1
00:00:00,598 --> 00:00:02,512
So I need to start today with a

2
00:00:02,512 --> 00:00:04,426
a bit of a confession. I know that

3
00:00:04,426 --> 00:00:06,339
many of you can relate to this,

4
00:00:06,977 --> 00:00:09,290
I care way too much about sports.

5
00:00:10,817 --> 00:00:12,192
For those of us who love sports

6
00:00:12,567 --> 00:00:13,522
especially our locals,

7
00:00:14,158 --> 00:00:17,115
professional sports teams, the past 9 months, have

8
00:00:17,115 --> 00:00:19,578
been full of the the joy and the

9
00:00:19,578 --> 00:00:20,078
agony

10
00:00:20,531 --> 00:00:22,358
of what it means to be a fan.

11
00:00:23,629 --> 00:00:25,694
It began last fall, of course, when our

12
00:00:25,694 --> 00:00:28,805
beloved, Texas rangers won their first title. Many

13
00:00:28,805 --> 00:00:31,186
of us who always love the rangers have

14
00:00:31,186 --> 00:00:33,408
been waiting for this our entire lives. What

15
00:00:33,408 --> 00:00:34,622
a magical

16
00:00:35,647 --> 00:00:38,911
magical run they had last October. The absolute

17
00:00:38,911 --> 00:00:40,901
mountain top experience for a fan.

18
00:00:42,095 --> 00:00:42,834
And then

19
00:00:43,464 --> 00:00:44,362
These guys

20
00:00:44,738 --> 00:00:46,808
crushed all of our sports streams with yet

21
00:00:46,808 --> 00:00:49,277
another embarrassing flame out in the playoffs. I'm

22
00:00:49,277 --> 00:00:51,268
still too mad honestly to even say their

23
00:00:51,268 --> 00:00:51,586
names,

24
00:00:52,239 --> 00:00:53,997
I keep threatening not to watch a minute

25
00:00:53,997 --> 00:00:56,074
of their games in the coming season,

26
00:00:57,033 --> 00:00:59,270
but honestly who am I kidding. Since I'm

27
00:00:59,270 --> 00:01:02,234
a methodist all about grace. I'm sure Watch

28
00:01:02,234 --> 00:01:04,386
some, but it will be gru, and it

29
00:01:04,386 --> 00:01:06,059
will probably be gru.

30
00:01:07,428 --> 00:01:08,563
And then the stars

31
00:01:09,173 --> 00:01:11,235
crushed it in the regular season finishing as

32
00:01:11,235 --> 00:01:13,297
the number 1 seed in the Western Conference.

33
00:01:14,248 --> 00:01:16,994
Honestly, I don't really understand hockey

34
00:01:17,295 --> 00:01:20,894
strategy. If I'm really honest Don't really understand

35
00:01:20,894 --> 00:01:21,694
hockey rules.

36
00:01:22,588 --> 00:01:25,215
But playoff hockey is really exciting to watch,

37
00:01:25,375 --> 00:01:28,240
and they were so good until they fell

38
00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,150
apart in the Western conference finals.

39
00:01:30,802 --> 00:01:33,029
And there was a a time there when

40
00:01:33,029 --> 00:01:35,892
it was alternating playoff games every other night,

41
00:01:36,131 --> 00:01:38,517
with the other beloved team in our area,

42
00:01:39,169 --> 00:01:41,965
the m who had an incredible playoff run.

43
00:01:42,285 --> 00:01:44,362
A mid season trade gave them a collection

44
00:01:44,362 --> 00:01:46,772
of guys who had a real shot. Of

45
00:01:46,772 --> 00:01:49,264
winning at all. They came up just short

46
00:01:49,481 --> 00:01:51,154
in the Nba finals.

