(upbeat music)

- Well, welcome to the showand thanks for joining us.

A major renovation atJerusalem's Tower of David

has led to a rare discovery.

- That's right, and, asChris Mitchell reports,

this represents anotherexample of modern day Israel

bringing both ancient historyand the gospels to life.

- Those who enter the old city

through the historic Jaffa Gate

are welcomed by the visuallystriking Tower of David Museum.

Here, at the Tower of David Museum,

they discovered the foundationsof King Herod's palace.

These stairs lead down to the pools

of his elaborate complex,and many historians

and theologians believeit was at this palace

that Jesus was brought beforeKing Herod and Pontius Pilate.

- Right near us, theexcavation of the Kishle,

you can find thefoundation of this palace.

We have the pool, thefoundation, the Phasael tower.

So we probably know that Jesus was here

during His time in Jerusalem.

- [Chris] And it was here that renovations

led to the discovery ofthis rare silver Tyre coin.

- This is a very strongcoin, very heavy silver.

That's why it's so rare.

Jerusalem is full of treasures,and this is one of them.

- [Chris] This coin was likelyused to pay the temple tax

during the reign of King Herod.

Eiliat Lieber, the directorof the museum, told CBN News

the discovery brings thestory of the gospels alive.

- And we know from the gospelsthat Jesus visited Jerusalem.

And we know that He talkedto the money changers.

So here we have the evidence,the archeological evidence,

to the historical sources.

- [Chris] Another majorpart of the renovation

is the Phasael tower built by King Herod.

Yotam Carmel heads upthe conservation project.

- It's important nationally, I think,

internationally and also personally,

but to really touchthis kind of structure,

moving for me.

Trying to preserve somethingand actually let it live on

for future generations andactually to do the best

which is possible

to keep as much originalfabric as possible.

- [Chris] Carmel saysthe work Herod envisioned

and ordered is exquisite.

- Unbelievable, I meanit's hard to understand,

how they lived, how they build,and how long it will last.

I mean, it will last forthousands of years more.

Unbelievable buildingsystem, hard to get your mind

around it, how it was done.

It was just a massive scaleof stone carving and building,

which is very rare to see.

- In 37 BC, Herod establishedhimself as King of Judea.

And he began some of the mostambitious building projects

in the ancient world,

including the reconstructionof the second temple.

And he transformed thecity of Jerusalem so much

that Pliny the Elderwrote Jerusalem was by far

the most distinguishedcity, not only in Judea,

but of the whole Orient, Gordon.

- Well, he definitely lefthis mark on all of Jerusalem

and actually all of Israel.

So what's the goal ofthe Tower of David Museum

with this project?

- Well, a couple of things, Gordon.

First of all, they wantto preserve Herod's tower

for generations.

In fact, it's rightbehind me if you can see.

The Israeli flag back there,that's one of the towers there

at the Tower of David Museum,

just about a 15 minutewalk here from the Bureau.

And so Herod, he was thegreat builder, as he said,

Pliny said, not only thepalace, but the second temple.

And Pliny said it was themost distinguished city

in all of the Orient.

And what they want to dothere at the Tower of David

is they want to tell the storyof Jerusalem to the world.

And it's really a microcosmof Jerusalem's history

and Israel's history, for that matter.

You can see remains ofKing Herod, Pontius Pilate,

Jesus Himself, the Crusaders,Suleiman the Magnificent,

that builds some of thewalls back in the 1500s.

So the Tower of DavidMuseum actually connects

the ages of Jerusalem andthey want to preserve it

for generations to come.

Right now, they're ina modernization project

that's cautioning $40 million,

and they hope to have it ready,some of it, later this year.

- Well, tell us about themeaning of this for Christians.

Why is this important for us?

- Well, it really verifies the gospel,

especially that half shekel, Gordon.

You know, Jesus drove awaythe money changes there

in the temple, and many of the coins

that would have been on the floor

would have been half shekels.

Each year, a Jewish manwho was 20 years or older,

he had to pay the halfshekel tax to the temple.

And Moses introducedthat half shackled tax

back in the book of Exodus in chapter 30.

And the Jewish Talmud required the tax

to be of a high purity silver.

So the coin that was discoveredthere is 94% pure silver.

And so that was certainly accepted.

And it was also mentionedin the book of Matthew,

the 30 pieces of silverthat were paid to Judas,

they were probably actuallyfrom the temple treasury.

