Well it’s that time of the year again when sports enthusiasts far and wide begin to beam with excitement over their favorite football teams and the airwaves are abuzz from commentators giving all their expert analysis. The air is just a little cooler, high school bands can be heard practicing from across the way, and the numerous tailgating rituals have begun. Topping off all of the above is the ever familiar infamous Monday night football mantra, “Are you ready for some footballllllll!” This seasonal signal indicates that once again all is well with world of football fans across the globe. And so it has begun, some teams have already tasted the height of victory while others the agony of defeat. What is it that makes the difference?
This past Sunday night the game was advertized as the continuation of the Manning Bowl as Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts set to face off against his younger brother Eli of the New York Giants. For one week and a weekend all the ESPN commentators and other broadcasters could talk about were these two brothers. All the internet sports news clips and photos could show was these two Manning brothers. The only problem with that type of coverage was where was the rest of the team? You understand that there are 11 men on the field of play at any given time for each team or it is a penalty. So, I ask again what about the rest of the team? As it turns out that was the question that really should have been ask as the Giants and Eli Manning were trounced miserably during the game. The Giants who were beaten 38 -14 soon discovered the problem was not in the talent of quarterback Eli, but in the inability at the offensive line positions, particularly with the ends, blocking out their respective defensive opponents. Eli was hurried, knocked down, and sacked throughout the entire game. The running backs could not run the ball and the wide receivers never saw the ball, because Eli didn’t have time to throw it to them!
What is it that makes the difference between winning and losing? It begins with the word and the concept of TEAM. You see it’s not about any one player, but all the players. Each and every one on the team has specific tasks to perform and differing responsibilities that they and they alone MUST fulfill. If not, what you wind up with is a fiasco, a mess. It’s certainly that way with a football team, and it is also that way with the church, God’s team made up of Christians. 1 Corinthians 12:4-ff tells us, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit . . . Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body…Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it!”
We are ready for some Christians, the world is asking, and God Himself is asking for us to go into a lost world and play our position on His team. This is not a game as real lives and families hang in the balance. If we as Christians (team members) will serve Him with our individual callings and gifts through the power of His Holy Spirit victory is assured and we will make a difference!
I love you and pray for you, Pastor Scott
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