The Superbowl Of Life

THE SUPER BOWL OF LIFE

INTRO: Whether you like football or not most of you have heard that today is Super Bowl Sunday.

1. The New England Patriots and the St. Louis Rams are in this year’s edition of the Super Bowl.

2. Why do people watch the Super Bowl? There are a variety of reasons.

(1. Some watch the Super Bowl because they like football and this is the premier event in football pitting the top two professional teams.

(2. Some watch the Super Bowl because strangely enough they like to watch the commercials.

1. I think that I’m in that category to a certain extent. Compared to what we usually see on television the Super Bowl commercials are in a category all by themselves.

2. You could call them the super commercials and they have a super price tag as well.

(1. Advertisers pay as much as two million dollars for a 30 second ad.

(2. There will be 60 commercial spots during the Super Bowl but two of them will be anti-terrorism spots from the government.

3. The commercials are so entertaining that CBS aired a special Friday night called “Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials II.

(3. Another reason some people watch the Super Bowl is the halftime show which always has “star attraction.”

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(4. And there are probably other reasons like everyone is watching it so I’ll watch it too. Or there’s nothing else on TV tonight. That kind of thing.

I. Most people in the world including us will never know what it is actually like to participate/to play in a football Super Bowl.

1. However, there is a Super Bowl that we can all participate in and in fact participation is mandatory.

(1. You could call it the Super Bowl of Life and whether you like it or not you are in it.

2. The apostle Paul knew that well even though they didn’t have football back then.

(1. And Paul wanted to win the game. He wasn’t interested in setting on the sidelines.

3. Listen to what Paul has to say in Philippians 3:13-14 or as the old KJ puts it: Paul is, “press(ing) toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

4. Paul was looking at the goal line and giving it everything he had.

5. Sadly most of us Christians are not like the apostle Paul in our single minded devotion.

6. For various reasons we get off course and life is not about giving it all to the Lord

(1. instead we are much like the viewers of the Super Bowl and have many different reasons for the passions we have in life.

1. Paul obviously was passionate about His Lord he says Philippians 3:7-10

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2. Paul has only one great passion in his life and that all consuming passion is Jesus Christ his Lord and Savior.

II. Unlike Paul we have other passions it may be that we have developed what the writer of Hebrews calls a besetting sin or an ensnaring sin.

1. In Hebrews 12:1 the Super Bowl of Life is spoken of again as the writer says, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

2. Developing a besetting sin seems in this 21st century to be an increasingly easy thing to do.

(1. Alcohol has always been available but now we have refined it and added to its’ potency making it even more addictive and dangerous.

(2. There were always some natural drugs but now the potency of even marijuana has been increased tenfold over what it was 30 years ago.

(3. We have methamphetamines, cocaine, heroin, rock cocaine, angel dust, LSD, and all of the designer drugs.

(4. And we have the Internet which makes other addictions more powerful and easier to develop.

3. Then there are others who are not involved with any sin as we would normally think of sin.

(1. There are some who have been led astray and gotten on the wrong path, involved with a cult or a false religion.

4. Paul speaks of some who have turned away from God in Philippians 3 (vs. 18-19).

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4. However, there are so many of us that have just gotten sidetracked from the goal.

(1. We enjoy the commercials and the halftime show and the pageantry of life.

5. We’ve gotten busy living life and making a living. It’s not that these are bad things it’s just that they are not where are ultimate priorities should be.

6. Many are concerned only with what is best for them and for their immediate family.