1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Faith Or Football?

Rev. David Holwick Super Bowl Sunday

Columbus Baptist Church

Columbus, New Jersey

February 1, 2015

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

FAITH OR FOOTBALL?

I. The Big Game.

A. Super Bowl XLIX.

1) The Roman numerals were chosen to sound more magisterial.

a) (except next year - Super Bowl L sounds too wimpy)

b) It is played on a Sunday to highlight its

self-important sacredness.

2) It will be watched by more than 100 million people.

a) They will consume 8.5 million pounds of nacho chips.

b) The half-time will produce the greatest number of

toilet flushes for the year.

c) And today will have the fewest weddings of any day

this year.

#7650

3) It produces huge bucks.

a) 30-second commercials - $4.5 million.

b) Players on the losing team will get $49,000 each.

c) Winning players get $97,000, which means Tom Brady

takes a $2.5 million pay cut even if he wins.

d) Ironically, impoverished states like New Jersey spend

tens of millions of dollars to host the game and

rarely get much back.

B. I am not a sports nut.

1) That is putting it lightly.

a) I never played in school.

b) I have zero sports ability.

2) Until I wrote this sermon, I had no idea who was playing

today. And I still don't care.

3) It is the only football game I will watch all year.

C. Why use it as a sermon topic?

1) Many pastors do.

a) One even passes out nerf footballs to be thrown

whenever he mentions the word “football.”

(I considered doing that but some of you are so

good you would be injuring each other and we

don’t want the lawsuits.)

b) Sports are a key interest for many in our society.

2) The Bible does.

a) Specifically, the Apostle Paul uses sports as a

metaphor in 1 Corinthians 9.

b) He saw something in sports that is comparable to

striving for spiritual maturity.

3) Many miss the point.

a) For them, sports "is" religion.

1> Some observers have noticed that as the influence

of religion has declined, sports has taken

its place.

2> Stadiums are the new cathedrals.

3> Ultimate fans can even get a sports team-themed

casket for $2,398.

b) Hearts can be divided.

One Ravens fan who is a Christian admitted that many

churchgoers are only half-listening to the sermon

because their minds are preoccupied with an

upcoming game.

If he had to choose between the Ravens and Jesus,

he would have to go with Jesus.

Not everyone would. [1]

In 2003, New Salem Missionary Baptist Church in Alabama

voted 67-10 to fire pastor Stanley Hall.

They did it because he refused to reschedule his

consecration service even though it conflicted with

the telecast of the Super Bowl.

#16431

Do you think they have lousy priorities?

Before you jump to a conclusion, remember that this

church has cancelled the youth group tonight....

But we do have the Pruitts' party to provide your

"fellowship fix."

D. Consider what Paul saw in sports.

1) He highlights some factors that we still value today.

2) Then contemplate whether it describes you as a Christian.

II. Competitiveness. 9:24

A. Out of a field of runners, only one gets the prize.

1) Many modern people have a problem with this.

a) Giving one kid a prize makes the others feel bad.

b) Maybe it is better to give everyone a medal for

"participation."

c) I received some medals for participation in races.

1> It is a good thing, because otherwise I wouldn't

have gotten ANYTHING.

2) The Super Bowl is competition to the ninth degree.

a) These guys want to win, badly.

b) A Super Bowl ring is one of their life goals.

c) They only get one if they are better than the other

guys.

d) Christian players accept this.

Liberty University football player Barry Rice once said:

"If Jesus were a football player, he'd play fair, he'd

play clean and he'd put the guy across the line on

his butt."

#991

B. Paul apparently thinks competitiveness is a good thing.

1) He certainly approached evangelism this way.

2) He says he was compelled to preach where no one else had

preached.

3) He liked seeing results for his efforts.

a) New churches planted.

b) Souls saved.

C. Numbers are not the only measure of Christian success.

1) Jesus taught that real Christians would be few and far

between - the gate is narrow and few find it.

2) Even so, numbers have their place.

a) In the Parable of the Seeds, good seed can produce a

hundred-fold gain.

b) The Book of Acts mentions 3,000 people being saved

in a single day.

c) Mision Latina is seeing dramatic growth.

1> Maybe not 3,000 per day, but ten-fold growth over

six years.

3) I would like to see more growth in our church.

a) We should be pushing ourselves more.

b) The older generation is moving on - who will replace

them?

1> Not just in filling pews, but in teaching Sunday

School classes and serving as leaders.

2> We have to do more than invite people here.

A> We have to lead them to a real faith in Jesus.

4) I want to see more growth in Christians.

a) Once we believe, we need to put our beliefs into action.

b) Goal for Celeste and me - read the Bible together so

we finish in a year. (maybe more)

1> I expect it will make us closer to God, and to

each other.

