Letters to a Sports Fan

If you want to open your Bibles to Romans, Romans chapter 2, I'd like to read a few verses here. Romans chapter 2 verses 1 through 11 I would like to read. And a while back I was challenged to preach through Romans by someone and I hadn't made a decision about whether to do that, although I did share one message from Romans chapter 1. This morning's message isn't necessarily just going verse by verse through it, like some people would preach through a book, but I wanted to share these verses anyway.

And so I guess the long and the short of it is I still haven't decided whether I'm ever going to preach through Romans or not. But I would like to share some verses, Romans chapter 2 verses 1 through 11. Let's read this.

Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest. For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shall escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance. But after thy hardness, an impenitent heart treasures up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds. To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life.

But unto them that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first and also of the Gentile. But glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. For there is no respect of persons with God.

The first chapter talked a lot about the unrighteous and the wickedness, the wickedness of man and the wrath of God that's coming upon them. And it listed a lot of wicked things that they were doing. This next chapter, it seems to be kind of branching now into speaking to the religious leaders.

Now, rather than focusing on Romans, I want to tell you where my focus has been the last couple of weeks. My focus, my thoughts have been going to the sermon that was preached here by Brother James Lonecker from up at the KMDRS base. His title was, anybody remember what it was? Are you lukewarm? And he preached from Revelation chapter 3 there, speaking to the church in Laodicea where he said, you are lukewarm and because you're lukewarm, I'm going to spew you out of my mouth.

And my mind has gone through that a lot of the last two weeks. Is there ever a verse, a sermon, a concept that is more relevant to us today? Thank you very much. Then that question, are you lukewarm in the age we live in with the freedoms we have and the comforts that we have? And I had to think about this and I'm going to just put up here on the board three columns, I guess.

I'm going to start with the column here that says cold and over here we have hot and in between we have lukewarm. I'll just put LW there, but that's what it means, lukewarm. And then we have these three columns, three categories of things that we can, well, we can make some choices here.

Now, if you were to go back through Romans chapter one and list the things that the people were doing there, that's the classic one people go to for speaking about homosexuality. So which of those three categories would you put that in? Well, obviously that would be over here in the cold. We'd put over there all kinds of, you know, wrong things that people do, sexual sins, pornography.

We'd put in their murder. We put in their stealing. We put in their drugs.

We'd put in their, you know, gambling, rock music, R-rated movies. All of that would be listed over here in the cold. And people who do those things, they're cold.

They're far away from God. They're not even professing to be a follower of God. That's the cold thing.

And then we could look at people that are doing some other things and we could ask the question, are these things hot? And maybe you could list some things that would belong. People who are, well, let's just go through some opportunities that we have to make choices. What if you ever find a day when all of a sudden you're all alone and you have time, you have no jobs, you have no, everything's put aside and you're just free to do whatever you want.

We've already listed some things that you could do that would be cold. Now in your mind, think about what would qualify as hot. You know, we could, we could throw out some things.

You'd probably call out prayer. We could maybe spend the day fasting, reading the word of God, singing, praising God, witnessing to your neighbors. There'd be a lot of things like that, that, that day, all of a sudden I've got 24 hours with no other responsibility.

What am I going to do with my time? Okay. But then what would we put in if we had to think of some things that are lukewarm? What would we do with that time? We certainly wouldn't want to put in whatever's in this category, but what would go in the lukewarm? In other words, if the church of Laodicea who was lukewarm, they had a day that was free. What would they do in that category? All right, let's keep going.

What about if I have some time alone? What if I have time with friends? Now, if you all of a sudden have a day, you weren't expecting this, all of a sudden people come into town and, and I didn't know they were going to be here this day. And all of a sudden we have time to spend with my friends. Now, I can think of a lot of things that would fit in this category.

In the cold category, you could go get drunk with your friends. You could go do a lot of, you could go to a casino with your friends. You can go watch R-rated movies with your friends.

And that would be in the cold category. And hopefully we, we would say, oh, we're going to avoid that completely. Well, what would be some hot things? And what would be in between? These are questions I think we should be asking.

What if you have extra money? A person, all of a sudden he gets some extra money he wasn't expecting. He's got more money than he needs. What are some cold things? Again, we know that list pretty well.

I could go gambling with it. I could go get drunk with that money. I could do this and a lot of evil things with my extra money that I didn't expect to have.

But what would be some hot things to do with your money? What would be some lukewarm things you could do? I think these are questions we should ask. What about if I'm buying a book? I mean, I'm going to read it. I'm going to set a goal to read certain number of books this, this year.

What kind of books would I read if I was cold? What kind of books would I read if I was hot? And what kind of books would I read if I was lukewarm? Now, let me back up a little bit. I say, if you are cold, you're going to do certain things. If you are hot, you will do certain things.

And if you are lukewarm, you will do certain things. And I haven't put too many things in that lukewarm category. I'm just trying to make you think.

But the same thing that I say as a result of where you're at with God is also a cause of where you're at with God. So in other words, that free day we talked about, what you do with that day, cold, lukewarm or hot, is going to reveal where you are at with God. But here's something else that's going to happen.

It will also affect where you are at with God. In other words, if you sense yourself being in one of the categories you don't want to be in, changing what you do that day and making a deliberate choice, even when it's not easy, will change you. Let me ask some more questions then.

What if you have a lot of time to listen? You find yourself all by yourself driving cross country many hours a day to listen to whatever you want. You've got the most modern technology, whether that's a CD player like they used to use, whether that's a phone or an MP3 player. But you can listen to anything you want to listen to.

What would you listen to, other than a moped outside, if you were cold? I mean, I can think of some cold things to listen to. You know, there's bad stories, there's bad music, there's a lot of bad stuff. Of course, we don't want to go there.

But what would you listen to, or choose to listen to, if you were hot? What would you choose to listen to if you were in between, lukewarm? One thing Brother James brought out two weeks ago is that the ramifications of this are huge. Because on Judgment Day, it's not going to be, you know, hey, did I say I was a Christian? He was talking to people who were Christians. But he says, these are people who are going to be spewed out of the mouth of Jesus on Judgment Day because of their lukewarmness.

Not because they were cold, but because they were lukewarm. So these are important things. And here's another question.

