Brooke Simpson stunned on The Voice last night with her performance of “Amazing Grace.” Before she made her way to the small screen, the Team Miley contestant sang her lungs out with Campus Choir at Lee University, affiliated with the Church of God. The performance reached No. 2 on iTunes Monday night. Watch the video for yourself.

Jim Bakker says he may never forget the pain of prison, especially around Christmastime.

During a recent episode of his self-titled show, the televangelist opened up about a heart-wrenching Christmas memory from behind bars.

Take a look.

Candace Cameron Bure was the odd one out during her time on The View, a popular talk show that contrasts different opinions.

The born-again Christian says she was warned ahead of time about the battle she was about to face, but continued anyway with spiritual discipline as her guideposts.

“I just prayed a lot in front of people,” she says in a recent interview with fellow View alum Jenny McCarthy. “So they all just knew, so like Candace is in her own … they couldn’t poke and prod enough, because I was like, ‘I’m sending Jesus in, all the angels are around me, you can’t even touch me.'”

Watch the video to see more.

Hillsong New York pastor Carl Lentz weighed in on the ever-controversial subject of Christians with tattoos, telling World Religion News that it’s a “no-brainer.”

When asked directly about the Old Testament regulations, Lentz says they died on the cross with Jesus.

He says: 

Biblical interpretation is huge, right? So, with tattoos not being allowed you mean Leviticus. We play both sides of the coin; I think that is healthy. Like this paradox of Scripture, interpretation is actually is part of our faith, the tension of it. So, on one hand, we say that is the Old Testament Scripture; there is no New Testament verification of that. That law that had to do with slaves, that identified you as part of a tribe we don’t believe that came through the cross. We don’t believe that when Jesus died and rose again that old Levitical Scripture applied to our modern life. That is ridiculous. At the same time, there are some things we do believe follow through on the cross.

So, the way we break down we would literally put up the Old Testament and then put a cross in the middle and then we put up the New Testament, and we say anything that comes through the cross is eternal. Anything that stops is Old Testament. For example, blood sacrifices of animals stopped because of Jesus. Honoring your wife as God honors his church, that comes through the cross. So that is our scope for all Scripture interpretation.

If it died on the cross, then it needs to die in our theology. Tattoos are a no-brainer. Are you kidding me? Jesus was pretty clear in every detail. Whether it is diet, whether it’s image, whether it’s qualification—that stuff died on the cross. Now it becomes a matter of personal conviction. So now if I don’t believe these tattoos devalue the temple that is the Holy Spirit, my body, I am doing it. I do, then I don’t, but I am not going to turn my conviction necessarily into theology or doctrine.

But other believers say there is more to tattoos than body art.

Beth Eckert, a Spirit-filled woman who was delivered out of the occult, says tattoos could be associated with blood rituals.

In a blog entry addressing the subject, she writes: 

I have no hard evidence that tattoos are a part of a blood ritual, but I think we can see from research that tattoos certainly are a part of a deeper spiritual practice that comes from ancient times. The Bible warns against getting tattoos or cutting yourself, because during that time it was common for the Israelites to fall away from God and into the practices of the world around them. The world around them was steeped in the occult—witchcraft, worship of multiple deities, rituals and sacrifices. Even though many people today do not have any intention towards being involved in witchcraft or blood rituals when they get tattoos, does not mean they are inadvertently doing so. The occult is deeply rooted in our world, as it is the tool of the devil to bring us into his kingdom. This world is the devil’s domain, and we are just here visiting. It is very easy to get caught up in this physical realm and all that we see and forget there is a spiritual realm that is affecting us every minute. It is also easy to take everything at face value and not look deeper into the meanings and origins of what we do.

But Eckert says she isn’t necessarily opposed to modern tattoos.

Does God hate tattoos? Is He angry at you because you have a tattoo? No. God hates evil, and God knows your heart. If you have tattoos, that does not mean you are evil or against God. You must take your heart before the God of mercy and love, and let Him work it out with you. God will show you what is right before His eyes and what is harmful to you. I am writing this because it has been on my mind for a long time, thinking about tattoos and why the Bible speaks out against them. I have heard many arguments about why the verse in Leviticus about tattoos isn’t relevant today, and that is why I wanted to present food for thought.

So do believers have a biblical imperative to avoid ink? Sound off below!

Perry Noble launched his new church over the weekend—an online-based congregation called Second Chance Church.

