Alphabetical
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November 12, 2012
Set:
Growing up, sports were my life. No matter what the season, I had a ball in my hand. When I got to high school, I realized that I had to train with more focus and intensity. I needed to get bigger, stronger, and faster.
Over 95% of an athlete’s time is spent training and less than 5% competing. Training prepares us for game time. We make sacrifices to get better. Tim Tebow says “hard work always beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” Some athletes want the results without the work, but that’s not the way it works. Our desire needs to be matched by our do.
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March 03, 2009
Set:
I am hooked on a TV show. When I first heard of it, I wondered why anyone would watch a show about people who are uncool by the world’s standards. I was wrong. “The Biggest Loser” is about people who want to change, to transform how they live. The change these folks make in a short amount of time is truly remarkable.
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November 03, 2013
Set:
The psalmist tells us that his heart’s bitterness caused him to act more like an animal than a man. Sometimes when competitors are displaced by injury or illness, they experience great frustration, isolation, loneliness, and a myriad of other emotions. Those emotions can lead one to thinking and acting senselessly. The pain associated with losing may even drive some to foolishly medicate their pain and grief. Wise coaching can short-circuit that process and keep the team from painful consequences.
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January 23, 2009
Set:
John 3:16 is probably the most recognized verse in the entire Bible. Back in 70s and 80s you would see this verse at large sporting events all over the United States. However, it recently found a home in a different format. College and professional football players now write sayings, area codes, names and other things on their eye black for games. Throughout the past college football season and bowl games, several athletes made it very clear where they stood spiritually based on these marks. Probably most notable, Tim Tebow, from the biggest stage of college football, donned “John” on one side and “3:16” on the other in front of a national and worldwide audience.
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October 03, 2013
Set:
A successful gymnast has rhythm, confidence, and a strong body—but most vitally, power and control. With power, a gymnast can whip her body around a bar to gain momentum for a dismount. She can vault herself high enough over an apparatus to flip and twist her body in the air. She can leap off the ground and complete numerous harrowing tumbling passes during a floor routine. Power is important to these young athletes.
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February 18, 2014
Set:
While David and four hundred of his men set out to defeat the Amalekites (1 Sm 30:1–26), two hundred men stayed behind to watch the supplies because they were too exhausted to fight. I call these men the “taxi squad” They were not the frontline players, but they were nonetheless absolutely essential to the team. After his victory, David returned to the camp to greet the men who had stayed behind, even though some of the selfish frontliners did not want to share the plunder with the taxi squad. However, David knew that everyone had a role to play and that the victory had come from God. Therefore, David issued a statute for all of Israel—that while he was in charge all would share in the plunder, including the taxi squad.
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September 20, 2010
Set:
The 11-player basketball drill is a fun way of learning how to run a fast break. The point of the game is to box out, rebound, hit the outlet pass, and sprint to the offensive end. Three players start off with the ball and head down the court to take on two players. Once a shot goes up, all five players look for the rebound so they can hit the outlet player halfway up the court and stay in the game. It is the player who continues to get the rebound on both sides of the court that gets to stay in the game.
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February 08, 2005
Set:
One of my favorite childhood memories came on my eleventh birthday, March 15, 1972. I received a gift that would set me head and shoulders above everyone else in the neighborhood. It was something that would make me the envy of all my friends. I received the coolest bicycle in the world—a real “big boy” bike. I’m telling you, it was so shiny and bright. It had a white frame with a blue glitter banana seat, blue glitter handles and tassels. It did indeed make me the envy of all my friends. That bike made me the coolest kid in the neighborhood.
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June 25, 2007
Set:
Recently, San Francisco Giants left fielder Barry Bonds has been getting a lot of attention. In newspapers or on TV, Bonds is featured at least every other day, sometimes for no other reason than going hitless. But the reason Bonds is shown every day is because he continues to draw closer to Hank Aaron's record of 755 career home runs.
Because of this pending record, fans of Bonds are boasting about him. At the San Francisco Giants' ballpark, Bonds has his own sign in left field that says "a Giant among legends." He also has his own personal home run target, McCovey Cove, in right field, which was specifically made for Bonds.
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November 22, 2010
Set:
Have you ever wondered why we are so competitive as athletes and coaches? Why when we get onto the playing field we take on a whole new persona? The competitive nature to win comes out in us all. We sacrifice for the team! We lay down that bunt or make the block so that the rest of the team can rejoice in the victory.
Our flesh is competitive, but so is our Spirit. In Galatians 5, Paul talks about this very thing. Our flesh and our Spirit are at war with each other. The things of God are always and will always be completely different from the things of the flesh.