What if you got stuck in a room somewhere for a week or a day, a lot of time, and somebody handed you a computer with a big screen on there. And the only thing it's hooked up to is YouTube. And so I want you to spend all day watching YouTube.

Or all week watching nothing but whatever is on YouTube. Do you think that would be a good week? Do you think it would be a valuable week? You say no, of course not. That's the right answer.

No, that actually isn't the right answer. I think it could be a good week. I bet.

I haven't checked this out. But you could probably get in through the entire Bible just through YouTube if you wanted to. I'm guessing you could find, and I know this is true, lots and lots of godly music just on YouTube.

I'm guessing you could find excellent sermons that are right on the money just by using YouTube. They would all be over here in the category of hot. But I'm also guessing you could find a lot of really, really cold, nasty stuff on YouTube.

Now, here's the key, though. What else is there between this cold stuff that we avoid, hopefully, at all costs, and this hot stuff? Guess what the biggest category is of stuff on YouTube? Right here. So is it possible to grow? I'm not going to say it's likely.

I'm going to ask you if it's possible to grow. And these are choices we make. Number one, it reveals, as we have those different choices, it's going to, number one, reveal where we're at, but it's also going to affect where we're at.

We've been hearing stories. I think most of you have heard at least part of the story of the Haiti missionaries. If there's one thing that stood out to me, there was suffering, and there was problems, but if there's one thing that stood out to me, those people, during those two months in captivity, I don't think any of them were in this category.

Not during that time they weren't. They weren't lukewarm. There were some cold people around them, the witch doctors and so forth, but there was such a clash of evil and good, everybody was forced to the fringes.

Nobody was in the middle lukewarm. You were either on the side of truth and right, or you were pushed, or you were, you know, drawn into their sin, and they were engaged in prayer and Bible reading, Bible quoting. They didn't have a Bible.

They didn't have a songbook. They had one little booklet, pamphlet that they were using for evangelism purposes. That was, I think, the only reading material they had.

But they had Bible verses memorized, and they quoted them. They had songs memorized. They sang them.

They were not lukewarm during that two months. If they're ever going to be tempted to be lukewarm, it's when they get back to the States and start giving reports and start relaxing and all the food they have to eat and lots of options now. They're free.

To go where they want. That's where the temptation comes in, and this is a constant threat. This is pressure.

This is all around us. It's something that's coming in, and so I'd like to preach a sermon this morning that is primarily, I think, directed at me. There are some sermons that are preached, directed at certain groups of people.

Some are more directed at men. Not exclusively, but probably more. When the subject of lust and pornography comes up, it tends to be more directed toward the men.

I remember I was at a homeschool conference one time, and a woman was sharing, and she was talking about pornography. She had actually some good things to say, but I remember going through my mind, yeah, but lady, I don't know if you can really relate to the struggles that men go through. It was very valid what she said.

It seemed a little different coming from someone who wouldn't have been nearly as much of a struggle for it. However, listening to those purity talks that we have up here, it's given by a man who knows the struggle. It's very meaningful.

Others I've heard of us sharing, it's talking about things that we struggle with. We can relate to each other. It doesn't mean it's invalid if someone else does it.

It's just a little different. I know for myself, I haven't spent a lot of time preaching sermons to women and things that they're supposed to do. That doesn't mean it wouldn't be valid.

I should. It's in the Bible, but it just feels a little uncomfortable to me, telling women what they need to do. I think it's excellent if women get together and preach to themselves, like it says in Titus 2, older women teaching younger women to love their husbands and so forth.

I think that's excellent when that happens, because I'll be honest, I feel I struggle with that a little bit. I remember Jeremy Brackett, he preached on something that I probably wouldn't have felt comfortable, obesity. It's not something I've struggled with in my life, but he had, and he got up here and he gave a devotions or a sermon about that issue that he had struggled with, and he had overcome it.

I mean, he was in the process of overcoming it. He gave up and gave some thoughts about it. But again, for me, I just felt, I'm not sure I'm comfortable talking about that because I can't relate as closely as maybe he could.

But this morning's sermon is something I can relate to. And in fact, I think probably, if I look at the men that are here, I maybe have struggled with this more than any of you. And I just kind of went down the line, my checklist, I checked off all the men in our church and said, yeah, I don't think he's struggled with this too much.

I don't think he does. I don't think he does. But when I got to myself, yep, he struggles with it.

He has struggled with this. And probably now if you go to a different church, maybe that would be different. I was just looking at our church.

And maybe you have struggled with it more than I know. But it's one of those categories, something to talk about that I think fits very clearly in this middle category right here, the lukewarm category. And the way the reason I got convicted to talk about this or the thing that was kind of the triggering point, I was back there at Bible school and picked up at a book table in the back.

I started going through there. Oh, yeah, it's a new book. I'm going to get that one picked up.

But one of the books I picked up was this one right here. It's called Dear Brother Patrick. And the subtitle says Letters to a Sports Fan.

Letters to a Sports Fan by Matt Dreher. And I'd heard that this book was out there, just a little tiny book. And I thought, you know, that I probably should read that.

As difficult as it might be, I should probably read it. And so I wanted to share with you some from this book. That it's basically a series of letters, somewhat imaginary.

It's from a real guy, but it's to an imaginary guy. And just some of the thoughts that he shared. And so I'm going to do a fair amount of reading here.

But I want you to listen. Again, the title, the author's title is, I mean, the guy who wrote it is Matt Dreher. Patrick is imaginary, but it's so.

So just listen to this. And so here's the first letter. And he says this, Dear Brother Patrick, hello, my name is Matt Dreher.

We met at your church back in August. We sat beside each other and sang bass together. Do you remember me? I was a man who asked, how are things going in the most important area of all? While we didn't get too acquainted, I was blessed by your enthusiasm and your desire to serve Jesus.

You gave me your address, so I've decided to write to you. I'm writing to you because of a man named Terry. When I was a young Christian, older Christian named Terry wrote me numerous letters that were helpful to me.

Now I'm an older Christian. And like Terry, I have a desire to encourage young Christians. Obviously, I want to encourage Christians of all ages.

But my heart especially goes out to young Christians like you. There are so many things out there that can be just distancing and distracting. And confusing.

