Have you ever read a passage in the Bible several times and keep reading it in the same mindset you always have? Unfortunately, there are several passages that I thought I understood, only to learn later that I did not fully grasp them in the context in which they were written.

One of the television channels I find myself frequenting is focused on car restoration. I find it amazing to see the rusty heaps of metal that people find and then restore them to works of beauty. At the beginning of each show, I'm a classic skeptic, thinking: "It's too late; this mess is too far gone!" But by the end of the process, my opinion has changed. In the hands of the right person, what appeared to have been a total loss has turned into a thing of beauty. The restoration is successful!

My father-in-law used to always say, "Praise the Lord and shame on the devil!" Anyone I meet who knew him would have heard that statement many times and will comment on it often. They will unfailingly associate that saying with the man for whom it is known. All of us can think of particular sayings linked to a certain person.

On a scale of one to ten (one being okay and ten being outraged), how upset would you be if someone preached in our church's pulpit while intoxicated with alcohol?

For me, this would be a "ten" situation. Clearly, every single one of us would be incensed - and rightly so. It would be a crime against our church and a sin against God. In everyone's book, it would be sin.

Psalm 8 only contains nine verses, but it is very profound and speaks to a core doctrinal truth of God's sovereignty and transcendence. That is, God has made everything, is over everything, and needs nothing of His creation to sustain Himself.