Pastor's Video Blog

The Super Bowl is this Sunday! Millions of people  around the world will be watching one of the most widely watched athletic events of the year, an audience: over 100 million.  Some people watch the Super Bowl because they like football and some watch the Super Bowl because  they like to watch the commercials. This year a 30 second commercial costs over $3.7million …..about $123,000.00 per second. Many will go to parties and enjoy the food and the company.  So what will Americans eat this Sunday evening?  Experts estimate that, we will consume about…. 53 million pounds of guacamole dip,  11 million pounds of potato chips,  8.2 million pounds of tortilla chips and 3.8 million pounds of popcorn. Each of us will eat about 1,200 calories during the game. That’s the fun news! The bad news is that it will take you about four hours to walk it all off. But the truth is there are some things football fans can teach Christians if we are willing to learn.  The word “fan” is short for the word “fanatic”. A fanatic is one who is unreasonably enthusiastic or overly zealous, going beyond what is reasonable.   What kinds of enthusiastic things will sports fans do?  Sports fans will travel for hours to see their team!  Football fans are emotionally attached to their cause! Football fans are passionate about their team and they don’t give up. The good news is that Jesus Christ has not and will not ever give up on any of us. Maybe  there is some part of your life that you are ready to throw in the towel on?

Maybe you are discouraged about something?  Maybe you feel like God has given up on you? Nothing could be farther from the truth.  There is still time to turn things around.  On New Year’s Day, 1929, Georgia Tech played UCLA in the Rose  Bowl. In that game a young man named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for UCLA. Picking up the loose ball, he lost his direction and ran sixty-five yards toward the wrong goal line. One of his teammates, Benny Lom, ran him down and tackled him just before he scored for the opposing team. Several plays later, the Bruins had to punt. Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety, demoralizing the UCLA team. The strange play came in the first half. At half-time the UCLA players filed off the field and into the dressing room. As others sat down on the benches and the floor, Riegels sat down in a corner, and put his face in his hands.  A football coach usually has a great deal to say to his team during halftime. That day Coach Price was quiet. No doubt he was trying to decide what to do with Riegels. When the timekeeper came in and announced that there were three minutes before playing time. Coach Price looked at the team and said, "Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second." The players got up and started out, all but Riegels. He didn’’t budge. The coach looked back and called to him. Riegels didn’t move. Coach Price went over to where Riegels sat and said, "Roy, didn’t you hear me? The same team that played the first half will start the second." Roy Riegels looked up, his cheeks wet with tears. "Coach," he said, "I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you. I’ve ruined the university’s reputation. I’ve ruined myself. I can’t face that crowd out there." Coach Price reached out, put his hand on Riegels’s shoulder, and said, "Roy, get up and go on back. The game is only half over." Riegels finally did get up. He went onto the field, and the fans saw him play hard and play well. All of us have run a long way in the wrong direction. Because of God’s mercy, however, the game is only half over.

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4:7 “⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. “

Prayer: Lord, give me strength to take one step today in turning things around.  Amen.

Pastor John

(513)-867-5411

www.thepresby.org