I believe Christians need to counsel and encourage, need counsel and encouragement to help them move in the right direction to establish biblical convictions. If I remember right, you are 20 years old and have been a Christian for four years. You do construction work with your father and are the oldest of five children.

I'll tell you more about myself in future letters. But my goal is to get to know you. I hope we can be a blessing to each other.

Brother Patrick, I care about you and will be praying for you. God bless you, Matt. P.S. Matthew 633 is my favorite Bible verse.

Seek ye first things. The kingdom of God. All right.

That's letter number one. Letter number two. Dear Brother Patrick.

Greetings in Jesus name. I hope this letter finds you resting in Jesus. When we talked, I could tell you have a good understanding of what it means to be born again.

I sense you have a strong love for God. I hope you know how blessed you are. There are many people who don't know what it means to be born again and have a relationship with Jesus.

Patrick, don't ever lose your love for God. Sometimes Christians start out with a lot of zeal, but after a few years they fizzle out. It doesn't have to be that way.

Look at the Apostle Paul as an example. After he was born, again, he had a one track mind. He was on fire for the kingdom of God.

He was a walking exclamation point for Christ and his fire never went out. He was eventually martyred for Christ. I don't know how old he was when he died.

Probably around 70. But when he died, he had the same joy and enthusiasm he had when he was a young Christian. Maybe even more.

I love Psalm 57, 7. My heart is fixed to God. My heart is fixed. I will sing and give praise.

Have a wonderful day. Rejoice in the Lord. Be a walking exclamation point for Jesus.

God bless you. God bless you, Matt. And then the third letter.

Dear Brother Patrick, greetings and salutations. God's given us another beautiful day. I think of the verse.

This is the day which the Lord has made. We'll rejoice and be glad in it. It's snowing here in Indiana.

What's the weather like in Pennsylvania? In this letter, I'd like to share my testimony with you. I was raised in a Christian home and have wonderful parents. Unfortunately, I rebelled against God when I was in high school and started making bad choices.

I did things that were sinful. When I was in public school, my classmates thought I was funny. Actually, I was proud and liked attention.

When I was voted the class clown during my senior year, I was on top of the world. But deep down, I felt guilty. I knew I was living in sin.

After I graduated from high school in 97, the party was over. I had no classmates to impress, so I was no longer the class clown. My girlfriend broke up with me and my parents were scattered everywhere.

My friends were scattered everywhere. I found myself working on my neighbor's hog farm. One hot evening in July, I came home from work and wanted to talk to my parents.

My father was working late, so I talked to my mother. I told her I wanted to become a Christian. She was so happy.

She hugged me and cried. I cried too, and then I cried out to God. I confessed my sins and asked God to forgive me.

I remember the peace I felt when Jesus came to live inside me. I don't remember exactly what I said, but it was something like this. God, I want to serve you.

I'm turning my back on Satan, and I pledge my total allegiance to you. That was almost 24 years ago. I'm 42 now, and Jesus keeps getting sweeter.

God bless you, Matt. P.S. I would like to hear your testimony of how you became a Christian. All right.

Here's a letter back. Dear Brother Matt, thank you for your letters. Of course I remember you.

You were in Pennsylvania on vacation, came to our church. I enjoyed visiting with you, and I enjoyed singing bass with you. And yes, I will never forget when you asked me, how are things going in the most important area of all? That was a unique conversation starter.

It sounded like something my grandpa would say. It was thoughtful of you to write to me. I would like to keep in touch, but I'm not very good at writing, but I'll try to write back as much as I can.

You asked me to share my testimony. I would be honored to do so. I would like to share my testimony.

I would like to share my testimony. I would like to share my testimony. I would like to share my testimony.

I would like to share my testimony. I would like to share my testimony. I would like to share my testimony.

I would like to share my testimony. I would like to share my testimony. I would be happy to do that.

I was raised in a Christian home. I'm thankful for my parents, my family, my church. I'm thankful for grandpa.

I'm also thankful for Grandpa Troyer. He had a lot of grandchildren, but he did a great job of spending time with each of them. He was a very godly man.

He was good at talking about important spiritual matters without coming across as preaching. He cared about me. I know he spent a lot of time on his knees praying for his grandchildren.

I miss him. When I was 16, I started making decisions that were not good. I think God was calling me, but I wanted to do my own thing.

You know how that is. I remember grandpa took me fishing one day and asked me how I felt God was calling me. Asked me if I felt God was calling me.

I lied. I said I don't think so but I think he knew the truth. That was our last conversation.

The next day grandpa had a heart attack and died. I cried a lot. We all did but the funeral was weird.

It was sad but everyone was happy. I can't explain it but his funeral made me realize how real everything is. God, Christianity, heaven, living for Jesus.

I became a Christian the day of my grandpa's funeral. That's my testimony. Now tell me about your job and family.

When you were at church I noticed you had a lot of children. Please write back in Christ's love, Patrick. Dear brother Patrick, thank you for your letter.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your testimony. Amen. I'm thankful for God's love and mercy.

It sounds like you have a very godly grandpa. I had a very godly grandpa. I'm sure it was hard when he passed away but it sounds like his prayers were answered when you came to Christ on the day of his funeral.

You have a wonderful testimony. It is a great beginning to your Christian journey. Keep your eyes on Jesus.

You ask about my family? My wife's name is Tiffany and tomorrow's our anniversary. We've been married 16 years. I'm blessed to have such a godly wife.

I don't know what I would do without her. We have nine children. We love them very much.

Well, I have to go. Five-year-old Amy wants to play hide-and-seek. God bless you, Matt.

Dear brother Patrick, how are things going to the most important area of all? Are you spending time with God every day? The best time for me is in the morning. I try to get up early to spend time praying and studying the Bible. I need that.

I need that to feel God's presence through the day. You asked about my job. I'm a teacher at a Christian school.

I feel very blessed. I get to talk about Jesus all day and encourage young men and women. In previous letter, I mentioned that I used to work on a hog farm.

I actually enjoyed that but after a few years, I decided to go to college and pursue a teaching degree. I graduated from college in 2004. I teach high school at a private Christian school in Wolcott, Indiana.

It's a wonderful school. I'm thankful to have a great relationship with my students. Besides class time, we lunch together and play together at recess.

