58 Sermon Illustrations on Football

God chooses people in the most unlikely way.

Trivia question: What is the name of Whittier College's football team?

The "Poets."

Can you imagine a worse name for a football team? "Go, Poets! Kill, kill, kill!" It hardly inspires bloodlust.

Second trivia question: Who was the Poets' most famous Player?

Richard Nixon.

This is exactly what God did with David. God took a poet and made him the king of Israel. Want to kill a lot of people? Get a poet!

Sermon in 1 Corinthians series.

Comparison of the Christian life with a race.

1. Popularity of athletics.

2. Sports as a false religion.

a. "Christian" over-emphasis.

b. Sports as an image of Christianity.

3. Sports as discipline.

a. Goal needed.

b. Application to Christian life.

Bible reading, prayer, personal holiness.

4. The prize of salvation.

a. Danger of disqualification.

A young man was hired to recruit for the Auburn athletic department. The head coach briefed his new staff member: “Do you know the kind of man who gets knocked down and stays down?”

“Yes,” the recruiter said. “That’s not who we want for this football team.”

The coach said, “Do you know the kind who gets knocked down and gets up, gets knocked down and gets up, then gets knocked down and stays down?”

The recruiter said, “Yes, and that’s not the kind of man we want.”

The coach said, “There’s a kind who gets knocked down and gets up, gets knocked down and gets up, gets knocked down and gets up - down and up, down and up - no matter how many times you knock him down, he gets up.”

The recruiter said, “That’s the man we want for Auburn!”

“No,” the coach said, “that’s not who we want. We want the man who’s knocking down all those other people!”

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Another version from PreachingNow newsletter, May 13, 2008:

Coach Shug Jordan at Auburn University asked his former Linebacker Mike Kollin, who was then playing for the Miami Dolphins, if he would help his alma mater do some recruiting.

Mike said, “Sure, coach. What kind of player are you looking for?” The coach said, “Well Mike, you know there’s that fellow, you knock him down, he just stays down?” Mike said, “We don’t want him, do we, coach?”

“No, that’s right. Then there’s that fellow, you knock him down and he gets up, you knock him down again and he stays down.” Mike said, “We don’t want him either do we coach?”

Coach said, “No, but Mike, there’s a fellow, you knock him down, he gets up. Knock him down, he gets up. Knock him down, he gets up. Knock him down, he gets up.”

Mike said, “That’s the guy we want isn’t it, coach?” The coach answered, “No, Mike, we don’t want him either. I want you to find the guy who’s knocking everybody down. That’s the guy we want.”

THE WOUNDED MALE SOUL

The work of Promise Keepers and other groups in the Christian men’s movement has arisen against the backdrop of a waning secular men’s movement. The late eighties and early nineties saw white baby boomers displaying a frenzy of interest over the perplexing puzzle of being a man in America. Sociologists and journalists were soon tracking the activity of a phenomenon that sought to get men in touch with themselves. The movement’s books shot high on the bestseller lists, and men lined up in droves to attend seminars and run around bare-chested during tribal-oriented “Wild Man” weekends. Some called it a reaction to the feminist establishment; others saw it as a way for men to be both vulnerable and aggressive without being lambasted for wimpiness or insensitivity.

In the long run, however, the secular men’s movement turned out to be more effective at identifying problems — confusion over the meaning of masculinity, the disappearance of fathers, the need for older men to mentor boys as they grow into manhood — than at providing solutions.

“The Christian men’s movement is not a spiritualized version of the secular men’s movement; it is the men’s movement,” says Stu Weber, a pastor and author of the book “Tender Warrior.” “I think the secular movement has come and gone because it didn’t have anywhere to go. You can only go so far with myths and tribal lore. Eventually, you’ve got to get to the Genesis spring, which is a Judeo-Christian foundation.”

Many of the speakers refer to what is called the wounded male soul. This woundedness springs from the cultural estrangement of boys from their fathers and the emotional repression American culture has deemed necessary for true maleness.

Like Rotundo, Oliver, who wrote the book “Real Men Have Feelings Too,” believes the Industrial Revolution is at the heart of the present dilemma. “It changed the meaning of manhood in America,” he explains. “Men left their homes and farms to work in factories and offices. Through much of our history, child rearing was shared by men and women. With industrialization, child rearing became a ‘feminine thing.’ Boys no longer had their father’s physical presence as a model and a source for their ideals and identity.”

Oliver adds that industrialization accelerated the pace of living, creating a major social shift from stability and community to insecurity and detachment. “I think this process caused men to lose touch with what it meant to be a husband, a father, a friend-and a person.”

The results can be seen at every hand in our society. The expectation for men to be the prime breadwinners in our society has driven them to correlate their self-worth with their earnings. And cultural images of John Wayne and Arnold Schwarzenegger taint perceptions of what a “real man” is, often leading men to buy into the strong and silent approach to life. All of this has led to men who are disconnected from their families and themselves.

And yet, as men try to overcome this legacy of inexpressiveness and emotional distance, they are faced with conflicting expectations. On the one hand, men are told — whether directly or implicitly — to be gentle and compassionate. On the other hand, the message urges acting strong and taking responsibility. Men must somehow navigate between being lions and lambs.

Some observers, like Steve Farrar, would say that the church sometimes errs on the side of gentleness. “Traits like tenderness and sensitivity are very important, but I think we sometimes elevate those over other traits like courage and aggressiveness.” True manhood, believes Farrar, should be gleaned from the example of Jesus. “Jesus could be tender and gentle, but Jesus could also walk in and clear out a corrupted temple.”

But is there a real biblical model of gender for understanding what it means to be a Christian man or woman? According to theologian Lewis Smedes, probably not: “Men’s and women’s roles may be situationally different and have different forms of expression, but the Bible is mainly interested in the moral and spiritual qualities of a human being.” Smedes, who recently retired from Fuller Theological Seminary, suggests that following Christ is a gender-neutral calling: “That which is important about Jesus being a model is not his modeling of maleness but his modeling of humanity.”

Promise Keepers has already entered into the tricky task of showing that feminine virtues and masculine virtues need not be a conflict in the lives of Christian men. But in a day when many men buy into the idea that being active in the church means putting one’s masculinity on hold in favor of characteristics associated with femininity (nurturing, servanthood, vulnerability), will men receive Promise Keepers’ version of the story? The thousands of teary-eyed, hand-holding men gathered in Boulder seemed to.

THE COACH

The climax of many of the Promise Keepers meetings comes with the rallying address of founding Promise Keeper Bill McCartney. Most of the men refer to him as “Coach McCartney,” which seems appropriate given the inspirational, locker-room brand of pep talk he delivers.

“We’re calling men of God to battle - we will retreat no more,” the coach declares. “We’re going to contest anything that sets itself up against the name of Jesus Christ.” The men respond with deafening cheers and standing ovations.

Although Coach McCartney can inspire thousands to stand up for Jesus, it does not take long to realize that these men are not flocking around him because of his charismatic oratory. After several minutes, his speeches begin to take on a rambling quality that makes one understand quickly why his first job was football. What gives McCartney such influence among thousands of men is his image as a championship-winning football coach who has taken a very public stand about his faith and about being a good husband and father.

