The Sermon on the mound

Opening day is here once again. We have survived the cold of winter and new optimism fills the air.

Baseball is in my blood so to speak. It has been passed down to me by my father http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=appleg001fra who had it passed down from his father and my kids whether they realize it or not have had it passed down from me.

As a kid I loved to play baseball. I would gather anyone and everyone in the neighborhood to play ball whether it be wiffle ball, stick ball or hard ball. It wasn't until I stopped playing organized ball after college that I realized how much I love this game. As a follower of Jesus I have also recognized that Baseball is one of the greatest metaphors for the Christian life:

1. It teaches you how to deal with failure. The most successful hitters in the game fail 7 out of 10 times. Out of the 30 Major League teams only 8 make the playoffs and only one is crowned champion.

"We all make many mistakes..." (James 3:2 NLT)

"For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again..." (Proverbs 24:16 NIV)

"Failure doesn’t mean you have blown everything. It means you have some hard lessons to learn. It doesn’t mean you are a permanent loser. It means you aren’t as smart as you thought you were. It doesn’t mean you should give up. It means you need the Lord to show you the next step. It doesn’t mean that God has abandoned you. It means that God has a better plan." Ray Pritchard

2. It is a team sport, however the team really is very dependent on individual performance. For example, if the pitcher is off there is not much the rest of the fielders can do about it. Or lets say there is two outs and your on base but the hitter at the plate does not get a hit you you cannot score.

"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ." (1 Corinthians 12:12 NIV)

"Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others." (Romans 12:4-5 NIV)

3. To be successful requires Spring Training.

"...discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:7-8 NASU)

4. Every team needs a good manager.

"...For apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5 NLT)

"For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need." (Phillipians 4:13 NLT)

5. Opening day means a fresh start for every team. (Great news for Cubs fans!)

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)

"He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" (Revelation 21:5 NIV)

"For I am about to do a brand-new thing. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness for my people to come home. I will create rivers for them in the desert!" (Isaiah 43:19 NLT)


PASTORAL PROGNOSTICATION

Some songs never grow old

"If I stand" by Rich Mullins

"There's more that rises in the morning
Than the sun
And more that shines in the night
Than just the moon
It's more than just this fire here
That keeps me warm
In a shelter that is larger
Than this room

And there's a loyalty that's deeper
Than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs
That I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes
For the allegiance
I owe only to the Giver
Of all good things

So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

There's more that dances on the prairies
Than the wind
More that pulses in the ocean
Than the tide
There's a love that is fiercer
Than the love between friends
More gentle than a mother's
When her baby's at her side

And there's a loyalty that's deeper
Than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs
That I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes
For the allegence
I owe only to the Giver
Of all good things

So if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

And if I stand let me stand on the promise
That you will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace
That first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy
That has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

And if I weep let it be as a man
Who is longing for his home

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72L-bDOozNY&feature=related

Contents under pressure

Recently my wife brought a few diet Pepsi in from the garage that were frozen on the inside. We learned the hard way why labels on cans often say "Contents under pressure." After a few short moments of extreme temperature change the can blew off the top and frozen diet Pepsi was all over our kitchen with some that even made it down the hall way. Thankfully, the half of a can that whizzed by my ear did no real damage except leaving behind a big mess to clean up.

After we cleaned up I thought about the pressure that most people feel with crazy schedules, difficult situations, and the stress of life and how a lot of people feel like "contents under pressure." When things get tough people explode emotionally and relationally.

When times get tough its easy for people to turn to other things and wrong things than turn to God when they feel pressure. When people drink too much, yell too much or go into a fit of anger they are actually trying to deal with or numb pain they are feeling. In times of difficulty it is easy to find comfort in the wrong things.

Thinking about this made me think about Jesus' promise concerning the Holy Spirit:

"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;" (John 14:16 KJV)

I love that the Holy Spirit is called the "Comforter." It is a great picture of how God wants to help us in our lives if we will surrender to him. The Greek word for "Comforter" is the word "Paraclete" which literally means "one who comes alongside." I looked up 5 other translations to see how "Paraclete" is translated here is what I found:

NIV: Counselor
NASB: Helper
NLT: Advocate
The Message: Friend
Amplified: Intercessor, strengthener, stand by
Spanish: Consolador (Note the root word "console")

The Holy Spirit was sent to counsel us, to help us, to be our advocate, to be our closest friend, to be our strength, and to be our consoler. When we are under pressure we need to stop and surrender our emotions, our situations, people, whatever it is that is causing us to feel pressure and let him help. We are promised in Scripture:

"But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God)...But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence)." (Galatians 5:16, 22-23 AMP)

Here is a great prayer to pray when you are under pressure:

God, teach me to be patient, teach me to go slow,

Teach me how to wait on You when my way I do not know.

Teach me sweet forbearance when things do not go right
So I remain unruffled when others grow uptight.

Teach me how to quiet my racing, rising heart
So I might hear the answer You are trying to impart.

Teach me to let go, dear God, and pray undisturbed until
My heart is filled with inner peace and I learn to know your will.

- written by Helen Steiner Rice