Florida State University sophomore Caroline Smith made an immediate splash with the Seminole swimming team when, as a freshman, she set the school record in the 500-yard freestyle. Even more impressive was the fact that she did so while turning in a stellar classroom performance, earning ACC Honor Roll honors and a 4.0 GPA. Still, as member of FSU’s FCA leadership team, Smith knows the records and honors are blessings from the Lord, whom she joyfully worships both in and out of the pool.
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Hall of Fame
Set:
What athlete does not want to be in a Hall of Fame? What little kid playing T-ball doesn’t dream of hitting the winning home run in the World Series? What sixth grader playing touch football at recess doesn’t dream of playing in the Super Bowl? It is in our nature to be driven competitors.
Our society has special places of honor for those who are above average. Whether it is dreaming of being inducted in Canton, Ohio, as a gridiron great or making it to Cooperstown, New York, as a hero of the diamond, everybody wants to be the best. The thing some athletes don’t realize is that they are already in God’s Hall of Fame.
Sacrifice
Set:
In lacrosse, there are many essential pieces of equipment: gloves, elbow pads, shoulder pads and, most important, helmets.
After mentally preparing myself for my final collegiate game, I started getting ready physically. I put on my game shorts, then my shoulder and arm pads. I laced up my cleats. All that was left was my helmet. I reached into my bag and found gloves, some tape, socks, a few lacrosse balls, but no helmet. I looked around thinking someone might be playing a prank on me, but this was no joke. I had left the most important piece of equipment three hours west in my locker.
The Cove
Emotions are never in short supply during open-mic time. Although not many people knew this particular couple's past when the man grabbed the microphone, during the brief minutes that followed, they became part of a story they would never forget.
With tears in his eyes and a quiver in his voice, the man explained to the crowd at the 2007 FCA Couples Getaway at The Cove that he and the woman next to him didn't really know how they got there.
Jump
Set:
Last night, when my two year old stood on his bed in a playful mood, I encouraged him to jump to me; but did not put my hands out . . . yet. His face went from joy to fear as he looked at the elements. The bed was high—the floor was low.
As an athlete, we can be filled with indecision at times. We want to step up to help the team, but fear and doubt hold us back. In basketball, a coach will put a player on the floor to shoot, but if he or she hesitates, the opportunity passes away. Why do we fear and doubt when the coach has confidence we can do the job?
The Attitude of Winners
Set:
There are times in baseball when it seems like nothing goes right. You drop a fly ball, you strike out, you ground into a double play, your team gives up a bunch of runs. . . None of those are very encouraging, and people usually get mad and throw fits in those cases. You see this in the pros all the time. Managers especially can throw some of the biggest fits if an umpire doesn't make the call that they want. You would think that adults wouldn't throw fits!
Athletes and coaches often think that winning is everything, but truthfully, it is not. A person's attitude--win or lose--helps determine true winners and losers.
Vision - Chapel
1 – Your coaching staff and your senior leaders have a vision for your team. To be champions is a vision worth believing in and pursuing.
2 – Habakkuk 2:2-3 (read the text)
Mission-Minded
Georgia FCA’s Joey Potter believes in a simple philosophy: Build a church and send a missionary, and a hundred people might come. But build a sports field and put a coach or pastor on it, and you can attract thousands.
Followership
Set:
NBA Player, Chauncey Billups, said, “To be a good leader, at some point you have to be a good follower. I was always a good follower. I always followed the right people and listened to the right things.
Those helped shape me as a leader.” So, are you a good follower?
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard “Are you a leader or a follower?” when I was growing up. A subtle principle was communicated through that question: “be a leader not a follower!”
1 Corinthians 9:24
Set:
Hockey Chat: You take the time to lace up the skates just right. You got the good stick with the perfect curve. You have the essential pads and you’re set to go. You spring off the bench and over the boards and then just coast around. Is it too much work to skate hard? Well then what’s the point of coming to the game if you didn’t come to play to win? Is someone else suppose to pick up the puck and score the goals? You need to play to win.
A Costly Investment
Set:
Recently while reading a book, I was reminded of the parable of the hidden treasure. This lesson from Matthew 13:44 offers a powerful message in just a single verse of Scripture. The beginning of Matthew 13 says that Jesus had been standing in a boat, teaching a crowd on the shore. Then, in verse 36, we are told that He left the crowd and went inside a house. When they were inside, the disciples asked Him to explain one of the parables He’d used, and once He’d finished that explanation, He offered another two-sentence parable.
Why Not Now?
Set:
In Matthew 8:19-22, it would seem that Jesus was heartless and uncaring with the disciple. The reality was that Jesus had need of him at that moment, but the young man’s current condition or situation kept him from committing to God. What present situations or conditions keep us from God? What will we miss by not following Him today? What have we already missed by not choosing Him before?
The sweet reality is that God knows us and is well acquainted with our circumstances and conditions. If we always waited for the most appropriate time to come to God, we may never come at all.