Many, like Gary Oliver, see McCartney as the spark that has set the Christian men’s movement ablaze. “This movement was beginning in churches across the country on a smaller scale throughout the eighties,” says Oliver. “For years we’ve had Ed Cole, Gary Smalley, John Trent, and James Dobson writing and speaking on these issues. But the burden that God gave to Bill McCartney opened the whole thing up. It gave direction and clarity to it.”

Observes Ken Canfield, “Bill McCartney has been honest about issues he has struggled with, and he has spoken very clearly about how the Lord can change a man’s life.”

Without question, Christian men are proud to claim such a strong man as one of their own. Suddenly, being a Christian is for tough guys, too. “If he can be outspoken about his faith, heck, so can I,” exclaimed a fired-up Promise Keeper.

The coach is someone men can identify with. Indeed, the essence of many a Promise Keeper’s experience can be found in McCartney’s own story of how he allowed work to come between him and his family. He took over a football program that was going nowhere and produced a national championship; yet, in the midst of all the fanfare, at the very peak of success, he realized how he was failing to fulfill his roles as a husband and father-and chose to do something about it.

In the process, he has been very candid about his then-teenage daughter’s pregnancy (the father was one of his star football players) and his own share of responsibility for her actions. When she needed him, he had not been there.

In a tragic, but triumphant story, McCartney eventually led that football star who fathered his grandchild to Christ just before the young man died from an inoperable stomach cancer.

Recently, McCartney made headlines again by unexpectedly resigning from his coaching position at the University of Colorado while still at the top of the game, explaining that it was presently the best thing for his family.

As a result of his very public spiritual pilgrimage, McCartney has taken beatings for his outspoken pro-life views and for his denunciation of the homosexual lifestyle — a daring stance in ultra-liberal Boulder. Consequently, homosexual-rights groups have picketed the Boulder conferences for the past two years; during the 1994 meeting, poet Allen Ginsburg led a “diversity rally” targeting Promise Keepers’ “anti-gay” and “anti-women” agenda.

Still, McCartney continues to lead the charge for a return to Christian values among men. “It’s time for men who love Christ to stand up and make their presence felt,” he says. And, because of his example, thousands and thousands of men are taking the call seriously.

KEEPING THE PROMISE

Building on five years of sustained growth, from a small local assembly to six regional conventions, Promise Keepers has bold ambitions. International conferences are being devised, and plans are in the works to assemble 1 million men in Washington, D.C., in 1996 to pray for the nation.

Every area of the Promise Keepers organization is expanding. The group has gone from 29 staff members in 1993 to 150 full-time employees in 1994, and in that same period, its annual budget has risen from $4 million to $22 million.

But Phillips is quick to explain that it is not Promise Keepers’ purpose to grow big simply for the sake of numbers. “We do not want to build a monument. We want to serve this movement as a mission. It becomes a monument when the focus turns to personalities or the organization. It becomes a mission when it’s focused on God’s purpose to honor his Son through the church and bring millions to the person of Christ.”

So far, Promise Keepers has maintained its commitment to build up the local church through empowering pastors. The last two Boulder conferences have concluded with all the clergy in attendance going to the front of the arena to be prayed for and applauded by the other men. McCartney has made it an ongoing aim to restore the office of the pastor to one of respect and authority. “Our leadership is wounded, beaten down, and beleaguered,” he says, noting that too often congregations and committees have made pastors afraid to preach the gospel wholeheartedly.

The organization has also sought to strengthen local churches through encouraging the formation of men’s small groups for fellowship and accountability. Says Promise Keepers’ media director Steve Chavis, “All of our success here is contingent upon men taking part in small groups when they return home.” Clearly, the true measure of this present revival of Christian manhood is not the enthusiasm demonstrated during the summer rallies but rather the enduring commitment that will carry men through the year.

Can Promise Keepers make good on its promises? Demanding the establishment of home-grown discipleship and Christian-service groups is a good start, but, like other ministries before it, Promise Keepers could go even further.

If the problems Promise Keepers seeks to combat arise from the Industrial Revolution, a massive structural shift in our society, then ultimately, any solution to those problems must address structural as well as individual issues. The epidemic of fatherlessness is in part a consequence of massive social change. Racism is an institutional evil as well as a matter of individual wrongdoing. Will Promise Keepers itself eventually branch out to develop public-policy arms to support the goal of structural change? For instance, advocating flex-time programs for working fathers or racial- awareness initiatives for young men might be logical extensions of the organization’s current objectives.

As a movement, Promise Keepers has promise: a flexible leadership not concerned with building an empire, a commitment to communicating the basics, a holistic vision for men — encouraging them to be servants at home, at church, and in their community — and a desire to see things happen at a grassroots level. Admirable goals for a still-fledgling ministry. Yet, after several winning summers, it is still being determined how well this game plan is working in the cold off-season months.

If our culture continues in its current state of moral chaos, and if Promise Keepers’ ultimate promises of stable homes, unified communities, and stronger churches begin to be realized, America at large may find that promise-keeping is not just about evangelical religion or male leadership but about truth, responsibility, and agape love — concepts that find their true fruition in the Christian faith.

If Promise Keepers can accomplish this, it will prove itself as not only a men’s movement but also a powerful move of God.

Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./CHRISTIANITY TODAY Magazine

#3613

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Here is a story I heard recently. I cannot vouch for its accuracy, but even if it is fictitious, it illustrates a great truth. In seems Knute Rockne was about to face the football team of USC, and he knew that USC had a far superior team and wondered if there was any way he could defeat them. Then he hit on this idea. He scoured the city of South Bend, Indiana for about a hundred of the biggest men he could find. When he had about a hundred men, each at least 6’5” or more and weighing in at 300 pounds or more, he put them all in Notre Dame uniforms. With the shoulder pads and the helmets, they looked even bigger. Then, when it was time for the game to begin, he sent these men out of the locker room first. As the USC team watched, they just kept coming, and coming, and coming until these hundred men were all the USC team saw. The USC coach kept telling his team, “they can only field eleven men at a time.” But the damage was done. None of these men ever played one minute of the game. But USC had become so intimidated at the sight of them that they were unable to function, and Notre Dame won the game. Kind of reminds us of the twelve spies and Israel as they lost out on “winning” the promised land even though they never engaged a single one of the “giants” in battle. How sad it is when we allow ourselves to see the enemy and lose sight of God.

A young man was very excited because he just won a ticket to the Super Bowl. His excitement lessened as he realized his seat was in the back of the stadium. As he searched the rows ahead of him for a better seat, he found an empty one right next to the field. He approached the man sitting next to the empty seat and asked if it was taken. The man replied, "No." Amazed the young man asked, "How could someone pass up a seat like this?"

The older gentleman responded, "That's my wife's seat. We've been to every Super Bowl together since the day we were married but she has passed away."

"Oh, how sad," the young man said. "I'm sorry to hear that, but couldn't you find a friend or relative to come with you?"

"No," the man said, "they're all at the funeral."

A Green Bay Packer fan in a bar leans over to the guy next to him and says, "Wanna hear a joke about Minnesota Viking fans?"

The guy next to him replies, "Well, before you tell that joke you should know something. I'm 6' tall and 220 pounds and I'm a Viking fan. The guy sitting next to me is 6'2" tall, 240 pounds and he's a Viking fan, and the guy sitting next to him is 6'5", 280 pounds and he's a Viking fan, too. Now, do you still wanna tell that joke?"

The Packer fan says, "Nah, not if I'm gonna have to explain it three times."

