You always hear the usual stories of pennies on the sidewalk being good luck, gifts from angels, etc. This is the first time I've ever heard this twist on the story. Gives you something to think about.

Several years ago, a friend of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the home of her husband's employer.

My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway, and cars costing more than her house.

I want to speak about a topic that was introduced a few weeks back by a couple of different callers who were contesting the deity of Jesus and whether or not the New Testament actually taught that. One of the arguments that I raised in favor of Jesus' deity was that He was worshipped. We'll get to that in just a moment.
 
I was actually paid a very nice compliment last week. One of my students from an ethics class I taught came up to me and said that he had recently been in a debate with a man who was in favor of capital punishment. This former student went into the debate armed with some material that he'd learned from the class and actually did a very credible job. In fact, after the debate his opponent said something to the effect, "I was surprised at how well you argued and how clearly you thought and how effectively you debated this issue. I didn't expect it." Apparently he didn't expect a good clear argument from someone taking a more conservative Christian position.
 
what I'm about to show you are fair and reasonable conclusions to a textual problem of the alleged worship of Jesus Christ. You don't need to consult a bunch of experts. You can be an expert by consulting the text in a reasoned fashion

I was really glad to hear that for his sake. But this student made the comment that he had just parroted my material. I took exception with that because you cannot go into . . .

I love sports. One of the mementos I've saved from my childhood is a faded, slightly out of focus black and white photo of me on my first soccer team. As a boy, I dreamed of winning the championship game with a spectacular last-second goal, and of becoming an instant hero to my teammates and everyone else watching.

In sports-crazy America, so many of our heroes are athletes. We identify with successful athletes because we, too, want to be winners. I will never be a gold-medal athlete, except in my imagination. When I watch an Olympic contest or professional game on TV, like everyone else I sometimes get mad and vent my feelings after a particularly lousy play. My wife says, "Why are you shouting? You certainly couldn't do as well!" But in my mind I can play with the best of them. I'm a winner. Doesn't everybody want to be winner? The only other options are mediocrity or failure.

In sports, however, not everybody can be a winner. Only one person or team in each competition will go home with the gold medal this summer. Many others will feel like national failures, constantly reminded by sports writers and fans how they let down their country.

I'm reminded of figure skater Tonya Harding and runner Ben Johnson whose win at all costs behavior brought them . . .