Thursday, April 9, 2020

Chapel – Suffering and Success


Chapel – Suffering and Success


1 – This is the sort of situation a competitor dreams about.
·      We’re playing for a championship.
·      All the events of this season and our combined character have lead us to this day.

2 – Suffering and success – they go together.
·      Throughout this season we have experienced plenty of suffering.
o   Injuries, infections, illnesses
o   Disappointing losses
o   Players lost to other issues
·      We have also experienced great success.
o   Big wins on the road
o   Players winning awards
o   Come from behind wins
o   Great achievements by the coaching staff
o   A conference championship
·      Suffering and success have been closely linked.  That is normal and even proper.

3 – I see a similar situation in Romans 8:18 (read the text aloud).
·      By comparison, the suffering is far surpassed by the success!
·      The enduring success totally eclipses momentary suffering.

4 – Examples from this team’s life:
·      The pain of pre-season conditioning is far outweighed by the thrill of powerful second-half comebacks.
·      The worry and anxiety related to a teammate’s illness or injury is greatly surpassed by the joy of seeing him restored to our team.
·      The discomfort from injuries, concussions, infections, and illness pales in comparison when laid along side the victory we’ll achieve this evening.

5 – I encourage you to view this day’s pain and suffering as investments in the victory that awaits us.  Make those investments again today and we’ll celebrate our success together.


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