“Second Chance Church To Launch THIS SUNDAY! Yep – you read that correctly, this coming Sunday will be the official launch of Second Chance Church… …sort of… …while we do not have a location, staff or volunteers as of yet–we do have an incredible platform known as the World Wide Web… … and so this Sunday at 1:00pm on I will be preaching a message on Facebook Live. During the month of December I will be doing messages on my personal Facebook page; however, after about a month or so I will be putting the messages on the Second Chance Facebook Page,” Noble posted Dec. 1.

Noble, who previously pastored NewSpring Church, was fired in 2016 from his senior pastoral role due to alcohol addiction.

The new church announcement came one month after Noble announced his split from his wife of 17 years.

“This is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever communicated and I understand it will be even more difficult for many of you to read,” the statement read. “After being married for 17 years I have found myself in a place I never imagined I would be—as no one who has ever been married ever dreams in a million years that their marriage will one day end in divorce,” Noble told Faithwire in November.

Leadership at NewSpring maintain Noble is not ready to be back in the pulpit.

“We have been asked why Perry can preach at other churches but not at NewSpring,” teaching pastor Clayton King posted. “We cannot speak for other churches and how they make decisions. For us, Perry currently does not meet the biblical qualifications of a pastor, teacher, shepherd.”

Despite his setbacks, Noble is moving forward with Second Chance Church.

His first sermon for the online community was titled, “So I Screwed Up … Now What?”

The sermon has been viewed more than 42,000 times. Thousands also responded through the comment section.

“Enjoyed watching Pastor P!!! You are truly a blessing to so many people !!! Loved your message!!! Keep doing what your [sic] doing,” writes one person.

Another writes: “Our biggest adversity will become your biggest strength Perry! We never gave up on you. Jesus wouldn’t kick you out but he would lift you up in more prayer!”

“Yesterday Second Chance Church officially launched with a broadcast out of this living room…” Noble posted to Facebook. “I thought back (and fought back the tears) as I thought back to the first church the Lord allowed me to launch … and that one too was in a living room. I had no idea what the Lord was going to do then .. but it was way more than I could have ever imagined! And if He did it then He can do it again!! I am believing Him for greater things, that we will see lives changed, communities transformed and the Nations reached with the greatest message ever – The Gospel!! Yesterday was just the beginning – I know the best is still yet to come!! A huge “thank you” to everyone who have been praying for this – and for all of your encouragement! I can’t wait to see what happens next!”

Joaquin Phoenix, a known atheist, will play Jesus in Mary Magdalene. The new trailer features award-winning Phoenix with fellow all-stars, including Rooney Mara (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Black Panther). The film portrays the story of Jesus from the perspective of Magdalene, but will it hold true to the Bible? Watch the trailer and let us know!

Kathie Lee Gifford took her audience to church after her colleague Matt Lauer was fired from NBC due to sexual misconduct allegations.

“I don’t feel that Matt has betrayed us in any way at all, but when I found out that my husband had betrayed me, you question your own judgment,” Gifford said on Wednesday’s episode of Kathie Lee and Hoda. “You say, ‘Was everything a lie?’ And I think we have to fight against that, very much fight against that. That the man we know and adored was the man we loved and adored and continue to. I texted [Lauer] this morning and I said, ‘I adore you.'”

Gifford’s husband, Frank, had an affair during the 1990s, but the couple reconciled and rebuilt their relationship on the Lord.

“No person is perfect in this world,” she said. “Nobody is. We’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, is what Scripture says. And what we need now is forgiveness, and we need mercy for one another. We don’t need taunts, and we don’t need ugliness. We have enough of that in the world. I send out my love right now to the person, whoever it is, that came forward. May God heal that person. I send it to Matt, and his children and his wife—may God bless that family and heal. I’m sorry, Hoda, but in my long life, the only thing I’ve ever been sure of is that only God can heal it. And there’s no bad time to reach out for His help.”

Fellow journalist Garrison Keillor was fired today for inappropriate behavior, just hours after news broke about Lauer. The two are just the latest names to be added to the list of men who allegedly sexually harassed or behaved inappropriately around women.

Gifford continued to point her audience members toward Christ in the wake of headlines announcing prominent men’s indiscretions.