We have a lot of good conversations but I don't want to sound unrealistic. Things aren't always perfect. For one thing, it's been a while since I've been in high school.

I don't totally understand their struggles. The things they fret about seem silly to me. For my students, their favorite part of the day is recess.

Nothing like sports for them and a little frowny face. They have 25 minutes after lunch every day to burn off their energy. I usually play with them.

It's a great time to get some exercise and bond with my students. I love my job. Do you think you would like to be a teacher? God bless you, Matt.

Dear brother Matt, today was a great day. We're building a house in the heart of Lancaster County. I like my job and working with my dad.

In one of your letters, you ask about the weather in Pennsylvania. I think it's similar to Indiana. Today was chilly with snow.

Some people ask me if it's hard to work outside but I don't mind it. If you dress warmly enough, it's fine. It sounds like you have a great relationship with your students.

I can understand that you can't always relate to their struggles. I'm not saying you're old but you're in a different stage of life than they are. You are concerned about paying bills and raising a family and they're concerned about impressing their friends and what to wear to school.

Why the frowny face about sports? I mean, they're young. I'd like to encourage you to try to understand them but I wouldn't look down on them for having what seems like silly concerns. In God's eyes, most of our concerns might seem pretty insignificant.

I don't know if I could be a teacher but it sounds like a lot of fun to play at recess. Write back in Christ's love, Patrick. Dear brother Patrick, hello.

I wish you grace and peace. Thank you for your letter. I feel honored you take the time to write to an old man like me.

I'm thankful for our friendship and thanks for your advice. I confess sometimes I roll my eyes at what my students fret about but you made a good point. I fret about things too, just different things.

Brother Patrick, could I open up to you about something in my life? I mentioned my students interest in sports. I used to be quite heavily into sports but after I became a Christian, I resolved to lay it aside. For many years, I didn't follow sports at all but in the last few years, it's become more of a struggle again.

For one thing, my students talk about sports all the time so it just makes me curious but I'm not blaming my students. Sports just has a pull on me. I confess sometimes I watch highlights on YouTube.

I used to love college basketball so when March Madness is going on, I check scores. I'm sharing this with you because I'm hoping you can help me. The only time I keep up with sports is when no one is looking so I would appreciate if you could keep me accountable.

I would accept any advice and I would be grateful for your prayers. Thank you. God bless you, Matt.

Dear brother Matt, I will happily pray for you and I feel honored that you opened up to me but your issue with sports took me by surprise. I guess I don't see it as such a big deal. Although most of the adults in our church don't follow sports, I guess it is kind of discouraged and I guess it is kind of discouraged.

Almost everyone my age follows sports. To be honest, I love sports. I really don't see that much wrong with it.

Actually, I'm going over to a friend's house tonight to watch a football game. I'm sure it'll be an exciting game and I'm looking forward to it. So my advice would be not take it quite so seriously.

As long as it doesn't affect your relationship with God, I don't think following sports is anything to worry about. Keep writing. In Christ's love, Patrick.

Dear brother Patrick, greetings in Jesus' name. Thank you for hearing my heart and praying for me. I'm not sure what to say and where to start.

I'm trying to understand what you wrote and I don't want to come across as too strong but I do want to talk about sports. First of all, I'm not against recreation. I told you I enjoy playing with my students at recess and I have nothing against a family playing kickball in their backyard or father playing softball with his children.

I also enjoy activities like jogging and hiking. These things can all be done with the blessing of God but I am concerned about organized sporting events, especially professional sports. As I confessed to you in my last letter, I'm sometimes tempted to get wrapped up in sports but I struggle against it and I don't think you should be wrapped up in it either.

There's a reason your church leaders encourage you to avoid sports. Perhaps they don't preach about it like they used to but the danger is still there. I think it'd be good for you to talk about this but I want your permission to do so.

Would that be okay? God bless you, Matt. P.S. Please pray for my mom. She plans to have knee replacement surgery.

Dear Brother Patrick, I want to tell you a story. Back in 98, someone in my church family approached me about the music I was listening to. This brother politely asked me why I listened to country music.

I really didn't have an answer. He asked me about the lyrics and I sheepishly admitted that most of the songs promote sinful behavior such as partying, drinking, and sexual immorality. He then asked me another question.

As a Christian, do you think you should be listening to stuff like that? At first I was annoyed. What right did he have to tell me what music to listen to? But slowly I realized he was right. As a Christian, I should not be listening to something that leads me away from God.

In the end, I threw away all my country music CDs. I'm also thankful for all the advice of that brother. He wasn't being nosy or nitpicky.

He talked to me because he cared about me. He was concerned about me. He didn't want me to listen to music that promotes sin.

He wanted me to serve God to the best of my ability. I guess what I'm saying is we all need sharpening. Proverbs 27 says iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the counts of his friend.

I think we can sharpen each other. I'll wait for you to write back before I continue this discussion. God bless you, Matt.

Dear Brother Matt, hello to you. I hope your wife and children are doing well. I want you to know I'm grateful for our friendship and I will be praying for your mom.

I have not responded for a while because I've been digesting your last two letters. I admit I was a little defensive when you came down on sports, but even though I don't understand your concerns, I'd like to hear what you have to say. If following sports actually hinders my walk with Christ, then I want to be a man and be open to for sharpening.

I honestly want to serve God for the best of my ability, give him my total allegiance. Keep writing. In Christ's love, Patrick.

Dear Brother Patrick, my daughter Stacey brought in the mail yesterday. I rejoiced when I saw your letter, but I admit I was a bit nervous. I wasn't sure what the letter would say.

Patrick, I was blessed when I read it. Your letter showed a lot of maturity. I'm thankful for you.

You have a soft heart and are open for sharpening. Thank you for your honesty. I too am grateful for our friendship.

I wish everybody had your openness and I pray that I can also be open to advice. I have to go. I just want to let you know I got your letter.

I will keep writing. God bless you, Matt. Dear Brother Patrick, good morning.

Thank you for praying. My mother's surgery went well. She's on the road to recovery.

I want to share my testimony on sports. I used to love sports. I remember the pleasure of watching sports with my friend and the thrill of watching my favorite team win.

When I was in high school, I loved basketball. I played all the time, and when I wasn't playing basketball, I was watching it. My favorite team were Purdue and the Chicago Bulls.

