Final Answer Friday --- The Next Number

Well, nobody got the answer I was looking for, but there were a few correct possibilities and semi-correct possibilities that we can award points.

Jerry/Janet/Joni --- You found a correct possibility with the single/double/single/double/etc. along with the 3, 5, 4 pattern. So although it wasn't exactly what I was looking for, it works, so 1 point each!

Steve/Jen --- You are correct that 6 could be the next number as you saw the 3-4-5-? in the double digits, but it doesn't account for the single digits (what would come after 6-6?), so it doesn't make a complete pattern...but I'll still give you .75 points.

Any ways, the answer I was hoping someone would come up with deals with counting the number of letters in the numbers 1 to 10. Check it out...

The Pattern: 3, 3, 5, 4, 4, 3, 5, 5, 4, ?

ONE - 3 (number of letters)
TWO - 3
THREE - 5
FOUR - 4
FIVE - 3
SIX - 3
SEVEN - 5
EIGHT - 5
NINE - 4

So the next number would be 3 (T-E-N) and 6 (E-L-E-V-E-N), etc.

CURRENT STANDINGS:
Jen - 3.75
Joni - 3
Steve - 2.75
Dana - 2
Jeff - 2
Jerry - 1.5
Jason - 1
Janet -1
Julie - 1
Jill - 1
Ron - 1
Renae - .5

Theological Thursday --- Homosexuality and the Church (Part 4)

Well, just this week, homosexuality was in the news again with the liberal crowd screaming "intolerance" (though no mention of their intolerance toward anyone who thinks differently than they do). Now we should be "shamed" to stand up for what God's Word says. This is why I have spent the last 4 weeks on this topic...it is hot in the news and will only get hotter in the coming months/years. So to recap what the Bible says about homosexuality:

1) It is a sin

2) It is not wrong to call it a sin

3) We are all sinners and born with a sinful nature

So that brings us to the final point...how should the church react to this issue? Should homosexuals be treated differently within the church since we are all sinners? Well, the answer is yes...but it has nothing to do with "homosexuality", it has to do with "unrepentant sin". Consider Matthew 18...

If one of my followers sins, go and point out what was wrong. But do it in private, just between the two of you. If that person listens, you have won back a follower. But if that one refuses to listen, take along one or two others. The Scriptures teach that every complaint must be proven true by two or more witnesses. If the follower refuses to listen to them, report the matter to the church. Anyone who refuses to listen to the church must be treated like an unbeliever.

So there you have it...from the mouth of Christ, speaking to those who call themselves believers. (if someone is an unbeliever, they really have no motivation not to sin...believers do out of profound gratitude for what He has done for us). So if a homosexual walks into the church and they call himself a believer, the sin should be confronted 1-on-1...and if they refuse to listen it should be taken to the church leadership, and if they still refuse to repent, they should be treated like an unbeliever.

This is where a lot of churches go wrong..."treating someone like an unbeliever". It does not mean we push them out the doors or throw them on the street. We see them as someone in need of God's love and forgiveness. Embrace them...pray for them...ask God to change their hearts. Based on Paul's letter to Timothy, they should not hold leadership positions nor membership until they are willing to repent.

Again, I said this is an "unrepentant sinner" issue because this isn't just limited to homosexuality (although unfortunately many churches make it that way). If someone is living in sin (premarital sex) it should be handled in the same way. If someone is known to be cheating people in their business...same thing. If someone is in any sin that they will not repent and give to God...same thing.

Yes, we all sin. But those who call themselves "believers" should be seeking after God and repenting of their sins. Those in the church that don't seem to want to acknowledge they are a sinner...as Jesus says...you must assume that they haven't truly come into a personal relationship with Him.

What Is It Wednesday --- The Next Number

This Week's Question:

What number comes next in the following sequence:

3, 3, 5, 4, 4, 3, 5, 5, 4, ?

Post your guess (1/2 point) and explanation (1/2 point). So even if you are totally clueless, at least take a shot it the dark! The correct answer and explanation will be posted Friday.