Drop kick me , Jesus

Chorus:

Drop kick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life

End over end, neither left nor to right

Straight through the heart of them righteous uprights

Dropkick me, Jesus, through the goalposts of life

Make me, oh, make me, Lord, more than I am

Make me a piece of your master game plan

Free from the earthly tempestion below

I've got the will, Lord, if you've got the toe

Repeat Chorus

Bring on the brothers who've gone on before

And all of the sisters who've knocked on your door

All the departed, dear loved ones of mine

And stick 'em up front on the offensive line

Repeat Chorus

A lowly bench warmer I'm contented to be

Until the time when you have need of me

To flash on the scoreboard that shines from on high

In the big Super Bowl way up in the sky

By Paul Craft

In the USA - more toilets flush at half time than any other time of the year.

Super Bowl Sunday is the most popular party day of the year -- surpassing New Year's Eve. It is also the slowest weekend for weddings.

Super Bowl Monday sales of antacids increase by more than 20% over other Mondays.

Dominos Pizza sales typically double on Super Bowl Sunday. Last year Americans ate more than 8.5 million pounds of tortilla chips on this day.

-- from www.uselessknowledge.com

New Salem Missionary Baptist Church members voted 67-10 to fire pastor Stanley Hall, who had refused to reschedule his consecration service even though it conflicted with the telecast of the Super Bowl (Birmingham, Alabama).

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A more complete reference:

CHURCH SAYS SERVICE NOT SO SUPER

By Dwight Perry, The Seattle Times

Turns out that the San Francisco 49ers, who pounded the Denver Broncos 55-10 in 1990, didn’t produce the biggest blowout in Super Bowl history after all.

No, that distinction now belongs to the New Salem Missionary Baptist Church, whose members voted 67-10 this month to oust Rev. Stanley B. Hall Sr. Hall sparked a furor by scheduling a consecration service at the Birmingham, Ala., church that coincided with the kickoff of the NFL’s Jan. 26 title game.

Hall defrocked the six trustees and deacons who failed to attend the service. Church members, enraged, then voted overwhelmingly to boot Hall, who is trying to block his ouster in court.

“An even more shocking aspect of the deacons’ decision,” said Randy Turner of the Winnipeg Free Press, “Vegas had the church listed as (only) four-point favorites.”

*

[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #13066]

Some things cannot be measured, and the heart is one of them. I think of three current and former NFL football stars. Mike Singletary, according to the experts, was too short and his 40-yard speed was not that great. However, they could not measure his heart and they did not measure his speed for the first five to fifteen yards, and at that distance he was exceptionally fast.

As a result, when a running back broke through the line of scrimmage Singletary was able to stop him in the first couple of yards. That made quite a difference.

Emmitt Smith's 40-yard speed was not earth shattering...(but) again, the experts could not measure his heart nor the burst of speed he was able to generate the instant he touched the ball. As a result, he was able to break through the hole at the line and pick up five to eight yards on a consistent basis and frequently break for much longer runs.

Jerry Rice is the other classic example. His 40-yard speed also was not record-breaking, but his commitment to excellence (was) not measurable. Videotape of Jerry Rice shows him running stride for stride downfield with a defensive back until the pass is thrown to him. At that point, Jerry turns on the afterburners and frequently leaves the defensive back well behind.

There's something here for all of us to learn. We can measure I.Q., speed, strength and a host of other things, but the will to win and the commitment to excellence will enable a person of average ability to excel.

Go out of your way to compliment those people who serve others but are not usually treated with a great deal of respect. From the waitperson to the skycap, from the hotel doorman to, well, any service person - aside from tipping or a quick thank you, do you refer to them as sir or ma'am? Do you acknowledge them with kindness? Do you genuinely think of them as important and significant and does it show? Yes, it makes a definite difference to their self- esteem. It also reflects how far they'll go out of their way to make sure you are happy. And you never know when that will come in handy.

An excellent illustration of WINNING WITHOUT INTIMIDATION by complimenting the uncomplimented showcases the abilities of the great former quarterback and now highly successful entrepreneur, Fran Tarkenton. As a quarterback, and a small one at only 5'10", Fran was always the target of the huge, tough, often merciless defensive linemen. Linemen can be mean to quarterbacks. They're supposed to be. That's their job. On top of that, they know they don't earn the kind of money most quarterbacks earn and they certainly don't enjoy the same adulation and glory. Those 320-pound guys can be downright rough on the Fran Tarkentons of the world.

But Fran is a master at dealing with people. He is now, and certainly was back then. According to his former teammate, Ahmad Rashad, after a rough hit, Fran would acknowledge his attacker by saying something like, "Great day for football, isn't it?" or "Man, that was quite a hit."

These guys weren't exactly used to quarterbacks actually talking to them in more than four-letter words - and they certainly weren't used to being treated as human beings. Before long, they weren't quite as aggressive, mean and nasty with Fran. Sure, they'd still hit him, but they wouldn't rough him up as they did other quarterbacks. He took the anger out of them and probably added years to his Hall of Fame career.

Wow, that's when WINNING WITHOUT INTIMIDATION really comes in handy - when your life depends upon it!

Of course, most of us aren't professional quarterbacks, or otherwise chased by wild-eyed, maniacal, and just plain nasty 320-pound men even for non-athletic reasons ... I hope. So, let's go back to how we treat those who are generally not treated with a great deal of respect by other people. This also applies to anyone who may not seem to be in a position to do something for us. Maybe they are the one in need. As mentioned earlier, do you think of them as important and significant human beings? Do you genuinely feel that way on the inside so that your feelings radiate on the outside? Yes, it does makes a definite difference to them, and does almost ensure they'll go out of their way to make sure you are happy. No, that's not the "reason" you treat them well ... just the "result."

____________________

Bob Burg is author of "Winning Without Intimidation"

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“Mr. Redskin” Darrell Green has a reputation. He's fast, he's loyal and he's got staying power. He's also got a reputation as an absolute hands-down believer who's not afraid to be obedient to Christ even if it means losing millions of dollars.

Green, now retired, wowed Washington fans for 19 years as the team's cornerback. He was known best as the NFL's fastest man and held that title for a decade, then regained it a year later with a 4.24 time in the 40 yard dash. He was a football Pro-Bowler seven times, played in the Super Bowl three times; had at least one interception in 18 consecutive seasons and 53 interceptions over the course of his career. At 41 he was the oldest player to hold his position.

Through it all Green has kept football secondary to his relationship with Jesus.

“I've done a lot but there's nothing that makes me rejoice more than knowing that by His grace I could live to advance His kingdom and still today have a voice to the nation on some level as to what is good, right and godly,” he said. “Football is definitely behind me. I'll never play it again. I'm to move on and see the glory of God wherever He places me, particularly in my family.”

Green grew up in Houston. When he was 10, his parents separated, and his mother and six siblings were forced to move to a housing project. A high school track coach provided support and encouragement for Green. But the real breakthrough came in college when he committed his life to Jesus. A preacher was giving a sermon on Pentecost from the book of Acts.

Though he said he was sincere in his commitment, Green said he was still kind of doing his own thing. He said he didn't make God Lord of his life until he was about 24 as a result of loving discipleship from a friend.

Brett Fuller, now pastor of Green's home church, Grace Covenant Church and founder of the African American Resource Ministry, a youth chaplain at the time, met Green, befriended him and began discipling him twice a week at 6 a.m. and once in the evenings.

