My sister, Amber Tatum, is a homemaker and mother of 2 (very, very soon to be 3) in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. When asked about her favorite song, Amber sent me a list of about, oh I don’t know, 25. They were divided into several genres. After some discussion, we narrowed it down to the “Billy Joel” genre and then she selected one song. So, among about a zillion others, here is her favorite song. It comes from Billy Joel’s 1993 album River of Dreams (and the title track is also one of Amber’s favorites). Amber, sorry, but the “live video” cannot be put into other websites. This was the best I…

John 17 contains words from the very heart of Jesus. This chapter contains the longest prayer recorded in the New Testament. It has been called, “The High Priestly Prayer” and “The True Lord’s Prayer.” While the language of the prayer is remarkable, the setting is just as amazing. Jesus prayed this deeply emotional prayer just hours before He was crucified. It has been said many times that this prayer was uttered “in the very shadow of the cross.” The prayer contains three parts. In verses 1-5, Jesus prays for Himself. Verses 6-19 contain a prayer for Jesus’ immediate disciples (i.e., those there with Him at that time). Finally, in verses…

One of my sports buddies, Matt Reaves, and I have gotten together again to get you ready for a great season. In March, we brought you the ultimate NCAA Tournament Preview. Now we turn our attention to the gridiron, to bring you our NCAA Division I Top 25. Over the next three Wednesdays, we’ll unveil the Top 25 in descending order. Today, in part I, you can learn all you need to know about teams 25-16. But, before we get to that, please rise as Jens Lindemann leads the UCLA marching band in our national anthem: For each team in our preview, there will be seven parts: (1) a capsule…

1. Psalm 66 is interesting in its “breakdown.” The entire psalm focuses on our worship of God, but it looks at worship from two different perspectives. Verses 1-12 deal with the entire nation (and even all people) worshipping. Then, verses 13-20 talk about how an individual worships. 2. Several psalms mention shouting to God (81, 95, 98, 100) and all of these begin with this thought. The idea is to shout–or chant–a cry of loyalty to God, as in First Samuel 10:24. 3. Verse 2 is a great verse to use when talking about singing. “Sing the glory of His name.” When we sing, we do a lot of things…

My brother-in-law, Jeremiah Tatum, preaches for the Pulaski Street church of Christ in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. He has GREAT taste in music! His favorite song comes from Solomon, via the Byrds. Here are Chris Hillman, David Crosby, Michael Clarke, Roger McGuinn and Gene Clark performing a #1 hit from 1965. Solomon wrote a huge hit, didn’t he? Actually, Pete Seeger wrote the folk-rock version, and was the original person to record it, on The Bitter and the Sweet in 1962. The Byrds version became the classic, though, and (on a personal note) it ranked #99 on my list of the Top 200 songs of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Tomorrow, Amber’s favorite.

1. While there have been some psalms of praise previous to this, Psalm 65 begins a “string” of several consecutive praise psalms. These psalms are probably the most well-known, as many think the Psalms are filled with almost nothing except praise psalms. As we have seen, though, the Psalms contain the entire range of human emotion. Psalm 65 contains no complaints and asks no curses upon enemies. It is filled from start to finish with words of praise. 2. David begins verse 3 with words expressing his sinfulness, but still praises God, because the Father forgives. When it comes down to it, there is no better reason to praise God…

1. This psalm is one of the easiest to understand of them all. So, there won’t be a lot of notes in this post. 2. The psalm begins with a plea to God to hear his complaint (verse 1). We often complain to God, but do we ever simply ask Him to hear those complaints? We know He hears, but we still need to show respect to Him! 3. The bulk of the psalm (2-8) list many ways in which evil people operate. Many have already been listed elsewhere in the Psalms, but a listing of these in one place is quite powerful. It should cause us all to take…

Continuing with my sister’s family, we now post what will have to be the, well, um…., let’s just say the most “unique” video. Lucas James Tatum is in 1st grade in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. Here’s his favorite song: Tomorrow, you will see what his daddy’s favorite song is.

1. Written when David was in the wilderness of Judea, Psalm 63 expresses some of the deepest feelings of love for the Lord in the entire book. 2. Verse 1 can be translated, “I will seek you in the morning,” but the emphasis seems to be more on the intent of David’s search for God than on the time of day of that search. 3. When viewed in the context of a wilderness, David’s words in verse 1 take on an even deeper meaning. David truly was searching for God in the wilderness, and thirsted for God more than even for water. 4. Verse 4 expresses how we should feel…

Leah and I enjoy many programs on the ABC Family network. They show reruns of shows that make us laugh. Most of the shows are ones we don’t mind showing with our kids around. (Of course, if we wouldn’t show it to our kids, we don’t need to be watching it, either!!!!!!!). Recently, though, the network has unveiled some new shows that are not good. The show Greek features college life and portrayed partying, dating and talking about sex as normal college behavior. Drinking is such a heavy part of the show that the “logo” for the series is a crumpled-up plastic cup. Tonight, another new series begins on the…