Q) I noticed in SQL Server Configuration Manager|Network Config|TCP/IP|Properties|IP Address that the SQL server instance grabbed it's own address from DHCP server. What is the advantage of the SQL server using it's own address? How would one make this static rather than dynamic?

This TCP/IP configuration is actually done at the OS level. SQL shows you the configuration but you will need to configure it in the TCP/IP properties at the network connection or using a command line (yes, there actually is a single command line to change the IP address of a Windows system).

Since you are getting a DHCP address, this means that this is how your computer is configured. For the record, it is recommended that you use a static IP address for your servers or at least that you use a dynamic DNS that allows clients to find the server by name.

More on how to configure this at http://support.microsoft.com/?id=323444
Or, using a command line, at http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServer/en/library/b2c92af5-425a-4c0b-8604-7a8c4ac497e01033.mspx