Football

I know, I know, it is a little early in the year to be thinking, let alone writing, about football but ever since the baseball strike a couple of years ago I have been a one sport kind of guy. Perhaps the day will come when I will outgrow enjoying football but for now as pre-season games begins in this month of August I start looking forward to a new football season. Lest you think we are too far removed from the NFL to really care about it all, remember Portsmouth, Ohio once had a team in the NFL. They were known as the Portsmouth Spartans, you can confirm this by checking out the mural on the floodwall. To me the quintessential football experience is sitting down to listen to Pat Summerall and John Madden give the play by play for the Cowboys and the 49ers (I'll have to wait until Nov. 10 for that moment.) and since the advent of Video Tape recorders I don't have to let a game interfere with Sunday evening service. In fact I much prefer to watch a game on tape because you can fast-forward over all of those ridiculous commercials!

So what does all of this have to with anything important. Only this, there is on analogy that has often been made between football and the church. In a football game you have 22 men on the field badly in need of rest and you have 50,000 people badly in need of exercise in the stands. The church suffers as well from too many spectators and not enough players. Experts tell us that in the average church 20% of the people do 90% of the work. So, why not get out of the stands and onto the field? If you are already in that twenty percent, grab the remote and go watch a football game you could use the rest, but I would like to speak to the other 80% of you. I would like to give you a quick quiz. Circle the yes or no after each question. 1. Are you sure you are a Christian? YES NO. If yes continue on, if no let's get together and talk about getting the issue of your salvation settled. 2. Do you have a spiritual gift? YES NO. If yes proceed, if no look up and read Eph. 4:7 and then proceed. 3. Do you know what your gift is? YES NO. If yes proceed on, if no the best way to discover what your gift is by taking advantage of every ministry opportunity. 4. Are you using your gift in the local church? YES NO. If yes, congratulations you are on the field of play. If no, it is time you got out of the stands and marched onto the gridiron. Get busy for the Lord, there are plenty of opportunities for you to serve, just listen to the message next Sunday and you will hear a few, just look around at what is going on in the ministry here at Calvary and you will discover a few more. You will find that being in the game is a lot better than remaining a spectator.

Jesse Waggoner
Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

©1997 Calvary Baptist Church

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