Talking Point Tuesday --- An Ode to Peanut Butter

It was a very busy weekend! We started out with Swing Dancing Friday night at the seminary. One of my friends that was a student with me years ago gave lessons with his wife to current students in the Student Center. It lasted probably an hour and a half, and probably only 40% of the people there even danced, though Jen refused to stop the entire time because this was "exercise time". We concluded by playing a game in our neighbor's apartment called "Compatibility" which measure how well you know your spouse. Jen and I took second, but embarrassingly we were defeated by a couple that has only been dating for 2 weeks.


Saturday morning I went to Akron to take the MENSA test. During my counseling classes, we had to take an IQ test and my results qualified me for MENSA (the group is made up of people with IQ's in the top 98% of the population). So I was encouraged to take their test years ago but never did...but now I thought I would try just for fun. The test was actually pretty easy (especially the math and logic)...but it was very quick. There were 8 different tests within the test and you would only have 4-5 minutes on each section and couldn't go back, and it was impossible to get through every question. So the majority of the ones I answered were right...the question will be whether or not I was fast enough to answer as many questions as needed. I'll find out in about 3 weeks and will include one of the math/logic questions from the test I am confident I got right on tomorrow's "What Is It Wednesday"...and you can see how you do.


Saturday night we went to our annual Valentine's Celebration with our class from church. That's where the title of this Blog Post, "An Ode to Peanut Butter" came from. We have a competition where we wrote a poem with our spouse. Jen and I won 1st place for the funniest poem called "An Ode to Peanut Butter". I am sure it made Jen's heart stop when she read the title to this post making sure that I didn't actually post our poem (she would be WAY too embarrassed). The only thing she'll let me say is that it was a poem about a romantic rendezvous in the park gone terribly wrong. The title of the poem has nothing to do with it...we were required to have certain words and phrases throughout the poem and when we finished we realized we forgot to put "Peanut Butter" (one of the required words) in our poem, so we thought outside the box and just made it part of our poem title. You can all beg Jen to see it if you want, but I don't think you have much of a chance!


Sunday morning I taught a special class at church on Calling. After church we went and taught at the detention home on the house that is built on the rock, and where the foundation of your life should be. The kids responded really well to it this week. Then Sunday night there was a special meeting for all the leaders in the church, and I taught for about 45 minutes on Core Identity, which went well too based on many of the leaders asked for my notes so they can teach it as well.


Today we head up to Cleveland for Jen's cancer Dr. check-up. It's been almost 4 years since she has had cancer and God has blessed us so much in so many areas over the last 4 years. Please pray for good test results and that our lives could continue to glorify Him!

Media Monday --- Political Cartoon Uproar

Last week the cartoon pictured above created a "racial uproar" (led by "Rev" Al Sharpton of course). They (along with many others) were completely offended that Obama was being portrayed as a Chimp. Now take a look at these past cartoons...

This whole media circus with the "Obama Chimp Cartoon" is completely idiotic, and here is why...

1) Where was the uproar when Bush was made out to be a monkey/chimp/etc? Nobody cared.

2) This cartoon is an obvious poke at the stimulus plan...saying even a monkey could have created it...that's the whole point of the cartoon.

3) Even IF this cartoon was directed at a person, Hello...Obama didn't write the stimulus, Pelosi did. So she would be the chimp, not Obama.

4) This cartoon is in bad taste because a woman is fighting for her life after the attack, and I am sure her loved ones don't want to see this cartoon in the news over and over and over, yet nobody seems to care about the effect it has on the family of the person who was attacked. That should be the real issue, but Sharpton and clan do not seemed too concerned about that.

So here is the real issue...the so-called "tolerant group" is being very intolerant (they are tolerant only when you agree with them). And above all else, I think those with the real racism issue are those who looked at this cartoon, saw a chimp, and immediately assumed it was Obama (even though he didn't write the plan). Automatically equating the chimp to a black man Mr. Sharpton is where the real race problem is..

What do you all think?

Final Answer Friday --- The Three Gals Eyes

ANSWERS FROM WEDNESDAY:
Not as many people took part this week (as of 5:00 Thursday evening)...but I was impressed those that did were able to get 2 out of the 3. Congrats to Jen (1 point) and Joni (1 point) for figureing a couple of them out. And 1/2 point for Jill for verbally guessing one but refusing to post!

1) =

Gameshow host Vanna White

2) =

Missing Teen Natalee Halloway

3) =

child-star Marsha Brady (Maureen McCormick)

MARSHA MARSHA MARSHA!

