KNOWLEDGE - It's almost as important as money, luck and family connections.

Aaron Rodgers, Packers QB, was asked in a Monday interview if he’d heard from Brett Favre since winning the Super Bowl.
“No.”
Do you expect to?
“No.”
Mike & Mike went back and forth this morning on whether Favre should at least send a congratulatory text to Rodgers. Greenberg insisted he should and Golic argued any expectation like that was completely bogus. They agreed the two QB’s probably had either no relationship or a strained one due to Favre’s antics, retiring at Green Bay only to announce at the last minute he was coming back, thus throwing Rodgers back into the #2 position. Golic: “Just because they were on the same team doesn’t mean they have to like each other. And if they don’t it would be hypocritical of Brett to send Rodgers a congratulatory text. And Rodgers would know it wasn’t sincere.”

Greenberg argued the QB fraternity is such that, while not required of Favre, at least a short text would demonstrate he was big enough to give Rodgers the congratulations he deserved for winning the Super Bowl. It would be the decent and professional thing to do, and the absence of any message in any form was notable and showed Favre to be self-absorbed. (Well, duh!)

I enjoyed the repartee and could see each guy’s perspective. But I asked myself, what would I do, what should I do in a similar situation? Which is to say, what would God want me to do? Is a congratulatory text message hypocritical or an appropriate acknowledgment of another’s success?
eh?

Did you see that the Roman Catholic Church has given formal approval to a $1.99 app for the iPhone that allows users to do a virtual confession? The program keeps track of when you last confessed, allows you to list your sins and then recommends appropriate penance. You still, however, have to see a real priest to receive absolution for those sins.
High tech meets heretical theology.

Went for a ride in 20 mph. winds and higher gusts. That was exciting!

A couple of Sundays ago I talked about the difference between hymns and what are termed gospel songs. Hymns are, by definition, songs of praise that go vertically. That is, their focus is on God. Think “Holy, Holy, Holy” and the like. Gospel songs appeared on the church scene in the very late 1800’s and early 1900’s, written by Phillip B. Bliss, Fanny Crosby and others. They typically focus on God’s relationship with us, as in “Love Lifted Me” and “Heaven Came Down,” and brought the 6/8 time signature to the masses. It’s easy to dismiss gospel songs as lightweight, but some of them also have really great lyrics. The melodies, however, don’t stand up so well to changing musical tests.

Which is why I was glad to see this version of Living He Loved Me by Casting Crowns. We’re going to use it at Pathway in a couple of weeks.

I’ll spend more time with both, but I got my funeral message and Sunday’s sermon both sketched out. The bulletin is ready for printing as is the order of service. My Foundations lesson, however, has lots of book work left to do.

U.S. taxpayers send $3.5 million per day to the Egyptian military.
The President is going to ask Congress to spend $53 billion over the next five years to develop high speed rail.
Thought you should know.