Football

“They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.” – Acts 4:3-4 NIV

Well here we go… Face and Body paint… 65,000 screaming fans… White out shirts or Black out shirts… folks standing and cheering the entire game… Team colors… passion and excitement… second and third efforts… and eye black with verses printed on them (wait – they can’t do that anymore can they?)…

College Football is back baby… and back with a vengeance…

And the first game on ESPN was my alma mater USM vs. South Carolina… Middle tier Conference USA team vs. Middle tier SEC team…

Now I must admit, it was a pretty ugly game ruled primarily by the Gamecocks – offense and defense… And I’m not sure that the real Southern Mississippi team actually showed up… but for most sports fans it was no matter – College Football is back.

And there are at least 4 games this weekend pitting Top 20 vs. Top 20 team… all could be lots of fun to watch…

All this excitement… and all these crazy fans… brings back the same old questions that seems to be asked year after year…

No, not “will College Football ever adopt a playoff system?”

But rather, “What if we as believers approached our faith… church… Jesus… with the same kind of passion and enthusiasm?”

What might that look like? What might happen to the world around us?

What if we approached a church service with the expectation of a ball game?

What if we tailgated before and after the service (how fun would that be)?

What if we stood up the whole hour of the worship service… and cheered after each song… and celebrated the message from the Pastor like we celebrate a touch down?

What if we left the service with the same excitement and joy we leave the ballgame after our favorite team wins?

What if we talked about the upcoming service with the same excitement we do for the upcoming ballgame?

What if discussed the service and message after we left the four walls of the church like we discuss a ball game… What if we discussed the lessons learned… the highlights of the message for the next few days leading to the next Sunday? (Instead of “Did you see that touch down catch?” it would be “Did you hear that illustration? – Instant Classic.”)

What if we approached church and small groups… and Sunday School… like we approach the stadium on Saturday?

What if we knew the Bible like we know the players on the program… or the way the players know the playbook?

I wonder how God might use a church… use a people… use a Believer who had a faith like that.

I wonder why you and I don’t approach the throne with such excitement and expectation.

Are you ready for some worship?

Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem

Washed Hands

“When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd.”I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" – Matthew 27:24 NIV

This time last year there was a lot of concern about the potential return of the H1N1 virus or what we have called “Swine Flu”… There was a lot of talk and a lot of warnings bordering on media frenzy on how H1N1 could come back with a vengeance that fall and how it could have effected and/or affected as much as 1/3 of the U.S.

Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s very important for us to heed their warnings and have concern… but we also need to live our day to day lives and live wisely and aware.

Among many things that we can and should do to protect ourselves, the Number 1 way to protect ourselves from this and most other viruses…

Wash Your Hands… with plain old soap and water.

The thing is, we as Believers have been washing our hands for years but not necessarily because we are protecting ourselves from any particular virus or just to clean our hands before a meal.

Like Pilate did with the trial and the ultimate life of Jesus, we all too often wash our hands of Him… wash our hands of the things that break His heart… that break the heart of Jesus:

The poor and the hungry

The widow in need

The child in need

The unloved

The broken hearted

The lost

No, I’m not necessarily preaching “social religion” this morning… But there would be many of us more concerned if a preacher spoke a cuss word in the pulpit on Sunday than about children dying of starvation in Africa… or sleeping in the streets of New York or Atlanta or L.A… or Tallahassee

If it doesn’t effect our day to day lives we tend to wash our hands of it… claiming, “It’s not my responsibility.”

Then whose responsibility is it?

The Government?

Social programs?

The United Way?

Anybody but me?

For us to reach a lost world for Christ… sometimes we have to step up and help take care of their needs… sometimes we have to act like Jesus would act… and do what Jesus would do…

Or rather, instead of “sometimes,” maybe that should read “we must” and “we should.”

“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” – James 2:14-17 NIV

Keep the Faith… Carpe Diem