Get in the Game

THIS WEEK’S BOLD STEP DEVOTION

Ronnie “WooWoo” Wickers is a longtime Chicago Cubs fan and local celebrity in the Chicago area for his exclamatory “woo!” cheer at baseball games. He’s considered a longtime fixture at Wrigley Field and never misses a home game. Ronnie’s fan base would say that he’s the epitome of a diehard Cubs fan.

When it comes to matters of faith, people fall into two camps. Like Ronnie with the Cubs, there are those who want to be as close to Jesus as possible and learn everything they can about His teachings. These followers have trusted in God for eternal life and are seeking to live a surrendered life before Him.

Then, there are those who I call, “fair weathered fans” who may attend church, love the worship music, and even want to learn more about God but when trials come or things don’t go as planned in their life, their passion quickly wanes. Many people like to think that they’re raving fans of Christ but when the scoreboard says otherwise, they lose interest.

When Jesus walked this earth, he attracted multitudes of people wherever He went which is the scene we come upon in Matthew 13. Here Jesus teaches the famous ‘Parable of the Sower,’ about a man who goes out to sow grain that falls on different kinds of soil. The soil that the seed falls on represents people’s hearts and how they react to the Word of God in their life. The shallow seed easily succumbed to the heat and elements, while the seed that fell on good soil, started to grow and over time, produced a fruitful harvest. Fans versus followers. Which are you? Click the link below to learn which one are you and how you can begin to become a diehard Jesus fan.

Listen to the sermon series: Knowing the Difference

Part 1Part 2

Ministry Update from Mark

I want to take a moment to honor the life and legacy of Pastor Tim Keller who passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 72. I had the privilege of meeting him a couple of times, but it was his writings and life example that spoke volumes to me as a pastor in a secular city like Chicago. Keller co-founded the Gospel Coalition, was the founding pastor of Redeemer Church in New York City and helped start City to City church planting network. The New York Times put it this way, “The Rev. Timothy J. Keller, a best-selling author and theorist of Christianity who performed a modern miracle of his own- establishing a theologically Orthodox Church in Manhattan that attracted thousands of young professional followers.”

May God continue to raise up brace and audacious men and women of faith that engage our cities with compassion, humility and love yet firmly rooted in the counter-cultural message of the Gospel.