47
00:01:52,508 --> 00:01:53,008
But

48
00:01:53,558 --> 00:01:56,657
for a magical window of time, there was

49
00:01:56,657 --> 00:01:58,269
a very real possibility

50
00:01:58,643 --> 00:02:01,186
that both the stars and the m, were

51
00:02:01,186 --> 00:02:01,662
gonna

52
00:02:02,313 --> 00:02:04,774
follow the rangers lead and win it all.

53
00:02:05,091 --> 00:02:07,631
So if you're doing the math, that's 3

54
00:02:07,631 --> 00:02:10,409
of our 4 local professional sports teams who

55
00:02:10,409 --> 00:02:13,376
were fan fantastic in their most recent season,

56
00:02:14,015 --> 00:02:16,731
football notwithstanding. It was a little glimpse of

57
00:02:17,131 --> 00:02:19,534
of sports heaven. Over the past 9 months.

58
00:02:19,772 --> 00:02:22,154
And my 2 boys and I watched so

59
00:02:22,154 --> 00:02:23,663
much of it. I don't even know how

60
00:02:23,663 --> 00:02:25,251
many hours we just... We spent in front

61
00:02:25,251 --> 00:02:25,989
of the Tv

62
00:02:26,458 --> 00:02:29,887
Watching sports totally dialed in, fully committed. It

63
00:02:29,887 --> 00:02:32,301
was thrilling. It was heartbreaking

64
00:02:32,997 --> 00:02:34,352
in the case of 1 of the 4

65
00:02:34,352 --> 00:02:35,744
teams, it was in infuriating,

66
00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:38,275
all in all, it was just it was

67
00:02:38,275 --> 00:02:40,987
just great fun. And so today, I am

68
00:02:40,987 --> 00:02:43,459
starting with a bit of a confession. Maybe

69
00:02:43,459 --> 00:02:44,837
you can relate

70
00:02:45,308 --> 00:02:47,849
I care way too much about sports.

71
00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:50,628
And I don't plan on ever changing that.

72
00:02:51,740 --> 00:02:53,741
Because as it turns out, as we're going

73
00:02:53,741 --> 00:02:54,935
to find out in July,

74
00:02:55,571 --> 00:02:58,300
sports metaphors are a very biblical

75
00:02:58,754 --> 00:03:01,301
concept. They're. They're the subject for our new

76
00:03:01,301 --> 00:03:02,017
sermon series.

77
00:03:03,387 --> 00:03:05,380
Now, I should tell you, we we had

78
00:03:05,380 --> 00:03:08,171
this series planned last summer. We obviously had

79
00:03:08,171 --> 00:03:08,649
in mind,

80
00:03:09,367 --> 00:03:11,440
the Olympics, which kick off in just few

81
00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:11,735
weeks

82
00:03:12,488 --> 00:03:13,306
all of our

83
00:03:13,679 --> 00:03:16,218
recent local sports awesome ness has just kind

84
00:03:16,218 --> 00:03:18,757
of added to the whole vibe throughout July,

85
00:03:19,169 --> 00:03:21,336
we're gonna be reading scriptures that use

86
00:03:21,709 --> 00:03:24,488
sports imagery to help us, make sense of

87
00:03:24,488 --> 00:03:26,734
the life of faith because sports

88
00:03:27,122 --> 00:03:29,659
have been part of the human experience since

89
00:03:29,659 --> 00:03:32,354
long before the first scriptures were written. And

90
00:03:32,354 --> 00:03:33,623
when you look at the history of this,

91
00:03:33,861 --> 00:03:34,361
it's

92
00:03:34,827 --> 00:03:35,939
kinda crazy. And

93
00:03:36,653 --> 00:03:37,844
sprint and wrestling,

94
00:03:38,241 --> 00:03:38,876
for example,

95
00:03:39,591 --> 00:03:42,344
appear in cave paintings from as far back

96
00:03:42,464 --> 00:03:43,921
is 15000

97
00:03:44,378 --> 00:03:44,937
years ago.

