FAITH ON THE BIGGEST STAGE

“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”  (1 Corinthians 9:25)

The Super Bowl is one of the most-watched events in the world. Millions tune in. Players train for years. Coaches strategize. Fans cheer. And for one team, the night ends with confetti, a trophy, and a moment they’ll remember forever.

But even the greatest victory on the field eventually fades. The trophy gathers dust. The cheers die down. The spotlight moves on.

Paul understood this when he wrote to the Corinthians. He pointed to athletes who discipline themselves for a prize that doesn’t last -- then reminded believers that our prize is eternal.

The world celebrates temporary victories. Heaven celebrates transformed lives.

The Super Bowl is a reminder that preparation matters, discipline matters, teamwork matters  -- but it also reminds us that earthly glory is fleeting. The real victory is living a life secured in Christ, running the race with perseverance, and keeping our eyes fixed on the One who never fades from view.

Faith doesn’t promise an easy game. But it promises a faithful Coach, a powerful Spirit, a supportive Church, and a Victory in Jesus that cannot be taken away.

The Super Bowl may crown a champion for a night, but faith crowns a victor for a lifetime. The field fades, the cheers quiet, but the life centered in Christ plays for a glory that never ends. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

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LET US PREPARE PROPERLY

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.”  (Malachi 3:1-4 ESV)

This passage tells us three things: First, God is tremendously concerned that the people of God be as fit and as holy as they can be, so concerned that God will send someone to get them ready for worship and for offering gifts to God.

Second, the passage tells us that we cannot simply anticipate and look forward to what God will do on our behalf. We are not mere spectators in this drama of salvation and the coming of Jesus Christ to this world… We are called to go to the core of our faith, especially during this season of preparation, and to ask for help in refining and purifying our lives, in living our lives as righteous and acceptable to God.

Third, in all of this talk about preparation and refining, we must infer from Malachi's words that, indeed, God is coming. We would have no reason to go through all the work of getting ready if there would not be a day in which we would enter into the presence of God in worship and offering. God is coming to us, so let us prepare properly for that coming. 

-- Randy Cross in “Born to Save: An Advent Study Based on the Revised Common Lectionary”

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A TIME OF PREPARATION

The four Sundays of Advent are a time of preparation for the birth of Jesus Christ. The season of Advent is observed in the Christian faith as a period of waiting and anticipation for the coming of Christ. The four Sundays of Advent symbolize hope, love, joy, and peace, which are the four main themes of the Advent season. The Advent wreath is a centuries-old Christian tradition that holds four candles representing the four Sundays of Advent. The wreath’s circular shape and evergreen color represent God’s infinite and everlasting love for us.

The first Sunday of Advent represents hope, which is the hope of the coming of Christ. The second Sunday represents love, which is the love -- the amazing grace -- of God for humanity. The third Sunday represents joy -- not a superficial happiness but a deep-seated joy, which is the joy of the birth of Christ. The fourth Sunday represents peace -- a personal peace from knowing Christ, which is the peace that Christ offers to the world -- to all who will receive Him.

During the Advent season, Christians prepare for the coming of Christ by reflecting on the meaning of His birth and by engaging in acts of charity, kindness, and witness. The Advent season is a time of spiritual renewal and growth, as Christians seek to deepen their relationship with God in Christ and with one another. 

-- Source Unknown

#5741

WORSHIP IS WORK

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”  (John 4:23 NIV)

One thing my experience has taught me is that you have to bring something to the sermon to get something out of it. The expression is familiar in the African American church: “If you don’t put anything in, you won’t get anything out!” And sometimes it is a mere openness to the Spirit. For worship is neither something that the clergy does and the people sit back and watch, nor something that is an optional activity for the people. Worship is work – hard, active, disciplined, and sometimes painful work that demands something from us as it gives something to us. That is literally what the word that the New Testament uses so often for worship, leitourgia, means – “the work of the people.” 

-- Zan W. Holmes, Jr. in “Encountering Jesus”

#5688

SPIRITUAL PREPARATION FOR MISSION

When we expect spiritually immature people suddenly to become committed to outreach, we end up asking people to serve a compulsion, not God. Look at the example of Jesus and His disciples. He did not call them and immediately ask them to care for the poor, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, heal the sick, and make disciples of all nations. Instead, He spent the early part of His ministry preparing them. He focused on forming their faith. Eventually He gave them small missions of teaching and healing. When they failed and became discouraged, He encouraged them and taught them how to succeed. It was only toward the end of His life that He gave them the authority to fully serve Him in mission, and it was only after His death and resurrection that He commanded them to go out and share the gospel. Mission and ministry were the result of spiritual preparation and maturation.