As Green began following Christ closer he began to seek His will. One thing he felt that God wanted was for him to stay in Washington.

“God spoke to me and said, 'Stay here,'“ Green said. “When all the guys got the big dollars from free agency, God saw fit to keep me here.”

Green actually passed up millions of dollars by choosing to stay in Washington.

But God blessed him, he said, with the ability to play well for 19 consecutive years in Washington.

“There's not a whole lot of magic about me, I just came into a right relationship with Jesus,” he said.

Green and his wife, Jewel, have been happily married for 18 years. Green said he's always been faithful to his wife. The couple has three children, Joy, 13, Jared, 14, and Jarrell, 17. He said he also has a 21-year-old daughter, Crystal, that he had before he came into the Kingdom.

“Our whole life is about the kingdom, redemptive salvation and, by the way -- I play football,” he said. “It's an exciting time for me”

“My vision is to present the Gospel to the world -- to the athlete, the businessman, to the governors, senators, truck drivers, executives, children, black, white, yellow, brown -- to make disciples as we were created to do.

“The Bible says in John that the 'Word was God, was with God, and the Word became flesh.’ There ought to be some fruit on the tree as Christians.”

Green and Jewell founded the Darrell Green Foundation in 1988 to help inner-city children.

The foundation helps families nurture and educate children through a godly, moral influence throughout their school years.

A parent or guardian brings in a child and signs a contract, agreeing to provide the foundation with the time necessary to impact the child. Darrell Green Foundation workers work with parents and schools, enriching a child's education, helping parents nurture the child and providing a moral backbone through continuing after-school programs and summer camps and activities.

Green said that by the time the child is through, he or she is a young man or woman someone wouldn't mind marrying, living next to or working with.

Green wants to obey, glorify God and truly make a difference.

“We have to impact our world and the world around us,” he said. “One waters, one plants, God gives the increase.”

*

Michael Irvin, the self-styled playmaker during his Dallas Cowboys days, is still very much at home at the Super Bowl.

Strolling the sidelines at Super Bowl XXXVIII Media Day at Houston's Reliant Stadium, Irvin was chatting with players and kidding around with his former teammate Deion Sanders. And he was wearing his latest stylish suit, akin to the times he once wore a full-length mink coat during his playing days.

But Irvin, now a commentator for ESPN-TV, is making bigger and more eternally important plays than the many touchdowns and taunts he dished out during his decade-plus career as a Cowboys wide receiver.

He is now more than happy to talk about his new, fulltime career and his maturing faith in Jesus Christ which lifted him from a much-publicized career marked by drugs, adultery and other troubles. The new Michael Irvin story is every bit as interesting as his rise from south Florida poverty to a national championship at the University of Miami, where he met his wife Sandy, to an All-Pro career in the NFL.

“Sometimes, we all have problems and they can get overwhelming, but when God saves us, we think about all He has brought us through and it's just amazing,” Irvin said.

“You might say I should hide my problems, but I just want to spread the word about how good Jesus is to me. It's His hand who brought me through all this.”

This is the first Super Bowl Irvin has attended as a member of the media after earning three championship rings with the Cowboys. He said his return to the super stage in Houston this week still brings back great memories.

“When I think back to my football career, all my best memories are of the Super Bowl,” Irvin said.

He said the NFC champion Panthers, making their first appearance as a team, are in for a big shock on Sunday afternoon.

“I still remember the first Super Bowl I played in 1992. Emmitt Smith and I went on the field together for the warm-ups and when we saw those 93,000 people out there and felt the energy, I just said, 'Wow.’ My knees were shaking and I was scared.”

After having his career cut short by a neck injury in 2000, Irvin said he finally turned his life over to Christ in early 2001, got into a Dallas church where he was discipled by his pastor and now has an accountability group with fellow believer Sanders.

“We talk to each other all the time, we're always leaving Bible verses on each other's cell phone and encouraging one another to do good,” Irvin said.

Sanders, in town to do the Sunday pre-game show for CBS, said his new spiritual accountability with Irvin also has helped greatly in his own growing faith.

“He's my best friend. We'll talk three-four times a day and then go out for dinner at night. We lift each other up, encourage and hold each other accountable,” Sanders said.

Irvin regrets that most fans outside of Dallas only remember the dark days when he landed on the wrong side of the law, but today's NFL players are eager to hear how he conquered the many demons in his life through faith in Christ.

“A lot of times I'll talk with players after the [ESPN] cameras are shut off and I'll be able to minister to them. They all know I went through the ups and downs,” Irvin said. “I did almost every bad thing you could do, but it's through the power of God I can live this life.”

He recently has begun to give his testimony to church groups or those Christian athletes interested in learning his new life story.

“I know one player, as soon as I saw him, he wanted to know what was happening,” Irvin said. “As Christians, I think we have a heavy responsibility to witness to His power.”

Irvin still lives in the Dallas area where he enjoys watching his young son play football. During the regular season, he flew constantly to wherever the ESPN crew was stationed that week and often would run into people in airports struggling to overcome the same problems he had faced.

“I talked with this lady for three hours about her son and the drinking problem he was facing. I know what God can do,” Irvin said, “because of what He did for me.”

Longtime Dallas Cowboys team chaplain John Weber was there for much of Irvin's stellar football career and said the former wide receiver's much-publicized struggles make him the perfect person to share with people he meets today in his media career.

“Michael lives in a world and meets people that I could not even comprehend,” Weber said. “I believe he is as secure in his faith as you or I would ever be and he has a great opportunity to share.

“Some people cannot look past the flashy Michael or the old Michael to see what he is today.”

Irvin said he doesn't glory in his past misdeeds, but doesn't shy away from them either if they can be used for the right purpose.

“I don't want people to forget my story and rob God of all His glory.”

*

In the two-week buildup to a championship game with hundreds of different plotlines, Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck leaned forward in his chair at the Super Bowl media day as if he intended to divulge one of the secrets for his team’s successes.

“I don’t think many people realize,” the softspoken, seventh-year quarterback from Boston College said as reporters learned forward for what they expected to be a juicy tip from the Seahawks playbook, “how many Christian guys we have on this team and how united we are.”

“There are a lot of us on this team from all parts of the country, but we are united in Christ, and the unity you see on this team is very encouraging,” Hasselbeck said.

Encouraged by their quarterback and their league MVP running back Shaun Alexander, Christian players on the Seahawks spent a majority of their hour-long session with the media sharing their faith and the need to focus on more than just Sunday’s final score.

“We believe life itself with Jesus Christ is more important than what we do on the field,” Alexander said. “We want to make sure our focus is on more than this game. We have a bigger calling.”

Nearly half of the Seahawks players and coaches who were given their own platform on media day spoke freely about their personal faith to the media.

Hasselbeck, whose father Don played in the NFL, has completed a remarkable personal transformation on the field: from a first-round draft choice of the Green Bay Packers when he came out of college, to a late-1990s trade to the Seahawks, where he lost his staring job to good friend and fellow believer Trent Dilfer, only to regain it when Dilfer signed with Cleveland last year.

He has received much of the credit for the Seahawks’ first-ever trip to the Super Bowl this year inside Detroit’s domed Ford Field.

Hasselbeck said his whirlwind of a football season, which will be highlighted on an international stage Sunday before a worldwide viewing audience of 1 billion people, has been made easier through his personal faith in Jesus Christ.

