was also
appointed Exarch to the Patriarch of Moscow in Western Europe, and in 1966
raised to the rank of Metropolitan. He takes an active part in inter-Church and
ecumenical work, and was a member of the Russian Church delegation to the World
Council of Churches in New Delhi in 1961 and in Geneva in 1966.
Publications: Somatopsychic Techniques (translated into English and published
in 1957); Living Prayer, 1966.
Why RFK Jr. doesn’t see the image of God in autistic people
The conclave to choose the next pope will be the most geographically diverse in history
The Associated Press:
There is no rule that cardinals electing a new pope vote a certain way
according to their nationality or region. But understanding their makeup
in geographic terms can help explain some of their priorities as they
open the conclave Wednesday.
Shane Claiborne, four other faith activists arrested while protesting GOP budget bill
Religion News
Service: “Stir the conscience of our nation. Let justice rise up on
these very steps, let truth trouble the chambers of the Capitol,” Shane
Claiborne said as he prayed.
Francis’s popemobile to become a mobile clinic for children in Gaza
The Guardian: The
Catholic charity says the late pontiff endorsed the idea of creating a
“vehicle of hope” to deliver medical aid.
The Catholic Church has always been a worldly institution
Jacobin: The
extraordinary longevity of the Catholic Church could make it seem like a
body that floats above the everyday world of political and economic
life. In reality, the Church has always been firmly linked to
structures of power and property.
Why RFK Jr. doesn’t see the image of God in autistic people
Sojourners: On
Wednesday of Holy Week, while most Christians were preparing to proclaim
the resurrection of Christ, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a proclamation
of a different kind: “Autism destroys families.”
Monday, May 5, 2025
New Jersey town moves to seize property of Episcopal church
Israel plans to capture all of Gaza under new plan, officials say
The Associated Press:
Israel approved plans Monday to capture the entire Gaza Strip and to
stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time, two
Israeli officials said, a move that, if implemented, would vastly
expand Israel’s operations there and likely draw fierce international
opposition.
Is this the end of the separation of church and state?*
The New Yorker: The
Justices, who have steadily eroded prohibitions on government
sponsorship of religious schools, now seem ready to end them entirely.
Experts agree: What Trump is doing is fascism
Religion Dispatches:
While too many American leaders are content to quibble over definitional
particularities, experts are (finally) calling a fascist a fascist.
New Jersey town moves to seize property of Episcopal church that wants to open homeless shelter
Episcopal News
Service: An Episcopal congregation here, after facing months of backlash
from some neighbors in response to its proposal for a 17-bed homeless
shelter, now has been targeted by the town for possible public seizure
of the 11-acre church property through eminent domain.
Former Myers Park Baptist Church pastor to launch new congregation in south Charlotte*
The Charlotte
Observer: About 100 people have signed up for the service so far, Ben
Boswell said. It will be held in a sanctuary at the Union Presbyterian
Seminary campus on Sharon Road near the South Park neighborhood.
The second coming of Donald J. Trump
To many evangelicals, Trump is not just a president but a messiah.
How did he gain such mythic power, and where will it lead?
This American strangeness around religion is attributable, at least in part, to the way the First Amendment to the US Constitution bars the “establishment” of any religion as a state-sponsored entity while protecting the “free exercise” of all religions. Combined, these two principles have helped create a two-and-a-half-century, free-wheeling culture of religious entrepreneurship and a seedbed for religious innovators, including Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Elijah Muhammad, founder of the Nation of Islam; L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology; Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science movement; and Billy Graham, global Christian evangelist.
To this list, we must now add one Donald J. Trump, reanimated president of the United States, who – though he is not personally overtly pious – has become an icon of many US Christians’ religious hopes and devotion. He has as much ridden the present-day wave of US Christian anger and fear as he has created it. But Trump is a singular figure in US history. Never before have Americans had a national political leader who was the subject of so many prophecies, elicited so many religious comparisons and inspired such fervent adoration. So what is the context around Trump’s religious appeal, and how did he come to revolutionise and radicalise a huge swathe of Christians in America?
Crossroads of the Nations Japanese Ministry 05.04.2025
Crossroads of the Nations Japanese Ministry (Brentwood, TN 37027)
We are a multi-cultural and multi-congregations church worshiping God in multiple languages. We are blessed that God would give us each other to experience Him through the richness of cultural diversity. Most of the Japanese in Middle Tennessee are here temporarily as business families or researchers. Our vision and goal is to help them see the unconditional love of Christ and hear His living Word. We are here to help their felt needs such as improving English, being a friend, and helping them to adjust. In our time together we also share the Word of God. Our prayer is for their salvation and know we can be a part of their journey if the Lord so grants. It would be great if they join the afternoon Japanese/English Sunday services to familiarize themselves with worship and fellowship. This would make it easier for them to pursue the same in Japan when they return. We can refer them to fellowships in Japan.
Create Church 05.04.2025
Based in North Park, we’re
all about real faith and real community. Whether you're exploring faith
or looking to grow, you’ll find teaching that challenges and encourages
you. We believe everyone was made to create-real connections with the
creator, healthy lives, fulfilling careers, and loving relationships.
covenantchurchsd 05.04.2025
Covenant Church at 30th & Howard is a Christian church in the tradition of the Protestant Reformation and allied with the EPC [The Evangelical Presbyterian Church] We believe the Scriptures to be the infallible Word of God and our final authority in faith and practice, and we find the historic creeds of the early church (the Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed) to be vital expressions of the most important tenets of the global church universal. When the EPC started in 1981, we determined that we would not disagree on the basic essentials of the Christian faith, but on anything that was not essential—such as the issue of ordaining women as officers or practicing charismatic gifts—we would give each other liberty. Above all, we committed ourselves to loving each other and not engaging in quarrels and strife. The result is that when we get together in our regional and national meetings, we spend most of our time in worship and fellowship and almost none in arguing with each other.
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