And, in fact as well, asEiliat Lieber said there,

the site of the trialof Jesus is not very far

from where we were standingand probably where Jesus

was brought before King Herod and Pilate.

And so that's, in many sense,as a Eiliat Lieber said,

really the gospels are coming alive there.

- All right, well when do they anticipate

the renovation will be finished?

- Well, there's a coupleof things going on.

First of all, King Herod'stower called the Phasael tower.

They expect about a year and a half.

They found a large crack in that tower.

They want to preserve that.

But there are other renovations going on,

and they'll be completed in stages.

And now we did a story not too long ago

about the Tower of David renovations.

Some of those areas willbe online later this year.

They'll be able fortourists to be able to see.

And in spite of the COVID pandemic,

they used it to renovate and modernize.

They're gonna have more exhibits.

They're gonna have expanded exhibits.

And for me, it's one of my favorite places

in all of Jerusalem, andso I love going there.

And the coin is gonna bepart of this new exhibition.

- All right, well, we've gota viewer question for you.

Karen asks, "Is this silvercoin the first of its kind

"to be discovered orhave there been others?"

- Not the first, Gordon,but it is very rare.

And it's from the Phoenician city of Tyre.

You know, in the gospels, Jesuswent up to Tyre and Sidon.

It's one of the most importantsilver coins during that age,

from about 125 BC toabout 66 AD or maybe 70 AD

at the destruction of the temple.

It was probably one of the most used coins

in the Holy Land at that time.

I was online not too long ago,

I saw one that wasvalued for about $4,000.

So it's not the onlyone, but it is very rare.

And that's where they discovered it,

not too far behind us atthe Tower of David Museum.

- All right, well, it'scertainly priceless,

and it's such an importantpart of our history.

Chris, thanks for joining us.

You can always get thelatest on that story and more

by watching "Jerusalem Dateline."

And you can get that onthe CBN News Channel app.

And then for more of thesefascinating discoveries,

I encourage you to check out our new DVD.

It's called "House of David."

It's the latest episode fromthe CBN Films docu-series,

"Written in Stone," and itshares the archeological evidence

behind Israel's King David.

Now, what we're asking for isa gift of any dollar amount.

That gift will go into the production

of new documentaries on Israel.

And we're doing one onthe history of the Bible.

So for your gift of any dollar amount,

today you'll get exclusiveaccess to "House of David,"

streaming in 4K on the CBN Family app.

We'll mail you a DVD copy

of the "House of David" documentary.

It's yours with your gifts.

So if you'd like it, visitcbn.com/writteninstone.

Call us, 1-800-700-7000

and say I'd like to get "House of David."

Or simply text KINGDAVID,that's all one word,

to 51555.

Do it now. Ashley.

- All right, well, coming up,a teacher remembers a student

who wasn't just trying to get good grades,

he was actually trying to find a family.

Hear an inspirational storythat began in a classroom

and ended in an adoption center.

That's next.

(inspirational music)

Dr. Berry is a teacherwhose students love her.

In fact, a few joked that they wanted her

to be their mother.

But as she soon found out,

one of her students wasn't kidding.

- Some days I felt upset, angry, lost.

They'd taken me from my safe place

and placed me in a home with strangers.

I mean, I didn't have anyhelp or anyone to turn to

or anything like that.

- [Narrator] Anthony wasplaced in foster care

when he was six years old dueto his birth mom's drug use

while pregnant with his baby sister.

He knew about God's lovethrough his grandmother

and tried to stay hopefulin a tough situation.

- I prayed sometimes whenthat was feeling down,

and then other days Iquestioned Him, why am I here?

Why can't I find anyone to love me?

Why can't I go back home?

- [Narrator] He lived ingroup homes for nine years

hoping to be adopted yetafraid of being let down.

- I didn't get my hopesup for anything basically,

'cause I didn't want toget my hopes up too high

and it not happen, 'causedeep down I wanted it to work.

I wanted to get out of the system.

I didn't want to deal with the bonds

of being a ward of the state anymore.

I just wanted, you know,have a loving family,

a forever home

- [Narrator] At 15 years oldand after a failed adoption,

he began losing hope.

He got in trouble at his high school

and was sent to PathwaysAlternative School

where he met Dr. Bennie Berry,a teacher at the school.

- And he came there and hevolunteered to say the pledge

at the beginning of theday, he volunteered.

He was in ROTC at his home campus.

He volunteered to hang the flag.

I was impressed.

