Title: The Hope of Israel (10)
Series: On a Mission-The Life of Paul
Author: Patrick Edwards
Text: Acts 28:11-31
Introduction
As many of you know, I'm a big sports fan, which is really unfortunate because I often think about how much time and emotional energy I'd have on my hands if I didn't waste them on sports. My wife could give a hearty 'Amen' to that. As a sports fan, though, it's an interesting time of the year. March Madness, the college basketball tournaments, of course are in full force, but it's the football off-season, baseball is wrapping up spring training, but the season hasn't yet fully begun. There isn't really a whole lot going on, which is why all the sports talk shows on T.V. and radio are just running repeated segments on the prospects for the Dallas Cowboys next year. Well, let me just answer that for you: they'll stink like they do every year.
Off-seasons, I think, are most fans favorite time of the year. Why? Because you have nothing but optimism, hope. My boy, Nick, our Finance director, all he's been talking about is all the right moves the Commanders have been making, or how good the Orioles are going to be this year. And I keep trying to caution him. Buddy, it's the hope that kills you. It sets you up for disappointment, heartbreak. At the end of a season there can only be one standing; one national champion, one Super Bowl winner, one World Series champ.
Hope is a funny thing. And I think our society is becoming less and less hopeful, whether because of realism or just as an act of self-preservation. I watch conflict in Ukraine, in Gaza, anarchy in Haiti, crises throughout Central America exponentially fueling a migrant crisis at the border, and I wonder what hope is there for our world. I look at a coming national election, for the White House, for Congress, where I don't find many people really happy with our options and it's hard to have hope for our nation. Simply on a personal level, how many of us struggle with ho ...
Series: On a Mission-The Life of Paul
Author: Patrick Edwards
Text: Acts 28:11-31
Introduction
As many of you know, I'm a big sports fan, which is really unfortunate because I often think about how much time and emotional energy I'd have on my hands if I didn't waste them on sports. My wife could give a hearty 'Amen' to that. As a sports fan, though, it's an interesting time of the year. March Madness, the college basketball tournaments, of course are in full force, but it's the football off-season, baseball is wrapping up spring training, but the season hasn't yet fully begun. There isn't really a whole lot going on, which is why all the sports talk shows on T.V. and radio are just running repeated segments on the prospects for the Dallas Cowboys next year. Well, let me just answer that for you: they'll stink like they do every year.
Off-seasons, I think, are most fans favorite time of the year. Why? Because you have nothing but optimism, hope. My boy, Nick, our Finance director, all he's been talking about is all the right moves the Commanders have been making, or how good the Orioles are going to be this year. And I keep trying to caution him. Buddy, it's the hope that kills you. It sets you up for disappointment, heartbreak. At the end of a season there can only be one standing; one national champion, one Super Bowl winner, one World Series champ.
Hope is a funny thing. And I think our society is becoming less and less hopeful, whether because of realism or just as an act of self-preservation. I watch conflict in Ukraine, in Gaza, anarchy in Haiti, crises throughout Central America exponentially fueling a migrant crisis at the border, and I wonder what hope is there for our world. I look at a coming national election, for the White House, for Congress, where I don't find many people really happy with our options and it's hard to have hope for our nation. Simply on a personal level, how many of us struggle with ho ...
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