Skip to main content

Champions are Powerful - chapel talk

Each week during the last 18 seasons of college football (American Football in the USA), I have delivered a talk of similar form to the one outlined below. This one fits within a series on characteristics of champions. Please contact me if you’d like some ideas on how to communicate with competitors most directly, briefly and impactfully.

 
“Champions are Powerful”
 
Introduction –

Today’s contest marks an important milestone on the way to being champions. Our mental approach, our attitude today will greatly shape how well we take advantage of our opportunity. I have some simple thoughts about these matters

 
Prayer –

A player or coach voices a prayer.

Scripture -

Today I’m reading from the Apostle Paul’s second letter to his protégé, Timothy, at chapter 1 and verse 7. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (The text is read aloud.)

Let’s think about this simple and direct statement.

1) For the man who loves God, he knows that God has not given him a spirit of fear or timidity – no he can be confident and assured in any situation.

2) Rather, God has transformed the man’s spirit to be full of these qualities:

a. Power – the capacity to do all that is required of him.

b. Love – the capacity to seek others’ best, even at my personal cost.

c. Self-control – the capacity to make wise choices in any circumstance.

For today’s competition –

1) Our spirits will not be timid nor fearful in any situation. We can be strong and confident.

2) Our spirits will be full of power – we will have the capacity to do all that is required of us.

3) Our spirits will be full of love – we will have the capacity to seek the team’s best and the best for each teammate, even at our personal cost.

4) Our spirits will be full of self-control – we will have the capacity to choose wisely at every moment, in any circumstance.

 
Repeat the quote of II Timothy 1:7 - “7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” Champions are powerful.

 
Closing prayer –

Please stand, take the hands of those at your table and let’s say, “The Lord’s Prayer” together.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sport Chaplains at the Olympic Games

Today marks the official beginning of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London with the Opening Ceremony this evening. Among the thousands of people in the Olympic Village throughout the event is a collection of our colleagues from around the globe. There are sports chaplains, carefully selected from a wide variety of ethnic, national and sport backgrounds, speaking many different languages and from both genders, who are officially recognized by the London Organizing Committee and provided uniforms and credentials. They work through the Olympic Village’s Religious Services Center and have already been in London for over a week. They will also stay beyond the Olympic Games to serve in the Paralympic Games.   Please pray for these, our colleagues and fellow-servants, as they serve our Lord and the people in sport in these days of exhilarating triumph, painful defeat and even crippling despair. Some of these people were themselves Olympic competitors in past years and are thereby...
1 comment
Read more

Retirement announcement

On 30 May, I will officially retire from my service as Character Coach Director for Nations of Coaches ( https://nationsofcoaches.com/ ), a ministry to college basketball in the USA. The health challenges my wife, Sharon, is experiencing have led to this somewhat abrupt change. At this point in our soon to be 50-years of marriage, she needs me more than I need to work. The spring and summer months will reveal how strongly she will recover and that will determine if and when I can resume some level of ministry. She is my highest priority. I am contemplating making myself available to sports ministry leaders for mentorship, coaching, and consulting. I will provide more details as they become available. In the short term, I am available for chats via telephone or Zoom, if I can be of service to you. Sharon and I are moving from our home in Carbondale, Illinois to an apartment near our son’s family in Southeast Missouri. I plan to continue to produce content via blog posts, Bible studies, ...
Post a Comment
Read more

More Reflections from the Front Lines of a Cancer Battle - Week Four as a Widower.

Week Four as a Widower. Formerly, I had to work hard, schedule well, and plan wisely to achieve some solitude. Now, retired and widowed, solitude surrounds me, all day and all night. I, the incurable and unapologetic extrovert, find myself alone…. a lot. In crowds, alone. At church, alone. Waking up in my bed, absolutely alone. I am not as emotional about my loss as I was a few weeks ago. I am more emotionally numb than anything at this point. I have enough tasks to keep me busy presently, but I know after the sale of the house is closed, the banking is completed, and I return from the Congress in Texas, a lot of open space and unoccupied time awaits me. That is worrisome. I have a number of people with whom I correspond daily. I send one set of folks battling disease scripture and prayer. Another few receive a daily prompt for devotional reading. Dozens of sports chaplains across Latin America receive a link to each day’s post of my devotional book in Spanish, which they in turn share...
1 comment
Read more