Calvin College chaplain Rev. Mary Hulst’s book advises pastors to receive sermon pointers from their congregation.Every minister who puzzles over ideas for his or her next sermon shares a common trait: They want their congregations to grasp a nugget of biblical insight that will help them understand God on some deeper level.

And those listening to the sermons will affirm that doesn't always happen.

Rev. Mary S. Hulst's new book, "A Little Handbook for Preachers: Ten Practical Ways to a Better Sermon by Sunday" (InterVarsity Press, 191 pages) intends to bridge that gap so pastors' sermons can spiritually resonate with their parishioners.

Dan SeabornI like to do something notoriously associated with the female gender. Let's just say it involves clothing, sometimes high heels, undergarments and even an occasional teddy. Oh for Pete's sake now before your mind wanders too far in the wrong direction let me just tell you right up front – I like to shop, especially for good deals!

I particularly like shopping for my wife, Jane, which means I frequent what would traditionally be known as women's stores searching for what might be called "delicates". Trust me when I say I get some pretty strange looks and concerned glances when I shop there. But once these ladies see that I'm serious about finding a deal or not settling for anything except a perfect match in colors and accessories, they accept me as one of their own!

Singer-songwriter, music minister and West Michigan radio personality Perry LaHaie has released a new music video for the title track of his latest album, "Ahead."

Picturing LaHaie and his guitar walking down a desolate gravel road, the lyrics are a musical prayer for strength and guidance. The theme hinges on the quote from Navigators' founder Dawson Trottman which suggests, "....when you can't see very far ahead, go as far ahead as you can see."

(left to right): Rene' Wheaton is Faith Hospice’s administrator and Vila “Vi” Daniel is its chaplain. Faith Hospice chaplain Vila "Vi" Daniel has witnessed first hand terminally ill people end their final days on Earth with an expectation that their lives will indeed continue after leaving this mortal coil.

"I think the bottom line is that they feel a presence, they feel God is in their midst," said Daniel recently at Trillium Woods, 8214 Pfeiffer Farms Drive SW in Byron Center. Trillium is the residential hospice center of Faith Hospice, which is Holland Homes' hospice care division.

Bestsellers – August, 2016

Fiction
1. 2nd Half – Lauraine Snelling
2. Sea Rose Lane – Irene Hannon
3. Sensible Shoes – Sharon Brown
4. If I Run – Terri Blackstock
5. Traces of Guilt – Dee Henderson
6. Two Steps Forward – Sharon Brown
7. Missing – Lisa Harris
8. Like A River From Its Course – Kelli Stuart
9. Beauty Refined – Tracie Peterson
10. Deadly Encounter – DiAnn Mills

Dan SeabornHave you tried to fix a child's toy or a kitchen utensil by conventional means only to have it break five minutes later? Do you remember the last time something broke and you didn't have the right tools at the time to fix it? I've encountered both dilemmas and have turned to duct tape for fast, effective relief. I've used duct tape, just like you, for almost every problem in my life. I've sealed leaky containers, fixed an old broom, held the door closed, and even had some fun with people.

But like everything in life, there are challenges even when it comes to handling duct tape. Challenges I don't like but are an inevitable part of the process. It's when you peel off a lengthy piece and just as you are about to apply it to the repair you are hoping to make, the piece of tape actually gets stuck to itself. The two sticky sides cling together like magnets and from my experience it is impossible to pull them apart. When duct tape adheres to itself, it stops being an effective tool to repair a particular item, but as a bonding product it provides an excellent example for us as to what can happen when we apply this kind of adhesiveness to our lives.

Carol Wallace never got through her great-great-grandfather's magnum opus Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, first published in 1880.

"I always lumped it in with books that were great stories but too boring to read, like The Last of the Mohicans and all of Jules Verne's books," said Wallace from her New York City apartment.

But she grew up in a house full of books and her dad was an American history buff keen on his ancestor Lew Wallace. Her parents attended the New York City premier of the 1959 movie Ben-Hur, and she enjoyed the book The Story of the Making of Ben-Hur, which released when the original movie came out.