D. We have to compete according to rules.

1) The Patriots have been in hot water for deflated footballs.

a) Apparently the team has a reputation for cutting

corners.

2) If you don't have rules, chaos reigns.

a) The Bible gives God's rules for life.

b) You can break any of them you want - but there will

be consequences.

c) Live within the boundaries and you won't face guilt

or fear.

III. Discipline. 9:25

A. Athletes have to train with strictness.

1) An article on "super-successful athletes" tried to discover

their secrets.

One thing they had in common was they got to the gym or

field first.

They were the first to arrive, and the last to leave.

Sermon #64716

2) Success in sports isn't easy and doesn't just happen.

a) It takes work.

b) Success usually goes to the one who is best prepared.

B. How disciplined are you?

1) Do you do your best at work?

a) Do you keep up in education and certification?

b) Don't be satisfied with where you are - strive to

improve.

2) Churches need to be disciplined as well.

a) Our Vacation Bible School leaders are already planning

for an event that is six months away.

b) You can't rest on past accomplishments.

C. Be disciplined in your moral choices.

1) Soft footballs are not the worst problem in the sport.

2) Multitudes of NFL players have been arrested for domestic

violence, public disturbances and drug use.

a) One study found that one-third of players get arrested

after they join the NFL.

#63011

3) One thing can make a difference - faith.

A professor of sociology at Georgetown College in Kentucky

found that athletes who embrace religion are much better

citizens than their peers.

He wrote, "Those players who believed in God and actually

practiced their religion in terms of service in their

community were far less likely to be engaged in

law-breaking behaviors."

#63011

IV. Reward. 9:25,27

A. Super Bowl rings are highly cherished.

1) Grown men have been known to cry when they receive it.

2) But in the scheme of things, they don't amount to much.

Prior to Super Bowl VI between Dallas and Miami in 1972,

Cowboys' running back Duane Thomas was asked by a

reporter what it felt like to be playing in the

ultimate football game.

Thomas replied, "If it's the ultimate, why are they going

to play it again next year?"

#34136

3) Only eternity is truly ultimate.

a) As Paul says in verse 25, Christians get a crown

that lasts forever.

b) That crown is the symbol for salvation.

Chris Maragos, a committed Christian who played in the

Super Bowl last year, said,

"We understand the attention that football brings.

This is a big deal.

But to us, there's more to it than that.

It's not just about football.

Jesus is bigger than that."

#64356

B. God's crown is not for everyone.

1) It is for those who have experienced conversion.

2) There may be some conversions in the Super Bowl - it's

the extra points teams can get after a touchdown. #850

3) Spiritual conversion comes from surrendering your life to

God.

Joe Gibbs, former head coach of the Washington Redskins,

said, "We've got to have a head coach.

When I was a coach, I really cared about my players.

And God really cares about us.

I loved my players, but I wouldn't have sacrificed either

of my sons for them.

God was willing to do that.

That's love beyond what all of us can comprehend."

#5326

Will you be getting this crown?

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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:

[1] Blogger named "d1v1nelyinspired"; <https://d1v1nelyinspired.wordpress.com/2015/01/11/faith-or-football/>.

Sermon #64716 “How The Superbowl Is Like the Christian Walk,”

Rev. Andy Grossman, January 27, 2013; Mount Shasta Abundant Life

Church of the Nazarene; Mount Shasta, California; <www.SermonCentral.com>.

# 850 “A Boy's Definition of Conversion, Dynamic Preaching, Vol I V, 4,

Sermon: “A Real Solution For Real Problems,” April 1989,

<sermons.com>.

# 991 “If Jesus Were A Football Player,” Newsweek, September 11, 1989,

page 15.

# 5326 “Men Should Live a Life For God,” Terri Lackey, Baptist Press,

February 23, 2000, <http://www.baptistpress.org/>.

# 7650 “Super Bowl Trivia,” Daily Bits, January 25, 2000; Roddy Chestnut

Collection; original source is <www.uselessknowledge.com>.

#16431 “First Superbowl Baptist,” Dwight Perry, The Seattle Times,

March 31, 2003; <http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20030331&slug=chat31#_ga=1.243606597.13069967.1422926806>

#34136 “Is It Really So Super?” Kelly Boggs, Baptist Press, February 2,

2007; <http://www.baptistpress.org>

#63011 “Football's Bad Boys Find God Is Good -- With Practice,” David

Gibson, Politicsdaily.com, February 4, 2011.

#64356 “Religion Runs Deep For Football,” Matthew Stanmyre,

The Star-Ledger newspaper (Newark, New Jersey), February 1,

2014; <http://www.nj.com/super-bowl/index.ssf/2014/02/super_bowl_xlviii_religion_runs_deep_for_many_nfl_players_and_teams.html>.

These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be

downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html