A GOOD START

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all,  but one receiveth the prize?  So run, that ye may obtain.”  (I Corinthians 9:24)

Football fans know today was the first (real) Patriots game of the season.  Some folks who have known me for years are probably surprised that I’m such a Patriots fan.  I wasn’t much of a Patriots fan until somewhere in the mid-1990s.  I never understood the allure of guys just sitting on Sunday afternoon, drinking beer, pigging out, and watching football.  Well, when I got into my early forties and was facing a lot of difficulties in the church, it was a wonderful diversion to watch Bledsoe and the Patriots play.  (Just to be clear, though, when I drink and watch a game I drink soft drinks only!) Over the years I’ve really gotten into watching football, and have even gone into Boston for the parades when the Patriots have won the Super Bowl.  There’s something about Gil Santos’ voice (if you’re listening on radio) on a fall afternoon, especially when the Pats are winning.  It’s also really exciting to watch them on T.V. and I happen to prefer football on CBS.  

Mary Ann had a commitment for the afternoon, and so Jon and I had Chinese food at a restaurant that’s right up the street from where I live.  (Mary Ann has largely lost her appetite for Chinese, so I usually have to wait and go out to eat with Jon if I want it!)  The Chinese restaurant had the Pats-KC game on several big screen sets.  It was nice to eat and watch.  It was actually comical that a number of the Chinese staff were yelling and cheering in Chinese during the game!  (My Chinese-American friend, the Rev. Anderson Huang, who also happens to be a big Pats fan would have gotten a big kick out of that!)  If you saw the game you know about Brady’s knee injury during the first quarter.  One guy in the restaurant got SO depressed, he phoned friends  telling them he was depressed about Brady and that the season is all over!  I was surprised and unhappy about Brady’s injury, but I’ve got a lot more confidence in the Pats than THAT!  

After the meal, I didn’t see any of the second quarter, I saw part of the third quarter, and then I saw the (exciting) last few minutes of the game.  Hats off to the Pats defense who deserve the credit for the win!  It’s a win, so I say it’s a good start!

I also had a good start to the Fall season at the church.  I preached one of the strongest and most unusual sermons I’ve ever preached today.  I guess you’d really have to be a serious born-again Christian to understand this one, but it was on the importance of corporate prayer.  It was NOT a primarily academic sermon.  It was NOT a snooze....although most of my sermons are not boring, for that matter!  I presented it in a strong and somewhat unusual manner.  You’d have to have been there.  It was one of those kind of sermons that people are not neutral about.  It was the kind that makes people either very happy and very motivated or very unhappy and angry.  I’d say I probably had both reactions today, but I did get some gratifying comments after church.  Two people told me it was the best sermon I’ve ever preached.  Honestly,  God is about to do a great and mighty work at this little church.  Mark it down.  This church is not going to be so little in a couple of years.  (This is one of the reasons I’m putting this down in cyberspace.  I want to be able to refer to it at that time.)  I asked one guy to close in prayer because he has a particular “burden” for revival and for corporate prayer.  I later realized I should have given him a “heads up” because he prayed a little long, and he said something that made it sound like it’s wrong to watch sports on television.  In fact, I KNOW he doesn’t believe that, but it DID sound like that!  Afterwards one person said to me something like, “Well, this may be wrong but I’m going to watch the Patriots on television!”  

Oh boy, the job of a pastor.... trying to keep all the lines of communication open and everybody happy...  

Well, obviously if it was wrong, I was wrong, too, but again, I know that guy didn’t mean it that way!

I guess that little bit of confusion can be looked upon like Brady’s knee injury.  An unexpected glitch, but there was still a win.

Yes, in church we had a win today, and on the field the Patriots had a win today!