In far too many… churches there has not been enough focus on preparing people spiritually for mission. We prepare people for mission by creating an environment of trust, encouragement, compassion, vision, selflessness, and sacrifice. Spiritual leaders recognize the importance of first forming people spiritually for their mission. 

-- N. Graham Standish in “Becoming a Blessed Church: Forming a Church of Spiritual Purpose, Presence, and Power”

#5347

SLEEPING WHEN THE WIND BLOWS

Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops.

As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farmhand?" the farmer asked him. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.  Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!" The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."

Enraged by the old man's response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

MORAL: When you're prepared, you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life? The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm.  We, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, secure ourselves against the storms of life by grounding ourselves firmly in the Word of God.

-- Author Unknown

#5262

GROWING OLDER

I love growing older. But I don’t want to grow old. Growing older is a process. Growing old is a conclusion. Growing older means that you’re going somewhere, and that in God’s kindness and in your cooperating with God you are taking more of life’s conquests every day. Growing old means that you’ve reached somewhere and that’s it. Older is a journey. Old is a destination. Mind you, I believe in a destination, but my idea of a destination for life is heaven. I want everything prior to heaven to be part of my preparation for that destination. If I settle for old as my destination, I will rob myself of some of the best years of preparation for the big exit, the grand eternal journey. 

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in “I Love Growing Older, But I'll Never Grow Old”

#5026

JOY TO THE WORLD

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room and heaven and nature sing.”

Nobody would have expected the great King of all to arrive like that. All the royalty in Grimm’s Fairy Tales arrive in carriages drawn by a team of white horses. Can you believe that your Lord and Master arrived on earth through the birth process? And had nothing to wear but strips of cloth? And was laid in a manger (i.e., an animal’s feed trough)?

Does the humility of the divine entrance disappoint you? discourage you? offend you? Were you expecting trumpets? armies? silks, ermine, golden mace, jewel-studded crowns? If you were near that cattle pen that night, would you have bowed down in worship?

Yes, we would! If God helped frantic parents and shocked shepherds and wealthy Magi from the East to see their Messiah in the Baby, he would have found a way to turn on the lights in our brains as well. People of earth, receive your King! Each Christmas is practice for the moment of Christ’s second coming, when “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  (Philippians 2:10-11)

Prepare a place for Christ in your heart. Sing! Let everyone in your world know that you are happy that Jesus came all that way to claim you.

-- Adapted from “An Advent Playlist: Hymn-Based Devotions”

#4741

PREPARING OUR HEARTS

“But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.”  (1 Peter 3:15 NET Bible)

In the same manner that we clean and prepare our homes in anticipation of the arrival of welcomed guests and family members this Christmas season, let us also prepare our hearts in anticipation of the Lord’s coming. Christ, our most honored and eagerly anticipated guest, desires to meet with us in hearts prepared for His arrival. So eager is He to meet with us that He offers to help us with our spiritual housecleaning, working with us; creating a resting place for Himself within our hearts.

-- Katherine Walden


#4734

A SPECIAL PREPARATION

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”  (Isaiah 7:14)

It was not suddenly and unannounced that Jesus came into the world. He came into a world that had been prepared for Him. The whole Old Testament is the story of a special preparation… Only when all was ready, only in the fullness of His time, did Jesus come.

-- Phillips Brooks in “The Consolations of God: Great Sermons of Phillips Brooks”


#4733

A PREPARED PLACE

Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:1-3)

These verses have been shared at funerals over and over again. And rightfully so, because they assure us that death is not the end. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us and He is coming back to take us to be with Him…

Jesus is busy preparing a place for us in heaven. When we prepare something for someone, it means that we are getting ready for them. For example, if we prepare a meal for our family, we are expecting our family to get together to share the meal…

So, if Jesus is busy preparing a place for us, that means that He is expecting us to be in heaven one day so He can share the glories of heaven with us.

-- Mike DuBose in a sermon entitled “A Prepared Place”


#4708

THE BLESSING OF BURDENS

“The Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion on His suffering ones.” (Isaiah 49:13 NRSV)

Comfort and prosperity have never enriched the world as much as adversity. Out of pain and problems have come the sweetest songs, the most poignant poems, the most gripping stories, and inspiring lives.

Yet it is hard to think about this when troubles overwhelm us or uncertainty and fear grip our hearts. Our problems are real, and it is difficult in the heat of the moment to hear of anything else.

Our oldest daughter married a Swiss, and they often spend their summers in Switzerland. Sometimes we have visited them there and have gone soaring above the countryside on chair lifts high in the Alps. Looking down we can see almost a carpet of wild flowers, some of the most beautiful in the world. Only a few months before, those plants were buried under heavy snow. Yet that snow prepared the way for their growth -- providing them with water, and even insulating them from the winter winds. Our burdens can be like that snow, preparing the way for something beautiful once the winter is past.

