General: Flow FM adds another new radio service on Eyre Peninsula South Austalia

Flow FM have added a new service to their radio network. 106.9 FM in the Central Eyre Peninsula Region is now on air. This mens that towns like Minnipa, Wudinna, Elliston, Yaninee, Kyancutta, Warramboo, Lock, Port Kenny, Venus Bay can now hear Face to Face and ON the Spot. There are a further 2000 people now able hear Flow FM from this service. The 106.9 service is one of only 3 FM services. The others are Radio National and JJJ. However, 106.9 Flow FM has better coverage. There are now 16 Flow FM services with the loss of 89.3 Marysville in the fires and 98.9 on the Yorke Peninsula to vermin. (Once repairs are carried out there will be 18 services). The current population for coverage is 100,000 plus. In addition, the Prominent Hill Mine in Outback South Australia also has a Flow FM service on 91.3 FM. There are 1000 miners and associated field workers at the site and Flow and JJJ are the only two radio services across all bands!

General: Christmas TV Schedule

How can children find Jesus amongst all the fuss at Christmas?

They can watch Christmas films broadcast by Lutheran Media.

Tune in to NINE, WIN or IMPARJA TV Networks at 6:00am Sunday 21st Dec for the heartwarming childrens Christmas story of Red Boots For Christmas

The Australian Christian Channel on AUSTAR DIGITAL 182, FOXTEL DIGITAL 182, OPTUS 49 / Digital 182 DIGITAL 44 (Sydney),TRANSACT (Canberra) will feature the following Christmas films on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day.

The City That Forgot About Christmas - 4:00pm, Wed 24th Dec

Red Boots For Christmas - 6:00am, Thurs 25th Dec

Little Shepherd - 6:30am, Thurs 25th Dec

Christmas Is - 8:30am, Thurs 25th Dec

There are also games and a host of activities for children to enjoy on the REDBOOTS Christmas website at www.redboots.au

General: Red Boots for Christmas TV Schedule

How can children find Jesus amongst the Santas, the presents, the Christmas decorations and parties? They can watch the animated film Red Boots for Christmas as it brings to life the real meaning of Christmas through a heart-warming tale about love, community and the true gift of Christmas. Red Boots for Christmas is scheduled for broadcast on the NINE, WIN and IMPARJA TV Networks on Sunday 21st December at 6:00am and on The Australian Christian Channel on AUSTAR DIGITAL 182, FOXTEL DIGITAL 182, OPTUS 49, DIGITAL 44 (Sydney) and TRANSACT (Canberra) on Thursday, 25th December, Christmas Day at 6:00am.

They can also enjoy games and a host of activities on the REDBOOTS website at www.redboots.com.au

General: The Ten Commandments  coming to Cinemas soon

Click here for more

General: LARRY NORMAN DIES

Larry Norman, the so called father of Christian Rock Music has passed away, aged 60. The man who was featured in a couple of Simpsons comics leaves a string of Christian hits including Why Should the Devil Have all the Good Music, Sweet Sweet Song of Salvation, and I Wish We'd All Been Ready. Always a controversial figure, his songs spoke about politics, (The Great American Novel), witchcraft and the occult (Forget Your Hexagram), religious hypocrisy (Right Here In America) and free love (Pardon Me). Norman stated in 1969 that he wanted to push aside the traditional gospel quartet music, break down the church doors, and let the hippies and the prostitutes, and other unwashed rabble into the sanctuary. He added that most modern music was anaemic and needed a transfusion. More than 300 artists have recorded his music including Sir Cliff Richard, Sammy Davis Jnr, Rebecca St James, and dc Talk. Van Morrison, John Mellencamp and members of U2 are reportedly fans of his music, and Larry is often cited for influencing Keith Green and Randy Stonehill in their conversions. In Larrys farewell message to fans from his death bed, he said (in part): I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home. My brother Charles is right, I won't be here much longer. I can't do anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to everyone& My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers inside.... Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again somewhere beyond the sky. I pray that you will stay with God. Goodbye, my friends, goodbye. Our sincerest condolences to Larrys family in America, and Australia. Larry Norman born 8 April 1947, died 24 February 2008.

General: Aussie Team Hosted By Faith Inkubators

Click here to read the story

General: Video Specials

MUST HAVE! SUPER VIDEO SPECIALS

Any of our complete range of videos at a great price- inclusive of postage and handling anywhere in Australia!

1 for $10 2 for $15 5 for $30

Easter Videos: Puzzle Club Easter Adventure : animated film featuring Puzzle Club detectives who find hope in Jesus in a suspense-filled Easter mystery

Easter Is animated film featuring Benji who searches for his lost dog Waldo and discovers the true meaning of Easter.

Magic Boys Easter a powerful story about Josh, a 12 year old boy who agrees to surgery when he discovers Jesus is with him.

3 Days the dramatic story about Easter highlighting the struggles of the disciples during these difficult times.

Puzzle Club Pet Napping Mystery . animated film featuring the Puzzle Club detectives who learn about tolerance while solving the mystery or the disappearing pets.