I also liked football. I played on my school's football team in seventh and eighth grade. In eighth grade, I was the third string running back.

I wasn't very good, but nonetheless, it consumed my life. I scored one touchdown. I will never forget it.

It was our last game of the season. We had a substantial lead and the game was almost over, so the coach put me in. They gave me the ball and I ran about 50 yards before getting tackled on the two-yard line.

Everyone was surprised, including me, so they decided to give me the ball again. I took the hand off and dove in for a touchdown. I was so excited.

Everyone was cheering. I felt like I was Barry Sanders. This was one shining moment of my brief football career.

In my next letter, I'll tell you about the last sporting event I ever attended. God bless you, Matt. Dear brother Matt, I'm glad your mother's surgery went well.

I have to admit, I smiled as I tried to picture you wearing football attire and diving in for a touchdown. I want you to know, I am still watching games, but I am listening. There is something, though, that has always bothered me a lot.

I wonder what my younger siblings think. They look up to me. Will they follow the things I'm passionate about? Do I want them to be Bears fans? Do I want them to be passionate about sports? Those are some thoughts I have.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing your story about the last sporting event you attended. Please keep writing and Christ love, Patrick. Dear brother Patrick, our friendship has been such a blessing to me.

Ever since I've been writing to you and been encouraging each other, I have had no desire to check scores or watch sports on YouTube. I want to tell you about the last sporting event I attended. I think it was the year 2000.

I was a young Christian. My friend Ryan had just become a Christian. Ryan wanted to watch a wrestling meet at the school that we graduated from.

He invited me to go along, so I went. As a Christian, the atmosphere made me uncomfortable, but I brushed it aside and kept watching. Something happened, however, that left a huge impression on me.

In the middle of the meet, two of the best wrestlers were engaged in battle. Things seemed pretty normal, but then suddenly one of the wrestlers threw his rival to the mat and pinned him. The winner jumped up and raised his hands while the crowd went wild.

In the heat of the excitement, the cheering fans paid little attention to the other wrestler who was lying still on the mat. He had a fractured leg and was groaning in agony, but nobody seemed to care. All the fans on the winning team continued to cheer.

As the fans on the winning team cheered, the fans on the losing team became angry and started shouting and swearing. The air was filled with hate. That was the one time in my life I could feel the presence of demons.

As paramedics came to the aid of the injured wrestler, Ryan and I got up and left. Right then and there, I made up my mind to stay away from organized sports. At the time, it was my personal decision to stay away from organized sports, but the more I studied scripture, the more I believe that all Christians should stay away from them.

I know that's a strong statement, and I'll explain more in my next letter. God bless you, Matt. Dear brother Patrick, my children are in bed, and I should be there too, but I wasn't real tired, so I told Tiffany I'd like to stay up and write you another letter.

I want to tell you about a dream I had a few years ago. I don't know if this dream was from God, though I think it likely was. In my dream, a voice said, professional sports are causing people to sin.

I woke up, and for the rest of that day, I couldn't stop thinking about the words in my dream. I slowly realized that, yes, professional sports do lure many people into sin. It becomes a snare for them.

As I pondered this, I realized I should be very cautious about being involved in something that contributes to the ruin of many people. This leads to the one question I have for all Christians. Should we become enthralled with something that leads so many people to sin? I'm going to close it with a prayer.

Father in heaven, I thank you for my brother Patrick. I thank you for our friendship, and I pray he'll understand my concern with sports. And Father, I pray for all the people involved in the sporting world who are perhaps unknowingly causing people to sin.

I pray that they'll repent and leave sports and devote themselves to the kingdom of God. I pray all this is done in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Well, it's two o'clock in the morning, and I better go to bed. God bless you, Matt. Dear brother Matt, wow, that story about the wrestling match made me sick.

I think I would have walked out too. That's too bad when competitive events get out of hand like this. And thank you for your last letter.

I'm humbled that you stayed up late to write with me in your heart. I have a question. You've talked about sports luring people to sin.

I can see how an industry like pornography makes people sin, but how can sports become a snare to people? Would you mind explaining that in more detail? I'd like to say a prayer as well. God, thank you for my brother Matt. I'm thankful we can sharpen each other and communicate through letters.

I pray for Matt that he would... I pray for Matt as he has a desire to avoid sports. I like watching sports, and I don't want to give it up. But if you want me to, then I pray for the grace to do that.

In Jesus' name, Amen. This is the first time I typed a prayer. It's kind of different.

See you. Keep writing. In Christ's love, Patrick.

Dear brother Patrick, thank you for your letter. As always, your letter showed love and maturity. You ask a good question.

How do professional sports become a snare for people? I will try to explain, but it might take a few letters. I don't want to do it all the talking, so feel free to jump in at any time. By the way, thank you for your prayer in the last letter.

Like you said, it's rather different writing down prayers. What I think is special, when you write prayers, it's like writing a letter to God. Well, it's time for supper.

I'll write again soon. God bless you, Matt. Dear brother Patrick, after much thought and prayer, I'm going to share six ways that sports can become a snare for people.

I will discuss these six things in my next few letters. I will start with, number one, idolatry. And the next couple of pages here, next few pages, are things that he lists out.

And I'm not going to read all these. If you're taking notes, though, you could write down these six things, but I probably won't read all the commentary. But number one, issue number one is idolatry.

And he says, I think a lot of people think it's innocent entertainment, and for some of them it might be, but the truth is, they idolize the players, they have football cards, baseball cards, autographs, posters, jerseys, and so forth. The stadiums are filled with thousands of fans who are screaming, cheering, dancing. Simply put, I'm afraid professional sports has become a god in America.

Number two, lust and immorality. You can see it all over. Women dress horribly and modestly, and men lust after them, and vice versa.

I bring this up because professional sports and immorality go together. From cheerleaders to halftime shows, men and women get their feel of sensual thrills in sports, not to mention sex trafficking that goes on. He has a site there about a reference for that, which was new to me as well.

Dear Brother Patrick, we had an emotional day, went to a funeral for a little baby named Rudy, but this is the letter he brings up. Number three, so number one and two were idolatry, lust, and immorality. Number three, drinking and partying.