“This is a good way to think of it, too,” she added. “There was a man—a wonderful, wonderful man who was an adviser to me and Frank through our lifetime—and I had my eyes just on me for a long time, and I was upset and hurt, which you would normally be, like I’m sure Matt’s family is. And he said, ‘Kathie, if you can’t forgive your husband,’—and this is important, you guys—’forgive your children’s father.’ Same person. Same person, but that’s the one you love. That’s the one you believe in. We are all so broken. We need somebody to put us back together. And it’s possible, it’s so possible. I’m living proof of it. Didn’t mean to go to church, but that’s where we needed to go today.”

This week a video clip from a 1996 service with Kenneth Hagin popped up on my newsfeed. Evangelist Daniel Kolenda posted it over a month ago with this short caption, “Have a drink this morning!! (Be careful not to judge too quickly. This is very holy).”  It had already racked up 1.6 million views before I saw it.

Though I never had the honor of hearing Kenneth Hagin in person, I have been greatly impacted by his writing. Being able to see him minister in this short clip is a blessing. It took me back to that wonderful season of outpouring millions experienced during the late 1990s. During that time, moments like the one captured in this clip were not just limited to one man or church. Revival fire had spread across the United States. Congregations were growing quickly as people came through the doors simply seeking more. The altars were packed every week with repentant souls. Prayer meetings were filled not only with people, but power. The Holy Spirit was allowed to move with freedom in the church, and the effects were life-changing.

Yes, moments like the one in this video happened often. Were they strange?  To the flesh—absolutely. However, there was also an awe to these moments that often produced a deeper hunger and desire for the things of God.

I remember so many similar moments during this time. Times when you would become so aware of the presence of the Lord that you could only stand or lay in absolute stillness and silence (2 Chron. 5:14). These reverent moments could sometimes last for hours. Other times such joy would overcome individuals that the effect was intoxicating (Eph. 5:18-19). I’ve been in services where hundreds of people would burst into uncontainable weeping and wailing as they interceded for lost souls. These are the wordless groans Paul writes about (Rom. 8:26). No doubt, to an outside observer, such moments are indeed a strange thing.

That was the original reaction recorded on that very first Pentecost when thousands watched the initial 120 receive the baptism of the Spirit. The Bible says, “They were all amazed and perplexed, saying to each other, “What does this mean?” Others mocking said, “These men are full of new wine” (Acts 2:12-13).

Not surprisingly, just a few quick glances through the comments on this video, and I see the same criticisms Spirit-filled believers have always faced. One person wrote, “This is witchcraft.” Another, “This clearly is satanic and demonic,” or “This video is creepy.”

I can understand their apprehension—at one time that was me. To those who don’t understand, I offer this advice: Judge every work by its fruit. Scripture instructs us, “do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from is how you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (1 John 4:1-2). Buried in the many comments was this post from a gentleman who simply wrote, “I was in this service—life-changer.”  This is the test of any manifestation of the Spirit. If the Spirit of God is truly at work, you’ll see lives transformed in Christ. That only comes by way of the Spirit of God.

I love that many of these holy moments are finding their way out of the archives and being shared once again. These embers from the past are needed at this time. They remind us of our Pentecostal roots and serve as a rebuke to what we’ve lost.

My friend, do you wonder where these holy moments are happening today? I do!  Has the 21st-century American Pentecostal church become too polished, too perfect or too performance-driven for such a holy moment to break out in our midst?  I am afraid so!  Imagine your church this Sunday if such an outbreak occurred. I pray it does!

“Pentecost without the weird,” has become the aim of so many today. They desire a church warmed by Pentecostal fire but not consumed by it. So far, this has proven an effective model for growth, allowing many Pentecostal churches to become the largest in their communities.

I know some of these leaders well. They are amazing believers with an unquestionable love for the Lord and people. Their own testimonies include powerful encounters with the Spirit of God and their own holy-moment stories. Yet these holy moments don’t happen in their churches. Why?   

In our personal conversations, they say to me, “Daniel, you can’t grow a church that way.”  

Though these moments marked their own past, they are shunned in the present. Why?  They have a plan, a program and model that works well. They truly believe in the system in place and have become beholden to it. Such holy moments are viewed as disruptive to the status quo, so they are not sought after and often actively discouraged.

Many can remember a time when the Spirit-filled church was an outcast in the city. It was dwarfed numerically by the traditional evangelical church in town. They were labeled as chandelier-swinging fanatics and regularly mocked. However these churches existed and endured because there was a group of believers who desperately desired more of the Spirit. They simply believed that a Bible filled with accounts of life-altering encounters with the Lord were not just stories—they were invitations. It was that desire for more that made them distinct.

