During the Chicago Bears’ NFC championship game on January 12, 1986, where they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 24-0 to secure their place in Super Bowl XX, a game they went on to win, the snow started falling. It is said that some people and players thought it was George Halas, the legendary Bears founder and coach, watching from above and giving his blessing.
Twenty-one years later, the Bears found themselves once again in the position of being one game away from entering the Super Bowl, the game that only two teams out of 32 can boast of being in. This time around, however, they were facing a huge uphill battle. They would be facing the New Orleans Saints, a team that had one of the best offenses in the league. This was a game that the beleaguered Bears were chosen to lose by many football experts.
Who could blame the experts for picking the Saints? The Saints had a great quarterback while the Bears had an inexperienced quarterback in Rex Grossman who had been wildly inconsistent during the season while showing some flashes of brilliance. The much-vaunted Bears defense was starting to look like swiss cheese, opening up holes and allowing several large plays to happen for the past few games. For three quarters, it looked like the experts would be proven right and the Saints would go on to the Super Bowl. The Bears were struggling to hold on to the weak two-point lead they had.
But then, it started to snow.
As the snow fell and started gathering on the ground, the Bears suddenly exploded, shredding the Saints by racking up points, finishing the game with a final score of 39-14. They were now in the Super Bowl, perhaps because of another snow-sent blessing from their legendary founder.
Wouldn’t that be great if it were possible? If life has us so beat up we’re scrambling to find something to keep us afloat or stay ahead of the game, wouldn’t it be great to have something fall from the sky and give you what you need? If the race is so wearying, you can’t see the finish line anymore, wouldn’t it be nice to get a sudden boost from above, a Gatorade drink for the soul of sorts?
We all know how wearying and discouraging life can be, but hope is never lost because we have Christ on our side. Much like a football team needs to train and prepare for each football game, we, too, need to train and prepare ourselves for each life battle we face.
Calvary has seven values that we believe, if put into daily practice, will enable us to go great distances in life.
Value #1: WORSHIP God in spirit and truth
Value #2: CARE for the hurting
Value #3: REACH the lost
Value #4: BE intentionally inclusive
Value #5: BUILD Christian community
Value #6: BECOME like Christ
Value #7: DO Christ’s work.
Having a hard time remembering all of this? Just remember this: We Can Really Become Braver, Bolder Disciples! The first letter of each word in this phrase corresponds with each of our seven values. Many thanks to Joe Dampf who came up with this handy phrase!
We can get better at worshipping God. We can improve on our building Christian community skills. We can learn how to do Christ’s work. “We can really become braver, bolder disciples!”
Not to take the sports analogy too far, but it is true that what separates the merely good teams from the best is how much time and effort go towards practice. If you’re stuck, don’t forget that we always have the Great Coach of our lives always watching over us. He’ll give us what we need to keep going, including His playbook, the Bible.
If you are struggling in life, feeling discouraged or need help, don’t feel like you need to go through this alone. Remember, there’s no I in team.
Chicago BearsChristcoachfootballprepareSuper Bowltrainvaluesworship
Super Bowl Shuffle
January 25, 2007
Calvary
Comments Off on Super Bowl Shuffle
Matt
During the Chicago Bears’ NFC championship game on January 12, 1986, where they defeated the Los Angeles Rams 24-0 to secure their place in Super Bowl XX, a game they went on to win, the snow started falling. It is said that some people and players thought it was George Halas, the legendary Bears founder and coach, watching from above and giving his blessing.
Twenty-one years later, the Bears found themselves once again in the position of being one game away from entering the Super Bowl, the game that only two teams out of 32 can boast of being in. This time around, however, they were facing a huge uphill battle. They would be facing the New Orleans Saints, a team that had one of the best offenses in the league. This was a game that the beleaguered Bears were chosen to lose by many football experts.
Who could blame the experts for picking the Saints? The Saints had a great quarterback while the Bears had an inexperienced quarterback in Rex Grossman who had been wildly inconsistent during the season while showing some flashes of brilliance. The much-vaunted Bears defense was starting to look like swiss cheese, opening up holes and allowing several large plays to happen for the past few games. For three quarters, it looked like the experts would be proven right and the Saints would go on to the Super Bowl. The Bears were struggling to hold on to the weak two-point lead they had.
But then, it started to snow.
As the snow fell and started gathering on the ground, the Bears suddenly exploded, shredding the Saints by racking up points, finishing the game with a final score of 39-14. They were now in the Super Bowl, perhaps because of another snow-sent blessing from their legendary founder.
Wouldn’t that be great if it were possible? If life has us so beat up we’re scrambling to find something to keep us afloat or stay ahead of the game, wouldn’t it be great to have something fall from the sky and give you what you need? If the race is so wearying, you can’t see the finish line anymore, wouldn’t it be nice to get a sudden boost from above, a Gatorade drink for the soul of sorts?
We all know how wearying and discouraging life can be, but hope is never lost because we have Christ on our side. Much like a football team needs to train and prepare for each football game, we, too, need to train and prepare ourselves for each life battle we face.
Calvary has seven values that we believe, if put into daily practice, will enable us to go great distances in life.
Value #1: WORSHIP God in spirit and truth
Value #2: CARE for the hurting
Value #3: REACH the lost
Value #4: BE intentionally inclusive
Value #5: BUILD Christian community
Value #6: BECOME like Christ
Value #7: DO Christ’s work.
Having a hard time remembering all of this? Just remember this: We Can Really Become Braver, Bolder Disciples! The first letter of each word in this phrase corresponds with each of our seven values. Many thanks to Joe Dampf who came up with this handy phrase!
We can get better at worshipping God. We can improve on our building Christian community skills. We can learn how to do Christ’s work. “We can really become braver, bolder disciples!”
Not to take the sports analogy too far, but it is true that what separates the merely good teams from the best is how much time and effort go towards practice. If you’re stuck, don’t forget that we always have the Great Coach of our lives always watching over us. He’ll give us what we need to keep going, including His playbook, the Bible.
If you are struggling in life, feeling discouraged or need help, don’t feel like you need to go through this alone. Remember, there’s no I in team.
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Chicago BearsChristcoachfootballprepareSuper Bowltrainvaluesworship