1 QUOTE

“If Christianity is untrue, it is of no importance. But if Christianity is true, it is of infinite importance. The only thing Christianity can never be is mildly important.”

- C.S. Lewis

1 NOTE

On Sunday morning, January 12, I preached the Sunday sermon at Holy Faith Fellowship in Compton, California. The sermon ‘Days 4-6: Filling’ can be found here. Our worship service starts at 11 so part of my Sunday morning routine is to lap swim early at Silverado Park. That Sunday, it was particularly cold (for Los Angeles standards). And as I hustled over to the swimming pool at 7:55AM, I was surprised to see the baseball field and stands bursting with activity. Two teams of 10-year-olds were playing short toss, parents were setting in, and the umpire was cleaning home plate. Did I mention it was 7:55AM? On a Sunday morning? In January?

The Lord was in His temple that Sunday morning. The Holy Spirit filled us with God’s love during worship. The preached Word came alive in our experience as never before. After service we hosted a young family and their adorable one-year old son at our home for lunch. After lunch, the kids wanted to go to Silverado Park to hit some tennis balls.

We got to the park at 3:30PM. As we were working on cross-court forehands and big targets, I noticed an umpire walking back from the truly hideous Silverado Park public bathroom. It was the same umpire from the 8AM game. As he walked by, I struck up a conversation.

“Hey Blue, how many games have you umpired today?”

The umpire replied, “This is game six.”

I commented, “Wow, that a lot of baseball for a Sunday.”

In a casual style, he retorted, “It’s just another day, Bro.”

To bring up the gospel, I asked, “What about church? These kids need God.”

He got a little testy and said, “Church? The church is gone, Bro.”

My heart sank. The umpire was certain the church was gone, a relic of a by-gone era. So every Sunday he umpired six games, even in January. I wanted to yell, “Jesus and God’s Kingdom are real. But you are blind to what really matters, Bro!”

But I didn’t want things to escalate into an argument. So I prayed for him and all the baseball families. And we got back to cross-cross forehands.

1 QUESTION

Does your life testify that seeking God first (even above youth sports) is your good and happy future?

Until Next Tuesday,

John