Christmas Videos can be included in your order too

Phone Now! Lutheran Media Ministry FREECALL 1800 353 350

General: Media Matters Now Available

The Autumn edition of Media Matters is now available. It features news on the latest projects being planned by Lutheran Media and reports on the Childrens Redboots website. There are also Easter specials on videos as well as the offer of free E-Cards to send to someone special.

Click here to download your copy

Congregations and Donors will receive copies for distribution during the coming days.

General: Effective Christmas Campaign

EFFECTIVE CHRISTMAS CAMPAIGN

A Christmas Outreach Campaign that was world class&.that was the vision that drove a talented team of young people to create an exciting new website for children based on the much loved and popular film Red Boots for Christmas. Using the latest commercial technologies, Lutheran Media entertained children with high quality games and activities while at the same time guiding them to the real meaning of Christmas through films and the story of Jesus birth.

Children were able to

" Play interactive games. " Send E-cards to friends. " Sing along with Christmas Carols and Christmas songs from Chris Jaensch, Leigh Newton and Robin Mann. " View the film Red Boots for Christmas online. " Read the Red Boots for Christmas book online. " View different Christmas films each week. " Listen to the Christmas story from the Bible " Download activity sheets. " View a video on how to make honey biscuits for Christmas,

Project Manager Kathryn Heavyside said, Red Boots was a pilot project on which we plan to build future campaigns. We learned so much and developed various skills as we worked. It provided us with opportunities to share Jesus with children in Australia, New Zealand and around the world.

General: The Nativity Story - In Theatres Now

Don't forget that this wonderful film is now in cinemas across Australia and New Zealand. The reviews of this beautiful film have been encouraging with many stating it will be a Christmas film they will cherish for years to come.

Contact your local cinema to find out when they are showing The Nativity Story.

THE NATIVITY STORY is one of those very rare movies that brings the Gospel alive in a compelling, captivating, entertaining, and inspiring manner that shatters expectations. It is a sacred movie and a divine revelation in the best sense of these words.

It is a human story with depth and breadth and height and all the right elements to capture the audience.

The movie opens with Jeremiah 23:5-6: "'The days are coming,'" declares the LORD, 'when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.'" The rest of the movie references and quotes Scripture throughout.

The intensely paranoid King Herod sends out the troops to kill all the innocents in Bethlehem and stop the prophecy that there will be born a King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Herod is intensely superstitious and played brilliantly. Thus, this movie starts, as it should, with a bang. It then flashes back to a year earlier in the town of Nazareth, showing a brief moment of tranquility in the life of Mary and Joseph.

Suddenly, the Roman troops are upon the village demanding tribute for Caesar. Mary's father loses part of his land and his donkey. Joseph the carpenter buys the donkey back from the greedy soldier and gives it back to the father, asking for Mary's hand in marriage. Mary protests a little, but she is betrothed and must spend a year before they consummate the marriage.

Soon, an angel of God comes to Mary to tell her that she is with God's child, born by the Holy Spirit. She goes to see her cousin Elizabeth, who in her older age is also with child. (A previous scene shows Elizabeths husband, the priest Zechariah, entering the temple and being struck mute when he doubts the word of the angel that Elizabeth had become pregnant.) When Mary returns to Nazareth, it is clear that Mary is pregnant. Joseph is devastated but decides to continue with the marriage after an angel appears to him in a dream. At the same time, the magi in Babylon are preparing to follow a unique astrological sign, which forms a brief new star, to find the King of Kings. Joseph and Mary have to journey to Bethlehem to register for the Roman census, and the prophecies of God are fulfilled.

THE NATIVITY STORY has one of the best scripts ever for a biblical story. What makes a movie compelling is a sense of jeopardy, and that sense of jeopardy is present throughout this movie. The dialogue, the plot development, the turning points are refreshingly dramatic, so good in fact that they will elicit tears at certain points. THE NATIVITY STORY is compelling drama that carefully avoids gruesome, graphic violence. Even the slaughtering of the ox at the temple does not show the blade entering the animal, yet it causes the audience to wince.

Catherine Hardwicke's direction is superb. Joseph and Mary are very human and very Jewish and very much in love. Each character has a terrific character arc. Probably the best part of the movie is the costuming and the settings. Having spent some time in Israel researching other movies, I can attest to the authenticity of even the smallest details of life in Israel in the first century. The crucifixions, the agriculture, the ephods, everything is done exquisitely. There is one moment where Mary has an attitude, but it is very brief and natural. A later statement, however, declares that Mary is always trustworthy, that she keeps her promises and therefore she is honored by God. Her complexities add depth to her character and make the story of Mary and Joseph more profound.

THE NATIVITY STORY is a nearly perfect movie. It should be a movie that every Christian would want to see. It is certainly a movie that every Non-Christian should see. It testifies in every way to Jesus the Messiah and is clearly and consciously evangelistic. Such statements that this baby is the greatest King and God made flesh, that the gold is for the King of the world, that the frankincense is for the greatest priest of all, and that the myrrh is to honor the sacrifice, and many, many more pointedly proclaim the story of the Christ and the great news that there is salvation in none other.

SUMMARY: THE NATIVITY STORY tells the story of the birth of Jesus Christ in a dramatic, authentic manner. It is one of those very rare movies that brings the Gospel alive in a compelling, captivating, entertaining, and inspirational manner that shatters expectations.

View the trailer