Theological Thursday --- Homosexuality and the Church (Part 3)

As I have been doing my weekly posts on this topic, a story about all this came out in California. If you haven't heard about it, a student at Los Angeles City College was giving a speech (for speech class) about his opposition to gay marriage. He cited a few Biblical verses during his speech and was interrupted by the professor who called him some very inappropriate names, canceled the rest of the class and told all the students to go home, and when the student later asked what his grade was, the professor sarcastically said to him, "Why don't you go ask God what your grade is" and threatened to have him kicked out of school. The professors defense for doing these things to the student is that he believes speaking out against homosexuality in any way should be considered "hate speech" and should not be tolerated. I am pretty certain that the courts will side with the student in this case (as the school is already looking into disciplining the professor), but what a sad day when/if it ever comes to the point that God's Word is considered "hate speech".
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In any case, this weeks post was to be a quick comment on "nature vs. nurture". Do people choose to be homosexual, or are they born that way? Do a quick internet search on the topic, and you'll find some valid arguments and studies on both sides. I think there is a good reason for that...the question, "Is it nature (born that way) or nurture (choice)" is answered this way --- YES. Both may be valid as there are people who make the choice to lead that type of lifestyle for various reasons (tired of the opposite sex, fear of the opposite sex, rebellion, etc)...and others who have no control over which sex they are attracted to.
-
But (although this might not be the popular opinion), I think more often it is nature. I think of myself and can honestly say that I don't think I "chose" to be attracted to women. There was never a time that I was attracted to males, nor do I think I ever could be or could have been no matter how hard I tried. I would say it is an innate part of my core being (having an attraction to the opposite sex) rather than a choice I made.
-
So how does this reconcile with Scripture? Well, the biggest mistake is to confuse nature with saying, "God made them that way". No...God creates perfectly...it is because we chose sin over God that we come into this world full of sin and imperfections. Consider:
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Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me (Psalm 51:5).
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So although we all don't have the same predisposition toward the same sin...make no doubt about it, we are all born in this sinful and fallen world with a sinful nature. You may have been born with a predisposition toward drunkenness, gambling addiction, anger, malice, gluttony, etc (and each of these may have a component of nurture and choice as well). So God creates perfect, but this sinful and fallen world causes us to be imperfect and in need of His Grace.
-
So what should be done (if anything) about all this? How should the church respond to homosexuals? How should a Christian respond to homosexuals?

What Is It Wednesday --- Three Gals Eyes

ANSWER FROM LAST WEEK:

Answers to "What Is It Wednesday" are now posted on Fridays, so please visit last Friday's post to see last week's answer.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:

Pictured below are 3 well-known women (I have no doubt everyone reading this will know them when the answers are revealed). Just number 1-3 in the comment box and put in your guesses. I took away all the possible cheats this time, so there is absolutely no possible way anyone will get them all this week! Make sure you have your answered posted by Thursday night because the winner(s) will be announced Friday morning. Here they are...

1)

2)

3)

Talking Point Tuesday --- The Winning Ticket

February 17th, 1999:


I returned home to my Pittsburgh apartment after performing a magic show to see there were 2 messages on my answering machine waiting for me. The week before I had given my mom a card to give to my aunt Mary Lou for her birthday. Mary Lou is a big fan of scratch-off lottery tickets, so inside the card I also included 5 tickets for her. I hit the play button on my answering machine to hear message #1 from Mary Lou:


OH MY GOSH...OH MY GOSH...MIKE I JUST WON $10,000 ON ONE OF THE TICKETS YOU GAVE ME. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT...I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. I'LL GIVE YOU SOME. I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!! (In the background I could hear people, "yeah, she really won" and celebrating along with her). OH, I AM SOOOOOOO HAPPY! I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT! I'LL CALL YOU BACK LATER. Click.


Now, I knew what message #2 was going to say, but let me back up. A few weeks before this, I came across fake lottery tickets at the Ross Park Mall. They look absolutely real...and they work exactly the same a regular scratch off tickets and they are all "$10,000 winners". The only difference is, the "fine print" on the back of these tickets say:


Winning tickets of $10,000 or more must submit form by mail. Claim forms supplied by Santa Claus. All winning tickets must be validated by the Tooth Fairy and conform to her game rules. Winning prizes may NOT be claimed anywhere, so forget about it! All winners are losers and must have an excellent sense of humor.