98
00:03:45,814 --> 00:03:48,468
Rock paintings in Egypt show swimming and archer

99
00:03:48,925 --> 00:03:51,318
from as far back as the year 10000

100
00:03:51,477 --> 00:03:51,956
Bc.

101
00:03:52,687 --> 00:03:53,505
Sports like,

102
00:03:54,275 --> 00:03:55,570
weight lifting and

103
00:03:55,943 --> 00:03:58,326
long jump show up around the year 2000

104
00:03:58,485 --> 00:04:01,844
Bc. The the ancient Greeks were famous for

105
00:04:02,155 --> 00:04:04,715
sports of various kinds, of course, including the

106
00:04:04,715 --> 00:04:06,574
ancient history of the Olympics, which

107
00:04:07,754 --> 00:04:10,395
influenced and inspired the modern Olympics.

108
00:04:11,370 --> 00:04:13,289
When sports imagery shows up in the old

109
00:04:13,289 --> 00:04:14,090
and new testament,

110
00:04:14,490 --> 00:04:16,009
our biblical authors are,

111
00:04:16,730 --> 00:04:17,230
drawing

112
00:04:17,610 --> 00:04:18,110
on

113
00:04:18,490 --> 00:04:21,542
pop culture sources that were very well known

114
00:04:21,542 --> 00:04:22,760
and that connected easily

115
00:04:23,378 --> 00:04:25,773
readily and clearly with their readers.

116
00:04:26,651 --> 00:04:29,525
So as the entire world prepares to turn

117
00:04:29,525 --> 00:04:32,245
it attention to Paris beginning July 20 sixth.

118
00:04:32,563 --> 00:04:33,540
We're gonna spend

119
00:04:33,995 --> 00:04:36,563
a few weeks with the the ancient

120
00:04:36,952 --> 00:04:38,878
and always relevant

121
00:04:39,330 --> 00:04:41,390
images that derive from athletics.

122
00:04:42,817 --> 00:04:45,133
Outburst first is a is a passage from

123
00:04:45,133 --> 00:04:46,349
the letter to the Hebrews.

124
00:04:46,962 --> 00:04:47,700
Not interestingly,

125
00:04:48,234 --> 00:04:49,982
we don't know who wrote this letter. We

126
00:04:49,982 --> 00:04:51,413
had no idea who wrote this letter. Nor

127
00:04:51,413 --> 00:04:53,003
do we know exactly to whom it was

128
00:04:53,003 --> 00:04:53,242
written.

129
00:04:54,132 --> 00:04:55,586
Like, to what

130
00:04:56,041 --> 00:04:58,211
community it was written. We don't even know

131
00:04:58,347 --> 00:05:00,177
when it was written exactly.

132
00:05:00,990 --> 00:05:02,670
We do know that it was definitely not

133
00:05:02,670 --> 00:05:04,830
written by Paul. Wants to ask somebody else

134
00:05:04,830 --> 00:05:06,830
I'll say Paul's letter to the Hebrews. It's

135
00:05:06,830 --> 00:05:08,110
not Paul's letter to the Hebrews.

136
00:05:09,001 --> 00:05:11,546
We know that it was written sometime after

137
00:05:11,546 --> 00:05:13,932
the year 60 based on the internal references,

138
00:05:14,409 --> 00:05:16,476
but definitely before the year 95

139
00:05:16,635 --> 00:05:19,279
Ad when it was quoted by I'm biblical

140
00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:19,759
authors.

141
00:05:20,639 --> 00:05:22,240
And while it's called a letter,

142
00:05:22,879 --> 00:05:26,240
it's really an extended sermon drawing upon and

143
00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:27,139
in many patients

144
00:05:27,533 --> 00:05:30,953
places just directly quoting from the Greek translation

145
00:05:30,953 --> 00:05:32,703
of the old testament, which is called the

146
00:05:32,783 --> 00:05:33,283
Sip.