“If you let it bother you, the pressure of this week could really get to you. There is so much happening with interviews and posing for pictures and talking with ESPN and ABC and everything,” Hasselbeck said.

“I just remember what Trent [Dilfer] always prayed in the tunnel before the games, ‘Lord, may we perform for an audience of one.’ To know that I have God in my heart and that I’m performing for an audience of one on Sunday, and I want to be a good teammate, is very comforting.”

Fullback Mack Strong has been bashing his body into bigger and stronger defenders for almost a decade, clearing the way for Alexander and other more publicized backs, but he said the greatest moment of his career was when he became a Christian in 1997.

“We have been given a great opportunity to play football, but it’s short-lived. Five years from now people won’t remember that I sat in this chair on media day or even what I said unless they look at the video.

“We believe in something bigger than this game, that we have to stay strong for a bigger purpose.”

Asked to describe himself by one of the many non-sports reporters at media day, Strong, a committed husband and father of two kids, said his commitment to Christ as the biggest thing in his life.

“My turn-ons? Humility. My turnoffs? Pride before the fall. Am I afraid of a commitment? No, I already have a commitment to Christ. Have I had breakups in the past? Yes, I broke up with those who have a different philosophy.”

Backup quarterback David Greene, a rookie who starred at the University of Georgia where he was active in campus ministries and greatly influenced by his Christian head coach, said those looking to explain Seattle’s success coming into Sunday’s game need to look closer than wins or statistics.

“We have a lot of guys on our team who don’t get caught up in the extra stuff. We have guys who are in the Word every day when you could be getting stressed out.

“When you’re living with pressure, you have to surround yourself with good people and that’s what we try to do. If you believe in Christ, then you can live with pressure regardless of what happens on Sunday.”

Starting offensive guard Chris Gray spent 14 years in the league before ever realizing his dream of being in the Super Bowl, but he said the better blessing for himself and his teammates is knowing Christ.

“That’s the best blessing you can have,” he said.

Defensive tackle Michael Boulware will have the responsibility of helping slow down the Pittsburgh offensive attack Sunday [Feb 5, 2006], but he said he has been spending a good deal of his pre-game preparation working on another attack.

“The devil always tries to attack you along the way, but when I focus on Jesus Christ and put my heart on God, that’s the kind of focus I need for this game. We have great leaders on this team which lead the great way. That’s what its takes to be successful.”

===============

The other team:

While former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon once got media attention for writing offbeat messages on his headband during Super Bowl week, Pittsburg strong safety Troy Polamalu plans his own method of expression during Sunday’s championship contest, even if it will never be seen by the millions watching in TV on in person.

He will be wearing his simple, silver wedding ring under his black gloves as he goes about his defensive exploits against the Seattle Seahawks.

“I don’t think we put any value on marriage any longer in our country and, to me, the wedding band is a symbol of my wedding bond with my wife [Theodora] and my bond with God,” Polamalu said during the Super Bowl media day Jan. 31, 2006.

He was one of several Steelers happy to talk about their faith in Christ to the assembled worldwide media at Detroit’s Ford Field, the site of Sunday’s championship game.

Wide receiver Antwaan Randle El eagerly surveyed the chaotic media scene of hundreds of journalists with notepads in hand, dozens of video cameramen and countless live radio interviews being conducted. Then he gave his assessment of the proceedings:

“People think this game may go down in history, but it’s really only temporary. I thank God that I am here, but I know I have to ask Him for guidance because I didn’t know what to expect....

“I can’t let this game get me too high or too low,” El said. “I have to stay focused on God and stay focused on His word.”

Steelers starting center Jeff Hartings, a former Detroit Lion who was nervous being a favorite target of local media welcoming home a former player, said his faith in God extended even into the media session.

“I’ve been praying every day that I would honor Him and I’m praying now that I don’t embarrass Him during this time,” Hartings said. “I want to give Him His praise all the time and use this time as a platform not for me, but for Him.”

Hartings accompanied Steelers chaplain Jay Wilson on a mission trip in 2004 and said that trip, along with the knee injury he overcame to gain his Pro Bowl status, has changed his career.

“God humbled me with the injury, but over last three years I’ve been able to refocus on Him and honor Him with my play. Every year, I just take it one step at a time if He wants me to continue to play. That’s the way it’s been lately for me and the way it should continue to be,” Hartings said.

“I just want to be a Christian man giving Him the glory. That’s my plan for this game.”

Steelers fullback Dan Kreider said the familiar routine of daily prayer times with his wife over the phone and morning Bible reading in an unfamiliar city is helping him overcome temptations connected with the Super Bowl.

“There certainly is a lot of temptations here with parties and women and things we know we shouldn’t be a part of,” Kreider said. “It keeps you humble when you can pray over the phone every night with your wife or spend time at the team Bible study.

Offensive tackle Max Starks said the annual media gathering, which drew more than 3,000 participants, was seen as a God-given opportunity to the Christian Steelers players, not a hindrance.

“I’m just a tool from God and this life is just a test from Him,” Starks said. “God has given the Christian guys a world stage in this big game and promises us a reward in the end. You have the opportunity to use your faith in everyday conversation. That’s what we need to be doing.”

Polamalu has been nicknamed the Tasmanian Devil for his frenetic on-field defensive style, but didn’t hesitate to use his opportunity to promote his faith as a key to success.

“Keep God No. 1 in your life all the time,” he said in response to an ESPN Argentina reporter who asked how his soccer-mad country could be successful in American football as well.

Former Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Barrett Brooks, who is in his 10th year in the NFL but only his third with the Steelers, said the constant shifting of players among teams has made it difficult when Christian brothers face each other on the football field.

“You know a lot of Christian guys in this league, but we just have to keep strong for Him and give God the time He deserves,” Brooks said.

“God will have His will regardless of what we seek on the field,” he said.

With less than five days to go before the final showdown between the Steelers and Seahawks, there will be plenty of time to talk, scheme and study every possible way to defeat the opposition.

But for a number of the players, their focus is on more than just a three-hour encounter.

“This [Super Bowl] is big to the world,” Hartings said. “But I have to separate myself, give God the glory and honor He deserves. Give my best on the field on Sunday and off of it every other day.”

Prior to Super Bowl VI between Dallas and Miami in 1972, Cowboys’ running back Duane Thomas was asked by a reporter what it felt like to be playing in the ultimate football game. Thomas replied, “If it’s the ultimate, why are they going to play it again next year?”

In a simple sentence Thomas forced football fanatics and pop culture junkies at least to consider keeping some perspective on the annual “super” event. However, it seems his comments have been wholly ignored by society at large.

The Super Bowl began rather inauspiciously on Jan. 15, 1967. The game was part of an agreement between the well-established National Football League and its new rival, the American Football League.

The terms of the agreement included a game that would pit each league’s champion in an “AFL-NFL World Championship Game.” In 1970 the two leagues finally merged.

The first world championship contest took place between the NFL’s Green Bay Packers and the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs. Not quite 62,000 fans gathered in Los Angeles’ 100,000-seat Memorial Coliseum, and an estimated 60-million watched the game on television.

Ticket prices for the Green Bay-Kansas City match-up ranged from $6 to $12 and a one-minute television commercial sold for $75,000 to $85,000. Halftime entertainment at the “AFL-NFL World Championship” consisted of performances by the marching bands from the University of Michigan and the University of Arizona as well as an appearance by trumpeter Al Hirt.