-- Billy Graham


#4700

PREPARING THE HEART FOR FRUIT

Confession does for the soul what preparing the land does for the field.  Before the farmer sows the seed he works the acreage, removing the rocks and pulling up the stumps.  He knows that seed grows better if the land is prepared.  Confession is the act of inviting God to walk the acreage of our hearts.  "There is a rock of greed over here Father, I can't budge it.  And that tree of guilt near the fence?  Its roots are long and deep.  And may I show you some dry soil, too crusty for seed?"

And so the Father and the Son walk the field together; digging and pulling, preparing the heart for fruit. Confession invites the Father to work the soil of the soul.

-- Max Lucado in In the Grip of Grace

#3944

THE JOURNEY FORWARD

"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared."  (Exodus 23:20 NIV)

The One who sets the course of this road, and whose entry into it defines the way forward, is the same who walks beside us, flesh of our flesh, God with us. Therefore, we can trust without reservation a journey whose future turns we cannot see.

-- John S. Mogabgab, from "Editor's Introduction" of WEAVINGS JOURNAL, Nov/Dec 2001. © 2001 published by The Upper Room, Nashville, TN.   Used with permission.

#3857

ALWAYS BE PREPARED

We cannot remain anonymous in our faith forever. God has a way of flushing us out of our quiet little places, and when He does we must be ready to speak for Him. 1 Peter 3:15 says, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."

-- Lee Eclov

#3824

A WORLD-CHANGING EVENT

Advent is a season of preparation.  During Advent, we know that we are about to celebrate Christ's birth, which is cause for joy.  But we may also feel a little nervous, wondering if this event is more than we can handle.  This seems natural; after all, we are about to celebrate a life-changing, world-changing event.  Christ's birth is no easy thing to understand.  As we anticipate an event of such mystery and magnitude, perhaps we sense that we need some time to prepare.  Thankfully, Advent offers us this gift of time.

-- Sarah Parsons

#3781

THE SEASON BEFORE THE DAY

The approach of the Christmas season is a time when the yearly routine of life often changes. Even before Thanksgiving is past, we begin to see signs of the approaching holiday. It is interesting to remember that the term "holiday" has its origin in "holy day." A basic meaning of holy is that which is set apart; that which is different from the ordinary. Thus, a holy day or "holiday" is meant to be a time set apart for a specific remembrance or celebration...

Christmas, however, is more than a day; it is a season. The season before the day is called "Advent." This is a religious term that refers to having a season of preparation for a special, holy day. Therefore, the time prior to the actual day of Christmas has become the season that is filled with special meaning; not the least of which is the symbolism of Christmas...

Too often we look at things and fail to think about what they can mean to us. Life is full of symbols... The more we understand the symbolic meanings, the more we will be able to strengthen ourselves, and others, in the faith.

In 1906, Helen Keller was quoted in the December issue of Ladies' Home Journal as saying, "The only real blind person at Christmas is he who has not Christmas in his heart."

-- Rev. Kenneth A. Mortonson in the introduction to The Advent Instructor: Reflections on Christmas Symbolism

#3775

TIME OF PREPARATION

If one of us were to be ushered into the presence of one of the great spirits of our century… we should be glad for a little time in the portico to collect ourselves, to adjust not our clothing, but our spirits, for meeting this one whose reputation we cherish...

If this time of recollection is precious preceding a visit to a human being, how much more suitable and necessary it is before coming into the presence of God.

-- Douglas V. Steere in Dimensions of Prayer


#3601

ANTICIPATION AND EXPECTATION

Christmas is a time pregnant with anticipation and expectation.  There is so much to look forward to, but it’s easy to get so excited about celebrating Christmas that we easily overlook preparing ourselves for the Christ.  We can get so caught up in the hype and hoopla that we don’t take the necessary time to prepare ourselves to be watching for how God will come into our midst in the here and now.

Are you anticipating the kingdom this Christmas?

Are you expecting God to come into your midst today?

What are you doing to prepare yourself for the Christ and not just for Christmas?

-- Adapted from Bryan Marvel


#3563

STOP AND CONSIDER

One of the more puzzling and abnormal aspects of the Christmas season, at least to me, is that people seem to be over scheduled. Just try to put together a meeting or work on a project in December, and people have a ready response: “I’m just swamped getting ready for Christmas,” they say. “Let’s do that after the holidays.” I hear this from people who are church members as well as from people who are not. Apparently, Christmas is an equal opportunity exhauster.

Maybe people feel that way because we have not collectively done Advent well. Advent is supposed to be a time of waiting, reflection, and penitence. It is a time for us to sort through what is most important as we prepare for the coming of Christ. Rather than rushing around, Advent calls us to stop and consider who we are and what we are to be about.

-- Robert Kaylor in Come to the Manger


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