2 Corinthians 13:5-10
1.
The Sandlot
It was an endless baseball
game, only one team, no objective except to play.
8 boys play on the
sandlot..Scottie Small moves to town
Can’t play but is invited
in.
Slowly he gets better.
One day they lose the ball
Goes to his stepdads room
and borrows a ball…gets a ball
Gets lost over the
fence…Baby Ruth..Babe Ruth
--Gets to know
baseball, gets to know baseball players, becomes a sportcaster and makes it
known
2.
Know the Scorecard so you
can recognize a win.
(vs. 5-6)
The Curse of the Bambino was a superstition cited as a reason for the failure of the Boston Red Sox baseball team to win the World Series in the 86-year period from 1918 until 2004. While some fans took the curse seriously, most used the expression in a tongue-in-cheek manner.
The curse was said to have begun after the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth, sometimes called The Bambino, to the New York Yankees in the off-season of 1919-1920. The Red Sox had been one of the most successful professional baseball franchises, winning the first World Series in 1903 and amassing five World Series titles prior to selling Ruth. After the sale, the once-lackluster Yankees became one of the most successful franchises in North American professional sports.
Talk of the curse as an ongoing phenomenon ended in 2004, when the Red Sox came back from a 0-3 best-of-seven deficit to beat the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series and then went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals to win the 2004 World Series.
The curse had been such a part of Boston culture that when a road sign on the city's much-used Storrow Drive was vandalized from "Reverse Curve" to "Reverse The Curse", officials left it in place until after the Red Sox won the Series in a 4-0 sweep.
Red
Sox fans attempted various methods over the years to exorcise their famous
curse. These included placing a Boston cap atop Mt. Everest
and burning a Yankees cap at its base camp; hiring professional exorcists and Father Guido Sarducci to "purify"
Fenway Park; spray painting a "Reverse Curve" street sign on Storrow
Drive to change it to say "Reverse the Curse" (the sign wasn't
replaced until just after the 2004 World Series win); and finding a piano owned
by Ruth that he had supposedly pushed into a pond near his Sudbury, Massachusetts farm, Home
Plate Farm.
How do you score?
How good
you are?
How much
you give?
How many
hours you put in?
Most use the wrong scorecard and never recognize a
win.
Pharisees..most holy people around
613 laws…the number of letters in the 10
commandments
248 affirmative commands for each part of the human
body
365 negative commands for each day of the year
Always arguing over these divisions and how it
should be done
Matthew 22:37
--Test and examine your scorecard against the
definition of a disciple
--A disciple knows Christ
--A disciple knows Christ’s people
--A disciple makes Christ known
3.
Put into the practice things
that make a win.
(vs. 7-8)
1
If a batter fails two-thirds of the time, they're still
considered an excellent batter. It's too bad this standard isn't applied to
everything else in life.
2
It is legal to "steal" in this game. This
is,
perhaps, a questionable example for children.
3
If you aren't such a good hitter, you can have a pinch
hitter bat for you. If you aren't such a fast runner, you can have someone—a
pinch runner—come in and run for you. At what point, you might wonder, is a
team entirely comprised of "pinch" players?
4
There's a rule preventing pitchers from spitting on the
ball. They can spit anywhere else they like, apparently.
5
If a batter walks with the bases loaded, he is credited with
an RBI (Run Batted In). That's right: even though he didn't hit the ball.
6
The game is played on dirt and grass, but if the ball gets
dirty, it is replaced with a new clean ball.
7
If a batter accidentally hits the catcher when swinging,
it's the catcher's fault, even if the catcher gets injured. The batter is
awarded a base. The catcher gets an apology, if he's lucky.
8
The coaches and managers wear the same uniforms as the
players.
9
When a pitcher walks a batter, the batter jogs to first
base. Incongruous, but it is a nice show of effort.
10
The 7th-inning stretch makes baseball the only sport where
spectators must take part in calisthenics.
Make sure you practice the right things.
We put
useless energy into the things that don’t matter.
Rabbis called their teachings a yoke…Matthew 11:28
Jesus doesn’t make it burdensome..in fact if lived
rightly there is joy
The wrong yoke burns you out…you don’t win
Jesus offers grace, not a lot of rules and
regulations
What do you communicate to people about what
Christianity is about?
Do people walk away thinking of rules or grace?
Not that Jesus doesn’t have expectations, very high
ones….but the ability to follow them rests in his living within us…not our
power to be the best player
What do you need to do?
--You practice truth by pursuing knowing Christ
Learn something practical or right thinking every
week
--You practice truth by getting to know Christ’s
people
Build relationships with other Christians on a
regular basis
--You practice truth when you make Christ known
Be open to sharing, knowing that its not a system,
its your willingness and what God does in their hearts
4.
Rejoice when you win.
(vs. 9-10)
TOKYO - He was covered in mud when pulled from the river, and had lost
both legs and hands, not to mention his glasses. But Colonel Sanders still had
his trademark smile, 24 years later.
A statue of the KFC mascot has been found in a river in Osaka, a city official
said Wednesday, nearly a quarter century after being tossed in by crazed
baseball fans who felt the image of restaurant founder Harland Sanders
resembled a key team member.
"He was apparently found standing upright, which is fitting, because
although he was a nice man he could also be very strict and demanding,"
said Sumeo Yokakawa, a spokeswoman at the chain's Tokyo headquarters.
She said the statue was taken from a nearby KFC restaurant and tossed in the
river as part of a celebration by baseball fans in 1985, the year Osaka's
baseball team, the Hanshin Tigers, won the national championship.
Local fans thought the Colonel bore a resemblance to Randy Bass, a bearded
power hitter and first baseman from the U.S. who played for the team at the
time.
Fans often jump into the murky river to celebrate the team's successes, but
there has been little to celebrate in recent years. Many fans feel the team has
been plagued by the "curse of Colonel Sanders" since his effigy was
submerged in 1985.
It has failed to win a national championship since, although it did win its
division in 2003.
--You can be a better player than the coach
--You can be a complete player
--Recognizing your wins will build you up as a
player
5.
Ask yourself:
--Am I clear about what being a Christian is about?
--Am I moving along in the process of maturing?
--Is my life aligned with God’s purposes for me?
--Am I focused on being who Christ wants me to be?
Dr.
Gary Van DeWalker, Evangelical Free Church of Mount Shasta, Spring Training,
Message 3 of 3. May 3, 2009.
Name……………………………………………………………….
1. How many rules does Jesus give to
obey?
2. Who is a good friend of yours who knows Jesus?
3. What is one thing you are so glad Jesus helps you do?