For the record, the Packers defeated the Chiefs 35-10.

Fast Forward to Super Bowl XLI –- the Chicago Bears will take on the Indianapolis Colts in Miami. The crowd will fill all 76,500 seats of Dolphin Stadium. The face values for tickets to this year’s game are $600 to $700. However, many of those in attendance will have shelled out three to five times the face value.

Advertisers will spend $2.6 million for a 30-second spot. Singer Billy Joel will perform the National Anthem and rocker Prince will provide halftime entertainment. An estimated 140 million will watch the game via television and many of will do so from Super Bowl parties.

The consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. estimates that U.S. companies could suffer lost wages of approximately $820 million as Americans focus on the Super Bowl. The unproductive time will include chatting about the game, planning parties, organizing betting pools and researching big-screen TVs.

What caused the Super Bowl to go from a football game that many ignored, to the behemoth event that now captivates America’s attention?

One contributing factor is America’s obsession with entertainment; make no mistake about it, professional football is entertainment. There is no other reason to justify the presence of scantily clad, gyrating “cheer” leaders. I ask you, what value do they add to the actual game?

The Super Bowl is hyper-hyped as crowning achievement in professional sports. In fact, in many fans’ minds a player’s career cannot be considered a success unless he triumphs in the “ultimate game.”

However, one of the main reasons for the Super Bowl’s success lies in the fact that so many Americans live without a sense of purpose. In a life that is void of meaning or purpose, only experience holds any real significance.

A person that has no meaning or purpose motivating his or her life seeks to find fulfillment in experiences. So a big event, like the Super Bowl, becomes an opportunity to share a moment, something significant that will add value or a sense of meaning to life.

Sports provide a wonderful outlet for those drifting through life without purpose. There is always the next game or the next season to which to look forward. Some even live vicariously through their favorite players. After this year’s Super Bowl many fans will boast, “We won,” when the only effort they expended was to walk to the refrigerator for a snack.

On Monday the “ultimate game” will be talked about and individual plays will be rehashed. However, the only lives that will be richer for experience are the players that participated and the Miami businesses that benefited from Super Bowl spending.

The day after the Super Bowl many will have shared an experience, they will have enjoyed a game, engaged in a gaudy distraction, but few lives will have been changed.

The Super Bowl is, after all, only a football game.

I agree with Duane Thomas -- if the Super Bowl is so ultimate, why will it be played again next year? And when it is played next year, how many actually will be able to recall this year’s ultimate experience?

Roosevelt “Rosey” Grier (born July 14, 1932 in Brooklyn, New York) is an African American actor, Christian minister, and former professional football player. He was a noteworthy college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association 100th anniversary list of 100 most influential student athletes. As a professional player, Grier was a member of the original Fearsome Foursome of the 1957 New York Giants and played in the Pro Bowl twice.

After Grier’s professional sports career he worked as a bodyguard for Robert Kennedy during the 1968 presidential campaign and was guarding the senator’s wife during the Robert F. Kennedy assassination. Although unable to prevent that killing, Grier took control of the gun and subdued Sirhan Sirhan.

Grier now travels the United States as an inspirational speaker, and is cofounder of American Neighborhood Enterprises, an organization that works to help disadvantaged city dwellers buy homes and receive vocational training. Grier was ordained a Christian minister in 1983, and the next year he founded his nonprofit resource center for inner-city teens, developing spiritual and educational programs for disadvantaged youths.

In the 174 minutes of an average football telecast, viewers see about 60 minutes of commercials, 75 minutes of players huddling or milling about between snaps, 17 minutes of replays - and just 11 minutes of actual football.

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The Wall Street Journal

Denver Broncos quarterback and former University of Florida football star Tim Tebow has been getting a lot of advice lately about how much he should be talking about Jesus.

In November former Bronco quarterback Jake Plummer said about Tebow, “I think that when he accepts the fact that we know that he loves Jesus Christ then I think I’ll like him a little better. I don’t hate him because of that, I just would rather not have to hear that every single time he takes a good snap or makes a good handoff ... like you know, I understand dude where you’re coming from.” In other words, Tim, tone it down.

Just before the turn of the millennium, another Christian quarterback, Kurt Warner, was the Cinderella story of the NFL. Never in the history of professional football had a player so rapidly ascended from unknown to Super Bowl champ and MVP. When the lights were shining the brightest and the platform was the largest, Warner seized the opportunity to boldly proclaim his faith in Jesus Christ to millions.

For a decade, through ups and downs, Warner was consistent in his bold public witness. During the postgame celebration of the 2009 NFC Championship, a game in which Warner led the Arizona Cardinals to victory, Warner declared before millions watching on TV, “Everyone’s gonna get tired of hearing it, but I never get tired of saying it. There’s one reason why I’m standing up on this stage today ... that’s because of my Lord up above. I gotta say thanks to Jesus. You knew I was gonna do it; I gotta do it.”

So one would think that if anyone is excited about Tebow’s bold witness, it would be Warner, right? Well, not necessarily. Not long after Plummer’s comments, Warner weighed in on the issue with the Arizona Central’s Dan Bickley: “Put down the boldness in regards to the words, and keep living the way you’re living. Let your teammates do the talking for you. Let them cheer on your testimony.” Again ... tone it down, Tim.

Is this the same Kurt Warner who told the masses, regarding his very public verbal witness for Christ, “I never get tired of saying it” and “I gotta do it”? Why the change of heart? Warner explains, “There’s almost a faith cliche, where (athletes) come out and say, ‘I want to thank my Lord and Savior.’ As soon as you say that, the guard goes up, the walls go up, and I came to realize you have to be more strategic. The greatest impact you can have on people is never what you say, but how you live. When you speak and represent the person of Jesus Christ in all actions of your life, people are drawn to that. You set the standard with your actions. The words can come after.”

Sounds a lot like the words commonly attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the gospel. Use words when necessary.” Sounds really good. Sounds strategic. The only problem is that it’s not biblical.

Jesus Christ opened his ministry by reading from the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news ... to proclaim liberty ... to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18). Apparently Jesus was not strategic enough; the people tried to throw him off a cliff.

The apostles and early church did not pull back from their consistently bold public witness. Religious officials warned them not to talk about Jesus. Peter and John replied: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20). In other words, “We gotta do it.” And they did it.

The prophet Jeremiah could not tone it down: “If I say, ‘I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,’ there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot” (Jeremiah 20:9).

The Apostle Paul certainly could not tone it down. Arrested, imprisoned, whipped, beaten, mocked -- no method worked to mute Paul when it came to talking about Jesus. To him, to tone it down was unthinkable: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16)

The New Testament pattern and the natural response to the Great Commission is to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with boldness. Tim Tebow’s bold public witness is right in line with the prophets, the apostles, the early church and the Savior.

Tone it down? No.

Keep it up, Tim.

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Brett Maragni is senior pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel of Jacksonville, Fla., and a frequent columnist for BP Sports (BPSports.net).

In Peyton Manning’s book Manning, which he co-wrote with his father Archie Manning in 2001, the record-setting quarterback gives a rare description of his faith and its importance to him. The description is a rare one, not because Peyton’s faith is an insignificant part of his life, but because, as Peyton explains, he has intentionally chosen to speak more by his actions than by his words:

For me generally it had always been the big four: faith, family, friends, and football... as important as football is to me, it can never be higher than fourth. My faith has been number one since I was thirteen years old . . .

