For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Handouts and Notes for Colossians 2:16-23 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!
That’s More Like It!
Week 2 of P90X is in the books, and it was so much better than week 1. I’ve still got a long way to go, but this was very encouraging. In week 1, Plyometrics nearly killed me, but this time I had enough energy to attack it and got a great workout. I also made steady gains in all of the resistance workouts, and even in the group yoga (a.k.a. Bodyflow) at the Y. Looking forward to starting week 3 tonight. Last normal week before the first recovery week!
In addition to P90X, I also hiked the 4.5-mile red trail in Percy Warner park on Thursday and Saturday. Not quite the workout of running the trails, but it was still good work. I plan on trying to do this at least 2 to 3 times per week while I am recovering from my hip injury.
I mentioned in my last post that I was over 20 lbs heavier than I was for my first marathon back in 2009. Well, after 1-week of going back on my training diet I dropped exactly 2 lbs. Small steps!
Bring It!!
I know I’m in the minority these days, but I still love to listen to music on vinyl records. The long play (“LP”) record, which was introduced by Columbia in 1948, was pushed to the brink of extinction by the cassette tape, the compact disc (“CD”), and now digital media. Today it is enjoying somewhat of a comeback, but is still little more than a small niche in the overall music industry.
There are two main reasons why I prefer the LP format. First, I love the warm, rich sound that is the hallmark of most vinyl pressings. Music just sounds more authentic on a record. Second, the LP puts the emphasis on listening to the album all the way through from beginning to end. When I listen to a record, I know I’m hearing the album the way the artist originally intended for it to be enjoyed.
This emphasis on the album as a whole has been slowly eroding with each passing generation of music recording technology. The cassette tape allowed for fast-forwarding or rewinding to a particular song on the album. The CD made it possible to “skip” straight to individual songs we wanted to hear. With digital media we can forgo the album altogether and merely purchase the tracks we want, assembling them together in any way our heart desires. The focus on the album is almost non-existent in today’s music culture.
Unfortunately, the same thing can be said regarding the trend of how the “Ancient Record” (i.e. the Word of God) is studied and taught. It used to be common for preachers and teachers to employ “expository” methods in presenting scripture. The aim of expository preaching is to dig deep into the Word of God and attempt to present a section of text in the way the author, and ultimately God’s Holy Spirit, intended for it to be received. This often involves the consideration of context, culture, original language, and other factors. In other words, expository teaching requires a willingness to work hard and dig deep to find the truth contained in God’s Word.
For students in my Wednesday night class on Paul’s letter to the Colossians: Handouts and Notes for Colossians 2:6-15 are now available online. Lord willing we will cover this text tomorrow night at 7pm at Bellevue Church of Christ!