Of course I knew someone at the party finally figured it out and told Mary Lou it was a joke. Now to pull off a good joke (as I have done plenty of times), you must "disguise" it well. For this prank, the other 4 tickets were real and legitimate. Had I only included the "fake" ticket the joke may not have worked at all. But as I hit the button for message #2, I heard Mary Lou again:


Mike (10 second pause)...That wasn't funny (10 second pause). That just ruined my day. SLAM.

-------
Happy Birthday Mary Lou...hope this one goes better for you!!!

Media Monday --- The Stimulus Plan

OK, so the big news over the past few weeks is the new "stimulus" plan that is supposed to bring new jobs and jump start our floundering economy. The plan was put together and voted on without even being read by Congress (see video above), and for the most-part, they just voted along party lines. The plan only costs several hundred billion...chump change on top of our already 9,000,000,000,000.00+ (that's trillion!) deficit. Supposedly, this stimulus is supposed to bring back at least 1 dollar for every dollar spent through new tax money (meaning that in the long run this shouldn't cost us a thing...only break even or make money). But when you do get a picture of the contents, you have to wonder how STD education, digital TV coupons, new governmental hybrid cars, renovation of the Smithsonian, etc will actually "stimulate" the economy. I think Governor Mike Huckabee said it best when he suggested the name of this stimulus should be the:

Congressional
Relief
Action
Program

But FAR above my opening paragraph, there is something more that you need to catch in all this mess....Hope. People want it...people are desperate for it. It's the platform Obama ran on that got him elected. Hope. But unfortunately, people are looking for hope in the wrong places. Previously they looked for it in their jobs, their cars, their families, etc, etc, etc...but now that families are being torn apart, jobs are being lost, homes taken away, people need to turn to a new place, and who can blame them for turning to the government when the government promises it?

But we know that no matter what the bill says, no matter what the government does, and no matter how good or bad things turn out in the end, people are still going to be looking for it. Hope. There's really only 1 place to find it --- One place that you'll never lose it --- and one place that won't end in disappointment --- in Christ. So when you come across people that you may be tempted to label "crazy" or "insane" because of their views on all this, remember they are only looking for 1 thing. Hope. If you've already found that hope, you are Blessed! Other people are dying for it right now. Please take the time to show them where it really comes from!

Why so downcast O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God! (Psalm 42:5)

Final Answer Friday --- The Three Eyes

OK...we had a winner that got all 3 correct. However, I noticed that if you click on a set of eyes, the file name (the initials of the person) appear up in the address bar. So I am only giving Financial Teacher 1/2 point pending further investigation (either that or I can give him 2 points for finding the secret)! Next week, I will be more careful when posting the 3 sets of women eyes! But congrats to those of you who legitimately figured out the answers!

1) =

Senator John Kerry

2) =

Super-Olympian Michael Phelps

3) =

TV Star Regis Philbin

Theological Thursday --- Homosexuality and the Church (Part 2)

Judge not, lest ye be judged (Matthew 7:1)


The "judge not" verse is thrown out pretty often in our country when it comes to "politically correct" issues (in the book True for You, Not for Me...the author claims the "judge not" verse is quoted more often today than any other verse including John 3:16!). Most people stop at verse 1, and miss the fact that just a few verses later Jesus calls people "pigs", "dogs", and "wolves in sheep's clothing" (5, 16). The people who love to use Matthew 7:1 out of context, would no doubt be willing to call murder a sin, stealing a sin, abuse a sin, etc...but when it gets to the "political correctness" stuff, they hide behind their misinterpretation of God's Word.


What Jesus condemns in Matthew 7:1 is a critical and judgmental spirit, an unholy sense of superiority. Jesus commanded us to examine ourselves first for the problems we so easily see in others. Only then can we help remove the speck in another's eye – which, incidentally, assumes that a problem exists and must be confronted. It is interesting that the people who usually use the "judge not" verse out of context are many times and ironically the most judgmental and mean-spirited people.


