To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion.
Posts tagged NFL
Culture and Jesus: The NFL Lockout and the Coming of Christ
01 year ago
by Jack
July 25th, 2011, a date that will live in infamy in the mind of millions of Americans. No, cancer was not cured on this day. Wars were not ended, and not all the poor were made rich. No, the NFL lockout ended. A massive celebration started on social networks, television networks, and conversations in sports bars all over the country. The scheduled arriving of the NFL would happen and the nation rejoiced.
I do not wish to damper anyone’s excitement, rather call people’s attention to an event that is coming which will be more awesome than anything that has happened in history. I just want to raise awareness to the fact that Jesus Christ is coming back to earth. Now we don’t know when, but we know that when he does it will be awesome.
In Revelation John attempts to describe the fan fare that takes place around the throne of God. He talks about choruses of angels, thousands of saints, and creatures that look incredible that surround the thrown of God giving him praise and glory. Really the entire book of Revelation talks about how the glory of God culminates in his coming to redeem his creation from sin and death. This will not be a blip in human history, rather it will be a glorious reflection of all that God has done.
While we here at theDispersion are celebrating the NFL lockout ending, we want people to understand that the coming of God back to earth will happen. When it does it will be epic and receive even more acclaim than the ending of the NFL lockout could possibly have gotten. Don’t forget that Christ is coming, and live in that reality.
Jesus and the NFL
02 years ago
by Jack
A few years ago I went on a retreat to Glenwood Springs in Colorado. The speaker at the retreat was a man in his 40s who knew one of the pastors who was on the retreat with us. He talked about growing up in California, playing beach volleyball, and how he came to love Jesus Christ. I don’t remember a lot of his teaching, but I do remember one point that he made. While the exact quote eludes me, he asked something to the affect of, “What can you guys tell me more about, the NFL or Jesus?” That one question hit me like a train. At that moment in my life, you could give me a team and a number and I could tell you who that person was and what position they played. I played the Madden 2008 videogame religiously on my Sony PSP. I was captivated by the new NFL Network that had just become a part of the DirectTV package. I dreamed of being a sports writer, or maybe even a coach. I wore NFL gear, watched every Broncos game I could, and spent hours of my time watching replays and interviews on the web and on TV. The NFL was a huge idol in my life. When you think of an idol what is the first thing that comes to mind? Maybe a golden calf, an ancient relic, or something that uncivilized people sing to while dancing around a fire? The truth is that idols have not gone extinct in our modern culture. They have simply adapted. What if you had never heard of football or the NFL and went to a game? You would see close to one hundred thousand people standing in awful conditions, who all gave of their time and wealth to attend the game, wearing clothes that feature some image or figure, and shouting and screaming at a group of men lead by a mascot. Is that not the height of idolatry? The bible says that our actions reflect the patterns of our heart. We give money to the things we truly love. We give time to reflect on what we truly care out. We are passionate about the things that we couldn’t stand to lose. (more…)