The Basketball Gospel

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not much of a sports fan.  I'll watch the Super Bowl, but mostly because I enjoy the company and the ads.  Usually I'll try to tune in for a few big golf tournaments.  And I love taking our kids to see the Somerset Patriots, our local minor league baseball team.

In my mind, one of the dullest of all sports to watch on TV has to be basketball.  Other than the occasional spectacular shot from mid court, it seems to me to be a constant blur of meaningless motion.

I may not be a fan of basketball, but I'm now a fan of David Robinson.  If you missed his speech when he was inducted into the NBA Hall of Fame, I'd like to encourage you to invest seven minutes of your life and watch it here.

David Robinson Hall of Fame Speech




Blessings!
Jeff

Yard Sale

Today we had a yard sale – the great American exercise in cleaning all the old stuff that we once loved out of our closets, and trying to sell it for a dollar or less.  To tell the truth, it was pretty discouraging as one car of “shoppers” after another stopped, looked, and left. And it feels pretty weird to see that “must have” toy of two or three years ago going for 25 cents!

Of course, it reminds me of Jesus words:

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matt 6:19-21 (NLT)

How do you store up treasures in heaven? You can’t take it with you. And even the best stuff on earth is going to look pretty shabby in heaven!

The only earthly things I know of that we can send ahead to heaven are human souls. For whenever we share the love of Jesus with someone and they accept his forgiveness and become his disciples, the citizenship of heaven goes up by one – and even the angels rejoice!

Maybe you’re not comfortable explaining the gospel and inviting someone to follow Jesus. But you can let someone know that there are good things happening in your church, and invite them to join you some Sunday and see for themselves. When you do, we promise to welcome these guests as though they are the most important people on earth. Because they are. And we pray that God will use what happens in church that day to touch their hearts and help them fall in love with Jesus.

By the way, at the end of the day we gave up on selling the stuff. Instead, we put a “Free” sign on just about everything that was left. Within minutes a young couple came along and gleefully helped themselves to the whole pile! We couldn’t be more pleased.

I imagine that’s how God feels. He paid. We receive the free gift of eternal life. All we have to do is accept it. He couldn’t be more pleased.

And that’s the gospel in a nutshell!

Eight Years Later

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe.” Proverbs 18:10 (NRSV)

Eight years ago today, my wife and I watched, along with the rest of the nation, as terrorists destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center, only twenty miles or so from our home.  It was only later that we realized we had witnessed the deaths of two members of our congregation, along with thousands of others including those on the hijacked airliners and in the Pentegon.  Not only people died on that day.  Those towers were chosen because they represented the financial strength of our nation.  Their destruction, accomplished with such ease and at so little cost, shook the sense of security that so many had placed in the things of this world.

As the towers crumbled, I remembered a Scripture chorus we sometimes sing in worship.  “The name of the Lord is a strong tower.  The righteous run into it and they are saved.”

Eight years later, let’s remember that neither military might nor financial strength can make us secure – only the eternal refuge of our mighty God.

RIP Alvin Kapplemann and Kermit Anderson

Expected Guests

Every guest who walks through the doors of First Presbyterian Church is a gift from God.

I’ve noticed that when we are expecting guests at our home, we go out of our way to make them welcome. Before their arrival there is a flurry of cleaning activity. Not that our home is usually dirty, but when guests are coming we want our home to look its best.

When guests arrive there’s a little ritual we go through. We greet them at the door, ask them if they’d like something to eat or drink, and show them to the most comfortable seat in the living room. To put it another way, we make sure they are greeted, treated, directed, and seated.

The entire time our guests are with us, we do our best to make them feel comfortable and appreciated. And, when it’s time for them to leave we thank them for coming, and (usually) invite them to come again.

At First Presbyterian, we’re expecting God to bring us guests. We want to be certain that God’s guests are treated equally well!

For most folks who haven’t been to church in a while, attending church for the first time can be a pretty intimidating experience. They don’t know where to park, what to wear, how to get into the building, how they’ll be received (“Will they be glad to see me, or will they make me feel guilty for having been away so long?”), what to do with their kids, where to sit, or what will be expected of them. Most church guests want to be a) appreciated and b) anonymous. Going to church for the first time, or the first time in a long time, is hard.

If you haven’t been to church in a while, I want you to know that we understand just how big a step showing up to church is. We’re eager to see you! We promise to appreciate you and treat you with genuine warmth and love. Please come soon, and be our guest!

If you’re a member or regular attender at First Presbyterian, will you join me as we make it one of our highest Sunday priorities to graciously and joyfully welcome every guest God sends our way? We want to be sure that every guest is: greeted with a smile and told, “We’re glad you’re here”; seated in the best seats in the house, where they’re welcomed with a smile; and treated as the precious gift from God that they are.