Sporting events are loud and rowdy. I can't imagine the Spirit of God dwelling at sporting events, and worse yet, the sports industry promotes the consumption of alcohol. Drinking and drunkenness are a big part of sporting events.

Un-Christian behavior. Many people behave in an un-Christian manner at sporting events. Players get carried away.

Players and fans get carried away. They applaud, brag, showboat their teams if their team does well. They scream, cuss, and argue when their other team gets an advantage.

I think all Christians want their children to be like Jesus, but sadly, many Christians watch sports. Instead of being like Jesus, their children imitate their sports heroes. Number five is wasting money.

Untold billions of dollars are dumped into sports every year. Their money isn't helping anybody. It's just sacrifice to the God of entertainment.

Do you think this is what Jesus wants us to do with our money? Speaking of money, another thing that goes hand-in-hand is gambling. With sports is gambling. Do we really want to be enamored with something that causes people to waste their money? And number six is wasting time.

Sports encourages people to waste their time. Nothing good is accomplished from professional sports. It's just entertainment, yet people waste hours and hours getting wrapped up in it.

They neglect their family. They neglect God. They could be doing something better with their time.

Brother Patrick, think of all the fans who love sports. They're strong, healthy, and energetic. Think of all the good they could do for God.

Do you think God will be pleased when they wasted all their time and energy on sports? This is the last of six points, and so let me just go back and through and read them again. The six sins that happen as a result of sports. Idolatry, lust and immorality, drinking and partying, unchristian behavior, number five, wasting money, and number six, wasting time.

And then Patrick responds, Dear Brother Matt, I haven't responded because I've been reading your letters in a while, because I've been reading your letters. You made some very good points. I hear what you're saying, but I need more time to think about this, and I have a question.

What about Christian athletes? After the game, they thank Jesus. When they do this, millions of people hear the name of Jesus. There's a famous basketball player who points toward heaven whenever he scores.

Isn't that something good? Keep writing. In Christ's love, Patrick. Dear Brother Patrick, thank you so much for your letter.

It was nice to hear from you and your heart. I appreciate the tone in your letter. I can tell you're not trying to win an argument.

I believe you really want to do what's best. That's my heart too. I want what's best.

I don't expect you to make a life-changing decision in the last few days. These things take time. I encourage you to pray and fast.

Study your Bible. Study the writings of early Christians. Talk to others and take your time.

You ask about Christian athletes, whether they're true Christians or not, it's between them and God. Personally, I don't see how dunking a basketball glorifies God, but I'm glad you brought it up. Those Christian athletes are going to stand before God someday.

Yes, they might thank Jesus and point to heaven when they win, but are they helping people or hindering people? We have talked about six ways sports can lure people into sin, and now I'd like to give you a homework assignment. Are those athletes in any way responsible for those lured into sin? Does the Bible say anything about those who cause others to sin? Well, dear brother Matt, well it's been months since your last letter. Thank you for your patience.

I've been thinking about the things you wrote. I've been praying and fasting. I even talked with my father to see how he feels.

I did your homework assignment. I must admit I found some awkward verses. I found one place in the Old Testament where God had strong words of judgment against the King Jeroboam because he made Israel to sin.

And then in the New Testament, other places where making someone else sin is very serious. Christian athletes used to be my heroes, and I looked up to them. But now I'm starting to see they're hindering others.

They're not helping the cause of Christ. This has been good for me, but it's also been hard. I need more time.

In Christ's love, Patrick. Dear brother Matt, I've read your letters over and over. I've been praying, crying, and wrestling with God.

I know what I need to do, and I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna give up following professional sports. Please pray for me, especially when football season starts.

This won't be easy. I confess I'm not excited about this. I feel like I'm saying goodbye to an old friend, but I believe it's the right thing to do.

Thank you for all your help and prayers. I really do want to continue our relationship because now I know I'll need encouragement. In Christ's love, Patrick.

Dear brother Patrick, your letter brought tears to my eyes. I'm thankful for your desire to give up sports, but it touches my heart to know the struggle you're going through. Here are the words of the first verse of my favorite song.

I pray it gives you courage. I hope it helps me every time I sing it. I have decided to follow Jesus.

I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back.

I remember going through a hard time when I was a young Christian. I wanted to give up. My father didn't know what to say, so he just hugged me.

That meant so much. Brother Patrick, I feel like I should come visit you, so I'm giving you a heads up. I'm coming to Pennsylvania.

God bless you, Matt. Dear brother Matt, thank you so much for driving all the way to Pennsylvania. That meant so much to me.

It was good to see you. It helped me more than you'll ever know. As you left, as soon as you left, I sat down to write this letter.

God bless you. Keep writing, brother Patrick. Dear brother Patrick, praise the Lord.

It was good to see you. Writing letters is nice, but it's much better to sit down and talk in person. Patrick, I'm blessed by your maturity.

I was not nearly as mature as you when I was 20. I can tell you're filled with the Holy Spirit. Thank you again for your hospitality.

I wish I could have stayed longer. By the way, I enjoyed talking with your father. Sounds like the two of you have chatted in detail about my letters.

Well, my family's getting ready to go on a picnic. It's a nice day outside. By the way, I enjoy driving around Pennsylvania.

You live in a beautiful state, but Indiana is beautiful too. I live in a farming community. Right now, I'm seeing all the farmers in the fields.

It's that time of the year. I'll be praying for you. God bless, Matt.

Dear brother Matt, greetings, brother. How are things going? Are you watching sports when nobody's looking? I'm not, praise God. Things are going great.

Sometimes I'm tempted though, especially when I'm bored. Do you have any advice? By the way, I recently came across a verse in Nahum that really blessed me. It says, the Lord's good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and he knows them that trust in him.

Have a joyful day. In Christ's love, Patrick. Dear brother Patrick, first of all, things are going well.

Thank you for asking. Thank you for keeping me accountable. I'm tempted too.

Like you, I'm mainly tempted when I'm bored. We have to stay focused. When you gave up sports, I should have told you to do something to take its place.

Let me share another story. When I was your age, I played football with some Christian friends once a week. I enjoyed that.

But after a while, we felt like we should be doing something more edifying with our time. So instead of playing football, we decided to sing in nursing homes. You see, we didn't just drop football, we replaced it.

