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"America's pastor," Rev. Billy Graham turns 98 years old today (Nov. 7). His family said he would appreciate everyone's prayers. The Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., will hold a celebration in his honor Monday, which is free to the public with cake and a banner signing.

As a legendary bluegrass and country artist who is also a devout Christian, Ricky Skaggs frequently forges cross-cultural, genre-bending musical ideas. This weekend, he is turning his inspiration and prayers toward U.S. politics -- specifically to support Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. "It's down to what's right and wrong, not what's right-standing or left-leaning. God hates shedding of innocent blood, and that's what's got my heart and spirit so stirred up in this particular election," proclaimed Skaggs.

Congregants of a suburban Chicago megachurch initiated a "love" campaign to counter ugly presidential campaign rhetoric as well as concerning cultural developments. Pastor Steve Carter of the Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., said the initiative also in response to racism and recent world events, including wars in the Middle East.

Basketball athlete Jeremy Lin admitted he had an amazing summer, but that he'd been a little lax at his praying habits. So he recently committed to praying out loud for 30 minutes a day. "I'm thankful that my prayer life has taken a big jump forward. Prayer has become more natural, and I feel closer to God through prayer," he shared.

The youngest contestant in the history of CBS reality TV show "Survivor" brought a Bible with him into the competition, and aspires to be a pastor in real life. Will Wahl, 18, recently debuted on the show's new season premiere; he hails from Trinity United Methodist Church in Hackettstown, N.J. His fellow congregants are delighted he is using this national platform to bear witness to his faith.

World Communion Sunday is celebrated by several Christian denominations with an offering during the first Sunday of October each year. It is a time about being in communion with Christians all over the world, who are pressing toward the goal of serving God in life-changing ministries.

For the last 25 years, an annual prayer event entitled "See You at the Pole" encouraged students to unite to ask God to intercede for their generation. This year's global prayer observation kicks off Sept. 28 at 7 a.m. local times. "We Cry Out" is the 2016 theme.

Shopping catalogs and glossy magazines are "tools of Satan" because they create envy, said Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren. "Envy is no longer one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Envy is a marketing tool," he said.

Billy Graham addressed a question many Christians have been asking for a long time: how to win an atheist friend to Christ.

While praying for something doesn't mean one will get every little thing asked for at exactly the time expected, noted author and Gospel minister Gloria Copeland said Christians sometimes have to be like farmers planting crops: "You have to sow it, water it and wait for it to grow." Copeland wrote the New York Times best-seller, "God's Master Plan for Your Life," as well as "God's Will for You," "Walk With God," "God's Will Is Prosperity, Hidden Treasures" and "To Know Him."

Although Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton admitted spotlighting one's faith doesn't come naturally to a "Midwestern Methodist," she shared details of her beliefs Thursday evening at the National Baptist Convention USA's 136th annual session in Kansas City, Mo. She quoted Scripture, hymns and even St. Francis of Assisi as she described her "activist, social justice faith - a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-your-hands-dirty faith."

When employment circumstances are not ideal, it may be easy to forget God truly sees earnest efforts and that Bible verses promise that labor will be rewarded. Following are some uplifting and encouraging Bible verses in observation of 2016 Labor Day weekend.

What do chess, conviction and religion have in common? The thread among these three aspects will be explained in a new Walt Disney movie about missionaries in Uganda. Entitled "Queen of Katwe," the new movie was inspired by a true story about the bond between missionary Robert Katende and Phiona Mutesi, a girl growing up in the slum area of Kampala. The film is slated to debut in theaters Sept. 23, 2016.

Miss America 2008, Kirsten Haglund, said she found hope in Christ as she struggled through recovering from an eating disorder. She now is a national eating disorders awareness advocate and community relations specialist for Timberline Knolls Residential Treatment Center near Chicago. She shared her story in a new, 12-minute "I Am Second" White Chair Film.

When Yvonne Allen went to renew her Alabama driver's license, she said she wasn't expecting to discuss the Bible. But the trip turned into her defending her Christian beliefs about women covering their heads.

Of all the personal objects Stephanie Hope lost in the recent, record-setting Louisiana flood, she said she was most struck by finding three family Bibles in the ruins of what was her home, which was taken over by seven feet of water.

When evangelist Rev. Billy Graham recently was asked what he thought was the biggest problem of today's world, he had three words: "the human heart." Then he explained the Bible puts it bluntly and he quoted Jeremiah 17:9, which states "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

Rev. Billy Graham said while he doesn't believe prayer will return to public schools since it was barred five decades ago, he reminds there are other ways students can communicate with God throughout their school day. "When I was young, we used to pray and read the Bible in school every day, but my grandchildren aren't able to experience this, and it upsets me a great deal," stated the 97-year-old evangelist.

Mercy Chefs, a Virginia-based nonprofit and faith-based disaster relief organization on Sunday deployed their team of professional chefs and volunteers, along with their mobile kitchens and refrigerated trailer, to feed thousands in the Baton Rouge, La., region, while residents seek to recover from record-setting flooding. Mercy Chefs' team members are now on-site in the disaster zone, starting to serve 7,500 restaurant-quality meals daily for victims, first responders and volunteers.

Lucy Chelton, a nine-year-old United Methodist Church cook from Sellersville, Pa., won Food Network's "Chopped Junior" children's television cooking show with an appetizer called rattlesnake nuggets with sweet-lime Hollandaise sauce, along with preparing a few other dishes. Chelton's parents are on the ministry staff of Christ UMC in Lansdale, Pa. She shared part of her $10,000 prize with FISH (Fellowship in Serving Humanity), a Pennridge area program that provides food, clothing, school supplies and other needs to low-income families with children.

Within the first minute of winning the 100 meter freestyle and setting a new Olympic record Thursday evening in Rio de Janeiro, U.S. winner Simone Manuel was asked by a TV broadcaster what was going through her mind. An emotional Manuel replied: "All I can say is all glory to God."

For the last 25 years, an annual prayer event entitled "See You at the Pole" encouraged students to unite to ask God to intercede for their generation. This year's global prayer observation will be Sept. 28 at 7 a.m. local times. "We Cry Out" is the 2016 theme.

Compelled by the love of Christ, a pastor whose church was vandalized by a group of Muslim extremists refused to press charges and forgave those who persecuted him.

Rev. Tony Evans, pastor of the 10,000-member Oak Cliff Bible Church in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday delivered a biblically inspired sermon entitled "Race, Culture and Christ" that has been viewed on YouTube nearly 160,000 times since then. He started with an appeal to God, saying people need Him today at a "level that is beyond the ordinary."

Archaeologists have discovered 16th-century Christian symbols left by European explorers alongside ancient indigenous art in the Caribbean, shedding new light on early religious dialogue between Europeans and Native Americans.