I felt like, oh, this kid is leader.

This kid is a leader.

He's different from therest. He has initiative.

- [Narrator] Bennie was single

and had no children of her own.

In class, students jokethat they love Dr. Berry

and wished she was their mom.

Anthony jumped in and wasn't joking.

- The discussion went to families,

and some of the kids were saying,

well, I've been trying to getMs. Berry to take me home.

And so Anthony said, "Oh, youcan take me home for real."

And I said, "Well no, you have, you know,

"your parents are doing their best.

"Respect your parentsthe way you respect me,

"and you'll be okay."

And he's like, "No, reallyI'm in foster care."

And so a couple of studentsand myself, we didn't know.

And we kind of gasped, like,really you're in foster care?

- I actually was like,yeah, you can adopt me.

I mean, will you, have youthought about adoption or no?

Then we got deeper into the conversation.

- And I said, "Well, ifyou're gonna be my kid,

"you know, if you was evermy kid, you have to be good."

And he said, "For how long?"

I said, "Forever, he forgotwhat but he was talking about."

So he said, "Well, you canlook me up. I can be adopted.

"You know, you could take me home."

- [Narrator] Anthony gaveBennie his information

and the adoption website.

- I had never planned on adopting,

because I didn't knowthe process for adopting.

Only thing I knew aboutadoption is what I've seen

on like a Lifetime movie.

I never really believed, I'llsay, in the first few days

that it was something that I could do.

- It came time for me to leave Pathways,

and I was like, "Don'tyou forget about me."

And she didn't forget.

- When it became more real,

I had to, I had to pray about everything.

I asked God to order my steps,everything that I want to do.

I was like, "Okay, Lord,show me that what I'm doing

"is not just raw emotion.

"It is what I'm really should do."

So I felt like God was showing me, yes,

this is what you need to do.

Step by step, ordering it, ordained.

- [Narrator] To Bennie's amazement,

there were no roadblocksto the application process.

And soon they began atrial adoption period.

Later that year onNational Adoption Day 2017,

Bennie officially adopted Anthony.

- I was very nervous.

It was, you know, all theanxiety and intention,

like, this is really happening.

Today's the day.

I actually, we both couldn'tsleep the night before.

We spent most of the timetalking to each other.

That was a very good bonding period.

- National Adoption Daywas an emotional day.

My name was put on his birth certificate.

His name was officially changed.

It became real on that day.

Everything we had prayed for,

every step that I had asked God to order,

we're now at the endof the road, it's over.

It is official. We are a family.

Nobody can change it.

♪ You brought me through it ♪

- [Narrator] The trait that best defines

this new family of two is gratitude,

for one another and to God

who opened the door and their hearts.

- He's bringing us allthe way, He's carrying us.

Like He carried the cross,He's carrying us on His back.

And I'm thankful for her just loving me

and taking a 16 year old, well,15 going on 16 year old boy

into her home, a troubled boy at that.

I love it. It's something thatI never thought I would have.

I'm happy.

For someone my age to get adopted,

it, you know, it's very rare.

- I didn't know that Icould love somebody so much

besides my parents.

I needed him probably as muchor more than he needed me.

I don't tell him a lot, becauseI don't want him to think

he has the upper hand (laughs).

But I am more than proud of him.

I thank God for the opportunityto help mold somebody

who I know is gonna do wonderful things.

(inspirational music)

- Wow. I love that story.

Adoption is such a reflectionof God the Father's heart,

because ultimately we areall adopted into His family.

So I love that.

- Yeah. It was a great story.

And what a great resultand to hear her say,

"I love him so much.

"I don't want to tell him,

"'cause I don't want himto get the upper hand."

What a beautiful picture ofwhat a deep relationship.

God loves you that same way.

And you can even call this are-adoption into His family.

When you understand that Hebreathed His life into you.

When He breathed into Adamand Adam became a living soul,

that same breath hasbeen passed down to you.

From the get-go, you are His child.

And we mess it up. We went our way.

But isn't it wonderful? Godnever gave up on His love.

He never gave up on His dream.

He never gave up on you.

And He wants you back home.

So what a wonderful picture of the gospel.

What a wonderful picture ofGod's love for me and you.

Well, still to come,

Efrem shares this week's top five stories

from Hollywood andentertainment right after this.

(upbeat music)

Well, it's certainly beena week of inspiration

in the entertainment worldfrom Shaquille O'Neal

to music artists NickCannon and Kierra Sheard.

