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:
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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?
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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).
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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).
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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?
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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...