147
00:05:34,389 --> 00:05:36,410
It's written in some of the most sophisticated

148
00:05:36,629 --> 00:05:37,829
greek in the new testament,

149
00:05:38,470 --> 00:05:39,370
and it's this

150
00:05:40,389 --> 00:05:41,849
beautiful and powerful

151
00:05:42,244 --> 00:05:42,744
sermon

152
00:05:43,122 --> 00:05:46,417
with the goal of calling followers of Jesus

153
00:05:46,715 --> 00:05:50,488
to a to a faithful and hopeful and

154
00:05:50,866 --> 00:05:51,366
loving

155
00:05:51,919 --> 00:05:52,875
life of disciples shit.

156
00:05:54,149 --> 00:05:56,141
And here in the twelfth chapter,

157
00:05:56,858 --> 00:05:58,075
it it opens

158
00:05:58,531 --> 00:06:00,442
with the language of sports.

159
00:06:01,571 --> 00:06:04,589
So we're gonna read Hebrews, chapter 12 versus

160
00:06:04,589 --> 00:06:06,653
1 to 2, listen friends for the word

161
00:06:06,653 --> 00:06:09,591
of God as it is proclaimed by this

162
00:06:09,591 --> 00:06:09,909
author.

163
00:06:10,799 --> 00:06:11,756
In a sports metaphor.

164
00:06:13,911 --> 00:06:16,624
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great

165
00:06:16,624 --> 00:06:17,762
a cloud of witnesses,

166
00:06:18,634 --> 00:06:21,665
let us also lay aside every weight and

167
00:06:21,665 --> 00:06:23,840
the sin that cling so closely

168
00:06:24,536 --> 00:06:26,312
and let us run with perseverance,

169
00:06:26,690 --> 00:06:28,205
the race that is set before us.

170
00:06:29,254 --> 00:06:30,208
Looking to Jesus,

171
00:06:30,765 --> 00:06:32,753
the pioneer and perfect of our faith,

172
00:06:33,468 --> 00:06:35,217
who for the sake of the joy that

173
00:06:35,217 --> 00:06:36,592
was set before him

174
00:06:37,046 --> 00:06:37,841
endured the cross.

175
00:06:39,295 --> 00:06:40,435
Disregard its shame

176
00:06:40,814 --> 00:06:43,134
and has taken his seat at the right

177
00:06:43,134 --> 00:06:44,975
hand of the throne of god.

178
00:06:46,907 --> 00:06:48,658
This is the word of God for the

179
00:06:48,658 --> 00:06:49,216
people of God.

180
00:06:50,887 --> 00:06:51,604
Thanks, Peter God.

181
00:06:53,116 --> 00:06:53,616
So

182
00:06:54,802 --> 00:06:57,109
I've been a fan of of lots of

183
00:06:57,109 --> 00:06:59,496
different sports since I was very young, but

184
00:06:59,496 --> 00:07:02,136
my own my own personal sport growing up

185
00:07:02,136 --> 00:07:05,240
was running. I started running competitively in middle

186
00:07:05,240 --> 00:07:08,186
school, just outdoor track at first, but I

187
00:07:08,186 --> 00:07:09,402
kinda of got hooked

188
00:07:10,033 --> 00:07:11,308
when I got the high school, I added

189
00:07:11,308 --> 00:07:14,577
cross country and indoor track. And because I

190
00:07:14,577 --> 00:07:16,752
grew up in these small towns in Maryland

191
00:07:17,049 --> 00:07:18,426
and attended small

192
00:07:18,739 --> 00:07:20,415
high schools. I had the chance to run

193
00:07:20,415 --> 00:07:20,915
varsity

194
00:07:21,533 --> 00:07:22,171
every season.

195
00:07:23,049 --> 00:07:24,247
And we were pretty competitive.