The Bible tells us that one of its purposes is to help us teach, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (II Timothy 3:16). So it is not judging to call something a sin, that God in His Word tells us is a sin when we use it to teach, rebuke, correct, and/or train others and ourselves on living a life pleasing to Him (and who wouldn't want that???). Making a Biblical judgments on issues is a good thing (and we are instructed to do so), but making judgments for the wrong reasons is not (see the above picture of Westboro Baptist Church who use soldier's funerals to protest homosexual sin...very wrong motives behind them).


As a disclaimer (because this is such a hot-headed topic to some), I want to point out that because homosexuality is a sin (according to God's Word), and we are instructed to be bold (Romans 1:16) in calling it what God does, homosexuality makes someone a sinner. Guess what...I am a sinner too. I may not struggle with the same sin as someone else, but make no doubt about it...I struggle with my own stuff. To call homosexuality a sin in no way puts me above them...it just puts us in the same boat --- Sinners. And that gives us all the same need...the need for a Savior, Jesus Christ.

Continued next week...

What Is It Wednesday --- Three Guys Eyes

This weeks question: VERY challenging...below are the eyes of 3 famous men (I have no doubt that everyone would know these men). Your only hint is they are all still living. In the "comment" section, just number 1-3 and provide the names for each set of eyes. If anyone can get 1 right I'll be impressed, 2 and I'll be amazed, and all 3...you better start playing the lottery!!! You can copy someone else if you think they are right, but it is very unlikely that anyone will get them all. Here they are:

1)

2)

3)

Talking Point Tuesday --- Saving Money

Jen always has her "Frugal Friday" posts on her blog (http://www.jcatanzarito.blogspot.com/) where you can learn to save a dollar here and a dollar there...so I thought I would chime in on some of the "bigger purchases", and currently for us, that is our vacation to Florida.

First off, we are going to drive down which is a 2-3 day adventure. To save money on the way down and the way back, we will be using the travel club "Priority Club" (http://www.priorityclub.com/). They have their own VISA card which for signing up you automatically receive a free hotel night for using the card just once. So every 6 months, we sign up for 2 cards each (one for personal use and one for business...magic for me, crafts for Jen), use the cards once, and cancel right away. So that gives us 4 free nights, and based on the places we will stay on this vacation, each night is worth about $175.00...so for 10 minutes of our time (sign up, use, cancel) we make $700.

Currently there is a promotion for 1 card use, you get a $50 gas card. I used all the cards in 1 gas station stop (put $3 of gas on each card) and just today our $50 gift cards came in the mail as well as the free nights posted to our account. So, again for 10 minutes of our time, we got $200 in free gas!

Finally, the best part about the cards...when you activate them, they BEG you to sign up for "Credit Protection" as well as "Payment Protection"...we always refuse both, because we've learned that a month after you sign up $20.00 checks come in the mail to join "Credit Protection" and $10 checks to join "Payment Protection". Both these programs cost $9.99 a month, but since we cancel our cards within the first month it automatically cancels these protection plans as well and we are never charged a dime. So in the next month we'll get $30 of free money per card or $120 total.

It is also important to use the travel sites that are out there. For Disney, we used http://www.travelzoo.com/ and got the deal of 3 free nights + 3 free disney passes with the purchase of 4. If you've been to Disney, you know how much money that is!...in our case (for 2 adults) it saved us about $1500 which allowed us to upgrade to a nicer resort and still save about $1000! I also used a travel site for our other week of our trip (which I can't talk about because it is a surprise for Jen)...but in any case, it saved us about $500.

So to recap:

Free Hotel Rooms: $700

Free Gas Cards: $200

Free Checks: $120

Travel Sites: $2000

TOTAL SAVINGS = $3020.00!!!

If you want to go on a "free trip", it's easy. Sign up at http://www.prioritycard.com/ for the travel club, sign up for the credit cards, use them once and cancel. Within a month, you'll get your free hotel rooms (4 nights), $200.00 in free gas cards (they are gift cards in the amount of $50 each to be used at any Shell Station), and $120 in checks. So your gas is covered, your hotel is covered, and you even get $120 for meals. What are you waiting for?!?

