Oregon – Tucked away in a quiet Portland neighborhood is an animation studio that is opening the Bible to millions in a new and fresh way.

An idea of some college buddies has become one of the most successful ways for people to understand the Bible.

During their college days, long-time friends Tim Mackie and Jon Collins would kick around ideas on how to get more people to read the Bible and understand it better.

The result was a Bible animation experiment called BibleProject, and it was only two videos, posted online in 2014 for their friends.

Less than ten years later, BibleProject has created over 180 videos and 350 podcast episodes over the internet, with over 620 million views in over 200 countries, and over five million subscribers worldwide, even offering seminary-level classes.

Michael McDonald, Chief Global Focus and Strategic Relationships Officer at BibleProject told us, “None of us were smart enough to think we would create this big nonprofit out of this. This really was a passion project of two friends who thought, ‘I think this would be helpful to not only just us, but some of our friends.’ And the crowd just caught up so fast in not only watching the videos but wanting more of them. And they started helping fund them just with, you know, five bucks here, ten bucks there. And then we had enough funds to make another video and away we went.”

After attending Bible college together, Jon served as a pastor before beginning a career making explainer videos for large companies. Tim got his PhD in Hebrew Bible and Jewish studies, becoming a pastor and seminary professor. Then they decided to combine Tim’s Bible knowledge and Jon’s creative abilities, and BibleProject was born.

Drawing on a giant whiteboard, Jon Collins said, “This is just basically our workflow for one of our fully animated videos. So, some products are in illustration, some are an animation, some are writing, some are storyboarding.”

Tim Mackie said, “Then I meet with the artist and we go through all this in detail. And then the artist goes and draws a beautiful version. So, by the time I sit down to record, I’ve got this in my head and every line and all the wording is connected.”

BibleProject seeks to help those who only see the Bible as a collection of inspirational quotes. It takes on those difficult passages in the Bible that many Christians tend to avoid because they seem to be confusing or disturbing.

McDonald told us, “It’s pretty neat to see kids from like the age of ten who are even writing in saying just how engaged they are in the Scriptures. And then we’ve got like 85-year-old folks that are writing and saying, ‘I thought this one was for my grandkids. At 85, I never thought I would go back and read the Bible with new eyes.'”

With videos now in 56 languages, BibleProject is also reaching the Muslim world.

McDonald said, “And so you find people in Tunisia watching the Arabic videos and sending in comments of, ‘I’m Muslim who has been interested in the Bible and I didn’t know how to, you know, engage it or read it. And I found your videos on YouTube because they’re free and now they’re opening up the scriptures in a unique way and understanding what it’s saying about Jesus.'”

So, an experiment once meant to only help a few friends is today helping millions around the world to know and understand the Bible better.

Jon Collins said, “One thing we think God is doing is that He’s helping people see the Bible as a really important part of their life. And what we think our contribution to that is, is helping people see the Bible through this paradigm of Biblical theology, where you appreciate the Bible and its literary design and you understand the Bible as a story and you see how the story leads to Jesus.”
Sources:CBN News

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A Los Angeles County church that has been having services on a public beach for the last 18 years is now being told by city officials that they must worship Jesus elsewhere.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is taking action against Los Angeles County after the Department of Beaches and Harbors officials changed its policy to no longer give out yearly permits for religious activities.

For nearly two decades, King’s Harbor Church has been faithfully serving its community by holding worship services or “Church on the Beach” at Redondo Beach with proper permits from Los Angeles County.

According to the ACLJ, 120 churchgoers gather every Sunday morning to worship for “Church on the Beach” adding that many attendees go to the church because “they have had difficult or negative experiences in traditional church buildings.”

“The beach location isn’t merely a preference – it’s a crucial component of their ministry’s outreach to those who might never step foot in a conventional church,” explains Nathan Moelker, Associate Counsel for the ACLJ.

Additionally, leaders and members complied with regulations to meet. They did not obstruct traffic nor did they solicit to the public in any way. And in cases, when they are a large gathering at the beach where the church’s presence might arguably cause any possible disruption, they relocate.

Last July, Church on the Beach became a 501(c)(3), and by September it had become officially a separate entity from King’s Harbor Church, but still met with their support.

After the church’s new status was finalized last October, a pastor contacted the county to have a permit reissued. But county officials said they would be changing their policy by the end of that month to prohibit the LA County Department of Beaches and Harbors from issuing yearly permits.