196
00:07:24,806 --> 00:07:26,721
In fact, the last race that I ran

197
00:07:26,721 --> 00:07:28,992
in high school was the state meat for

198
00:07:29,130 --> 00:07:31,386
outdoor track, where I was part of the

199
00:07:31,524 --> 00:07:33,380
state champion 4 by 800

200
00:07:33,997 --> 00:07:36,001
Relay. It was It was really pretty awesome

201
00:07:36,160 --> 00:07:37,668
Was a great way to end my my

202
00:07:37,668 --> 00:07:38,779
running career per s.

203
00:07:39,572 --> 00:07:41,397
And over the years, I came to really

204
00:07:41,397 --> 00:07:43,638
just truly love it. It became an integral

205
00:07:43,638 --> 00:07:46,266
part of my identity. Yeah. 1 that I've

206
00:07:46,266 --> 00:07:47,302
continued all these years.

207
00:07:47,939 --> 00:07:50,407
It'll always be just part of my soul.

208
00:07:51,538 --> 00:07:53,452
And there was an influential author during those

209
00:07:53,452 --> 00:07:56,664
growing up years who helped shape my thinking

210
00:07:56,722 --> 00:07:57,280
about running.

211
00:07:58,158 --> 00:08:00,391
George She was a medical doctor,

212
00:08:00,964 --> 00:08:03,361
in this picture, he's the the older fella

213
00:08:03,361 --> 00:08:05,278
in the front of the the front of

214
00:08:05,278 --> 00:08:05,838
the pack there.

215
00:08:06,636 --> 00:08:07,456
He was a cardiologist

216
00:08:08,569 --> 00:08:10,087
but he was much more than that. He

217
00:08:10,087 --> 00:08:12,324
had been a track star in college, and

218
00:08:12,324 --> 00:08:14,081
he came back to the sport in his

219
00:08:14,081 --> 00:08:15,040
middle age. And when he did,

220
00:08:15,693 --> 00:08:17,924
He kind of became a philosopher on the

221
00:08:17,924 --> 00:08:20,871
subject of of running and fitness. He became

222
00:08:20,871 --> 00:08:22,168
an accomplished author

223
00:08:22,878 --> 00:08:24,894
He wrote a column in his local newspaper

224
00:08:25,033 --> 00:08:27,905
for 25 years. He served as the medical

225
00:08:27,905 --> 00:08:29,820
editor for Runner World Magazine.

226
00:08:30,313 --> 00:08:32,085
Which is a publication that I read

227
00:08:32,538 --> 00:08:33,412
religiously over the years.

228
00:08:34,048 --> 00:08:36,750
He also wrote 8 books about the discipline

229
00:08:36,750 --> 00:08:38,986
of running a couple of which are on

230
00:08:38,986 --> 00:08:40,095
my my books shelf.

231
00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:44,637
As someone who's running career was only

232
00:08:45,184 --> 00:08:48,304
seriously competitive for a few glorious years back

233
00:08:48,304 --> 00:08:49,345
when I was a teenager,

234
00:08:49,904 --> 00:08:51,284
Something that she wrote,

235
00:08:52,225 --> 00:08:52,840
is both

236
00:08:53,277 --> 00:08:56,537
insightful and true to me. He said, it's

237
00:08:56,537 --> 00:08:59,241
very hard in the beginning to understand that

238
00:08:59,241 --> 00:09:02,422
the whole idea is not to beat other

239
00:09:02,422 --> 00:09:02,660
runners.

240
00:09:04,111 --> 00:09:07,064
Eventually, you learn. He says, that the competition

241
00:09:07,064 --> 00:09:09,240
is against the little voice in your head

242
00:09:09,858 --> 00:09:10,735
that wants you to quit.

243
00:09:13,620 --> 00:09:15,533
Everyone who's ever spent any time running,

244
00:09:16,251 --> 00:09:19,221
whether for fitness or competition knows this

245
00:09:19,773 --> 00:09:20,331
to be true.

