The Glorious Gospel for SportSample

As you look out to the year ahead, where do your thoughts go?

For some of us, it’s business as usual: it’s the middle of the season with the same training patterns, the same club, and the same people. For others, the new year ushers in change: a new season, a move in teams, and time to contemplate the future as contract talks loom.

Whatever your situation, the new year inevitably, by definition, provides an opportunity for new starts, fresh ideas, and opportunities to be grasped. It’s an exciting time in so many ways: full of anticipation and hope. And yet, at times, it can seem so daunting too. Instead of hope we feel the weight of helplessness as we stand on the brink of another year and look out at all the uncertainty – it can be unsettling.

In this new Game Day series we start the New Year by reminding ourselves of the certain, concrete truths of the gospel which keep us un-wavering in our hope and faith, whatever this new season of life brings.

Two verses at the beginning of the book of Romans sum up the theme of all that Paul writes in his letter to the church in Rome. Over the next 6 weeks, we’ll take an aspect of these two verses and apply them to our world of sport.

Romans 1:16-17 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Not ashamed!

We all know what shame feels like – in sports we might feel it in a number of different ways:

• ·Crushing disappointment after a performance when others expected more
• ·A gut-wrenching pain of letting teammates down.

It’s a horrible place to find yourself and not an easy one to get out of. All you want to do is hide and never face the world again.

Paul says he is “not ashamed.” Of what?The gospel, the good news of Jesus.

It leaves no disappointment. He’s not going to hide this message from the world. He’s utterly unashamed!

How can Paul be so confident in the good news of Jesus amidst fierce opposition? And if he’s so upbeat about the gospel, why doesn’t he state it in the positive sense, something like; ‘I’m immensely proud of this good news’?

Sure, Paul must be proud of the message he has to share with the world but Paul is also realistic. The pressure on Paul to deny the good news and therefore be filled with shame must have been great. The gospel has been a source of suffering for him in many ways.

For you, in your club or team, you’ll know this too. The temptation to hide your faith, to be ashamed when someone asks you a question. Paul’s words “I am not ashamed” aren’t so much about defiance in the face of shame, but more about the confidence he has as a follower of Jesus.

If you’re a Christian you don’t need to be ashamed even under great pressure to deny what you believe. The gospel provides all the reasons not to. It’s a glorious truth.

Pray for yourself

Dear Lord,

Thank you that I can have confidence in my salvation through your son Jesus no matter how challenging I find it to live my life for you.

Help me to be unashamed of the gospel, and to remember it as glorious truth as I seek to live out my faith in my sport today.

In your name,

Amen

Pray for your sports friends

Take some time to pray for opportunities to speak to your sports friends about Jesus today.