Judah Ben-Hur is a Jewish prince betrayed by a Roman friend and sent into slavery. He survives and gains his freedom, and returns to Israel to exact revenge. But his encounters with a Nazarene carpenter named Jesus change his life.

Francesca Batistelli performs Wednesday night at UnityIt seems there's something new each year at the Unity Christian Music Festival in Muskegon.

Sure, there's still four days of great Christian music from bands such as Switchfoot and Newsboys, a kid's Fun Zone, low-priced food tents, and various vendor and non-profit displays.

But this year, get ready for the debut of "Art and Soul."

'We're always looking for ways to engage our guests in innovative ways," said Unity director of marketing Christopher VanOosterhout. "We have an artist (Tony Goodwin) coming to help guide participants through a session where they will find the truth of our loving God revealed in art."

“Music artists and organizers pray before last year’s “At the Foot of the Cross”The fourth annual "At the Foot of the Cross" musical event is going under the big top.

"This year we have a large, high-peaked tent big enough to have the stage and the audience under," said founder/organizer Chris Moore.

It should improve conditions from last year's sun-scorching heat that left both the artists and audience uncomfortably warm.

The Sat. Aug. 6 event, featuring several area Christian music artists and ensembles, will once again be held outside of Family of Christ Church on Henze St. NW in Comstock Park – just west of the Alpine Ave. Walmart store.

The gathering's dramatic backdrop is a 20 foot high cross set up on the church grounds.
"The goal is still to showcase area Christian musicians, and regardless of church denomination to be together celebrating and worshipping the Lord," said Moore, himself a church worship leader.

Ron Silverman continues to work to make his equine faith-based school, 2nd Chance, a reality.Editor's note: West Michigan Christian News begins a new occasional series that follow-up with ministries and people previously featured. We begin with Solon Township-based 2nd Chance School.

Ron Silverman's dream to launch a faith-based school in Solon Township for at-risk teens using horses and biblical training is still a work in progress but strides have been made to make his goal a reality.

Silverman succeeded in purchasing Calvary Assembly of God's church and its accompanying six acres on 17 Mile Road. He intends to use the building as an alternative year-round Christian school Silverman has named 2nd Chance School. Once operational, it would teach 30 boys and girls at a time.

West Michigan Christian web writer Terry DeBoer surveys the landscape for the area's faith-based arts and entertainment events over the coming month. Here are three highlights for August:

* Republished from our February 2011 edition

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing -Edmund Burke

GRAND RAPIDS - Dick Rolfe is an understated West Michigan native whose influence far exceeds this geographical area. In fact, like most prophets, he has more honor outside his own 'country.' The legendary Steve Allen, very first host of The Tonight Show, once told him: "Dick, you're a household name in Hollywood, but no one in Grand Rapids knows who you are."

Carol Rottman has journaled for most of her life, so it made perfect sense to journal about her husband Fritz's journey through Alzheimer's disease and cancer.

She didn't have as much free time as in earlier years, but when she had a few minutes she recorded thoughts, feelings and emotions during this difficult time. Those journal entries have become her newest book titled "A Memoir of Parting," which came out earlier this year through Principia Media.

"I'd think about something for several days before writing it down," said Rottman. "Looking back, the book feels real and honest because it was written while everything was happening. I wrote because I needed to work things out in my head."

Selah There are a couple of "super combo ticket" deals for Christian music concerts this fall that might make you want to scoop up your tickets early.

One of the specials is in effect only through July 28: a ticket for both the Thur. Oct. 13 Jeremy Camp concert at Kentwood Community Church and the Fri. Dec. 16 Christmas concert with the inspirational trio Selah in Christ Chapel at Cornerstone University is $36.
At press time, separate Jeremy Camp concert tickets were not yet on sale, but the combo pass is likely a savings over purchasing tickets separately. (Tickets for just the Selah concert are on sale at $19 general admission, $25 artist circle).

AND ANOTHER DEAL.....

Comstock Park, MI, July 15, 2016, Connor Orr, who was born with apraxia, had a dream realized this morning at Marge's Donut Den in Wyoming.