246
00:09:20,969 --> 00:09:23,203
Like like so many other types of sports

247
00:09:23,203 --> 00:09:26,154
and athletic endeavors, maybe every type of sport

248
00:09:26,154 --> 00:09:28,786
and athletic endeavor, the mental aspect is very

249
00:09:28,786 --> 00:09:30,477
much at center of the struggle,

250
00:09:31,116 --> 00:09:32,633
and it's always been this way.

251
00:09:34,309 --> 00:09:35,108
When the author of,

252
00:09:36,145 --> 00:09:38,301
Hebrews is writing in these first couple of

253
00:09:38,301 --> 00:09:38,700
verses,

254
00:09:39,354 --> 00:09:41,190
of, the twelfth chapter,

255
00:09:41,908 --> 00:09:44,085
he's he's talking about a running

256
00:09:44,782 --> 00:09:47,417
mindset. So when we read, since we are

257
00:09:47,417 --> 00:09:49,345
surrounded by so great out of witnesses. He

258
00:09:49,345 --> 00:09:52,209
is actually specifically talking there about the metaphor

259
00:09:52,209 --> 00:09:52,925
of a stadium.

260
00:09:53,482 --> 00:09:56,108
And he's talking about a stadium that is

261
00:09:56,108 --> 00:09:57,245
filled with

262
00:09:57,953 --> 00:10:00,020
those who have gone before us in the

263
00:10:00,020 --> 00:10:00,259
faith.

264
00:10:01,212 --> 00:10:03,359
They are they are watching us as we

265
00:10:03,359 --> 00:10:03,859
run

266
00:10:04,233 --> 00:10:05,028
our own race.

267
00:10:06,397 --> 00:10:08,708
And then when we read let us run

268
00:10:08,708 --> 00:10:10,542
the race that is set before us, he's

269
00:10:10,542 --> 00:10:13,491
describing our spiritual journeys as a race on

270
00:10:13,491 --> 00:10:15,341
the track. Like, that's the metaphor that he's

271
00:10:15,341 --> 00:10:15,660
using,

272
00:10:16,458 --> 00:10:18,693
being cheered on by the saints in glory,

273
00:10:18,852 --> 00:10:21,805
which is both inspiring for sure for sure,

274
00:10:22,299 --> 00:10:23,919
but also a little bit intimidating,

275
00:10:25,419 --> 00:10:28,059
not however, as intimidating as the last part

276
00:10:28,059 --> 00:10:28,779
of the metaphor,

277
00:10:29,419 --> 00:10:32,074
we we are to run, quote, looking to

278
00:10:32,234 --> 00:10:35,107
Jesus, the pioneer and perfect of our faith.

279
00:10:36,383 --> 00:10:38,698
He is our model. He is our guide.

280
00:10:38,937 --> 00:10:41,342
He is the 1 whose holy spirit when

281
00:10:41,342 --> 00:10:43,410
it will enable us to do what we

282
00:10:43,410 --> 00:10:43,910
would

283
00:10:44,524 --> 00:10:46,751
otherwise be unable to do on our own.

284
00:10:48,043 --> 00:10:51,500
Which is to live the faithful life with

285
00:10:52,119 --> 00:10:52,918
patient endurance,

286
00:10:54,516 --> 00:10:54,995
steadfast,

287
00:10:56,127 --> 00:10:56,627
perseverance.

288
00:10:58,279 --> 00:11:00,532
Hebrews is saying that that having

289
00:11:00,989 --> 00:11:02,126
faith is like

290
00:11:02,503 --> 00:11:02,822
running.

