I’m a teetotaler; Tim Challies is not. Nevertheless, I think that everyone should read what Tim has to say about alcohol and Christian freedom. He notes a subtle contempt that the “young, restless, and reformed” sometimes exhibit toward their more scrupulous forebears. He writes: This older generation sees the younger crowd as celebrating freedom by rubbing it in their face. They hear us saying, “We are liberated by grace; you are bound by law.” They are convinced that instead of respecting them and honoring them, we are sneering at them and looking down at them. Instead of using our freedom in love and respect, we are using our freedom carelessly…
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One More Reason To Believe Paul Was Married
A few months ago I made the argument from 1 Corinthians 7:8 that the apostle Paul was not a lifelong bachelor but a widower. I received a good deal of feedback on that post–some of it disagreeing with my reading of the text. About a month after that post, Bill Mounce expressed his misgivings about the idea that Paul was a widower. Still, I haven’t seen anything yet that would persuade me to read this text differently, and I think the case that I originally made still stands. (If you haven’t done so, I encourage you to read what I wrote in the original post before reading any further.)
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Christmas Music – Traditional
Here is the second part of my post from yesterday. The main criterion for being included in my “traditional” category is the music’s ability to evoke nostalgia. Some of these are sacred music, but some of them are not. Once again, I am eager to hear what music you would have included on this list. Tomorrow we’ll finish with “pop” favorites.
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Christmas Music – Sacred
Music is so much a part of this season of the year that I thought it would be worth a few posts to talk about the music that my family listens to most at Christmas time. I’m certain you’ll find some items here that you are already well-acquainted with. Perhaps there will be some other items that are new to you or that you had forgotten about and are glad to be reminded of. So for what it’s worth, here it goes.
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The Only Stat That Matters
Fans of college football are eagerly anticipating the BCS standings that will come out on Sunday night. These numbers are important, and there is a lot at stake in this week’s rankings. My prediction is that LSU will be number one, that Alabama will be number two, and that the teams will meet each other in the BCS championship game. I think that’s pretty much everyone’s prediction at this point. Still, everyone knows that in college football the only stat that matters is the final score. So while we wait to see how the BCS rankings shake-out, let’s take a look at how LSU and Alabama have done in final…
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Louisiana Tech Clinches WAC Championship
My Louisiana Tech Bulldogs started the season at 1-4 but went on from there to win the next seven games in a row. With their win over New Mexico State tonight, they finish the season at 8-4 and clinch the Western Athletic Conference championship. This is their first conference title since they entered the WAC ten years ago. Tech will be playing in the San Diego County Poinsettia Bowl on December 21. This is the fifth bowl invitation in the history of Tech football, and it is the first since the Bulldogs’ victory or Northern Illinois in the 2008 Independence Bowl. How ’bout them Dawgs!
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LSU Ends the Regular Season 12-0
I confess that I had a pit in my stomach going in to the Arkansas game. The Hogs always seem to give LSU trouble at the end of the year. Arkansas had beaten LSU three out of the last four times we played them, and before kickoff I felt like anything could happen. When Arkansas went up 14-0 in the second quarter, I thought, “Here we go again.”
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Should you tithe to your church?
Evangelicals disagree about how the Old Testament law functions as a normative ethic for Christians. Has the law been abrogated? Fulfilled in Christ? Is it still morally binding? When it comes to the ten commandments, nine of the ten are directly reiterated by the apostles in the New Testament, so the binding nature of those commands is a no-brainer. Some controversy still exists about keeping the Sabbath since it isn’t reiterated in the New Testament in so many words. One other issue that sometimes comes into contention is the tithe. Under the Old Covenant, God’s people were required to give a tenth of all of their increase. Some people believe…
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Tis the Season for Music: Michael Bublé
If you’ve been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know that I like to link to Christmas music about this time of year. One new Christmas album that just dropped this past October is Michael Bublé’s “Christmas.” The only downside to this album is that it has the song “Santa Baby” on it—which is, in my view, one of the most worthless holiday tunes every written. Having said that, the album is vintage Bublé with a holiday twist. If you like Bublé, then you’ll enjoy this record. You can listen to the album below, or download it here.
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Students Get $2 in MP3’s from Amazon.com
Amazon.com is offering $2 in MP3 credits to all students. If you want to get a couple free MP3’s, you can get the deal here. (via @ChrisCowan)