Media Monday --- The Octuplet Mom

Unless you live your life free of TV, radio, newspaper, or computer (which obviously you don't since you are reading this)...you've certainly heard about the "Octuplet Mom" that gave birth to 8 babies at once in California. Soon after the births, the mom's name (Nadya Suleman) and some interesting facts about her became public. She has no job, no husband, lives in a 3-bedroom house with her parents, already has 6 other kids under the age of 8, and had these babies through "in vitro fertilization" (IVF)...taking eggs from her body, joining them with sperm, and implanting the fertilized eggs back into her body.

Since all these details came out, the web, talk shows, newspapers, etc have all come out blasting this woman for the choice she made...and also condemning the hospital for the choice it made to implant these eggs. This uproar hasn't been contained to just secular places...I have seen Christian sites as well as Christian friends share how appalled they are about the whole situation.

But (although this may not be a popular opinion) I have a different take. The woman went through the 1st step of in vitro fertilization years ago (the process of fertilizing the eggs). During this process, over a dozen eggs are fertilized, but only a few are implanted at a time (which resulted in the first 6 children). Prior to this latest pregnancy, Nadya still had 6 "frozen embryos" (fertilized eggs) that had not been implanted (2 of them split causing twins which is why she had 8 babies). So here was the choice she was faced with --- have the doctors implant the eggs, or have them destroyed.

So for the Christian, which is better? The Bible tells us life begins at conception (when the egg and the sperm meet), so these were just frozen fertilized eggs, they were little lives. Why are Christians so appalled that this woman saved the lives of what God created through man? If anything, this should be a time to bring awareness to the in vetro fertilization process and to inform believers that if they choose this process to be sure they are willing to have EVERY fertilized egg implanted at some point. The alternative is death...not really different than abortion...and 1,000's of these fertilized eggs are destroyed every year because people can't afford to have them implanted again, because they have a kid the first time and decide to stop, or they are just unaware of what happens to the "leftovers".

So I for one am glad she decided to choose life rather than destruction. It is fine to argue whether these kids should be put up for adoption, whether she is fit to raise these children on her own, etc, etc, etc...but please, praise God that these children were granted life in the first place!

Final Answer Friday --- The Phone Call

Answer from Wednesday:

There are several possible answers if South America is in some way part of your answer. My friend (that the question was based on) is a missionary in Lima, Peru (on the west coast of Peru along the Pacific Ocean, but in the Eastern Time Zone). So when his daughter from CA came to visit and talked to her sister from a beach in Lima with the daughter on the east coast of the US, they were in the same time zone. The question did state that one was on the "west" coast and the other was on the "east" coast, so Jerry I'll give you 1/2 point cause you stated that they were on the "southern tip". Dana you can have a full point...and Renae, the problem specifically stated they were on the "beach", so a mountain answer doesn't technically work, but since you have so many incriminating photos of me that you've created with PhotoShop, I'll give you 1/2 point as well! So Dana wins this week!

Theological Thursday --- Homosexuality and the Church (Part 1)

Homosexuality and the Church seems to be a very hot topic right now with the acceptance of the lifestyle on the rise, the push for legalization of marriage, some Christian denominations proclaiming it as acceptable, and the possibility of making it a hate crime to speak out against it. Over the next few Thursdays, we'll look at some of the claims and objections in this battle, and what God's Word says about it. Here are some of the questions (because they are always the objections thrown at the church) I would like to attempt to answer in a Biblical way:
-
1) Is homosexuality a sin?
2) Are we judging people (in the way Jesus tells us not to) if we call it a sin?
3) Are people born this way or is it a choice?
4) How should the church treat and respond to homosexuals that walk through the doors?
-
This week, I will answer question one (the easiest one!) and answer each one in order over the next few weeks. The answer to the first question...is homosexuality a sin...is yes. How do we know when something is sin? By using God's Word (the standard and basis for all sin --- II Timothy 3:16). Many people use the verse Leviticus 18:22 that calls a man being with another man an "abomination". The book of Leviticus contains a lot of purity laws for the priests and God's chosen people (Israelites) as they look forward to and prepare for the coming of a Messiah (Jesus). So I am not 100% comfortable using a verse from the priestly laws, or you have to also say that women would need to avoid touching anything for 6 weeks after having a child (12:4), we shouldn't be eating some of the things we eat (11:2), etc, etc....and we should all still be waiting for Jesus to come (but He's already come!!!). Although you could still make a good argument from Leviticus that it is a sin because God calls homosexuality an "abomination"...He is pretty serious about this one (after all, this was a major sin in the whole Sodom and Gomorrah destruction).
-
But in any case, thankfully Paul also makes it clear in the New Testament that homosexuality is in fact a sin (1 Corinthians 6:9). So if you give your Bible and God's Word any weight, you can clearly see that homosexuality is a sin. Even if it wasn't as clearly spelled out in Scripture as it is...just for the fact that you cannot be legally married, living the homosexual lifestyle would put you in sin anyway because of pre-marital sex and lust (Matthew 5:27-28).
-
OK...so homosexuality is a sin (according to Scripture). But aren't we all sinners? Are heterosexuals seen as more holy in God's eyes even though they sin too? Should they be treated any differently than any one else inside and outside the church? How would Jesus have treated them? Well, to find out the Biblical answers to those questions and more, come back next Thursday!

