Don't Waste Your Sports

Listen to the sermon here.

1 Corinthians 10:31 - "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

Rarely have I heard the topic of sports brought to the focal point of a sermon, though it is one of the leading "idols" in our culture, particularly for men. I have struggled often in my life with turning sports into an idol, making the activity purely about me, and without further wisdom I had often come to the conclusion I'd be better off to simply abandon sports all together.

Thankfully, I have been reminded that sports are a gift from God, a gift to be enjoyed. In his sermon entitled "Don't Waste Your Sports", pastor C.J. Mahaney brings to life the perspective of sports in light of 1 Corinthians 10:31. Here's an excerpt from early on in the sermon:

“Participation in sports must be informed by the knowledge of God. We have a tendency, when considering the topic of glorifying God in sports, to proceed immediately to practical application and to prematurely consider specific ways we are called to glorify God in sports. But any practical consideration must first proceed from a theologically informed understanding of the character of God as revealed in Scripture and the person and work of Christ. We must begin our consideration of this topic—of every topic!—with God. Until we behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ we cannot accurately or authentically glorify God (2 Cor. 4:6). Before we play sports for the glory of God we must behold the glory of God. … And this morning I have asked Puritan theologian John Owen to assist me:

Because he is—that is, an infinitely glorious, good, wise, holy, powerful, righteous, self-subsisting, self-sufficient, all-sufficient Being, the fountain, cause, and author of life and being to all things, and of all that is good in every kind, the first cause, last end, and absolute sovereign Lord of all, the rest and all-satisfactory reward of all other beings—therefore he is to be adored and worshipped. Hence are we in our hearts, minds, and souls, to admire, adore, and love him. His praises are we to celebrate. In him we are to trust and fear, and so to resign ourselves and all our concerns unto his will and disposal, to regard him with all the acts of our minds and persons, answerable to the holy properties and excellencies of his nature. This is to glorify him as God.

No doubt some are asking, ‘What does a 17th-century Puritan (who didn’t have game) have to say to the modern athlete? How does this relate to my soccer game or cross-country meet?’ Here’s why: When I behold the glory of God prior to playing sports, my heart is affected and transformed. This makes all the difference when I step out onto the field or court. This knowledge of God positions me to glorify Him and not myself. Our participation in sports must be informed by the knowledge of God in order to keep us from turning sports into something ugly, rather than beautiful. This knowledge of God’s glory will keep us from wasting our sports.”

The Legacy Reading Plan

I ran across this Bible reading plan constructed by Hank Hanegraaff (The Bible Answer Man), called The Legacy Reading plan. Of all the plans I've run across over the years, this seems like one of the best-constructed plans for reading the Bible on a yearly basis, where each season has its own strategic focus of the Bible.

Here's the plan's explanation, as explained on the CRI (Christian Research Institute) website:


The Legacy Reading Plan explained:

The Legacy Reading Plan is an innovative approach to reading through sixty-six love letters --one book at a time -- for the rest of your life. If I live to be the age my father was when he died, I will have the privilege of reading through the Bible 18 more times. If I live longer, so much the better! Reading through the Bible at any age is a daunting proposition. Thus the Legacy Reading Plan is strategically designed to empower you to "eat the elephant 'one Book' at a time." The Format is specifically formulated to make your time in God's Word the best it can be.

Location: Do you have a secret place -- a location where you can drown out the static of the world and hear the voice of your heavenly Father as He speaks to you through the majesty of His Word? For some it may be the sauna, for others a study. We are all unique creations of God. Thus, your secret place may be a sedan. The point is we all desperately need a place away from the invasive sounds of the world so we can hear the sounds of another place -- another voice. So, begin your Legacy Reading Plan by locating your secret place.

Essence: The Legacy Reading Plan is unique in that it requires you to process Books of the Bible rather than piecing together bits of Books. The goal is to comprehend the essence of God as communicated by reading each Book as a whole. The exception is Psalms and Proverbs. Psalms constituted a hymnbook or devotional guide for ancient Israel. Likewise, our goal will be to meditate on three individual Psalms each week. Thus progressing through the Psalmistry once each year. Because the Book of Proverbs is replete with principles for successful daily living, the Legacy Reading Plan is to read one chapter of Proverbs each day, thus progressing through Provers once a month.

Genre : To understand Scripture in the sense in which it is intended, it is important to pay special attention to the genre we are reading. In other words, to interpret the Bible as literature, it is crucial to consider the kind of literature we are interpreting. As a legal brief differs from a prophetic oracle, there is a difference in genre between Leviticus and Revelation. Genre is particularly significant when considering writings that are difficult to categorize, such as Genesis which is largely a historical narrative interlaced with symbolism and repetitive poetic structure. During the spring the plan is to read through historical narratives, while the focus for summer is prophecy.