This is my encouragement to you. Here's a few ideas. Visit somebody who needs fellowship, a widow, someone in a nursing home, etc.

Then try to visit them at least once a week. Reach out to someone, perhaps a young boy in your area who doesn't have a father. Build a relationship with him and spend time with him.

Number three, evangelize. Resolve to look for opportunities to speak to people about God. Number four, spend time with your family.

Number five, pray. Make a prayer list and make it a priority to pray for people. Number six, study the Bible or read a book.

Number seven, create a ministry. Maybe you could build wheelchair ramps or something. And number eight, do volunteer work.

The list goes on. The idea is that we devote our energy to something else. This will help get our minds off sports.

We dare not start yielding or we'll find ourselves getting back into sports. God bless you, Matt. Greetings, dear brother Patrick.

Greetings, brother. I learned something in my Christian life I want to pass on to you. You probably already know this, so bear with me.

When I was a young Christian, I thought heaven was a place Christians go sometime after death. And that's true, but little by little, I realized that heaven is also present reality here on earth. Have you ever thought about that? Think about when Jesus came to the earth.

In the midst of fighting, political strife, pride, and every other kind of sin under the sun, Jesus showed up and demonstrated to everyone what heaven looks like. When Jesus came, he said, the kingdom of God is here. And all through the Gospels and the book of Acts, Jesus and the apostles talked about the kingdom.

That's what Christianity is about, the kingdom of God. When I grasped this, it changed my life. Being a Christian meant so much more.

I hope that fills you with a sense of purpose. God bless you, Matt. And this one is again from Patrick.

I want to say how thankful I am. Thankful about your advice about doing something in his place. On Sundays after church, a group of young men and I have committed ourselves to sing for elderly people in our church.

I also want to spend more time reaching out to neighbors. To keep myself focused, I'm listening to sermons more and have decided to spend more time in prayer. I started writing prayer requests in a notebook and sometimes I write down my prayers.

Thank you for bringing up the kingdom of God. And then he had a prayer request about a man in his life who needs salvation. Hello Patrick, I got your letter.

I'm going to breeze through a little bit of this. I have a prayer request too. Please pray for a friend of mine.

I love him very much, but I'm worried about him. He got addicted to sports at a young age. He's a Christian, but the Chicago Cubs are number one in his life.

I know my friend would be a stronger Christian if he could let go of his sports addiction. But in his mind, there's nothing wrong with watching sports because sadly most of the other people in his church are also obsessed with it. Dear Brother Matt, greetings in Jesus name.

I have a dream I want to share with you. I would love to see all Christians end their involvement with professional sports. What if all Christians were un-unitedly detached from professional sports and all the idolatry, sexual immorality, unchristian behavior, and prodigality that goes with it? Wouldn't that be powerful? What a testimony it would portray to the world.

Think of the opportunity to lift up the kingdom of God. I was recently listening to a sermon about the early Christians. Did you know they universally stayed away from the sporting scenes of their day? Things like chariot races and gladiator events.

They did not complete Pete, and they did not attend. I know it sometimes seems impossible for that to happen in America, but that's the dream. That's my dream, and I believe God with God all things are possible.

With love, Patrick. And here's another. I'm skipping through this.

Speaking of living for Jesus, this is Dear Brother Matt to written to Patrick. Have you ever heard the story of a man named C.T. Studd? He died in 1931. My father read a book about him.

He used to be a famous cricketer in England. When he was 19, he was captain of his team at Eaton College. He claimed to be Christian, but he was not living for Jesus.

In 84, his brother got very sick. This made him realize what he was really important. This is what he said.

I know that cricket will not last, and honor will not last, and nothing in this world will last, but it is worthwhile living for the world to come. He then gave up cricket and focused on the kingdom of God. He has a famous quote.

Only one life will soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last. I've been thinking about all the men and women who dedicated their lives to sports.

Do you think there's anything we can learn from them? In Christ's love, Patrick. And then the next is a discussion about what we can learn from people who are into sports. You know, they have dedication.

These athletes do whatever they're doing. They're training, practicing, working out 24-7. They watch what they're eating.

They're committed. Well, we should be equally committed to the kingdom of God. Christians, they're zealous.

Christians should also be zealous. If Christians would have that same passage. To put it in perspective, take someone like Michael Jordan.

Many consider him to be the greatest basketball player of all time. What if he would have devoted his life to Jesus instead of basketball? With his passion, drive, and talent, he could have been the next Apostle Paul. There's one more thing to think about.

Athletes work hard, and their reward is a trophy. They get a little glory in this life, but that's all. A Christian's reward is in heaven.

His focus is not on this life, but on the life to come. Brother, let's lift up the name of Christ. People get so excited about touchdowns and home runs, but those things are so insignificant when compared with the kingdom of God.

Dear Brother Matt, how are things in the most important area of your life? And talk about memorizing scripture, talk about some travel plans. Next one. I have some wonderful news, dear Brother Patrick.

I have some wonderful news. My oldest daughter, Hannah, committed her life to Christ. I'm so excited and thankful.

Please pray for her. You shared a lot in your last letter, and then talked again about memorizing and so forth. And let me just read the last one, the last prayer.

Father in heaven, thank you for Brother Patrick. He's been such an encouragement to me. Father, we pray for professional athletes.

We pray for all the people involved in sporting worlds who are causing people to sin. We pray that they will repent and leave sports and devote themselves to the kingdom of God. And we pray that all Christians will focus their energy on things that are much more important than sports.

We pray all this in the name of Jesus. Amen. God bless you, Matt.

And there is a little bit more about the author, but that's the end of the book. And you know, as I read that, it's a little bit more than I could get through the whole book, but you can definitely borrow it from me if you want. But you know, as I think of things that are fit over here into this category, this lukewarm category, that's going to is what John in Revelation three was, you know, focusing on.

And there's a lot in today's world. There's more than there's ever been. This is this has been a problem for a lot of time, you know, for a long time.

And so as I was looking at what Matt read there, you know, I could relate to it. And I thought, I'm just going to open this up and I'm going to share that with you. And it's it's my desire to stay with.

And I'm going to tell you what I was maybe going to do. I think I'm not going to do what I was going to do. And that is share something that belongs in this category.