291
00:11:03,634 --> 00:11:05,230
In front of a huge a huge crowd

292
00:11:05,230 --> 00:11:08,443
of God's faithful following the example of Jesus

293
00:11:08,661 --> 00:11:12,128
himself, as George, she told us it is

294
00:11:12,267 --> 00:11:13,644
very hard in the beginning

295
00:11:14,181 --> 00:11:15,856
to understand that the whole idea is not

296
00:11:15,856 --> 00:11:17,132
to beat the other runners. So that's not

297
00:11:17,132 --> 00:11:20,322
the point. Eventually, you learn that competition is

298
00:11:20,322 --> 00:11:21,120
against the little voice.

299
00:11:21,850 --> 00:11:22,667
Inside you

300
00:11:23,199 --> 00:11:24,151
that wants you to quit.

301
00:11:26,770 --> 00:11:28,063
When the faithful life

302
00:11:28,436 --> 00:11:29,254
gets challenging,

303
00:11:30,832 --> 00:11:32,023
and god knows it does.

304
00:11:33,214 --> 00:11:34,801
When life throws at us,

305
00:11:35,515 --> 00:11:37,365
distractions and grief and

306
00:11:37,738 --> 00:11:38,238
challenges,

307
00:11:39,582 --> 00:11:42,373
which of course, it does when our spiritual

308
00:11:42,373 --> 00:11:44,468
journeys get cluttered with obstacles

309
00:11:44,845 --> 00:11:47,737
and distracted by rabbit trails and delayed

310
00:11:48,370 --> 00:11:50,870
by d tours, and it does

311
00:11:51,649 --> 00:11:52,769
and unknowingly,

312
00:11:54,290 --> 00:11:55,590
let us run with perseverance.

313
00:11:56,144 --> 00:11:58,059
The race that is set before us.

314
00:11:59,097 --> 00:11:59,597
Looking

315
00:12:00,134 --> 00:12:03,587
to Jesus who was and is and always

316
00:12:03,646 --> 00:12:04,340
will be

317
00:12:04,777 --> 00:12:05,516
the pioneer

318
00:12:05,970 --> 00:12:06,709
and per

319
00:12:07,402 --> 00:12:08,118
of our faith.

320
00:12:08,993 --> 00:12:09,947
He won't let us down.

321
00:12:12,673 --> 00:12:15,070
As the lifelong sports fan, I've always loved

322
00:12:15,070 --> 00:12:17,308
the Olympics between the 2 types of Olympics,

323
00:12:17,548 --> 00:12:19,945
I've I've always preferred the summer Olympics and

324
00:12:19,945 --> 00:12:23,149
as and almost lifelong long runner, the track

325
00:12:23,149 --> 00:12:25,778
and field events are my my favorite events

326
00:12:25,778 --> 00:12:27,133
at the summer Olympics.

327
00:12:28,421 --> 00:12:30,644
Track field is actually the top sport in

328
00:12:30,644 --> 00:12:32,018
the Olympics, both

329
00:12:32,709 --> 00:12:34,694
in terms of the number of competitors and

330
00:12:34,694 --> 00:12:38,075
the number of events. And these 20 24

331
00:12:38,851 --> 00:12:41,026
Paris Olympics are gonna make history

332
00:12:41,403 --> 00:12:43,955
by having an equal number of medals for

333
00:12:43,955 --> 00:12:45,790
both men and women in track and field

334
00:12:45,790 --> 00:12:48,596
for first time. Same number of events, although

335
00:12:48,596 --> 00:12:49,872
the details of those events are a little

336
00:12:49,872 --> 00:12:50,271
bit different,

337
00:12:50,989 --> 00:12:52,983
but the same same metals from men and

338
00:12:52,983 --> 00:12:55,556
women. And they're... So there are 17 separate

339
00:12:55,869 --> 00:12:58,027
running events for men and women. The the

340
00:12:58,027 --> 00:13:00,744
bulk of them held in a stadium that

341
00:13:00,744 --> 00:13:03,880
seats 77083

342
00:13:04,353 --> 00:13:05,228
screaming fans,

343
00:13:06,580 --> 00:13:08,114
a great cloud of witnesses

344
00:13:08,807 --> 00:13:10,660
cheering on some of the finest athletes

345
00:13:11,194 --> 00:13:11,750
in the world.

