Romans 12:1-8
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Americans love football.
Research shows that over 70% of men and over 50% of women watch at least part of an NFL game every weekend.
In fact, some have called the NFL “America’s religion.”
There are probably many reasons why football is so popular in our culture – speed, violence, excitement, and pageantry - but the main reason I like football is the teamwork. Football is often called the “ultimate team game.”
I can remember my father teaching me about football and saying, “on every play every player has a specific job to do; and if each player does their job perfectly, the result of every play should be a touchdown.” I suppose the same thing is true for the defensive team as well – but we didn’t talk about that!
The point is that, on a football team, every player is absolutely dependent on every other player for the success of the team. As one famous and rather petulant Chicago quarterback has noticed, he can have all the talent in the world, but if his linemen don’t do their job well, he winds up on his back!
Football is also a bit unique in that there are so many specific positions on a team that need to be filled by players with different gifts, abilities and body-types. You need quarterbacks who can throw; running backs who are both fast and strong; wide receivers who are really fast; and linemen who are very big and very strong. A team needs a punter and a kicker – who often look like they just walked from the library; you need a long-snapper and someone to hold the ball in place for field goal attempts. And you need even more types of guys for defense.
At the risk of drawing a hopelessly sports-oriented analogy, the church is like a football team. Read Paul’s words again:
Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Do you see it? One body (team); many members (players); each has a different gift and function (talent and position on the team); and each member belongs to all the others (teamwork and commitment to a common goal).
Now notice the difference: there are no “bench-warmers” in the church! There is no “inactive list” in the church. God intends every member to be active and engaged because he has gifted and called every single one of us into his church for a purpose.
I am reminded of a story Pastor Jeff told me a couple of years ago. Jeff has volunteered on and off as a coach for a local high school football team. One Friday night the team was winning a game rather handily and one of the main coaches told Jeff to put some of the second and third team boys into the game. But when Jeff told one particular boy to get ready to go into the game, the kid looked rather surprised and frightened and replied, “Are you sure coach?”
In other words, even though the young man had come to all the summer workouts; even though he put in 2 ½ hours at practice every day; when the time came to get into an actual game, he was hesitant, timid and afraid.
Do you know that Jesus wants you to do more than sit in a pew or stand on the sideline? Do you know he wants you in the game? Do you know that, if you are a follower of his, he has invested his own resources in you and that he calls you to invest those resources in his eternal kingdom?
Ask Jesus to show you where and how he wants you to serve him. But, I need to warn you; if you ask, he will tell you; so keep your helmet ready!
Pastor Brian Coffey
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