Faith, Family And Football ChallengeSample

I GOT THE POWER!

When I started this journey (committing my life to following Jesus), I was really nervous, because I saw Christians telling people lots of rules they had to follow.  I consider myself to have a good sense of humor, and I like using it.  Would God ask me to give that up? I was involved in broadcast television. Would He ask me to give that up?  What I found as I got to know Jesus little by little was that He wasn’t about rules, but about freedom.  And what I actually thought he might “take away” from me, he showed me that I was given these gifts to serve him in a way that only he could know.   

I was able to let go of many of my worries and trust that He really does have a plan for my life.  It changed my perspective and the way I viewed what was critical and what was not really necessary in life.  It changed the way I lived life on a daily basis.  It became more about others than it was about “me.”  It was less about success and more about significance. And I can tell you from experience, that has turned out to be a really good thing! Now, that doesn’t mean it is always going to be butterflies and rainbows, but knowing that you have a loving God on your side sure helps you get through the tough times and smile in the good times.     

In your final day of reading in this plan, you see that Jesus came back to his group of followers after he had risen from the dead. I have never experienced anyone being risen from the dead, so I can imagine that there was a great amount of doubt mixed with elation that their friend was “ok” after everything they saw him go through.  In the verses, Jesus gives his followers (and us!) all of his authority in heaven and earth, promising to be with us while we live out this thing called faith.  That means interacting with people, getting involved with community, reading and sharing His word, teaching people the new ways that you are committing to in this Faith, Family and Football Challenge.  

ASK: Invite God to join you in this time.

READ: MAT.28.18-20

WRITE: Take some notes from your thoughts on today’s reading. What does it mean to have “all authority” from Jesus to interact with people in our world? Write down a summary of what has stood out for you in these past six days and how God has shown Himself to you in tangible ways.  

MEDITATE: Here you are, in day 7 of this reading plan. Congratulations on beginning this journey. Pray that God would continue to be present in your life, and keep going to Him to openly talk about the good and bad things going on for you. And ask Him to continue to make Himself known to you in everyday life.

VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/122757062  Tony Dungy, Super Bowl Winning Coach and NFL Hall of Fame

WHERE TO GO FROM HERE?

Reading the book of Genesis will give you a good background on how things got started and some of the “best of” stories from the Old Testament.

You should read through one of the gospels (or all of them!) - those are the books that talk about the time when Jesus was actually walking around on earth.  The book of Mark is only 21 pages and will give you many of the stories of Jesus.  The other books are Matthew, Luke, or John.  

READ: JHN.3.1-21

And if you have questions, feel free to communicate with us through our website at www.fspn.net. We’d love to hear from you and stay connected with you in this journey of life!