There was a article I received in the mail on this Companions. This is Christian life. And it's a story called Precious Souls.

I may just briefly summarize it for you because I don't think there's time to read it. But it's about Brianna Hosteller. She's the one who wrote it.

She was over in Greece ministering to the refugees. And the reason I thought about this and sharing with our churches, because some of you are planning or were planning to go to Wisconsin to minister to refugees. And it's kind of an interesting story.

Talks about this Congolese man that, you know, was talking to them, hey, I haven't eaten in three days. And so she went back to the camp. You know, they're over there in this Greece camp called Lesbos.

And how she loved her work there. She talked about the new arrivals cage they had when people come across on these boats. They come into this new arrivals area and these people are processed.

They go through them and they try to find them a place to sleep. She talked about this Syrian woman that came to let me just read this part of it. As I started preparing hygiene kits, I thought about the one day when I was reminded of my own lack of compassion.

It was one of the crazy days where the line to be registered was unending. A Syrian woman came with her two children on her own. Came here on her own.

I got her things for her, but when she found out that they would be stuck in this crowded area for the night, she started crying. I was too busy to notice until a young Afghan man came up and said, can you please help her? I blew the hair out of my eyes and told him that she would just have to find a place on her own wherever she could find room. She's crying.

Please, I don't speak her language. Remember, this guy's from Syria. This lady's from Afghanistan.

I sighed and told my co-workers I'd be back as soon as I could. I found the lady at the gate begging the guard in Arabic to please let her out. He couldn't, of course, until she had her papers and was assigned to the main camp.

I gave her a hug and tried to reassure her it'd be all right, but the language barrier was a problem. Her children were frightened as they looked at their crying mother. I told her to wait and went to look for a spot myself.

It seemed that every nook and cranny was claimed. As I rounded the back, I saw a young boy who had become a friend of mine after being in his area for a long time. I'll call him Ahmed.

He spoke only a little English, but he did speak the woman's language. I smiled, relieved to see him. Ahmed! I motioned for him to come over to me.

He dropped what he was doing and came with me to the woman still standing at the gate. She started explaining, talking rapidly in Arabic, motioning with her hands, tears running down her face. Ahmed had come here on his own.

He knew how it felt. I watched the young boy become a man in front of me as he took charge of this situation. He stood taller and said something to the woman in Arabic as he went to search for a spot.

A minute later, he returned and picked up her bags, carrying them to the back of the large tent. She followed with her children in tow. I followed them a few steps, but I knew I needed to get back to the cage.

I watched as he took them straight to his spot. My eyes welled with tears as I turned away, feeling numb. She was a perfect stranger to him.

I went back to my post and tried to get hold of myself, blinking away my impending tears. Later, when things settled down, Ahmed came back to the window to get his supper. Shukran.

Thank you, Ahmed, I said. He looked confused. Then asked what I meant about, asked if I meant about the crying woman.

Yes, I said. And then my brow knitted in concern. Where will you sleep? He shrugged.

Sleep? No. Thinking about that day warms my heart. Ahmed wasn't exactly an angel.

In fact, he had caused a lot of problems in the past. But that day, his heart of compassion shone through. I finished putting a tube of toothpaste in the bag and set the box on the shelf.

And then talks about their other volunteers, and they're waiting for the Greeks to do the paperwork and so forth. And anyway, getting people out. Here's one more at the end.

Brianna, a voice called. My friend, I turned to see an Afghan woman. I'll call her Sameh, coming toward me.

She grabbed my hand and kissed my cheeks. Sameh, it's good to see you. I smiled.

Sameh was a single woman here on her own. She spoke very good English. Come and sit, she beckoned me.

When will I be moved to the women's section? She asked me, her eyes bleeding. The noise in here is so bad, I can hardly sleep at night. I grabbed her hand, reassuring me.

I don't know, Sameh. Section C is so full. I know in here is very bad.

I'm so sorry. She hung her head. This place for the new arrivals was not ideal at all.

Single men, single women, minor boys, families, and children, all squeezed together in this area together. No privacy. And it wasn't safe.

Trying to get her thoughts away from her dismal circumstance, I started asking her more about herself. Sameh, do you have family back in Afghanistan? She nodded soberly. My husband died after we were married four months.

We never had any children. My father's still there. I worked in Turkey to help take care of him.

I looked at her and saw the strength of determination in her eyes. That's so hard. You're a strong woman.

She smiled. You're so good, Brianna. You came all the way from America to help people.

I thanked her. I do this because of how God loves me. I want to share his love with everyone here.

Because the camp was a military base and for many other reasons, we were not allowed to talk about God or witness in camp. But if they asked questions or the opportunity arose, I could use my own judgment. That was hard.

Most of the time, I felt like I wasn't making a difference. But in the little moments like this, I was happy to say something. She smiled.

You're a Christian? Yes, I am. I love Jesus. That's okay.

Christians and Muslim can be friends. My radio squawked. It was Abby asking for me.

I'm needed back there, Sameh. I hugged her. It was good to talk to you.

You too, Brianna. She kissed my cheeks and whisked away, her scarf fluttering on the shoulders. When my shift ended, we had half of the new people registered and the evening shift would take care of the rest.

I slung my backpack over the shoulder and headed toward the main gate. Friends waved to me as I walked through the camp. I wished with all my heart I wouldn't have to leave this place.

Yes, it was dirty. It smelled awful. The people could get angry and yell at me.

There were fights and hard days. But I knew I was where I was supposed to be, here in Camp Moria on the island of Lesbos. And God gave me a love for these people that I couldn't understand myself.

Let's stand for prayer. Dear Lord, I thank you for gathering us here. And Lord, I thank you for two weeks ago when we heard the warnings about lukewarmness.

And Lord, we walked through a world that there are so many traps of lukewarmness. One of them is sports. Others are, Lord, all the just all the distractions, the entertainment that that we have, or just the jobs that we have.

Thank you for the children's lesson about the thorns that grow up and choke the Word of God. And I pray that we would not let those thorns choke us. Lord, light a fire under us.

I pray that you would you would just help us to make choices that push us more and more into category number three, the hot category. So Lord, just give grace to us as we do that. In Jesus name, amen.

You can be seated and I'll turn the time to Jeremy to close.