Today is Superbowl Sunday. Many Christians missed church today in order to watch the Superbowl game. Some churches even canceled services today, or replaced them with 'Superbowl Parties.' But while some churches were cancelling services and some Christians were staying home from church to watch the Superbowl game, Sermonaudio.com posted 500 sermons on their site for today.
I've heard that the great scientist Albert Einstein once said that if Christians really believed what they teach they would all be running up and down the streets with their arms waving and shouting to warn the people.
One of my favorite Christian novelists is Frank Peretti. Two of his books that I love to recommend to people are This Present Darkness and the sequel to that book, Piercing the Darkness. These are novels about spiritual warfare. The Bible says:
"Put on the whole amour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." -Ephesians 6:11-12
I picture demons all over America, and even all over the world, whispering into the ears of sports fans telling them just how important this Superbowl game is.
One of the sermons that was preached today - and I strongly recommend that you drop what you are doing (unless what you are doing is going to church!) and listen to this sermon - is titled:
God's Great Reversal: The Warning and the Wonder of The Rich Man and Lazarus, by Pastor Brad Johnston
The Bible says:
"For this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned that believe not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." - 2 Thessalonians 2:10,11
I don't know what this 'strong delusion' is that Paul was talking about in this verse. But the idea that football - even the Superbowl - is important enough to cancel or miss church just might fall into this category.
Recommended listening:
Superbowl Sunday, by Pastor Trevor Hammack (given in 2004)