Pop culture stars areusing their platforms

to shine a light.

- And as we remember the powerful legacy

rapper DMX leaves behind,

we are all inspired to do the same.

Here's Efrem Graham withthis week's top five stories

from "Studio 5."

- [Efrem] At number five.

"David" is the next production

for Sight and Sound Theater,

and tickets go on sale nextweek for the live show's return

in March of 2022.

Here's an early look behind the scenes.

- We just got done putting"Queen Esther" on stage.

We're in the middle of designing "David,"

and then the pandemic happened

and the whole theater shut down.

So all of a sudden I found myself at home.

I was like designing,you know, a little wagon.

And when you have the producer

and he's standing, obviously, in his attic

in front of a computer andhe's like, "I got an idea.

"What if he does this?"

And he starts acting itout in front of his camera.

It was just really fun.

- [Efrem] At number four.

- [Woman] Welcome to Miradero.

- Aunt Cora, did youever see my mom perform?

- Oh yes.

- [Efrem] A "Studio 5" first look

at "Spirit Unlimited," anepic animated adventure

about the bond between agirl and her wild horse.

It's set for release in June.

- This horse got a lot of spirit.

- You do have a lot of spirit.

(horse snorts)(girl blows raspberries)

Easy boy.

(girl screams)(horse neighs)

Whoa!- Let's go, girl.

- [Girl] Good thing her name's Lucky.

- Well, is her middle name Irony?

- Jump!

(dramatic music)

- I just rode a horse!

- Around here, we call thathanging on for dear life.

- [Efrem] At number three.

Call it a random act of Shaq-ness.

Just look closely.

- [Shaq] I appreciateit. What's your name?

- Dalton.- Nice to meet you.

- You know this is the first time,

every time you come in here,I always get all nervous

before you come in.

- [Efrem] Shaq happened to be shopping

at the same ZalesJewelry store in Atlanta,

when he overheard Dalton Davisdiscussing payment options

for the engagement ringhe was thinking of buying.

So the good-heartedformer basketball great

handed over his credit cardand paid for the ring himself.

- [Shaq] I appreciate it.

- [Efrem] And just daysafter the former NBA star

springs for the ringfor Dalton, he proposes.

- Will you marry me?- Yes.

(women scream)Oh my god!

- [Efrem] Surprise, theentire family showed up

to celebrate.

- I tried turning him down,

saying I couldn't accept the offer.

And he insisted.

And that's just a reallybig guy to say no to.

- [Efrem] At number two.

- It's Kiki!- Hey, hey!

- Thank you so much for doing this.

- Thank you.- You ready to do this?

- I'm ready.

- I'm just saying, first ofall, it's a privilege, an honor,

and a pleasure to be in thepresence of your anointing.

- [Efrem] Actor, comedian,and rapper Nick Cannon

taps gospel music artistKierra Sheard-Kelly

for a duet and music video.

♪ It won't work ♪

♪ Thinking no weapon ♪

♪ No weapon ♪♪ Formed against me ♪

♪ Shall prosper ♪

Cannon posting the scripturethat inspired the song,

Isaiah 54:17, to Instagram,along with his gratitude

to Kierra for joininghim on the music project.

- This Christian walk andthis Bible-based living

is not just something thatis only for the pulpit,

it's for everyday life.

- [Efrem] At number one.

♪ I know that my Savior lives ♪

♪ And at the end, He willstand on this earth ♪

♪ My flesh may be destroyed,yet from this body ♪

♪ I will see God ♪

- [Efrem] Remembering rapperDMX who died Friday at age 50.

While there have been manyreports of the accomplishments

and troubles of EarlSimmons, more recently

he's led online Bible studieswith thousands viewing.

- Like many of you I've been so touched

watching a lot of these videosbe re-posted of DMX praying.

Man, I love it because they're so real

and so pure and grungy.

And even at times, he'llsay that I'm new to this.

I don't know how to do this.

And they're so free of church-isms.

- We ask to be reminded ofthe power in the spoken word,

Father, because we can defeat the enemy

with the spoken word.

All we have to do is rememberto say it, remember to use it.

The Word says, "Noweapon formed against me

"shall prosper."

The Word doesn't say thatthe weapon won't be formed.

The Word doesn't say that theintention of a weapon maker

won't be to harm you.

The Word doesn't say that theywant to attempt to use it.

The Word says, "No weapon formedagainst me shall prosper."