Connor loves to bake cinnamon rolls. He also loves Jesus. And when his 8th grade class had a Good Samaritan Project (GPS) this spring, he combined his two loves in a very savvy way. See, the GSP required students to use one of their God-given gifts to help someone in another country.

Connor took his gift of making cinnamon rolls and advertised them for sale on Facebook. He told his story, sold the rolls and made $583! He then took that money and donated it to World Mission in order that Treasures – solar-powered audio Bibles – could be sent to people who are oral learners so that they can hear about Jesus's love. Connor's donation will touch over 2000 people. That is called maximizing gift impact!

(left to right): AMDG Architects principal Peter Baldwin, Grand Rapids Christian High School chaplain Mark Kuiper and Grand Rapids Christian Middle School principal Ashanti Bryant discussed racism’s continued problems and solutions.The "Mustache Saga" remains a vivid example of how racism reared its head in Grand Rapids in the late 1960s, said Grand Rapids Middle School principal Ashanti Bryant.

Black male students who came of age in 1966-67 were ordered by white South High School administrators in the Grand Rapids Public Schools district to shave their mustaches.

Often times the deed was done in the hallway, said Bryant. It was a time when black civil rights leaders such as Jesse Jackson, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X all sported hair on their upper lip, and thus the mustache ban, which was eventually rescinded, was considered a slight against black students.

Singer, songwriter and worship leader Dwight Beal is doing things a little differently on his first ever solo project.

After decades of self-producing music with long time musical partner John Grooters, Beal (a worship leader at Central Wesleyan Church in Holland), yielded the producer's role on his new effort to Tommee Profitt.

Profitt, of Grand Rapids, has worked with national Christian artists such as Britt Nicole and Colton Dixon.

Bestsellers – July, 2016

Fiction
1. Traces of Guilt – Dee Henderson
2. Sea Rose Lane – Irene Hannon
3. If I Run – Terri Blackstock
4. Brush of Wings – Karen Kingsbury
5. Third Target – Joel Rosenberg
6. Sins Of The Past – Henderson/Pettrey/Eason
7. Silence In The Dark – Patricia Bradley
8. No Other Will Do – Karen Witemeyer
9. First Hostage – Joel Rosenberg
10. Two Steps Forward – Sharon Garlough Brown

Prayer request are inserted in the stonewall of LIFE International’s prayer room.Tucked in the stonewall of LIFE International's prayer room/chapel are scraps of paper with prayer requests written on them. Resembling mini scrolls, they cover the gamut of personal, international and community prayers but share one commonality: They are the heart cries from people seeking answers from an all-knowing, all-loving God.

"The prayers are placed by individuals knowing that this space is solely dedicated to prayer and worship," said Bill Velker, LIFE International's director of prayer mobilization. "Even when no one is present, the worship music continues to play through the sound system and I believe people have a sense that their prayer requests are ever before the Lord."

Mark Schultz performs at WOW again this year Aug. 28.It was a sunny and warm Sunday evening in downtown Grand Haven for the June 26 opening of the annual Worship on the Waterfront (W.O.W.) series in Waterfront Stadium. Opening night featured the local duo of John Grooters and Dwight Beal (also known as Grooters & Beal).

"Those guys led the crowd as only they can with many familiar worship songs and some original music," said Kathleen Bobeldyk, who helps book the artists for the weekly series.
A crowd estimated at more than 1,200 took in WOW's opening evening, a number sure to grow as summertime momentum builds and national acts take the stage.

The central story of the Christian Faith is contained in the Gospel. At its' heart the Gospel declares that Jesus died on the Cross to forgive our sin and rose from the dead to give us a resurrection or new life with the Lord.

For most of the Church world, the Cross then is the instrument that the Lord used to forgive sin through the Lord Jesus' atoning death. And while that is gloriously true, there is one aspect of the Cross that is not discussed much these days. The Cross was also the instrument that dealt a death blow to evil. You see behind human sin lies powers and principalities that are often hidden and unseen. For many Christians this dimension of the Cross is hard to talk about, but surely it is important.

West Michigan Christian News writer Terry DeBoer surveys the landscape for the area's faith-based arts and entertainment events over the coming month. Here are three highlights for July: