The wonderful thing about congregational singing is that one can loudly express praise to God with his own voice. The downside is that his neighbor can do the same. 

Have you noticed that there are a number of ways people choose to view the Bible?

• A collection of dead letters: It was written by men. There's nothing divine in it, and there's no reason I should be constrained by it.
• A checklist: It's basically a list of things not to do. If what I want to do is not there, I'm okay.
• A love letter: It has some interesting principles and the odd command meant for people back when it was written, but God didn't intend it as my pattern for life.
• A legal code: It's composed of laws, but laws have loopholes. If I'm clever enough, I can manipulate it to endorse whatever I want to do.
• A revelation: It's God's will for man. It's the only way to see His Way. We must strictly hold to both the letter and the spirit of God's commands in it. We must apply it and live by its principles to be pleasing to God.

Can you think of any other ways people view the Bible?

Q: In Acts 10:2, Cornelius is described as "one who feared God." What does this mean?

A: This is actually not so much a description of his character as a technical term. The phrase "God fearer" (or something similar) is used many times in Acts. It is a term applied to a Gentile who worshiped Jehovah,but who had not (yet) been circumcised and become a full Jewish proselyte.

This inaugurates a (hopefully) regular feature in which I share a brief quote or thought. Sometimes it will be from Scripture, sometimes from a brother or sister, sometimes from a non-Christian. It might even be (gasp) original (or I at least have forgotten who I heard it from). Comments, elaboration, critiques, and the like are appreciated.

Today's thought:

"Sometimes the faithful few are few only because they've run off the faithful many."

From Bill Shuler on (suprisingly) FoxNews.com:

To honor is to express respect. It is a recognition of the value of another. As a culture we reserve such expressions for moments marked by finality. We are comfortable sharing our feelings of love and appreciation at retirement ceremonies and funeral services. The word honor is often never heard because it comes too late, resulting in the greatest of all regrets unexpressed love.

Dishonor is prevalent on the national scene. Our public leaders are fodder for late night comedians. Parents are blamed for all our woes. The elderly are under-valued and neglected. The scriptures tell us to honor all people, to love one another, to fear God and honor those in authority. It is a prescription for a healthy society. It does not mean that we will agree or that others have earned honor but it eliminates the hate based, disrespectful dialogue that is so prevalent today.

To merely recognize the need for honor is to fall short. It is a way of life. Its target is as near as a family figure, a mentor or a friend. Honor disarms, heals and strengthens. It calls forth the best in all of us.

I'm continually amazed at how little honor we (I) show for each other, even Christians - especially Christians. Respect, not contempt. Let's consider whether what we do honors others, or dishonors ourselves.

I'm in the process of teaching an introductory class on apologetics here in Charlotte. As always, I warn anyone who's interested that I have a voice made for hypertext (not to mention the "uhs" and "ums," the occasional coughing, etc.; it's just painful for me to listen to recordings of myself). But, if you're interested...

My first class was an introduction to the idea of apologetics. You can find the audio and the Powerpoint presentation below.

Link to the audio for lesson 1

Link to the Powerpoint for lesson 1

Let me know if you'd be interested in any of the rest.