So no matter what they think,no matter what they make,

no matter what they try,by the power of the Word

we are covered.

- Amen.- Wow.

- Well, with us now is Efrem Graham.

And, Efrem, welcome back to the show.

- Thank you.- Let's first start

with Sight and Sound.

They're coming back in March of 2022.

So we still have to wait a little bit.

- Yeah (laughs).- Tell us about that.

- It is still a bit of a wait,

and they're going to do aproduction on King David.

It takes a long time toproduce these things.

And the funny thing is that asright before the pandemic hit

the folks working behindthe scenes were excited

because they were aheadon this production.

They were like, wow, we'reactually ahead of the game.

And then everything shut down.

So they had to actually finish it at home.

In the beginning, onlythree people were allowed

in that massive building.

And they were all communicating online

on their different ideas, and then slowly

they were able to increase thenumber of people coming back.

But still it won't be backopen in theaters, their theater

in Lancaster, Pennsylvania,until March of 2022.

But the tickets will go on sale next week.

And prayerfully all will-- Next week?

- Yes.- Wow.

- (laughs) Yes, get people excited.

- 11 months and counting. Here we go.

- Here we go.

- They're planning ahead-(Efrem laughing)

- All right, I want to geta webcam on Shaq's homes,

so I can know when he'sgoing out shopping.

So random act, we're callingit a random act of Shaq-ness.

What happened this week is he paid

for a fan's engagement ring.

- It's such a nice story that unfolded.

Literally he hears theguy trying to figure out,

okay, how am I gonna pay for this?

What are my options?

I can lay away. I can do this.

And that he just takes outhis card and says, you know,

"Put it on my card."

And the gentleman taken aback by the offer

initially didn't know whatto do, but he accepted it.

And here's the cute thing.

This video went viral beforehe proposed, but his fiance,

new fiance didn't see the video at all.

So she learned of it after the fact.

And she was asking him,"How did you pull this off?"

- [Ashley] Can you imagine?

I mean, just the commentthat I'm sure he made.

"Oh, by the way, honey,

"Shaquille O'Neal"-- Paid for your ring.

- By the way.- By the way.

Like, that's amazing.

Seriously, I can'teven, that's really cool

that he did that though.

- Yes, and-- I think Ashley's dreaming

of a moment right now.

She's having that.

- I mean, hey, that would be pretty cool.

Thanks, Shaq.

All right, let's talk aboutNick Cannon and Kierra Sheard.

They joined forces in areally powerful new song.

What details can you giveus about that, Efrem?

- Well, "No Weapon FormedAgainst Me Shall Prosper,"

made popular but MarvinSapp some years ago,

re-recorded multiple times,

and now Kierra Sheard and Nick Cannon.

Nick Cannon is coming off of a time

where he could have been canceled

as a result of anti-Semiticstatements he made,

racist statements he made.

But he did the work,asked for forgiveness,

sat down with a number of rabbis

to learn exactly what waswrong with what he was saying

and what he was proposing.

Lost jobs, lost lots of money,

but also him being the son of a minister

understands the forgivingpower of Jesus Christ.

And he worked to get that forgiveness

and to understand exactlywhere he offended people.

And he and Kierra Sheardteamed up for this.

And as Kierra Sheard said,you know, she walks the life,

that "this sermon in my lifeis not just for the pulpit,

"it's for living out."

And she was helping NickCannon to do just that,

walk it out.- Yeah, that's good.

- Well, he's taught me a new phrase.

"It's an honor to be in thepresence of your anointing."

That's a good one.(all laughing)

- Yes, I like it.

- I'll use that right now.

It's an honor to be in thepresence of your anointing.

- Aw.- Amen.

- Let's talk about rapper DMX.

I mean, there's aunderlying addiction story

that's absolutely tragic.

But there's more to his legacy than that.

- Absolutely, he wroteabout some of it in a song

that he dedicated to hisgrandmother who he missed.

And he talked about thefact that when she left,

he really felt the Lord left with her.

So she is certainly was God in his life.

But he struggled with addiction,

even died potentially of an overdose,

but he knew Jesus Christ, andhe shared that with others.

- Amen, and it's a lesson for all of us,

the best way to avoid addiction,

never pick it up to begin with.

Here's a word from Proverbs.

"Speak up for those whocannot speak for themselves.

"Ensure justice for thosewho are being crushed."

God bless you. We'll see you again.

(upbeat music)