When was the last time a word in tongues was heard in the sanctuary?  When was the last time a prophetic word was delivered?  When was the last time hands were laid on hungry seekers and they were filled with the Holy Spirit?   When was the last time an indescribable holy moment took place?

Today, the pursuit of numeric success has caused many Spirit-filled churches to lose that Pentecostal distinctive. They have become to this century what the non-Pentecostal evangelical church was in the previous century. Sure the worship has more energy, and the preaching has more emotion, but aside from the words on the screen, there is little different from week to week. They are absent of these life-changing holy moments that are never forgotten.

I long for those moments to become widespread once again. Let us remember where we came from, not to find a path backward, but a way forward. If revival is to be more than a common word we use, it must become something (or more accurately Someone) we choose to pursue. It’s time to clear the stage and program and make room for the Holy Spirit to once again move with freedom within His church.

Just as it was true decades ago, there is still a people who long for much more than a professional and polished Pentecostal church. They are a growing remnant that is convinced a life-altering encounter with God is not only possible, but paramount. That desire is growing, week by week as they become increasingly dissatisfied with the status quo. Something is about to break—or break out.

How do I know?  It’s just like the song sung at the end of this clip says, “Just one dose of the Holy Ghost, is not enough!”  I want more!

In his new book, The Paradigm: The Ancient Blueprint That Holds the Mystery of Our Times (), New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Cahn reveals the warning signs occurring in America that indicate the coming of judgment.

This is no surprise to the millions who voted for change more than a year ago, knowing the nation was in a deadly, downward spiral.

Similar to his previous book The Harbinger, which catapulted Cahn to national and international prominence, The Paradigm emphasizes the nation’s increasing abandonment of biblical values and godly morality.

“The context of The Paradigm is the accelerating fall of a nation that had once known God, a process that reaches a critical juncture where apart from some form of intervention the nation is in danger of being irrevocably sealed in a course of apostasy,” Cahn says.

He identifies patterns in the Bible that concern a nation’s progression to judgment, addressing abortion, idolatry and sexual immorality. The Paradigm also reveals parallels between the apostasy of ancient Israel and the metamorphosis of values of today’s society. In the book, Cahn compares biblical leaders who sacrificed children for idols to present-day politicians who advocate for abortion.

While The Paradigm expounds on the apostasy of both the present day and 3,000 years ago, it also pinpoints times when a nation is given a reprieve. Cahn points to instances when the judgment that had already been decreed was held back. He refers to the southern kingdom of Judah when Josiah sought to lead his nation back to God, or when the rise of Jehu provided a reprieve for Israel.

“Such reprieves may come, as they did in ancient times, shortly before a nation’s judgment,” Cahn says.

However, the reprieve that came about with Jehu’s reign did not amount to a revival. Although the apostasy slowed in its velocity, the people never turned back to God. Through this, The Paradigm challenges readers to consider the present state: Will America turn back to God?

Cahn sounds the alarm, writing, “A nation that has especially known God but now stands in defiance of His ways stands also in danger of His judgment. And a nation that has been given a reprieve for the purpose of turning back but spurns that chance will have nothing left but the prospect of judgment.”

Both The Paradigm and The Harbinger expose ominous prophecies for our nation—prophecies that have already begun to manifest. For Christians, this means there is no time to waste. If the nation’s culture is restored, its youngest generation will be changed for the better, and its progression of sin and defiance will be broken. Because of this, Cahn calls for a time of revival.

“If there were no hope, what would be the point of such prophetic warnings?” he says.

The Paradigm, which was released in September and debuted in the top five of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal book charts, reveals a newly uncovered master blueprint and ancient template that foretells many events of modern history. The Paradigm also removes the veil behind the leaders, governments, events and scandals of modern times. Its disclosures are so detailed and its revelations so precise that it even speaks of events before they happen.

Cahn, who caused a stir throughout America and the globe with the release of his instant New York Times best-seller The Harbinger, which sold over 2 million copies, followed that earth-shattering work with The Mystery of the Shemitah and The Book of Mysteries, also New York Times best sellers. In fact, the mysteries of the immensely popular The Harbinger continue and are intertwined with the mysteries of The Paradigm.

The Paradigm is published by Frontline, an imprint of Charisma House.

Kevin Sorbo’s latest film is about a man who dies for four minutes and experiences the afterlife. Televangelist Jim Bakker says this concept is one he was obsessed with in prison.

Watch the video to see how it affected him.