February 6, 2012

• The God of Abraham, Isaac…and Tebow?

  Trivia: I’ve reposted articles by updating the time stamps many times before, but this is my first article I’ve ever post-dated. It was began in the evening of Feb 4, 2012, and finished the morning of Feb 5, 2012, at 4:49am. I just thought that was interesting.

  Christians love football. You don’t have to look very hard to find a sold-out-for-Jesus Christian who will get just as intense about his favorite team as he will express passionate worship for Christ, and there’s no need to worry about a foul being called. Whether you are for the Patriots or the Giants, hate them both, or just don’t care, anyone and everyone can be a football fan. So we really shouldn’t be surprised when churches put on big events of their own or make a light-hearted parody of Scripture to celebrate a great sport and to enjoy each other’s company.

  If you’re not a regular church attender or really have no experience with traditional Church practices, you might want to use one of your time-outs for this…you might be in for a small shock. Back home in Washington state, the people from my church puts on their annual practice of clearing out all the chairs from the sanctuary and bringing in half their living room. No joke. You will find the entire room filled front to back, left to right with Lay-Z-Boys, lawn chairs, bean bag chairs, and probably a sofa or two. Some of the families are very well-to-do financially and have brought in a giant flat screen TV…I mean one of those big ones that could double as a cinema screen. On the side of the sanctuary, tables or lined along the wall filled with snacks and goodies. Some people bring in some healthier meals (…the weirdos). There’s also a game played revolving around which commercials are people’s favorites.

  Of course, despite the shared faith in the one true King and Creator, there will be division, and not over spiritual matters. No, something far more important than that: whose team will take home the trophy. Heh heh. Good-natured heckling is a common audible amongst believers at my home church. People enter as friends, watch the game as mortal enemies, and leave with all the good cheer they came with.

  Certainly this social interaction is not exclusive to Christians. Oh, not at all. You’ll find many life-long friends who became fast-friends over a good bond of a shared interest in tossing a pig skin around. Loyalty to a team has forged even more loyal friendships. For that matter, entire online communities exist as they revolve around one of America’s other most popular pastime (aka football).

  Yet, not unlike the common thread of the love for football, Christians also have a deep bond that binds them together, no matter how many yards of life they’ve ran or how well they play the D. Obviously, it is Jesus Christ and their faith in Him.

  Now, if you’re at all familiar with the Bible, the Old Testament in particular, you’ve likely heard or read a phrase found in Scripture that goes like this: “…the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” In case you’re not well versed in the Bible playbook, let’s huddle up for a second.

  • 3:39 pm
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