Let’s have a winning record!

Theme: Let’s have a winning record!

Verse: Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

In August 1977, about 30 members of the Crystal City Hornet football team got the season-opening remarks from coaches Dick Cook and Rodney Mills. It had been a few years since the Hornets had finished the year with a winning record, so the coaches provided a team goal to finish in the upper half of the conference standings. As the smallest school in the county, it seemed like a daunting task.

But Coach Cook and Coach Mills knew what they were doing. They had given the team a challenge that would stretch us beyond our expectations. Sure enough, three months later we finished at 6-4 and in third place (out of 9). Most importantly, we beat the crosstown rival, the Festus Tigers, a year after they stole a victory from us (but that’s a story for another day).

The beauty of this goal was it kept us focused throughout the year. Unlike college football where a single defeat for most teams can ruin any hope of a getting in the playoff for the national championship, we could focus on the whole season. One little setback didn’t derail us.

We need focused goals in our lives. Many times, those can be found in a Mission Statement. Our church has a simple to remember, but POWERFUL, mission statement that applies to everyone in the Christian faith.

MAKE MORE AND BETTER FOLLOWERS OF JESUS. It does not get much simpler than that. If someone is not a believer, let’s bring them into the fold. If they are a believer, help them become more like Jesus.

If you try to do that every day, you will finish with a winning record!

Have a GREAT week!

Adapted from True Competitor by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page