What Is It Wednesday --- The Phone Call

THIS WEEKS QUESTION:
Wes has two daughters. One lives in Ocean City NJ on the east coast. The other lives in San Diego on the west coast. Both of them love going to the beach. When they talk on the phone, they always have a 3-hour time difference (eastern standard time vs. pacific time since they live on opposite coasts). However, one day his daughters were both at the beach (one literally standing on the west coast and staring at the Pacific ocean, the other literally standing on the east coast and staring at the Atlantic ocean) and talking to each other on the phone when they suddenly realized it was 2:00pm for both of them. How?
--------------
This is based on a true story from one of my friends (though I changed it slightly), and there are no "trick answers"...this really happened...Jen, you are banned from the question this week since you heard about it.

Talking Point Tuesday --- Loss of a Friend

Last week one of my close friends growing up passed away (Steve...pictured above). He lived a few houses down the street from me growing up and he would always be outside playing with us every day. During the day, we would be somewhere in the neighborhood playing baseball, basketball, tennis, Frisbee, swimming, golf (we made a little golf course in his back yard), ping pong, Kick the Can, etc, etc, etc. When it got to be late, we would always go into Steve's house to play some video games (he had the Playstation!).

I remember spending many late nights at his house and it would drive his parent's crazy as it would get later and later! (who could blame them?...they were always very kind and patient with us and did a great job raising Steve). I spoke on the phone with Steve about 2 weeks ago and he wanted to be sure I would stop over his place next time I was in town cause he had gotten out some of those old games we used to spend so many hours playing. It always made me laugh when it starting getting late and his mom would yell up the steps, "Steven, do you know what time it is???" and he would yell back down "TOOL TIME" (a reference to the sitcom Home Improvement).

My favorite memory of Steve that I will never forget happened during a video game we liked to play called Twisted Metal. It was probably 2:00 in the morning and we were trying to be quiet cause his parents had gone to bed. We had been struggling for months to beat the final level in the difficult mode, and we could come close to beating the game, but always fell a little short. But on this night, we finally made it to the final level and beat the entire game. Steve jumped straight off his bed, threw his arms in the air, and started cheering at the top of his lungs. As he jumped up, he accidentally put his fist right through the tile in his ceiling making quite a hole! Of course this woke his parent's up...his mom came over, saw the hole Steve had made, and she said, "Steven, you are in so much trouble" to which he replied, "I don't care...it was sooooo worth it!"

Steve will be missed!

Media Monday --- Superbowl

Well, as I am sure you are well aware as it is plastered all over the TV and Internet...the Steelers are the Superbowl Champs! These are the days I miss living in Pittsburgh and all the buzz and excitement going on right now. I miss seeing the players around town (I used to live in the same complex as many of them as well as getting to play in a charity basketball game with them) and I miss being able to walk down the street a few blocks to catch the Jerome Bettis Show (he used to broadcast at Dick's Sporting Goods...only a few blocks from my first apartment.

But it was a great game. We got to watch it with Jen's family in PA and we had a lot of fun...especially when James Harrison got an interception and ran it back 100 yards for a TD just before the half. I wasn't sure who needed oxygen more...Harrison or Jen's dad Jerry. Here is a video you won't see on the news --- fans (us) celebrating the final play of the game...