Some players get more vocal about it ... and some point to Heaven after scoring a touchdown and praise God after games. I have no problem with that. But I don’t do it, and don’t think it makes me any less a Christian. I just want my actions to speak louder, and I don’t want to be more of a target for criticism . . .

My faith doesn’t make me perfect, it makes me forgiven, and provides me the assurance I looked for half my life ago. . .

I’ve been blessed - having so little go wrong in my life, and being given so much. I pray every night, sometimes long prayers about a lot of things and a lot of people, but I don’t talk about it or brag about it because that’s between God and me, and I’m no better than anybody else in God’s sight.

But I consider myself fortunate to be able to go to Him for guidance, and I hope (and pray) I don’t do too many things that displease Him.... I believe, too, that life is much better and freer when you’re committed to God in that way.

Going into Sunday’s Super Bowl matchup against the New England Patriots, Sherman Smith shared how victory on the football field without Jesus Christ would be, for him, a “serious waste of time.”

“I’ll never forget when I got drafted in [1976], my father told me, ‘Son, remember this, playing professional football is how you make your living but it’s not your life because it’s gonna end. You’re gonna stop playing one day and life will continue.’ I never forgot that,” the running backs coach for the Seattle Seahawks said.

Today, Smith will tell you he’s living a coach’s dream on a team that won last year’s Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos. But he said he’s thankful life isn’t all about winning and losing football games.

“If this were just about winning a football game, this is a serious waste of time,” Sherman told Baptist Press during Super Bowl Media Day (Jan. 27) at the US Airways Center in Phoenix.

“But it’s bigger than that,” he said. “Absolutely, no doubt. This is about [His] glory. This is about [His] Kingdom. This is what it’s all about.”

And on the Seahawks, Smith is not alone in being vocal about his faith. Fellow Seahawks Russell Wilson, Russell Okung, Clint Gresham and fellow coach Rocky Seto all spoke about their faith in Christ on Media Day.

But for Sherman, life wasn’t always about honoring the Lord on and off the football field. Sherman shared his testimony last year in a video, “The Making of a Champion,” which also featured the testimonies of Wilson, Okung, Gresham, Chris Maragos, who now plays for the Philadelphia Eagles, and Seto.

In the video that has attracted more than 600,000 views on Youtube, Smith recalled the emptiness he once felt while playing in the NFL -- and even during his college years at Miami University of Ohio.

“I was in college and had a very successful career there,” he said. “We went 33-1-1. I was the starting quarterback. People were telling me I was going to get drafted in the NFL in all that stuff. And I just remember walking around campus and just saying, ‘Man, there’s got to be more to it than this’ -- a feeling of emptiness. I loved the winning but still there was something missing in my life.”

The former second-round draft pick, who went on to play eight seasons for the Seahawks as a running back, said his life began to change when he tried to console middle linebacker Ken Hutcherson, whose career had ended unexpectedly to a knee injury.

“ ... I walked in that locker room to comfort him and be a friend to him and he comforted me,” Smith recalled.

“He said to me ... ‘Sherm ... I’m excited to see what God has planned for my life.’ That’s what he told me, ‘I’m a Christian and nothing happens in my life that’s not filtered through God’s hands first.’ And I knew I didn’t have that confidence. I knew if that were me, my world would have fallen apart.”

Smith wanted to know more and soon put his trust in Jesus Christ.

Whether the Seattle Seahawks win or lose on Sunday, Smith said he is confident opportunities will come to share with others how Christ has changed his life.

Smith still remembers the pain of a gut-wrenching Super Bowl defeat when he was a running backs coach for the Tennessee Titans. In 2000, the Titans came up about a yard short of tying the game and going into overtime against the Rams. They lost the game 23-16. Smith recalled numerous opportunities to share how he coped with the loss.

“In Tennessee, people wanted to hear about how’d you deal with it, and winning [the Super Bowl with Seattle] people want to hear the same question,” said Smith, who has coached with the Seattle Seahawks since 2010.

“So I found really a balance between the two -- the winning and the losing and having opportunities by God.”

In The Making of a Champion video Sherman shared, “The world we live in today, we get so many people telling you how you should live, what it means to be successful, what you should strive after. And I just think you have to have a desire to want to know why you are here. ... A lot of this other stuff is not as promising as everyone says but God’s Word is solid. The foundation is solid. The promises are solid. The future is solid.”

Shawn Hendricks in managing editor of Baptist Press.

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You probably saw the catch on TV. Or maybe you saw it on the cover of Sports Illustrated. The grab made by New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree may be the greatest catch in Super Bowl history. It certainly was a pivotal moment in the Giants’ 2008 victory over the New England Patriots. But it was not the most pivotal moment in young David Tyree’s life. That would be when Tyree found himself behind bars in a jail cell.

“What looked to be the lowest point in my life ended up being the greatest thing that ever happened to me,” Tyree told the New York Times, referring to his 2004 arrest.

Tyree drank and smoked pot from an early age — habits he carried with him into the NFL. In 2004, to pay a $10,000 fine for being late to a team meeting, Tyree decided to sell marijuana — and was arrested. That is when his girlfriend issued an ultimatum: “her lifestyle or his.” He began reading a Bible he spotted on her bed.

A month after his arrest, Tyree went to church and listened to a woman singing with joy. He realized he had none. He hung his head and sobbed. “I had no joy. I had no peace,” said Tyree. “My life was in disarray.”

Now committed to Christ, Tyree’s story is “bigger than his Super Bowl catch,” he says. “It is about destiny and purpose.” He is more concerned with “changing lives,” which he and his wife do through an organization called Next in Line, counseling teens.

Caron Butler of the NBA’s Washington Wizards has a similar story. He made his first drug deal at age 11 and was in juvenile court 15 times before age 15. Then grace broke down his front door at age 17, when the cops barged in to arrest him for drug possession.

Before that incident, while at a juvenile institution, Caron had decided to clean up his act. He read Bible verses his grandmother sent him. While there, he spied a basketball court outside his window. “God puts stuff in front of you for a reason,” he says. He honed his basketball skills, promised to stay out of trouble, and was headed to college before that day the cops broke in to arrest him.

One of the officers, Richard Geller, exercised grace when Butler’s mother promised Geller, “If you give Caron a chance on this, you will never look back.” Geller felt confident the drugs the police had found were not Butler’s and let him go.

“God put his hands on my life,” Butler said. “[God] said, ‘I’m going to touch you so that you can touch others.’” Today, Caron uses his NBA success to give back to his hometown of Racine, Wisconsin — with coat drives, bike giveaways, and holding a basketball camp for youth.

“The good that has come out of it has benefited this community a whole lot more than Caron’s arrest would have,” said Officer Geller.

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Copyright (c) 2008 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

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Version used in 2/2/2014 sermon:

It has become known as “The Catch.” ESPN Sportscenter designated it the greatest play in Super Bowl history.