346
00:13:13,519 --> 00:13:15,840
For me, these running events will be a

347
00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:16,340
wonderful

348
00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:17,620
net of

349
00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:19,200
for the faithful life.

350
00:13:20,574 --> 00:13:23,043
Well, while there will be 3 medal in

351
00:13:23,043 --> 00:13:23,760
each event,

352
00:13:25,114 --> 00:13:27,026
almost all of whom will enjoy just a

353
00:13:27,026 --> 00:13:29,177
few fleeting moments on the metal stands.

354
00:13:29,909 --> 00:13:30,965
At the end of their

355
00:13:31,497 --> 00:13:31,735
competitions.

356
00:13:33,006 --> 00:13:33,721
The vast,

357
00:13:34,515 --> 00:13:37,318
vast majority of the more than 10000

358
00:13:37,533 --> 00:13:40,034
athletes from more than 200

359
00:13:40,730 --> 00:13:41,709
countries will

360
00:13:42,086 --> 00:13:45,219
will return home with only the experience

361
00:13:45,596 --> 00:13:46,495
and the memories

362
00:13:47,191 --> 00:13:48,148
of having competed.

363
00:13:49,678 --> 00:13:51,431
Which as every runner knows,

364
00:13:52,945 --> 00:13:53,763
is enough

365
00:13:56,785 --> 00:13:58,705
30 years ago, a running buddy of mine

366
00:13:58,705 --> 00:14:00,544
gave me 1 of George She books. It

367
00:14:00,544 --> 00:14:02,304
was right around the time that he died,

368
00:14:03,264 --> 00:14:04,304
George She died.

369
00:14:05,115 --> 00:14:06,724
And in it, he compares

370
00:14:07,333 --> 00:14:09,948
running to an intentional connection with God. In

371
00:14:09,948 --> 00:14:12,340
my own personal experience that's always what I

372
00:14:12,340 --> 00:14:14,085
what I've found running to be.

373
00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:15,751
And here's what she said.

374
00:14:16,703 --> 00:14:17,758
Running is

375
00:14:18,210 --> 00:14:20,769
a retreat a place to commune with god

376
00:14:20,769 --> 00:14:23,019
and yourself a place for psychological

377
00:14:23,871 --> 00:14:26,417
and spiritual renewal that is definitely the way

378
00:14:26,496 --> 00:14:27,372
I've always experienced.

379
00:14:28,024 --> 00:14:28,264
Running.

380
00:14:29,303 --> 00:14:32,180
And then the last words of the Epi

381
00:14:32,180 --> 00:14:33,298
log are an appeal,

382
00:14:34,417 --> 00:14:36,275
to the pioneer and perfect

383
00:14:37,146 --> 00:14:38,336
of our faith. He writes.

384
00:14:39,050 --> 00:14:39,843
On the roads,

385
00:14:40,319 --> 00:14:41,534
I give myself

386
00:14:42,065 --> 00:14:43,041
and the world

387
00:14:43,731 --> 00:14:44,683
and the creator.

388
00:14:45,651 --> 00:14:46,685
A standing ovation.

389
00:14:48,036 --> 00:14:49,388
Find your place to do that,

390
00:14:50,341 --> 00:14:52,885
and you will find the peace that passes

391
00:14:52,885 --> 00:14:53,680
all understanding.

392
00:14:55,684 --> 00:14:58,334
As we kick off this new sermon series

393
00:14:58,710 --> 00:14:59,745
for the month of July.

394
00:15:00,701 --> 00:15:04,218
May we all find our places of of

395
00:15:04,218 --> 00:15:04,718
perseverance

396
00:15:05,490 --> 00:15:06,604
in our journeys of faith.

397
00:15:08,513 --> 00:15:08,910
I'm amen.