Dear Friends,
It’s a simple illustration, but it makes a powerful point.
Rico Tice, who spoke this week at the Basics Conference in Cleveland Ohio, pulled out a rugby ball in the middle of his talk and tossed it into the crowd.
Have you seen a rugby ball? It’s bigger and plumper than an American football.
Rico had the conferee who caught his rugby ball pass it back to him. And then he played pass and catch with someone on the other side of the auditorium. I’m pretty sure it’s the only time a rugby ball has been tossed around in the worship center at Parkside Church.
Rico asked all of us to imagine a rugby match without a ball. “Or for that matter,” he said, “imagine the Patrick Mahomes playing in a Super Bowl without a football.”
It’s crazy to think about. A rugby match or a football game without a ball has no purpose. No point. In either contest, the ball is what gives the event its meaning. Without a ball, players might go through the motions. There could be scrums or run/pass options, but everyone would quickly realize the foolishness of continuing to compete without a ball.
“Jesus,” Rico said, “is the ball. Without Him, we can run around and tackle each other, but it’s all meaningless.”
Rico told me later that he has used the same illustration, complete with the flying rugby ball, in wedding ceremonies to make the point that a marriage without Jesus becomes sound and fury, signifying exactly nothing.
Two passages of scripture came to mind. First, the declaration made by Qoheleth, the famed Preacher in the book of Ecclesiastes who spends twelve chapters examining life apart from God and declares “vanity of vanities.” It’s all meaningless. That’s his conclusion. He ends his exploration of the meaning of life apart from God with as his conclusion:
“The end of the matter; all has been heard.
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
(Ecclesiastes 12:13)
You are welcome to discover this for yourself, Qoheleth says. Or you can take it from him. In the end, you’ll discover that going through life without God at the center is like playing rugby without a ball.
The other passage that came to mind for me was fresh on my mind because of the McCheyne Bible Reading Plan (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/mcheyne-bible-reading-plan/) that I’ve been following this year. This week, we began reading in Isaiah, where the prophet rebukes the people of Israel for continuing to go through their religious motions while their hearts remain far from God:
Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates;
they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
Pretty strong words from God about engaging in religious observances over and over again while we disregard God’s purposes for our lives. And here, he says, is what we should expect from Him in return.
When you spread out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
God, who is patient and full of lovingkindness, He calls the nation of Israel (though His prophet) to repent, and to show the fruit of their repentance by living lives committed to righteousness and justice:
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil,
learn to do good; seek justice,
correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.
And God promises that if they return to Him and recenter their lives in Him, He will forgive them and restore His relationship with them.
“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD:
though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
(Isaiah 1:13–18)
I think it’s easy for us to find ourselves going through the motions of our faith without our hearts being engaged. Jesus talked about this when He described people who draw near to Him with their mouths and honor Him with their lips, but whose hearts are far from Him (Matthew 15:18).
They are in the game, but they’ve lost the ball.
If that’s you, call a time out. Repent. Recenter. Remember. Return to your first love. And once Jesus is back at the center of your life, let the games begin!
Two nights ago, we opened our church up to host the graduation ceremony for the 2023-24 Downline graduation ceremonies. I think most of you are familiar with Downline (https://www.downlinelittlerock.com/). It’s a nine month intensive discipleship program for adults. This year, they opened the program to include a select group of high school students as part of the program.
Anyway, I thought you might like to see the crowd that filled our worship center on Monday night. And congrats to Chad and Cate Donley who finished the program and graduated on Monday! We’ll be hearing from them about their Downline experience during church a week from this Sunday.
If you think you might be interested in a program like Downline, talk to Chad or Cate (or Ben Friesen or Carly Fehlberg or Josue Quiroz), or check the website (https://www.downlinelittlerock.com/)to learn more. Redeemer will cover 50% of your tuition costs. Just let us know if you’d like to participate.
This past Sunday, I took time before the service began to highlight a couple of Bible verses and write a short note in the Bibles we’ll be giving to our graduating students on Sunday, May 19. If you haven’t written a note or highlighted a verse yet, can you carve out a few minutes this week, either before or after the service, to encourage these young men and women?
You may be thinking “I don’t know these kids very well.” That’s okay. A note from you alongside a favorite Bible verse will still be meaningful for them.
The Bibles will be presented to the students a week from Sunday during our worship service. So now’s the time to act.
Speaking of students, here’s a look at what Roots Student Ministries will be up to this summer.
And please continue to pray for those students and parents who will be heading to Memphis in June for a week of outreach and ministry.
If you have a student who is planning to be part of Street Reach this summer, and if you haven’t filled out the registration form yet, you can click here (https://redeemerlr.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2257562) and make it happen.
I just signed up yet for our upcoming men’s breakfast. Have you? It’s Saturday, May 18. We’re gathering for food and fellowship. Click here (https://redeemerlr.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2277993) and let us know you’re planning to attend.
The month of June kicks off with two special events.
First, the men will wrap up our First Tuesday Stepping Up men’s study on Tuesday, June 4. Whether you’ve been part of the study this year or not, plan to join us for the wrap up.
And the next night, Wednesday June 5, it’s our annual Backyard Burger Bash (formerly the Parking Lot Picnic). Yes, I will be grilling my now famous Pastor Bob’s Burgers™. We’ll have inflatables for the kids. Competition (Cornhole?) for everyone. And lots of food, fun and fellowship. Put it on the calendar and plan to join us out back!
Our Backyard Bible Club for younger children will be all about the Fruit of the Spirit this summer. Here are the dates. And here’s a link (https://redeemerlr.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/2268897) so you can get more info and sign your kids up now!
April Giving: $49,522
April Expenses: $34,080
Year to Date Giving: $147,598
Year to Date Expenses: $218,785
Balance on Hand on 2/29/24 $168,557
This Sunday, we’ll have parents coming forward to dedicate their children to the Lord as part of our morning worship service. And since it’s Mother’s Day, we’ll pause our series in the Book of Revelation to look at passages from the Bible that give us insight into what makes a mom a great mom.
See you in church.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Pastor Bob
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