No Other Gods
Set:
This can’t be happening, I thought. Not with only three and a half weeks to go! But as hard as I tried, I couldn’t deny the worsening pain in my right shin. As soon as I got home from my 12-mile run, I collapsed into a chair and cried. Three months of marathon training were headed down the drain.
Following the advice of my running peers, I didn’t run for two days. I was going crazy. A friend noticed my distress and offered a challenge. She encouraged me to pray during the time I would have been running. “Don’t get out of the daily training habit, just train a different way,” she said.
Tunnel Vision
Set:
“That’s never been done here before.” “We’ve never been to the state playoffs.” “We’ve never beaten them before.” How many times have athletes looked at past seasons as the standard for the current season? The past can be a great thing when kept in perspective.
FCA Impact Play: “Training for the Rain”
Set:
A few days ago, I went out for a long training run. It wasn't a particularly pretty day, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to the run ahead of me. About four miles in, it started to drizzle. A mile later, it was raining. I found myself looking around realizing that I was the only one out there running in the weather. My mind started to harp on how miserable it was, how much longer I had to go, and how I could probably just take a shortcut and go home. Then I felt God speak to me.
Underdogs
For the second year in a row, the Drake University women’s basketball team was the preseason favorite to win the Missouri Valley Conference, but the Bulldogs have learned that preseason rankings mean nothing. When it comes to the season itself, anything can happen. And they mean anything. Last fall, Drake, a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, entered the season as a team loaded with talented veterans.
Comparisons - Chapel
Chapel – Comparisons
1 – Do you watch web sites for the weekly team power rankings?
• Do you pay attention to the state or national rankings of teams in our sport?
• Do you read the paper to see who beat whom?
• Do you make comparisons between teams and players?
• Sometimes, such comparisons could be misleading and lead you to a poor performance and with it a disappointing loss.
Choose Obedience
Set:
Football coach Vince Lombardi once said, “Winning means you're willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else.” That's so true. To be a winner you must make a commitment to sticking with a task and following through with it. We all want to be winners, but many things, including the many temptations to make bad choices, stand in our way. Those choices often keep potential winners on the sidelines.
Life is full of trade-offs. The bad choices you make today are the down payments on your problems tomorrow. It's all a part of living under God's law of sowing and reaping (Galatians 6:8).
Strength and Courage - Chapel
1 – Today’s contest will require strength and courage for us to finish the day with a victory.
2 – Strength and courage are character qualities required for all of life and especially for competition.
- Joshua 1:9 (read the text aloud).
3 – Be strong
- Strong of mind (focus well and tune out crowd noise)
- Strong of body (prepare to finish the contest strongly)
- Strong of soul (to deal well with momentum swings)
4 – Be courageous
Prayer - Chapel
1 – Many people misunderstand our purpose in conducting a chapel for our team.
- Some think that if we pray it will result in a win.
- Some think that if we go to chapel we are more likely to win.
- Some think that if we pray we get God on our side.
- So what’s the point?
- Does God even care about who wins today?
2 – Joshua 5:13-15 sheds some light on such questions (read the text aloud).
Forgiven
Set:
Baseball is often a game of controlled failure. Failing 7 out of 10 times can be considered a success. Unfortunately, this isn’t the same in our relationships.
In a large local tournament, one of our top players chose to play with a stronger team—a choice he was allowed to make. I was glad for him because he made a decision and stuck with it. Some families were offended because they felt we could win the tournament if we had him with us.
Pair of Aces
They were highly recruited freshmen on the UCLA volleyball team when they first met — one a shy high-school standout, who quietly went about her business; the other a gregarious, fun-loving star, who quickly made friends with everyone she met.
Annett Davis and Jenny Johnson Jordan had never talked before their time as teammates at UCLA, but they certainly knew of each other.
You Want Me to Build a What?
Set:
He had to make a choice. After the big win, all of his teammates were going out partying and drinking. How would he choose? Sound familiar? What about Noah?
“Lord, You want me to do what? Build what? An ark? And all those animals will listen to me? Right . . .” Noah had to make a choice. Build a big boat and obey, or don’t and tread water for a long time. He counted the cost and made the right decision. Noah did not choose what the crowd or his friends wanted him to do, but was loyal and obedient to God. We can be encouraged by Noah to take a stand and not be afraid to do something against the grain. The words “everyone is doing it” must not keep us from obeying God!
In Pursuit
Indianapolis Colts kicker Matt Stover's road to Super Bowl XLIV highlights God's faithfulness and provision.
By Susie Magill
By Susie Magill
"Age is nothing but a number."
This year’s NFL postseason has proven just that. The league’s oldest (Brett Favre, 40) and youngest (Mark Sanchez, 23) quarterbacks competed for the chance to stand toe-to-toe in Miami at Super Bowl XLIV. But even though both the Jets and Vikings lost their respective conference championships, we will still be watching history unfold on February 7, 2010.
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