Eli Manning had eluded a sack and threw 32 yards downfield toward David Tyree. Tyree leaped and caught the ball fully extended, bringing it down against his helmet with his right hand. Meanwhile, New England Patriots’ Rodney Harrison pulled violently downward on that arm, simultaneously wrenching Tyree arching backwards towards the turf. Tyree managed to get a second hand on the ball during the descent, and kept the ball only inches from the turf. Harrison struggled to steal the ball away from him on the ground but Tyree kept possession. It was a pivotal moment in the Giants’ victory over the New England Patriots.

But it was not the most pivotal moment in young David Tyree’s life. That would be when Tyree found himself behind bars in a New Jersey jail cell. Tyree had had an inauspicious start in football. He was a second-round draft pick. He had some bad habits, too. Tyree drank until he passed out, smoked pot from an early age, and continued doing these things in his football career. He chased a lot of women, too.

In 2004 he was fined $10,000 for being late to a team meeting. Tyree’s solution was to sell some marijuana to raise the money. Apparently he wasn’t very good at it, because he was arrested. That is when his wife issued an ultimatum: “my lifestyle or yours.” He began reading a Bible he spotted on his wife’s bed. Tyree said “for the first time, the words on the page made sense” to him.

He had never been religious. His mom was not a Christian and they didn’t attend church. A month after his arrest, Tyree went to church and listened to a woman singing with joy. He realized he had none. He hung his head and sobbed. “I had no joy. I had no peace,” said Tyree. “My life was in disarray.”

He committed himself to Jesus Christ. Not only that, but after David Tyree became a Christian, his sister did too. And after his mom saw the changes in the life of her son, she got saved, too, not long before she died from a heart attack.

Tyree says his conversion is “bigger than his Super Bowl catch.” “It is about destiny and purpose.” He has given up the booze, drugs and women. He is a regular speaker at Christian youth rallies in our area. He is more concerned with “changing lives,” which he and his wife do through a ministry that counsels teens.

Tyree told the New York Times, “What looked to be the lowest point in my life ended up being the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”

Learn from your lowest points. They can point you to God.

Michael Irvin, the self-styled playmaker during his Dallas Cowboys days, is still very much at home at the Super Bowl.

Strolling the sidelines at Super Bowl XXXVIII Media Day at Houston's Reliant Stadium, Irvin was chatting with players and kidding around with his former teammate Deion Sanders. And he was wearing his latest stylish suit, akin to the times he once wore a full-length mink coat during his playing days.

But Irvin, now a commentator for ESPN-TV, is making bigger and more eternally important plays than the many touchdowns and taunts he dished out during his decade-plus career as a Cowboys wide receiver.

He is now more than happy to talk about his new, fulltime career and his maturing faith in Jesus Christ which lifted him from a much-publicized career marked by drugs, adultery and other troubles. The new Michael Irvin story is every bit as interesting as his rise from south Florida poverty to a national championship at the University of Miami, where he met his wife Sandy, to an All-Pro career in the NFL.

“Sometimes, we all have problems and they can get overwhelming, but when God saves us, we think about all He has brought us through and it's just amazing,” Irvin said.

“You might say I should hide my problems, but I just want to spread the word about how good Jesus is to me. It's His hand who brought me through all this.”

This is the first Super Bowl Irvin has attended as a member of the media after earning three championship rings with the Cowboys. He said his return to the super stage in Houston this week still brings back great memories.

“When I think back to my football career, all my best memories are of the Super Bowl,” Irvin said.

He said the NFC champion Panthers, making their first appearance as a team, are in for a big shock on Sunday afternoon.

“I still remember the first Super Bowl I played in 1992. Emmitt Smith and I went on the field together for the warm-ups and when we saw those 93,000 people out there and felt the energy, I just said, 'Wow.’ My knees were shaking and I was scared.”

After having his career cut short by a neck injury in 2000, Irvin said he finally turned his life over to Christ in early 2001, got into a Dallas church where he was discipled by his pastor and now has an accountability group with fellow believer Sanders.

“We talk to each other all the time, we're always leaving Bible verses on each other's cell phone and encouraging one another to do good,” Irvin said.

Sanders, in town to do the Sunday pre-game show for CBS, said his new spiritual accountability with Irvin also has helped greatly in his own growing faith.

“He's my best friend. We'll talk three-four times a day and then go out for dinner at night. We lift each other up, encourage and hold each other accountable,” Sanders said.

Irvin regrets that most fans outside of Dallas only remember the dark days when he landed on the wrong side of the law, but today's NFL players are eager to hear how he conquered the many demons in his life through faith in Christ.

“A lot of times I'll talk with players after the [ESPN] cameras are shut off and I'll be able to minister to them. They all know I went through the ups and downs,” Irvin said. “I did almost every bad thing you could do, but it's through the power of God I can live this life.”

He recently has begun to give his testimony to church groups or those Christian athletes interested in learning his new life story.

“I know one player, as soon as I saw him, he wanted to know what was happening,” Irvin said. “As Christians, I think we have a heavy responsibility to witness to His power.”

Irvin still lives in the Dallas area where he enjoys watching his young son play football. During the regular season, he flew constantly to wherever the ESPN crew was stationed that week and often would run into people in airports struggling to overcome the same problems he had faced.

“I talked with this lady for three hours about her son and the drinking problem he was facing. I know what God can do,” Irvin said, “because of what He did for me.”

Longtime Dallas Cowboys team chaplain John Weber was there for much of Irvin's stellar football career and said the former wide receiver's much-publicized struggles make him the perfect person to share with people he meets today in his media career.

“Michael lives in a world and meets people that I could not even comprehend,” Weber said. “I believe he is as secure in his faith as you or I would ever be and he has a great opportunity to share.

“Some people cannot look past the flashy Michael or the old Michael to see what he is today.”

Irvin said he doesn't glory in his past misdeeds, but doesn't shy away from them either if they can be used for the right purpose.

“I don't want people to forget my story and rob God of all His glory.”

*

Joe Montana, on the disabled list with a hand injury, was having lunch with his wife and children at a hotel on Maui. "You poor thing!" the waitress gushed. "How did it happen?"

"I broke it playing football," Montana explained.

"Really?" replied the waitress. "Aren't you a little old to be playing football?"

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Herb Caen, San Francisco Chronicle

Anyone going through a difficult time needs to remember that the end has not yet come, and that our Heavenly Father may have all manner of wonderful things in store just around the bend in the road. USA TODAY once reported a story which demonstrates this fact very well.

Milwaukee Hamilton High School had a 22-15 lead against Milwaukee Marshall with just a few seconds left in a football game one Friday night in September of 1983. It appeared to be a sure victory. With only four seconds remaining, Hamilton, which was on its 40-yard line, snapped the ball to Jose Alba. Alba ran back toward his end zone to run out the clock, then tossed the ball into the air as time expired, thinking the game was over, and the victory belonged to him and his teammates.

But, remember - in football, the play is not finished until the ball is downed while in the possession of a player. So when the ball came down, one of Marshall's players, Floyd Heard, picked it up on the five and ran it in for a touchdown. Then with time expired, Marshall attempted the two-point conversion - and made it. They won the game 23-22.

There are many times in our lives when we're on the losing side of the scoreboard, and time is running out. If Floyd Heard had believed what the circumstances told him, he would have walked to the sideline, accepting defeat. Yet that is what we do so many times in our lives. The game - or life – isn’t over until it's over. Be encouraged! Don't give up! Stay the course!

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Rocky Henriques, The Timothy Report, Copyright (c) 2003 Swan Lake Communications, http://www.swanlake.twoffice.com