The Final Goal: Lost and Found
Read: Luke 15:1-7 “Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.” – Luke 15:6 When the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen in 1966, there followed nearly a week of anxiety and frustration as the authorities frantically searched for it. But then amazingly the World Cup trophy was found by a dog called Pickles! [...]
The Final Goal: How To Stand Out
Read: Acts 5:26-33 Peter and the apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than any human authority.” – Acts 5:29 Cameroon ran into trouble when they planned to wear sleeveless shirts at the 2002 World Cup. Immediately the kit was ruled illegal. Team officials quickly added black sleeves so that Cameroon could still take part [...]
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Loading ...The Final Goal: The Answer To Our Problem
Read: John 14:1-6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through Me. – John 14:6 Ten stadiums, 31 days, 32 teams, 63 games, 736 players, a potential 3,789,909 spectators and more than 26 billion television viewers will make up this year’s World [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...The Final Goal: Fragile Clay Jars
Read: 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 We ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. – 2 Corinthians 4:7 You might have been called many things in your life. But I wonder if anyone’s ever called you a “fragile clay jar”? That’s what Paul, one of the Bible writers, said life is like for Christians. [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...The Final Goal: No More Tears
Read: Revelation 21:1-8 [God] will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. – Revelation 21:4 For English football fans, one World Cup match lives long in memory. It’s the 1990 semifinal against West Germany. England lost the [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...The Final Goal: Time Is Running Out
Read: 2 Peter 3:8-13 The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. – 2 Peter 3:9 Time is running out for the World Cup. After each tournament, the name of the winning country and the year of their World Cup victory are [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...The Final Goal: A Safe Pair Of Hands
Read: Psalm 138 You reach out Your hand, and the power of Your right hand saves me. – Psalm 138:7 Edwin van der Sar, goalkeeper for Manchester United, had a safe pair of hands. He kept the ball from entering the net for 1,302 minutes—a world record in one season! It means that for almost [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...The Final Goal: A Bad Call
Read: Isaiah 53:3-9 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all. – Isaiah 53:6 Football games are not decided just by goals, but often by refereeing decisions. In the 1978 World Cup, when Brazil played [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...The Final Goal: The Greatest Turnaround
Read: John 2:13-22 After He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered He had said this. – John 2:22 World Cup Finals are often a time for the unexpected. In 1966 the world watched incredulously as the little-known footballing nation of North Korea defeated Italy on the way to a quarterfinal match with Portugal. [...]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...The Final Goal: No Plan B
Read: Malachi 2:17–3:5 I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. – Malachi 3:6 Jose Batista of Uruguay holds an unfortunate record. It took Batista just 56 seconds to receive a red card against Scotland at the 1986 World Cup. We might feel [...]
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