The church was “grandfathered” into the new policy, but under the new guidelines, the group was limited to only six religious activities per year.

However, none of these requirements applied to nonreligious groups gathering on the beach.

“Even more concerning, a county official told the pastor that churches ‘don’t need the beach’ because they can ‘meet in a building’ – a statement that demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of both religious freedom and the specific ministry of Church on the Beach,” Moelker shared.

Earlier this month, the ACLJ sent a demand letter to officials outlining the constitutional violations and demanding that L.A. County immediately cease its discriminatory treatment of Church on the Beach.

“The beach in question here is a public forum. It is a type of park, open to the public for general use and used regularly by the public for all manner of activities,” the letter reads.

“It is unlawful for a public entity to treat religious groups differently or less favorably than non-religious groups with regard to the access of public forums. Accordingly, we demand that LA County immediately cease from discriminating against Church on the Beach for its religious activity, and instead immediately agree to allow the church to continue meeting pursuant to generally applicable L.A. County policy,” it continues.

The ACLJ is giving Los Angeles County officials until March 20 to end the discriminatory policy and allow “Church on the Beach” to meet under the same rules as non-religious groups.

“When government officials try to relegate faith to the four walls of a building, they fundamentally misunderstand both our Constitution and the nature of religious liberty. For many in the Church on the Beach congregation, the outdoor setting itself is an integral part of their worship experience, especially for those who have had negative experiences in traditional churches,” expressed Moelker.

“The ACLJ is committed to ensuring that the First Amendment rights of all Americans are protected, including the right to practice one’s faith in public spaces. We will continue to fight for Church on the Beach and all believers who face discrimination from government officials,” he continued.
Sources:CBN News

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ന്യൂയോർക്ക്: അന്താരാഷ്ട്ര ബഹിരാകാശ നിലയത്തിലെ ദൗത്യം പൂർത്തിയാക്കിയ ക്രൂ 9 സംഘം ഇന്ന് ഭൂമിയിലേക്ക് പുറപ്പെടും. സുനിത വില്യംസ്, ബുച്ച് വിൽമോർ, നിക് ഹേഗ്, അലക്സാണ്ടർ ഗോർബനോവ് എന്നിവരാണ് ക്രൂ 9 സംഘത്തിലെ അംഗങ്ങൾ. രാവിലെ എട്ടേ കാലോടെ നാല് യാത്രികരും യാത്ര ചെയ്യുന്ന സ്‌പേസ് എക്സിന്റെ ഡ്രാഗൺ ഫ്രീഡം പേടകത്തിന്റെ വാതിലുകൾ അടയും.

പത്തേ മുപ്പത്തിയഞ്ചോടെ ഡ്രാഗൺ പേടകം അന്താരാഷ്ട്ര ബഹിരാകാശ നിലയത്തിൽ നിന്ന് വേർപ്പെടും. തുടർന്ന് പതിനേഴ് മണിക്കൂറോളം നീളുന്ന യാത്രയ്ക്ക് ശേഷം ബുധനാഴ്ച പുലർച്ചെ 3:27ഓടെയാകും പേടകം ഭൂമിയിൽ ഇറങ്ങുക. ഫ്ലോറിഡയുടെ തീരത്തോട് ചേർന്ന് കടലിലാണ് ഡ്രാഗൺ പേടകം ഇറങ്ങുന്നത്.
Sources:globalindiannews

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NASA will provide live coverage of the agency’s SpaceX Crew-9 return to Earth from the International Space Station, beginning with Dragon spacecraft hatch closure preparations at 10:45 p.m. EDT Monday, March 17.

NASA and SpaceX met on Sunday to assess weather and splashdown conditions off Florida’s coast for the return of the agency’s Crew-9 mission from the International Space Station. Mission managers are targeting an earlier Crew-9 return opportunity based on favorable conditions forecasted for the evening of Tuesday, March 18. The updated return target continues to allow the space station crew members time to complete handover duties while providing operational flexibility ahead of less favorable weather conditions expected for later in the week.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, are completing a long-duration science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory and will return time-sensitive research to Earth.

Mission managers will continue monitoring weather conditions in the area, as Dragon’s undocking depends on various factors, including spacecraft readiness, recovery team readiness, weather, sea states, and other factors. NASA and SpaceX will confirm the specific splashdown location closer to the Crew-9 return.
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