Author: As it is essential to read through Books rather than bits, so it is helpful to read biblical authors sequentially. As such, the Legacy Reading Plan is grouped by author. This is particularly helpful because even though biblical authors wrote "as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21), their personalities and proclivities are clearly evident in their writings. For example, John and John alone, identifies Jesus as the Word, or Logos (John 1; Revelation 19). Likewise, John alone identifies Jesus as the true witness (John 5; Revelation 2), and it is John who most exploits the Mosaic requirement of two witnesses (John 8; Revelation 2).

Context: Context has an impact on how you contextualize one set of biblical Books in relation to another. For this reason, the Epistles are read prior to the Synoptic Gospels in the Legacy Reading Plan. As such, the didactic (teaching) principles of the Epistles will provide a theological context by which you can better understand the Gospel narratives. Moreover, because the Book of Revelation draws heavily upon the imagery of the Hebrew prophets, the reading of Revelation is placed in a close proximity to the Old Testament prophets. And because the Gospels recount the birth and ministry of Christ, the Synoptics and the Book of Acts are assigned to the month of December.

Years: The overarching objective of the Legacy Reading Plan is to read through the Bible once a year, every year for the rest of your life. The reading calendar is naturally segmented into seasons and the seasons into months. At the beginning of each year you know that during the winter your focus will be on the Pentateuch and Poetry (249 chapters); in spring, the Historical books (249 chapters); in summer the Prophets (250 chapters); and during the fall, the New Testament (260 chapter). Each season is further broken down into months. Thus every January your goal is to read through Genesis and Exodus and every December the Synoptic Gospels and Acts. There are times when you will naturally read ten chapters at a time and others when you will read one or two. More importantly you will read the Bible just as you read other literature.

Young, Restless, and Reformed

Tonight my wife and I attended a lecture at our church given by a well-respected scholar of the Bible and of Christian history, Lyle Murphy. Though the talk wasn't formally modeled this way, he more or less spent the majority of the time discussing the history of a couple of the pillars found within the "TULIP" model, which is the Calvinist description of the Doctrine of Grace (though TULIP was never mentioned tonight).

We began with Total Depravity, with which there was little dissension in the audience. However, as we moved toward the history of the doctrines of Unconditional Election and Limited Atonement, the tension in the room began to grow. Lyle shared some of his convictions, supported by scriptures, and held that he no longer embraced all of the Calvinist doctrine of grace, particularly the aspect of God choosing, or "electing", only a few to be saved.

I think I see where Lyle is coming from-- I have wrestled with the Calvinist/Armenian debate for years and years, and one of the aspects of Calvinism that repelled me the most was that the people I knew who held that position were typically some of the worst at showing grace. But then I came across "Reformed" guys like John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Tim Keller, C.J. Mahaney, and I began to listen to a lot of their sermons. These guys wonderfully communicated the glorious beauty of sound doctrine and Christ-centered living, unraveling truths of Scripture, and most importantly blowing my mind with the immeasurable glory of God's Grace. I love Jesus more than I ever have. For this reason, I keep coming back to these guys for more-- I love their teaching, their theology, and I can't get enough. It's like dessert for me! I've probably listened to hundreds of sermons by Driscoll, Piper, and Keller over the past year, and thanks to the technology of the internet, I've been able to pass the precious teaching of these men on to others.

I'm learning that I'm not the only young guy who's turning to Reformed doctrine. In the midst of a Post-Modern movement, of which I used to be a passionate advocate, the old and time-tested theology (also known as "Biblical") is rising in opposition. And I've been won over to the side that gives God the most glory.

To continue this thought, check out this article published by Christianity Today in September of 2006, called "Young, Restless, and Reformed"

Survivor of Late-Term Abortion Comments on Barack Obama

This was posted in June on Randy Alcorn's blog:

http://randyalcorn.blogspot.com/2008/06/survivor-of-late-term-abortion-comments.html

The Unwasted Life

This is a great series of sermons John Piper gave at the 2008 Regional Conference on "The Essence of the Unwasted Life"

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/ConferenceMessages/ByConference/40/


I've only listened to the first of these so far, but it was one of those sermons where the Spirit of God opened up my eyes and heart to catch a glimpse of the way things really are. What does an unwasted life look like? Piper points to Paul's plea in Philippians 1:20-21 as our template for such a life:

"...as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. "

As Piper declares, this is the definition of an unwasted life, that in all that we do, all that we are, Christ will be exalted, lifted up and honored. The implications on your life are earth-shattering. How different would we live if we asked questions like:

• How can I use my money to show that Christ is infinitely more valuable than my money?
• How do I treat my career to exalt Christ as far more valuable than my career?
• How do I take care of my body to show Christ is of the greatest value?
• How do I treat my house and possessions to demonstrate Christ is infinitely more precious?
• How do I enteract with people, friends and family to "magnify" the magnificence of Christ?
  

In the unwasted life, Christ becomes the chief goal and desire, and all other things become a means for lifting Him up. If I were honest today, though, I would have to admit that I far too often make Christ a means to my own version of heaven (new house, wealth, success, perfect church) rather than an end. To make Him a means, which is the norm for the American "prosperity gospel" philosophy, completely misses the point that nothing in this world even compares to Christ in worth. Nothing.